Shadow Empire

Chapter 826 Small City

When people encounter some unexpected situations, they often cannot react in time, but their bodies have more direct response measures than their minds, that is, they do what others are doing.

Carl shouted "Run" and pulled his wife and children, and his wife had no choice but to run with him.

The two children, on the other hand, did not treat this as something horrible. Instead, they giggled as if this was a game between them and their parents.

The two children let go of their mother's hands and ran forward faster. Seeing this, Carl breathed a sigh of relief.

But then something went wrong. The bag in the wife's hand fell to the ground. When she turned around to pick it up, she was dragged forward by Carl and lost her balance. After staggering a few steps, she fell to the ground.

Her face was filled with an expression of inexplicable fear, and she looked at her husband, "What the hell are you crazy about?!"

Carl still wanted to pull his wife up, but when he looked back and saw those guys in windbreakers getting closer and closer to him, he could only give his wife an expression that said "May luck be with you" and then turned around, waving his arms and legs and continued to run forward.

The wife, who was lying on the sidewalk, watched her husband run away. She sat down and lifted her hair with both hands, "Wang Defa?"

As she spoke, she heard footsteps coming from behind her. A sense of uneasiness and fear slowly climbed up her heart. She slowly turned around and saw pairs of shiny leather shoes reflecting the light of the street lights in the dark night.

Then she looked up along the trouser legs of the leather shoes, at the windbreakers with red armbands, and the faces hidden in the shadows.

She couldn't see the faces of these people clearly. She could only see a rough outline and a pair of eyes that were very bright even in the dark!
"I……"

She wanted to say something, but these people didn't give her a chance. One of them took out a pistol from his pocket and pulled the trigger at her head.

This time they used small-caliber bullets, the kind that wouldn't sound like a strong gunshot even without any processing.

Mayor Wade and the mayor of New Bermingham have reached some cooperation agreements, allowing Lance and his men to operate in New Bermingham, but there is a clause: they cannot cause large-scale riots.

New Bermuda is just a small city with a population of only 200,000. Once a major riot occurs, it is easy for the already small number of citizens to flee even more.

Therefore, small-caliber pistol bullets were used in this operation, just like the weapons used by agents in movies. The gunshots were all "piupiupiu" and not particularly loud.

Hearing the gunshots behind him, Carl ran faster, but he was too fat!
He had only run a hundred meters from the restaurant entrance to here, but he already started panting heavily.

With every breath, he could feel the air rushing through his lungs as if it were on fire. His entire body was protesting strongly, telling his brain that he could no longer run!

There has never been a time when he felt so disgusted with himself for being too fat as he does now!
I should lose weight!

Regret spread uncontrollably at this moment. Beads of sweat on his forehead kept sliding down as he ran. He didn't know if they were tears or just sweat.

He ran forward while cursing, but he could no longer run.

The two children also stopped where they were, looking at their mother who was lying on the ground and being stepped over by those people with some confusion.

Before they even had time to ask anything, Carl shouted at the top of his lungs, "Run, keep running, don't stop!"

The two children were frightened. They finally realized that something was wrong and started running even faster.

But Carl couldn't run anymore.

He didn't know how far he had run, he couldn't run anymore!

correct!

Pistol in hand!
He leaned against the window of a closed shop on the roadside and hurriedly took out the gun given to him by his men. He tried to shoot at those people, but found that he couldn't pull the trigger!
Fake!

He looked at those people again with sweat on his forehead. What went wrong?
he does not know!

His mind is in a mess now and he has no idea how to deal with these things. He hasn't fired a gun for several years!
He tried to pull the slide, but still couldn't pull the trigger. He also pushed the hammer away, but it was still useless.

Fake!

He cursed again, angrily smashed the pistol against the window twice, then looked at the people getting closer and closer, and could only throw the pistol at them and continue running.

But this time, he really couldn't run anymore, and his running speed was not even as fast as an ordinary person's walking speed.

And they had just finished eating, and Carl ate a lot.

His wife ordered a lot of dishes, but in order to maintain her figure, she would not eat every dish to her heart's content. She would just eat a little, maybe just one bite.

If he comes across something he really likes, he might eat two bites, and the rest would go into Carl's stomach. You can imagine how much food is in his stomach!

Half of the food that three or four adults eat is in his stomach!
After running a few steps, he suddenly bent over and vomited. The food that had not been digested yet, as well as some wine, soup and sauce, all came out of his mouth.

He walked slowly forward, vomiting, until the footsteps behind him stopped.

He covered his stomach, stopped, and slowly turned around, looking at those people looking at him calmly and the weapons raised in their hands.

"Gift crab..."

Piupiu's gunfire suddenly became more intense, and the small-caliber bullets were still full of lethality at close range.

Many small holes immediately appeared on his body, and blood began to ooze out. He even had multiple gunshot wounds on his face and head.

A few seconds later, the more than 200-pound body fell to the ground with a thud, and it seemed as if the ground shook twice.

The two children continued to run forward crying. Just when they were about to run out of the street, several guys wearing the same windbreaker appeared from the corner.

They looked at the two running little creatures coldly and mercilessly...

The mayor of New Bern withdrew his gaze from the streets outside. He seemed to hear gunshots, but he was not sure because the sound was too small and... it sounded different from the gunshots he knew.

"Mr. Mayor?"

The sound behind him startled him for a moment. He came to his senses, glanced at the half-burned cigarette in his hand, and flicked the ash.

The cigarette ash was blown away by the wind from the window and disappeared into the darkness. He took another puff of his cigarette, then turned around and looked back at Lance who was sitting in the guest seat in the bright room.

"I was distracted. Sorry."

He returned to the table and sat down again, "Your proposal...I think it is acceptable."

"But, Mr. Lance, you know, I've never done these things before, and I'm a little unsure if this is the right thing to do."

Sitting in front of the mayor was Lance.

Mayor Wade has already spoken with the mayor of New Bern on the phone and discussed the idea of ​​everyone getting rich together.

New Bermingham is just a small city. To be honest, there are not many benefits here, and the capitalists will not pay attention to it.

In fact, many people have some similar confusions or questions: why is there such a big gap between cities in the federation!

Some cities look very prosperous, with a particularly strong business atmosphere, and you can feel the pulse of the modern city everywhere.

But some cities appear particularly primitive, and there are not even a few high-rise buildings to be seen in the entire city.

The tallest building in the city of New Bern is only eight stories high, and the rest are very low-rise low-rise houses.

There is not much profit here, the market is small, and the living environment is relatively primitive.

Among the working-age people in the city, about 40% are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. There are many farms and ranches outside the city. The rest are engaged in light industrial production and service industries.

There are no large pillar industries here, which can't drive the development of the local economy, and ordinary people don't have much money in their pockets.

Without money, there is very little disposable income other than taxes and necessary expenses, and the capital market is very small. Investing here will basically not recoup the costs.

People here can't afford goods that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, nor can they afford watches that cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

So this place doesn’t seem prosperous enough.

If it is not prosperous enough, it means that the mayor of Newberming will not get much benefit from the city. After all, whether the ruler of a city can fill his appetite does not depend on how many low-level workers there are in the city, but on how many capitalists are willing to spend money in the city.

Mayor Wade talked to him about this and Lance could work with them and make money for them.

Mayor Wade also mentioned that there would be no sequelae from his cooperation with Lance, and all legal issues would be borne by Lance and his people.

Mayor Wade and the mayor of New Bermingham only need to check on time to see if the funds have arrived in several accounts.

The only thing they need to do is to give the Lance family a green light in the early stages of expansion, such as in terms of police and policy, anyway, it is something they can do.

This was his first time to officially cooperate with the gang, so he was a little uncomfortable with it.

Lance smiled and continued to persuade and comfort him, "Mr. Mayor, you can actually take a look at the current Jingang City, the base of the Lance family."

“Before we took over Jingang City, Jingang City was a very chaotic place.”

"There are five major families there..."

The mayor nodded. “I’ve heard of that.”

Lance didn't mind him interrupting his speech, but nodded with a smile, and continued, "There are about seventy to eighty gangs, and some scattered community families and community gangs."

"During the day the big guys rule the city, but at night it becomes the domain of the gangs."

"Various vicious crimes continue to occur, and people's panic and despair about public security have spread throughout the city."

"It is no exaggeration to say that it is these people who caused the water level of Angel Lake to rise so much."

The mayor couldn't help but smile. It was obvious that he had also heard of this joke. This shows how bad the public security in Jingang City is.

"But!" Lance's tone suddenly became stronger. "Mr. Mayor, since we have solved the problems of the five major families and completely taken over Jingang City, you can go there in person or arrange for someone to go there and take a look."

“I wouldn’t say that the public security in Jingang City is the best in the Federation, but it is definitely in the first tier.”

"There are no gunfights, no kidnappings, no vicious crimes. Gangs are beginning to care more about social stability than the police. You won't see what's happening here anywhere else!"

“We are different from everyone else!”

"We never suck the blood of ordinary people, and we don't make profits by hurting others. Jingang City has completely abolished all fees and protection fees. The shops on the street almost have no extra expenses!"

"So you don't need to worry at all. Our entry will make this place more chaotic."

"On the contrary, by next year, you will see a brand new New Birmingham."

"There are no gang fights, no protection fees, no harassment of ordinary people, and the presence of gangs is almost non-existent in every industry!"

"You want stability, and so do we!"

The mayor listened to his long speech and nodded continuously. "You are right, Lance. I have also learned about you and your people through my own ways. That is why we have the opportunity to sit down and talk."

"I have one more question..."

Lance made an inviting gesture, "Go ahead."

"I'll leave the mafia aspect to you. I trust you and Mayor Wade, but what about the Contraband Administration?"

"If you sell alcohol here semi-openly like you do in Jingang City, will the Hazardous Materials Administration cause trouble for you?"

Lance smiled, "This is my business!"

"Don't worry, whether we can deal with these people or not, in the end what we talked about will not change."

"Of the profits generated in New Birmingham, 10 percent will be yours, not a cent less. You can arrange for an accountant to come over, or someone you trust."

"Of course I have to remind him that it would be best if he could be obedient and not think that he has the final say on these matters. I don't want any unnecessary misunderstandings to arise between us!"

After listening to this, the mayor laughed twice. He knew what Lance was thinking and understood his concerns.

If some people who are not smart enough think that the mayor he relies on has a dominant position in this trade and act recklessly, they will indeed get into trouble.

The mayor was a very easy-going person, or in other words, he was very sincere. “I won’t send anyone to supervise your work, Lance. I believe you. Like I said just now, this is not a one-time deal.”

"If you deceive me or harm my interests, we still have a long time to go!"

Lance nodded in agreement, "So we've reached a consensus?"

The mayor nodded and said, "It seems that there is indeed no disagreement at the moment."

Then Lance and he both stood up and clasped their hands tightly together. "It's a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Mayor!"

"It's a pleasure working with you, Mr. Lance!"

There were some faint gunshots outside the window again, but if you didn't listen carefully, you couldn't hear them clearly.

The next day, the local newspaper in New Bern reported a piece of news:

《Wanli Labor Service Company settles in New Birmingham City》

The report said that Wanli Labor Service Company is the largest labor service company in Likale State. It mainly provides labor support for people looking for jobs and companies that need to hire workers.

Workers can register with Wanli Labor Service Company. If companies in need of workers continue to increase the number of employees, they can directly cooperate with Wanli Labor Service Company, which will serve as a new platform to provide comprehensive services to both parties.

At the same time, there is one very special thing about Wanli Labor Service Company. Unlike the trade unions, they do not charge various additional fees. Local workers can register for free, while illegal workers need to pay to register, which is only one dollar per month.

In addition, Wanli Labor Service Company also provides some services similar to commercial insurance. For only one dollar, they will cover all the workers' work-related injury expenses, which is something the trade union cannot do.

The report detailed the operations of Wanli Labor Service Company in Likale State and did not hide the labor company's exclusion of trade unions, which sparked heated discussions.

At a time when trade unions are rampant, it takes a lot of courage to openly say that trade union participation is not welcome.

But it is undeniable that some people like this, especially capitalists.

They were tortured by various workers' benefits, work injury reimbursement, and trade unions. As soon as the company opened, many people came to register, including those employing companies, and they also came to inquire about how to match with the labor service company.

This is just what happens on the surface. Behind the scenes, a large number of Lance family members began to enter the city. Lance gave everyone a request: before January 15th, clean out all the disobedient people in the city!

There is a small hill to the south of New Bern, from which one can overlook the city below, so this land was developed into a wealthy area from the very beginning.

In a villa on the hillside, five guys who looked very... elegant were sitting together.

Some seemed indifferent, some cursed, and some were furious.

"They are so bullying!"

"Karl and...are already dead, that's their way!"

"For us, it has come to a point of life and death. We must put aside our previous conflicts and prejudices and unite!"

One of the guys slammed the table and shouted, "If we don't stick together today, we will be eaten by them soon!"

"The Lance family is more terrifying, more evil, and more ruthless than the gangs we've seen before that tried to take root here!"

Everyone else looked at him, and his face began to gradually turn red, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Don't leave me alone, say something yourself!"

"Should we go to war with them, or should we leave here now and withdraw from this city in disgrace!"

(End of this chapter)