Empire of Shadows

“Fuck!”

“We have to think of something!”

The priest held a cigarette in his hand, looking at the captain in front of him with a haggard expression. “If we don’t let everyone’s emotions vent, the situation will definitely get worse!”

“Did you hear what that new bitch said?”

“She said, everyone needs at least three psychotherapy sessions. Can you believe it?”

“Three times!”

“If we don’t do something for them, they’ll all have to be sent back…”

“Are you fucking listening to me?”

The priest took another drag on his cigarette, then crushed the butt and threw it hard on the ground.

As it hit the ground, sparks flew everywhere. Only then did the captain turn to look at him. “Does God know you’re usually like this?”The priest was stunned for a moment, then answered, both angry and amused, “I said I didn’t fucking want to come to the front line. You guys tied me up and put me in the car. You think I want to be like this?”

He grabbed his hair in a frenzy. “Let alone them going crazy, I’m going crazy too!”

The emotions of despair and hopelessness were contagious. The terrible casualty ratio had put every soldier in a state of intense unease.

They didn’t know when they would, like their comrades, suddenly fall to the ground, without any warning, without any mental preparation, and be taken down by a single shot.

To die so suddenly, just as they had come so suddenly, without a trace of preparation.

The priest had been providing psychological counseling for the soldiers, but the effect was not very good. Every time a battle broke out, many young men would die.

Their deaths were simple, but they left a lot of trouble for the living.

The priest felt that he was going crazy too. If he didn’t think of something, something would definitely happen!

In fact, the commander-in-chief of the front-line troops had been paying close attention to this matter. On the defensive line, the lieutenant colonel had also been reminding everyone that if they found any soldiers with suicidal tendencies, they should immediately be arrested and sent to the rear.

Their nerves were also tense now. A psychological expert had made an assessment. Once someone was the first to stand up and choose to use suicide to escape fear, then soon more people would learn his method and end their unease and fear through death!

This would be contagious!

At that time, besides being sent to a military court, there would be no other way for them to go!

But this kind of thing was useless just by staring. The soldiers needed to vent their emotions. What was lacking now was this channel.

You tell them the great principles, and they all understand, but understanding does not mean that they will do it, that they can let it go.

The priest complained about how difficult his job was now, while the captain casually threw him a small metal flask.

Holding it in his hand, this metal water bottle-like thing was cool and quite beautiful. “What is this?”

“A water bottle?”

“Who is this small sip enough for?”

A smile appeared on the captain’s face. “Why don’t you open it?”

The priest glanced at him, then first twisted it a couple of times, and then a look of confusion appeared on his face. The twisting motion also slowed down, and finally began to speed up again.

The moment the lid was completely opened, he smelled a strong fragrance.

“Fuck!”

“Whiskey!”

“Fuck!”

He cursed twice in a row, and with a smile on his face, he put the mouth of the flask to his lips and tilted his head back. The liquor gurgled out and entered his mouth.

The wonderful experience brought by the alcohol was like the gospel of God. In an instant, it soothed the priest’s tense nerves.

He drank more than two ounces of wine in one go, and then sat down in a chair. “The taste is really good, it’s just a little less.”

He glanced at the small flask, a hint of teasing on his face. “You’re very brave, bringing wine to the front line. If those gentlemen knew that you were openly violating the Prohibition, you would be in trouble.”

The priest did not know more of the inside story. He still naively believed that the Prohibition was a law enacted for the prohibition of alcohol, and that everyone was strictly abiding by it.

The captain completely lifted the lid of the box, and the neat rows of flasks were displayed in front of the priest. He looked at so much wine, not knowing if it was because he had drunk too quickly and was starting to feel it, or because his cognition had been shattered and he was blushing.

In short, he said “Holy shit” with a flushed face!

“Where did so much wine come from?” Just as he was about to grab another bottle, his arm was slapped away by the captain.

“This is the latest military supply. Didn’t you say they needed a medium to vent their emotions?”

“What do you think of a glass of wine?”

The priest took a deep breath. “Great, the person who came up with this idea is a genius!”

“But what about the Prohibition?”

The captain gave him a document. “It says on it that we have to respect the local laws of Slad. There is no Prohibition law that prohibits drinking locally.”

These explanations made the priest think of the shamelessness of politicians. He whistled. “It seems that the federal government is really concerned about this war.”

He paused for a moment. “I’ll help you move it out.”

Soon, someone began to distribute the latest supplies.

The number of cigarettes had been increased to one hundred, which was a week’s worth.

As for the liquor, it was directly distributed twice, which was two flasks per person. Paul looked at the wine in his hand tiredly. He unscrewed the lid with a numb expression, and was then attracted by the fragrance emanating from inside.

He hadn’t drunk much before, but for some reason, his throat began to itch. He began to swallow his saliva. He was eager to have a drink.

There were many soldiers who showed the same characteristics as him. Some were drinking for the first time, and some for the nth time.

It was rare that at this very moment, the emotions of the soldiers in the trench were relieved at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The alcohol was working its magic in their bodies. The lifeless trench, because of the effect of the alcohol, also began to have some wonderful chemical reactions.

“You should have another cigarette!”

Someone told Paul that he should do this.

Paul lit a cigarette with some doubt. The other person made a gesture of taking a big drag, and then held it in his chest.

He tried to do it again, and then he felt a slight dizziness. He quickly exhaled the smoke from his lungs.

The nicotine and alcohol, in a very short period of time, had both begun to “attack” the brain through the blood. His emotions began to have ups and downs.

“Interesting, thank you for your suggestion!” he raised the small flask in his hand. “What is this thing called?”

Another person who hadn’t spoken for two days suddenly interjected, “Golden Lion, I know this brand. The bars have their wine, and the price is very expensive.”

“Golden Lion Wine!”

Paul remembered this name. “It has brought me some different experiences…”

People’s emotions began to become lively. These wines, four ounces, for some people who didn’t drink much, were already enough.

Some of them began to chatter non-stop, some began to cry, some curled up and hid in a corner as if they were autistic, and some, because they had drunk too much, began to argue, and to fight!

This was obviously a scene that shouldn’t appear in a trench. Now, not only did it appear, but the officers did not stop it. On the contrary, they breathed a sigh of relief.

The priest’s face was slightly red. “One flask is too little, two are too many. You should suggest that each flask can hold three ounces.”

“I’ve written it down,” the captain said with a nod.

A relaxed expression also appeared on the priest’s face. “Everything will be fine!”

In fact, that was indeed the case.

Under the dual effects of alcohol and nicotine, people had a good vent of their emotions. Those dark things were thrown out of their bodies like garbage, and everyone’s psychological state was much better.

After Paul woke up, he felt much more relaxed, but soon he became nervous again.

He vaguely remembered that he had cried his eyes out, and then he had no memory. Had he fallen asleep?

To fall asleep after drinking too much during the day was definitely a fatal thing!

His new partner looked at him getting so nervous and couldn’t help but laugh. “The officer has already been here. He told us that we can take a short break these few days. The enemy will not rush up so quickly.”

After repelling three waves of attacks, if the Dantra people still wanted to break through from the flank, they would need to mobilize more troops over.

After all, after they had broken through the defensive line, they had seen that behind the defensive line were more federal troops!

They would have to mobilize at least 50,000 troops to have a chance to break through this defensive line, and it had to be as soon as possible.

Because new reinforcements were already on the way.

So in a short period of time, no new battles would break out.

After Paul and his new partner became partners, they had hardly spoken. This seemed to be their first normal conversation.

He said a “thank you,” and then took out a cigarette.

On the battlefield, his addiction to cigarettes had grown.

In fact, the officer had told them not to always smoke, because the enemy’s snipers could observe the smoke they exhaled, but now there should be no problem.

“Those wines…” he didn’t know if he had missed anything, so he asked.

His partner nodded. “Once every three days, but only one flask.”

Although it was only one flask, it was better than nothing. For the first time, Paul felt that drinking was a very happy thing.

He was a little embarrassed, shy, and also a little guilty. He scratched his head and said, “I’m sorry, I won’t get drunk again next time.”

His partner bumped fists with him. “It’s okay, I’ll take care of you.”

Soon, the report on the drinking effect of this company was hot off the press. The front-line command, the Department of Defense, the military, Congress, and the Presidential Palace all knew about this matter, as well as the subsequent positive effects it produced.

Lance immediately set off for New Golden City again. This time, he represented “Golden Lion Winery” and participated in the bidding of the Department of Defense.

Of course, before that, they had to meet first, to discuss how to divide it specifically, and then how to bid.

Many people, especially those in the middle and lower classes, always feel that they are not competitive in market behavior.

They are not wrong at all. How can they be competitive?

The bidding here has not even begun, but in fact, the result has already come out. What is lacking now is just the distribution of the specific market share!

(End of a Chapter)