Shadow Empire

Chapter 634 True Idealists and False Idealists

These days, Hope, the refugee social activist who wants to become a federal citizen and even a federal politician, is having a good time.

His performance in front of the media won him support from some people.

Never underestimate the complexity of human beings and human nature. Even if many people think that he is not a good person, there will still be people who are attracted by what he shows and think that he is a good person.

And there are quite a few such people in the Federation.

It's a good thing that he has been approached by several charities offering to help him and other refugees waiting for humanitarian aid.

He knows better than those charities who needs help and who doesn't, and with his popularity in the media and among the public, all charities actively seek him out for cooperation.

Charitable organizations may not really do charity, because there is no charity in the federation, only business.

Charity is also a business, and a very high-level business at that. It can help people establish a positive image and gain huge social acclaim. At the same time, it can also handle some sensitive money and make it desensitive.

The trick of using charities to evade the tax authorities is not new, but it is easy to use and difficult to detect.

In addition to these things, the biggest business of charities is fundraising.

How can a charity get people to donate money to them?
It’s actually very simple, do charity.

As long as people know that they are really helping those in need, and that they use the donations properly for the poor or refugees, there will be no shortage of fools donating money to them.

This is not to say that the rich people who donate money to charity are fools. They donate money with a purpose, and the money they donate can enable them to gain more than they lose.

The really stupid ones are those "good people" who, under certain public opinion trends, donate money to charities even though they themselves are not well off.

The media will often report such things. They need to use their noble virtues to move ordinary people and gain the focus of public opinion, and charities must also let more people know that doing charity is right, even if it means doing something unfair to themselves.

Anyone who can donate money to charity is either stupid or bad.

A large number of reporters surrounded Hope. These reporters were hired by charities, who needed more exposure to get more donations.

This is Hope's highlight moment. He frequently appears in front of the media, helping the staff of charity organizations and delivering supplies to people in need.

But people didn't notice that the greasy sheen on his face before the flash seemed different from that on the faces of other hungry refugees who had no luster at all.

This is one of the benefits of being a social activist. As long as he demonstrates his value, someone will soon provide him with some "conveniences".

"Thank you, thank you and these gentlemen. Without you, we really don't know what we would do!"

The lady who received the gift cried very sadly. Hope supported her and told the media, "Her husband starved to death this winter. I have met him. He is a kind man, speaks softly and is friendly to everyone."

"But such a good person was killed by cold and hunger!"

"We need the attention of the whole society. Our purpose of coming to the Federation is to seek humanitarian assistance, and the President has also expressed his willingness to accept us."

"But we can't jump from one hell into another, a humanitarian hell!"

His face was full of sadness and solemnity. He looked at the staff of the charity and said, "In short, thank you. If it weren't for you, there would be no supplies. Thank you, thank you for your help. May God bless each and every one of you!"

The staff of the charity organizations had already prepared a "strategy" before they arrived. They recited the lines according to the script, and the two sides continued to cooperate and continued to give those worthless things to people who needed them, or who actually didn't need them, and received one praise after another.

The entire assistance ceremony lasted about forty minutes and all the supplies were delivered.

Hope stood in front of the camera, with an open space full of refugees behind him. There was a bad smell in the air, but he seemed not to feel it.

"Today we were fortunate enough to receive 3,000 yuan worth of supplies, and 300 refugee families were rescued because of it. But gentlemen, look behind me, there are more than just 300 families here."

"We need more people's attention and help. Don't let the beautiful federation become a cold hell. Love brings us together, and we should also love each other in return..."

After the interview, he said goodbye to the reporters and charity staff and returned to his residence.

He had someone break into an unfinished apartment and chose a relatively complete room to live in.

Because of his actions, many of the surrounding apartments were pried open and people moved in, but it was impossible for so many people to move in, so most people still lived outside.

Back in the apartment, he sat on the sofa he had picked up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, lit a five-cent cigarette, and relaxed completely.

"How much did they give this time?", he asked.

He helps charity organizations with publicity, not for free. As a social activist, he understands some of the unspoken rules of society better than others.

The assistant he had chosen flipped through it and said, "Two hundred and twenty-five dollars, sir."

Hope was very satisfied. Although more than two hundred dollars was not much, it was a good sign.

He actually has the ability to move out, but he won't do that because he wants to be with his refugee brothers and sisters all the time.

He has an important thing to do today.

Many gangs have gradually emerged among the refugees, some of which are just for self-protection and to avoid being bullied by other gangs.

Some do it to get supplies from others so that they can live a better life.

Others are trying to infiltrate other areas or run various criminal businesses.

It is said that a group of guys stole steel bars from a construction site and used them to make a lot of money, and now they have enough food to eat.

Hope actually looked down on these people. No matter in Slade or in the Federation, these people were only at the bottom of society. But he had to rely on these people now because they represented strength and the fists of refugees.

As a social activist whose goal is to become a well-known politician, he knows very well that a group cannot be without fists.

It's like a person who doesn't know how to resist and attack, then he can only be trampled under the feet of others.

Sometimes violence can make the situation worse, but it can also make people respect you more!
He made arrangements with some well-known refugee gang leaders to meet here. Given his current status and fame in the refugee community, it was not surprising that he could do this.

One after another, gang leaders who could not be considered gangsters came to his apartment.

I have to say that Hope has been doing really well recently. He is very famous and everyone knows him.

Some people didn't like him but came anyway, while others admired him.

With more people coming, the room seemed a little crowded. He was thinking of buying a villa in the nearby New Bay Area after he earned some more money. The price would be seven or eight thousand yuan, which was a very suitable price.

He never worried about whether he could come up with the money. It would be news if he couldn't come up with it, not if he could.

When most people had arrived, he asked everyone to sit down.

He looked at the faces of these people and memorized their appearance and their names.

After waiting for about 20 to 30 seconds, he walked to the middle of the room and said, "We are from roughly the same country and are strangers here."

"Recently, I have gained some attention through public opinion, and some people are willing to support us so that we can have a better living environment and opportunities."

"I called you all together today because I want to discuss something with you."

He said as he took out a cigarette and lit one for himself.

The smell of cigarette smoke filled the air, which made the leaders of other refugee gangs unable to help but start lighting cigarettes. For a while, the room was full of smoke.

"I... want you to do something for me." He said this after taking two puffs of his cigarette.

Suddenly the atmosphere in the room became a little unusual. Some people were thinking, some were just looking at him, and some were sneering.

"Hope, what makes you think we will do anything for you?"

Faced with such provocation, questioning and suspicion, he was not angry or upset.

He looked at the man and nodded twice, "That's a good question."

“Good questions deserve good answers.”

He held a cigarette in his mouth and took out a wad of money from his pocket, about a hundred yuan.

Seeing the money, the expressions of these leaders changed again.

"This is just the change I put in my pocket. I actually have thousands of dollars in the bank."

He looked at these people, admiring their shocked expressions. "Making money is not difficult, gentlemen." "Refugees are our bargaining chips and the foundation for us to move towards a better life, but your use of the refugee identity is too inefficient, even inefficient!"

"You are very energetic and capable of execution. You should not waste your talents just for a bite to eat and a drink."

"Follow me and I can make you rich quickly."

"Money, food, tobacco, women, even alcohol, everything."

He paused for a moment and continued, "Do you know the Lance family?"

"Some time ago, Lance said that this city has a 200 million-dollar alcohol market, gentlemen."

"Twenty million!"

He held up two fingers and said, "Even if it's one percent, that's a market of two million."

"While those gangsters were frantically filling their pockets with money, what were you doing?"

"They snatched change from children, fought with garbage men for scrap metal, and some even robbed passers-by."

"They are gangsters, and you are also... gangsters. Why is there such a big gap?"

He looked around and said, "Because you can't think of it, you don't know how to survive correctly, but I know!"

"I know how to make you grow quickly, I know how to make us rich, and I also know how to make everything move in a better direction, but there is a prerequisite: you have to work for me."

Hope had fallen into a somewhat frenetic state, and as an active social activist he was well aware of this.

If you want to convince others to believe in themselves, you must first convince yourself to believe in yourself!

If you don’t even believe what you say, how can you use your emotions to convince others to believe you?
Someone looked at him with interest, "What are you going to do?"

It was a test, but Hope wasn't worried at all.

"Greater influence." He looked at the people here with a hint of indifference and cruelty in his eyes, "and greater destructive power."

"Children who only cry but don't make a fuss are less likely to get their parents' attention than those who cry and make a fuss."

"Now everyone can see us crying, but just crying is not enough. No matter how hard we cry, it won't make them feel pain."

"The federals will even watch our crying as if it were a kind of entertainment!"

"If we want them to be more inclined to help us, we have to make trouble, make them feel troubled, and feel that it is difficult to deal with."

"Golden Harbor City is a beautiful city. If a large number of refugees appear in the city center, in the Starlight District, in the Bay Area, and on those beautiful docks, what do you think the federals will do?"

The man who asked the question couldn't help swallowing, "The federals will go crazy!"

Hope nodded, "Yes, they will go crazy, and they will want to solve this big problem of ours as soon as possible."

“Just find a random refugee on the street and ask him to solve these problems?”

"No, he can't do it. He can't even handle one person, let alone everyone."

“They can only come to me!”

"I admit that I am selfish and have my own purpose."

"I can get more people's attention, get in touch with capital or political forces, and get out of this quagmire."

“But as I get out there, I can also help more refugees.”

"The assistance from these charities is the best example. Without my publicity and activities, they would never have come here and provided tens of thousands of dollars of supplies to help the people here!"

“I may not be a great person because I have selfish desires, but I believe I am a greater person than others because I can help many people.”

"Don't let them freeze to death, don't let them starve to death, don't let them die of disease, let them at least live with dignity!"

Hope's tone was full of confidence, which was why he had always done this.

As long as the federal government contacted him, he successfully took the first step.

Then he will use these gangs to keep the refugee groups firmly under his control and use them as his political bargaining chips.

In this process, there will definitely be some challengers who, for example, have learned something from him and try to become the next him or even replace him.

Influence is a limited thing. If you take a little bit of it and he takes a little bit of it, it will be useless.

There will be some people who oppose him or try to stop him. These people are the ones standing in his way and must be eliminated.

He can't bring himself to do it, because that would become a stain and trouble for him, so he needs "fists".

Take one step and look three steps ahead. He has already seen a brighter future!

He elaborated on some ideas that did not involve core secrets, and many people seemed interested in joining him.

Most importantly, he promised to make these people money.

But he didn't tell these people how he was going to get them a sum of money, just made sure it was true.

"Think about it and tell me when you've made up your mind. I don't have much time to give you."

"Because I don't have much time to stop. Once I have rested enough, I will run forward again."

"Those who fail to keep up with me will be left far behind by me and us."

This was indeed a special gathering. Boney came out of the room. He was also invited because he had some "resources" and soon stood out among those ordinary gangs.

He also did not avoid the fact that he was appreciated by the federal people, which was a plus, not a minus.

He is a focus for Hope, and making good use of Bony can make him go faster.

"This guy is very ambitious." On the way back, his friend who grew up with him commented, "We have to talk to Mr. Lance."

Bonnie glanced at his good brother with a complicated expression, "Karl, do you think he is a bad guy?"

Karl shook his head after listening to him. “To be honest, I was also very excited when I heard what he said. I think he is not a purely bad person, but he is not a good person either.”

"He is using our compatriots to achieve his own ambitions."

Boney did not refute this statement, but he asked again, "But did those people really benefit from what he did?"

"They got food, some change, some medicine, and someone was saved. Isn't that enough?"

Carl's expression was a little strange, "But have you ever thought about it? The job provided by Mr. Lance is a relief for us in winter, and it saves many more people than he does!"

Bonnie nodded. "I don't deny it, but I think..."

He sighed and didn't continue talking. Carl looked at him with a slightly serious look in his eyes. "You're not going to tell Mr. Lance about this?"

Boni was a little confused, "I don't know..."

On the way back, Bonnie was obviously absent-minded. He kept thinking about these things. He was not a bad boy. Lance helped him at the worst time.

He always listened to Lance and tried his best to do what Lance asked him to do.

But when it came to whether or not to "betray" Hope, he had some conflicting feelings.

He wasn't a bad guy, he helped a lot of his compatriots, and Boney didn't want anything to happen to him.

At night, he was lying on the bed obviously absent-minded. His mother noticed his abnormality and came to his room on her own initiative.

"You look a little off, is there anything I can do for you?"

Bonnie spoke out his thoughts, and his mother asked, "Then why don't you talk to Mr. Lance honestly?"

(End of this chapter)