Empire of Shadows

Birds of a feather flock together.

Everyone understood that this was a battle, so they were also discussing how to continue to fight against Mayor Williams to get what they wanted besides money—

Balance.

Or rather, besides wanting money, they also wanted to use this method to force Mayor Williams to take the initiative to bow his head.

If he was not made to know who the real master of this city was, then it would also be a long-term trouble for the Bay Area.

In order to fight for the actual ruling power, they would enter a state of stalemate.

They would constantly face provocations and probes from City Hall and would have to spend more energy on dealing with Mayor Williams.

This was not what they wanted, so this time they wanted to directly suppress Mayor Williams.

To let him know that just because he was the mayor did not mean that he was the ruler in this city!

No matter what good plans he had, as long as the Bay Area did not agree, his plans could not be implemented!Of course, they would not be blindly tough. As long as Mayor Williams realized this, that this city was not entirely up to him, then they could also take a step back.

After all, stability was what the ruling class pursued.

In a private social occasion, many of the factory owners from the old industrial district were gathered here, as well as some of the wealthy people from the Bay Area.

Everyone was discussing the recent changes in the land in the old industrial district, and a satisfied smile was on everyone’s face.

The huge increase in land prices had greatly increased their net worth, from an increase of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands to an increase of millions. They had never thought that making money could be so easy.

They didn’t need to do anything, just wait for a period of time.

If you want to make a stereotyped capitalist show a smile, then just tell him how much profit he is going to get.

The atmosphere in the room was very enthusiastic. People were sitting or standing around the innermost circle. The conversation of the gentlemen in the middle circle was the loudest in the room. The farther out, the quieter the conversation, to ensure that everyone could hear what the gentlemen inside were saying.

“…I hear that some people have chosen to give up the profits they have already obtained today and have chosen to accept the replacement subsidy from City Hall.”

“I have no intention of judging whether this practice is wise or not, and I also express my respect for their choice.”

“I’m just talking about ourselves.”

“I know Williams. After all, we have been together for more than thirty years. My understanding of him is like him looking in a mirror.”

“Some of you may have also seen him, know him, and think that he is a very easy person to get along with.”

“But in fact, he is not easy to get along with, and is a bit arrogant and conceited.”

“When he decides to expand the city to get more family interests, he must reach a compromise with us on this matter.”

“Making money, and giving us respect.”

“Actually, I don’t really care about making money or not, but respect is a must.”

The speaker was named Charles, one of the major shareholders of Golden Port Bank.

“Major,” he held about 6-point-something percent of the shares of Golden Port Bank, which was already very considerable for a bank. He was also one of the core figures of the entire Bay Area.

Whether it was the Golden Port Bank they used to harvest the capitalists and the people of Golden Port City, or the dock management company that controlled the economic lifeline of Golden Port City, he was a major shareholder.

So his voice was also the loudest here.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on him, but he did not feel the slightest pressure. On the contrary, he crossed his legs and leaned back on the sofa in a very relaxed posture.

He held a cigar in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. From his posture to his expression, he was very relaxed.

His gaze at the people around him carried a trace of condescending contempt. Of course, it was not contempt for these people, but contempt for the Williams he was talking about.

He bit his cigar, took a puff, and then slowly exhaled. “When he takes the initiative to come and negotiate with us, and compromises, at that time, we can sell the land in our hands.”

“Whether it’s for City Hall to reclaim, or to sell to other new investors, it’s all fine.”

“But before he bows his head, gentlemen, I don’t want to see anyone privately signing any agreements without our consent.”

“We must unite. You have also seen that when we unite, even the ruler of this city can’t do anything about us!”

The gentlemen around, who had been fired up by his words, now began to applaud and cheer, each of them wishing they could clap their hands raw!

After the applause had subsided a little, someone asked, “Mr. Charles, if…, I mean if, if Mayor Williams doesn’t compromise?”

“Are we just going to stay like this?”

Mr. Charles glanced at the person who had asked the question and then nodded. “For us, is there any practical difference between moving and not moving?”

“We move to the new industrial district, and in the end, don’t we still continue to produce?”

“Or if we don’t move from our current place, does that mean we don’t have to produce anymore?”

“No!”

“No matter where we go, we will continue to produce. On the contrary, being closer to the city is more convenient in terms of transportation.”

“He is not willing to talk to us, then we will continue to produce and ignore him.”

“The city expansion plan he submitted to the state, the improvement of the city’s living and working environment he promised to the citizens, if he can’t do it, that’s his problem, not ours.”

“Our job is to produce with all our might, to turn goods into money, and that’s all.”

The person who had asked the question, and some who held the same idea, also nodded one after another. That was the truth.

Some people had focused their attention on the constantly soaring land prices and had ignored the fact that their production itself could also bring profits.

Although it was not as much as selling directly, at least there was still some.

Next, some other people raised some questions, and Mr. Charles solved them all with ease, which also made them more confident that the future was bright!

Just as everyone was in high spirits, as if Mayor Williams had already knelt on the ground and begged for their forgiveness, as if the price of an acre of land had increased more than tenfold, and most of them had made a big profit, a man who looked like a staff member here knocked on the door.

He named a gentleman and conveyed the message that there was a phone call for him, and then left.

The people did not stop just because one person had left. They were still drinking, smoking, and chatting about the future.

The gentleman, his face flushed and hot, took out a handkerchief and wiped the fine sweat from his temples. He came to another room, picked up the phone, and put it to his ear.

“What happened?”

“The power’s out!”

The power was out. Yes, the power was out.

“What the fuck, why is the power out?”

“Did you call the power company?”

“You have to tell them, if they can’t guarantee the power supply and it causes problems with our production plan, I’m going to fucking sue them!”

The businessman’s face immediately turned redder, but not because of excitement, but because of anger and a trace of unease and fear!

A power outage!

A power outage means a work stoppage, means the assembly line will come to a complete halt, and also means that everything has been put on pause!

A factory stopping work due to a power outage is not as simple as just being unable to continue to produce products. There is also a certain risk of breach of contract.

Suppose a factory has a thousand workers, and they need to pay each worker about 47 or 48 a month.

The factory needs to pay a salary of 47,000 or 48,000 a month for these thousand people. Let’s say 50,000.

Once the factory stops, the salary will become a heavy and huge expense. In order to ensure that the factory does not run empty, most factories’ orders are full.

One order after another. Some factories with booming business basically run two shifts 24 hours a day, never letting the assembly line stop.

Only in this way will the wages paid by the factory owner to the workers not become a burden to the factory.

But because of this, with the orders full, once a problem with production affects the production plan, it could be a big problem, possibly involving breach of contract and compensation.

So a factory, especially a large factory, once it starts to operate, will not easily stop.

He just couldn’t understand, how could the power suddenly be cut off?

His factory manager said in a low voice on the other end of the line, “Boss, the power supply company said… the substation exploded!”

“Until it’s repaired, they won’t continue to supply power.”

The substation exploded?

This was the second time he had cursed today. “Fuck, why did the substation explode?”

“Ask them when it can be repaired. Will our production schedule be affected?”

The factory manager said with a stiff upper lip, “They said they need to get equipment from Gold Star City and Creek Valley City. It might not be repaired until tomorrow or the day after.”

“As for the production schedule, it might be affected a little.”

The businessman felt a pain in his liver after hearing this. He walked back and forth a few steps. “What about our own power generation?”

The manager didn’t speak. He used this method to let the businessman know that he was daydreaming.

After confirming that the power would not be restored in a short time, the businessman hung up the phone and returned to the salon with an ugly face.

He also had friends here. His friend asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

He pursed his lips. “The power is out at the factory. I’m a little worried about the production plan.”

His friend had not yet realized the seriousness of the situation. His face still had a “it’s just a small matter” smile. “A temporary power outage?”

“How long will they be out this time?”

“Damn it, giving those workers another legitimate opportunity to be lazy. I have to find a way to deduct some money from them this month.”

A few of the surrounding businessmen also laughed, mocking his friend for trying to exploit even such a small amount of money.

In this period, there would indeed be such temporary power outages. The power supply was often insufficient.

Even in the Federation, some areas, in order to ensure the power for production, would also have phased power outages.

Like connecting to a new power network, there might also be a temporary power outage.

As long as the power outage was not too long, everyone could accept it.

But what the businessman said next made everyone become uneasy.

“The power supply company said it would probably take… two or three days.”

The people with relaxed smiles on their faces immediately became not so relaxed, and more people were called out. New phone calls were coming in.

Mr. Charles, who was originally sitting in the very center of the crowd, instilling his ideas in others, also found that something was wrong. He had someone ask and only then did he know that the power was out, and it would be out for several days.

The first thing that came to his mind was that this was a conspiracy!

It must have been done by Mayor Williams, using this method to force others to bow their heads to him, to compromise with him.

Many factories had recently had an increase in their orders. Because of the war, some production plans had been sent to the Federation by those countries that had joined the war.

The number of these orders was not small, and at the same time, it was no different from an ordinary order. If it could not be completed within the specified time, they would face huge claims.

After all, some of the goods were directly or indirectly related to the war, such as some equipment used by sappers.

Before, they were still happy about the sudden large number of orders, but now, they began to feel uneasy.

More and more people began to panic, began to be unable to concentrate. They couldn’t stay here anymore.

Mr. Charles could not force them and even took the initiative to suggest that they go to the substation to have a look together.

So soon, a large number of businessmen drove their cars, and with Mr. Charles, they came to the substation.

Before they got close, everyone could smell a burnt smell. There were also some fire trucks at the scene. It looked a bit messy.

Soon they saw the person in charge of the substation here. The person in charge’s face still had some black dust on it. He looked at the businessmen in front of him and didn’t know what to say.

“What on earth happened?” Mr. Charles asked.

The person in charge of the substation seemed to have come back to his senses. He swallowed and explained, “I don’t know. Before the accident, all the equipment was running normally. We didn’t find any abnormalities during the patrol, but I don’t know why, a few sets of equipment suddenly exploded.”

“In order to avoid a greater disaster, we immediately cut off the power supply and called the fire truck.”

Mr. Charles looked at the equipment group in the distance. “It doesn’t look like there’s a big problem.”

The person in charge of the substation shook his head. “Many of the equipment have been damaged and can’t be used anymore. This will bring a huge safety hazard.”

In fact, if you really had to use it, it wasn’t that you couldn’t, but the power company and the power grid company were not willing to bear the consequences.

What if the power grid burned down? Who would pay for this loss?

Even if they really didn’t want to have a power outage, before the equipment was replaced, they would not supply power.

The others asked in a disorderly manner. The person in charge of the substation kept repeating a few sentences. The scene was in a mess.

Just after this kind of thing had happened, the person in charge of the substation was also full of anger. After answering a few questions, he explained the situation loudly and then left, leaving only the dazed businessmen on the spot.

What about the production plan?

What if there’s a breach of contract?

Who should they ask for the liquidated damages?

No one knew.

At this time, some damaged equipment was moved out from inside. Mr. Charles took the initiative to walk to the side of one of the damaged equipment and glanced at it, and his brow furrowed.

This piece of equipment looked to have been seriously injured. The powerful force had completely deformed it. A part of it had even been broken. He didn’t quite understand if an accident at the substation would cause such damage.

In his impression, a problem with the power would at most cause it to melt down, not like the equipment in front of him, which seemed to have been destroyed by some huge force.

He was even more certain of his previous thoughts. There might be the shadow of Mayor Williams.

He comforted the others while saying that he would find a way to get those equipment transported here as soon as possible.

A terrible day.

But for the workers, this was clearly a happy day. The second half of the day was a holiday.

Except for those factories that had their own generator sets, the old industrial district welcomed a rare “tranquility.”

For a whole night, the businessmen were worried and concerned about the matter of equipment transportation, but it was clear that bad news was still coming in continuously.

Early the next morning, the person in charge of the substation reported a piece of bad news to some of the businessmen who had come to supervise their work—

“Last night, the truck transporting the equipment had a car accident on the road because of the snowy weather and slippery road. The plan to repair the substation may have to be postponed.”

This one sentence made many businessmen instantly furious. If they could barely accept waiting for two days, then to continue to postpone now was something they could not accept.

But the substation side had no good solution either. The equipment loss caused by this explosion was too much.

The local spare equipment had all been put on, but it was still not enough. They could only get it from other places.

When the people of the Federation face a problem that they cannot solve and explain, they will often think that these are conspiracies, the result of the manipulation of a certain force.

They still thought so this time. Some people thought that this was Mayor Williams’s trick. His purpose was to force people to sign some replacement subsidy agreement!

If before people could still hold on, they thought that even Mayor Williams might not be able to do anything to them, then now, they realized that they were not “safe.”

This was a “high-level war.” In fact, some of them understood it, but they were all blinded by the huge profits.

Even now, there were still people telling them that they had to stabilize the land price and continue to raise it, because Mayor Williams was in a hurry.

He was in a hurry, which was why he was using this method to try to force them to compromise.

Then they could completely shift the losses to the mayor or the new investment, and have them pay more money.

This was indeed a good method, at least it sounded like it.

The price of the land was still rising, and the confrontation between the two interest groups was still ongoing.

However, there was also a small group of people who had already begun to regret.

What substation exploded, what snowy weather and slippery road caused a car accident, who knows if these happened naturally and truthfully, or were they artificially controlled?

Now the substation could explode. So next time, what would explode?

To hold on?

It sounds simple enough, but how to hold on?

(End of a Chapter)