Empire of Shadows

Compared to the straight-line decline in the quality of life after Boni left the company, Carl’s quality of life was constantly improving.

Since Lance had raised their commission, Carl could receive a profit of more than five to six hundred a day. In just a few days, he had more than two thousand in his hands, not counting what he had before.

How good money is, people may not have a concept of it usually, but at this moment it was vividly demonstrated.

While the people outside were still racking their brains on where to get their dinner for the night, the people here with Carl had already started to drink juice and eat meat.

To be able to eat their fill, to be able to let their families eat their fill, and to have money to spend, this was heaven!

Wasn’t the free and relaxed environment of the Federation what they had been dreaming of?

What Boni couldn’t give them, Carl could. They were willing to offer their loyalty to Carl!

As the little brother from Boni’s side approached the door, two of his former companions who had been chatting idly blocked his way. “This has nothing to do with you anymore. You shouldn’t be here.”

The little brother looked at the new clothes on the two of them, and also noticed the red and white armbands on their left arms.

A brand-new woolen soft cap, which should be a woolen trench coat, a beautiful and upright suit, and that pair of shiny leather shoes.It was clear that not long ago, they were the same mud-legged dogs, but after such a short period of time, it seemed that an even greater gap had been pulled between the two sides.

The little brother was a little regretful, but in his heart, there was more dissatisfaction and resentment towards Boni.

Since they can all live so well, why was I so confused by Boni at that time that I couldn’t even distinguish the most simple and basic things?

The two former companions looked at him with condescending eyes, which made his heart ache a little, but it also made him want to rejoin this group even more!

“I have something I want to say to Carl.”

“Carl?” The guy on the left frowned. “Is the name Carl something you can just say?”

“For the sake of our acquaintance, if I hear you call him that again from your mouth in the future, I’ll tear your mouth apart!”

“Remember, kid, you have to call him ‘Mr. Carl’!”

“Do you understand?”

A look of shock appeared on the little brother’s face. Although he cursed a few times in his heart, he was more shocked!

They were “formalizing,” not like in the “Boni period,” just playing around.

This also meant that they would live a better life and would become more powerful in the future!

He had not seen any of what Boni had said, what great ideal, what for more people. He had not seen any actual results at all.

The people who couldn’t afford to eat still couldn’t afford to eat, and had to rely on the relief of the Federation people to not starve to death.

The people who couldn’t afford to wear clothes had not, because of Boni or that Mr. Hope, not been covered by ice and snow in the middle of the night and eventually frozen to death.

People were still as poor and sad as in the past. It would not change just because someone had a lofty ideal.

But look here, their lives are really getting better and better!

He lowered his head, his eyes filled with some longing. He also wanted to wear that beautiful pair of leather shoes. It must be very comfortable to walk on the ground.

He said in a slightly humble tone, “I’ll remember, Mr. Carl!”

“I have something I want to say to Mr. Carl. It’s about Boni and has something to do with Mr. Hope.”

The two looked at each other. The person on the left told him to wait here, while the other person entered the house.

Soon the person came back. “Mr. Carl wants you to go in. Remember, be smart. Now is not the past!”

The little brother nodded repeatedly. After he pushed open the familiar door, what he saw was a different picture.

This house was not bought by them. It was vacant and occupied by them, so the things in the house before, including the furniture, were very shabby.

But what did he see now?

He saw someone pasting wallpaper. A large carpet had already been placed in the living room, and there were also beautiful sofas. The young men, dressed in roughly the same clothes as the two at the door, were gathered together, smoking, eating, or laughing with the girls in their arms.

The moment he walked in and felt the softness of the carpet under his feet, a sense of inferiority suddenly arose.

Then his dissatisfaction with Boni became even stronger!

It’s all his fault!

We were originally the same!

He squeezed out a smile. The gazes of those people were all focused on him. The gap in their attire made him feel like a humble clown. “I’m here to see Mr. Carl.”

One of them, who had had a decent relationship with him before, broke the deadlock. “The Boss is in the study on the second floor.”

Boss, a very formal title. The little brother nodded repeatedly. “Thank you, I see.”

He walked a little faster, afraid of hearing the laughter of those people, the laughter of mocking him.

He ran to the front of that big door. Everything here was undergoing renovation.

This would not be Carl’s final office, just one of them, the first one. But he still hoped that this place would look a little more luxurious.

He was imitating Lance, in every aspect. Although it might just be a clumsy imitation, he would work hard.

He knocked on the door. The door was quickly opened, not by Carl, but by another young man he had never seen before.

The other party opened the door and glanced at him. “Are you carrying a weapon?”

The little brother shook his head. “I didn’t bring anything.”

But the other party still simply searched his body before letting him in.

There were several other people in the room, either sitting or standing. Carl was sitting in the chair behind the large desk. He was crossing his legs and holding a cigar. When he saw him come in, he just happened to exhale a puff of smoke.

“Haha, look who it is?”

“My brother, why did you think of coming back to see me? Are you here to laugh at me?”

Although he said so, his face had another expression, mocking, sarcastic, all of it.

The little brother was even more upset. “I’ve brought news related to Boni and Hope.”

Carl pursed his lips. He raised his hand, and the few young men that the little brother had never seen stood up and left the room.

In a daze, he felt as if he were not in a place where refugees gathered, but on the turf of some big shot in the legendary Bay Area.

Carl tilted his head slightly, with a very relaxed look. “So what kind of news have you brought me?”

If he had had a trace of hesitation before, then at this moment, seeing everything here, he no longer had any hesitation.

“Hope has asked Boni to continue to gather manpower. They are planning to make trouble again in a few days, probably the day before the New Year or on New Year’s Day.”

“And this time they are going to gather several thousand people!”

Carl’s expression changed slightly. He frowned. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, Boss…” he said, learning from the people outside and calling out “Boss.” Carl smiled and did not correct his mistake.

“This news is indeed very important, but it is not important enough, because if they really plan to gather many people, I will definitely be able to find out.”

This statement was not a lie. This was not gathering three or five people, or thirty or fifty people, where there was still a chance of keeping it a secret.

Several thousand people, it was simply impossible to keep it a secret.

But the little brother also had his own opinion. “But by the time you find out, it may be too late to change anything. Now they have not gathered many people, and there is still plenty of time to do something.”

Carl’s originally not-so-concerned expression became grave. He glanced at this little brother a few more times and nodded. “You have a point.”

“Wait outside the door. I’ll make a phone call.”

Then, after the little brother had left, he dialed Lance’s number.

He, who had been a little arrogant just now, suddenly became humble. “Mr. Lance?”

“There’s something I think it’s necessary to inform you… just now a friend, we were together before, and then he left with Boni… yes, that’s right.”

“Now he’s back and tells me that Boni and Hope are planning to have another rally, and they’re going to gather several thousand people, just before and after New Year’s Day…”

“Yes… he’s right here… okay, I see, okay, okay, goodbye!”

He hung up the phone and sat there thinking for a while, then had someone call the little brother back in.

“Your news is of some value,” he did not hide it. “But what is more valuable is you yourself.”

“I want you to go back to Boni’s side, to find out more detailed content, what time, what they will do, and who else is organizing.”

“If there is any special news, send it back as soon as possible. I know what you want.”

“As long as you perform well enough, I will give you what you want.”

As he spoke, he opened the drawer, took out a few one-dollar bills from it, and placed them on the table. “Here’s ten dollars. You take it first. If you do well, there’s more.”

“I am different from Boni. He is always talking about some useless ideals and futures.”

“I’m much more realistic.”

“You work for me, and I give you money!”

Looking at the money on the table, the little brother’s heart was trembling!

He took the initiative to bow his head and walk over, took the banknotes from the table with both hands, and said gratefully, “Thank you, Boss. I am willing to work for you!”

After the little brother had left, Carl gathered the group of people from just now again. These were the people he had found among the refugees, relatively ruthless people.

The purpose of recruiting these people was that he also needed a group of people who could fight and kill, instead of doing everything himself.

Boni was too idealistic. Although there were also people in the group he had recruited who could fight, there was no one who could kill.

Carl needed to make up for this shortcoming, because he wanted to become a big shot!

When the people had gathered, he looked at these people. On their once unruly faces, there was now only obedience to him.

The great power of money is here. It can make a person change everything about themselves!

“You’re always telling me how capable you are. Now there’s just a task that needs you to do: kill a person!”

(End of a Chapter)