Empire of Shadows

“It’s no problem to pull out, but the management company’s side…” Hunter didn’t agree immediately. As an enforcer, he had actually done ma

“It’s no problem to pull out, but the management company’s side…” Hunter didn’t agree immediately.

As an enforcer, he had actually done many things for the Bay Area alongside Charlie. He knew very well that the Bay Area didn’t care how you did it, only whether you achieved the result they wanted.

Pulling out now was tantamount to failure.

In the past, when an operation failed, Charlie would be the unlucky one. But now Charlie was no longer in charge of these things, so the unlucky one would be him.

Charlie’s voice came through the receiver again, reaffirming his order, with a tone that brooked no argument. “Pull out!”

“Then, I’ll find out the situation and consider how to solve it.”

Hunter was silent for a few seconds, then compromised. “You call the shots, Chief.”

On the other end of the line, Charlie frowned. He could hear that Hunter was dissatisfied with his decision, but he didn’t have time to explain it clearly to Hunter now.

He directly dialed Lance’s number, but after several consecutive calls, he was either unavailable or no one answered. This also made him realize that Lance was deliberately avoiding people’s calls.The police’s intervention and subsequent withdrawal completely unleashed the passion of the striking workers. In the end, even the security guards at the docks chose to give up. The entire dock became a paradise for the workers.

As container after container was opened, the goods inside began to be looted. The entire dock plunged into complete chaos.

Actually, it’s quite interesting to think about.

The last time the docks were this chaotic was when the city condoned them to attack the Empire immigrants.

The police had chosen to watch from the sidelines, watching them beat those innocent workers, just as they were at this moment, watching them open the containers and snatch the things inside.

They even set fire to the dock management company’s office.

The raging flames lit up the sky above the entire dock. Under the glow of the fire, people’s flushed faces were filled with various different expressions.

Twisted, ferocious, greedy, hysterical…

At this moment, the entire dock had completely fallen.

The Mayor also quickly learned of this news. His injuries were still far from healed. Usually, he needed someone to slowly help him even to sit up.

His gunshot wound in the abdomen affected his upper body movement. He basically couldn’t do any movements that required the use of his waist and abdominal muscle groups.

But when he heard this news, he still sat up at once. “How could this happen?”

The secretary stood by with his head bowed. “From the information I’ve obtained, there was a conflict between the striking worker representatives and the management company’s manager at night. The manager had the security guards drive them out, and in the process, the two sides came to blows.”

“Then more and more people joined in, which eventually led to this riot. Now the docks have been completely occupied by this group of workers.”

The Mayor clutched his wound, his eyes closed. After feeling a little better, he asked, “What about the police?”

“What are the police doing?”

“That old dog Charlie will definitely listen to the Bay Area. For such a big event, the people in the Bay Area must have intervened. Where is he and his men?” As he spoke, he stretched out his hand. “Give me a hand.”

The secretary quickly walked over, helped the Mayor move back, and arranged the pillows so he could lean on them.

“The police went to the docks, but now they have withdrawn. There are too many rioting workers at the docks.”

“They also set fire to the dock management company’s building. Now even the fire department can’t get in.”

The Mayor let out a heavy breath. He picked up the phone and dialed a number in the capital.

A moment later, the call should have been connected. “I didn’t mean to call you this late, but there’s been an accident. I want to know when the militia can set out.”

“What, do we have to wait for the process to be completed?”

“Can it be any faster?”

“No, it’s nothing, no problem… Okay, I understand.”

The call was to a friend of his who worked at the state government’s militia office. He was asking if the militia could enter Golden Port sooner, but it was clear that these things had to go through procedures.

The secretary was a little confused. “Why are you so sensitive about the turmoil at the docks?”

The Mayor frowned. “Because it’s related to many problems. Do you think the docks are just a dock?”

“Whether internally or externally, this is an important political bargaining chip.”

“The more critical the moment, the more we can’t let any accidents happen to it.”

“Once the turmoil here reaches a certain level, in order to avoid further escalating the conflict, Congress might urgently halt the process of the militia entering the city.”

“If they really do that, many of our arrangements will become ineffective.”

Feeling the wound in his waist and abdomen ache again, the Mayor had to close his eyes and concentrate all his strength to fight against the pain.

But the thought of the out-of-control situation only made the pain worse.

After waiting for a long while, he recovered a little, picked up the phone again, and dialed a number in the special district.

This time, he seemed obviously more careful.

“Mr. Johnson, this is Sidney, the mayor of Golden Port. I’m very grateful that you could take my call, and I also apologize for calling you so late…”

“Thank you for your understanding. There’s been a small accident here in Golden Port… Yes, everything is under control, it’s just that the development might be a bit beyond our expectations.”

“My idea is, we can solve our own local problems ourselves. If you have paid attention… yes, that’s it, the militia will soon enter the city to take over the public security problem.”

“Good, good, thank you very much for your support… Yes, I was indeed injured and am still in the hospital. Thank you for your concern… Good, good, goodbye.”

After hanging up the phone, there was no hint of happiness on his face. This Mr. Johnson was a congressman, and his relationship with this Mr. Johnson also ended with this phone call.

He didn’t even mention visiting the other party to thank them, because he would never be able to see them again.

Unless there was a middleman to help him, there was a high probability that he would not have any more contact with this Senator Johnson until his death.

Now he could only hope that this Senator Johnson could help him drag things out for a couple more days.

At night, more people learned about the turmoil at the docks and knew that many containers had been pried open. Some companies, in order to protect their own property, rushed into the docks.

The riot was still deteriorating further. Now, even if Lance came, it would be useless.

The next morning, almost all of the Federation’s mainstream media reported on this matter. Among them, the Federation Daily even put this news on the front page.

The photo used in the newspaper was a snapshot from a reporter. Outside a burning building, several workers were carrying away a large amount of goods.

They also used a rather sensational headline—”The Day the Northern Hemisphere Stopped Turning!”

This directly caused the Federation Daily to sell out.

Many people wanted to know how the northern hemisphere had stopped turning, and also wanted to know what kind of event could appear on the front page of a newspaper of this level.

The newspaper described the process of the entire chaos and the current result in more detail.

A large number of companies began to protest to the federal government, including some multinational corporations.

More and more cargo ships were waiting outside Golden Port to enter, but they never left. This was not a simple matter of unloading the goods somewhere.

In an instant, the attention of the entire country began to focus here. Even Congress held a small emergency meeting specifically for this matter.

“Beautifully done!” Councilman Williams praised Lance. He rarely praised others so directly.

James, to make Lance realize how rare this sentence was, even specifically explained, “I haven’t heard this evaluation in many years, Lance.”

“Even ‘not bad’ is rarely heard. His expression is very reserved. This is already the strongest expression.”

Lance smiled. “I hope I didn’t screw it up.”

Councilman Williams shook his head. “Of course you didn’t screw it up. you did much better than I imagined!”

In front of him was a copy of the Likalai State edition of the Federation Daily. This report made him feel very comfortable.

“How did you convince those workers?”

Lance shrugged. “Tell the truth, then give them a little pressure, and by the way, find a solution for them.”

“Mr. Williams, this may require a little help from you. Some of them will most likely be prosecuted.”

Councilman Williams burst out laughing after hearing this. “Leave this small matter to me. Whether it’s the state court or the local court judges, we have a good relationship.”

“The state attorney general was even my classmate.”

In fact, not only was he his classmate, but also Councilman Wade’s classmate, and the classmate of a considerable number of other celebrities.

At that time, Likalai State only had this one university. With their status and background, it was natural for them to go to university, and it was also natural for them to become alumni.

“In short, I can help you solve this matter,” it was clear that Councilman Williams was very excited now. One could imagine how important it was for him to have thwarted the mayor’s conspiracy.

After being happy for a while, he said, “Next, I will contact the people in Congress. Wait for my good news.”

“At that time, I might still need your help, Lance.”

“Once Congress starts to intervene, we must make the city stable as soon as possible. You should be able to contribute some strength in this area, don’t you think?”

Now, most of the city’s public security problems are solved by gangs. The police can only solve the problems of ordinary people, but the problems between gangs can only be solved by gangs.

Lance nodded and said, “We will take over the Port District soon. I can’t control other places, but the Port District will definitely stabilize.”

Councilman Williams was very satisfied, so satisfied that he couldn’t be more satisfied. “Very good, very good. If you have other problems, you can find Williams.”

“You are all young people, you can interact more. Leave the rest to me.”

When Lance heard this, he knew he should leave, and immediately got up to say goodbye.

“Help me see him off. Please forgive my old age, it’s not convenient for me to move around,” Councilman Williams was still very polite. James immediately stood up.

Seeing that the other party intended to see him to the office door, Lance took the initiative to ask him not to get up.

But Councilman Williams still insisted on seeing him to the door of the room.

When leaving, Lance also saw Arthur. The two were not familiar and had not had much contact, but Williams had Arthur say hello, and Arthur did so obediently.

The old man had told him that if he wanted to maintain his current life in the future, then it was best to listen to his half-brother.

Arthur was very obedient. He took the initiative to say hello to Lance and even shook his hand.

When James returned after seeing Lance off, he happened to run into the departing Arthur. “Didn’t you go to say hello to father?”

Arthur appeared a bit reserved. “He was busy and told me to get lost.”

James couldn’t help but laugh. He walked over and patted Arthur’s arm. “This is also his way of expressing love. Don’t take it to heart.”

“Don’t run around lately, it’s not safe outside.”

Arthur nodded and watched James leave.

This was the difference between him and James. Councilman Williams told him to get lost, but James could enter the office. This was the “first-mover advantage.”

This could not be blamed on him or his mother, because at that time his mother was still just a little girl.

When he returned to the office, Councilman Williams was on the phone with a senator. This also reflected the gap between him and the Mayor.

The Mayor had managed very well in Fides before, but Fides was not a particularly important city after all, and the political resources he could access were very limited.

And what about Golden Port?

It was related to the major issue of shipping in the northern hemisphere. Not only was it rich, but it also had abundant political resources.

He could talk directly with senators, and not just one, and it wasn’t a one-time favor.

James came in lightly and sat down opposite him. Councilman Williams glanced at him and then smiled and continued to talk on the phone. “Yes, it’s too chaotic. If we let the militia enter the city, it will only further escalate the conflict.”

“I heard that the war has actually started on the Tanfit side, they just haven’t officially declared war yet.”

“Golden Port’s position in the global shipping industry will become more important. We might even become number one in the world.”

“But if we let the conflict continue to escalate now, it might push the future into an unpredictable future for us.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for your good news. I’ve already talked with the others.”

“After the matter is resolved, you definitely won’t be shorted on the things here… Haha, okay, I’ll be in the special district next month. We’ll play a few rounds then.”

He hung up the phone with a smile, then pursed his lips and looked at James. “Seen him off?”

“Seen him off.”

He smacked his lips, took out his pipe, and took a puff. “Lance’s ability is very strong. If you can subdue him, it will be of great help to you and our family’s future.”

“Of course, this is before you are sure. When you are not sure, you can be friends first.”

“I am eagerly looking forward to seeing Sidney’s ugly face. That shot he took was for nothing.”

He couldn’t help but laugh as he spoke. “Interesting.”

What he found interesting was Lance’s approach. This time, it had dragged many people from the Bay Area into the water, creating an even greater impact.

And those companies that had suffered huge losses would only put pressure on the dock management company.

If the Williams family wanted to dominate Golden Port alone, they would have to consider how to treat these people in the Bay Area in the future.

Their attitude, their position.

Before, Councilman Williams had no other ideas, but now, he no longer wanted to “co-govern” Golden Port with the rest of the Bay Area.

He had a greater ambition.

The situation at the docks, after continuous fermentation, had become even worse. Many dockworkers even clashed with some of the people protecting company property, and the entire dock became even more chaotic.

Humans are a very terrifying animal. Once the devil in their hearts is released, it will cause huge destruction.

Just like now, there were flames everywhere, even more chaotic than last time.

A continuous stream of heavyweight media reporters from all over the Federation arrived in Golden Port. Their first stop was always to go to the docks to take pictures. And with the arrival of these people, more news about the Golden Port riots began to spread at home and abroad.

It even once suppressed the undeclared war on the Tanfit continent—

The world’s first and second largest shipping ports were both on the Tanfit continent. Now, due to the outbreak of war on the Tanfit continent and the trend of the war spreading, the importance of the Golden Port docks was constantly increasing.

If even the Golden Port docks had problems and could not be restored in a short time, not only could it cause chaos in world trade, but for the Federation, it would also lose an opportunity to become number one.

Congress once again held a temporary emergency meeting to discuss the disposal of the Golden Port dock issue.

Among them, Senator Johnson stated that the riots in Golden Port were just a strike by workers dissatisfied with their wages, and not a riot. The state government could be required to urge the dock management company to solve the current problem as soon as possible through wage increases and other methods.

However, several other senators raised different views. These senators believed that the problem of the Golden Port docks was not just a wage issue, but involved many aspects.

Moreover, the importance of the Golden Port docks was very special. In less than a year, two riots had occurred at the Golden Port docks. If these problems were not completely resolved, the same situation would only continue to occur in the future.

With solving the dock problem as the core, a working group should be sent to Golden Port to assist all parties in solving the problem.

After more than an hour of discussion, Senator Johnson finally had to accept the result of the vote.

At 6:30 that evening, Congress issued an announcement to the public.

They would send one senator and three congressmen to Golden Port to investigate and resolve the dock issue. At the same time, Congress urgently halted the imminent departure of the militia.

As soon as the news was released, some people laughed so hard they couldn’t stop hiccupping, while others were so pained they wanted to cry.

When the news returned to Golden Port, the chaotic city seemed to fall silent for a moment…

(End of chapter)