Empire of Shadows

Chapter 4 What was that saying? The gears of fate begin to turn…

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“The most important thing now is to find a way to get that bitch's son to drop the charges, otherwise Ethan will have to hide in the shadows forever.”

“It will be very troublesome if he gets caught!”

Lance was already considering how to deal with this matter. This month, he had seen very clearly that the Federation people were unreliable.

He was also someone without a foundation, so this group of fellow villagers from the Empire might become a key force.

“There are two ways. The first way is to find a way to borrow some money to shut this person's mouth and get him to drop the charges.”

“The second way is, if we can't borrow money, then we have to find a way to persuade him.”

After listening, Elvin felt that it was unlikely, “This is not a good way at all. Where can we borrow money from, and how much can we borrow? These are all problems!”

He had only been here for a month, was unfamiliar with the place, and didn't carry much money with him.

Most people who had the opportunity to come here had families who put in a lot of effort, almost emptying the family's coffers.

Now, many fishermen no longer fish. Instead, they specialize in transporting people from the shore to the high seas and then onto smuggling ships.

The entire smuggling process costs about fifteen hundred dollars, which is a very difficult amount of money for ordinary families to bear.

In addition, families in the Empire still need to live and need some funds to deal with emergencies, so most people who are smuggled over don't have much money on them.

When Lance got off the boat, he had less than five dollars in total. Others were about the same.

At most, they might only have a few dozen dollars.

Elvin was a little annoyed, “The problem is, where can we borrow so much money?”

Lance told him to wait a moment, and he returned to the bakery to talk to the fat boss about taking a leave of absence—

“My fellow villager is in trouble, and I have to go see what's going on, so I may not be at the store this afternoon.”

The fat boss sat behind the counter, smoking a pipe. His eyes, squeezed small by his obesity, were like black holes, and only the pupils in the middle could be seen, like two buttons sewn onto risen bread.

He looked Lance up and down, “You can take a leave, but I will fine you one dollar, and you must be back before five o'clock, otherwise it will be two dollars.”

“If your absence in the evening causes us to sell less than yesterday, you have to make up for this part of the loss, because you caused it.”

Lance looked at the fat boss, who also met his gaze without fear, “I know you hate me very much, and I also like the way you hate me, but there's nothing you can do about it.”

He tapped the corner of the table with his pipe, raised his hand, and pointed at Lance, “If you run away or don't come back, I will call the police and say you stole the store's property. Do you understand what I mean?”

Lance always acted very humbly, and even showed a smile on his face, “I think I understand, Boss.”

The fat boss sneered contemptuously, “Then get out of here. I want to see you behind the counter before five o'clock.”

“By the way, you now owe me four dollars. I want to charge you interest. If you don't pay back this money by the end of this month, it will become four dollars and sixty cents…”

Fifteen percent monthly interest, one hundred and eighty percent annual interest, it was simply murderous!

Sometimes people standing on the edge of a cliff always have the urge to jump down, but some people restrain this inexplicable impulse, while others take this step.

Lance was silent for a while and did not refuse, “I will remember, Boss.”

The fat boss couldn't find more superiority from Lance and the feeling of playing with him, so he waved his hand impatiently, “Get out.”

After Lance took off his apron, he left with Elvin. The young men were not far away, and there were a total of twelve or thirteen people.

They were squatting in the shade of the alley. When Lance came, everyone stood up and greeted Lance with a slightly anxious expression.

“I still have five dollars here. How much money did we collect in total?”

A guy named Melo took out a washed-out handkerchief from his pocket, which looked heavy with a lump inside.

When opened, it was almost all pennies. Surprisingly, there were also two two-dollar bills.

In this unfamiliar environment, when facing a crisis, the unity of these people allowed Lance to see "power." It was brewing, like a seed in dark soil, and there would always be a day when it broke ground.

“Including yours, there are seventy-seven dollars in total.”

When the young people heard that there was so much money, strange expressions appeared on their faces.

During this period, inflation in the Federation was not severe, and with the economy on the rise, the purchasing power of money was very strong. Seventy-seven dollars was indeed not a small amount.

But it was still a bit short of two hundred dollars.

“Do you know where the nearest financial company is?”

After careful consideration, Lance decided to borrow some money, a high-interest loan.

Although high-interest loans were terrible, if everyone pooled money to repay them, then, calculated according to fourteen people, even a monthly interest rate of fifteen percent would actually only be one percent of one hundred and fifty dollars per person, and the interest per person would only be a little more than one dollar and fifty cents.

If they were willing to repay both principal and interest together, then each person would only need to take out three dollars each month, and the debt could be repaid in less than half a year.

He first told his companions about it. In the end, everyone thought it was a suitable choice, although it might cause financial strain.

But having worked for a month, they had gradually begun to become familiar with the work and everything here.

They knew where to find places to shelter from the wind and rain and sleep, and they knew when and where to receive free relief food.

They also knew when and where, with good luck, they could get some old clothes.

As long as they lived in the Federation long enough, there would always be a way.

Moreover, news and newspapers had been saying that Congress might soon sign a bill related to black immigrants.

At that time, they could register with the Immigration Bureau and obtain their own work cards.

Then the money they earned would all be their own, and it might not be long before they could pay off all the money.

Lance walked in the front, followed by a dozen or so young people in their late teens, and together they entered a financial company.

There were many financial companies in the Federation, especially in fast-growing cities like King's Port.

Ninety-nine percent of the Federation people harbored the Federation dream. Many people had witnessed some ordinary people, similar to them, who quickly rose from the ordinary class to the middle class, or even capitalists, just because they seized an opportunity that they might also be qualified to touch. People were almost crazy!

Miracles were born every day, and the media reported all of this, as if miracles and the Federation had become an equation. These born miracles also created the idea and motivation for Federation people to work hard and start businesses.

If you don't have money to start a business, borrowing from a bank may not be too convenient.

In order to reduce the risk of loans, banks will require borrowers to have real estate or collateral, and they will only lend according to 60% of the market value.

Strict audits and harsh lending conditions blocked the entrepreneurial path of many people, but roadside financial companies would not do this.

As long as they can determine that you have the ability, or that you have something worth the money, they dare to lend you the money.

Some people do borrow money and don't repay it, but these people are eventually put into oil drums and become the foundation of the port.

If someone can trade their life for hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars, the financial company can only admit defeat.

The only thing they can do is to bear the loss and then kill you!

Of course, very few people can really do this. The desire to survive is the strongest desire of human beings, without exception.

Therefore, during this period, financial companies were almost everywhere around the port, in streets and alleys.

Lance randomly found one that looked a bit larger. The person responsible for guarding the door blocked them, “This is not a club. If you want to find girls, go across the street.”

Facing so many young people, this gatekeeper was not sure what they were here to do. For safety and deterrence, he put his hands on his hips, and the raised hem of his clothes revealed a looming holster and the pistol inside.

The metal-shining pistol was inserted into the holster. Some of the companions immediately took a step back, and the others were so nervous that they couldn't speak.

Lance seemed calm and composed. Without hatred, no one would shoot and kill him.

Even if he was a black immigrant.

In homicide cases, the victims do not exist in the judiciary as black or non-black immigrants.

“We want to borrow some money.”

The gatekeeper looked at Lance, thinking he might be more reliable, “You, and one more person, go inside. The others wait outside.”

Lance looked back. Although most people didn't back down, they didn't take the initiative to stand up.

About three or five seconds later, Elvin stood up, “I'll go with you.”

Lance nodded. The gatekeeper stepped aside, and he and Elvin entered the company, while the others were asked to stay outside.

The company's decoration was luxurious, but the scale was not very large.

Just inside the door was a front desk, and a beautiful girl was fixing her nails.

She glanced up at the people who came in and then focused on her nails again.

Lance walked to the front desk and knocked on the counter, “I want to borrow some money.”

“Go to the end and turn left. There's only one room there,” the girl said without looking up.

Lance curled his lips and walked inside with Elvin.

Elvin seemed a little nervous, so Lance didn't talk to him. Sometimes distracting attention not only fails to relieve nervousness but makes it worse.

The corridor wasn't long, with offices on both sides. However, the people inside didn't seem like office workers, but more like thugs.

Everyone's gaze lingered on the two of them. Lance could clearly feel that Elvin was closely following him, even more nervous now.

These guys, covered in tattoos and with burly builds, looked ferocious, causing Elvin to lower his head. Lance, on the other hand, didn't find them scary at all.

At the end, they turned left. The only door there had "Manager's Office" written on it. Lance knocked on the door, and a voice responded from inside, "Come in."

He pushed the door open and entered. A guy who looked somewhat the part, dressed in a suit and tie, sat behind a desk.

He looked to be about thirty-two or thirty-three years old. He was first taken aback, then invited the two to sit down.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Water, thank you."