Empire of Shadows

The first time he came here, those imperial immigrants with better living conditions only watched Lance from afar, commenting on the arrival of a stranger.

The second time he came, although people still didn't know him, some would smile at him and nod as a courtesy, considering that Mr. Chobaf would chat with him for a few words.

The third time he came, some people could already call out his name, mainly thanks to Mr. Burton's publicity.

A new immigrant driving a car could give him a sense of comfort that "This is my friend, so if you respect him, you respect me."

Until now, people have begun to call him "Mr. Lance," even though his age, in the eyes of these middle-aged people, is almost the same as their children.

But they respect, honor, and even have some awe for him.

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They haven't heard any bad rumors about Lance. The fact that he led some peers to make money and took care of some illegal immigrants has already spread among the imperial immigrant community.

The influence of Will's death may be manifested in this—

His death made more people curious about Lance, and thus wanted to understand him.

The more they understood, the more they would discover that he is an upright, excellent imperial citizen with good virtues, which is why people respect him so much.

After dealing with many imperial immigrants who took the initiative to greet him and chat for a few words, Lance noticed Mr. Chobaf standing beside him, chatting with other people, and his expressionless assistant.

Perhaps because neither of them left a negative impression on each other the last time they met, Mr. Chobaf took the initiative to walk over and shake his hand.

During the handshake, Mr. Chobaf took a slight step forward, leaned forward, and said in a voice so low that only the two of them could hear, "Amazing deeds, I heard about it, Will's matter."

Lance just smiled, neither admitting nor denying it.

If he denied to the general public that he did it, they might become suspicious, suspecting that Lance was lying while also suspecting that he wasn't actually lying.

The reason for this phenomenon is that ordinary people have limited channels to obtain information, and they cannot comprehensively analyze the information obtained through multiple channels.

In the case of a single channel, as long as they are not 100% sure, they will inevitably lose their judgment.

But Mr. Chobaf is different. He has many channels to know what happened that night, so Lance did not directly deny it, but he did not admit it either.

Never admit that you have done anything wrong is also one of his experiences.

Watching Lance rise like a newly rising sun made Mr. Chobaf feel a sense of getting old in his heart!

"I heard you're doing well at the pier."

Lance looked at his eyes with some surprise. An immigrant banker shouldn't pay attention to things at the pier. It's a bit strange.

It's like the presidents of those big banks, they will only talk to you about recent financial problems, instead of telling you that the belt on the factory assembly line is a bit loose recently.

Lance didn't know what he wanted to do, so he could only talk about some trivial and insubstantial things first, "Actually, it's not easy to do."

"You're too modest, Lance. We all see what you're doing. You're a very special young man."

"What are your plans next?"

Lance thought for two seconds, "I plan to solve part of the debt package you sent me first."

This answer was beyond Mr. Chobaf's expectations. He was stunned for a moment, "Indeed, this is also a serious matter."

He suddenly didn't know how to talk to Lance. In fact, he was also carrying out some tasks now.

In order to gain a higher position in the mayor's camp, he must show more value than others.

He heard that Lance was doing well at the pier, and many dockworkers were hanging out with him, and he also unified the work clothes for those imperial immigrants.

Perhaps this is just something that is not very special in the eyes of others, but for the current Mr. Chobaf, his ideology has begun to change.

These workers, the influence they generate, and the most important port link in Gold Harbor City, this is political power!

And what he lacks now is political power.

How to make Lance's power his own power, Mr. Chobaf felt a little tricky, because this is not an ordinary young man.

Of course, he didn't think this was harming Lance, after all, his "boss" above is the biggest "boss" in this city.

Absorbing Lance can only benefit him, not harm him.

As for whether Lance is willing?

He felt that Lance would definitely be willing. He got this opportunity after paying hundreds of thousands before and after.

And now Lance can get it without paying anything.

Mr. Chobaf quickly changed his thinking to open the topic, "They all say that workers are difficult to manage, but it seems very easy on your side. Are there any tricks?"

If Lance hadn't become vigilant, this would have been a normal chat, but he became vigilant. No matter what Mr. Chobaf said, he felt that the other party had ulterior motives.

When you doubt a person or a thing, unless that person dies, or that thing is directly finished, it is difficult for you not to always suspect them.

Lance smiled and replied, "You treat them as human beings, not mules, and they are very easy to manage."

"But if you only treat them as mules, then they are the mules with the worst temper."

Mr. Chobaf also noticed Lance's defense. Although he didn't understand why this was the case, he also knew that it was not appropriate to continue talking about these topics at this time.

He took the initiative to end the topic, "It sounds very ordinary, but it's a very wise saying, worthy of our consideration…"

Lance changed the topic, "What's wrong with your assistant?"

"Every time I see him, he always looks very happy. Today is the first time he looks so serious."

Mr. Chobaf gave Lance a cigarette, which was a signal for them to go to the edge of the crowd to talk.

The two walked to the outside of the crowd and lit their cigarettes, "His nephew was killed."

Lance was a little surprised. Although Mr. Chobaf was very cowardly, he was still a rich man.

"Did he encounter a robbery?"

"And then didn't give the other party his wallet, so he was accidentally killed?"

This was the only thing he could think of, but Mr. Chobaf shook his head, "This matter is a long story. In short, he encountered some trouble, offended some people, and then was retaliated against."

Lance looked at his eyes again, "Didn't you call the police?"

"I know Officer Lucar of the Criminal Investigation Team of the City Police Department. He is a very responsible person. If the police handling the case are not so smart, you can go to him and say I introduced you, and he will try his best to help you."

Lance was happy to find something for this old brother who was staring at him.

However, Mr. Chobaf's next words made him realize that this matter was not simple, and he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"This matter ends here. Everything is over. We don't want to cause any more trouble."

Lance didn't answer, just sighed.

The two stood together silently for more than ten seconds. Lance pointed to the young people, "Please tell him for me, I hope he can restrain his grief. I'll go over there first."

Mr. Chobaf glanced at the place where the young people were gathered and immediately made way, "Of course, thank you for your comfort, I will tell him."

He reached out and shook hands with Lance, "See you next week."

"See you next week!"

After leaving Mr. Chobaf, he returned to the young people. Rob and Selena seemed to be arguing again away from the crowd. Enio and Maurice and others were surrounded by others here.

They were wearing the set of clothes that Lance had tailored for them, which had a strong sense of recognition. Coupled with the slicked-back hair and hats, they looked very energetic, and at the same time had a kind of temperament that they couldn't describe.

They were all very curious about the current lives of Enio and the others. After all, they were the first group of people who followed Lance to "work". They all wanted to know how much money Enio and the others could earn now, and what kind of work they had.

But no matter what, just the set of clothes they were wearing made many people very envious.

Gerald's cousin Nancy saw Lance walking over and took the initiative to greet him, "Where's Gerald?"

Gerald had told Lance that none of Mr. Burton's family were good people. Mr. Burton had been demanding to manage the money he earned in the capacity of his uncle.

Rob (Gerald's cousin, Mr. Burton's son) had been asking Gerald for money and never paid it back.

Nancy would also borrow money sometimes, but more often she would order Gerald to do things at home, doing this and that, making this little cousin do everything.

The family seemed to have found a servant who could earn money for them and listen to their orders.

Now that Gerald had suddenly left, the family who had become accustomed to that comfortable life were a little unaccustomed to it.

Especially Nancy, she hadn't done housework herself for several months. Now that Gerald had left, all the housework was piled on her, and she couldn't stand it.

"He's not coming."

"Why isn't he coming?" Nancy's eyes fell on Lance, and she felt that Lance was particularly handsome today.

"Because he doesn't like you!" Now he's not so handsome anymore.

She looked at Lance angrily, and Lance directly bypassed him and walked to the middle of the young people. Everyone greeted Lance very actively and enthusiastically.

If the middle-aged people's enthusiasm for Lance was still based on "He can help us solve some problems," then the young people's enthusiasm for Lance came entirely from "We can also become one of them."

Ennio and Maurice, and their gang, were examples.

What kind of lives did they lead in the past?

Ennio relied on helping young people, and even some younger ones, to take revenge on those who bullied them, gaining some... well, economic assistance.

Maurice ran around all day, buying things for the gamblers at the casino, earning a little money to spend.

His father was a pure gambling addict, and wouldn't leave much money for him at home.

The others were pretty much the same.

But look at them now, they are all wearing high-end fabrics, smoking forty-nine-cent packs of cigarettes, and even have banknotes in their pockets!

This is the fucking Federation dream!

For these young people, nothing could be more attractive!

"Lance, I want to follow you too!" someone took the initiative to say what was on their mind, and the others echoed.

Lance smiled and raised his hand to quiet them down. Nancy, although angry, also stood on the edge of the crowd.

Rob and Selena's quarrel also stopped because of Lance's arrival. They moved a little closer, wanting to hear what Lance had to say.

"I don't object to you coming to start a business with me, but are you really ready, and is this really the path you should take?"

"We need to think carefully before making a decision, instead of impulsively making decisions that we are destined to regret."

He walked to Ennio and pointed to his arm, saying, "His arm was broken last month, and it hasn't healed yet. It still hurts, especially on rainy days."

"You only see him wearing nice clothes, and you feel a sense of distance from him, but you haven't thought about what he paid for all of this."

"We are all the same. If we are unlucky, we will be beaten, injured, lose arms and legs. Are you ready for this?"

These words silenced the teenagers who had been eager to sign up.

Lance looked at them and continued, "If you really want to come with me, and don't mind the danger, then we have to consider one more thing: is this the most appropriate method?"

"Some of you are still in school, in high school. If you can study hard and go to college, it can not only bring changes to your own lives and destinies, but also provide me with more help."

"Become a lawyer, become a doctor, or even become a judge!"

Someone suddenly said, "But we don't have money to go to college!"

Lance looked at the speaker, a short, somewhat thin person wearing glasses. He was standing on the periphery of the crowd, "If you can get into college, then I will lend you the tuition. After you graduate from college, you can work for me to pay off this debt!"

The short, bespectacled boy immediately showed a surprised expression, but at the same time he was a little uncertain, "Going to college costs a lot of money!"

The cost of going to college at this time was 350 yuan. It sounds like... not much?

But according to the current standard of ordinary families in the Federation, if they can save 15 yuan a month, they are already considered to be living well.

Three hundred and fifty yuan, nearly two years of savings, ordinary people are unlikely to be able to come up with so much money.

And this is just the tuition fee. There are also various book fees, textbook fees, extracurricular material fees... These must be purchased by the students themselves, and this part of the expenditure is much higher than the tuition fee.

Although publishers in the Federation at this time have not yet promoted legislation to restrict college students from buying or renting other people's textbooks and various books, many students cannot afford the primary books that cost a few yuan and the intermediate and advanced books that cost a dozen or even dozens of yuan.

The federal government and society have always praised their education as being world-leading, and they have many world-shaking inventions, but for the people being educated, this is not a very good experience.

When a student who already needs a loan to go to college arrives at school, their tutor tells them that they still need to take out dozens of yuan to buy various textbooks and supplementary materials, which is a heavy blow to the vast majority of students who go to school on loans!

Even if they rent, it costs twenty or thirty yuan per semester, and sixty or seventy yuan a year.

And as the grade increases, this expenditure will become more and more.

This short boy obviously knew about the heavy cost of college. Lance pointed at him, "All expenses are on me, but only limited to law, chemistry, and medicine majors."

"If you can get into a famous alliance university, no matter what your major is, I will cover all the expenses, and there will be additional financial support!"

The short boy was overjoyed, "Are you a man of your word?"

Lance took off his hat and tidied his hair, "No one is more of a man than me!"

This news quickly spread among the crowd. On the middle-aged side, Mr. Chobaugh was stunned when he heard it. Why hadn't he thought of this before?

Sponsor more imperial immigrants to go to college, to good universities, and use them to weave a closer network of relationships.

Especially the Alliance University, they will become alumni with the descendants of federal celebrities, and have more innate advantages.

And these advantages can be used by him!

He glanced at the spirited Lance in the crowd from afar, and his perception of him changed again.

If he still had some thoughts of "This is an interesting little kid" before, then now, Lance is an equal in his eyes.

Whether in social status or psychologically, it is difficult for him to look down on him anymore.

And what makes him feel a little troublesome is that he can't, and even can't in a short time, say the same thing now!

This will make people think that he may have ulterior motives in doing so, or that he wants to curry favor.

Only after a period of time can he do this through other methods, such as establishing a scholarship system.

Lance didn't know that Mr. Chobaugh's brain had gone through so much content in such a short time, otherwise he would definitely be curious as to why he could think so much, but still lose so badly.

After solving the short boy's problem, many people looked at him with fiery eyes. Some people had hope of going to college. The biggest obstacle, poverty, had been kicked away by Lance.

The other part, looking at Lance's behavior, sincerely felt that he was so cool, and wanted to become his friend, brother, and family even more.

When leaving, Mr. Bolton took the initiative to follow him on the grounds of "seeing Lance off."

It just so happened that Lance really needed him at this time.

"Mr. Bolton, I happen to have something I need to trouble you with," Lance called out to him by the parking lot after he and he left the lawn of St. Naya Cathedral.

Mr. Bolton looked very happy. He held his hat in both hands, "I am willing to serve you, Lance, so what should I do?"

Lance gave him a cigarette, "Help me promote it in more imperial communities. If their children can go to college, I will cover the tuition. If they can go to Alliance universities, there will be additional financial support."

He took out twenty yuan from his pocket and clipped it between his index and middle fingers.

Mr. Bolton's breathing stopped for a few seconds when he saw it. He tried to pull it, but it didn't move.

He immediately realized that what he needed was to express his position!

"Of course, no problem, Lance..."

"Mr. Lance!" Lance corrected himself.

Mr. Bolton didn't hesitate at all, "Of course there is no problem, Mr. Lance, I guarantee that the most people will know about this in the shortest possible time!"

Listening to his statement that was at least 120 points out of 100, Lance took out another ten yuan and put it together with the twenty yuan in the pocket on his chest. Lance also thoughtfully smoothed his pocket: "I'm waiting to hear your good news, Mr. Bolton!"