Empire of Shadows

Johnny squatted by the roadside, smoking a cigarette. A broom lay beside him, and his eyes revealed a weariness that came from seeing through life.

Since Lance had broken his arm in front of everyone, he had become much more docile on the docks.

It wasn't that he didn't want to find work elsewhere, but there really wasn't anywhere suitable for him.

The industrial area wasn't hiring as many workers as it had in previous years. The work wasn't great, the pay wasn't high, and most of them needed workers who already had some understanding of the job.

Someone like Johnny, who didn't know anything, wouldn't get paid for the first month—the factory would use "job adaptation" as an excuse to make them learn the assembly line or factory workflow.

Only when workers mastered the content of their position would they be hired.

Before that, most people were just there to learn how to work.

If you were unlucky and couldn't learn, the factory might ask you to leave directly. They wouldn't hire an idiot to slow down their work progress.

Considering he still had a family to support, Johnny eventually returned to the docks.

Fortunately, Lance's people hadn't completely cut him off, allowing him to still find work on the docks.

But he couldn't do his old job anymore. Now, his job was cleaning the ground.

Every time cargo was loaded or unloaded, a lot of things would be left on the ground, such as dust, dirt, and even some weeds.

Some of those containers would drift at sea for a month or two, exposed to wind and sun. Sometimes, a seed or two would be lucky enough to land in the accumulated dust in the corners and take root.

At this time, he would have a use, taking the broom to clean up all these things.

Twenty-seven and a half dollars a month, no overtime required, but honestly, he really didn't want this job. He would rather work harder now for a job that could earn him more money.

Unfortunately, the people on the docks didn't really look after him.

Just as he was feeling depressed, two young men appeared in front of him. They wore baseball caps, had their hands in their pockets, and walked right up to him.

He glanced at them, and said with some impatience, "Get out of my face, don't make me unhappy."

His expression was foul: a terrible job, lower income, complaints from family members, a never-full stomach, and alcohol he couldn't afford.

But the two men didn't seem to be leaving, which made Johnny's temper rise.

After confirming that these two weren't dockworkers, he stood up.

The large man standing up did give people a sense of nervous pressure. Just as he was about to make them "scram if they wouldn't," one of the young men spoke, "Lance wants to see you."

Johnny's entire body froze. His expression changed rapidly, first with some fear, then confusion, followed by hesitation, and finally evolving into unease.

He dropped the cigarette in his hand, like a helpless child, wiping his hands on his clothes, unsure of what to do with them. "I haven't done anything recently!"

His voice wasn't as impatient as before, and he explained with patience and a sense of grievance. He really hadn't done anything!

So, he couldn't understand why Lance wanted to see him!

The young man just kept staring at him, "There's no need to say these words to me, you just need to come with me."

Johnny's gaze went around, clearly, he seemed to be considering some improper actions. The young man added, "We know where you live, unless you abandon all your family and never return to King's Harbor for the rest of your life, or show your face."

These words shattered his thoughts of running away, and he became dejected, "I wasn't thinking that!"

"Then come with us!" the young man said, turning and walking towards the entrance of the docks. Johnny hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to follow.

This was the first time he had ridden in a car, which made him feel a sense of restraint, and he didn't know why, but he felt his face was a little hot.

The slightly pleasant smell in the car made him feel out of place. He rubbed his hands back and forth between his legs. The young man next to him glanced at the floor of the car, "You have to clean this up after you get out."

There were some dead skin cells on the floor. The salt content by the sea was high, and their work left them with many calluses, which were constantly being renewed.

The old ones would fall off with a rub.

Combined with some dust, there was a small area under his feet covered in dead skin and dirt.

This made Johnny's face flush red. If anyone had dared to say this before, he would have definitely let them taste whether his fist was hard or not.

But now, he could only nod, answering with "I will clean it up."

The car quickly stopped behind the office. After getting out of the car, he bent over and used his hand to sweep the things on the floor to the outside.

When he turned around again, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

He was led to the outside of Lance's office. After the young man went in for about a minute, he was allowed to enter.

Lance sat behind his desk. When he saw Johnny come in, he neither stood up nor had any intention of shaking his hand. He just pointed to the chair opposite the desk, "Sit."

Johnny walked to the chair and sat down, carefully placing his hands on his knees, like an honest and obedient elementary school student!

"Do you smoke?" Lance opened his cigarette case, which contained neatly arranged cigarettes and cigars.

Johnny's throat moved. He really wanted one, but in the end, he shook his head, "No, Mr. Lance, I don't smoke."

"You can't even tell a lie well!" Lance said with a smile, taking out one and tossing it over, "As long as you don't get ashes everywhere, I'm not that cold-blooded!"

He also took one for himself, then showed Johnny how to use the table lighter.

After they both lit up, Lance asked, "I heard you've been in charge of sweeping the docks recently?"

Johnny nodded, "After my arm was fractured, I couldn't handle my previous job, so they arranged a lighter job for me."

Tightening screws or hammering would put various forces on the bones in his arm. After a fracture, it was indeed not suitable for this type of work.

Especially hammering, which could cause the wound to break again, hindering the healing of the fracture.

But he didn't expect that he would be sweeping for several months, and it looked like he would continue to sweep. Even his past friends didn't come around as often now.

Everyone on the docks knew that he had offended the Lance family, and they were all staying away from him.

Johnny, taking a puff of his cigarette, flicked the ash, but he didn't see an ashtray. Remembering what Lance had just said, he finally stretched out his left hand and flicked the ash into his left palm.

Lance looked at his action with a hint of amusement, "You're very familiar with the docks."

Johnny didn't deny it, "I've been looking for work on the docks since I was sixteen. Maybe I don't know it as well as those old guys, but among our generation, I'm definitely the one who knows it best."

"Mr. Lance, they said you wanted to see me. I'm a little uneasy. I don't know if I've offended you in any way."

"If I have, you can tell me directly, that would make me feel better."

Perhaps it was because he had smoked two puffs of high-end cigarettes, or perhaps it was because Lance's attitude wasn't so "bad," Johnny couldn't hold back anymore.

He couldn't stand the inner anxiety and unease, which made him feel like something was wrong with his heart, beating wildly.

Lance showed some smile, "Your worries are unnecessary. I have a few things I need to do recently, and after thinking about it, I finally thought of you."

"But don't worry, it's definitely a good thing for you."

He reached out and stroked his eyebrows, "I heard that the docks haven't raised wages in the past few years?"

Hearing that it was a good thing, Johnny's emotions relaxed a lot, "Yes, it's been almost three years."

"Mr. Lance, can you believe it?"

"The prices of everything are rising now, but wages are not rising. The main reason is those…"

He suddenly stopped talking, and at the same time, he was scared into a cold sweat, then a little at a loss.

Lance knew what he was going to say, "Those immigrants and illegal immigrants, right?"

"I know that many of you think so."

Johnny couldn't sit still anymore, "Mr. Lance, I don't mean that…"

Everyone knew that Lance had close ties with illegal immigrants, and some even said that he himself was an illegal immigrant, but even if these small fries heard about it, they couldn't verify it, and there was no need to verify it.

But considering these rumors, Johnny's statement was equivalent to accusing Lance, which scared him half to death!

Lance shook his head, "It's okay, I understand your thoughts. Illegal immigrants do make it difficult for wages on the docks to rise, that's a fact."

Illegal immigrants only cost ten or twenty dollars a month, while a legal federal worker costs thirty-seven or thirty-eight to forty dollars. Capitalists seeking maximum profit would have no need to even consider the choice!

You don't want to do it?

There are plenty of people who will!

So, many workers on the docks, even if they didn't say it out loud, actually had a lot of resentment towards illegal immigrants in their hearts. This is why the anti-immigration riots that broke out caused so much damage on the docks so quickly!

It can only be said that these negative emotions had accumulated for too long, and suddenly there was a release, even ordinary people would inevitably develop some thoughts.

Even now, there are still many people on the docks who have such thoughts, they regard the failure to raise wages as a problem of immigration.

Previously, they had released their emotions once, so it wasn't obvious. Only when these negative emotions accumulated to a certain level would they erupt again.

That would be the next riot.

"Johnny, actually, compared to others, I can trust you more. Do you know why?"

Lance's question gave Johnny a strange sense of being trusted. He quickly sat up straight, but didn't know where to put the ash in his hand, so he stuffed it all into his pocket.

"I don't know, Mr. Lance."

"But in any case, I am very grateful that you can trust me!"

From his expression, it could be seen that he was not lying. Sometimes, this world is just so ridiculous.

Lance had broken his arm, but he, because of Lance's few words, actually felt a sense of identity and gratitude towards Lance. Perhaps this is the problem faced or experienced by all the people at the bottom.

In front of the higher-ups, they actually have little resistance!

"Don't rush to be moved. The reason I trust you is because I understand your situation very well."

"From your birth to the members of your family, their respective situations are all in my hands."

"To put it simply, I'm not afraid of you doing things I don't want to see, because I can immediately correct or erase the mistakes."

Johnny was stunned for a moment, and then he really wasn't moved anymore. Instead, he felt a little dry and didn't know what to say.

Lance didn't give him a chance to brew new emotions. "Precisely because of this, I can trust you. And now, I need you to do something for me."

"Go demand a raise from the company. It's best to call on more people to join you. I can give you some funds."

"Make the momentum as big as possible. If you can convince everyone on the dock to join you, that would be even better!"

Johnny looked blank. "I don't understand, Mr. Lance."

Lance laughed and said, "If you understood, you would be sitting here instead of me!"

"You only need to know that the companies at the dock haven't given you a raise in two years. That's unreasonable."

"Unreasonable things must be resisted. This is the symbol of the spirit of the Free Federation!"

At this time, Johnny gradually realized that he seemed to be caught in a conspiracy, but he seemed powerless to struggle.

The expression on his face was like a stray puppy abandoned by the roadside, not knowing where the future lies.

"After this matter is done well, I will let you join the Wanli Office and arrange a more comfortable job for you."

"At the same time, you will also be protected by us!"

"More income, a safer environment, and you can even regain your prestige in front of your friends."

"And all of this comes from your choice, Johnny!"

Johnny agreed almost without hesitation. His current life was terrible, and he couldn't see any hope.

If agreeing to Lance could change these things and let him become the character he had once dreamed of, then why refuse?

Maybe this matter is a bit dangerous, but Lance has a good reputation, and he trusts Lance.

Without experiencing too much psychological struggle, he agreed.

Lance gave him four hundred dollars, asking him to find a way to contact those friends who had the same ideas, and let them point the finger at the companies on the dock.

Returning to the dock, Johnny instantly felt "different." He touched the money in his pocket, and seeing the broom he had left on the ground before he left was still there, he suddenly ran a few steps and kicked it away!

"Die, I'm here!"

He suddenly laughed and walked towards other places. From this moment on, he was going to abandon everything old and usher in a new life!

For several days in a row, the entire Goldport City was very calm, so calm that people felt a little incredible.

Those areas where firefights often occurred no longer suddenly had a car rushing out of somewhere, spraying a volley of bullets at someone who had just walked out of a store.

Nor were there groups of two gangs surrounding a certain place and exchanging bullets with each other, finally leaving a few corpses behind.

Everything seemed to have returned to the most prosperous period of the Five Families. Every gang obeyed the rules of this city that were not written into laws or announcements.

The Five Families, the gangsters, the Bay Area, everyone was abiding by these, giving some old people a feeling of returning to the past!

But those who could decide these things all knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

The more peaceful, harmonious, and natural it is now, the more violent, terrifying, and destructive the storm will be when it comes!

On Saturday, Lance continued to attend the gathering at St. Naya Cathedral. Now he was paying for this part, so naturally he was the most popular person here.

In just one year, people no longer cared much about where Mr. Chobaff had gone. They just wanted to say a few more words to Mr. Lance.

After the morning gathering, Lance's original plan was to go find Patricia in the afternoon.

The girl had called him in advance, hoping to go see a movie together.

Gerald's movie had already been released, and she really wanted to know how Gerald's movie looked, after all, this movie was also an investment project of Lance.

But just as Lance was about to go over, Bureau Chief Blue drove over.

"I have other things to do this afternoon. You better make it short and sweet.", Lance put a garlic-flavored potato chip in his mouth.

Who the hell invented this flavor?

When you smell it, it's as unlikable as shit, but it actually tastes pretty good.

Bureau Chief Blue's expression was a bit serious. "I heard... you guys are planning to stir up some trouble?"

Lance didn't find it surprising that someone had leaked these things. In that kind of environment, no one could guarantee that everyone present was of one mind.

So if something was said here, it would be leaked there. He didn't find it surprising, but rather felt that this was normal.

So he didn't deny it. "Since you've heard about it, then the source must be reliable.", He paused for a moment, "So?"

Bureau Chief Blue pursed his lips. "Charlie and Hunter have also been actively active these two days. They have contacted many retired police officers, including those of us who are still working."

"It is said that he has also found some people from the state police. After all, he has indeed gained the support here and expanded his network and social circle during his years as police chief."

"He wants to use this opportunity that you guys are making trouble to make people notice the role and value of the police system to the city. He wants to gain more power!"

"And I also heard... he plans to run for city councilman."

The federal government does not require officials to only work until a certain age. If they are willing to work, as long as their physical condition permits, they can continue to work.

So Charlie's participation in the city council election is completely in accordance with the relevant federal laws and regulations, but this move of his is indeed a bit beyond Lance's expectations.