Empire of Shadows

A strange country, a strange society, and a group of unwilling souls.

This is the reason why the bottom layer of this immigrant country, the Federation, is like a hotbed for gangs, constantly giving birth to new ones.

Society gives these young people at the bottom no way out. Before they have even seen the beautiful side of the world, their heads are pressed under the water.

If you don’t struggle, you can only die. Everyone will struggle with all their might!

Some of the young men in the room might really have guts; they were the kind who fought fiercely before they came.

Some might not really have guts, but for the sake of a better life, they were willing to take a gamble.

Every minute, every second, there are countless people who are willing to take a gamble for a better future.

It’s just that some people may only be gambling for one or two dollars. The number of people who can gamble their way to a beautiful future is very small.

Carl sat in his chair and looked at them. He was now vaguely feeling the pleasure of being able to decide the life and death of others!

No matter what kind of person, what kind of role, when he made a decision, those people would pay the price of their lives!He felt a little light-headed, like he had just taken several puffs of a cigar in a row, a little dizzy.

Power is indeed the most mellow smoke, the strongest wine, bringing people the most extreme enjoyment!

The young men in the room looked at him and began to state their positions one by one. Even if some were left behind, in the end, everyone expressed their willingness to serve Carl and Carl’s boss.

“Very good, I didn’t misjudge you,” Carl said, his mind full of Lance’s image, including some small actions that Lance himself had not noticed.

“This time, my target is Hope. Does anyone know him?”

There were seven or eight young men of about his age in the room. Among them, one or two looked particularly fierce, natural villains.

The way they looked at people was not like looking at a person, but like looking at some dead thing.

At first, Carl didn’t dare to look them in the eye either, but gradually, he gained more confidence, because he knew that he was richer than these people, he also had a gun, and he had a backer.

Killing him might be simple, but it also meant that the person who killed him would have to pay a price.

He was very clear about this. Before he was pushed to a dead end, before anyone thought of dying with him, he was safe.

He had to play the role of a dog well. Only in this way would he have the value to continue to exist.

He looked at the fierce young men with a calm gaze, meeting their gaze. The unruly, fierce gazes gradually softened.

Their ferocity could not fill their stomachs, their ferocity could not let them wear warm clothes, their ferocity could not change the situation of their families!

What people long for most is to grow up, and what is most tragic is also to grow up.

Because growing up means realizing one’s own mediocrity and helplessness in one bloody and bruised experience after another.

When you are a child, you always feel that there is nothing in this world that you can’t solve, but when you grow up, you will find that in fact, you can’t solve any problems.

Someone nodded. “I know. Many people call him the ‘Light of Slad’.”

“He is always working for the welfare of the Slad people. I don’t know the specifics, but that’s what people say.”

A person next to him also nodded. “I’ve heard of it too, but the people who can’t afford to eat outside still can’t afford to eat. But I heard that he has already moved into a big house, and someone has seen him being picked up by a luxury car.”

Others also said some rumors about Hope. Some rumors were positive, and some were negative.

Hope’s actions these past few times had indeed been quite good. His slogans were big, and his ideals and ambitions were big.

He gave many people the illusion that the future would be better and better. This was also the motivation that supported a few people to persevere, so people were willing to support him.

Carl nodded. He placed one hand on the armrest, and with his middle and ring fingers, he slowly rubbed the edge of the armrest. “Your target is him. The boss doesn’t want to see him alive.”

“Kill him!”

The atmosphere in the room felt a little solidified. Although these young men looked very fierce, and some had even hurt others, they had never really killed anyone.

This kind of experience is not something that just anyone can have, and their target is also a person who is relatively famous among them.

Carl’s words were spoken very simply, but when they landed, they were very heavy.

He looked at these people, his gaze constantly moving from their faces. “What you need to consider is how to get rid of him. As for what happens after you get rid of him, the boss will solve it for you.”

“The police will be on the scene at the first opportunity. You don’t have to resist. Follow the police’s instructions to put down your weapons, raise your hands high, and let the police arrest you…”

When he said these words, he was also observing the changes in the expressions of these peers. Some people did have some changes in their expressions, but they were not big.

“The police are also our people. Although you will be arrested, and even sentenced, but don’t worry, you will be out soon.”

“This is Golden Port City, Mr. Lance’s Golden Port City!” he added some emphasis to his tone, and also added some confidence to these young men.

“This is actually also a kind of protection for you. And if any of you really do it, I guarantee that when you come out, I will take you to see the boss.”

This last sentence moved these young men.

Everyone was actually secretly spreading the news, spreading why Carl could replace Boni?

The most common view was that when Boni was kicked out, Carl happened to be by his side.

For a big shot like Mr. Lance, whether it was Boni, Carl, or someone else, in essence, they were all the same—”If I had been there at that time, I could have done it too!”

So for these young men, this was an opportunity!

The atmosphere in the room was a little solemn. Carl’s expression was very serious. “This is an opportunity that the boss has given us. You should have been here for some time, and you have also heard the rumors about the Lance Family.”

“Seize the opportunity, and we will be one of them.”

“I think I don’t need to explain to you at all how important this is to us.”

“In a lifetime, there may be only this one opportunity!”

“You, me, everyone will get unimaginable benefits from it. Maybe we will have a bar, and we can earn more money every day.”

“Each of us can become a person of a higher class, live in a villa in the Bay Area, drive a car that costs thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, and will no longer be troubled by the things that are troubling us now!”

He clenched his fist. “Don’t miss this opportunity!”

Very simple words. An opportunity and seizing an opportunity, for the vast majority of people, are a light that has never appeared in their entire lives.

Someone began to seriously consider this matter. “Hope definitely has bodyguards over there. I hear he has connections with some of the big shots in this city.”

Hope’s success had been seen by some people. Some talented people wanted to become the second Hope, but they knew that they couldn’t follow Hope’s old path.

This track had already been walked to the end by Hope. Even if they ran forward along the path he had paved, it was impossible to surpass him. He represented the limit of this track.

If you want to get a bite to eat through this track, to have enough to eat, maybe it’s not a problem.

But if you want to make a name for yourself, to become a person of a higher class, it’s definitely not possible.

Don’t underestimate these refugees. To be able to successfully flee to the Federation, especially the first batch of refugees, they are definitely not fools.

Hope’s success had made them see their own value, and also the value of the refugees around them. Since Hope could do it, why couldn’t they?

Hope advocated that “the refugees must stand up,” so they advocated that “the refugees should rely on the Federation.” Was that okay?

Changing to another track might not necessarily be able to go further than Hope, but at least this track still had a little chance, not no chance at all.

When these people were spreading this idea, they naturally also had to criticize some of Hope’s views to get more people’s attention.

Political opportunists are always like this. When an ordinary individual is still considering the collective and the collective honor, the political opportunist has already begun to consider how to package this collective and sell it for a good price.

Not just these refugees, the Federation, the Empire, the whole world, are all like this.

Although for most people this is a disaster, for a small number of people, this is full of opportunities.

Hope himself was very clear about his own true thoughts and purposes. He did have some bodyguards around him to protect his safety.

Another young man with a shaved head and a few scars on his head followed up, “If Hope has professional bodyguards around him, it will be very difficult for us to get close to him.”

Carl, as if he already knew of these problems, said, “What if I give you weapons?”

“Guns!”

One sentence raised Carl’s status in their minds a little higher.

The young men in the room looked at each other and all nodded. “If we have guns, there’s no problem.”

“We don’t need to get close to him. We just need to get a little closer.”

They had actually never used a handgun before, and just subconsciously felt that this matter was not difficult. However, Lance and Carl had instructed him that before taking action, he had to try to fire a few shots to get familiar with it.

Carl nodded. “Mr. Lance has already considered these. He will have someone send the things over later.”

“You guys first consider how to do this.”

About twenty minutes later, Lance’s men sent over a travel bag. When Carl took the travel bag back to the room, placed it on the table, and opened it, everyone sucked in a breath of cold air, and then let it out in a long sigh.

A travel bag full of weapons. Besides the regular handguns, there were also two sawed-off shotguns.

This kind of shotgun did not require high shooting skills. As long as the target and the muzzle were roughly on the same line, and you pulled the trigger, it would definitely hit if it wasn’t too far away.

These young men each held a weapon in their hands. For some reason, a force grew from the bottom of their hearts, as if there was nothing in this world that could trouble them anymore!

A burst of gunshots echoed in the basement. A little later, they dispersed.

Their plan was very simple: find a way to get close to Hope, and then open fire. Simple and crude, but sometimes not without its merits.

At this time, Hope was still in his house. Besides those who had already gone out to work, there were still some people around him.

“Recently, some… people with completely different views from yours have appeared here. They have also attracted a group of people.”

The speaker was one of the elders who had followed Hope from the beginning. But this guy had followed Hope not because he was inspired by his charisma, but purely because he could fill his stomach by following him.

Many people imagine the term “interest group” to be very grand, but in fact, it is all around us, and we are even members of some interest group.

When you sincerely want to maintain a collective for some of your own benefits, you are a member of an interest group.

Hope had already formed an interest group with him as the core. If he could go further in the future, this interest group would continue to expand.

His upper limit was the upper limit of this interest group.

So there were still some people here who would keep a close eye on the external forces to find people who were a threat to them.

After hearing this news, Hope just felt very speechless, but he didn’t have any other special emotions. After all, for him, he and these people were not very different.

After listening to some of the views about these people, he could only shake his head. Some people advocated “integrating into the Federation,” some advocated “gaining acceptance from the Federation through hard work.” Overall, they were all turning their backs on the public opinion of the refugees.

He didn’t think these people could pose a threat, so he wasn’t so concerned.

With a new round of conflict about to break out, Hope’s mood was actually not as stable as he appeared.

He knew very well one thing: no matter if this matter succeeded or not, he would be in danger.

If it succeeded, the people from the mayor’s faction would definitely find a way to kill him.

If it failed, he would have lost the attention of the Bay Area, and it would be even easier for the people from the mayor’s faction to kill him.

But he had to bear these possibilities and consequences. This was the price of “growth.”

After listening for a while, he became a little impatient. He raised his hand, and the people around him all stopped and looked at him.

“Alright, I see. I need to rest.”

Since Hope had such a request, the others naturally couldn’t say anything and all stood up and left.

Hope returned to his bedroom. He came to the window and lit a cigarette.

He couldn’t calm his mind now. He was a little agitated and couldn’t concentrate.

Snowflakes were dancing outside the window. For some reason, he wanted to reach out and touch a snowflake.

He pushed open the window. The cold air from outside blew in. The wind from the seaside was like a knife, cutting at his hands and face. He reached out and caught some snowflakes, watching them melt into snow water in his palm. For some reason, he felt a little sad.

The air outside the window was too cold. He quickly closed the window again, looked at the snowy scene with snowflakes dancing all over the sky, and shook his head.

He didn’t know how many people would freeze to death this winter.

When he thought of this, he suddenly laughed in disbelief. Why was he thinking about these things?

Shouldn’t he be thinking about how to successfully enter the political arena after the matter was successful?

The longing for a beautiful future dispersed some of the inexplicable sadness in his heart. He glanced at the pedestrians rushing on the road outside the house, then stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray and returned to his bed.

Originally, he had wanted to go out for a walk, but it was snowing, and it was inconvenient to travel. He didn’t like snow, and he didn’t like going out on a snowy day. It would get his shoes wet.

He didn’t know that he had only stood at the window for a short while, but the two young men across the street had already discovered him.

The two looked at each other. One of them then quickly left.

He actually hadn’t gone far, at most a five- or six-minute walk, and then entered a house on the side of the road that had been pried open.

The entire New Port District was in this situation. The houses on the side of the road had been casually broken open and then occupied by refugees.

Like some houses were crowded with people!

Mayor Williams actually also knew about these situations here, but he didn’t have any good solution either.

The reason these people broke open the door and came in was not to get any money or the like. They just wanted to live.

Although these buildings had not started to be heated, and the temperature inside was still very low, even so, the probability of survival by living in here was much greater than living outside.

“Hope is still in that house.”

“We saw a lot of people go in. It’s very difficult to get to him without alerting others.”

The expressions on the young men’s faces were all a little ugly. They had weapons now, but if they had weapons and couldn’t get close to Hope, there was also no hope.

In the basement, they had already realized this. It was normal to miss three shots at a target from a distance of ten meters.

Even after a short period of familiarization, there was a process from aiming to hitting, which was different from what they had imagined of just drawing a gun and shooting.

This was still a distance of ten meters. What about twenty meters?

What about thirty meters?

Now Hope was in the house. Even if he was standing by the window, no one dared to say that they could kill him.

The bald kid scratched his head. Although he had a shaved head, with only short stubble, his dandruff was still flying around. “We have to find a way to get into the house, otherwise we can’t get close to him.”

They were good at fighting and brawling, and even more severe things like slashing and stabbing. They could do all of them. But for this kind of “assassination,” which was clearly beyond their scope, they really had no solution.

A few of them had no idea what to do at all. Someone said to pretend to be delivering food, or to pretend to be delivering coffee, but they were all rejected. Someone was specifically in charge of this.

Seeing that there was almost no good solution, someone suddenly proposed, “Why don’t we wait for him to come out.”

The bald man was said to have stabbed someone in Slad before. He also had a ruthless streak, and was considered someone who could make decisions in this group.

He rolled his eyes and asked, “Wait for him to come out, and then what?”

“How do we make a move?”

“From so far away, it’s very difficult for us to kill him at the first opportunity. Once he escapes back or gets into a car, we’ll have no way at all!”

The person who had proposed this suggestion said with a smile on his face, “Who said we have to be far away?”

“We can just wait for him to come out right at the door of that house!”

The bald man’s first reaction was impossible. “His bodyguards won’t let us get too close. That’s not realistic.”

The person, however, explained, “We can pretend to be beggars…”

(End of a Chapter)