Empire of Shadows

The city was seeing more and more refugees, all of whom had fled to the Federation during the war. They were scattered across different regions, and even Golden State had seen a considerable number of them.

The arrival of refugees was a heavy blow to small cities with little development potential.

Mr. President, in order to solve some problems, had recognized the legality of refugee work. This meant that employers did not need refugees to have work permits or prove that they were legal immigrants. As long as they told their employers that they were refugees, that was enough.

And this just happened to turn many illegal immigrants into refugees at this very moment. No one knew where the federal government’s next footprint would fall.

Maybe… they would agree to let the refugees who were unwilling to return to their home countries become citizens of the Federation?

A large number of cheap laborers were impacting the entire Federation’s labor market. In cities with refugees, a visible decline could be seen.

There were more and more people on the streets in shabby clothes, and fewer and fewer consumers in the roadside shops. The whole country seemed to be caught in a strange “disease.”

The Tide Newspaper, as the largest-circulation newspaper in the Likalai State region, unusually did not print pictures of naked girls in its early July issue, but instead used the serious headline, “The Black Death is Devouring the Life of the Federation.”

Of course, “Black Death” was in double quotation marks.

Where two large breasts should have appeared on the front page, there was now a photo of a city from a high-altitude bird’s-eye view. A clearly black patch was eroding the city.The second page had more detailed photos of these black patches. They were black spots composed of individuals.

As the camera continued to zoom in, it could eventually be seen that those people were all refugees.

The Tide Newspaper compared the refugees to the Black Death that was eroding the life of the Federation. Some people thought their metaphor was very vivid, because the influx of these large numbers of refugees had made everything worse.

Work, life, everything!

But some moralists believed that this was a very immoral act. They were using such a vile metaphor to vilify and smear the refugee group.

But it was undeniable that they had succeeded.

People disliked these refugees even more, just as they had disliked illegal immigrants before, and even more than they disliked illegal immigrants.

At least illegal immigrants did not have the right to work. If they wanted to survive, they still had to rely on the people of the Federation to some extent.

They used the work permits of the people of the Federation to work, and a considerable part of the money they earned had to be given to the people of the Federation.

But refugees were different. They had the right to work, which meant that for every refugee who found a job, a person of the Federation lost their job.

The Federation was becoming worse, and the lives of the people were no longer guaranteed!

There were too many refugees, and the federal government was negotiating with another group. They couldn’t just expel all these refugees.

Adult refugees would find a way to survive on their own, by selling their labor or their bodies, but not everyone could find a way to live.

So they would have some children go to the cities of the Federation to find some opportunities to survive, opportunities to eat.

The sides of trash cans were where they often appeared, and they had also become the biggest enemies of the homeless.

Especially those teenagers. They appeared in the cities in groups, and many people were worried that they would cause public security problems.

On the street, Lance’s convoy stopped beside the St. Naye Cathedral in the sight of the people. A number of refugee children rushed over, extending their dirty hands and looking at the people who came out of the car.

After living here for a period of time, they had finally recognized the reality and knew which people they could beg from a little more excessively, and which people they could only watch from a distance.

Lance glanced at Elvin, who took out a large handful of coins from the car and threw them at the children.

The children all bent down and happily picked up the coins on the ground. At the same time, he also noticed that there was a child who did not bend down. He stood among the group of children who were bending down and even kneeling to pick up coins, looking particularly conspicuous.

He looked at Lance, and Lance also looked at him. After the two had looked at each other for a few seconds, Lance turned his head.

Lance tilted his head and whispered a few words to Hiram. Hiram nodded, also glanced at the teenager, and then Lance turned around with a smile and walked into the newly renovated St. Naye Cathedral.

Of course, not into the building, but into the outer perimeter of the cathedral. There was a circle of iron fences here, which completely separated the inside of the church from the outside.

Lance had contributed a lot of money for the renovation and expansion of the church. Whoever pays the money calls the shots has always been a fine tradition of mankind. It was about three or four times larger than before, with more open space and a more magnificent building, looking full of divine glory!

There were already many people on the lawn. Today was Lance’s engagement ceremony. In Golden Port City, those who had no conflict with him and could come would basically be here.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw the priest chatting with Roger. The situation of the Imperial Chamber of Commerce was getting better and better now. The batch of grain they had hoarded still had a lot of room for appreciation.

Especially with so many refugees pouring in, and the federal government not having any specific and effective management methods, the demand for food had increased.

As a free market behavior, the price of grain would naturally rise.

As long as this grain was still in the warehouse, the price would continue to increase.

Roger, who was originally just an ordinary small merchant, was now a figure with a certain status in the Empire District.

The moment the two saw Lance come in, they stopped their conversation and both walked towards Lance.

The priest did not hesitate to bow, not caring at all that the God statue hanging on his chest was swaying.

In the past, he might have been a devout believer, but after meeting Lance, he had become a believer of the first president!

“The new church is very beautiful. There will be a perfect ceremony today,” Lance praised him a couple of times.

A slight smile appeared on the priest’s face. “It is my honor that you have chosen St. Naye Cathedral!”

Lance smiled and looked at Roger. Roger also said a few words of congratulations appropriate to the occasion, and then walked to the side with him.

The priest wanted to follow, but in the end, he didn’t. After all, he didn’t belong to their circle.

“Someone has recently contacted me, wanting that batch of grain and that batch of medicine.”

Lance took out a cigarette. Roger immediately took out a lighter, shielded the flame with one hand so that Lance could light his cigarette, and then nodded. “The price they offered is very suitable.”

But Lance did not agree. He had always known some inside information. “Tell them that the purpose of us hoarding these supplies is for our own use.”

“For our own use…” Roger looked surprised and dazed, as if he had encountered something incredible.

Lance said with a smile, “It’s an excuse to put them off. Now is not the time for those supplies to truly reflect their value. Don’t sell them cheaply.”

“This time we can rely on these things to make a huge profit!”

He patted Roger’s arm and walked towards the next person…

Many people were here to attend Lance’s engagement ceremony, and they were proud to be able to attend.

As the time got closer and closer, William’s car finally arrived. The moment he came out of the car, holding Patricia’s hand, everyone exclaimed at Patricia’s beauty!

Lance, led by the priest, came to the site of the engagement ceremony. The guests also sat down in their seats one after another.

After William brought Patricia here, she came to Lance’s side.

“Thank you all for being here today to witness my engagement to Patricia. After the ceremony is over, please don’t leave. Lunch has already been prepared in the back.”

He paused for a moment. “Patricia and I met in the summer of three years ago, at the tail end of summer. That day I went to the Bureau of Commercial Services to register a company, and the person who received me happened to be my beloved girl.”

“The first time I saw her, I understood where the harbor where I could moor for the rest of my life was.”

“Patricia is a…”

Lance talked about his understanding of Patricia, and the process of getting to know her, falling in love with her, and reaching this step.

Patricia would also remind him of something from time to time. The whole process was very gentle, and the atmosphere was also very relaxed.

Many people came to attend the engagement ceremony. Before, everyone was scattered, so it might not have been very clear who had come.

But as everyone sat down, people’s eyes began to be drawn to the people in the front few rows.

The more they looked, the more shocking it was!

Sitting in the first row on the left were James and Arthur.

One was the eldest son who would inevitably inherit all the power of the Williams family, and the other was Councilman Williams’s favorite younger son.

The fact that the two of them appeared at the same time meant that their importance to Lance was definitely not just ordinary importance.

Next to them were some other municipal councilmen or their representatives, and then some capitalists from enterprises.

From the perspective of some people who were not so familiar with the whole matter, the fact that so many high-ranking and powerful people came to Lance’s wedding was indeed an incredible thing.

No matter how well he did, he was just a gang leader. On what basis could he get so many people to attend his engagement ceremony?

As for the right side, it was relatively more ordinary. They were all people with status and identity in the Lance Family.

They were all wearing very decent suits today. Even Hiram was not constantly flicking his hair, let alone picking his nose in public.

In this environment, mainly under the influence of these people, everyone became extremely serious about this engagement ceremony.

As Lance and Patricia’s “testimonials” came to an end, the priest, after some question-and-answer sessions with standard answers, confirmed that their engagement was acknowledged and blessed by God!

Amidst the blessings of their relatives and friends, they exchanged rings, engagement rings, not wedding rings, and revealed the wedding date, which was around the end of this year.

Originally, the priest had also arranged for a choir to come and sing, but it was all rejected by Lance. There was no need for that!

When he and Patricia exchanged rings and kissed, people stood up and started to applaud.

This was a very important matter, whether it was for the people of the Lance Family or for the local interest group headed by Councilman Williams.

The fact that Lance was engaged to a girl from the Lawrence family and had confirmed the wedding date meant that he had completely taken root in Golden Port City.

In the past, they might have still felt that Lance was not a local in the true sense, and would have considered whether he would leave here, or whether he had a sense of belonging here, whether they could find a sense of identity among them.

Now, these questions no longer needed to be considered, because Lance was a pure local.

When he and Patricia had a child, they would be even more at ease, and would be bound into a more solid interest group.

For the people of the Lance Family, Lance’s engagement ceremony represented that he was accepted by the local interest group in this city, and their control over the city would also become smoother.

So most people were seriously applauding, happy for the union of the two from the bottom of their hearts!

After the engagement ceremony, there was a lunch on the lawn behind the church, in the form of a buffet, but with hot dishes.

The chefs Lance had hired from Anderson’s restaurant all brought out their best dishes, filling the church with laughter and joy.

If God’s gaze could really see here, and watch the people on the lawn here, he would surely be very pleased!

At least at this moment, these people, under his glory, were happy and blissful.

A young man calmly watched the “upper class” on the lawn eating delicious food with smiles on their faces. They were wearing high-end clothes and expensive jewelry. Each of them exuded a noble temperament like the people in storybooks.

And he, a refugee, a refugee like a beggar, he and this place, these people, were simply not from the same world.

He didn’t understand why that most dazzling gentleman wanted to see him, but his instinct told him that this was an opportunity to change his destiny.

After socializing in the crowd for a considerable period of time, when the banquet was over and people began to disperse, Lance finally came over.

He was full and had had enough to drink. He sat down in a chair and lit a cigarette. “Where are you from?”

“Risa.”

A place name that Lance had never heard of. Perhaps seeing Lance’s confusion about this name, he explained, “It’s in the Sladlavra province.”

Lance nodded slightly. He actually only knew Slad, but didn’t know where that something-lavra was, let alone where Risa was.

“I heard you guys have already reached the border of Dantra?”

“Why did you flee here?”

The young man was silent for two seconds. “I don’t know how to say it. The Dantra people counterattacked very quickly. They said the war has already returned to our country.”

“And…” as if he had thought of something terrifying, a trace of fear remained on his face. “They said the Dantra people launched a bloody retaliation in the occupied areas. Many civilians were killed.”

“We were afraid they would reach our city, so many people fled.”

In fact, they were massacring the civilians of Slad. Only in this way could those people not have the courage to organize and resist.

Similarly, in fact, the Slad people had also killed many Dantra civilians. War is war. When the gunshots of war are fired, there is no justice or evil. It is all just for the advancement of political or military goals.

It’s just that the guy in front of Lance now, because the relationship between the federal government and Slad’s side was better, so when he appeared here and talked about some terrible things in his hometown, it would make people sympathize.

And the refugees from Dantra’s side had gone to a more eastern place. Perhaps there, someone would also ask about them, and they would also talk about everything the Slad people had done in their homeland!

No one likes war, but sometimes, some problems can only be solved by war.

Lance nodded slightly and looked him up and down. “There was a lot of money on the ground at the door just now. Why didn’t you go and pick it up? Was it because there was too little?”

The young man shook his head. “No.”

Although what was thrown out were all two- and five-cent coins, and a small amount of ten-cent coins, the purchasing power of these coins was not weak now!

If he could pick up three or five cents, at least he wouldn’t go hungry today!

But he didn’t pick it up, just stood there, which made Lance a little curious.

“Will they give you the money?” he asked. This was a guess of his. Maybe those younger children were all his “subordinates.”

The coins they picked up would all be given to him.

The young man shook his head again. “No, I was just watching to make sure they wouldn’t be bullied.”

“You know, sir, sometimes people will attack us for no reason.”

Indeed, the sentiment of people hating refugees was constantly rising.

His repeated denials made Lance very curious, and he didn’t plan to continue guessing. “Then what was it that stopped you from picking up the money on the ground?”

The young man appeared a little nervous. “I… my father told me to always stand up straight.”

Lance was a little surprised to hear this, but then he smiled. “Where is he?”

The young man was silent for a moment. “He died on the front lines.”

The smile on Lance’s face gradually subsided. He had thought that the man who had told him to stand up straight had “run away” with them.

But he had not expected that that person had died on the front lines.

“Do you have younger brothers and sisters?”

The young man nodded. Lance roughly understood.

He had a good impression of this young man. “Are you willing to work for me?”

The young man’s expression was first one of bewilderment, but then it turned to shock, and finally his mouth hung open in disbelief. He even spoke intermittently.

“Sir, are you serious?”

“Can I work for you?”

Lance nodded. “There’s something about you that I find interesting. How far you can go depends entirely on your future choices, but at this moment, I think I can give you a chance.”

“The food on the table over there hasn’t been cleared yet. You can ask them for a brown paper bag and then pack some food to take back to your family.”

“Tomorrow morning… come to this place. I’ll find something for you to do.”

Lance gave him a business card. “Do you know how to read?”

“Of course, sir, of course!” He excitedly wiped his hands on his back again and again before carefully taking Lance’s business card with both hands. A blush appeared on his face. “How much food can I take?”

Lance glanced at the empty dining table. “As much as you can carry!”

(End of a Chapter)