Empire of Shadows

"Lance is an unreasonable man!" Sam's voice on the phone sounded very aggrieved. "I've already apologized to him and guaranteed to compensate his subordinate's medical expenses, but he still refuses to hand Lisa over to me."

"Sir, I don't have any roots here. I can't force him to do anything. Won't this make Mr. Hoff feel dissatisfied?"

Sam was scolded and threatened by Lance. After thinking it over, he finally made a call to the mayor.

He knew that doing so would lower his score in the mayor's eyes, but his work hadn't even fully started, and he'd already encountered a major hurdle. He didn't know what to say.

He even regretted coming to Goldport City a little. If the introducer hadn't told him that the mayor would value this job and made him a little tempted,

how great it would be if he were still in Paradise City!

At least he wouldn't be annoyed because someone was trying to provoke him and even threaten him!

The mayor listened quietly and pondered for a while. "I'll have a chat with Lance. Arrange for another girl to go to Mr. Hoff."

"He's not dissatisfied because you didn't send Lisa over. His dissatisfaction stems from the fact that when he needed to vent some emotions, the toy you promised him didn't arrive."

"Since you lost one, then give him a better one, plus your sincerity. Do you understand what I mean?"

A leader of the Social Party in Goldport City couldn't possibly have much "genuine affection" for an illegal immigrant from the Empire who was engaged in the flesh trade.

His anger was only because he had already taken a bath, turned down some unimportant work, and prepared all kinds of tools to vent his emotions, waiting from the afternoon until the evening.

Not only were several hours wasted, but he even walked around at home in a bathrobe like an idiot!

He was angry that he had been fooled, not about whether a certain girl came or not!

His assistant had always said to Sam, "a reasonable explanation," not "bring Lisa here."

Sam could actually figure it out if he thought about it carefully, but these things happened too quickly, so he didn't have time to calm down and think.

He was constantly being angered, and perhaps deep down, he even had the idea of "making Mr. Hoff furious, arousing the mayor's anger, and thus helping him deal with Lance."

However, it was clear that the politicians in Goldport City, such an important city with economic and political status, were more rational than the politicians in a city that relied on gambling and pimping to develop.

The words spoken by the mayor made Sam realize that his idea of using the mayor's power to deal with Lance had fallen through, and he could only agree.

But at the same time, he said, "Lance said that we are not allowed to use girls from the Empire, otherwise he will still make trouble for us."

The mayor was slightly displeased. "Pay attention to your wording. He must have said he would make trouble for *you*, not for *us*."

"Since he made the request, then you can change to some other girls. I don't believe that Goldport City can't find girls from other ethnic groups besides the Empire girls."

Sam was still struggling, "But they're cheaper, and..."

The mayor directly and rudely interrupted him, "Don't say some things on the phone, and remember, this is your job, not mine."

He paused for two or three seconds, giving Sam a chance to accept it, and then his voice recovered a little bit of normalcy, "Alright, I'll communicate with Lance and tell him not to make trouble for you."

"The next two years are very important to us. I don't want any plans to deviate from the track. Can you understand my words?"

Although Sam was unwilling, he could only agree, "Yes, sir, I understand."

After he hung up the phone, he glanced at Booker, walked back and forth a few steps, and picked up the phone, "Do you have anything better available right now?"

The voice from the other end of the phone was buzzing, "Yes, what price range do you want, and what are your requirements?"

Sam recalled Mr. Hoff, who was like a hero in the minds of some people, and his little quirks, and said, "Young, not too tall, with a good figure, that makes people want to bully her."

"Fair-skinned, dark brown hair, not so easy to compromise, you know, some people like resistance."

"Two thousand to three thousand is fine."

He thought of something, "Oh right, don't get one from the Empire, including other Empire girls."

The person on the other end of the line couldn't help but laugh, "Have you fallen in love with some Empire girl?"

Sam cursed a few times, "Anyway, don't get an Empire girl, and don't get one from the Federation either. I don't want to cause trouble, preferably an illegal immigrant..."

The person on the other end waited for a while, and he could hear him flipping through something that sounded like a picture album. After about three minutes, the sound stopped.

"Three thousand, this one was originally three thousand five, when do you want her?"

"Immediately!"

At the same time, in Creek Valley City, an immigrant girl from abroad, longing for the Federation and big city life, was working as a waitress in a restaurant.

Lunchtime was very busy. Creek Valley City was becoming very popular due to its pleasant climate.

Many people came here to travel or live, and since it was located not far north of Goldport City, it created a relatively prosperous city center.

Creek Valley City had more than 300,000 people, but the population growth rate was very fast. The local city hall believed that in ten years, the population of Creek Valley City might exceed 500,000.

Doubling in ten years was already the limit of their imagination!

But in any case, rapid population and city size growth made this place full of opportunities.

"This is your order..." The female customer at the table, who seemed to be doing other things, was delivered two servings of tomato beef pasta. The female customer seemed to be doing other things, and she bumped into the waitress's tray as she turned around.

It fell on the female customer's skirt and also stained her own pants. Two screams rang out in the restaurant.

The girl looked desperate. She felt extremely unlucky and didn't know how much money she would have to pay for the skirt.

Now she could only apologize while trying to help the customer. The manager also came over.

"I'm sorry, I'll compensate you," she said sadly.

The female customer showed a smile, "It's okay, I used to be a waitress too, and I've encountered these things before."

"The last time I was standing in your position, a lady forgave me, and now I want to pass on this tolerance, so I won't make you pay for my skirt."

"But you have to come back with me to change clothes. I don't live far, just next door..."

This made the girl extremely surprised, and the manager also breathed a sigh of relief. He gave the girl a look that said, "You have to handle this," indicating that today's dishes would be discounted, and then he left.

The girl readily agreed. She took off her apron and left the restaurant with the female customer.

The large stain on the snow-white skirt made the girl herself very embarrassed. She tried her best to help the female customer block the gazes of people looking over.

Perhaps because the female customer said that she had also been a waitress, the girl was not at all wary of her and talked a lot with her.

She didn't live far away. They arrived after passing through two streets from the alley. After they entered the house through the back door to avoid her embarrassment being discovered by the neighbors, they quickly arrived at the female customer's "home."

As soon as she entered, the girl felt something was strange. All the furniture here was covered with a layer of cloth, and the floor was also covered with newspapers, as if it had just been renovated or was being renovated.

She turned her head to look at the female customer, somewhat puzzled, but what greeted her was not the very polite female customer, but two fierce-looking adult men.

She had already realized that something was wrong. Her unbelievable gaze lingered on the woman for a moment, and she turned around and opened her mouth to call for help, but an arm strangled her neck.

She beat hard on the thick arm, but it was meaningless and useless. She gradually passed out from lack of oxygen.

A male customer who was still eating in the restaurant saw something outside the window, then got up, paid the bill, and left, leaving behind an empty table, an unfinished lunch, and a girl who never returned.

A van quickly left the city and sped all the way towards Goldport City.

Perhaps the restaurant manager or boss would report to the police because the girl had not returned, but it was more likely that they would not do so.

Because they hired illegal immigrants here, once the police started investigating this case, they would definitely investigate the employment situation here.

At that time, not only would they get nothing, but they would also face possible expensive fines, so they would not do that!

As for the girl's roommate or anyone else?

It was possible, but the probability was not high either. No one wanted to cause trouble, no matter why.

So basically, her disappearance wouldn't even be like a small stone thrown into a lake, which could still cause a little ripple.

Her disappearance was like a speck of dust falling into the water, without any waves at all.

While the girl who was apologizing for her actions was still on the road, the mayor had already made a call to Attorney Olsen. Shengda Law Firm, like Golden Diamond Law Firm, was a large law firm covering the entire country, and had always been in cooperation with the mayor.

The mayor and their firm, as well as Olsen himself, had many collaborations. In addition, Olsen had helped the mayor handle some matters outside of the law, and could be considered one of the mayor's confidants.

This was a very important network of contacts. For Attorney Olsen, it could even be said that if he was tired of being a lawyer one day, he could use the mayor's identity to directly enter the political world.

Lawyers entering politics has always been a super popular choice in the Federation, and they also have a significant advantage.

Those federal voters and taxpayers who don't understand the law always foolishly believe that lawyers who understand the law will be more careful in following the rules than those incompetent politicians and dangerous capitalists.

But what they don't know is that the authority and strictness of the law have not made lawyers cautious; instead, it has taught them to exploit loopholes in the law.

To let lawyers who are willing to cross their moral bottom line for money or something else, and who are accustomed to exploiting loopholes, enter politics... I hope the people of the Federation can be happy!

"Sam told me some things. Go talk to Lance and make him understand who is in charge in this city!"

Lawyer Olsen looked at the receiver in his hand, finding it very interesting.

Although the mayor's voice didn't sound very angry, he was definitely unhappy.

He then thought about it and went there in person.

This was Olsen's second time seeing Lance. In his eyes, Lance was a very interesting young man.

After a simple handshake, he sat across from Lance's desk. "I heard you had some unpleasantness with Mr. Sam."

Lance opened a cigarette case and pushed it over. "We have some differences in our philosophies."

Lawyer Olsen chuckled. He found Lance's wording very interesting. "Such as?"

Lance shrugged. "For example, I at least still think I'm a human being, but he obviously doesn't consider himself one anymore."

Lawyer Olsen didn't react at first. It was the first time he had heard such a statement, but he quickly realized that it was related to Sam's work. Thinking about his hellish jobs, Lawyer Olsen seemed to understand.

"What you said isn't a big problem."

"However, Mr. Lance, a trainer can work with beasts because it's just a job, nothing else."

"We don't require trainers to sleep with beasts, or even breed with them. Outside of work, you can be human, and he can be a beast."

"But at work, you are colleagues. There is no human, no beast, only who does well or who doesn't."

Lance shook his head slightly. "I heard that lawyers' bottom lines are very flexible. It seems that's true. Is work more important than being human?"

Faced with Lance's sarcasm, Lawyer Olsen was not annoyed at all. As a lawyer, being pointed at and cursed with nasty words was too normal.

There were also some people who lost lawsuits because of him and would curse out all kinds of dirty words, but he didn't care at all.

If he cared about these things, he would have been angered to death long ago.

He slightly retracted his chin, even looking somewhat proud, and said, "I'm just more focused on work than you are."

"Moreover, work is work, and life is life. Outside of work, I also donate to charities or help those in need."

"Only those who distinguish between work and life can go further in this great era."

After listening, Lance seemed to be thinking seriously, and then said, "I will seriously consider it and try, but I'm not sure if I can do it or when I can do it."

This was typical perfunctory behavior. Lawyer Olsen still had that very gentle look. "You have a lot of time to think about your life and future, but you can't delay other people's time."

"Mr. Sam's, mine, and even his."

Lance remained unmoved. "I don't intend to interfere with Mr. Sam's work. I've already told him that as long as he doesn't use Empire girls, I won't cause him trouble."

"Moreover, this is related to a more important level of work. If you are really focused on work, you should stand on my side!"

He paused and said, "I am unifying the Empire District. I believe that the ten to twenty thousand votes here are very important to the mayor."

"Plus the dockworkers' votes that I will soon secure, at least twenty thousand valid votes, Lawyer Olsen. Can these make you more focused?"

Lawyer Olsen's expression changed slightly. He pondered for a moment, "I will convey your thoughts to him, but if you lied…"

"No one will lie, Lawyer Olsen!" Lance said very certainly.

Not long after, Lawyer Olsen left. Although the Red Heels' work was also important, it was the kind of importance where results could only be seen in the long term, and it couldn't play much of a role in the short term.

They couldn't directly and blatantly use these things to threaten others, as that would make the mayor the common enemy of everyone.

On the contrary, the votes that Lance mentioned were the key things that could directly and effectively determine the distribution of power within the city. Its priority was obviously higher than Sam's work.

Lawyer Olsen went directly to the mayor's office and briefly explained these matters. After the mayor pondered for a while, he nodded slightly.

"If he can handle these, then don't interfere."

Lawyer Olsen nodded, indicating that he understood. If he could handle this, then nothing would happen. But what if he couldn't handle it?

No one said anything because they all knew the consequences of not handling it.

During this time, Sam also called Lance, asking him for the two kidnapped subordinates, his tone very bad.

In these years, he had been sailing smoothly in Paradise City, and he had developed a habit of not wanting to be rejected. Now that Lance made him feel unhappy, he certainly wouldn't have a good tone with Lance.

In the end, the two still parted unhappily on the phone.

In the afternoon, the new toy had already arrived. He personally took this new toy to see Mr. Hoff.

Just like the mayor said, Mr. Hoff was only dissatisfied with being deceived by a pimp, and not truly reluctant to part with Lisa.

When he saw the new toy and Sam hoped that he could help Red Heels tame this new toy, Mr. Hoff generously forgave him.

The girl was fixed on an iron frame, her face full of unyielding spirit, seemingly unaware of what kind of fate she would face next.

But all of this had nothing to do with Sam. He returned to Red Heels to continue ordering goods. Since Booker's group was no longer needed, he had to organize the toys as soon as possible.

He kept busy until after ten o'clock in the evening before returning.

These days, Red Heels was filled with the smell of paint. He had just renovated a house.

When he took a shower, ate something, and was about to sleep, he suddenly heard some noise coming from the attic.

His heart turned cold. He grabbed a weapon and called over two subordinates. The three of them mustered their courage and went up to the second floor together.

One of his subordinates was forced to poke his head into the attic and looked around, but he didn't feel anything.

A subordinate suddenly said, "The sound seems to be coming from outside. Could something be hanging on the roof?"

"A wire, or something else?"

The three went up to the attic. It was dark outside. Sam walked to the window, and before he had time to open it, a dark shadow suddenly slammed into the glass with a bang!

This was already scary enough, but what was even scarier was that the thing seemed to be a person…