Empire of Shadows

Alberto crossed his legs and lit a cigarette. He lowered his head, and after the first puff of smoke was drawn into his lungs from the lit end, he raised his head and exhaled.

"So…"

Lance continued his words, "So I plan to find some locals with legal status, homeless people or something, give them a few dollars, and have them dine at Mr. Anderson's restaurant."

"Then I will also find reporters to promote them, for example… the most popular restaurant for civilians or homeless people?"

Alberto was stunned for a while after listening, then nodded in agreement, "Your idea is excellent, Lance."

"No one likes to dine in the same restaurant with a group of smelly homeless people. Before long, his restaurant will be notorious."

He happily tapped on the table, "How about using our own people?"

Lance didn't agree, "Mr. Corti, it's not that I don't want to find something for them to do. I believe Mr. Anderson will definitely call the police. If we use our own people, it might be a little troublesome."

Alberto thought seriously for a moment, a smile appearing on his face, "You're absolutely right, Lance, that's what I admire most about you."

"What you show is much more mature than your appearance!"

As he spoke, he opened the drawer, counted out two hundred dollars, put it on the table, and pushed it over, along with a business card, "I don't have the habit of letting others spend their own money to work for me. This is your new funding."

"Also, this guy on the business card has some cooperation with us. You can contact him and give it a try."

"My only request is to make him incredibly angry, but have no way to do anything about it. I want him to call me and beg me!"

Lance glanced at the money on the table and smiled, "You will see him looking exasperated and cautious, Mr. Corti…"

The next morning, Lance appeared at St. Naya Cathedral. There were many people on the lawn outside the church. If you add the people inside the church, there were at least four or five hundred people.

Four or five hundred people may be a big difference from the "30,000 people" Mr. Bolton mentioned, but these four or five hundred people represent at least two hundred families, and the radiation from these two hundred families may involve thousands of families, accounting for a quarter, or even a fifth, of the legal immigrants.

So, although the number of people is small, the influence is not small, and most of the people who can attend this kind of gathering are doing well.

Bolton also saw Lance. Originally, he didn't plan to talk to Lance. He didn't like these gang members, but when he saw Lance driving up, he changed his mind a little.

He took the initiative to walk over and greeted Lance enthusiastically in a voice slightly louder than the people around him, "Lance, is your car parked okay?"

Lance, who was just about to find a way to break the ice, looked back a little inexplicably. The car was parked in the parking space, without any abnormality.

But soon he reacted and returned the greeting with equal enthusiasm, "Uncle Bolton, I made sure it was locked."

Mr. Bolton was very satisfied with Lance's reaction. At this time, someone immediately leaned towards him, "Bolton, why don't you introduce us to this young… where are you from?"

"Barman State!"

, Lance took the initiative to walk over and shook hands with this gentleman who was about fifty years old beside Bolton.

Mr. Bolton immediately reacted, "This is Lance, a young man who just came to the Federation and currently has a very free job."

He then introduced Lance to the person next to him, "This is Mr. Chobaff, known as the pride of the Empire people in Gold Harbor City!"

"If you have extra money and want to find a place to keep it, and want to eat higher interest rates than the Federal Reserve, Mr. Chobaff is your best choice!"

"More than 40% of the Empire people deposit their money with him!"

Listening to Mr. Bolton's introduction, Lance took the initiative to reach out and shook Mr. Chobaff's hand enthusiastically, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Chobaff, are you a banker?"

Chobaff laughed heartily, took a cigar from the hand of someone next to him, took a puff, and slowly exhaled, "I can't be called a banker, I just want to do something I can do for our compatriots."

"You don't need to have a federal immigration certificate to deposit money with me, nor do you need to have any residence permit or work card, as long as you are an Empire person, you can deposit money with me."

He glanced imperceptibly at the car in the parking lot outside the church, and soon made a judgment.

Although the car is old, it may only be worth four or five hundred dollars at a used car dealer, but being able to drive a car here and wearing a set of clothes that costs a dozen dollars, this is a young man with potential.

For young people with potential, who wouldn't want to expand their network?

After chatting for a few more words, Mr. Chobaff took the initiative to withdraw from the circle, "It seems that other people also want to get to know our new friend, so I won't waste your time."

He shook hands with Lance again and left. Sure enough, new friends came over to say hello and get to know Lance through Uncle Bolton.

In the Empire, they might not actively want to get to know someone just because they are richer.

However, after living in the Federation for so long, for these Empire immigrants who are still at the bottom, they are eager to find a ladder to rise and get rid of the status quo at the bottom of society.

Although the car doesn't look too new, at least he drove here, while they either ride a bicycle or take the bus, that's the difference.

Those who came here to get to know Lance were all adults, in their thirties. These people have been working hard in the Federation for at least seven or eight years.

Although some people may have some hesitation about Lance's work, most people still exchanged contact information or business cards.

It took more than half an hour to deal with these people. Lance couldn't help but ask, "Is Gerald here today?"

He just didn't want to continue to be Mr. Bolton's tool for "showing off" here. In essence, this kind of showing off is actually quite naive. "I have an amazing friend" and "How is my friend, how is my friend" are equally hopeless, but some people just can't help but do it.

Mr. Bolton also had a good time today, "Of course, young people don't like to be with us old guys. They are on the side, do you want me to take you over?"

Lance quickly refused, and then trotted to the side of St. Naya Cathedral. This was indeed a gathering place for young people.

About forty young men and women were gathered together chatting. When Lance walked over, Gerald saw him immediately.

There was no way around it, Lance took good care of them when they were on the ship.

Because Gerald looked very much like a girl, he was often subjected to malicious verbal attacks by some people, and even bullied him—making him work, doing things for others, and so on.

Lance helped him solve some troubles. For Gerald, this was definitely an unforgettable person.

"Lance!"

, he jumped and waved his arms, which also made more people's eyes focus on Lance.

"Is this the good brother you mentioned?"

, Gerald's cousin looked at Lance as he walked over and judged him, "He's dressed too old-fashioned, he doesn't have the vigor that we young people should have at all."

Of course, the jealousy in his words could not be hidden. Most of the young people here wore clothes that cost two or three dollars a set, at most four or five dollars a set.

But Lance's set of clothes, which cost more than a dozen dollars, immediately dwarfed them.

Moreover, at their age, who doesn't want to make themselves look more mature?

Gerald ran over and gave Lance a warm hug, but Lance always felt a little strange, because Gerald was too beautiful.

Fortunately, the hug ended quickly, and Gerald pulled Lance to introduce his friends.

"This is my cousin, Robb…"

"This is my cousin, Nancy…"

"This is my cousin's girlfriend, Selena…"

Lance greeted and shook hands with each of them very friendly. There were also some people whose eyes were always on this side.

His temperament was different from these people's, with a kind of indescribable "hardness."

"Lance, do you have family here?"

, Robb asked first. His girlfriend, Selena, had been looking at Lance, which made him feel a little jealous.

Lance didn't notice this, "No, I'm the only one here."

Robb's face had a little more smile, "So you haven't obtained permanent citizenship yet?"

"Yes, I haven't gotten it yet."

, he didn't lie and admitted it very directly.

Originally, Nancy was also observing Lance, but when her brother asked this question and Lance answered so honestly, she suddenly lost interest in Lance.

There is a big difference between having this card and not having it.

They have seen many peers who don't have the card, work more than a dozen hours a day, but can only earn more than a dozen dollars, twenty dollars a month.

But those of them who have federal citizenship enjoy the protection of various laws. The daily working hours will not exceed eleven hours, and they also enjoy weekends off, as well as other benefits and insurance.

They are already not young. At this time, if they are in love, it is for the purpose of marriage.

It is unlikely that Nancy would fall in love with someone who does not have federal citizenship, and it is even more impossible to get married. A love that is destined to have no results is not what she wants.

Robb felt that his girlfriend seemed to have lost some interest in the guy in front of him. His emotions finally stabilized, even with a hint of superiority.

"So what do you do now… what kind of work?"

Lance didn't plan to beat around the bush with these young people. He went straight to the point, "I work for a company. They give me orders, and I get paid based on the order amount after I complete them."

Rob thought he understood and said with a smile, "So, you're a salesman?"

"Something like that!"

He got excited again, "What are you selling? Maybe we can help you get more commission."

Lance smiled and didn't say anything. Rob thought he was embarrassed, so he continued to dig into what he thought was a sore spot, "Does this job earn you money?"

Some sales jobs don't require employee ID cards. They just need to bring customers to the company or store, have them pay and place an order, and then they can get a commission.

The purpose of doing this is for capitalists to avoid unnecessary expenses. At the same time, it also explains why Lance is dressed so well.

Maybe he rented a suit specifically for work!

"The last order earned me two hundred dollars."

Rob, who had been about to say something, suddenly fell silent. Instead, Gerald exclaimed, "That's so much money?"

"Is that a lot?" Lance shook his head. "That's just a small order. Wait until you've seen bigger orders."

The emotions in Rob's heart became somewhat… complicated, just like his expression, "Listen, no one will laugh at you if you don't earn much money."

"But if you're just trying to get someone's attention by making up this lie, I don't think that's funny at all!"

"Do you think an illegal immigrant who just arrived in the Federation and doesn't have legal status can earn that much money from a single order?"

"You should be down-to-earth…"

Rob was about to say something, but Selena pulled him away from the crowd. After walking a few steps, she pushed Rob, "What's wrong with you?"

"Almost everyone can see that you're targeting Lance!"

Rob paced back and forth a few times. "I just can't stand his smug attitude. He's just an illegal immigrant without status, and haven't you noticed?"

"He told a lie, intending to deceive you, you, and Nancy."

"I'm your boyfriend. Aren't you supposed to be on my side instead of protecting him?"

Selena found it hard to understand. Usually, Rob was actually a good person, although he had a bit of Mr. Bolton's hidden arrogance, was slightly mean, and had a somewhat sharp tongue.

But this could also be seen as a form of self-protection, but she really couldn't stand Rob's behavior today. He was as bitter and vicious as a mean woman!

She flung his hand away, "You really should reflect on yourself," she said, intending to leave. Rob's performance today had made her lose face.

Rob certainly wouldn't let her leave. He ran over and grabbed her hand, and the two ran away, playfully bickering.

After Rob left, more people gathered around…