Empire of Shadows

The smoke from the muzzle rose in curls. Several police officers holstered their weapons. They glanced at the two dead truck drivers on the ground, then walked to the back of the truck’s cargo hold and cut open the lead seal with pliers.

Some vehicles in the vicinity had noticed the situation here, but just as they were about to stop and watch the excitement, they were asked by the patrol officers to drive away as soon as possible.

Someone, not believing in evil, moved a distance and then stopped. As a result, a patrol officer got directly into a police car and intercepted the disobedient vehicle and the curious driver inside.

In the situation where two “innocent passersby” had just been shot dead, the driver of that car did not resist and was pressed to the ground.

At this point, no one dared to be a spectator anymore.

As the lead seal was cut open, the door of the truck’s cargo hold was pulled open, and a strong smell of alcohol rushed out.

Two truckloads of whiskey. The faces of the patrol officers all showed smiles.

One of them came to the side of the road and dialed the police station’s number. Soon, a large number of reinforcements arrived.

As for the two dead drivers?

They were not innocent.As drivers, they knew better than anyone else what was in their trucks!

But they were still willing to transport it. For the sake of the freight that was several times higher than for transporting other things, they were willing to take huge risks to transport these things to their destination.

They had done it many times before. They thought that this time would be the same as before, without any risk.

But they had not realized that the rules of the underworld in this city had changed.

Killing innocent truck drivers would definitely be punished, but killing smugglers of smuggled liquor, they would only be commended.

Of course, a necessary vacation was also necessary, but the vacation would not be too bad, because their jobs would not be lost, they would be commended, and they would have more bonuses.

At the same time, they also received a special “card.” With this card, they could get a thousand dollars worth of chips from the Golden Port Casino.

These chips could be used by them for games at the gambling table, or they could be turned in at the casino and then exchanged for a check, and the money transferred to their own accounts.

The train station, an inconspicuous small road, the seaside. The entire city was like a huge trap, leaving all the members of the smuggling groups who had fallen into it, and their goods, here.

People were surprised to find that the police, the Bureau of Hazardous Materials, and other law enforcement agencies were operating with unprecedented efficiency.

They thought that all of this was a better beginning. In fact… all of this was just derived from the will of a certain person!

“…The largest producer and smuggler of alcoholic beverages in the Aldera Republic is currently a middle-aged man named Eduardo.”

Lance and Director Dale were sitting in a conference room. A Summurian was explaining the situation of the gangs on the side of the Aldera Republic for them.

The Aldera Republic is located in the northern coastal area of Yalan. The climate is hot, and there is a vast land that can be used to produce crops.

It is also rich in fruits. Almost the entire Yalan produces fruits. All kinds of crops have a large amount of starch and sugar, which are essential raw materials for brewing liquor.

Eduardo is the leader of the currently largest gangster organization in the Aldera Republic. They control a large amount of commercial crop farmland and farms, and produce a large amount of low- and mid-grade liquor, which is smuggled to the Federation for sale.

In addition, their geographical location is closer to the southern coastline of the Federation. They not only smuggle alcoholic beverages to Golden Port City, but also smuggle to other cities and states.

However, Golden Port City is still their main target. The unit price of liquor here is higher, and the profit is more abundant.

A large number of photos appeared on the slide, including some photos of the production in Eduardo’s factory. A large amount of liquor was packed in boxes and placed together.

The Summurian continued to introduce some of the content on these pictures.

“According to some people’s views, in the past year, Eduardo smuggled about 20 million worth of alcoholic beverages to the Federation, and this number has become even larger this year.”

“He has opened more factories and is also purchasing various materials for brewing liquor from ordinary farmers.”

“He has not publicly announced their sales this year. Some people think it may have exceeded 25 million and is close to 30 million.”

Director Dale’s expression became a little excited. He repeated that number, “Thirty million!”

His eyes were full of pleasant surprise!

Lance had previously said that he would give him a big case, so that he could smoothly enter the State Prohibition Committee, and not be a marginal character at that.

He had been thinking, what kind of big case could allow him to be promoted so smoothly.

In his view, if he could do what Lance had promised, this was a promotion.

Both his status and power had increased, not that his status had increased and his power had decreased.

He had been confused during this period. If he was just catching cases worth a few hundred thousand, to be honest, he didn’t think it would alarm Congress.

Because cases of this scale were becoming more and more numerous. With the continuous increase in the price of liquor, some medium- and high-quality whiskeys had already risen to six or seven hundred, or even higher.

This meant that a thousand bottles of this specification of liquor would be worth six or seven hundred thousand.

Of course, many bar consumers actually couldn’t afford these liquors, but even a hundred-dollar bottle of cheap whiskey, a thousand bottles, was worth a hundred thousand.

It was very simple for a fishing boat to transport several thousand bottles. If you just caught them casually in various places, they would all be big cases worth hundreds of thousands.

Unlike when it had just started, when the price of liquor had not yet risen unreasonably, catching a case worth a few hundred thousand could get you the title of “number one in the country in terms of case value.”

He was actually not very optimistic about the “big case” that Lance had mentioned, but they were already on the same line. He could only choose to believe.

But now, he realized that the big case that Lance was talking about was really a big case!

“A smuggling group with an annual smuggling of 30 million, should be able to ensure that you can become an executive committee member, right?” Lance asked very casually, as if he were asking “have you eaten?”

Calm and unhurried, with not so many emotional expressions.

Director Dale lit a cigarette with some excitement. His hand lighting the cigarette was even trembling a little. “Enough, enough. Thirty million… is enough for Congress to make a big deal out of it.”

“But, how do we do this?” he took a deep drag on his cigarette. The nicotine made his emotions become stable. He thought of some joints that he hadn’t figured out.

Lance’s crossed foot swayed a couple of times. “Send people over, arrest this Eduardo, and then knock out the money he has earned over the years.”

“One share for me, one for you, one for the State Prohibition Committee, and one for the Federal Prohibition Committee.”

“Think about it, twenty million last year, thirty million this year. After deducting those costs and his extravagance, plus the money he got before, we can at least squeeze out twenty million from him.”

“Even if it’s just divided into four equal shares, there’s still ten million to be sent to the top.”

“They’ve been given the big news they wanted, and they’ve also been given an unparalleled benefit. Who can refuse to also give you a decent promotion?”

Lance said so, but Director Dale knew very well that he could get a share of two million from it, which was already a very rare thing.

Lance would definitely get a considerable share, the State Prohibition Committee would get about 20%, and then Congress would get about 40%.

His eyes gradually became firm. “What do you need me to do?”

Lance shook his head. “You just need to write a good speech.”

Director Dale was very excited, and also very agitated. If he could become an executive committee member in the State Prohibition Committee, it would mean that he had come into contact with Congress again.

The superior organization of the State Prohibition Committee was the Congressional Prohibition Committee. But this time, he would no longer struggle to climb into that circle that had never had a place for him.

He would continue to follow Lance.

Sometimes people see a problem clearly, they just need someone to poke it.

For several days in a row, the Golden Port City Police Department, the Bureau of Hazardous Materials, and the Coast Guard had been in the limelight. A large amount of smuggled liquor had been seized and publicly destroyed.

The entire port was filled with a strong smell of liquor!

Many people looked at the liquor being destroyed with a pained expression on their faces. That was money!

Perhaps there was still some liquor flowing into Golden Port City, but Lance believed that it wouldn’t be long before this influx of liquor would become less and less, until it finally disappeared.

He did not pursue the responsibility of the gangs that had bought this liquor. Just as those people had guessed, before October, he would not pursue the responsibility of the gangs that had bought this smuggled liquor locally.

But when his rules were thoroughly implemented, whoever dared to take liquor from the outside was challenging his rules.

In the blink of an eye, the second meeting was held. This time, most of the smuggling groups cooperatively agreed to Lance’s request: two security deposits, and a 10% commission.

They also put forward their own ideas. They might make some upward adjustments to the price of the liquor.

The purpose of doing this was to shift the losses to the operators of these bars. Lance did not object to this, nor did he raise any objections, which made them breathe a sigh of relief.

In fact, they did not know that whether the price was raised or lowered did not depend on them, but on the market.

Why do capitalists do everything they can to monopolize the market?

Because after monopolizing the market, the act of monopoly can bring capitalists the “absolute pricing power.” When there are no other competitors in a market, a thing that costs one dollar to produce, the monopoly group says it wants to sell it for a hundred dollars, and the people who need it must take out a hundred dollars to buy it.

But if there is no monopoly, a thing that costs one dollar to produce may only be sold for one dollar and a dozen cents, or one dollar and twenty or thirty cents.

Because of competition.

For capitalists, as long as there is profit, and the shipment volume is large enough, then it can also bring them huge profits. They can completely lower the price of the goods.

Not to mention that industrial production brings about an exponential decrease in manufacturing costs.

Now no one can monopolize the liquor market. They can sell the price higher, but as long as Lance’s price does not move, they will eventually have to lower the price back.

Without market competitiveness, the goods cannot be sold, and no profit can be generated.

In the end, they will still return to the starting point, and even at a lower price to boost sales!

Earning ten dollars from selling one bottle of liquor, and earning fifteen dollars from selling two bottles of liquor. Although they are not capitalists, they also know how to choose!

This negotiation lasted for two days. In the end, it was determined that twenty-one firms could freely sell alcoholic beverages in Golden Port City.

Of course, this “freedom” did not mean that they could peddle alcoholic beverages on the streets, but in places that people could not see, they could sell these alcoholic beverages to the operators of the bars.

Lance had them set up offices here to ensure communication with the bars, to make everything more commercialized, and to ensure the stable operation of the entire system.

This was very new to them, but they all agreed. Perhaps this was another opportunity.

There was another matter that made Lance a little curious. After the people from the Holy Bell Party had inquired about his news, there had been no follow-up. This made him unsure of what the other party was doing, or planning to do.

He could only have someone keep an eye on these people.

They didn’t even come for the final signing, which also meant that their liquor couldn’t enter Golden Port City.

Lance felt that they must be planning a big move, a move so big that they thought it was enough to destroy the Lance Family and the new regulations.

At the end of September, the concrete floor of the military base had completely solidified. They had used the best materials. An eight-pound sledgehammer could only knock out a white mark on the ground.

Lance didn’t know much about these things, but he heard that there was some iron powder in the concrete, and some other things, which was what made it so hard.

On the solid ground, a large number of simple barracks had been set up. The “Federation Speed” had not yet become a joke. It represented the most advanced overall industrial level on this planet.

Various prefabricated parts were produced in the factory and then brought here. Then the workers, like playing with building blocks, could assemble them into one house after another, and even multi-story buildings.

Every day, the military base had a new look. Except for those arrangements that still had a relatively long construction period, the military base was already initially habitable.

So in early October, the first batch of navy arrived in Golden Port City.

On the dock on October 2nd, it was crowded with people. Many people had specially come over to watch the fleet that was docked in the nearby sea.

They didn’t know what those warships were, but they were very interested in those huge cannons. The powerful gun barrels brought people a strong sense of security!

A large number of naval sailors were also observing this place. The conditions where they were previously stationed were relatively harsh. The city next to it was not large, and there were no entertainment activities.

But Golden Port City was different. This was a new, rapidly rising international city, with a city center that never closed for rest, and countless things that could be enjoyed.

The soldiers were looking forward to their life here.

October was also the time when the mayor began to hand over his work.

Councilman Williams had defeated all his competitors in the election with a huge advantage and had become the next mayor of Golden Port City.

Although strictly speaking, Councilman Williams was not yet the mayor of Golden Port City, everyone knew that the master of this city had already changed.

So today, when the warship arrived in Golden Port City, there were some procedural matters, all of which were handled by Councilman Williams.

Lance was also at the scene.

Major General Bruney, as a civilian general accompanying the Department of Defense, also attended this meeting. The main content of the meeting was about some of the supporting things that Golden Port City would provide for the navy, and also included some special circumstances, the rights and obligations of both sides.

For example, if an enemy came to attack Golden Port City, the navy had an obligation to protect the safety of the city and its citizens.

After the war was over, the mayor also needed to organize the citizens and workers to repair the bombed military buildings and fortifications, and to help salvage sunken ships and the like.

For another example, the city needed to provide fresh food and supplies to the military base on time and in quantity. Of course, the military base would pay for it.

How these things were to be specifically arranged would not be discussed here, because there were too many contents in it, such as ensuring that the military base had priority in power supply, which could not be discussed in a short while.

They just discussed a rough list, when to do what. As for how to do it, and to what extent, they would continue to talk about it later.

The one stationed here this time was Admiral Vincent Miles. He was fully responsible for the daily work arrangements of the military base.

If a war broke out, he would also serve as the commander-in-chief, the supreme commander, arranging and commanding the battle plan.

Admiral Miles looked to be in his fifties. His ancestors were in that oil painting. The entire family had always been a core faction member of the army.

In fact, the factionalism in the army was much more serious than on the federal government side. His brothers and sisters, son, nephew, daughter, niece, and the like, were also in the army, and their positions were not low.

The federal government had always been wary of the military becoming too big and strong. It was not without reason.

The meeting lasted for about two hours. In the end, the mayor and Admiral Miles shook hands, exchanged documents and opinions, which was considered the completion of the entire process.

Although Councilman Williams also really wanted to stay and chat with this admiral, he had a lot of work to do, and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. He left soon.

Lance stayed behind.

Although the Miles family did not need the help of Congress to continue to hold their power, they did not mind having a good relationship with Congress.

After all, the navy’s budget was in the hands of Congress. Even if the entire navy was his men, without money, it would be very troublesome.

Several people were in the captain’s cabin of the command ship. Now, everyone here was one of their own.

Admiral Miles had a strong military temperament. At least when he sat, he was not so slouchy, and his eyes gave people a very powerful feeling.

“Before I came here, I had heard your name from the mouths of several people. This made me very curious, what kind of person are you?”

“I have, through some of my own ways, learned a little about you, but the content I learned makes me feel that you and the Lance in their mouths are not the same person.”

“Because what I learned is that you are just a gang leader, but they say that you are the… here,” he pursed his lips, as if thinking about what vocabulary to use to describe the thoughts in his heart.

After about ten seconds, he finally said that word cautiously, “Emperor!”

(End of a Chapter)