Empire of Shadows

Charlie's running for city councilor did indeed come as a surprise to Lance, but upon closer reflection, perhaps this was his way of regaining control over the Gold Coast City police system through another method.

If he were to control the entire police system solely as an ordinary elder, some people would inevitably express dissatisfaction.

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However, a city councilor intervening in the work of the police system, while perhaps not entirely appropriate, is at least justifiable, and the law supports him in doing so.

With Hunter cooperating with Charlie within the police局, they would be able to control the largest law enforcement agency in Gold Coast City.

"The Bay Area Hound seems like it needs a name change; 'Bay Area Fox' might be more suitable for him!"

Lance commented, "Besides this matter?"

Chief Blue sorted out his thoughts, "There's also the gathering I'm going to attend later; Charlie has previously stated that he hopes we don't interfere in this… our game with the Mayor and them."

He paused noticeably during the last half of that sentence, clearly contemplating how to phrase it to better express his attitude.

Using "you" would be too distancing, leading Lance to believe he wasn't on Lance's side.

Therefore, he used the word "we," which could express his continued allegiance to Lance's position!

"Don't move…"

Lance frowned slightly; although his and Councilor Williams' intention was also to escalate the situation, forcing higher-level forces to intervene and stabilize everything again.

However, the chaos they created was different from the chaos that Charlie and Hunter were allowing to intensify!

To give a simple example, it's like someone begging on the roadside; to get some change from passersby, the more pitiful they appear, the better.

But that doesn't mean they should give themselves a few knife wounds; that's not pitiful, that's courting death!

Charlie's approach was like that; Lance could even imagine that when the entire city was plunged into chaos, and the police were most needed to maintain order, the police might even go on strike.

When everyone felt despair about public safety, Charlie, the "resigned" chief who had been the most influential figure in the Gold Coast City police system for nearly two decades, would voluntarily step forward, take on the task of appeasing the police, and get them back to work, restoring the city's order to its proper state.

And he could use this incident to stage a political show, leaping to become a political figure!

Lance had even thought up a campaign slogan for him: "Besides your parents, Charlie is the only one who can protect your safety."

Just hearing it would make people feel his reliability!

Then a city councilor position would definitely be in the bag.

Given Charlie's age, he could still work for at least another decade; even though he was no longer the police chief, he could still control the system for more than a decade, perhaps that was his ambition, and his political aspiration!

After thinking through these things, Lance looked at Chief Blue with some incomprehension; he didn't believe they couldn't see through this, "Could it be that among you, no one objects to him?"

Chief Blue shook his head, "Yes, but what's the use?"

"He represents the interests of the Bay Area; we're all speculating whether there's authorization from the Bay Area behind this; opposing him is tantamount to opposing the decisions of those old men in the Bay Area."

"Now that the Mayor is suppressing them, they may still need to be low-key, but the Mayor will always leave."

"Once he leaves here, the people from the Bay Area will retaliate; we're just police precinct chiefs, Lance, we don't have the ability to resist."

"Including me, if he asks me to express my position, I will definitely stand up and loudly tell everyone that I support his decision, because I don't want to be put on the dinner table after everything is over during this period!"

Lance nodded slightly, "I understand."

From his face, Chief Blue saw what he wanted; he had been slightly agitated just now, and suddenly felt a little embarrassed at this moment.

Revealing such a side in front of a young man, not much older than his own son, was indeed a bit shameful.

He adjusted his clothes and sat back down, "So I thought I should tell you, lest things happen too suddenly and catch you off guard."

"Of course, the Empire District doesn't really need us to maintain public order; now everyone in the city knows that our precinct is the most relaxed!"

Many people envied him; the Empire District precinct had no pressure at all, and the crime rate was still the best among all precincts.

That's because the Lance family members voluntarily maintained order on the streets; these people maintaining order was not quite the same as the police maintaining order.

The police need to act in accordance with rules and regulations to maintain order; if there are things they can manage, then the problem can be solved.

But there are some things they can't manage, or are not very good at managing, and they can't deal with them.

On the contrary, the Lance family members are different; regardless of whether they can manage it or not, as long as they think you are wrong and tell you to stop, and you don't stop.

Then okay, a beating is unavoidable; if you resist or even make an attacking motion, there may be many beatings, or even being thrown into Angel Lake!

Who wouldn't want such a life, where they can get paid without having to work at risk?

"I don't care about what happens in other districts, but in the Empire District, do what you're supposed to do."

"You verbally agree to all of Charlie's requests, and when he holds you accountable, push it to me, saying that I am the actual controller of the precinct."

Saying that, Lance opened the drawer, took out several checks from it, and placed them in order; they were all thousand-dollar checks.

Then he pushed the checks over with his hand, "Contact some precinct chiefs who have a good relationship with you, and form a small circle first."

"Don't expose yourselves yet; you will have more important things to do in the future."

Chief Blue showed some thoughtful expression when he took the checks, but he didn't think too deeply, because the timing wasn't right.

However, he knew that his purpose of making things uncomfortable for Charlie and them had been achieved.

Originally, Lance said that he might not have a chance to stabilize the position of police chief, but now that Charlie and Hunter had stirred things up, if he didn't make some changes, that position would have nothing to do with him in this lifetime.

Not only did he not feel any guilt, but he also had an indescribable sense of pleasure.

Charlie has been the police chief for so long, and he still doesn't want to give up the position; he's really too much!

"I understand, I will contact them."

Lance nodded slightly, "Okay, go ahead, be careful on the road."

After watching Chief Blue leave, Lance thought about some things.

Everyone is pursuing the maximization of their own interests.

The Mayor is like that; it seems like he's at a bit of a disadvantage, letting Councilor Wade get the governor's nomination, while he himself can only get the nomination for Speaker of the House.

He promised various benefits, went out, but couldn't stay in this city for too long and would leave soon.

No matter how you look at it, he lost out.

But in reality, he is the ultimate winner, because even if he leaves, he will leave with a slow harvest.

He traded the city's original interests as bargaining chips; it seems like he didn't get anything, but in reality, he got intangible assets that were countless times more valuable than tangible assets!

Councilor Williams is also like this; in order to ensure that power can continue to be passed down, he would rather sacrifice the city's public safety and stability, even facing the possibility of the rise of the northern port, he is unwilling to have his authority suffer the slightest loss.

Chief Blue is even more so; he thought Lance couldn't understand, but in fact, after he finished saying what he wanted to express, Lance knew his thoughts.

His idea was nothing more than wanting Lance to solve Charlie's methods, so that he himself would also have the opportunity to sit in that important position.

Everyone is trying to find a way, and everyone is seeking the greatest benefit, including himself.

Interest is the only eternal truth in this world.

If someone says that there is something else like this, then they must be lying!

He won't let Charlie succeed; once Charlie grasps the entire police system as a "politician," he will become a newly rising mountain stronghold.

Gold Coast City, in the future, cannot and will not allow such an unreasonable force to exist.

He can get rid of one police chief, and he can get rid of another!

There was a mocking sneer on his lips, but soon this sneer turned into a pain in the ass.

Because he was late.

"Sorry, I'm a little late."

He looked at Patricia; they had agreed to meet at 1:30, and it was almost 2:00 now.

However, the girls of this era were not so unreasonable; Patricia still hugged Lance's arm with a smile, and snuggled up beside him, "It's okay, as long as you can come."

"I asked the ticket seller, and they said they can exchange our tickets for the next show, and it's about to start."

Lance kissed her head, and then the two bought some drinks and popcorn and walked into the screening hall.

They were watching a movie starring Gerald, and both were full of expectations.

Lance fully invested in this movie; investing in movies in this era is almost guaranteed to make a profit.

A large number of illiterate people who previously "couldn't understand" movies no longer worried about not being able to understand the subtitles; although those somewhat distorted sounds sounded a bit awkward, at least they could understand them.

In an era where half the population was illiterate, this brought a huge boost to the box office.

Lance was still considering investing in a second, third, and more.

The two chatted quietly, waiting for the theater to go completely dark. Soon, the opening credits appeared on the screen, and Lance frowned after watching them.

This was different from what Gerald had said on the phone, because the opening credits should have displayed the Wanli Productions logo, not this image of Aquarius.

As the movie progressed, he became even more convinced of this, because the male and female leads were not people he had ever seen. Gerald hadn't even appeared. They must have made a mistake.

Lance found the movie ticket and glanced at it in the dim light. The name was correct.

Patricia hadn't met Gerald before. She assumed the male lead in the movie was Gerald. Halfway through, she even told Lance that she didn't think the male lead was as good-looking as Lance had described.

Lance just smiled. "This isn't the movie I invested in, but the name is right. I'll have to ask what's going on later."

"But this movie looks pretty good, don't you think?"

He didn't want to ruin the current atmosphere. The girl was quickly drawn to his words and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, it's very interesting."

From Lance's perspective, what was so "interesting" about it?

It was just a very ordinary movie product of this era: a terrible script, terrible actors, and terrible filming techniques. But because it caught the wave of sound films, even if all of this was terrible, ordinary moviegoers would think it was okay because of the novelty!

The movie ultimately ended in tragedy. Tragedy can elevate the plot, which is why there are so many tragedies in operas.

In the past, those nobles who rode in golden and silver carriages liked to watch the tragedies of commoners while shedding tears, but as soon as they turned their heads, they would only more harshly exploit and oppress the commoners.

The power of tragedy is stronger than the power of comedy, and it can also make people remember it more deeply.

After all, happiness is easily forgotten, but scars may last a lifetime.

After the movie ended, Lance took Patricia for a few laps around the city center. It had been particularly quiet these past few days. They hadn't heard a single gunshot in two or three hours, which made Lance a little unaccustomed.

They ate delicious food together, and Lance even bought Patricia several sets of clothes before driving her home.

Lawrence and his wife had expected Lance's visit. After all, Patricia had been preparing since morning, so it definitely wasn't an ordinary date.

Emily casually asked, "Are you staying overnight tonight?"

"After last time, I prepared a toothbrush and personal items for you, and put them in Patricia's room."

This question made Lance a little embarrassed. He glanced at Patricia, who looked away, but it was clear that she wanted Lance to stay.

"Yes, I'll be staying here tonight…"

Emily said with a smile, "Not that difficult, is it?"

She was referring to Lance saying he was staying overnight so frankly. Lance nodded in agreement.

Dinner was still a very lavish meal. William was starting to get used to Lance's presence and the fact that he was staying overnight, even though this was only the second time.

After dinner, the men naturally sat on the sofa and chatted about recent events. "The city has been unnaturally quiet lately. Is something big about to happen?"

He had been busy with the election and had noticed these changes, but compared to his previous work in City Hall, where he was extremely well-informed, he was now less informed.

Lance nodded. "The final battle between the locals and the outsiders may be about to begin. I hope it's a final battle, so that at least after this is over, we can all have a period of stable development."

William couldn't help but gasp when he heard these words. "What exactly happened?"

Lance briefly explained the situation. William was a little silent after listening. "The people are innocent."

He was waiting for Lance to pick up on his words, but Lance didn't, which forced him to ask, "What do you think?"

"What do you want me to think?"

William shook his head and said, "Your real thoughts."

"I think this is actually a good thing, at least it can stabilize the city again for a period of time."

"But after this period of time, the next chaos will come."

"No matter whether Sidney or Williams or someone else is sitting in that position, it will always be like this here."

"When someone gains, someone will lose. Those who lose are unwilling to be losers, so they will challenge those who gain."

"If they succeed, they become the gainers, and the losers wait for a period of time before launching a challenge against them."

"If they fail, then they will continue to accumulate strength…"

"William, there is no true fairness in this world. As long as true fairness does not exist, then this will always just be a cycle!"

"Unless there is someone who can end it all!"

This was a very profound topic that William needed to think about.

Around eight o'clock, when the federal people were resting, Lance naturally slept in Patricia's bed with her.

This time, it was obviously much more comfortable than last time. Although she was a little shy and unwilling, after all, Lawrence and his wife were here, she still couldn't resist Lance's demands and her own desires.

Sometimes girls want it more than their partners.

The two tossed and turned several times throughout the night before falling asleep. The next morning, the girl was obviously a little embarrassed, but seeing the calm expressions of Lawrence and his wife, she finally relaxed.

Patricia didn't sleep well last night, so she didn't plan to go anywhere today, while Lance had some things to do, so he quickly said goodbye.

William hitched a ride in his car.

"I forgot to tell you yesterday that there's something I might need you to help with."

In the car, the two lit a cigarette. They didn't smoke at home, which was out of respect for the women, and of course, out of respect for the family.

Taking a deep puff of the cigarette, the whole person seemed to feel a lot better. The two were silent for a while, immersed in the pleasure brought by nicotine.

After the third or fourth puff, William said, "It's still about the Balz Investment Bank, isn't it?"

"Barbara borrowed some money from outside to buy products from her company. Now that Balz Investment Bank has run away with the money, the financial company that lent her the money is demanding repayment."

"Her father said that the other party may have a gangster background and is also demanding high interest from them."

"My brother is communicating with them, and I feel that the direction of this matter may not be what we want to see. The time may come when we need you to help."

Lance nodded. "A small matter."

Then he dropped William off near the campaign office in the city center. Lance went straight back to the company, and then he made a call to Gerald to ask about the movie.

"I went to the cinema last night to see your movie. The ticket I bought was for yours, but it wasn't your movie that was playing. What's going on?"