Empire of Shadows

Life’s opportunities, often, change in an instant.

Juan was a little confused, but with some excitement for the future, he returned home in a daze. The factory didn’t need him now.

His mother saw him return and immediately came up. ”Why are you back so early?”

Her face was full of worry.

They had only just started living a good life for a few days. She didn’t want all this to be just a brief scenery in her life. She hoped that all this could continue forever.

Juan turned to look at his mother. Looking at the slightly nervous expression on her face, he let out a breath. ”Don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing.”

He walked to the side of the chair and sat down. His mother immediately brought him a glass of water.

Very clean water.

In the former New Federation Center, which was now the Concession, many federal people lived here. They were not used to drinking the water from the river directly, nor were they used to drinking the groundwater directly.

So the first thing Lance had built was a waterworks. Now this waterworks provided filtered tap water to the buildings in the entire Concession.However, it was not sweet, not as sweet as the water in the Federation, although he could also make it so.

Now in Rapa, in Zhuolan, people, when they were chatting, would often ask questions like ”Do you have a chance to drink tap water?”

It wasn’t that they were really asking if the people around them could really drink tap water, but that they were asking if they had been selected by a federal person’s company, and had been allocated a house on the residential side.

There were still a large number of residential buildings under construction. Lance had flattened up to eight square kilometers of slums. In the part that was closest to the city center, an area of about two or three square kilometers, he was building a commercial center.

And then, on the outside, were all kinds of supporting blocks, until the very periphery. The land that was originally in the suburbs was used to build all kinds of apartments for ordinary people.

One after another, twelve- to fifteen-story apartment buildings had risen from the ground. The world had once again witnessed what was called the ”Federation Speed.” The construction method of steel-structured buildings just had an incomparable advantage over other structures in terms of construction speed.

In a backward place like Rapa, when people saw those rapidly completed high-rise buildings, it was as if they were seeing a miracle of God!

More and more people of Rapa had moved into these apartments. Now, the people who had joined the company could only, by spending money, get a chance to live in a 60-square-meter apartment.

However, these apartments were also for sale, and the price of each set was 1,000.

With the ability of these Rapa workers, they would need about twenty years, without eating or drinking, to be able to afford an apartment. At present, only a very small number of people had bought an apartment at their own expense. Most people had first gotten a job, and only then had they moved in.

To be able to live in an apartment, in the eyes of an ordinary person of Rapa, was to have already achieved a class leap.

There was 24-hour electricity, 24-hour tap water. Civilized life was so beautiful, so sweet, that it made people reluctant to leave.

After Juan’s family had moved in, their lives had immediately changed. Juan’s salary was not considered low, in Rapa.

Because he was the tenth ”employee” to register his personal information, in order to set this example, he was in a management position.

He could get an income of more than ten a month, which was two to three times that of an ordinary worker.

His mother, his sisters, had also, because of him, lived a happy life.

So the family all hoped that all this would not change.

His mother was holding a plate and was looking at him eagerly. This had made Juan just take a small sip of water, before he had to put down his cup and explain, ”Mr. White has given me a new job.”

”A new job?” his mother exclaimed. ”Then is your income increasing, or decreasing?”

Juan was a little helpless. His mother was only concerned about his income, not his new job.

He explained, ”It has increased. My income is already $25.”

He looked at the smile on his mother’s face. He himself seemed to have been infected a little, and also showed a smile. ”But this job is not easy to do.”

”Mr. White plans to form a police department for the New Federation Center. I was selected. I will become a police officer.”

His mother could no longer listen to what he was saying. Her mind was full of an income of $25.

As the exchange rate of the Para to the Federation was continuously depreciating, now one Federal Sol could be exchanged for about 113 Paras, and it would continue to fall.

Now in Rapa, if you wanted to use Paras, especially in Zhuolan, most of the street vendors had begun to accept Federal Sols, not Paras.

The same loaf of bread, if you bought it with Federal Sols, would be about 30 cents. If you calculated it with Paras according to the exchange rate, it should be 34.

But if the customer really used Paras to buy, then it would be 40 to 45, on the grounds that this price was the expectation of the exchange rate fluctuation after a week.

Of course, they would not have such professional terms. They would tell the customers that after a week, this bread would be this price. They needed a week’s time to process the Paras in their hands, to exchange them for Federal Sols, or to use them to continue to roll over and buy bread or flour.

If they only charged according to the current exchange rate, then they would definitely suffer a loss.

This was actually a very bad market environment. People’s distrust of the Para had made the credit of the domestic currency in the market begin to collapse.

Some shops had even directly stated that they would not accept Paras, only Federal Sols, silver, gold, gems, and other finished products.

The Para, also because its market circulation was blocked, was still continuously plummeting. No one knew where it would fall, but everyone knew that it was being eliminated.

$25 is a huge sum of money. Such a huge sum, her son could receive a share every month. She was already a little ”crazy.”

”This good news must be told to your sisters!” she said as she entered the inner room, and then the screams of his sisters were heard...

Looking at his family being so happy, Juan had hidden the somewhat, for the future, dismay in his eyes. ”Let’s go out and have a meal!”

”To celebrate the change in my work?!”

To eat a meal outside would cost about four or five. For so many of them, it would probably be seven or eight, or even more.

But now they could afford it.

The whole family had agreed. To go to a restaurant to eat, for them, was definitely full of a huge temptation and a longing.

This was the first time in their lives that their family had entered a restaurant. Everyone had behaved very cautiously. The restaurant’s reception had not, because they had behaved a little uneasy, looked down on them.

Now the New Federation Center had huge opportunities and development potential. Maybe these people, who looked as if they might not be able to afford a meal, would, after a period of time, become big shots.

This kind of thing had happened more than once. The federal people all said that this was the ”Federation Dream,” and the term ”Federation Dream” had also begun to enter people’s lives.

Juan’s family sat at a dining table, eating the dishes that the restaurant had introduced to them. Everyone’s face was filled with a longing for a beautiful life in the future!

And in this simple process of eating, they had, from being timid, begun to become confident.

It seemed that to eat in a restaurant was not a big deal...

This meal had cost 7.80-something. Juan had heard that if you were satisfied with their service when you were dining in a restaurant, you could give a little tip. He had directly paid 8.

Amidst the waiter’s grateful voice, he had seemed to have felt that what he had lost, his dignity, his personality, had returned!

The next day, he had recruited a batch of young people, and had, together, begun to be trained. In a month, the Concession’s police department would be established, and he would become one of the many police chiefs!

As for the police chief, naturally, it would be one of Lance’s men.

Not just the police department, but also many other aspects, Lance was handling.

The top ten in the registration number had all received a huge promotion. Some had become a police chief, some had become a deputy chief, and some had entered the company’s management.

Every one of them was like a huge lighthouse, guiding the people’s direction!

This is the role model, and the power of the role model.

At the same time, they were also, more and more, unable to leave the federal people, unable to leave Lance. They had, just like that, without them even noticing, given birth to a noble quality—loyalty!

The upward transfer of these people was not a simple matter. For example, the establishment of the Concession’s police department, and the establishment of some of the Concession’s government departments. The federal government would arrange for some people to come over to help with the management, but more of the manpower was still born from these people in Zhuolan.

More and more people had begun to live around this Concession. They had formed a community of interests. Whoever harmed Lance, was tantamount to wanting their lives!

As long as they had joined, no one would ever long to go back to the kind of life they had in the past.

After all, they are human, and they also long to be respected.

Many people were talking about this Concession and about Lance. Diego, those powerful and noble of the privileged class, and also including the rebel army.

...

”Was the journey smooth?”

When Ross had walked in from outside, Pedro had taken the initiative to stand up and had gone to meet him. He and Ross had hugged.

The two were both growing at an extremely fast speed. From last year until now, it had been, at most, a little over a year. They had already grown to a staggering degree.

If you just looked at the temperament, the aura that they had shown, it was very difficult to associate them with their former identities.

Perhaps those who had seen them for the first time would be more willing to believe that they might have come from a certain privileged class family, and were from a famous and prestigious family.

But in fact, they were just a high school teacher with no fame, and a worker who was doing hard labor in a factory.

Now on their bodies, there was something that their status should not have. It was a leader’s temperament!

The two had hugged and had quickly separated. Ross said with a laugh, ”It was very smooth. There were no government troops on the road. I hear they are in the process of re-equipping.”

Pedro sighed. ”Lance has given Diego so much money, and in addition to the aid from the Jede Republic, he has at least 40 or 50 million in cash in his hands.”

”This money is enough to solve their troubles.”

”Now they are re-equipping, so they have shrunk their battle lines. After their re-equipment is over, the intensity of the battle will only continue to increase, not decrease.”

When he had said these words, his expression was very serious. Once the government army had sufficient military equipment, it was definitely not good news for them, these rebel armies.

Ross couldn’t help but slam the table with his hand. ”Damn Lance White. None of these federal people are good!”

Pedro’s expression was slightly complicated. Ross turned his head to look at him. ”You don’t still think that Lance is a good person, do you?”

Pedro shook his head. ”I knew from the very beginning that he was not a good person. I just didn’t expect that he could go this far.”

From the time they had participated in the seminar held by Lance, they had known that Lance might not have had any good intentions.

In the seminar, he had seemed to be discussing the differences between the two countries, but in fact, he had been instilling some of his own thoughts in them.

For example—

”The unhappiness of the Rapa people is caused by the leadership group. If you want to let the Rapa people live a happy life, you must get rid of the ruling class.”

”The best way to express your dissatisfaction is not to tell others that you are not satisfied with the result of this matter, but to use your fists, the weapons in your hands, to tell them that this matter must be done according to your ideas.”

”Any change in the social system will inevitably be accompanied by sacrifice and bloodshed. There is no change that can be completed without sacrifice, without bloodshed. Even if there is, it will not last for long.”

”A person’s happiness has always been in his own hands. If you hope that others can share his happiness with you, and to put your own destiny in the hands of others, this may be the stupidest thing you have ever done!”

He had said many such words, and had been instilling the idea of rebellion. Only by rebelling could Rapa be bathed in the sun again.

Now they had really rebelled, and Lance, on the contrary, had used them, to achieve his own purpose.

Ross ”hmphed.” ”I have already spoken with the leaders of the other two rebel armies. They have accepted our idea of attacking Zhuolan first.”

”As for the future, they can accept a system like that of the Federation.”

Now time was very tight. They were all worried that since Diego had already begun to sell out the country, his last bottom line was already gone.

If they continued to be in a long-term tug-of-war with the government army, in order to win the civil war, he might sell even more things.

So their plan was to get rid of Diego as soon as possible, and not to give him a chance to continue to sell out the country.

After they had taken care of Diego, and had re-elected a great president, then they could completely and directly overthrow all the decisions of the previous government.

At that time, at worst, they would find a way to return the money that Diego had borrowed to Lance, but a thing like a Concession was absolutely not allowed to continue to exist.

Pedro nodded. ”This is good news. On my side, they have basically all agreed.”

Ross seemed to want to say something. Pedro asked, ”What’s wrong?”

Ross pursed his lips. ”They are planning to assassinate Lance.”

”What the fuck?”

”At a time like this, to assassinate Lance?”

”Who the fuck came up with this idea?”

”Don’t they know that at a time like this, to assassinate Lance will only make the situation worse?”

”Let’s not talk about whether they can succeed. Even if they do, for a person like Lance, who represents the interests of the Federation, to die in Rapa, this will only make the federal government shift some of its attention from the battlefield to us!”

”When Lance was alive, as long as we were still within the rules of the game, when he should have lost, he still had to admit defeat.”

”But if he dies, and the federal government gets involved, at that time, there will be no rules of the game at all. Everything will be finished!”

”And you actually didn’t stop them?”

Looking at Pedro’s annoyed look, Ross let out a dry laugh. ”I didn’t think that much.”

Pedro knew that Ross might also have such thoughts. In fact, in this period of time, they had done quite well in their battle with the government army, and had been constantly achieving victories.

The land that had originally been taken back by the government army, had been, once again, in their hands.

If there were no accidents, they all believed that maybe by February or March of next year, they would be able to push the battle line back to the outskirts of Zhuolan.

Once the ”Battle for Zhuolan” had occurred, it would mean that the rule of the Ravila family would be completely over, and the new Rapa would usher in its new ”life”!

But at this damn time, Lance had given the Diego government a large sum of money, allowing him to re-arm. This had made the results of the war, once again, become unclear.

They seemed to have overlooked that the reason why they were able to beat the government army back was not because they had any outstanding achievements or level in the military, but simply because the government army’s logistical support couldn’t keep up.

The government army’s bullets were already not enough to maintain their high-intensity combat. Besides continuously retreating, did they also have to, with their weapons held high, go out and to fight with bullets with their bayonets?

When you are victorious, you don’t consider what the Federation has done. Now that you are about to run into trouble, you finally think of the Federation. It can only be said that this is one of the inferiorities of human nature.

And Ross also didn’t think that to get rid of a single Lance White would make the federal government directly get involved. The Jede Republic’s side would definitely, to the greatest extent, guarantee the independence of this side.

Ross himself knew, and Pedro also knew, that the two, who had been classmates, and were now comrades-in-arms, had already completely had two different directions.

Soon Pedro had temporarily put this matter aside, and had begun to, with Ross, talk about the next stage of their attack plan.

After all the matters had been discussed, he had returned to his own room.

After thinking for a long time, he had dialed the number on the Zhuolan side, and was connected to Lance’s desk.

”This is Lance White.”

”Mr. White, I am Pedro. I hope you can still remember a small character like me.”

Hearing Pedro’s voice, Lance said with a laugh, ”You are not a small character, Pedro.”

”You have already appeared in the federal newspapers. They call you ’Rapa’s most intelligent resister’.”

Pedro laughed out loud. ”I thought they would use words like ’evil anti-government armed force leader’!”

”They actually don’t like Diego either!” Lance teased. ”So, this time you’re calling me, is there something you want to say to me?”