Empire of Shadows

What could be more attractive than the grievances and entanglements of the city's upper class?

【Writing this, I hope readers will remember our domain name: Taiwan Novel Network → 𝕥 𝕨 𝕜 𝕒 𝕟 . 𝕔 𝕠 𝕞】

The answer is: nothing!

Yes, nothing.

People have known this for a long time, otherwise why are the stories adapted in those classic novels and operas almost all stories of the upper class?

Like a poor boy falling in love with a noble girl, or a poor girl falling in love with a handsome prince.

Or the story of a queen and a prince with poisonous melons, or a down-and-out nobleman being framed and eventually regaining everything...

What?

Are poor people not worthy of love between themselves?

Are there no conspiracies and tricks between poor people?

No, they exist, but the love of the poor, the conspiracies and tricks of the poor, are meaningless.

People like to see earth-shattering love stories, like launching a war to destroy a country for the sake of a beauty, rather than pawning their pants to buy a wooden ornament for the girl next door.

Being interested in the grievances and entanglements of the upper class may be a beautiful wish of ordinary human beings—

They have no way to have similar things with these upper-class people in terms of money, status, power, or anything else, except for emotions.

Everyone has rich emotions, which is what they can find, communicate, and share.

Although many people already know about the conflict between Mayor Williams and the Bay Area, it is still a very distant story for the lower and middle classes of society.

Now, the story obscured by the fog is beginning to unfold completely to the public, and they have no reason not to be excited. There's finally a big news story!

Mayor Williams stood in front of the reporters and cameras, maintaining silence for a while.

No speaking, no action, everyone was staring at him, until some people were almost unable to bear it.

Just as they were about to ask Mayor Williams what he wanted to say, Mayor Williams rubbed his forehead, "This is a problem that I am unwilling to face."

"Our city is rotting."

"I don't know how to describe these problems to you. I want to do something for you, to do something for the people here."

"But the things I do will harm the interests of some people. They want to stop me, want to embarrass me."

"They even want to blackmail me!"

"After the demolition of the old industrial area, a larger residential community will be built, where there will be more free public facilities and more affordable housing to reduce people's living costs."

"They have speculated the price of land worth less than 1,500 yuan per mu to 20,000 yuan per mu."

"They hope that the city hall will use taxpayers' money to pay for their greed. I will not accept such blackmail."

"Okay, I don't want their land, let them keep it."

"We can do what we want on the land that has been vacated with our cooperation, and build our beautiful home."

"Seeing that they couldn't achieve their goals, they colluded with those refugees and launched this inhumane terrorist attack, trying to destroy all our plans!"

"This is an extremely despicable and shameful act, gentlemen!"

"More than twenty federal citizens were killed in this incident because of their greed and ambition. These people lost their lives."

"Besides these people, there is another group of culprits in what happened today, those refugees!"

"Some people said before that the influx of refugees is the root of the cholera, I don't quite agree with this view, after all, it's not their own will that they came here."

"But now I think I am too superficial, I didn't realize the seriousness of the problem!"

"When their country is facing the invasion of invaders, their land is burned by the enemy's flames, their homes are destroyed by the enemy, their relatives, friends, and compatriots are being slaughtered."

"They, however, ran to the Federation!"

"They gave up revenge, gave up asking those invaders for an explanation, gave up joining the war to protect their homes and relatives, and fled to the Federation."

"I cannot understand their spiritual realm!"

"In my eyes, this is no different from treason!"

"I once naively thought they needed help, but now it seems that they don't need it at all!"

"We should expel them..."

At this time, a reporter suddenly interjected, "Mr. Mayor, some people say that the Williams family has raised and used slaves for generations. Is it because you treat refugees as slaves that this incident broke out?"

Mayor Williams frowned, "Some people say that the Williams family once had thousands of slaves, yes, that's right, we did!"

The reporters at the scene were in an uproar. In fact, that era was not too far away from this time, thirty or forty years, but thirty years is enough for many young people of the new generation to regard 'slavery' as history, rather than something that happened not far away.

Their uproar is imaginable. Is it really appropriate to talk about slavery at this time?

Mayor Williams's gaze was very indifferent, "But after the slave emancipation movement began, we released all the slaves and respected the legitimate rights and interests of every federal citizen."

"Our family currently does not raise any slaves, nor have we treated anyone like slaves."

"The era of slavery is a thing of the past, an epitome of an era. Almost all the big families in the Federation had the habit of raising slaves, not just us."

"We cannot bear the responsibility and infamy for what our ancestors did. That is unfair to us."

The reporter interjected again, "Can you list some people?"

Mayor Williams glanced at the reporter, "Next time you ask a question, you'd better raise your hand first, and I agree, then you speak."

"You look very much like the representatives of those capital interests now, but I will still answer your question."

"The President's family, the family of the Speaker of the Senate, the family of the Majority Leader of the Congress, the family of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of State... How many more do you want to know?"

"Are you going to make trouble for them?"

"I can talk about such families for days!"

"I have not denied that these things happened, nor have I thought that these things are right or wrong. That is history. What we need is to face it squarely, instead of standing in a special position and arguing about whether we are right or wrong with colored glasses!"

"Our ancestors relied on the terrible things they did to the natives of this land to have our foothold. Do you now have to bear the consequences of the bad things your ancestors did?"

"F*ck, remember his name and the newspaper, don't let this kind of person in next time!"

Some reporters began to applaud and cheer, but some people's faces were not so natural.

The questioning reporter was invited out by two security guards, not because he was so obedient and willing to leave here with the security guards.

But because those security guards had a red armband on their left arm. When he went out, his face was pale. He was considering when he would commit suicide out of shame for what his ancestors had done!

After the person left, Mayor Williams calmed down for a while and continued, "I want to do something for everyone. I want to continue to expand the size of the city, accommodate more people, and want to add some infrastructure so that people's lives can be easier and freer."

"Where was I just now?"

"I'm old, I was interrupted and sometimes I can't remember what I was going to say."

The reporters chimed in, and he smiled apologetically and continued, "We should expel these refugees. They bring instability to the city. They sell their bodies, they steal, rob, and occupy vacant houses. I don't know how many excessive things they have done I can say."

"These people are making our city more and more unsafe. They have abandoned their motherland, abandoned their faith, and now they can commit such heinous acts just for some money."

"Capitalist gangsters, refugees, have become the cancer of this city!"

"I once thought that gangsters were the biggest trouble we needed to solve, but now it seems that it is no longer our biggest trouble."

"I used to think that police officers who took black money were the most difficult problem we faced, but now you look at those police officers, who among them has taken your black money?"

"Until I stood here, I realized that our enemies have never been those we thought they were, but those hidden beneath their harmless surface!"

"They want to force me to compromise, but today, I stand here, and I guarantee to you with the glory of the Williams family that I will not back down!"

"The moment people elected me as mayor, I must fight for those who trust me!"

He waved his fist, "I know you are very interested in what happened this afternoon..."

"I have already asked Chief Blue to come over. He will tell you what he has experienced from his perspective, and eventually restore the truth!"

"I don't mind some people trying to make me bow my head through infighting and struggle, but all of that must happen within the rules, within our tolerance."

"If they try to force me with the lives and safety of the people, I will only fight them to the last moment!"

Soon Chief Blue walked in from outside. He started from receiving James's call, of course, some details were modified, and kept saying, "Those workers, under the command of some people, refused to stop their violence, and when they began to attack our police force in a organized manner, I authorized them to shoot..."