Empire of Shadows

The news of Lance's return spread quickly throughout the Imperial District. He was now a super-popular figure in the district, and it wasn't long before someone came to his door.

It was Burton. He had recently recruited a group of people who, instead of wearing uniforms like Lance and his men, roamed the streets in plain clothes.

When they noticed anything unusual, they could call Lance or notify Burton.

This approach effectively curbed street crime. Some criminals didn't even know what was happening before they were beaten up and dumped at the police station door.

The entire district had become very quiet and peaceful, much better than before.

Many people were genuinely grateful to Lance, because only Lance had actually done something, instead of just thinking about extorting or exploiting them.

But not everyone was thrilled or excited. Some people were worried, like... the business owners in the district.

Protection fees were unavoidable, and the Lance family hadn't said they wouldn't collect them. Now, their concern was how much the Lance family would collect each month, whether it would be too much, and how many months they would collect at a time.

What the Imperial District police station collected was already quite a bit. If the Lance family collected too much, they might... not be able to handle it.

Burton had been quite a figure on the streets recently. Everyone knew he was part of the Lance family, even though he didn't wear their uniforms. Mr. Lance gave him money every month, and he distributed it to those who wandered the streets all day.

So, some people took the initiative to find Burton.

Around nine in the morning, Burton stepped out of the elevator. He had spent his own money to buy an outfit similar to Lance's, but without the armband.

That thing looked like just a red silk ribbon, but he knew it was a symbol of status, a representation.

Lance hadn't agreed yet, so he couldn't do that yet.

But he was already very satisfied with his current life. He could save over a hundred dollars each month.

Actually, he could save more, but he knew this was the limit of what he could get. He couldn't blindly try to get more, or he might get into trouble.

Although he was mercenary and petty, he had some sense of propriety.

He had already quit his previous job. Actually, it didn't make much difference whether he quit or not. During the anti-imperial period, he was already on the verge of unemployment. Many of the people in his previous company were supporters of the Socialist Party.

These people were not only conservative but also very hostile to outsiders.

Sometimes they would stand in groups of three or five in or near the tea room, drinking coffee, laughing and talking.

But when Burton walked by, they would immediately stop laughing and disperse.

Such blatant, undisguised workplace bullying and isolation were not uncommon in the Federation.

After the anti-imperial movement broke out, the company found a reason to pick on a small mistake and told him to go home and think about it. They still hadn't asked him to come back to work.

But fortunately, he had a new job.

When the security guard on the first floor of the apartment building saw him coming out of the elevator, he immediately stood up. He lightly touched the brim of his hat. "Mr. Burton!"

It was a very polite attitude, which was what Burton wanted. "Good morning, Kaufman. I hope Rob and Nancy haven't caused you any trouble these past few days."

"How could they?" Kaufman, the security guard, said with an enthusiastic smile. "I've been helping them clean up some garbage these past few days..."

Nancy was a very lazy girl, especially after Geralt came to their house. She left all the work to Geralt.

Now that Geralt was gone, she was unwilling to do the work herself, so she often piled up the garbage at the door instead of taking it out.

The security guard would check the hallway every time he changed shifts, and when he saw garbage at their door, he would throw it away.

You think this was his job?

No, he just wanted to curry favor with Burton, because Burton's star was on the rise.

Burton also tipped his hat. "I'm really worried about the future of those two kids. Anyway, thank you for your help, Kaufman."

As he spoke, he walked to the mailbox, opened his mailbox, took out the newspaper and a few letters, and walked out while looking at the letters.

He walked through two streets from the alley to a place a little west of the Imperial District's center. There was a nice bakery-cafe here, with bread and coffee.

As soon as he came in, many people greeted him. He took off his coat and sat by the window, which everyone reserved for him.

The owner brought breakfast and coffee. He said thank you and paid the fee. Then, people kept coming over to say something to him and then left.

He liked this kind of work. Although he hadn't become super rich or had super power because of it, some people needed to rely on him to live. He loved this feeling.

And the way others looked at him, with respect, was something he also liked.

He was reading today's newspaper. As a rising social elite, he naturally needed to learn more about what was happening in the world.

He had subscribed to all the newspapers that could be ordered in Goldport City, including those that advertised prostitutes. You never knew when they might come in handy.

He was contemplating the actions of the bigwigs in the newspaper regarding some policies when several business owners from the surrounding shops walked over.

"Mr. Burton..."

Burton put down the newspaper, picked up the coffee, and took a small sip. The owner of the bakery-cafe next door immediately brought the coffee pot to refill it.

Refills cost money for others, half price, but Burton's refills were free.

It seemed like only a few cents difference, but in people's eyes, it was the difference in class, the meaning of privilege!

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Gentlemen?"

Several shop owners stood in front of them, not sitting down. One of them, who seemed to be representing them, stepped forward. "Mr. Burton, the Lance family has stabilized the territory left by Camilla's gang. Shouldn't we talk about the protection fees?"

"Honestly, Mr. Lance has made this place very safe. We're actually happy to give them the money, but... we want a little more information."

Listening to the other party's words, Burton vaguely understood that they were afraid that the Lance family would demand too much.

But this was indeed a problem. He thought for a moment, "I'll ask Mr. Lance. Please wait."

There was no telephone here. His things were on the table, and no one would take them. There was a public telephone booth just outside the cafe.

Originally, the others wanted to follow him, but when he opened the door of the cafe and looked back, they immediately stayed where they were.

They knew he didn't want them to eavesdrop on his conversation with Mr. Lance.

He walked into the telephone booth with his head held high, even somewhat arrogantly, elegantly lit a cigarette, and in the instant he turned around, the composure on his face turned into flattering obsequiousness.

He held the phone with both hands, avoiding the gazes of others. The phone was quickly picked up.

"Mr. Lance, it's me, Burton."

"What's the matter?"

Lance had just finished threatening Sam and hadn't had time to do anything when the phone rang.

He wasn't afraid that Sam would complain to the mayor. First, Mr. Pasreto could protect him. Second, as long as he showed that his value was higher than the value of Sam and those girls, the mayor would definitely choose him.

The politicians and capitalists of the Federation were just as realistic. As long as you had value and could bring them value, you were good friends.

But if you had no value and couldn't bring them benefits, then they could turn their backs on you in a second and point to the door and tell you that you had to make an appointment before you could talk to him!

Politics and capital had no warmth to speak of.

He had to settle some things at the dock as soon as possible, so that even if the mayor was a little dissatisfied, he would make a choice after weighing the pros and cons.

But before he could do anything, Burton called. He was also curious whether Burton had discovered anything.

"It's like this, Mr. Lance. The shop owners on the street are very grateful for everything you've done during this period. Stable street security and community relations are what everyone desires."

"At the same time, they don't understand some of the following business... uh, protection fee issues, such as how much money we collect, when we collect it, and how we collect it."

He used "we" to bring his relationship with the Lance family closer. Lance didn't deny this. If you want people to work for you, in addition to money, you can also give them some sense of identity and some sense of honor.

He pondered for a moment, "Go and publicize it. Let each street elect two to three people who can represent them. Come to the nightclub this afternoon, and we'll have a good discussion."

This wording surprised Burton, because he used "discuss." It was clear that he didn't plan to learn from others and directly set a price that he thought was appropriate, regardless of whether it was reasonable, and then start collecting it.

Burton also realized that perhaps he would set a new trend, even a direction!

"Of course, Mr. Lance. I'll do it right away."

"This afternoon, around four o'clock, at the Empire Nights Nightclub, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I understand. I won't bother you anymore. Goodbye!"

In the instant Burton hung up the phone and turned around, his slightly hunched body straightened up again. He lit a cigarette, pushed open the door of the telephone booth, looked around, and then walked to the bakery-cafe.

He thought it was cool to do this, and he really did it. There was no other reason.

After entering the bakery, he repeated Lance's message, "This news needs to be spread by you guys, preferably as soon as possible. I'll also have people pass on this information."

The few business owners finally felt relieved after hearing this. They thanked Burton one after another and quickly left.

Soon after, Burton made a few more calls, and quickly some people began going door-to-door in the blocks currently controlled by the Lance family, talking to the small vendors about this matter.

"Mr. Lance hopes that your street can elect some representatives to discuss the matter of regulatory fees at the Empire Nightclub at four o'clock this afternoon…"

The news spread quickly. This was also the first time in history that some people were worried, worried that Lance was bringing them in for some cleverly disguised trick.

In any case, they weren't operating in a legal gray area, and even if they were, it was impossible for them not to be wanting their money.

But some people also felt that this might not be a bad thing. At least so far, no one had heard of anyone being harmed by the Lance family.

On the contrary, there were many reports of them actively compensating for accidentally injuring passersby or accidentally damaging things in roadside stores.

This also made some people think that this should be a good thing.

Today was a weekday, and there happened to be not many pedestrians on the road. After everyone discussed it, they elected the people they thought could represent them.

Of course, there were also some who came to watch the excitement, or who didn't want to be represented, about a hundred people in total.

This number of people was not considered many for the Empire Nightclub. A large hall could accommodate them.

Some people started arriving little by little after three o'clock, and Lance didn't arrive late until five minutes past four.

He walked directly onto the stage, looked at the people sitting below, and had Burton bring a chair up.

He sat down on the stage.

"Actually, even if you didn't come, I was planning to have Burton contact you…" Hearing Lance call his name, Burton immediately stood up, turned to face the "representatives," and bowed slightly.

Some people didn't recognize him, but now they did.

From Lance's point of view, this kind of true villain was actually more useful than a hypocrite.

He raised his hand and gestured for Burton to sit down, "You'll have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other in the future."

"I also learned a little bit before. The regulatory fees in the Empire District range from ten dollars to sixty dollars. The areas with the best business basically have regulatory fees of forty dollars or more."

"The more remote shops are basically around ten dollars."

These representatives nodded one after another. They didn't actually want to pay money. Most stores' monthly income was basically just earning the wages of themselves and their families, with a little surplus.

Like Johnny, in addition to his and his daughter's wages, he could earn an extra hundred dollars or so each month.

It seemed like a lot, but if he had to pay wages to Lance and the apprentice, even if he only paid thirty dollars to each person, he would end up with only forty dollars of extra income.

This was also why exploitation was always the top priority in the early stages of capitalism, because the benefits of exploitation were sometimes higher than the benefits of operating a business.

The more people exploited, the higher the income.

Although not all shop owners were like Johnny, that was the current situation.

The reason they could tolerate lower incomes was that they were running their own business, didn't have to look at the faces of Federal superiors, wouldn't be bullied, and wouldn't be treated as human resources to be mined.

Moreover, the income was ultimately higher than working.

As long as the regulatory fees weren't too outrageous, they could actually continue to do it.

These people were now a little nervous, because what Lance was about to say next was related to their future household income.

Lance deliberated for a while, and although his voice was not loud, it fell into everyone's heart like thunder—

"I don't plan to collect protection fees from the district."

With a whoosh, almost everyone stood up. They looked at Lance in disbelief. One of the old men, who should have been sixty or seventy years old, even had slightly trembling hands, "Mr. Lance… Are you kidding us?!"

Clearly, his age was several times that of Lance, but he used honorifics to address Lance. He was too excited and too surprised.

You should know that there were at least two or three thousand shops in the Empire District, and about sixty to seventy percent were now under Lance's control. Even if it was sixty percent, that was 1,200 shops. If each household could be counted as twenty dollars on average, that would be twenty-four thousand dollars.

This was not a small amount. This was an astonishing number. How could he… bear to give it up?

But actually, the calculation wasn't done this way. Not all merchants would pay this regulatory fee. There were always some stubborn people or those who really couldn't afford the money. If you made them pay, they wouldn't do it.

Once you stopped caring, they would reopen their business. And those who didn't know whether they really couldn't afford it or were pretending not to, they wouldn't give it, and you couldn't really do anything to them.

The real big payers of regulatory fees were still those commercial districts that were more concentrated. These districts were generally responsible for collecting "upper-level gangs," while other places that didn't have much profit were the responsibility of the district families.

But Lance planned to change this previous state. He didn't plan to collect protection fees anymore. On the one hand, even if this money could be thirty thousand dollars a month, after paying wages and giving the "protection fees" that he had to pay, there wouldn't be much left.

It wasn't a good thing to have a bad reputation among the Imperials for this little money.

The biggest mistake Heller and his family made was that after they overthrew the gangs that used to oppress the Imperials in the Empire District, they didn't take up the banner of the Imperials, but became a new mountain.

It wasn't that the mountain was necessarily bad. If this mountain could shelter from the wind and rain and produce abundant materials, becoming a backer for the people.

Without you saying anything, they would all compete to find ways to hand over the money.

But if you only thought about constantly demanding and squeezing from them, then in the end, they would only think of ways to overthrow this mountain.

Lance didn't want to be a short-sighted mountain. What he wanted to be was a bigger mountain, a mountain in people's hearts!

This was the best era, because everything was so barbaric!

Everyone seemed to be holding their breath at this moment, looking at Lance, wanting to see if he was really kidding them, and then, Lance reaffirmed his statement again.

"I don't have any intention of joking with you. This is my decision."

"I will not collect any fees of a protection fee nature from any merchants within the Empire District…"

People had already begun to smile and laugh in disbelief. If they could earn a few tens of dollars more each month, even a dozen dollars, it would be a good thing for some business owners. This could be considered a considerable income.

Lance raised his hand and gestured for them to be quiet, "Besides this, I have another thing I plan to talk to you about. I plan to establish the Empire Chamber of Commerce…"