Empire of Shadows

Seven days passed quickly. Pedro left Zhuolan with some reluctance, embarking on the road back to his hometown.

However, they would meet again soon, because Lance had said that he wanted to invite them to the Federation.

To see what the lives of ordinary people were like in the society of the Federation.

Pedro was very excited. He already had a pilgrimage-like mood towards this matter.

The exchanges during this period had brought him, and all the participants, too much shock!

At the same time, it had also made them understand a truth.

A single person has no power.

But a group of people, united together, possesses the power to change the entire world!

Unity!

After eating the last sumptuous dinner in the evening, Lance had let them leave.These people carried the expectations of Lance and the Federation for them. Soon, Rapa would be in chaos. It was hoped that they could play some role!

He had just returned to the hotel when the person who had been staying on the hotel side took the initiative to come over.

”A call came from the Federation. They said it was someone from the Labor Federation. They want to talk to you.”

Lance took the small card. There was a number on it. He did not immediately dial this number. It was already late, and he had other things to do.

Roger had been waiting for him here for a while. When he saw Lance come in from the elevator, he immediately stood up. By his side were two people from the chamber of commerce, and one who looked...

Lance’s gaze lingered on this guy for a moment. A Rapa man, wearing an ill-fitting suit, his tie also a bit crooked.

He gave Lance the feeling of a monkey in a suit, not even an ape.

At least an ape could give people a sense of pressure, while this guy only made people feel comical.

He raised his hand in a gesture. Roger took the initiative to walk over and introduce him, ”This is Nicholas.”

”Nicholas is a relatively famous painter in Rapa. He has published some comic strips, which are very popular here.”

Lance had had Roger set up a newspaper office, and was planning to publish a newspaper.

This newspaper could not use too many words, because the illiteracy rate in Rapa was astonishingly high.

The Federation had completed the literacy campaign for most of the population during the Progressive Movement. Before the outbreak of the Progressive Movement, three or four out of every ten federal people could not read or write.

The illiteracy rate in some states was even over 60%, which meant that six out of ten people could not read or write.

But the Progressive Movement had solved this problem. A large-scale literacy campaign, coupled with letting more children enter schools to receive basic education. In these years, the old illiterates had already returned to God’s embrace.

The remaining ones could mostly read and write some words.

The federal government believed that they were no longer illiterate, but some private educational institutions still believed that they were illiterate, because they could not read and write most of the words and sentences.

They could only read and write about things that were related to their lives, or what they had learned in the literacy class, and could only be considered semi-literate.

This was also the reason why the audience for movies was relatively small before. Although the federal government had always been boasting that their illiteracy rate was very low, most people were still unable to fully understand the content on the dialogue subtitles.

However, this was already a world of difference compared to Rapa.

Most people in Rapa were illiterate. If a printed newspaper had too many words, then basically, people would not be able to read it. So Lance had had Roger find a local painter.

A comic strip is the most basic, most popular art.

A person who reads a comic strip does not need to have a high level of education. They just need to have a pair of eyes, to be able to see the things in front of them.

In fact, the Federation also had suitable painters, and Lance had also had people go and invite them, but for the ”chief editor,” he still planned to use a local.

Because only a local knew more clearly what kind of expression, could let everyone understand, and accept.

Lance extended his hand and shook his. Nicholas behaved very cautiously, and even fawningly.

He was bending his waist, his head raised, his face full of a fawning smile. ”I am very happy, and also very willing to work for you, Mr. White.”

After a simple handshake, Lance withdrew his hand. He gestured for Nicholas to sit down, and then had someone bring coffee.

Rapa also produced coffee beans, but the quality was not particularly good, and it also lacked sufficient technology and a team to develop it.

So the local coffee resources had not been developed much.

Ordinary people don’t like to drink this. The coffee processed by the local method is both bitter and astringent. But the coffee in the hotel is different. They are all imported coffee beans.

There is some bitterness when you drink it, which is a taste that is very difficult to eliminate from coffee, but the sour and astringent taste is basically gone, leaving only the mellow aroma after the bitterness.

”I haven’t seen your comic strips, but I believe that your comic strips are no different from the world-famous paintings that are hung in art galleries.”

”You are just a little less famous than them!”

Lance’s words had made Nicholas very excited. He really wanted to say something to express his surging emotions.

To be praised so much by a big shot, this was definitely the most glorious moment of his life!

However, he didn’t know what to say. After saying ”I” three times, he was stopped by Lance’s raised hand.

If he were a person who was good at expressing himself through words, then there was a high probability that he would be a novelist, not a comic strip author.

”This job is not difficult. You just need to, with all your might, and without any burden, to inspire your talent to create.”

Lance picked up his coffee and took a sip. ”Do you know what satire is?”

Nicholas nodded. ”I know. I have used a satirical narrative structure.”

”Satire is a knife, which specializes in stabbing a person where it hurts the most!”

Lance was a little surprised. He had not expected that a comic strip author from a poor and backward place would have such a condensed insight. This was a good thing.

”You’re right,” he paused for a few seconds. ”Besides you, what is your family’s situation here?”

”Is your income enough to support them?”

Nicholas’s expression was not as happy as before, although his face was still full of smiles.

”Mr. White, I usually have other jobs. Comic strips are not enough to support my family. We are having a very hard time now.”

The publishing houses in Rapa were either owned by the ruling group, or by the privileged class. When they asked Nicholas to draw a comic strip or an illustration, they would only give him very little money.

To be given two or three thousand Paras for a work was already a lot. After he had finished his work, they would kick him out.

As for the sales share and the royalties, he couldn’t get a single cent.

From Lance’s point of view, a person like Nicholas could be considered a person with a certain influence in society. If used well, his destructive power would be greater than that of a company!

Thinking of this, Lance smiled and comforted him, ”You have to work hard and at ease. I can give you a monthly salary of one hundred, Federal Sols.”

”I can also help you to apply for you and your family to immigrate to the Federation, to completely get away from this terrible environment, so that you can put your mind at ease and be more focused on your work.”

After Nicholas had heard this, he was so excited that he could hardly sit still. He had wanted to stand up several times.

If it weren’t for the fact that he hadn’t, in time, realized that ”kowtowing” could also express his gratitude, he could have kowtowed a few more times for Lance now!

”I... I don’t know how to thank you, Mr. White.”

Lance patted his forearm, and then looked at Roger. ”Give a heads-up to the embassy, and first send Nicholas’s children back in the name of exchange students.”

He then turned his head to look at him. ”Let them get used to the life in the Federation first, and at the same time receive a better education. When the time is right, I will also send your family over.”

”Someone will take you on your way later. Actually, this job is very simple...”

Then Lance had someone lead Nicholas away from here, to get used to his office, which had already been built.

The printing equipment would also arrive in Zhuolan in the next few days. Although this equipment was not the latest, brand-new equipment, but some second-hand ones, they were still just as good to use.

Rapa here didn’t need so many colorful tits, so there was no need for those more gorgeous printing machines.

After the editors were in place, they could start to consider a trial operation.

”You can find more of this kind of person, with a certain social influence, a positive image, and pull them into our camp.”

”Give them money, help their families to immigrate, and they will need to cooperate with our work.”

”The more backward a place is, the more stupid the people are. They won’t think for themselves. They will only believe those who are more famous, or more authoritative.”

Roger, after listening, was constantly nodding. ”I will make the arrangements.”

Social activists, writers, painters, musicians, any ”ists” were all among Lance’s targets for buying over.

This was a whole strategy, and Lance was not sure if the first movement would be able to handle the entire political situation of Rapa. He thought that the possibility was not very high.

And it was also not suitable for them to be able to handle it themselves.

This was like the plumbers in the Federation. They would carry seven or eight kinds of tools, or even more than ten, to just help you to change a water pipe.

They would make the whole process look very complicated, and the purpose was to tell you that this matter, you can’t handle it, but they can.

To find them, you need to spend money. This is the purpose of a plumber.

Of course, this example is not so precise, but in essence, it is the same.

If it is just through a political movement, or an ordinary innovation, that they can get rid of this country’s ruling group, then they may not necessarily lean towards the Federation.

Only when they can’t handle it themselves, and have fallen into a deeper despair, will the appearance of the Federation, let them lean over without any defense.

After solving this matter, Lance returned to his study and dialed the number that the Labor Federation had left.

During this period, Mr. Walter’s (the rotating vice president of the Labor Federation) days had not been very good. His legal team had, through some operations, connected him to a case of injury in a swing state.

Rape is a serious crime, and an injury case is also a serious crime, but the rape case was an attempt, and the injury case was a completion. So according to the laws of the Federation, the swing state’s side had sent a formal document to Likalai State, demanding that Mr. Walter be extradited for a new interrogation and work.

However, the local trial work had not yet been fully completed. If a conviction and sentence were not set here, then for the time being, the swing state could not have him extradited.

The Labor Federation was at a critical moment of establishing a party. After several rounds of discussion, they had decided to abandon Mr. Walter, and at the same time, to minimize the influence as much as possible.

This call was from another rotating vice president.

”This is Robert’s office. I am Robert.”

Lance looked down at the card. Besides a phone number, there was nothing else. ”Someone asked me to dial this number. I am Lance White.”

”Mr. White?”

”Hello, I am Robert, the rotating vice president of the Labor Federation. It seems you have already received the message I left.”

”I am very sorry to disturb you during your work. I would like to talk to you about some matters concerning Walter.”

Lance had waited for two or three seconds, to give him a feeling that he was thinking, and had only agreed after thinking, and only then had he answered him, ”Please speak.”

”We respect the choice of the working class in Likalai State. We do not force them to have to choose one of two or something else. Now it is yours.”

”Walter’s case, let’s handle it in a low-key manner.”

Now, the Labor Federation did not have many options to choose from. If they continued to confront Lance, then if Lance were to further expand the scandal of Walter’s attempted rape, even if some people knew that this was a frame-up, there would always be some who would believe it.

At the very beginning of the establishment of the Workers’ Party, for the originally scheduled chairman of the Workers’ Party’s representative committee to have such a scandal, would also be a heavy blow to the establishment of the party itself.

So they had planned to give up some of their stance in Likalai State, for example, to allow the workers to break away from the Labor Federation and the union, and also not to insist that the proportion of union members among the workers used in the factories had to reach a certain level.

In exchange for Lance’s low-key handling of Mr. Walter’s case.

They knew that it was unlikely that Lance would let him be ”acquitted,” so the best result now was to handle it in a low-key manner, and not to continue to expand it.

To want to do this, you definitely needed Lance to nod.

If Lance didn’t nod, Mr. Walter would be held in Likalai State, and it was even possible that he would refuse the extradition request from the swing state’s side.

In the process of weighing the pros and cons, Mr. Walter had been abandoned.

There was no other way. After all, whether he was innocent or not was no longer important at this time.

What was important was that the Labor Federation, even if it had to suspend the establishment of the Workers’ Party, would find it very difficult to put in any effort in dealing with Lance.

They had a lot of ways to deal with the capitalists, to deal with the politicians, but to deal with a person like Lance, they had no way at all, so they could only choose to compromise.

Lance considered for a moment and then set a few conditions. ”Remove him from his duties in the Labor Federation, issue a public announcement demanding that his behavior be severely punished, actively compensate the victim, and apologize to the victim.”

”Donate no less than 200,000 to the women’s and minors’ rights protection organization.”

”If you can do these, I can let them hand Walter over to you.”

This newly met rotating vice president, Robert, had agreed almost without thinking. ”A scumbag like Walter, to be left in our team, will only bring shame to us, and shame to the great working class!”

”We have already decided through discussion to remove him from all his duties, and also to pursue his legal responsibility.”

Hearing this, Lance had realized that the Labor Federation, at this very moment, wanted to make Walter completely shut up even more than he did.

He considered for a moment and then agreed.

There was no point in keeping this person. On the contrary, it was better to hand him over.

To throw mud on the Labor Federation’s body was one use, but if the Labor Federation was really angered, they would use a nationwide general strike to force Lance to compromise.

Lance could solve a local strike, but he couldn’t solve a nationwide one. In the end, the congressional side would still intervene in this matter and force him to make a concession.

Since in the end, he would definitely have to make a concession, and it would make everyone lose face—he had done what he was supposed to do, but Senator Cleveland would definitely not be able to withstand the pressure of a nationwide strike, and would definitely have him compromise.

This was tantamount to letting him go to ”work” on the one hand, and to hit his own board on the other. The relationship between the two would definitely have some cracks because of this.

Even if Lance wouldn’t have any thoughts about Senator Cleveland, what about Senator Cleveland himself?

Would he let his thoughts run wild?

I asked you to go and get Walter, but in the end, I took the initiative to have you compromise. Will it make you feel that I am a capricious, and untrustworthy person?

Instead of letting it develop to this point and causing a crisis of trust between the two, it was better to compromise now.

Then he had also passed this on to Senator Cleveland, and had explained the reason very frankly.

The senator had expressed his support for Lance’s judgment and choice.

”Your idea is correct. If they really start to push for a nationwide general strike, we will become passive.”

”You have made the right choice!”

He paused for a moment. ”How are you doing on the Rapa side?”

Lance recounted his work during this period. Senator Cleveland had very keenly caught the key information in his words.

”You mean, there will be some changes there recently,” Senator Cleveland took a deep breath. ”You are even more... than I had imagined. I don’t know how to describe it, Lance.”

”This will be a heavy blow to the ruling group of Rapa, and it will also shake the foundation of their rule. But you have to pay attention to your own safety. you are very important now.”

”When you have finished your work and come back, I will have the president award you a medal, a Gold Star, to praise everything you have done...”

With Lance’s call, soon Mr. Walter’s case had been pushed forward at a very fast pace.

The Labor Federation had actively compensated the victim, and had also fought for the victim’s forgiveness.

The court had completed the conviction and sentencing. He had been sentenced to three years in prison.

But because he didn’t want to go to prison, and the Labor Federation on that side was still operating, Likalai State had signed the extradition papers and had sent Mr. Walter to a swing state where the Labor Federation had the greatest influence.