Empire of Shadows

The sound of the bristle brush sweeping the floor reached the back room. The apprentice stood at the door, holding a slightly hot loaf of bread, passing it from hand to hand.

The look in his eyes towards Lance also held a hint of mockery, as if to say, "Even if a chicken occasionally flies into the sky, it will eventually fall back to the ground." That was probably the meaning he was trying to convey, though he himself couldn't possibly say something so profound.

Lance straightened up, holding the bristle brush, "Was the bread from the other day good?"

The rich aroma of cheese and ham still lingered in the room. The smile on the apprentice's face, which hadn't had time to fade, disappeared in an instant.

The corners of his mouth drooped little by little, his face as unpleasant as if he'd soiled his pants. He wanted to say something, but in these confrontations over the past month, he had never won.

He was always the loser. Unwilling to invite further humiliation, he had learned his lesson this time. He didn't argue with Lance, only snorted coldly to maintain his last bit of stubbornness, and then silently walked away.

The apprentice didn't continue arguing with Lance because past lessons had taught him that no matter what he did, he would ultimately be the one suffering.

The whole world was bad. He felt very hurt, especially since he could clearly smell the rich milky and ham aroma in the air, but his mouth only tasted bitter, like bread mixed with sand that was hard to swallow.

That feeling of being hurt and abandoned by the world was intense!

Lance knew that Johnny wasn't a good person, but he needed a place that could accommodate him.

Actually, going to other places was also an option, but compared to the things he needed to worry about and be wary of in other places, being here with Johnny seemed easier.

Because in his opinion, Johnny was just an idiot who could only gain a little advantage verbally, but couldn't actually cause him any substantial harm.

Money?

That kind of thing was in the drawer. When he decided to leave, no one could stop him from taking the money that belonged to him.

The bakery was very busy on the three days of the weekend. The apprentice was probably stimulated by the pizza, and he hadn't come out of the back room these past few days.

His mental state seemed to be a little off, but the fat boss didn't care.

All he needed was an idiot who could help him with work and didn't need to be paid a salary. He had never thought of passing on his skills to this little thing.

Seeing that his mother, although not young, still had tight skin and good oral skills, he allowed him to learn the techniques here.

As for whether he could learn anything, that had nothing to do with him.

After all, this industry was like this. Smart people could learn something, and idiots were only fit to work.

If it weren't for Lance, this might be the best life for the fat boss.

But there were no ifs.

Lance occasionally teasing the fat boss and making him rage in impotence had also become a small pleasure for Lance.

Monday morning, the time of the week with the fewest customers, Lance picked up the newspaper that the fat boss had read and unfolded it. He quickly saw news about the Empire.

The Emperor and his crazed army were being defeated by the rebels. His Majesty the Emperor had personally issued the strongest conscription order in history, requiring all Imperial men over the age of fourteen to go to the battlefield to defend the country.

And it was not ruled out that women would be conscripted to the battlefield, because not many people were willing to fight for the Emperor and the royal family anymore.

Even the nobles had chosen to remain neutral at this time.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for a group of rebels from the bottom of society to repeatedly defeat the Royal Knights, forcing His Majesty the Emperor to leave the capital and flee.

Completely crazy, that was the current Emperor.

The reason the Federation was reporting this news was because the continued escalation of the Imperial war had affected two shipping lanes, and the prices of some commodities had continued to rise.

And the exchange reminded the market that the prices of these commodities were unlikely to fall in the short term, unless the war suddenly ended.

Below this news, it was mentioned that there would be more refugees coming to the Federation in the short term to escape the war.

The number of illegal immigrants in the past six months was much higher than in the past few years, and discussions about whether to deport black immigrants were being fiercely debated.

Because of the rapid economic development and the increasing number of jobs, the conflict between illegal immigrants and natives in Gold Port City and some prosperous cities had not yet broken out.

However, in some areas with relatively lagging economic development, this contradiction had already begun to appear.

The newspaper said that three states in the Midwest had decided to increase their crackdown on illegal immigration. After arresting illegal immigrants, they would be ordered to leave the Federation within a time limit, otherwise they would be locked up.

However, Lance didn't think this countermeasure was very useful, because for most illegal immigrants, imprisonment itself was a "means of making a living."

The situation in Gold Port City had also changed somewhat. The cost of work permits had begun to increase, which was the most obvious sign.

In the afternoon, Elvin came with Ethan, Melo, and a few other friends.

There wasn't too much work today, and everyone had chosen to take a day off, so they got together to relax.

Lance opened the door to greet them, hugging each person and calling them "brothers."

This practice caused different emotional expressions among these young people. Most people had an indescribable excitement. They would hug Lance just as hard, patting his shoulders and back, and then call him brother as well.

Pedestrians occasionally glanced sideways, but quickly passed by, because it didn't seem unusual.

This time everyone came together because Ethan wanted to thank Lance again in person for his help, and also wanted to connect emotionally.

After all, although Ethan's matter was a bad thing for everyone, it extended into a good thing.

It made the young people realize "we are a group." This feeling, for young souls in a foreign land, was not only full of attraction but also full of security.

Lance asked the fat boss for leave and had a dollar deducted from his pay, but he didn't really care about the money.

A group of young people walked on the streets full of the atmosphere of the times. There were small cars everywhere, and fashionable modern girls were everywhere.

The whole city radiated a unique vitality!

You could feel the pulse of the city, feel it developing and progressing.

Lance hadn't wandered around Gold Port City since he came. This time, he took the opportunity to go around with everyone.

The more streets they walked, the more things they saw, the more clearly a vague shadow in their hearts became.

Lance lit a cigarette, which he bought for five cents. The quality of the tobacco wasn't very good, and it was a bit choking to smoke.

Ethan couldn't help but want to take a puff, "Let me try..."

Lance gave him one, and the other young partners couldn't help but want to try it. When they were at home, who had ever tried this?

They would probably be beaten to death with a stick by their old fathers!

But after coming to the Federation alone, the shackles in their hearts were being broken, and they became more unrestrained and enthusiastic in their attitude towards life.

Sure enough, everyone coughed after taking a puff. Ethan originally wanted to try to hold back from coughing, but eventually, after his face turned red, he couldn't help but cough.

Lance smiled as he looked at these young people who were playing around, a vitality belonging to young people was being revived in his body.

He flicked the ash and asked, "What kind of people do you plan to become in the future?"

Ethan coughed and raised his hand, "I want to become a rich man, buy a big house, and bring my mother over."

Lance looked at Elvin, who tilted his head and thought for a while, "I want to become a lawyer. I heard that lawyers make a lot of money."

Some partners started to boo, "But you haven't gone to school. If you want to become a lawyer, you have to go to college. You don't even know how to read many words!"

Elvin turned around and punched the person twice in embarrassment, "Then I'll be like Ethan, become a rich man, and hire a bunch of lawyers to work for me!"

Someone hoped that God would give him a beautiful girlfriend, and someone hoped that he could win the lottery.

Melo was a little older, twenty-two years old, and looked much more stable than the others. While the others were playing around, he sat aside and smiled.

Lance looked at him, "What about you, Melo?"

Melo scratched his head, "I hope I can have a legal identity as soon as possible. I don't really have much desire for money. My family has always been a very ordinary family, not rich, and even a little poor."

"But that makes me feel very at ease. I sometimes feel that having a lot of money is not a good thing."

"I would rather create wealth and everything I need for my life with my own hands."

"But sometimes the way these people do things makes me breathless. I just want to get rid of these things now, so that when I face life, I can stand up instead of bending over."

This was a very heavy answer. The partners who had been smiling on their faces all became a little different.

Some sighed, some complained about the dissatisfaction in their current work, but in any case, this strengthened people's idea of becoming richer and having more status.

The slightly sprouting seeds were given special fertilizer today, and no one could predict what kind of fruit it would eventually grow.

Finally, the topic returned to Lance. Elvin asked Lance, "What about you? What kind of person do you plan to become?"

Lance took a deep puff of cigarette, hissed and exhaled, with a smile that was not a smile, "I plan to become a person who is useful to society!"

The young people were stunned for a moment, and then someone pushed Lance down and started playing around again.

Amidst the playful banter and lighthearted commotion, some of the confusion in his heart was gradually fading away, playing a deeper role in integrating him into this era.

Lance felt that he was gradually ceasing to be a mere passerby from another world. He was integrating into this place, becoming a true person living in this era, living here!

"Lance, do you think... our dreams can come true?"

Lance stubbed out his cigarette and nodded vigorously, saying in an extremely firm tone, "Definitely!"