Shadow Empire

Chapter 1194 Shot and Reaction

George had never been to the beach.

He had only been to the lake, but the lake water didn't feel quite right to him... He didn't know how to describe it; it was like a gentle person and a fierce person.

He learned from some films and literature that the ocean is very violent, although it also has a gentle side, but overall it is very violent.

Although Indenau State has a long coastline, that doesn't mean he's ever been to the beach.

Many people actually live not far from the sea, but they may never have been to the seaside in their entire lives.

Going to the beach comes at a cost.

There are many costs involved, including time, work, and expenses.

Going to the beach seems easy, but it could change other things, which is why George has never been to the beach.

He longed to see what the sea looked like and wanted to know what it was really like, so he and his wife made a pact that after he retired, they would completely relax.

Without having to worry about daily work or other schedule pressures, they simply went for a stroll by the sea.

He had never been to the seaside, but at that moment, he felt the power of the ocean.

That force came from the people around him; they were crowded and swaying, and even though he kept pushing forward, he still swayed back and forth with the movement of the crowd.

He used all his strength to move forward, feeling even more tired than from the injury.

At this moment, he was about forty meters away from Governor Wade.

Governor Wade stood on a makeshift platform not far away, looking at the crowd that had gathered around him, and his emotions quickly calmed down.

He patted the microphone in his hand, and sound came from the loudspeaker; the microphone was working.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down."

"I'm standing here now to resolve some of the issues between us."

“If you keep shouting like this, making it impossible for me to concentrate on certain issues, even if we stay here all day, it will probably be difficult to effectively solve any problems.”

“I have noticed those slogans. I have been noticing them for the past few days. Some people may ask, since I have seen them, why haven’t you dealt with this matter for the past few days?”

"I definitely need to do an investigation to find out what happened before I can deal with these things."

"Actually, I still haven't figured these things out, and you've stopped me. So let's have an open and honest talk beforehand and see if we can resolve these issues."

The commotion gradually subsided, and Governor Wade's gaze swept across the crowd. He noticed that some people were still pushing their way towards him, their eyes showing a hint of displeasure.

He had already told them to stay put, but some people were still pushing their way towards him. It's safe to say these people are troublemakers.

He looked at a more honest-looking person, said a few words to his assistant, and then pointed at that person, "Tell me your problem."

The man he called out was a chubby guy who looked to be in his fifties. He was wearing a light gray baseball cap and dressed in very ordinary working-class clothes.

She wore an oversized, somewhat worn-out trench coat, a pair of old leather boots, and had a protruding belly, with a sweater underneath.

Governor Wade's aide handed him the microphone, which he held with a hint of surprise. Pointing to himself, he asked, "You mean...me?"

"Yes, tell me your question."

"If you don't want to talk about your problems, hand the microphone to the person next to you."

The chubby guy naturally wouldn't do that. "Okay, okay, don't steal it, fuck!"

He struggled against several hands that were trying to snatch the microphone from his arms, and took a few steps forward. "I am... a factory worker. I have been working for this factory since I was seventeen, and I am forty-nine years old now."

“I could say I’ve worked for it my whole life. You know, it’s a factory that deals with chemicals. I got sick.”

"I have lost my ability to work. Don't let my weight fool you, I can no longer go to work."

“There are many people like me. We signed an agreement or a memorandum of understanding with the factory before, I’m not sure, but we signed it.”

"The factory promised to give us half of the wages of the other workers every month and to pay all our expenses until we retire."

“They were still doing this last year, but after you acquired the factory, the new boss directly denied the agreements we had signed and kicked us all out.”

“Now we not only have no jobs, no savings, no income, but our pension contributions have also stopped.”

"If this problem cannot be solved, we may starve to death, die of disease, or something else; in short, it will be very difficult for us to survive."

"That's why I came here. What I want is for our factory to continue paying us a monthly wage, as well as paying our social security contributions, according to the agreements we signed before."

Governor Wade frowned after hearing this, and sighed softly. These kinds of things were the most difficult to handle. He asked, "How many people like you are there?"

The chubby guy looked around and said, "About three hundred people."

Upon hearing this number, Governor Wade appeared expressionless, but deep down he cursed under his breath.

With over three hundred people, he did a rough calculation and estimated that it would amount to tens of thousands of yuan in extra expenses each month. No matter who in his family took over the factory, they certainly wouldn't accept this group of people.

If they take over, then from a capitalist's perspective, they are unqualified.

"I understand, please write this down for me." The second half of the sentence was what he said to his assistant, who was writing down some of the problems the chubby worker had encountered, including his name, the city he lived in, the name of the factory, and so on.

"I will arrange for someone to go to your factory and talk to the current owner about how to resolve this issue in a way that satisfies both of you."

The chubby guy suddenly said, "You don't need to go to all that trouble. Our new boss is your nephew, didn't you know that?"

Governor Wade paused for a moment, his face flushing slightly. "I didn't know, but I do now. I'll call him later to discuss this issue."

“Then…” he looked at another person, “give the microphone to the gentleman in the blue plaid wool coat…”

The chubby boy reluctantly handed over the microphone, his eyes filled with longing, hoping the governor could resolve the matter.

That should be solvable, right?

After all, the person in front of him was the governor.

George, who had already squeezed to a relatively forward position, was now almost standing at the edge of the crowd. He tried to push his way forward a little further, but was unsuccessful.

Everyone realized that only the person at the very front could be called on to answer questions, so they were determined not to give up their spots. He tried twice but couldn't squeeze through, so he gave up.

He put his hands in his pockets, gripped the pistol, and used his thumb to engage the safety, now the weapon was ready to fire.

Governor Wade was only about ten meters away from him, a somewhat awkward distance, but he believed he could hit the target.

Years of work have given him excellent physical fitness and arm strength, allowing him to control the recoil of this pistol.

However, he hasn't made a move yet; at this moment, he is undergoing one last internal struggle.

He listened to the answers the people around him gave to Governor Wade, and they were almost all asking the same questions.

Their factory was acquired by the Wade family or by a capital group connected to the Wade family. These people, who had given everything they had for the factory and the company, were now being cleared out like garbage.

They may have once been considered "wealth" by the original owners of factories or businesses, but in the blink of an eye, they have become "garbage" or "burden," and their hopes for life have been dashed. This is something they cannot accept!

Governor Wade asked several people, and they all reported the same situation, but he never offered any solutions, only saying he would discuss it later. This made some of the more short-tempered people agitated again. Just as the crowd was about to become restless again, Governor Wade suddenly took two steps forward to the edge of the platform. He was about to say something when he saw someone in the crowd suddenly point a finger at him.

His eyes held a mixture of confusion and incomprehension, but as a puff of smoke suddenly billowed from the man's "finger" and a loud "bang" rang in his ears, he realized what had happened.

The square, which had been somewhat noisy and chaotic, suddenly fell silent, but then screams and an even more chaotic crowd erupted!
George kept pulling the trigger, watching as Governor Wade turned, ran a few steps, and collapsed to the ground before looking in the other direction.

Just now, he discovered that there were other people firing shots, a total of four people.

They stood there, looking at each other, and after seemingly realizing that they weren't the only "killers," the four of them turned and ran almost simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Governor Wade's bodyguards, who had already realized what was happening, also began to draw their pistols.

But it was of no practical use, because the square was too chaotic. The moment those few people covered their heads and lowered their heads, they blended into the crowd of people who were scattering and running away, and disappeared.

They rushed back to the platform. Governor Wade was lying face down, his face contorted in pain. There was no visible blood flowing from beneath him. His assistant had just breathed a sigh of relief when he turned him over and noticed that he had been shot several times.

Because he was wearing thick clothes, the blood didn't flow out immediately; instead, it was soaked through by his clothes.

At this moment, Governor Wade had completely lost consciousness, only instinctively showing that painful expression.

The sirens of police cars, the sounds of ambulances, the screams and cries of people, and the frantic snapping of photos by reporters all combined to create an absurd "symphony" that unfolded at that moment!
The ambulance arrived promptly; there's a hospital about two kilometers from the state government building.

Redstone, the capital of Indenor State, boasts excellent infrastructure. The ambulance arrived in about five minutes, and they immediately began treating Governor Wade.

Governor Wade's aide watched as the governor was lifted into the ambulance and eventually followed him.

Inside the ambulance, doctors were helping Governor Wade maintain his heartbeat and breathing. Watching them work so hard, his assistant was too nervous to speak.

When he arrived at the hospital, the entire city of Redstone, the entire state of Indenor, and even the entire federal political arena knew what had happened there.

Governor Wade's brother arrived immediately. He rushed to the operating room, saw Governor Wade's assistant, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him up, yelling, "Fuck, how could you let him get hurt?!"

The assistant also looked pained. "Our convoy was stopped by those protesters. They were banging on the car. The governor said he wanted to talk to them, so we got out of the car."

"Later, while he was talking to those people, several people fired shots at the same time, and then he was sent here."

Governor Wade's brother glared at his assistant as if he were the murderer who had hurt his brother!
After a long while, he shoved his assistant hard into a chair, then paced back and forth outside the operating room with his hands on his hips.

Within minutes, even more people arrived, and the entire first-floor operating room of the hospital was packed with people, so much so that there wasn't enough room to squeeze in. Many people even stood outside the hospital building!

They were extremely concerned about Governor Wade's injury, because it represented whether the interest group centered around Governor Wade could continue to exist.

Meanwhile, the deputy governor also learned of the matter. Holding the phone receiver, he nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I know. I am very saddened by this news..."

"Don't worry, I know the situation is tense right now. I'll step in immediately and maintain order here..."

"Okay, okay, I will keep in touch with you. If I need any help, I hope you can provide assistance in a timely manner. After all, there are some things that are not convenient for me to get involved in given my current status."

"Okay, that's all for now. See you later."

The lieutenant governor hung up the phone. The call was from the chairman of the Federal Socialist Committee, whose message was simple and clear: Governor Wade's fate was unknown after his assassination attempt, and the entire Indenor state was in turmoil.

As the lieutenant governor and the first in line to succeed him, he must step up at this crucial moment to stabilize the political situation in Indenau and ensure that the upcoming congressional elections proceed smoothly.

Although the committee chairman did not give any explicit explanation or subtle hints, the lieutenant governor understood perfectly.

His job is to resubmit a list of candidates for Congress and have the state legislature re-approve it.

This also made him realize that everything Governor Wade is currently experiencing is inextricably linked to the Socialist Party leadership, and may even be the result of their planning and execution!
Thinking of this, the deputy governor felt a strange tension and a sense of awe for higher-level power. He tugged at his collar and tore it, a gesture that seemed to ease his slightly stuffy breathing.

Just then, the secretary outside knocked on the door and, after receiving his permission, poked his head in. "Sir, a Mr. Lance White wants to see you."

The deputy governor was just about to say he didn't know this person and tell him to get lost, but then he shrank back and felt a slight chill run down his spine!

Lance, Lance White, he knew this guy!

One of the Socialist Party's biggest donors, and a friend of Senator Cleveland, he wields considerable influence within the Socialist Party.

Especially after the defeat in this election, apart from some conglomerates that regularly bet on both sides and continue to invest in the Socialist Party, smaller individuals have stopped investing in the Socialist Party.

The Socialist Party's situation is not terrible, but it is at its worst point in nearly thirty years.

Lance's continued support for the Socialist Party, both financially and in other ways, has been of great help to the party.

More importantly, Lance is currently the most powerful member of the Federation's mafia!

Could this be related to Lance?

He paused for a moment, seemingly having guessed the correct answer, and immediately said, "Please come in, Mr. White!"

Not long after, the secretary pushed open the door. The deputy governor's gaze did not fall on her tightly wrapped little bottom at all. Instead, he smiled, got up, walked out from behind his desk, and shook hands with Lance in the middle of the office.

"Haha, Mr. White, I've heard so many stories about you, I never imagined we'd meet here today!"

"What was that saying?"

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. White!"

Lance smiled warmly and shook hands with him, "I came in a hurry and didn't call you in advance. I hope it didn't affect your work."

The lieutenant governor asked his secretary to get some coffee, then invited Lance to sit down. "I just finished a call with the committee chairman. He gave me some work arrangements, but these aren't urgent, you know."

"That's how our procedure works; as long as it's completed on time, it's fine."

Lance nodded. "You should have heard about what's happening outside."

The deputy governor nodded, his expression turning grave, though he knew the man before him was very likely the executor. "This is terrible. This news is shocking and unsettling!"

"I heard that it was people who participated in the demonstration who shot him. It's clear that people hate him a lot, which is hard for me to understand."

"Of course, this is just what I heard from others, and I don't know if it's true or not."

Lance laughed and said, "It's true!"

"The Wade family's recent rampant expansion has severely harmed the interests of local residents in Indenor. That's how federal people are; when they can't stand it anymore, they take up arms to fight against tyranny."

"This is a right granted to them by the Constitution!"

"Sacred and inviolable!"

With just that one sentence, the deputy governor knew the tone for how the matter would be handled.

After thinking for a moment, he asked softly, "I wonder how the governor is doing now?"

The secretary brought in coffee at that moment, and neither of them spoke.

After she left, Lance picked up his coffee, stirred it a couple of times, and smiled slightly as he brought it to his lips.

"Unless God comes!"

(End of this chapter)