Empire of Shadows

For the next few days, the connections among the working class became more and more frequent. Many of the factory workers who were actually not in contact had begun to spontaneously connect to expand the scale of the strike.

The way the Labor Federation lobbied them was very simple.

The industry that Lance was targeting this time was not their industry, but it did not mean that the next time, their employers would not contact Lance, to obtain cheaper labor from his side, and to abandon them.

By the time the 14th had arrived, some small factories in the entire Golden Port City had already begun to have strikes, and a large number of reporters had also begun to work.

They could completely feel the tense atmosphere in Golden Port City at this time. Everyone was full of expectations and had also become excited.

The production of many factories had already stagnated. Tomorrow was the big strike. Many workers were no longer able to concentrate on production. They would always mess up a certain process, or damage the product in their hands.

The factory owners had no choice but to stop the assembly line.

The only ones who were still producing normally were the factories that had signed a labor service contract with Lance. They were not at all affected by the big strike. The union couldn’t even get in.

Lance had not only provided them with workers, but had also provided ”security” services. The security guards with their rubber batons were not just for show. They would really take action to drive away anyone who wanted to enter the factory area.

Carl was also ready at this time. He seemed a little excited, because tomorrow was a good opportunity for him to show his value.In front of him, more than twenty of his subordinate small leaders were gathered together, carefully listening to his arrangement for the next work.

He was standing, and these people were sitting. He was waving a steel pipe in his hand, telling them how to treat those rogue striking workers, and how to treat those unemployed troublemakers.

The sometimes fierce expression on his face, sometimes a little unrestrained smile, was like a mysterious force eroding the hearts of these young people in front of him!

It made them also become fierce, also become unrestrained, and also become dangerous!

For these young people, Carl was a living achiever of the Federation dream. It was definitely not wrong for them to follow Carl.

Lance was talking with Chief Bruce and Deputy Chief Duke about tomorrow’s arrangements.

”When the parade and demonstration begins, you must have your men spread out to a few important areas, and fill them.”

”You don’t have to leave too many people on the police station’s side. I will have someone go and support your police in their law enforcement. You don’t have to worry about this.”

”After the demonstration begins, don’t make a move on them first. Even if they provoke you, don’t make a move.”

”There are many reporters on the scene filming. If you make the first move, at that time, the huge pressure of public opinion will come down, and even Mayor Williams might not be able to withstand it.”

”Have the police officers wear helmets and shields, form a human wall, and do not face the demonstrating workers alone.”

”Then wait, wait for Carl’s men to rush out.”

Chief Bruce and Deputy Chief Duke knew Carl. After Carl had taken refuge with Lance, he would definitely get the loyalty of these people. They had also had a simple contact and knew that there was such a person, and also knew what he was doing now.

Although the things he did would make some of the people with a moral cleanliness who could eat their fill and wear warm clothes feel disgusted, Carl’s reputation among the refugee community was still not bad.

He had not done anything bad. On the contrary, he could help some people to eat their fill.

If a person is in a targeted society, sometimes even if they go all out, and want to take off their clothes for money without dignity, they may not have a chance, a place for you to take them off!

But Carl had given many people some opportunities in life. He himself had also recruited some people, and had also helped Lance’s side to recruit some well-managed workers, so his reputation was actually quite good, not at all like what the people outside imagined.

Those who did not understand the refugee community felt that the refugees would hate Carl very much, but in fact, their feeling for Carl was still not bad.

After waiting for the two to understand what he had said, Lance finally continued, ”Once they conflict with the parade team, you go up.”

”Don’t mind Carl’s men. Go for the workers who are leading the strike. Don’t worry about public opinion, and don’t have to consider the reporters’ side or anything. Just use your sticks and hit them on the head.”

”Knock them down, then handcuff them and take them away. Put them aside first, and then continue to attack the demonstration team.”

”Don’t arrest Carl’s men. Let them continue to create chaos, so that you can stop the entire demonstration, understand?”

Lance took a puff of his cigarette and slowly exhaled. ”There are many media here this time. After the matter is over, it will definitely be on all kinds of newspapers. At that time, there will inevitably be some public opinion storm in society.”

”You choose two or three branch directors to come out and take the responsibility. Tell them not to panic either. My company will accept them.”

”In this action, if anyone is injured, or if any other accident occurs, all the expenses incurred, I will solve them!”

”The legal problems are also mine. You just have to act according to my plan, understand?”

The two chiefs both nodded one after another. ”Understood!”

Chief Bruce also pursued, ”Mr. Lance, can I come and work for you?”

Lance looked at him with a half-smile and pointed at him with the finger holding the cigarette. ”Nonsense!”

As he spoke, he laughed. Chief Bruce and Deputy Chief Duke also laughed.

The matter had already been arranged, including the fire department. They had already been prepared.

Once the crowd got out of control, they would be served with water cannons.

For a whole day, the entire city had been in a strange state of anticipation.

The next morning, Lance had woken up more than ten minutes earlier than usual.

His sleep was actually very good. He had inherited the sleep ability of another world. As long as he lay in bed, he would definitely fall asleep within five minutes, and when he opened his eyes again, it would be the next day.

The quality of his sleep was good, and the time was very stable, but he had woken up a little earlier today, which showed that he was still a little concerned in his heart.

At a little after 7:40, he had already arrived at the dining room. There were already some people in the room.

Everyone’s expression was quite serious. Lance had said that this was just a small matter, but they also knew that this matter was actually not so ”small.”

This could actually be seen as a ”challenge” to the Lance Family.

The past challenges were all the same, challenges from the underworld. They had defeated these challengers, or had defeated those gatekeepers.

Now, the challenge and the difficulty were not from the underworld, but from the official, from the sun. The situation they were facing would also be more complicated.

Lance walked to the side of the sofa. Someone made a place for him, and he sat down.

”In the future, we will face many similar situations. Our enemies will go from being gangsters to being capitalists, and even to being politicians.”

”Some of the things we could do before, the means we could use, will be suppressed.”

”For example, this time!”

Someone brought him a cigarette and a match. He took them and lit one, and after taking a puff with his eyes squinted, ”If it were in the past, we would have directly had someone beat them down. If that didn’t work, we would have tied them with weights and thrown them into the sea.”

”If killing one wasn’t enough, then we would have killed two. Whoever dared to take the lead would be killed. There would always be a way to press the stop button for them.”

”But this time it’s not possible. There are too many people watching us. As long as we make a move, public opinion will soon drown us.”

”Although the federal government tolerates the gangs, it does not mean that they can watch us trample on the law in the sight of everyone, so we have no chance to make a move at all.”

”There will be many more such situations in the future, so you have to be mentally prepared. We may not win every time, but in the end, the victory will definitely be ours!”

As he spoke, he patted the shoulder of the person next to him. ”Alright, let’s have breakfast!”

”In a while, we have to choose a better position to have a good look at how this performance will go on!”

At this time, the parade team outside had already begun to assemble. A large number of workers, wearing their work clothes and holding all kinds of signs, had taken to the streets.

A large number of reporters on the side of the road began to frantically press the shutter. The magnesium flashes were constantly popping, bursting out in balls of fire!

These flashes of the magnesium lights were like the sound of the horn for an attack. The striking workers began to, according to their route, to start their parade and demonstration.

They had two relatively important places. One was outside City Hall. They were going to use these people to put pressure on the mayor.

And the final destination was outside Lance’s labor service company.

At the scene, besides these demonstrators, there were also many ordinary citizens who were watching the fun. The people of the Federation all like to watch the fun. Of course, watching the fun is also human nature, which also made the momentum of the entire parade and demonstration become even greater!

A reporter from the Federal Post was smoking a cigarette while looking for a suitable angle to take a photo.

He was not alone. The Federal Post had arranged a reporter team, a total of six reporters had come.

They would, from different angles, different positions, to witness this grand parade.

This reporter, besides himself and his colleagues, also had two apprentices by his side.

For a reporter to achieve a certain degree of success in his job is not so simple a matter.

Every year, so many reporters enter the industry. How many can really get a ”Golden Newspaper Award”?

This reporter had won a Golden Newspaper Award once, and was also qualified to take on apprentices.

”These parade and protest activities have a great momentum. The Labor Federation, they are definitely a good hand at this!” the reporter said casually while looking for a moment to take a snapshot.

One of the two apprentices behind him, who were carrying a bag and some consumables, couldn’t help but ask, ”You don’t like these people?”

The reporter glanced back at the two apprentices, and then his gaze returned to the demonstration group. ”Do you like them?”

”What do you like about them?”

When he spoke, the cigarette at the corner of his mouth was trembling. The cigarette ash that had trembled off was still a little warm. When it landed on his hand in an instant, he trembled a little.

The magnesium light flashed with a bang. He couldn’t help but curse, and then he reloaded some magnesium powder.

Then he raised his head and looked at the sky. It had rained last night, and the ground was all wet. It was unknown if it would clear up later.

Now the sky was still a bit gloomy. If it didn’t clear up, he would have to use a flash all day.

Then, while concentrating on finding a moment to take a snapshot, he said, ”These people are nothing for us to like.”

”You see, they have disrupted the production, affected people’s normal life, and have also used a wrong method to express their demands.”

”If they succeed in this parade and demonstration, they will become more dependent on this method. The next time they encounter a problem and are not satisfied, they will continue to strike, to parade, to protest.”

”If everyone learns from them, what kind of a mess will this society be in?”

One of his apprentices was in deep thought, but the other refuted, ”But they are the working class. their interests represent the interests of the vast majority of the people at the bottom!”

”To support them is to support ourselves!”

The reporter looked back at the person who was speaking. ”In so many parades and demonstrations in the Federation every year, has your salary been raised, or has your welfare become better?”

He shook his head. ”We are never them, and they cannot represent us.”

The young apprentice was still a little unwilling. ”But if today people don’t pay attention to them, don’t support them, then in the future, when we run into trouble, will people also not pay attention to us, not support us?”

The reporter was a little speechless. ”In the strikes of the past few years, I was very supportive of them, but now, a strike has become a tool for the Labor Federation to fight for power and profit.”

”You should be in there, not here.”

”We are reporters. We should look at the problem more impartially!”

The young apprentice was still a little unconvinced, but the reporter was too lazy to say more to him, and had made a decision. After he went back, he would randomly find something for him to do, and when he couldn’t do it well, he would kick him out.

The money that a reporter eats all comes from the capitalists, not from these poor people. The poor are just a means for them to expand their own influence, not their benefactors.

In fact, reporters and politicians have some common characteristics. Their work requires them to please the vast majority of the low-level public, but the ones who can provide them with wealth are them and the enemies of those low-level public.

This is very comical, but also very real.

Another young apprentice asked, ”Do you think this parade can achieve the result they want?”

The reporter thought for a moment. ”I don’t know. their target this time is not so easy to provoke.”

Another apprentice firmly pumped his fist. ”They will definitely win!”

At a little after eleven in the morning, a large number of the striking workers had been outside City Hall for a while. They were waving their fists and shouting a unified slogan, to drive out the illegal immigrants and refugees, and to seek for their legal interests not to be violated.

Mayor Williams was standing in his office with a calm face, watching all this happen, but he had no intention of going out to say anything.

Every time this happens, no matter what the mayor says, it is wrong.

If you say something to appease them, you will have offended the capitalists.

If you tell them to calm down and to solve it through communication, you will have offended these people who are demonstrating and protesting.

So it’s better not to show your face, not to say anything, and to just wait for them to disperse on their own.

After persisting for half an hour outside City Hall, some trucks had appeared on the street. These trucks were also arranged by the Labor Federation. On the trucks were all food boxes, inside which was their lunch.

Everyone also got a bottle of soda. From the advertisement on the truck, it could be seen that the supplier of the soda had not only given a lot of soda for free, but had also paid an extra sum of money.

The reporter from the Post had taken a picture of this scene at the first opportunity. He felt that this photo had a lot of camera language.

There was not only conflict between labor and capital, but also a harmonious scene.

The striking people, while eating the rice with chicken nuggets, and drinking soda, were talking about today’s parade and demonstration.

Everyone was very excited. They had once again proven with their actual actions that the united strength of the working people is invincible!

The reporters had also gathered together to eat, but it could be seen that these reporters were not as excited as they had been in the morning.

”Didn’t they say there would be a conflict?”

”Why is everyone so restrained?”

Another reporter from the Post had gathered with his colleagues. The reporter with the two apprentices was also frowning. While swallowing the dry bread with butter that he had brought, he said unclearly, ”Maybe we have to wait until the afternoon or tomorrow, the day after tomorrow?”

”I have learned from the City Hall’s side that the strike will continue until the Wanli Group agrees to their demands.”

”The longer the strike lasts, the greater the pressure on the Wanli Group. In a few days at most, a conflict will definitely break out. It’s just that we don’t know when.”

The other reporters also agreed with his view. One of the reporters exclaimed, ”This Wanli Group is really... reckless. they are actually confronting the Labor Federation head-on. I don’t even know what to say.”

”Once the Workers’ Party is established, and has gained a certain political status, the days of the Wanli Group will be very difficult!”

When a political group begins to target a capital group, to target it regardless of everything, then it is obvious that this capital group will also be very uncomfortable.

Wanli Group was not a capital group in the strict sense. Their risk resistance was lower.

The reporters were all saying their own views, but everyone’s interest was generally not as high as in the morning.

At noon, everyone had hastily filled their stomachs. After resting for half an hour, the demonstration and protest began again. A large number of people moved from the Empire District to the Port District, constantly shouting slogans.

At a little after two in the afternoon, this group of people had finally arrived at the street where the labor introduction agency was located.

At this time, there were still many people on the street. They were looking for work at the entrance of the company, and they had also noticed these people.

The reporters finally became a little interested. Seeing the refugees, or illegal immigrants, who were gathered together and looking for work, they vaguely realized that perhaps the conflict would break out here!

Some of the leaders at the very front of the parade team began to push the refugees and illegal immigrants. The smell of gunpowder between the two sides began to increase.

The moment a refugee worker was pushed down, a large number of guys with clubs had suddenly rushed out from the surroundings.

They were wearing not-so-clean clothes, and their skin was a little darker. They looked like they had been malnourished for a long time, which made people see their refugee identity at a glance!

These refugees were holding wooden sticks, steel pipes in their hands, and began to frantically attack the parade team. The reporters and the onlookers had in an instant become excited. The magnesium flashes, which had been quiet for several hours, once again shone in the world!