Empire of Shadows

Before I even had time to enjoy the freedom of the Federation, I was already unemployed.

Perhaps this unemployment is a good thing for these young people, teaching them a truth.

Even if they can endure exploitation and oppression, fate will still not favor them.

Simply because they stand at the very bottom of this world, facing the power from above without any resistance.

When a person faces plunder without the slightest ability to resist, others will not sympathize with your plight, but will join the ranks of plunderers.

Ethan wanted to argue with the manager, but Elvin grabbed his clothes tightly, staring at him with a look he had never shown before, a somewhat fierce look, and slowly shook his head, telling him not to do it.

Offending the workers, who are actually in the same class as them, would at most lead to some trouble, like calling the police.

Every year, a large number of cases occur in this city, and the police will not waste their limited police force on such trivial matters.

Spending tens or even hundreds of dollars in police costs to deal with worthless cases, they would be crazy to do that!

But offending the management, even just lower-level cadres, would have a different outcome.

Elvin walked to the front, "Sir, after this turmoil is over…"

The manager looked at Elvin for a while, then nodded, "Of course, you are welcome here at any time."

"Elvin, you are a smart man, so I will say a little more to you."

"You see, this place cannot do without you, so I don't think this turmoil will last too long. You just need to hide temporarily."

Elvin squeezed out a somewhat awkward smile, "Then our… salary during this time."

The manager acted as if he hadn't heard, and continued to say what he wanted to say, "The company will not let the docks shut down, nor will the city hall. You just need to be ready to come back to work anytime, anywhere, and then wait for our call…"

He used this relatively gentle way to tell Elvin that the money was gone.

The income of several thousand people for half a month is also a considerable amount for the management company.

Moreover, it is reasonable and legal for them not to pay this part of the income, who told these people to be illegal residents?

The manager raised his hand as if wanting to pat Elvin on the shoulder, but looking at the shoulder that was obviously covered in dust, he withdrew his hand, "Good luck, Elvin."

As for the others, he didn't even pay attention to them.

The young men were somewhat angry, yet helpless. During this month, although they had not fully understood the federal social hierarchy, they had gained a little understanding.

"What do we do now?" a young man asked.

Elvin pulled a hair down and rubbed it in his hand, "Go find Lance, maybe he can have some good ideas."

The main entrance of the dock was already surrounded by a group of protesters. Some young people's emotions seemed very unstable. They occasionally knocked on the railings and gates with the sticks in their hands.

The police not far away seemed not to notice their violent behavior at this time, holding donuts, holding coffee, half-sitting on the hood of the car, chatting and enjoying the food.

Perhaps because Elvin's group had the largest number of people, these protesters seemed to have discovered a new continent. Several leading young men looked towards Elvin's side.

Soon, most of this group of about thirty or forty people walked towards them with sticks.

The young men had not experienced this kind of battle, and were a little at a loss. Elvin saw that the police over there did not intend to care about what was happening here. He suddenly pushed Ethan and Melo, shouted "Run," and ran into the dock.

They were very familiar with this place, knowing where people could hide and where they could not.

The police outside still had no intention of doing anything, still eating the sickeningly sweet donuts and drinking the sickeningly sweet coffee.

The chief said that appropriately venting some emotions would only bring positive effects.

As long as no one is beaten to death… No, in this kind of event that can already be called a "storm," even if a few people die, it is nothing.

Some people are not quite the same as normal people, or rather, the social emotions at this time have been amplified under the promotion of some politicians and capitalists, affecting more people.

Some locals who did not come to protest also rashly joined this "carnival" that seemed to be a siege against illegal immigrants.

Continuing until more than two o'clock in the afternoon, the dock management company believed that everyone's emotions had been vented almost enough, so they made a call to the Jingang City Police Department.

Subsequently, a large number of police cars roared in, and a large number of police officers holding rattan shields and rubber batons began to enter the dock. They pressed those who were attacking illegal immigrants to the ground and put handcuffs on them.

They did not care about those illegal immigrants who fell in pools of blood or were already injured.

It seemed that they were enforcing the law impartially, but this impartiality always had a stinky salted fish smell.

Elvin's group was lucky, after all, there were many of them, and after being beaten, they also tried to resist—

They would hug the attackers instead of attacking them and injuring them.

In this way, they minimized the damage, but several people were beaten with bloodied heads.

These young men whose faces were covered with blood stains showed a fear of being unsettled. Not long ago, they talked about their yearning for a better future, and they almost lost everything in this battle that was affected.

The mayor urgently delivered a speech, requesting all city police to patrol the streets, prohibiting this development trend that may continue to expand, and those who beat, smashed, looted, burned, and resisted arrest could be shot.

Gunshots continued intermittently throughout the afternoon, and gradually subsided until after seven o'clock.

Lance absentmindedly cleaned the bakery. The fat boss came back with a truck and piled a lot of things in the warehouse.

Because some unimaginable things happened in the city today, after seven o'clock, the fat boss asked Lance to flip the "Open" sign over.

He was doing the final cleaning, and after cleaning, he would close the store door.

At this moment, the bell at the door rang "Ting-a-ling, Ting-a-ling", "Sorry, we are already closed."

Lance dragged the floor without looking up, but the person did not seem to intend to leave, but asked, "Is Mr. Johnny here?"

Only then did Lance stop his work, straightened up with the mop, and looked at the person.

A small woman of about thirty-four or five years old, wearing a slightly outdated polka dot round-neck top, with a wine-red long skirt underneath.

Although the clothes were not fashionable enough, her appearance and figure added a lot to her.

There is a kind of beauty that is not on the same track as "fashionable".

"He's in the back, do you want me to call him?"

The small woman nodded, and Lance ran to the window in the back, and shouted to the warehouse through the window, "Boss, someone is looking for you."

"Who is looking for me?" Johnny walked out with an account book in his hand, and when he saw the small woman, he frowned slightly.

The small woman walked over actively without waiting for him to say anything, and pulled him into the lounge, and then closed the door.

Looking at the locked door, Lance curled his lips, "Lucky bastard."

This is not Johnny's ex-wife or current wife. He has not remarried since his divorce. He has never seen this woman.

When he was about to continue working, he unexpectedly found that the apprentice was standing by the door, looking at the closed door with hurt and resentment in his eyes.

His two fists were clenched a little pale.

Lance walked over and nudged him with his elbow, "Do you know her?"

The apprentice turned his head and glared at Lance, speaking a little aggressively, "You better not fucking meddle in other people's business!"

Lance retorted, "Is that your mom?"

The apprentice glared at him fiercely, his eyes a little red. When he turned around and returned to the back room, Lance realized that it was really his mother.

The movement in the room was very loud. Johnny didn't seem to care that there were other people outside. He tossed the small woman around. Outside, he could even hear the small woman begging for mercy.

Lance felt that the apprentice must have heard it too. The bakery was very quiet at this time, and any sound could be heard, let alone the door was not very soundproof.

The whole process lasted about fifteen minutes before Johnny walked out of it with satisfaction, "This is the last time!"

He said to the small woman in a threatening tone, "For your sake."

The small woman tidied up her skirt with a pale face, covered her face and quickly left the bakery. Lance walked to the door and dragged the things left on the ground clean again.

The fat boss glanced at him sideways, "Be careful, if I find a place on the ground that hasn't been cleaned, you'll have to go hungry again tonight!"

Then he went back to the warehouse to take stock of the many things added today.

After Lance finished his work, he came to the back room. The apprentice was standing in front of the chopping board, constantly rubbing his hands.

He walked to the other side, leaning against the chopping board and looking at him, "Chat for a while?"

The apprentice didn't speak.

Just as Lance was about to find a way to chat with him, someone else pushed the door open, and he had to temporarily give up the opportunity to continue communicating with the apprentice.

When he entered the hall, he found that the person who came was Elvin, and his head was covered in blood.

The blood was stuck to his hair, and although his face had been cleaned, there were still many traces left.

His expression became serious, and he quickly went over to check, "Who hit you?"

Erwin felt a stinging sensation in his nose. "That's not important, Lance. There was a conflict at the docks this afternoon, and we got caught up in it."

"We hid until just now, taking advantage of the darkness to escape. There are a few others in the same boat as me."

"We've been temporarily suspended..."