Shadow Empire

Chapter 638: Generosity, Employment, Escape, and Contradiction

On the weekend, Lance and Alberto stood on a bench at the tourist pier, chatting while enjoying the sea breeze.

"do you know?"

"They gave you a new nickname."

The wind blew Alberto's hair into a mess. He looked at Lance and felt very emotional. Three years ago, Lance found him for... he could no longer remember how much money it was.

Two or three hundred yuan, that should be about it.

I found him for such a small amount of money.

At that time, he was attracted by Lance's calm state, and he decided to give Lance a chance.

It might have been a casual thing for him, but for Lance, it really helped him a lot.

In just three years, Lance overturned the underground order of Jingang City and became the "Black Emperor" here, which made him feel very sad.

In just three years, he completed a journey that many people cannot complete in their entire lives. As a witness and participant of this legend, and even an "enlightener", Alberto felt both emotional and honored!
He initiated the advent of a great era. Without his money, perhaps the story would be different.

Lance leaned forward slightly, his arms resting on his spread legs, "What did you call me?"

"tyrant?"

"Or something else?"

"You definitely don't think I'm a good person."

Alberto laughed. "They call you 'Mr. 200 Million.'"

"Mr. Two Hundred Million?" Lance's tone rose slightly. He didn't expect people to give him this name, but he soon realized the reason and laughed. "I don't think there's anything wrong with other nicknames, but I think there's something wrong with this one."

Alberto was a little surprised. Lance had many nicknames. "Black Emperor" was a recent one. Before that, there were also "Wolf of the Empire", "Glutton" and so on, but they were not widely known and only a few people called him that.

He had no reaction to any of the nicknames, whether nice or not. Now he felt that this nickname was bad and it made Alberto feel confused.

“Do you think it’s exaggerated?”, he asked.

Lance shook his head. "Two hundred million is just the starting point. Maybe in the future they will call me Mr. Billionaire."

Alberto was distracted for a moment when he looked at the high-spirited Lance. He seemed to see his younger self.

He seemed to have some understanding of why he felt a natural sense of closeness to Lance from the moment he saw him.

At certain times and on certain issues, Lance is exactly as he was when he was younger.

Fearless of the world and full of desire for challenges.

Lance did better than him, but people always subconsciously beautify themselves. He himself did not do well enough in the process of growing up, so he hoped that Lance could do better than himself so that some of the regrets he had would not happen to Lance.

Through this, he was able to gain some comfort, like an apology and repentance to his younger self.

He nodded seriously, "If it's you, it will definitely work."

At this point, Alberto turned his head and looked at the blue sea, "I have something to ask of you."

Lance nodded but said nothing. Alberto handed him a card and said, "Take good care of them. That is my last wish."

"No one else knows about this except you!"

Lance took a look at the card. There was an address and house number on it. It was a community in the Priscilla district of Jingang City.

He had guessed that Alberto's illegitimate child and the woman who had borne him were there.

He didn't tell the story of his acquaintance with the woman, the accident, and the birth of the child as he told Lance.

He didn't care about these things, and he believed that Lance didn't care either. It was enough for him to just ask Lance to take good care of his children.

"I have a feeling this departure is going to be bad." He lit a cigarette, then leaned back on the bench, placed his hands on the back of the bench, tilted his head back, and squinted at the sky.

The bright sunshine also means it is dazzling. He actually knows that if he leaves, there is a high probability that he will not be able to come back.

He had heard that Christopher was doing very well on the island. He seemed to have finally come to his senses and learned how to act. Although the four major families were not on good terms with each other now, they all treated him well, especially the old men.

He even heard that Christopher took the initiative to wash the feet of the elderly to show his respect for them!

It's fucked up to the extreme!
It would be difficult for a man who killed his uncle to assassinate Christopher under such circumstances and now was held up as a role model by those old men.

Even if he succeeded, he would anger the four major families at the same time, and he would not be able to leave Sumuli Island alive.

Those who have never lived on Sumurri Island will never understand the influence of the four major families on the island.

Even the Prime Minister needs their approval before implementing new policies!
But some things have to be done by someone.

Alberto had thought about it more than once, why he did this, he couldn't seem to find the reason why he did this, but there was a belief that told him to do so.

If he doesn't do this, he will never be happy again in his life!
Lance was also in a low mood. Alberto was his first friend after coming to the Federation in a sense. He tilted his head and looked at Alberto. "Although I shouldn't say this, is it okay not to go?"

Alberto looked up, cigarette in mouth, "Do you want me to become someone I despise?"

Lance stopped talking.

Alberto exhaled a puff of smoke. "Maybe it won't be so bad."

"Besides worrying about him, I'm also worried about Francisco. The family has already dealt with everything inside, but that guy is quite ruthless. I'm worried about external issues."

"But now it seems that if they don't deal with you, they will most likely not touch him, so I feel relieved."

Lance looked back at the twenty or so people standing not far away. There were suitcases of various sizes beside them. They were laughing and chatting, and they didn't look nervous at all.

They were all Alberto's relatives, both close and distant, and had all received Paul's favors. They followed Alberto without hesitation to assassinate Dover to avenge Paul.

Another group of people retreated and became timid. They left Jingang City directly because they could no longer stay there.

Sometimes people are just like this, they can't help themselves, and it's uncomfortable whether they do it or not.

"Take care of him!"

The cruise ship in the distance sounded its whistle, and people waiting to board the ship at the dock began to walk towards the cruise ship carrying their luggage.

Alberto also stood up. He hugged Lance and forced a smile. "Take care of yourself."

Lance nodded, "You too."

He paused, "If you die, I will avenge you."

Alberto was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Okay, but don't be as stupid as me!"

The two men bumped fists again, and Alberto turned and left without any hesitation.

Fordyce and the others also carried their luggage and greeted and said goodbye to Lance. It seemed that for them this was just a travel trip, without danger, killing, or death.

There was no fear or anxiety on their faces. Apart from some nostalgia and reluctance to leave the people and things here, there were no more negative emotions.

"Goodbye," Lance said.

Fordyce and the others all responded with a smile, “Wait until we come back.”

After saying that, they waved their hands, trotted a few steps, and followed Alberto onto the boat.

The huge cruise ship slowly left the dock and finally disappeared at the junction of the sea and the sky.

The convoy slowly approached, Madore opened the door, and Lance got in.

"We need to arrange some people..." Lance interrupted Madore before he could finish his words.

"No, this is their honor revenge, we just need to watch."

"Whether they win or lose, it's their own choice."

"If they die, we will consider the follow-up. Before that, let's do our own thing first."

The convoy quickly left the dock. People on both sides of the road, as long as they were locals, would stop when the convoy passed by, take off their hats and salute, and some people would even bow slightly.

Those tourists from other places were curious about the "living legend of Jingang City", which was still continuing and spreading. Alberto's departure made Lance feel a little sad, but only a little.

He went to the address Alberto had given him and saw a demure woman with a little boy by her side.

The little boy looked about 70% similar to Alberto. When Lance saw him, he felt like laughing for some reason. It was the inheritance of life.

He did not disturb the mother and son, but asked someone to take charge of their safety and then left.

He believed Alberto had made all the preparations before he left.

Two days later, Lance attended Mayor Williams' inauguration ceremony. The previous mayor left sadly, and everyone's attention was focused on Mayor Williams.

Those people clapped their hands so hard that their palms turned red, but they never stopped.

But there are some people who are obviously not that happy.

This is understandable.

The former "good brother" has now turned into their "father", and no one can be really happy.

And the conflict between them cannot be resolved because it involves power.

When everyone is a power thief, they will be good friends, because only by working together can they steal some power from the rulers.

They will share stolen power and unite closely because they know that only in this way can they ensure that their own interests are not harmed.

But when one of the thieves suddenly becomes the new ruler, even if the new ruler was enthusiastically sharing his stolen power with others the previous second.

The next moment, he would turn against the other thieves and take away his share of the power that they had stolen themselves.

For the rulers, power is not allowed to be interfered with by others, unless the rulers are no match for those thieves and robbers.

Mayor Williams is very powerful, so he will take back the power. The masters in the Bay Area are reluctant to lose this power because it is too easy to use.

Irreconcilable conflicts will eventually escalate and explode.

From the faces of those who were reluctant to applaud or even did not come, it can be seen that no matter how many times the "players" are changed, this game will go on in its unique way.

Mayor Williams talked about many things, including the future development direction of the city. He declared that he would turn Jingang City into a city comparable to New Jin City.

He wants to make this place more prosperous, with high-rise buildings everywhere. He wants to carry out groundbreaking transformation of the city to improve people's living standards.

He also needs to expand and replan the city, bring in more schools, he has a lot of things to do!

He spoke on the stage, and people were responsible for clapping below the stage, and everything was so harmonious.

But Lance could feel that the battle had begun from this moment.

After the inaugural speech, Lance came to Mayor Williams' office. James and Arthur were there, and even Mrs. Williams was there.

"Sit anywhere!" Senator Williams instructed, "Just like in your office!"

He had intended to ask his wife to get Lance something to drink, but for a moment she couldn't find the coffee making supplies.

It was Lance who took the initiative to make a pot of coffee.

"I forgot that you are more familiar with this place than we are." Mayor Williams joked with a smile. Lance would come here sometimes.

Especially in the last few months, his relationship with the former mayor has eased a lot, and there may even be some cooperation.

However, Mayor Williams did not ask. If others don’t take the initiative to talk about such things, it’s best not to ask.

His wife had no plans to leave for the time being. It seemed that the title of "Mayor's Wife" made her very excited. Lance looked at Mayor Williams with a hint of pity in his eyes.

This trace of pity made Mayor Williams a little confused. He looked at Lance as if he was confirming whether he had seen it wrong, with a puzzled expression.

Lance moved a little closer and said, "You're going to be in trouble tonight." He nodded in the direction of the new mayor's wife.

Mayor Williams looked back and a wry smile appeared on his face.

An old man in his sixties and a young woman not even forty years old, it's simply killing me!

He and Lance have a very good relationship now, so he doesn't shy away from these things, or perhaps the upper class of the Federation has inherited the styles of the places they came from.

People from the upper class to mythological stories do not shy away from sex and will even talk about it proactively.

"Today is my first day at work. I will be very busy. Is it normal that I can't go home at night?" He said this with a hint of pride, which made him faint again.

It's not that he doesn't want to pamper his wife, but he really is powerless. Even if he tries to get some medicine through the medical group, it is not very convenient.

His personal doctor told him that taking those drugs could put him at risk of cardiovascular disease and that there were unknown risks.

Death is the thing that every powerful person fears the most, and he is no exception.

So he would escape if he could, but if he couldn't escape, there were still some toys at home.

Although this might seem like cheating, at least... he was involved.

After joking for a while, the two returned to more formal topics.

"If Jingang City serves as the front line of the war against Tanfit Continent, the shipping here will become even busier."

"At least the military supplies must be transferred from here, as well as those that are transported over there for sale."

"The New Port Wharf is occupied by the Navy and we won't be able to use it for some time to come, so I'm considering whether to expand the Golden Port Wharf."

Lance just nodded in response to what he said, showing that he was listening.

"But if we expand the Golden Harbor Terminal, it will definitely bring practical benefits to those people in the Bay Area. The terminal management company owns the largest stake in the Golden Harbor Terminal."

"I'm thinking..." Mayor Williams paused for a moment, "Is there any way we can take these shares away from them?"

After he expressed his thoughts, he immediately said as a matter of course, "We will definitely have some frictions in interests in the future. We have communicated during this period, but the effect was not very good."

Mayor Williams' desire to continue expanding the Golden Harbor Terminal is in line with the interests of the Bay Area elders, but they also made a request.

Expansion is allowed, but it must be invested by them to ensure that their shares are not diluted.

No other investors can be introduced and the terminal will still be managed by them.

They also talked about some things, such as hoping that Mayor Williams would make appropriate concessions to them on some issues, after all, that's what they did when they were still a group.

Every mayor before him has gone through this.

The two sides parted on bad terms, so he made up his mind.

Lance scratched his head, "This is a bit troublesome, I need to think about it."

Mayor Williams did not continue to ask him what he could do. As long as Lance knew the solution, it would be enough.

The two then talked about some other things that required mutual cooperation, such as the reconstruction of the new port area, but there are too many refugees there now.

Mayor Williams plans to continue expanding the urban area, resettling the refugees in the open space between the industrial area and the valley area, and moving the industrial area further to the outskirts of the city.

The outbreak of this war happened to be a good opportunity to optimize some of Jingang City's old industrial enterprises and drive them out.

This is also one of the conflicts between him and the big guys in the Bay Area. The big guys have firmly occupied a large amount of land and factories in the industrial zone, and they are unwilling to move to farther places.

In the view of Mayor Williams, the new port area will inevitably develop after the military base is built, and the industrial area is an obstacle that prevents the new port area from becoming a "new center."

There is no way to mediate the conflict. These are things he hopes and needs Lance to cooperate with him to resolve.

Lance did not refuse this because he could also gain a lot of benefits from these things.

The two sides talked for the whole afternoon. I don’t know if it was because Mayor Williams wanted to avoid going home early to be punished, but he never let Lance leave and even said that Lance was his important partner.

Be sure to have dinner with Lance on the first day of his proud achievement.

Of course it would be even better if you could drink some wine.

As an old man, it is natural and reasonable for him to get drunk after drinking two glasses!

(End of this chapter)