Empire of Shadows

"Of the five major families, three already have arrangements. What about the remaining two?"

Councilman Williams looked at Lance with some anticipation.

The arrangements for these three families were very well done; Lance wouldn't even need to intervene much himself to achieve his desired outcome.

So he was even more curious about what to do with the remaining two families.

Lance also glanced at the pastries on the table, broke off a small piece, and put it in his mouth.

The sweetness of the pastry and the bitterness of the coffee seemed to form an interesting positive cycle; they were complementary, but it had to be just right.

A sip of coffee, a small bite of pastry; too much pastry would be cloyingly sweet.

Too much coffee would leave a lingering bitter taste.

"I will resolve the Keane family's issue during my term as mayor. The Kodak family's issue will have to wait until after you take office as mayor."

He took out a pack of cigarettes and held it in his hand, but didn't take one out; he looked at Councilman Williams, asking if he could smoke.

"Oh, damn, I forgot about that!"

"Of course, of course, Lance, we don't mind. You can give me and James one too."

He said, chuckling. He had indeed forgotten; he should have been the one offering cigarettes, but he was too engrossed in the conversation and forgot.

Lance passed out the cigarettes, and after a brief pause, the gentlemen lit up.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, the feeling of satisfaction like someone lost in the desert for a long time suddenly stumbling upon an oasis. It wasn't just about quenching his thirst; the vibrant environment also gave him a sense of hope!

"How do you plan to deal with Fegal?"

Lance seemed relaxed and wasn't stumped by the question. "I will constantly make trouble for him, without interruption."

"The breeding ground for gangs lies in the leniency of the police and city administrators towards them. Only leniency allows gangs and their crimes to have a place to survive. Once law enforcement no longer turns a blind eye to their criminal activities..."

"Then the Keane family's business will suffer a severe setback, or rather, almost all gangs follow this rule."

"The strength of the five major families is built on their powerful force. Pull out their teeth, break their bones, and they will never have a chance to stand up again."

"Once they lose their current status, those who depend on them will quickly disappear. We don't even need to do anything; we just need to send a signal that they are no longer protected by the rules."

Lance flicked his wrist holding the cigarette outward, "Then someone will help us tear them apart fiercely until they completely fall."

James had a new experience after listening. He had always thought that the five major families were also the rule-makers of Goldport City, but based on Lance's words, the five major families were actually just followers within the rules of the game.

This made James involuntarily look at Councilman Williams, who frowned slightly, appearing thoughtful.

The five major families have never been the rule-makers; they are just a privileged few.

It's difficult to describe accurately. In layman's terms, a higher power has created a rule to constrain the five major families.

Within this rule, they created some new, smaller rules.

It's like the relationship between higher-level law and lower-level law.

Councilman Williams said softly, "If you plan to do this, you will face great resistance. Will Charlie help you?"

Lance smiled and said, "Charlie?"

"Charlie may be a city councilor, but I don't know if a city councilor can interfere with the police department's affairs."

"Moreover, Councilman Williams, I believe we can reach a consensus on this issue."

Councilman Williams sighed softly, "You've given me a difficult problem."

Lance shook his head and said, "I don't think it's a difficult problem."

James didn't quite understand what they were talking about, but he had a vague intuition that they were discussing something very important.

So he tried his best to remember every word they said and then analyze it.

Gradually, he seemed to perceive something, but he couldn't believe it was real, or rather, he wasn't sure if what he analyzed was what these two people were discussing.

He looked at Lance with a ghostly expression. Lance was so young, without a prominent background, and without a "Councilman White" or someone like that to teach him to understand these things. How did he master them?

Councilman Williams considered for a long time this time, and his expression became much more serious. "I must admit, you are a persuasive person."

Lance smiled and replied, "I just presented the facts. I didn't persuade you; you persuaded yourself, Councilman Williams."

Councilman Williams couldn't help but laugh loudly when he heard these words. "You're very good at talking!"

He paused. "If this fails, we still have a way out, but you have no way out. Have you thought it through?"

Lance took another puff of his cigarette. At this moment, he gave the impression of someone with strong confidence who could solve everything, and this confidence was also infecting Councilman Williams.

"I'm still young. I have the opportunity to make mistakes. At the same time, I also believe that we won't lose this time!"

Councilman Williams nodded slightly. "Indeed, we have no reason to lose."

He was silent for a while. "I won't ask you how you're going to do it specifically. In short, when you need my help, tell me, and I will do my best to help you!"

"Would you like to stay for dinner tonight?"

This would be a family banquet. Lance considered it. "Can I bring my girlfriend and her family?"

Councilman Williams's smile began to become very obvious, not the reserved, restrained kind. "Of course. As people get older, they like excitement. You can go prepare, and we can prepare as well."

As he spoke, he picked up the remaining approximately three-fifths of the pastry, put his other hand under it, and took a big bite.

The food crumbs fell into his palm and were scooped back into his mouth.

"Although it's a bit greasy, the taste of honey is always so good!"

Lance got up to say goodbye. Councilman Williams asked James to see him off. When James returned to the study after seeing Lance off, he looked at his father with some confusion.

"From your face, I see your heart full of confusion. Speak, what is troubling you?" He saw through James's stomach full of questions at a glance. At the same time, he also believed that this was a suitable "teaching" opportunity, so he didn't seem impatient or let him guess.

Councilman Williams's evaluation of Lance was constantly rising. He even had a trace of suspicion whether there were some other problems with Lance's identity and background.

Because he directly saw through some of the joints in the Goldport City governance structure, saw the hidden contradictions and conflicts here, deep contradictions, deep conflicts!

He wanted to use these contradictions and conflicts to profit for himself, and Councilman Williams couldn't refuse because what Lance wanted to do would also bring him huge benefits!

He didn't know if someone was pointing him in the right direction or if he had observed and discovered it himself.

If someone was pointing him in the right direction, he hoped to meet and chat with this person, or hire this person to become his advisor.

If Lance discovered it himself, then he would have James maintain a good relationship with him. The purpose of this family banquet was here.

James was indeed the heir he had always recognized. If it were Arthur, he would only let Arthur go out to play with girls.

"Father, you were discussing… the Bay Area issue?"

Councilman Williams opened his lowered eyes, looked at his son, and showed some satisfaction. "It's good that you can see this point. Are there any other questions?"

James said his most confusing point, "Shouldn't we and the Bay Area be one?"

Councilman Williams was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "James, James!"

"You see, this is where you are not as good as him."

"I…" He suddenly got stuck, mainly because he didn't know how to explain these things.

A scarce language system is sometimes unable to accurately explain some meanings, but fortunately, he was old enough and knew how to describe it.

"Look at this city, the rulers of this city, the capitalists, the gangs, and everything else. In the past, they were closely united in a way we thought was reasonable, and it continued without contradiction. This is the most unreasonable thing."

"It's like the relationship between gangs and the police. They are never on the same channel. The police catch thieves, that's their job, and thieves commit crimes, that's their way of making a living."

"There are irreconcilable contradictions and conflicts between them, but aren't you strange?"

"Why can they coexist peacefully?"

"Have you thought about this question?"

This sentence stumped James. He subconsciously wanted to say that this was the social rule of Goldport City and even the Federation, but he knew that this was not the correct answer.

He began to think seriously, considering these things, but he couldn't find the balance point where these obviously irreconcilable contradictions and conflicts could be reconciled.

In the end, he could only look at his father.

Being a teacher is always a very happy feeling and experience. The current Councilman Williams had this experience, and this student was still his son, so his sense of achievement and pleasure was even stronger.

"Actually, it's very simple, it's because of利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest)."

"利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest) can explain everything that happens in this world. When the利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest) is sufficient, even cats and mice can live in the same nest."

"The reason why 金港城 (Jīnggǎng Chéng, Gold Port City) can maintain such peace is because the 利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest) of the Bay Area, the利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest) of the gangs, and our 利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest) can reach a balance."

"When everything is balanced, it's like before, before anything happened, everything is peaceful, just as we expected."

"But when the mayor decides to do something, he breaks this balance, and problems arise within this group that is connected by 利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest)."

His hands hovered in the air, floating up and down, as if something were being weighed in his hands.

"If I don't become mayor, and another guy becomes mayor and doesn't interfere with the city's development and operation, then this peace can continue."

"But I am going to be the mayor, James."

"The balance is broken!"

"In the past, we and the Bay Area fought against the mayor, against some decisions of the state government. We were the closest comrades."

"But now, because I am going to be the mayor, the contradictions and conflicts hidden between us are about to surface."

He said with a smile, "I can't possibly be at the mercy of the Bay Area after I become mayor, can I?"

"Do you think I can accept such a result?"

James finally understood the problem. Or rather, for Councilor Williams, what was more important, flowery rhetoric or the power he could actually get his hands on.

If he were to share the world with the Bay Area, giving up a large portion of his power to them, then Lance's plans would be worthless.

But as long as he couldn't do that, or if the Bay Area became even more greedy, then his plan would definitely come in handy!

If he were willing to be a puppet, or if he didn't have such a strong desire for 利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest), he wouldn't have stood up to run for mayor.

The title of a city councilor would be enough for him and the Williams family for a long time.

But he stood up, and Lance saw through this. He would not compromise with the Bay Area on 利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest), he would not hand over power, and this could not be resolved peacefully.

Since conflicts and contradictions were bound to arise in the future, it was obviously reasonable to start preparing to deal with them now.

Lance was the best candidate to solve this problem. He and the Lance family would become a new 利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest) group. The Lance family and the James family would reach an agreement on the issue of seeking 利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest), and then a new order would be born.

When James heard this, he couldn't suppress his surprise, "Will we... will we go to war with the Bay Area?"

"War..." Councilor Williams shook his head, "I don't like that word. It's not necessarily war, because politics is not so crude!"

"With our cooperation, we will disintegrate the Bay Area and, in a sense, reunify this city!"

Councilor Williams' eyes flashed with a light that James had never seen before, but he did not express his strong emotions and thoughts through language at this time.

He planned to "sell out" 金港城 (Jīnggǎng Chéng, Gold Port City) to the government of Likalai State, or even the federal government.

Didn't they used to say that 金港城 (Jīnggǎng Chéng, Gold Port City) had too much localism?

Every mayor who came here was just a puppet, and most of the 利益 (lìyì, benefit/interest) was kept in the pockets of the locals, so now he could sell 金港城 (Jīnggǎng Chéng, Gold Port City) to get his son a chance to move up to the next level!

If he weren't too old, he wouldn't even want to give up this opportunity. Maybe this could lead to a senator in the Williams family!

Once a senator appeared, then they would no longer be a small local family, they could be called a "political family" and have a broader stage!

The look in his eyes towards James changed, which made James nervous. He was even a little restless, because the look was a little scary!

"After the city councilor term ends, you will be responsible for these tasks. Unless there are special circumstances, I will not give you too much guidance."

James knew that his father was training him, but he was still a little nervous, "I'm worried I won't do well."

Councilor Williams said, "Then try to do well. Don't say such discouraging words. Whether the family's future can go further depends on you."

At this time, James didn't understand that Councilor Williams had already regarded him as a senator to cultivate, although he was a little older, but it was just right.

He still had twenty years to prepare, to become a senator, he still had time to grow.

Lance went directly to William's house. Lawrence and his wife were at home, and Patricia was also there.

So much had happened today, and they hadn't gone outside. This was the worst aspect of the Federation.

It always had some unexpected things happen, making people worry about their safety.

After greeting Lawrence and his wife and kissing Patricia, Lance explained his intentions.

"Councilor Williams invited me to dinner tonight. This is a very formal family banquet. It's not appropriate for me to go alone, so I also invited you along."

"William, you will become a councilor, and Councilor Williams will soon be upgraded to 'Mayor,' so this is a good opportunity for you to get in touch, and you can also chat."

William was a little incredulous when he heard these words. He glanced at Emily, who was a little excited, and couldn't understand.

"How... how did you meet him?"

Lance sat on the sofa, hugging Patricia, "We have a cooperative relationship, a very close cooperation, and we will continue to cooperate."

William still didn't quite understand, a cooperative relationship, what kind of cooperative relationship, but it was definitely not just doing dirty work.

People who do dirty work are not qualified to sit at the same table with the master for dinner, so this must be a real cooperative relationship.

He suddenly thought of the shootout not long ago, and his mouth opened slightly, "Don't tell me, the thing this afternoon has something to do with you."

Lance directly denied, "No, it has nothing to do with me. We are cooperating on other projects."

William looked at Lance with some disbelief, but Emily quickly dragged him to change clothes.

"There's not much time left for dinner, we can't be rude!"

Patricia also went to change clothes, this was a very special occasion.

It was necessary to show importance and solemnity to this family banquet, but it couldn't be too solemn, that wouldn't be appropriate.

It was necessary to appropriately show a sense of closeness, rather than unfamiliarity and distance.

Lance sat on the sofa, flipping through a magazine, his mind full of subsequent processing methods...