Empire of Shadows

Councilman Wade and the Wade family are definitely a representative political force in Goldport City!

They and the Williams family were once the largest farmers, slave owners, and plantation owners in Goldport City…

Taiwan Novel Network → 𝓽 𝔀 𝓴 𝓪 𝓷 . 𝓬 𝓸 𝓶

There is an exaggerated saying that Councilman Wade once said that one-third of the land in Goldport City once belonged to the Wade family, but it gradually became a city in the later urbanization process.

The earliest residents of this city were their former slaves, workers, servants, and maids…

Perhaps with the continuous increase of the foreign population, the proportion of these people in the total population of the city is constantly declining, but the social status of these people is constantly improving.

In the eleven districts of Goldport City, the eleven city councilors are almost all their people!

This is also one of the reasons why they can firmly control Goldport City. They are all their own people, and outsiders have no way to do anything!

Whether it's the people in the city hall or the city councilors.

The reason why the mayor hasn't made any big moves until now is that he is trying to disintegrate one of the two major political forces. Whether it is the Wade family or the Williams family, as long as he removes one of them, it will be much easier to deal with the remaining one.

But it takes a lot of effort to transfer Councilman Wade out, and the mayor has been working on this matter for some time.

Political favors, transfer of benefits, and exchanges of favors…

Looking at the surprised expression on his secretary's face, the mayor took out a cigar. He only enjoys this when he is in a good mood.

"If he respects and executes the transfer order, once he leaves Goldport City, the people around him will lose their core and it will be difficult to unite closely again."

"If he refuses the transfer order, then he will offend those who could have eaten the benefits I promised, and offend so many state dignitaries. Even if this place used to be his family's farm, his future days will not be too good."

"This is a difficult multiple-choice question. No matter how he chooses, we will gain a huge advantage."

"And I think he…"

He took a puff of his cigar, the smoke swirled in his mouth a few times, feeling the constantly emerging flavors, which was quite interesting, "…he will compromise."

This is actually a "good thing" for Councilman Wade. On the surface, his position in the government system has been improved.

Who knows which position is better, a city councilor who needs to "pay his own expenses" or the actual ruler of a city!

Moreover, he doesn't need to waste his own resources and favors. This part of the expenditure is all the mayor's. He only needs to nod his head to have all of this!

He can get a lot of things if he agrees, but if he refuses, he will have a bunch of enemies. If he doesn't have a problem with his brain, he should know how to choose.

Choice is always the most difficult hurdle in life's journey.

From the moment of birth, choices constantly appear in front of us. After completing each stage of life's journey, we have to face a choice.

Every choice will affect our future, life, feelings, career, everything!

Everyone says they won't regret it, but how many people really don't regret it?

Mr. Chuboff finally made a decision, he convinced himself.

Lance disrupted his campaign with that method, then Lance is no longer his friend or a promising young man, they are enemies.

He dialed the number the mayor gave him, and his heart started beating, thump, thump.

When the phone was connected and a gentle voice came from the other side, his somewhat excited emotions were surprisingly calmed down.

"I am Chuboff, maybe you have heard of my name."

He adjusted his sitting position and lit a cigarette.

The number of cigarettes he smoked today is equivalent to the number he smoked in the past two or three days. He needs this, he needs nicotine to relax him and help him make some decisions.

"Mr. Chuboff, I'm glad you can call me, so what can I do for you?"

They all belong to the mayor's camp, so they know each other.

Now that the phone has been dialed to the professor's side, the professor also roughly understands what Mr. Chuboff means.

The cooperation between the gangsters and the capitalists is actually not complicated. One gives money, and the other solves problems, that's all!

Mr. Chuboff licked his lips, "I need your help."

"I've encountered some trouble recently…"

He said some of his requests. He didn't ask the Wolf Gang to actively attack Lance and his people.

He just hopes that they will no longer be harassed by similar situations when holding campaign rallies.

No one will make a lot of noise and fight at the event, eventually making everything a mess.

Listening to Mr. Chuboff finishing his requests, which sounded more like complaining, the professor asked softly, "Mr. Chuboff, we can do all the things you said."

"But I also have a question to ask you. You should know that we and the Lance family are enemies."

"Once we work for you, Lance and his people will also regard you as an enemy. Is it okay even so?"

"After all, I heard that you had a good relationship before, and you are both Imperials."

Mr. Chuboff, who had already made a decision, would never hesitate again. He gritted his teeth and mustered up the courage in his heart, "It doesn't matter, we are no longer friends when he disrupted my campaign!"

A relieved expression appeared on the professor's face. What he was most afraid of was that this Mr. Chuboff neither wanted to completely tear his face apart nor wanted them to help deal with Lance's people, which would make them very embarrassed.

But if Mr. Chuboff and Lance have already torn their faces apart, then everything is fine, "I will arrange for someone to go over as soon as possible. I can guarantee you that they will not succeed so easily this time!"

At the moment he heard these words, Mr. Chuboff suddenly felt as if he had unloaded a heavy burden and let out a long sigh of relief.

He sat at the table, looking at the sky outside the window, his mind blank!

The next morning, an old man took a razor and stroked it back and forth on the strop a few times, shaving off the stubble on his face that wasn't actually that much in the mirror.

He wiped his face clean, applied pomade to his sparse hair, changed into a new set of clothes, and left home.

Since they followed Burton, their lives have obviously been much better. Although they only get ten yuan a month, this ten yuan is too precious for the elderly who no longer have any desire to spend!

Moreover, they can sometimes discover something and get three or five yuan from Burton, so everyone is having a good time!

This relieved the old man of any worries about his old age, and every day is the happiest day of his life.

After cleaning up, he walked out of his house, his face full of smiles in the morning sun. Soon, he came to an intersection not far from the apartment where he lived.

There is a coffee shop here, a very cheap one. Five cents for coffee, five cents for a pancake, and two cents for a fried egg. This is his breakfast in the morning.

The coffee shop owner will also very carefully get him some bacon bits. Although not much, it also makes the fried eggs have more flavor changes.

At this time, several old men were already sitting here, and everyone smiled and greeted him when they saw him.

They are all elderly people living nearby. They have nothing to do on weekdays, so they sit here for most of the day.

After greeting them, he found a place to sit down and began to talk about some news in the newspaper and international events.

The men of the Federation are full of desire to explore politics. The hot topic they have been discussing recently is the outbreak of the Four Nations War and whether the Federation will be involved.

This proposition is very big and has a lot of room for development, and everyone is very active in participating.

Just as he was tasting the inferior coffee, preparing to take a bite with the tip of the pancake dipped in the yolk, everyone's discussion stopped and their eyes turned to the road.

The intersection happened to be red, and several cars stopped behind the stop line waiting for the traffic lights. The old men's eyes focused on the people in those cars.

These people's clothes don't look like Imperials, and they haven't seen them before. More importantly, these people have tattoos.

It is July now, the temperature has risen, and many people are naked, wearing a sleeveless jacket, or even not wearing one.

This exposes the tattoos on their bodies. An old man took out his glasses, put them on and looked over, "Is that a wolf's head?"

Another old man said with a solemn expression, "It's a wolf's head, it seems to be the same wolf's head that Mr. Burton mentioned!"

Several old men looked at one of them at the same time, with envious expressions on their faces. The old man laughed and stood up, quickly ran to the public telephone booth by the roadside, and dialed Burton's phone.

Burton is also in a coffee shop, but it is a more upscale coffee shop. The coffee shop owner specially connected a telephone to the location he likes to sit in for him.

And this location no longer entertains other people, only Burton.

Now Burton also has several young subordinates around him. They are standing on the street outside the coffee shop, wearing uniform T-shirts, smoking and chatting.

A peaceful and calm day, Burton looked at the sunlight outside the window, and then focused his attention on the newspaper.

His breakfast is very rich.

A twenty-five cent cup of coffee, two fried eggs with bacon and ham slices, and finally a fist-sized bread cube cut into small cubes and baked at high temperature.

Dipping breadcrumbs in egg yolk, then wrapping them in ham or bacon and popping them into your mouth – the taste was simply indescribable!

The first sensations to hit your mouth and taste buds were the slightly焦 (jiāo - burnt/crispy) bacon with its rich, oily aroma, or the ham with its unique fragrance and salty flavor.

Next came the egg yolk with garlic powder. The saltiness of the bacon or ham perfectly compensated for the blandness of the egg yolk, making the taste and texture rich and mellow.

Finally, there were the crispy breadcrumbs, which crunched deliciously in your mouth!

But Bolton was a civilized man; he wouldn't make those noises. He would eat with his mouth closed, enjoying the deliciousness in solitude.

Being… a rich man, a man of status, was indeed a very happy thing!

He flipped through the newspaper until the telephone suddenly rang. He wiped his lips with a napkin and picked up the receiver.

"Mr. Bolton, the Wolf Gang's people are driving several cars in from the harbor area along… Road. They're heading in the direction of… I don't know what their destination is, but there seem to be at least twenty or thirty of them."

Bolton frowned after listening. "This is important news. You'll get an extra twenty dollars next month!"

The old man grinned from ear to ear. He smoothed the few strands of hair he had left. "Thank you for your generosity…"

Before he could finish his praise, Bolton hung up the phone. But considering the extra twenty dollars, he didn't feel slighted at all.

He happily returned to the group of old men, who couldn't help but ask, "How much did you get this time?"

The old man held up two fingers, making the other old men envious and jealous. "This meal's on you!"

The old man laughed and agreed, "Okay, it's on me, it's on me!"

After hanging up, Bolton picked up the phone again. When the call was answered, he said anxiously, "I need to speak with Mr. Lance."

About a dozen seconds later, Lance answered the phone. "What's wrong?"

"The Wolf Gang's people drove in on… Road, heading towards… Road. I haven't received any other information yet, but I think this is special and very important…"

Lance raised his eyebrows after listening, which made his eye sockets feel like they were "opening up," allowing him to concentrate more.

"I understand. Have people continue to monitor them and report any news to me at any time."

Lance hung up the phone and walked back to the dining table, where a large group of people were waiting for him.

He sat down in his seat, picked up a napkin, and wiped his hands. "The Wolf Gang's people are here. Hiram, after we finish eating, get ready."

"Also, notify all the bars to be careful of attacks."

He didn't seem as anxious as Bolton. Breaking in early in the morning didn't necessarily mean they were here for a showdown.

If it were a showdown, midnight would be a better time. The darkness would be a natural camouflage, and many people in Gold Harbor City knew that Lance had many informants here.

Coming in during the day was like giving Lance a call, telling him, "We're here." So, nighttime would be the best time to 'invade'.

Hiram started to stand up, but Lance stopped him. "No need to rush. The brothers can handle it."

"We've acquired a lot of liquor recently, Enio."

Enio, who was wrestling with an oxtail, put down the bone. "Here."

"You and Fedes's Gario did a good business last time. You can ask him if he wants another batch. This time, the quality isn't low."

"Also, take a look at other places, such as Creek Valley City, Gold Star City, the surrounding cities, and the surrounding states. We can try to expand there."

"If you find any good locations, we can also consider setting up some processing plants and breweries away from the city."

"Nick's farm is still too close to the city. We're running back and forth more and more often, and it's likely that some people will find out."

"Before they find out, we need to be prepared to be discovered. Enio, I'm assigning this task to you."

"This work is important to all of us!"

Enio nodded. He liked important work, as it made him feel honored. "No problem. I'll finish the work I have on hand and then do this."

"Elvin."

"Hmm?"

"Sean is going to school soon. Fill in for him at the office for now. I remember you said you had a suitable candidate. Let him get in touch first."

"No problem, I'll arrange it."

Lance looked at Morris again. "Continue to gather information that is beneficial or harmful to us…"

He assigned everyone's work for the near future, including Mador's group, who were still helping gang members with military training in batches.

Each session lasted a week, with about fifty people.

Although it was hard, it was actually quite interesting for the young people.

They ate better and received extra subsidies, so no one complained.

"I heard the Red High Heels' house is still vacant?"

After the Red High Heels was sealed off, no one took over the house. After Sam and Booker committed suicide, in a sense, the house no longer had an 'owner'.

According to federal law, the house belonged to the federal treasury.

However, the federal treasury couldn't send employees to manage all the ownerless assets across the federation. For example, some elderly people might have a worthless house.

If they suddenly passed away in the winter without leaving a will, the treasury couldn't assign an employee specifically to that area to dispose of the house for a long time.

Therefore, for the federal government, for non-sensitive assets, they would entrust the local government to auction them off and take back the proceeds.

This disposal method didn't require treasury employees to be scattered throughout the federation to handle all the assets.

Several banks in Gold Harbor City were qualified to auction, and Lance planned to take the house.

The house was in a prosperous area of the Imperial District. Even if it couldn't be used to open a bar at the moment, it could still be used for many purposes.

Gerald's movie had completed all the editing and was about to be released. At that time, there had to be a production company name, right?

Individual production?

Although many movies were like that now, Lance still wanted to set up a company.

This required a company office, and the Red High Heels, after being renovated, would be a good choice.

After breakfast, news about the Wolf Gang kept coming from Bolton. Until finally, the Wolf Gang's people entered Mr. Chobaf's villa.

At this point, Lance fully understood Mr. Chobaf's meaning.

Lance completely understood and respected Mr. Chobaf's choice. It was like two people were competing for the same thing.

Why should you be allowed to compete and not others?

Everyone had the right to compete, but everyone also needed to be prepared to bear the consequences!

Competition itself could never be peaceful!