Empire of Shadows

"Who have you pledged allegiance to?"

When William asked this question, he was actually a little nervous, because it was related to why he had come here today.

From the moment he heard that Lance had begun to 'struggle,' he began to pay attention to the entire Federation's political situation, and he also observed some... many changes.

At this moment, the Federation seemed to have a kind of... indescribable bizarre feeling!

Clearly, the working class could only earn a low income of less than forty dollars a month, but the media, newspapers, and politicians were all shouting, 'Our economy is growing rapidly.' So, who stole the money that should have been in the hands of the working class?

The momentum of finance driving economic development has become difficult to suppress in some financial centers, and even Goldport City now has some similar companies and operations.

They don't sell any physical goods, but rather sell a 'concept,' at least William thinks that's what it is.

You buy this product from me for one hundred dollars, even though its cost price is only fifty dollars, and I promise to buy it back at a price of one hundred and thirty dollars in a few years.

And I will introduce you to our salon, where there are many customers just like you who have purchased our products.

When some people started buying up soon-to-expire products at prices slightly lower than the repurchase price, the originally uncertain customers became confident.

They would buy more products, with more money, believing that everything would make them earn more.

Even if they don't know or don't want to know, this company doesn't even have a factory!

Many strange things that were happening made William feel that a great era was coming, like the eve of a storm!

The tranquil ocean was oppressed by thick, touchable dark clouds, and the distance between the sea and the sky was infinitely shortened, the atmosphere so heavy that people would subconsciously hold their breath.

What they were waiting for was a bolt of lightning.

It could be a lightning bolt representing destruction, or it could be a light representing new life!

Of course, William might not be very clear about what was happening in Goldport City, or even the Federation, as his position prevented him from accessing much valuable information.

He didn't want to be blind and deaf when the storm was about to come. He wanted to stand higher, get more information, for himself and his family.

Some of the things Lance had mentioned before made him start to pay attention, so he had to know who Lance had pledged allegiance to.

Lance looked at the thoughts swirling in William's mind, didn't answer immediately, but instead asked, 'Does it matter to you who I've pledged allegiance to?'

"In what capacity are you asking me this question?'

"A friend, my girlfriend's father, or something else?'

William nodded, "It's very important!"

On the second question, he thought for a while, "Maybe it could be a business partner?'

"Business partner?'

Lance chuckled twice, "Good entry point, continue."

William licked his lips, "Don't you have coffee here?'

Lance called out and asked someone to bring two cups of coffee. William continued, "If you have pledged allegiance to a politician, a mayor, Councilor Williams, or someone else, then I will go back to my office and sit down."

"But if you haven't pledged allegiance to a politician, then maybe I can try to do something."

"They want votes, not councilors!"

Lance immediately understood, "You asked me who I pledged allegiance to as soon as you came in, which honestly made me have a lot of guesses. You should be clearer, William."

Looking at William still waiting for his answer, he showed some smiles, and these smiles made William's face less serious.

"The Pasreto family. Through Alberto Corti, I met Mr. Pasreto. He appreciates me very much, and we will have some cooperative relationships."

"I'm just providing services for them, not joining. When necessary, I can withdraw."

William suddenly laughed twice, "Great choice, Lance, and I'm not just saying that for my own sake."

"You did the right thing!'

"The mayor will be leaving Goldport City in two years. He won't stay too long. If you pledge allegiance to him, he won't take you with him when he leaves..."

He thought for a while, shaking his head vigorously, "There's a high probability that he won't take any insignificant forces with him when he leaves. When that day comes, it will be the new mayor and your competitors purging you."

"If you pledge allegiance to local celebrities like Williams, then you can only work for them for the rest of your life, and then be thrown into the trash one day."

"You made a very smart choice!'

Lance waved his hand, "No need to flatter me. Let's talk about something practical. What do you want to do?'

"Imperial District Councilor."

His eyes had some heat in them, "I've been thinking about this all along. Although the Imperial District doesn't have much political influence, it will ultimately allow me to enter City Hall in another decent way."

Lance frowned and thought. He had previously hoped to support his own interest spokesperson in politics.

But the performance of Alberto and Mr. Pasreto made him see another side of this world. As long as you are strong enough, the world will revolve around you.

However, based on the caution and vigilance that his past experience had given him, he felt that it was still best to support his own entire team.

Other people's things are always other people's.

He can't always have to exchange more benefits every time he hopes those people will say a word or do something for him.

He nodded, "I will promote this matter. Who is the current Imperial District Councilor?'

Federal cities are divided according to administrative regions, and there will be the same number of city councilors.

Goldport City has eleven administrative districts, so there are eleven city councilors.

Districts like the Port District, Bay Area, and City Center are basically controlled by veteran councilors like Councilor Williams. The only districts that others can truly participate in are the Imperial District, Sumerly District, and Silling District, which have no political influence.

The people who live here are either old people who are about to reach the end of their lives, or immigrants who have no political rights. The districts are not wealthy, and there will be no big capitalists colluding with them.

For the real city celebrities, these places are not attractive, but for civil servants like William, who are still ordinary office workers in the City Hall office, even the lowest-ranked councilor is a huge promotion!

"Ruth, a Libertarian, but some of his political views are very radical, and his brain isn't too good either."

William gestured at his temple, "He always feels that some new policies are the greatest destruction of the spirit of the Free Federation, and he has also proposed such things as 'Taxation is the shackle that enslaves the free will of the Federation'...'"

Lance was also a little stunned after hearing this, "Although from the perspective of a taxpayer, I think what he said is right, but obviously he is not standing on the correct path of historical development."

"Recently, Congress has also been discussing this, and they hope to reduce the tax standard to a level that ordinary and low-income people can afford to pay."

Lance looked at William, and the latter also looked at him. Both of them were a little speechless.

"Are you sure you didn't make it up?'

Lance couldn't help but ask, "This doesn't sound like something a person should say.'

William smiled very restrainedly, but this made his smile seem even funnier!

"That's what they say on Capitol Hill!'

Lance shook his head, "Then how did he become the Imperial District Councilor?'

"The mayor and governor are both Socialists."

William smiled for a while, then said softly, "The Imperial District is a predominantly immigrant area."

Understood!

"So he is very tolerant of immigrants?'

"He believes that as long as they have obtained legal status, they should enjoy all the rights and obligations of the Federation."

"Sounds good!'

Lance sincerely commented, but he didn't completely believe it.

If this Mr. Ruth really believes that Imperial District immigrants should be treated equally as native-born citizens of the Federation, he should do something to change the status quo, but Lance has been here for half a year and hasn't heard of him doing anything.

It is possible that during the election, compared to those Socialists who obviously had prejudices against them immigrants and whose minds were full of the Federation being supreme, and the Federalists who had no one running, this Libertarian who spoke of being tolerant of immigrants became one of the few choices.

As long as he doesn't do anything extra, it may be the best result for the immigrant voters in the Imperial District!

Of course, it is also possible that he tried, but ultimately failed. After all, under the rule of the Socialists, who the hell can like a Libertarian who sings the praises of freedom all day long?

They are already very tolerant by not grabbing him by the neck and pressing him into the cotton field to pick cotton!

William continued, "If you can take over the territory left by the Camilla Gang and control most of the Imperial District, then the next Imperial District Councilor will definitely be me."

"We can cooperate with each other and go further."

Very straightforward words. Lance liked straightforwardness, which allowed him to save a little brainpower.

Lance thought about it seriously for a while, "I don't think there's a problem. Next, I will solve some social problems. If someone can cooperate with me, then that would be even better."

There is still a year left to elect the city councilor. Although William can prepare now, there is no need to rush too much.

Lance gave him a check for three thousand dollars and asked him to get things moving first, find two helpers or something.

Moreover, this matter is not just about the two of them, but also about the Federalist Party. William will report this matter to the local party congress.

He doesn't need the Federalist Party to tilt political funds, so it wouldn't be too much to give some political support, right?

After discussing some general things, William planned to leave. He picked up his scarf and hat, and as he was about to leave, he reminded Lance, "You need to go see Pat when you have time."

Lance nodded, "I'm busy these few days, maybe in a few days."

William nodded and left. Lance picked up his coffee, which had already cooled, and took a small sip.

Actually, even if William hadn't come to him, he had planned to find a time to talk to William.

If the councilor of the Imperial District couldn't be someone on his side, some things would be difficult to handle later. But he proposed this matter himself, so he fell into a disadvantage in this 'game'.

In the following two days, Lance's side recruited more than a hundred people, and also temporarily stopped recruiting, which made many people who didn't get on the bandwagon feel regret and look forward to the next time.

These hundred-plus people were all selected simply. Elvin had already told them that not everyone could stay here for a long time.

If anyone did anything that violated the rules, damaged the company's interests, or became timid and deserted, then they would be kicked out, and even more than just kicked out.

This also made everyone feel a sense of seriousness.

On the morning of the last day of the year, Lance arrived outside the office. At this time, the newly recruited staff had all gathered here.

They took off their blue work clothes and put on clothes similar to Lance's, but with some differences.

In terms of style, Lance and his group wore handmade custom-made clothes, while these subordinates wore clothes produced in factories.

After Lance's garment factory was handed over to Leide (the old tailor's son-in-law), he managed it well. He had run a garment factory before, and knew how to make it operate normally.

After seeking Lance's consent, he had already begun to actively take on some orders. In a period of rapid economic development, it was still easy to maintain daily expenses.

This batch of clothes was produced urgently, with roughly the same style: black tops and bottoms, a black windbreaker, and a black hat.

Leide provided Lance with a very interesting idea: to add a silk ribbon, red in color, to the left upper arm of each person.

This would make the all-black clothes look a little more lively, or rather, seriously lively.

At the same time, this ribbon could be used to distinguish their hierarchical relationship.

One stripe, the lowest level member.

Two stripes, team leader.

As for three stripes, that would be senior cadres. They would be qualified to enjoy a handmade custom-made suit, keeping them consistent with Lance and his group.

So early in the morning, the blue-collar workers were somewhat envious when they saw their friends, who had been working with them on the docks a few days ago, turn around and put on this handsome and serious outfit.

At about eight o'clock, Lance and his group drove over.

After he got out of the car, these newly joined members also gathered around.

Looking at these unfamiliar faces, Lance was slightly excited, because these would all become his core team.

"Today is our first official meeting. Some brothers we met yesterday or the day before, but some we are meeting for the first time today."

"I know you are curious about the new life, and some of you yearn for it. Actually, so am I!"

"This is also the first time for me!"

"But fortunately, what we are going to do is not a bad thing. Your job is to clear up the chaos on the streets of the Imperial District."

"Don't be afraid of causing trouble. If you see someone robbing, someone doing something illegal, or hurting others."

"Don't be afraid, just go up and beat them up!"

"If they try to hurt you, for example, if they have a handgun, your temporary captain will take care of them."

These newcomers certainly couldn't go out on the streets to do things on their own on the first day. Lance arranged for more than a dozen veterans to join them.

Including Morris, Hiram, Raun, and the like, they would each lead about ten team members to work together, teaching them how to 'eat' on the streets.

At this time, the value of 'role models' and 'standards' is very important, which will affect their future 'work attitude' and 'work style'. Lance cares about this very much.

He didn't want his 'Lance Family' to become the next Camilla Gang, that's not what he wanted. So from the beginning, he had to tell these people what they could do and what they couldn't do.

What you get rewarded for doing well, and what you get punished for doing.

"I know you may be thinking, why not give you a handgun or something."

"The reason I do this is to prevent some unnecessary problems from escalating. We have only just started working together. I welcome you to join our family, but we must have a preliminary understanding before we can truly become a family."

Hiram and the others threw down travel bags from a car one by one. Lance pulled one over, opened it, and they were all Sailboat Team baseball bats.

"Take them with you, you'll need them!"

"Protect yourself first, and then it's my job!"

"It's still the same sentence, don't be afraid of trouble, but don't take the initiative to bully people. We are not members of the Camilla Gang, and we don't take pride in bullying, defrauding, and extorting the weak."

"Don't do those annoying things. Maybe some people will say we are a gang, or something else, but I hope you understand one thing."

"Even if we are a gang, we are the whitest one among all the gangs!"

Everyone seemed a little excited. They received the baseball bats from Hiram. Looking at these classic-colored baseball bats, Lance thought of Alberto's salesmanship.

He was a fanatical Sailboat Team fan. When he heard that Lance needed some convenient weapons that could be used on the streets without causing frequent trouble, he sent a lot of Sailboat Team baseball bats.

According to Fordis, he had thousands more in his warehouse, just to support the Sailboat Team!

Lance needed a truck today, but it wasn't driven by the Howard brothers, they had other things to do and weren't there.

These people will take a truck to the Imperial District and then sweep the streets.

When this group of people took the baseball bats and got on the truck, and were pulled away by three trucks, many blue-collar workers couldn't help but develop a stronger desire!

After watching them leave, the others returned to the office and continued to work. Elvin still had a lot of work to do. He had to verify the identity information of this new batch of people, and whether it matched the situation within the Empire.

And find ways to continue recruiting soldiers from within the Empire. These people may be able to play a role in street battles, but they may still be a little short in the truly important 'battlefield'.

At this time, those little rats and scumbags on the streets of the Imperial District didn't know at all that a terrible storm was about to break out here, which would affect the entire Imperial District!