Empire of Shadows

"Mr. President, over ten groups have decided to march and demonstrate in King's Harbor City, protesting that too many immigrants have brought criminals and crime to the Federation."

"Zealand Congressman publicly stated this morning that he supports your opponent, believing that strengthening the management of immigrants and illegal immigrants can effectively improve the happiness of the people."

"Also... Mr. ... and Mr. ... both hope you can return their calls."

The President raised his hand, stopping the aide from continuing. Compared to other matters, the affairs of these two gentlemen were clearly more important.

They were both campaign donors to the President. Before winning the election, when participating in the campaign, the President promised them that he would bring more cheap labor to society.

In fact, it wasn't just these two gentlemen who received such promises, but also many more campaign supporters.

The Federation's economy is developing rapidly. With the development and progress of science and technology, the cost of raw materials and semi-finished materials has gradually decreased.

On the contrary, labor costs have begun to increase year by year. Four years ago, they only needed to pay others twenty-eight dollars to hire a willing worker.

Now, they need to pay at least thirty-five dollars to recruit a lazy worker who slacks off. If they want someone diligent, it's impossible without forty dollars.

By next year, the general wage may start from forty dollars, and some positions will be even higher!

For some large factories, with thousands or even tens of thousands of people, if they can reduce the labor cost by three dollars per month, they can save tens of thousands of dollars, which is hundreds of thousands a year.

The core reason why the President is promoting the legalization of illegal immigrants lies in this. He must fulfill his promises to these donors and provide a batch of cheap labor to society.

He has no way to make his own citizens give up high incomes and demand wages below the social wage level for heavy physical labor positions.

So, he can only focus on these undocumented people.

He pondered for a while, adjusted his thoughts, and first dialed a number.

After a brief greeting, he promised the chairman of the consortium on the other end of the phone that he would resolve these issues as soon as possible. He also mentioned that if he could resolve this issue, he hoped that in exchange, the other party would fully support his re-election.

Then he called the second gentleman, and then the third.

Afterward, he called in his staff team, and a group of people held an early morning meeting in his office.

"I have communicated with some gentlemen. The most important thing at present is to gain the support of these people."

"I don't want to say anything discouraging, but our current election situation is a bit difficult. If the supporters leave us again, the possibility of re-election will be very small."

"You must find a way to solve this trouble. We don't have much time left..."

The President's Office was still busy, and everyone seemed to have endless things to do. The staff members discussed, but it was difficult to achieve any good results.

"Mr. President, I think the most important thing at present is to suppress the King's Harbor City shootout. The death of eleven law enforcement officers has had a great impact on society."

"Our opponents have already begun to use this news to build momentum. We either stop them, or we be more radical than them."

"But..."

The aide didn't continue. Now it seems that the President has two choices, but in fact, there are no extra choices left.

The President considered for a while, "First find a way to solve this problem. Don't always let people stare at these contradictions. Report some positive news. People need positive content."

"As for this news, find a way to downplay its nature..."

Just as the President was thinking about how to downplay the series of problems caused by this shootout, his competitors were also trying to create more trouble for him.

The purpose of each of them is actually very simple and harmless, that is, to make the opponent lose in the election.

As for what will happen in this process and what new changes will lead to the development of society, they don't really care.

It doesn't matter if the house is set on fire. If they can become the owner of the house, they will build a new house according to their own ideas, at least a new decoration.

If they are not the owner of the house, then why would they care?

A few days after the incident, some relatively large-scale protest groups have appeared inside King's Harbor City. They are all protesting against the local government's laissez-faire attitude towards illegal immigrants, and also denouncing the federal government for ignoring the harm that smuggling and illegal immigration cause to the country.

Indirectly speaking, they are actually criticizing the President's policies and decisions.

The Federation is a free country, and the law allows people to say what they want to say. So even if these protest contents seem a bit excessive, what they and they say are legal.

Driven by the capitalists' funds and the campaign team's political influence, this case, which should have ended quickly, does not seem to have seen a momentum that can stop.

A parade team holding signs passed by the bakery. Everyone looked very angry. Their demands were to send all the thieves, prostitutes, and criminals who had smuggled here illegally back to their hometowns.

It's as if all the thieves, prostitutes, and criminals are illegal immigrants.

If the people of the Federation were really so kind and beautiful, then this country would have perished long ago.

Lance watched from behind the cabinet. The public opinion in King's Harbor City is becoming more and more complicated.

There were not many customers in the bakery in the morning, just three or five old men here.

They ordered a ten-cent toast, then a fifteen-cent coffee, and they could sit here for most of the day.

The fat boss seems to have become smarter recently. He rarely provokes Lance. He has always wanted to put some pressure on Lance to tame him.

But the result is often that he didn't do anything. Besides a stomach full of anger, he has become much smarter now. He wants to see if Lance, who owes him more and more money at the end of this month, can still laugh.

Now Lance owes him twelve dollars.

According to the monthly interest rate of ten percent, he will owe himself fifteen dollars at the end of this month, plus one dollar and five cents of interest for one month.

It doesn't seem like much, but as long as he continues not to give him a salary, he will only be able to work for himself for free in this life.

"I don't know when these parades will end. It's almost affecting our lives.", a customer picked up the newspaper and chatted with his friend next to him.

This is the most real appearance of the Federal Bakery at this time. It is not necessarily just a place to sell bread, but also has social attributes similar to tea restaurants or cafes.

Some people will sit here after buying bread, order a cup of coffee, and then chat and enjoy these things.

The slow-paced life of the elderly cannot be without this, and it is also the most relaxing time of the day for some of them.

Chatting, bragging, reading the newspaper, and expressing their opinions.

The guest sitting next to him also sighed, "Who knows?"

"Maybe it will be quiet before the election..."

As he was talking, suddenly a newsboy waving a newspaper and wearing broken shoes ran past the bakery door, shouting while running, "The Empire withdraws its diplomatic ambassador, and the international situation welcomes drastic changes..."

The people in the bakery were stunned for a while, followed by a long silence.

There is no doubt that the purpose of withdrawing the diplomatic ambassador stemmed from the ridiculous "idea" of the Emperor of the Empire.

At this time, many people at the bottom have realized that the so-called declaration of war may not be the "joke" of His Majesty the Emperor.

Although most people do not think that this war will break out from a rational point of view, the shadow of war is still pressing down, making people feel a little breathless.

The guests who were still in the mood to talk left the money on the table and then got up and left.

The fat boss also came back to his senses at this time. He looked at Lance with a complicated expression, "Do you think there will be a war?"

This may be the first time in this period that he has taken the initiative to talk to him not to make Lance do more work.

Lance wiped the display case, making it look spotless, and replied, "No... unless Mr. President he..."

Suddenly, he stopped talking.

Because he realized that if the President was at a disadvantage in the election, starting a war might be the most beneficial thing for him to do.

This is not a ridiculous move made by the Emperor of the Empire in desperation, but a political speculation without any cost!

If he fails, he will just be laughed at. Anyway, he has been driven out of the imperial capital by the rebels, and there is nothing more ridiculous than this.

Declaring war on the Federation at most can only be considered the second funniest.

But if he succeeds, everything he has lost can be picked up again.

And this is not messing around, because there is indeed a considerable probability of success.

According to the Federation's constitution, there will be no general election during the war, and the president will automatically be re-elected until the end of the war.

Mr. President doesn't even need to maintain the state of war for too long, three months is enough for him to complete his re-election.

Lance's sudden silence made the fat boss also feel the uneasy things in the air. He wiped his hands, "I'm going out for a while, you guys take care of the store."

He returned to the room with a serious expression and changed his clothes. If there is really a possibility of war, he must prepare enough flour and ingredients.

Whether it is used to make bread for sale, or sold directly to others, he can make a lot of money.

The apprentice leaned against the doorframe, watching the unfolding events outside with a somewhat dazed expression. His bewilderment mirrored the darkening sky, devoid of any glimmer of intelligence.