Empire of Shadows

The professor had heard from those who had been on the battlefield before that when a shell was flying overhead, you could hear a whistling sound like a whistle.

Some scientists claimed that this was because the shell was rapidly tearing through the air during its flight, causing the air to vibrate and to emit a sharp whistling sound.

Before, the professor, and many others, had no direct concept of this. They had never really been on the battlefield, and it was very difficult to verify whether this statement was true or false.

But at this moment, they believed that this must be true!

This was the tourist dock. Almost everyone who came to Golden Port City, or who needed to leave Golden Port City by boat, had stopped here.

He was looking at a group of people in the distance who were running towards this side. There might have been fifty or sixty, or maybe seventy or eighty, but anyway, a large group of people.

Some of them were carrying suitcases, some had even abandoned their suitcases, and there were also some who were pulling their family members, and were running with all their might.

But the next second, a shell had landed among them. In that instant, a gust of cool wind with a fishy sweet smell blew in his face, and some red spots also appeared on his face, while those people had all fallen down.

The professor wanted to pee a little. ”Quick, quick, get into the room!” he pointed at the coffee house next to him, pushing and shoving to have his students go in.

A whistling sound once again came from his ear. This time it seemed to be a little closer!He didn’t even dare to look back. He just heard a bang, and with a huge force pushing hard on his body, the professor, while falling to one side, had seen a palm-sized piece of shrapnel pass through a student’s waist and abdomen.

The edge of this palm-sized piece of shrapnel was very irregular, and it was impossible for it to be regular. It had directly cut off a large amount of flesh from the student’s waist and abdomen.

The student, after walking a few steps, had fallen directly to the ground. He looked at the professor in disbelief, and then at the internal organs that had flowed out. He couldn’t believe that his wonderful life, which had just begun, had come to an end here!

But war is just like this. There are not so many whys, only sadness and pain!

The other students had screamed and had rushed into the house, while the female student had screamed and had squatted on the spot, holding her head.

The professor’s head was a little on fire. He stood up again. ”Quick, into the house, quick!”

He forcefully kicked the female student, grabbed her arm, and pushed and shoved her, pushing her inside.

But just the next second, a piercing whistling sound once again sounded in his ear. This time, it was clearer than the last time.

He stood foolishly at the entrance of the building, still seven or eight steps away from the main gate. He looked back at the sky, a small black dot, falling straight towards him!

”Motherfucker, you son of a bitch...”

As a university professor, at this moment, he couldn’t help but curse in his heart.

The next second, an explosion sounded. The shrapnel that was flying everywhere had torn apart a few people who were trying to observe what was happening outside through the window, full of curiosity.

Seeing that the heads that were exposed outside their windows were directly cut off by a large half, the entire coffee shop was filled with screams, and also the smell of urine!

A few students were prostrated on the floor in the coffee shop. They looked at the world outside with some bewilderment, because the professor was already gone, completely gone.

Perhaps the last thing he had left in this world was a pair of glasses not far from them, the professor’s glasses.

Until this time, the professor’s last words to them were still echoing in the students’ minds—

The probability of a bombardment of Golden Port is less than 5%!

Is this fucking what is called 5%?

A car on the side of the road had been directly hit by a shell and had exploded at the same time. A whole car had, in an instant, turned into the scythe of the god of death, and had reaped all the people on both sides of the street.

There were also some fragments that were directly embedded in the walls. Within twenty or thirty meters of the car, there were no longer any living things standing.

Such a scene was happening in any part of the city. Although they had not explicitly stated that they were going to attack civilians, to retaliate for the federal bombardment of their port, and the killing of their civilians, it seemed that this was precisely what they were doing at this very moment.

The shells that were constantly falling in the city made people completely unsure of where was safe, and where was not.

The city was crying, and the people were wailing!

A gentleman in very low-key, and also very exquisite, attire was walking quickly towards the room at the end of the corridor.

He seemed to be walking very fast, but he was not running, but just maintaining a fast walk forward.

On the quiet, long corridor, there was only the sound of his heels tapping on the ground.

No iron cleats. The poor needed to have iron cleats embedded in the soles of their shoes to protect their heels and the like, the places that were easy to wear out.

But for the rich, if their shoes were broken, then they would just get a new pair.

They would not put iron cleats on the soles of their shoes. That would make a clattering sound when they walked, which was not at all polite, and would seem to have no refinement.

For a dozen or so seconds, or maybe a little longer, he had walked to the end of the corridor, and then he had pushed open the door of the room.

Inside the door was a small, lounge-like place, with many sofas and chairs. They were all surrounding a core.

There were a dozen or so gentlemen here. They were either sitting or standing. It could be seen that they should have been chatting before the door had opened.

Some people’s hands were paused in mid-air, and some were holding a wine glass. It was as if they had been put on pause the moment the door had opened, and then everyone had looked at the person who had walked in from outside.

Mr. Cleveland had been chatting with them, but at this time he had also closed his mouth.

The man who had come in from outside lowered his head slightly. ”Golden Port has been bombarded.”

The expressions on the faces of the gentlemen in the room had all changed slightly, but not to become bad, but to become subtle.

After the person who had brought the news had left, and the door was closed again, the gentlemen inside finally showed a reserved smile!

Although they had guessed it would be these few days, as long as the fire did not start, they would always be worried.

This was like a kind of waiting, waiting for the other party to make a move, and then to be able to smoothly engage in a legitimate self-defense, and to always have an excessive self-defense!

If the Dantra people didn’t make a move, there would be no way to make the Federation go all out. Fortunately, they had not failed the expectations of the gentlemen in this room and had completed an important attack plan!

The Senate Majority Leader lit a cigarette. He took a deep drag. His body, which was leaning back on the sofa, had completely stretched out because of this action of smoking.

After he had exhaled this puff of smoke, he couldn’t help but laugh twice. ”Where were we discussing just now?”

Senator Cleveland answered from the side, ”About the interest rate hike.”

The Senate Majority Leader nodded. ”Yes, I remember. The interest rate hike.”

”We have already talked with the banking side. The interest rate will be further raised at any time, but there will be some problems in this.”

The Senate Majority Leader looked down at the ashtray on the coffee table and tapped the ash of the cigarette in his hand. ”We can indeed attract the international wealth and capital, but it may also reduce the circulation rate of the currency in the domestic market.”

He looked up at the others. ”The interest rate for saving in a bank is too high, which will certainly make the public more willing to save their money in the bank, instead of taking it out to use.”

”This has a reverse effect on the domestic market economy.”

”We need a plan that can stimulate consumption.”

Another senator, ”We can issue consumption vouchers.”

The gazes of the others were all focused on him. ”No matter how much the face value of the consumption vouchers, it can only offset a third.”

”That is to say, if we issue them thirty dollars’ worth of consumption vouchers, if they want to use them all up, they must buy a hundred dollars’ worth of things.”

”As for the generation of the consumption vouchers, a part comes from the subsidies of the capital side. On the other hand, we can continue to raise the basic tax rate, and take a part from it, and then to issue it to the public in the form of a tax rebate.”

An income of 600 a year, according to the current tiered tax rate implemented by the federal government, an ordinary person would need to pay about 200 in taxes.

But if they had bought a state bond, according to the quantity they had bought, their tax rate would be adjusted to a certain extent, and they would probably only be charged about 170 or 180.

”Once we have absorbed more funds and wealth from the international community, we will no longer need to rely on obtaining war funds from the ordinary public, and we can also stabilize the domestic inflation situation.”

”There is a lot of money in the international community that has no place to go now. To choose us is one of their few and most reliable choices.”

”We can set a dual standard for the inflow of international funds. Their funds can flow in, but they must buy national bonds in proportion.”

”We can make an adjustment to the interest rate in this aspect...”

Since they had already decided to play a big game, then they would naturally be more comprehensive in their considerations.

Once the international community finds that to save money in a bank in the Federation is not only safe, but can also get more interest, soon the capital will flow in.

A large inflow of capital will also produce a series of social changes. These rich people may consume here. They will buy real estate, buy goods, and may also open factories, and establish companies.

This way they will need to hire more employees, which will in turn add a large number of job opportunities to society, and provide a huge help for stabilizing society.

They were all concentrating on discussing these matters, as if they were really putting the interests of the public in their hearts, but it didn’t seem to be very real.

If they really cared about the public, they could have clearly stopped all the tragedies from happening, but not only had they not stopped them, but they had also let everything happen.

For them, Golden Port City, the people of Golden Port City who had been bombarded, the citizens who had died in the bombardment, their deaths were all meaningful, not in vain. This was the honor of the ordinary people!

Because the federal government would use their deaths to promote the advent of a great era, they had died a worthy death!

Although no one would go and ask if the corpses in the bombardment also thought so, and they also could not express their own views.

The bombardment did not last for a very long time. The entire battle only lasted for fifty-five minutes. At about two o’clock in the afternoon, the Dantra’s navy had completely withdrawn from the federal waters and had disappeared.

After the sound of the cannons had stopped, the people who were shivering and hiding in the city had also gradually come out of their houses. They looked around with some bewilderment.

It was as if this was still the block they were familiar with, but it was also a little not so familiar.

The occasionally collapsed houses, the neighbors who were struggling and calling for help in the ruins on the side of the road, the children who were standing on the side of the road with their bodies covered in blood, at a loss.

The entire city seemed to have fallen into a state of grief!

The president had, at the first opportunity, announced to the whole world that the federal government would mobilize again and escalate the war!

Mr. President had called this a ”dehumanizing” attack. The Dantra’s fleet had placed its main target on attacking and destroying the residential areas of the civilians, which had caused a large number of houses to collapse and civilians to die.

The behavior of the Dantra Republic had successfully provoked the peace-loving federal government and the federal people. The president had declared that from this moment on, the Federation would enter a state of red war, and would declare a full-scale war on Dantra!

At the same time, an official from the Department of Defense had pointed out that the Yalan region might have played a dishonorable role in this attack. They had not truthfully reported the whereabouts of the Dantra’s fleet to the federal government, which had led to the tragedy.

If the regime of the Yalan region had been able to discover the Dantra’s fleet in time, and had passed the news back, then such a tragedy would not have happened.

The Department of Defense and the military had decided that in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, they would station troops in the Yalan region, as the first line of defense against the invasion of the Dantra’s fleet!

As for whether the people of Yalan would agree?

Do they still dare to disagree?

At four o’clock in the afternoon, Congress had released news that after an emergency consultation, the federal benchmark interest rate would be raised by 2.5 percentage points, and the savings interest of the major banks would be raised to 6.3% to 7.8%.

All banks would also open the registration of international accounts, the opening of accounts, and all cash businesses.

Of course, there were still many details in this. The news would not be reported for the time being. Only those who were willing to send their funds to the Federation for saving would know.

For example, if they wanted to have a large-amount saving, they had to buy national bonds. Some even had to invest in the Federation before they were qualified to buy.

A maximum annual interest rate of 7.8%, in this turbulent era of war, was already an astonishing return!

Even if they needed to buy the Federation’s national bonds, even if the interest rate of the national bonds was not very high, this was definitely a place for them to safely get through the winter!

The moment the news was released, the world financial circle had a shock. Soon, a phenomenon of a large inflow of funds to the Federation had appeared.

At the same time, the recovering market in the Federation was also stimulating these investors. Maybe their money could not only get through the winter safely in the Federation, but there was also a possibility of a continuous and strong growth.

Then there was news that the Dantra Republic’s allied fleet had begun to approach the current main shipping route between the Federation and Slad.

Now the Slad military alliance was very nervous. Once the shipping route was threatened, the various supplies from the Federation might not arrive so on time, and at the same time, the price would also increase.

The Slad’s ambassador to the Federation had, at the first opportunity, requested an audience with the Secretary of State to discuss the matter of opening a new shipping route, and also the related matter of jointly protecting the shipping route.

It was not yet known how the talks had gone, and what the result would be.

However, there was a piece of gossip that the Secretary of State had, in the first meeting, stated that the federal government was currently powerless to ensure the safety of the shipping route.

The second fleet needed to guard the Federation’s sea area on the East Ocean to ensure the safety of New Golden City and Golden State, and the entire coast. They did not have more troops for support.

In fact, there were still some things behind this. The federal government was trying to gain more initiative and a higher status in the Slad military alliance. The progress of the negotiations was not smooth.

These countries were not willing for the Federation to boss them around. Even if the Federation was playing a key role on the battlefield now, they still only believed that they should be equal with the Federation, and not in a subordinate relationship, which had made some of the federal government’s plans fall through.

So this ”being attacked,” from a side view, was also to let these people understand that they needed the Federation, more than the Federation needed them!

Half a year was the deadline that the Secretary of State had given. They needed to take care of the shipping route themselves for half a year. After half a year, the two mixed fleets could be launched. Only then would they consider the issue of supporting the shipping route.

However, these matters were too far away from the ordinary people. They could only pay attention to the things that were happening around them at present, not the future.

Lance had only returned to Golden Port City with his men on the second day after the bombardment.

The Golden Port Docks and the New Port Docks had basically all stopped working, but the damage was not too serious.

The buildings of the two docks that were below the water surface were all fine. As long as you ensured that no internal structural problems had occurred, then to rebuild the part above the water, to clean up the ships that had sunk into the water, you could soon resume operation.

The bombardment suffered by the naval base was relatively serious. Most of the shells had been poured into the naval base.

After returning to Golden Port City, Lance had, at the first opportunity, begun to organize the members of the Lance Family for disaster relief. The Lance Family also had some losses. About twenty or so of the unlucky ones, the houses they had been hiding in had been directly named by the shells.

The houses had collapsed, killing many people.

Under a bombardment of this scale, they had truly achieved the realm that people had been talking about, wanting to do, but could not do—everyone is equal!

The originally prosperous city had also been covered with a layer of ”dust” after the bombardment.

It was all a scene of devastation. Fortunately, their bombardment had only lasted for a little over forty minutes. Otherwise, it was hard to say if Golden Port City would be completely scrapped.

The various neon lights that had been flashing in the city’s sky before had now all been replaced by the flashing lights of police lights, fire engine lights, and ambulance lights.

With the members of the Lance Family beginning to clean the streets, some of the lucky injured were saved, but there were also some who were forever left in the ruins.

The falling heavy objects had turned them into rag dolls, as if they had no bones. Their whole bodies were limp.

Even people who often saw the dead, would have some psychological discomfort when they saw these people’s appearance.

One after another, the corpses were casually piled on the side of the road. The people of the Federation, this time, had finally truly felt the pain brought by the war.

And... hatred!

The news photos of the bombardment of Golden Port City were, at the first opportunity, spread to all parts of the Federation. The people of the Federation, who had seen such a tragic scene for the first time, had become unprecedentedly angry!

They held up the slogan of ”blood for blood” and began to demonstrate. They demanded that the federal government increase its investment in the war, and they demanded that the Dantra people pay the price for everything they had done!