Empire of Shadows

"Mr. Johnny, I'm the new precinct officer. You can call me Clark. I'll be responsible for patrolling and maintaining order in the nearby blocks for the foreseeable future."

"I just heard you had some trouble..."

He sized up Johnny, who was sitting in a wheelchair with a cast on his arm, took off his hat, and sat down in a seat not far from him.

"They said they caught the culprits, but your lost money can't be recovered.

I asked the officer in charge of the case, and he said you can prepare a lawyer to sue them and have their families compensate you for your... various losses."

He glanced at Johnny's arm, barely managing to suppress a laugh.

In fact, Johnny had become the laughingstock of the street.

The story spread quickly, and since there were few people as stingy and mean as him, everyone thought it was a bloody joke.

Although it was a joke, it was a bloody one.

He was actually reluctant to face Officer Clark right now, but he forced himself to perk up and deal with him.

"Thank you for coming to inform me.

This is good news for me, but as you can see, I can't afford a lawyer right now."

"By the way, I'd like to ask, will they hire a lawyer?"

After multiple amendments to the Federal Constitution, it stipulates that parties have the right to hire lawyers to defend themselves or assert their rights, and the Federal judiciary supports this.

But it clearly doesn't cater to the poor, because most poor people can't afford lawyers.

So, at this time, the Federal judiciary is purely a toy for the rich.

Ordinary people don't have legal knowledge and have no advantage when facing professional lawyers.

Often, even if they are the victims, they may be sent to prison.

Currently, hiring a criminal lawyer in the Federation is not cheap.

Even if the case doesn't require defense and is a guaranteed victory, they will demand at least one hundred dollars or more, with no upper limit.

Furthermore, they will extract at least fifteen percent, and up to thirty percent, of the compensation the judge awards to Johnny as a "business commission."

Johnny can't afford a lawyer and hopes the other party can't either, so he doesn't need to spend extra money and can still get some compensation.

Officer Clark shook his head.

"I'm not too clear about this matter.

This is a case for the Criminal Investigation Team, and I have no right to interfere."

He paused.

"Besides wanting to tell you these things, there's one more matter I wanted to speak about."

"Before John left..."

Johnny interrupted him before he could finish.

"I've already paid the money, a lump sum for half a year.

Officer John may not have mentioned this to you."

The smile on Clark's face visibly disappeared.

He looked at Johnny, his expression somewhat unfriendly.

"This is a matter between you and John; he's no longer in charge of this area."

"I'm different from John.

Everyone knows he's greedy, so I only need you to pay fifty dollars a month."

"Pay monthly."

This was actually a last resort.

Before John left, he had squeezed all the merchants on this street dry.

After Clark arrived, he learned about the situation and cursed John for half an hour with his partner, but they still had to figure out how to collect the money.

They discussed it, and the only way now was to charge less money and collect it monthly, which would be more feasible.

John was indeed a greedy wild dog, charging significantly higher protection fees than other precincts, which was related to his ruthless methods.

Clark didn't want a bad nickname, so they finally decided that shops with booming businesses would pay fifty dollars a month, and those with average businesses would pay thirty dollars a month.

As for those who didn't even make thirty dollars in profit a month?

They would let these incapable people get lost and give the shops to those who were capable and wanted to do business.

As the newly appointed officer, where to start collecting and whether he could collect it was crucial, as it would determine whether Officer Clark and his partner could have the final say on this street in the future.

If he couldn't collect money from Johnny, it would be difficult to collect money from others; they would resist him.

Only by taking down Johnny, who was the most profitable and the most difficult to deal with, would these people obediently pay.

He cursed John in his heart, that son of a bitch who messed things up so badly and put them in a passive position.

At the same time, he cursed Johnny in his heart.

You're crippled, and you still can't see the situation clearly.

He certainly wouldn't have a good attitude.

Clark took a deep breath.

"Johnny, you know there are many eyes watching us."

"Don't embarrass me, and I won't make things difficult for you either."

"It's just fifty dollars."

The two stared at each other for a moment.

Johnny pursed his lips, cursing John and this Officer Clark countless times in his heart, spewing out all sorts of dirty words, as if that would make him feel better.

Seeing the other party's gaze growing colder and more unyielding, Johnny became very agitated, and his voice became somewhat hoarse.

"I hope you don't just talk big like John did."

Officer Clark's face immediately lit up with a smile.

"You'll see me maintain the safety here very well!"

Johnny gathered all the change in the cash box, but he was still a few dollars short.

Although it was all small change, Officer Clark didn't care at all.

He directly snatched it away and held it in his hand.

"You still owe me five dollars.

Consider this five dollars my condolences for your injury.

I hope you recover soon, and I'm waiting to eat the bread you make with your own hands."

"Johnny, you're a smart man.

I'm glad you didn't embarrass me, and I certainly won't make things difficult for you.

If you have any problems, call the radio, and they can find me."

Officer Clark, coming out of the bakery, shook his belt.

His partner took out a cotton and linen cloth bag from the car window, and he threw the money into it in front of the shop owners.

The shop owners, standing at the door of their shops watching, cursed Johnny, complaining about why he didn't resist the pressure, while starting to prepare cash.

These sons of bitches, these vampires, they should all go to hell!

In the afternoon, another bad news came.

The court sent the trial date and told him that the other party had hired a defense lawyer.

If he didn't hire a lawyer, he would likely be at a disadvantage in this lawsuit, which was originally a guaranteed victory.

Fortunately, Johnny still had some savings, about seven or eight hundred dollars.

He took out some money from the bank and found a relatively ordinary law firm.

After paying a twenty-dollar consultation fee, he received a satisfactory answer.

The lawyer told him that there were no disputed points in this case.

His apprentice premeditated burglary and assault.

As the only victim, even if the other party's lawyer was the Golden Port City's top lawyer, it was impossible to turn him from a victim into a perpetrator.

The only thing the other party could do was to reduce the sentences of those young people as much as possible and strive for as few fines as possible.

This lawyer even told Johnny that he might get more compensation because, from the professional perspective of a lawyer, spending money to seek the victim's understanding was the simplest and most effective way to reduce the sentencing standards.

In other words, Johnny might make a small fortune.

Johnny repeatedly asked if it was necessary for him to hire a lawyer, and the other party gave him the answer: "You absolutely don't need to waste money on this unless you hope to get more compensation, but please forgive me for being more blunt; this may cost you more."

"Because there may be a second trial or even more, and your legal fees will increase significantly, you understand my meaning."

The lawyer's confident appearance completely reassured Johnny, who didn't have much education.

After thanking the lawyer, he left the law firm.

At the same time, he felt a little heartache for wasting twenty dollars.

He hadn't planned to hire a lawyer in the first place, so there was really no need to consult.

The bakery's business was still very booming in the evening.

It must be said that Johnny was not only a cook who could make bread, but also a cook who understood people's needs.

He could always make his bread more filling and more durable, which was his secret to making money.

The peak period of business didn't pass until after six o'clock in the evening.

When the people in the bakery had dispersed and the bakery was closed, he had his daughter push him to the display window.

Looking at the city outside the window, which was beginning to darken but was becoming colorful in the distance, he had some inexplicable thoughts in his heart.

He didn't know how long it had been when his daughter came to wipe the table and needed him to move a little before he noticed a small card on the table next to him—

"Wanli Financial Services Consulting Company, solving your financial worries."