Empire of Shadows

After Joshua hung up the phone, he pursed his lips. He knew all too well what these people were thinking.

They were using him as a handy tool to get rid of the Lance Family, and then they would toss him into the trash heap!

The ruling class in every region thought and acted this way, because it was so effective.

Using gangs to govern the lower class of society, using gangs to govern gangs, was the basic policy promoted by the federal government. So even though the gangs were rampant enough to interfere with mayoral elections, the federal government still had not promulgated any laws to crack down on them.

Isn’t that incredible?

Everyone knew that these gangs disregarded the law, used crime as a means to obtain benefits, and ruled the neighborhoods with violence and fear.

They had even established a Federation of Gangster Organizations, and even the news would sometimes report on these things.

But why did the federal government, Congress, and the Presidential Palace act as if they didn’t see it?

For them, it might just be a matter of having their secretary write a proposal, and then everyone would raise their hands to vote on it. Why did they pretend not to see it and not deal with it?

It was precisely because the gangs, for the still relatively “primitive” federal society, for the ruling class, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.That’s why they were allowed to exist—to exist openly.

But there were also some gangs who realized this, perhaps because their leaders were smart enough, like Lance.

It was also possible that they had been hurt by the ruling class, had been used as a tool for a period of time, and then had been casually discarded.

Joshua was the latter. He had suffered such a loss.

A thousand years ago, there were many religious organizations in the Federation. In fact, it wasn’t just the Federation; the whole world had them.

Because “1000” was a perfect number.

The uneducated lower class of society would have a kind of fear of “perfection.” Some myths were based on a “thousand-year” cycle.

These people who had not received a higher education and did not understand time and history would be panicked.

They thought that when a thousand years were up, time would be reset, the world would be reset, and everything would become nothing!

People felt fear about returning and resetting. The church could no longer comfort their souls and emotions. Many strange news stories appeared in society.

For example, some people had killed their entire families and then committed suicide, on the grounds that they did not want their families to suffer during the process of the universe resetting.

Many such things happened. Ignorance was the biggest culprit.

But at the same time, this also made some people discover an opportunity. They used the uneasy emotions of these ignorant people to do things that were beneficial to themselves.

So various religious organizations began to appear.

Some sects just wanted to get some money. They would come up with some fallacies and tell their followers.

As long as you donate money, you can avoid disasters and go to heaven, and everyone can enjoy eternal happiness.

People believed this, because God also did this!

But there were also some religious organizations whose founder might have been a madman. He had created a set of theories and had gotten himself entangled in them, and then wanted to lead everyone to create a new world!

This had caused a large number of folk religious terrorist incidents to occur around the year 999, which had a particularly bad impact on the entire federal society.

Originally, the federal government didn’t really want to get involved in these matters, but the impact was too great, so they had to start cleaning up these potentially harmful religions.

The problems of some religions were relatively superficial. At a glance, you could tell they were not legitimate religions. The federal government could solve these on its own.

They would just find some fault with them, then have the police come to their door, and the problem would be over.

But there were also some religions whose problems were hidden deeper. They usually didn’t talk about these things, but they had similar signs.

The Federation is a country that emphasizes procedural justice and the law. Without evidence, it was very difficult for them to make a move on these hidden, malicious religions.

They also didn’t want these malicious religions, which were like bombs, to explode, so they found Joshua’s father, who was also the second-generation leader of the Holy Bell Party.

They had asked Joshua’s father to, according to their instructions, get rid of one potential bomb after another, ensuring the stability of the common people in Likalai State.

At least there were no serious, large-scale incidents.

In this process, not only did Joshua’s father complete the mission very well, but he also used these things to quickly bring the Holy Bell Party into a period of rapid development—

The federal government provided a large amount of resources for them to find “enemies,” turned a blind eye to the killings they produced, and even helped them solve some of the remaining troubles.

The Holy Bell Party immediately gained a large number of supporters among certain groups, and they also obtained a large amount of wealth through the killing of folk religious groups.

At that time, the Holy Bell Party could be said to be the strongest private semi-religious organization in Likalai State.

If things had ended at this point, then this might have been another typical case of close cooperation between a gang and the federal government.

But the problem was that the Holy Bell Party had expanded too quickly. The Likalai state government was not willing to eliminate those scattered small folk religious organizations only to create a bigger and more dangerous one.

So they used some of the evidence they already had to send Joshua’s father to prison on charges of first-degree murder.

His father did not last long in prison. He was stabbed to death in his cell after a conflict with other inmates.

Other key members of the Holy Bell Party also suffered varying degrees of blows. Some committed suicide at home, and some simply disappeared.

The once mighty Holy Bell Party was almost finished.

Joshua, with the help of the remaining key forces, barely propped up the dilapidated organization, shrank its scale, and went into hiding, which gave them a chance to catch their breath.

The Likalai state government saw that the most threatening people were finished. In addition, this tool was indeed useful, so they did not continue to encircle and block Joshua and his group, allowing them to develop to the present.

In fact, it wasn’t a long time. From the time Joshua’s father was arrested to the present, it was only about twenty years.

It was precisely because this blow from the Likalai state government had hit the main artery, and because of some remaining psychological shadows, that Joshua’s request was very direct.

He knew very well that he couldn’t refuse to cooperate with the gentlemen just because he had been tricked once.

Those farmers could indeed provide him with a great deal of assistance, but if he wanted to go out, to have a bigger stage, to go further and higher, the gentlemen were also indispensable.

He would not be like his father and completely trust those gentlemen. You want him to work?

No problem!

But you can’t just let him get dirty alone. If everyone jumps into the sewage together, then there’s no problem!

After hanging up the phone, he looked at the other people in the room.

To say it was a room, it was actually a space similar to a small chapel.

The old nest of the Holy Bell Party was in the suburbs of the western region of Likalai State, in a valley.

This church was already here before, not built by them.

During the slave emancipation movement, there was a priest here, a good old man.

He had sheltered many runaway slaves.

According to the laws of the Federation, for any reason, the law enforcers of the Federation are not allowed to use violence and force in a church.

So many runaway slaves and even criminals would go to find a church to shelter themselves.

It was just that they didn’t know that the Holy Bell Party was not a law enforcement agency. They did not abide by this law.

The Holy Bell Party had bloodbathed this church. It was said that they had killed hundreds of slaves on the open ground outside the church, under the reflection of the cross, and had been cruelly executed by the Holy Bell Party.

Even the priest was executed along with them, on the grounds that he had forsaken the glory of God.

From then on, this place became the nest of the Holy Bell Party.

It was located in a valley, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it was also relatively hidden.

Joshua was behind a large stained-glass window, and at the same time, there was a crucifix of the Passion.

When the sunlight shone down through the stained-glass window, the magnificent colored light spots would fall around him.

The dust in the church would turn the colored light into beams of light, making it look exceptionally sacred.

At the same time, the Passion statue blocked a part of the light, so that his seat was in the very center of the “cross.”

The light coming down from above gave him a hint of a sacred aura.

Although priests are not necessarily all good people, and they are not necessarily excellent in their own profession, in terms of construction, they are still very skilled.

Sitting in a large chair, Joshua’s gentle and gentlemanly temperament made everything look as if it had its own warm light effect.

“That what’s-his-name Hoff from Golden Port City, and some other big shots, hope we can help them deal with the Lance Family.”

“As it happens, we have also been discussing this matter recently.”

The people in the church all nodded. The reasons why these people came here were strange and varied, but now, their purpose was the same.

Money.

Power.

“Two hundred million!” he sighed. “Lance White is indeed a talent. He can use this method to firmly grasp the private liquor business of the city in his own hands.”

“Even God would be tempted by such a huge number!”

“We have been considering how to get our people in without alerting Lance, and to find a suitable opportunity.”

“Now we don’t have to be so troublesome. Once Hoff agrees to my conditions, we will soon be able to control all of this.”

His gaze moved through his glasses over the “clergy” on both sides, and finally stopped on the second to last person on the right. “Richie, this task is yours. I hope you can bring back good news for me and for God.”

Richie was also forty-seven or forty-eight years old, about the same age as Joshua. He looked as simple and honest as a farmer on a farm.

But what he did had nothing to do with a farmer.

Joshua chose him because David was his man. David had helped them discover this “business opportunity.” So as a reward, Joshua was also willing to give Richie and David a chance to bathe in the gospel and glory of the Lord!

A look of excitement appeared on Richie’s face. “I will bring his head and offer it to you!”

Joshua nodded. “Go and prepare. You will be leaving soon.”

Richie had more than a dozen wives.

The doctrine of the Holy Bell Party stipulated that men could have more wives, so most of the men of the Holy Bell Party had at least two or more wives.

Because of religious freedom and respect, their behavior was not considered illegal.

There are also religions in the Federation that specialize in providing polygamy or polyandry for the rich. As long as you believe in them and then register, you can avoid the law and marry multiple wives, or marry multiple husbands at the same time.

The rich always have a way to achieve what ordinary people can only dream of. Otherwise, what’s the point of having so much money?

In fact, Joshua’s guess was not wrong. After Mr. Hoff hung up the phone and had a simple communication with Mr. Charles, he had already made a decision.

Compared to the possibility of him having a closer relationship with the Holy Bell Party, which would cause his position in the Socialist Party to be unstable, the threat that the Lance Family and Lance now posed to them was even greater!

Having lost his identity as a regional opinion leader, he was still a rich man and could still live in the Bay Area and enjoy everything that only 2% of the people could enjoy.

But if he did nothing, then he might lose not only his identity as an opinion leader, but also his wealth and everything he had.

When both choices are to stab yourself with a knife, the choice on the left is to stab yourself with a dagger, and the choice on the right is to stab yourself with a long sword. Then how to choose seems not so difficult.

Soon, Mr. Hoff contacted Joshua again and agreed on some of the next steps. That night, Mr. Hoff’s convoy crossed half the city and left Golden Port City.

If anyone had noticed, they would have realized that Mr. Hoff had left.

Lance had actually also heard this news, but he was not concerned about whether Mr. Hoff was leaving or not. He was sorting out the “ledger” he had found in the Red High Heels club. It recorded various call messages of the powerful and wealthy in the Bay Area, as well as a part of the criminal evidence.

In fact, at their level, they would not fall from the pyramid just because they had had a call girl.

But their days would definitely not be so good. Otherwise, the Bay Area would not have repeatedly rushed to silence the relevant insiders.

This information would make them lose their reputation on the surface, for example, by resigning in disgrace, or resigning from their positions.

These countermeasures were essentially to fool the low-level people. Just like Mr. Charles, if a large number of scandals were exposed, he would resign in disgrace and resign from his position as the president of the group company, but he would just retreat from the front stage to behind the scenes.

No one would ask him to take out his shares in the company and give them to others just because of a scandal.

Even if they really asked to buy back the shares in his hands, he would get a large compensation.

So these things were just for ordinary people to see, to let ordinary people, the lower class of society, have a perception that even if the gentlemen make mistakes, they will be severely punished. This society is fair and just.

However, this was also what Lance needed. As long as they lost some of their public identities, it would be much easier to deal with them.

For example, dealing with Mr. Hoff. He was now a regional opinion leader, a legitimate politician, a member of the Socialist Party.

The price of killing him was too high. This would arouse the vigilance and hostility of the entire Likalai State Socialist Party Committee.

Just as the federal government and Congress prohibit the investigation of incumbent leaders, they also need a sense of security!

Mayor Williams’s and Lance’s not making it too ugly was essentially also hoping that Lance would not be too impulsive.

But what if he lost his identity as an opinion leader?

He would no longer be a glamorous politician. Public opinion would turn him into a pile of dog shit. Even some of the people who would have originally protected him would rather he died.

At that time, if he was finished, the turmoil and subsequent shock would be much smaller.

So much so that the Socialist Party, in order not to let public opinion continue to ferment, would take the initiative to suppress this case.

Lance had a large amount of such materials in his hands. Since the two sides were already at war over “interests” and “ruling power,” then he no longer needed to hide anything.

After he had sorted out these materials, he put them in different categories, and then made a phone call to President Vaughn.

“The matter I asked you to do last time, how is it going?” Lance still privately gave the longshoremen’s union a sum of money every month, and at the same time, he would also give some bribes to President Vaughn and some of the core management.

This money, for the current Lance, was just a very small part, but it could maintain a whole longshoremen’s union for him.

When he communicated with President Vaughn, he was more like a friend with a slightly higher status, but not that much higher. He did not use honorifics, but just communicated in a very ordinary way.

President Vaughn gave a positive response. “I have a list. Do you need it now?”

Lance considered for a moment. “You come over. To my office. It just so happens that we have some other things to talk about.”

More than ten minutes later, President Vaughn drove here. In his office, he handed over the list.

Lance just glanced at it roughly. Hundreds of shareholders. It gave him a headache.

But this was also very normal. It was said that the several major banks in the Federation had tens of thousands of shareholders!

Lance returned the list. “Too many. My head is spinning. You just tell me!”

“Are there any who have a good relationship with you and can be won over?”

“Soon we are going to make a move on a part of these people. We need some help, some strength, and at the same time, we need to distinguish between friend and foe.”

President Vaughn frowned. He took out a pen and wrote and drew on the list for a while. “These have a good relationship with me. I can talk to them. The others…”

He shook his head. Although they also relied heavily on the longshoremen’s union, the main person who interfaced with the longshoremen’s union was the manager of the dock management company, not these shareholders.

Lance glanced at the names that had been circled. Their combined shares were less than 10%, but it was better than nothing.

“Contact them. Invite them to be guests. It’s best if it’s tonight. Just say that there is a very important matter to discuss with them.”

“If they are not there, ask them to find a representative to come.”

“Use your name first, not mine, so as not to scare them…”

(End of a Chapter)