Empire of Shadows

Jason's death brought everyone closer together, which is perhaps more important than... what mountain does the Federation have?

Lance wasn't sure, but that was roughly the idea.

At nine o'clock in the morning, he arrived outside St. Naya Cathedral. Recently, he had gained some fame in the Imperial circles, and many people took the initiative to greet him along the way.

And Lance would also cultivate this "image" of himself. To achieve greater success, he had to become a "representative."

People are a multi-functional resource. In the hands of capitalists, people are an inexhaustible mine.

In the hands of politicians, people are a magical weapon that can be switched back and forth between the sharpest sword and the strongest shield at any time.

In the hands of different people, they can play different roles, even be used back and forth. Sometimes people are like condoms, they can be washed and reused, as long as they are not broken!

Many people haven't realized this yet, like Mr. Chobaf. He clearly has a very good base, but he doesn't know how to use it, which is why he's so soft.

He doesn't understand this point. If you treat people as strength, the more people you have, the stronger the strength.

But if you only treat them as leeks, although you have more money, you don't get any improvement in strength.

If Lance had such a base, he would be very hard. Whoever touches him will be melted by his heat and hardness!

Mr. Chobaf was also here today, but he didn't seem to be in high spirits. He stood aside in a daze, as if he had a lot on his mind. Lance greeted him.

If it were before, he might have taken the initiative to walk over and chat with Lance, and Lance would have waited for him in place. This was a kind of etiquette.

But at this time, Mr. Chobaf had no intention of chatting with Lance. He had just had dinner with the mayor, and the mayor was very interested and supportive of his desire to join the mayor's team, but something made him hesitate.

He was recalling and deliberating on what the mayor said that night, and the choice left to him—

"Once President is re-elected, he will begin to make some illegal immigrants legal citizens, which means they also have the right to vote."

"Chobaf, you have a very high position in the hearts of the Imperials. I am very happy that you can see the situation clearly and join our team."

"But you know, everyone on our side has proven their value to us, so what about you?"

"How do you plan to tell others that the team will be better, not worse, with you joining?"

This kind of blatant approach, as if being coerced into expressing his position, made Mr. Chobaf very uncomfortable. Even in the Empire, those nobles would at least maintain a superficial decency.

Even if they coveted his wealth, they would find a suitable reason to negotiate with him, possibly some kind of transaction, giving him something and then getting wealth from him, instead of directly asking him to "pay."

If it were before, he wouldn't pay, but now he had to pay. Arthur still had a big trouble waiting for him. The only thing he was sure of now was that the batch of wine might not have been smuggled away by Arthur.

If it was him, he would have been unable to sit still and would have come to blackmail him long ago, but the more it was like this, the more headache he had. There were no clues, no evidence, and he didn't even know who to bother about this matter.

It seemed that joining the mayor's team was the last choice, otherwise he would be swallowed by Arthur and others sooner or later, leaving no dregs behind!

But the "fill-in-the-blank question" given to him by the mayor made him very embarrassed. He had to let others see his value before he could join this team.

If he did too well, he would be reluctant. If he was willing to give up something, these people might not be satisfied. Headache!

Mr. Chobaf didn't have the desire to chat with him, and Lance himself didn't have much intention to say too much to the other party. He went directly to the young people's side.

When Geral saw him, he waved his arms and ran to his side, and the surrounding young people also greeted him one after another.

"You have formed a family! ①", he said in an excited, affirmative tone, "I want to join!"

Lance didn't react, "Who did you hear that from?"

"Many people are saying that, Enio and the others are following you now."

Lance glanced at Boton in the distance, who was surrounded by several well-dressed Imperials, and turned back to smile and said, "You have to convince your uncle first."

Geral didn't like him, "He only cares about how much money I can give him each month, not what I'm doing."

Lance hadn't asked about this, "I thought you had a good relationship."

He curled his lips, "If you mean that he expects me to give him a little more money at the end of the month, then yes."

"He's a very stingy guy. He always tells me that I'm not as ruthlessly exploited and oppressed as those illegal immigrants because they signed something that allows me to work here legally. I must be grateful to them."

"And they also took me in, so I didn't have to sleep under a bridge. These are all their contributions."

"But I know my parents have already given him a sum of money."

Lance hesitated for a moment, "If you come over, how will you tell your parents?"

"I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions about my future!"

He looked at Lance, very firm, without giving in.

Lance patted his arm, "I'll give you an address. Come over after you've taken care of their affairs."

Geral immediately showed a smile.

The news of Lance forming a family spread quickly among the young people, possibly because someone accidentally leaked it, but this didn't affect the overall situation.

In fact, he should also establish a new "brand" instead of continuing to expand his influence as an individual.

An individual's power is limited after all, but a collective has unlimited power!

In some ways, this is actually a good thing.

Lance told these young people that if they encountered tricky troubles that they couldn't solve, they could come to him, but he couldn't guarantee that he would be able to help them solve them, but he would try his best to do so.

Because everyone is an Imperial, in this strange and hostile country, they should help each other.

On Sunday morning, Patricia sat in front of the dressing table trying to make herself look better.

Mrs. Lawrence stood outside the door and took a look, then went to the study, "Pat is going out again."

Mr. Lawrence, who was reading the newspaper, didn't even look up, "Then let her go. She's already a big girl. We can't always control her life. It's her life!"

Mrs. Lawrence added, "She's putting on makeup. I think she should be going on a date."

"Is it that something..."

Mr. Lawrence recalled for a moment, and said uncertainly, "Lan...S?"

"Lance White, that seems to be his name."

Mrs. Lawrence was even more dissatisfied, "You should respect this boy, and also respect your daughter."

Mr. Lawrence knew he was wrong, because what he just said would make people misunderstand that his daughter was a slut who often changed boyfriends.

He put down the newspaper, raised his hands, "I apologize, I said something stupid that I shouldn't have said."

"I want to invite him to our house as a guest, at least so we can get to know him."

This was Mrs. Lawrence's point of view. After all, this was her daughter's first formal relationship in every sense.

She used to go to a girls' school, and those nuns were as strict and impersonal as robots. They would also spank disobedient girls with wooden boards in front of others.

The newspaper said that most girls from girls' schools have more or less psychological problems, and they were also very worried about this.

Mr. Lawrence thought for a while, "You can try to talk to her and invite Lance to have dinner, so they can come back before dark."

As an old father, he was still worried that his little lamb would be stripped clean and eaten.

Mrs. Lawrence had been with him for a lifetime and knew what he was thinking, but she didn't expose it, she just smiled in a way that made him feel a little embarrassed, "Please don't look at me when you want to laugh, and you should go talk to your daughter."

After a few steps, she came to her daughter's door and knocked, "Can I come in?"

Patricia, who was putting on makeup, looked back a little shyly, "Of course, Mom."

Mrs. Lawrence walked behind her, "Are you going on a date with Lance?"

The girl didn't deny it, "Your dad wants to invite him to our house for dinner."

Patricia suddenly turned around and stared at her with wide eyes, "That's not appropriate!"

Mrs. Lawrence asked, "Why is it not appropriate?"

"Is it because you haven't confirmed your relationship?"

"Or is it for some other reason?"

Patricia didn't know how to answer this question. She comforted her daughter's emotions, "I think this is a very appropriate opportunity. You know your dad and I care about you very much, and we are also very worried about you."

"You have to give us a chance to understand the other person. We can't wait until you tell us you're getting married before we can meet him, right?"

"And it's just a meal. I'll tell your father not to say nonsense, and I promise not to interfere with your relationship. I swear."

Patricia thought for a while, "I can't be sure if he will come, but I will tell him about it."

Mrs. Lawrence picked up a handkerchief and wiped the lipstick off her lips, "He will definitely like your pure look more. This is your greatest advantage. Show it off, my proud girl!"

Looking at her youthful and innocent self in the mirror, Patricia suddenly felt a surge of confidence.

No need for makeup, she was already the most beautiful!

=

①: This refers to the neighborhood family, the most basic form of organization.