Empire of Shadows

The liquor, originally scheduled to arrive at the Federation a few days ago, was delayed due to the storm, but Luigi wasn't too concerned about it.

A few days earlier or later, he didn't care, as the money would eventually end up in his own pocket.

Taiwan Novel Net → 𝚝 𝚠 𝚔 𝚊 𝚗 . 𝚌 𝚘 𝚖

He knew he had offended Lance, and he had also offended Alberto, but he didn't care about that either.

This was Yalan, the Republic of Aldra, not the Federation. Whether it was the Sumerians from the Federation or Lance, this was not their place to run wild.

Selling those liquors to Lance would have earned him at most three to four hundred thousand, but now, selling them to others would bring in at least six to seven hundred thousand, nearly doubling his profit, and pure profit at that!

When Lance had called him before, he had expressed his willingness to continue doing business with Lance, but they couldn't pay him just a small amount of money as they had agreed before.

They had to pay according to the current price.

Luigi could give him a 'friendship' price in light of their 'acquaintance,' but the number wouldn't be too low. Five hundred and eighty thousand, he thought, was very appropriate; Lance's face was worth twenty thousand.

Any more, even a single cent, was out of the question.

After that, he had no further contact with Lance, and he didn't want to talk to that stingy young man anymore.

At this moment, the cargo ship full of liquor had already set sail. He picked up the phone receiver and dialed a number in the Federation.

The moment the phone was answered, he immediately put on a smile and laughed loudly, "…Hello, sir, good morning. I wanted to say that the storm in Yalan is over, and I have watched those little darlings being loaded onto the ship."

"You should be able to see them in about two days… Yes, I guarantee it, so you'd better prepare the payment."

"We accept both cash and bank transfers."

"…Okay, no problem, I look forward to the next cooperation."

He put down the phone, raised his feet and propped them up on the edge of the table, and took out the huge cigar from the ashtray and put it in his mouth.

Yalan also produced various kinds of tobacco and cigars, especially the tobacco leaves from Yasuna, which were very famous in the world.

They would hire sixteen-year-old girls to pick tobacco leaves and make cigars… Well, that was a lie. In fact, most of the cigars were made by adult men and women, and they didn't look too good.

They had nothing to do with the slender, white hands that people imagined; the plant matter in the tobacco leaves would make their hands look old, cracked, and dark in color.

But undeniably, Yasuna's cigars were indeed excellent.

In the past, Luigi could only afford those cigars that cost thirty to fifty Federation Sols apiece, but now, those that cost a few dollars or a dozen dollars apiece, he could consume them casually!

Each shipment of liquor represented a profit of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a cigar costing a dozen dollars was nothing!

Thinking of this, a smile full of delight couldn't help but appear on his face. Who the hell could have imagined that he, who had been sent to the Republic of Aldra by his family as if in exile, would have such a day?

Before the Federation issued the prohibition order, the local liquor was worthless.

Only those relatively famous brandies and red wines could sell for a slightly higher price.

Liquor like the cheap stuff in his hands was even more worthless, with no market at all.

But who could have imagined that just a prohibition order would change everything?

He squinted and thought of those guys still on Sumeru Island; they must be so jealous that their eyes were turning red, right?

In a place he couldn't see, a Sumerian young man in his early twenties wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, smiled, and greeted the others before leaving the dock.

He found a small restaurant, ordered some food, and before the food came, he asked, "Boss, can the phone here call the Federation?"

There was a phone on the counter, and the boss nodded, "One dollar a minute."

The young man, with a cigarette in his mouth, walked to the phone, dialed a number, and said after the other side answered, "The things I sent you are on their way, arriving tomorrow night or the morning after…"

After he finished speaking, he hung up the phone, paid one Federation Sol, and returned to his seat.

Before long, the delicious food was served, and after working all morning, he could finally enjoy a good meal!

At this time, Alberto relayed the news to Lance. Although Lance and the Pasreto family had some unpleasantness, the "target" of this matter was Dover, not him or Paul.

Alberto also didn't like Dover. In fact, no one would like those who had privileges. He didn't think Lance had done anything wrong.

Perhaps because of this matter, the two didn't say much on the phone, and hung up after a few simple greetings.

After Lance received the news, he gathered his men, "Luigi's liquor will be coming in by sea between midnight tomorrow and the morning after."

Erwin, who had hurriedly returned from outside, was slightly stunned when he heard this news. He didn't react and asked directly, "Is he willing to sell us liquor again?"

Lance shook his head, "No, I haven't spoken to him. This batch of liquor should have been ordered by someone else. I plan to take it down."

"Even if we can't take it down, we have to find a way to destroy it."

"If he doesn't make me happy, I won't let him be happy!"

"Maybe he calls the shots in Aldra, but this is the Federation, Goldport City. Between him and me, I call the shots!"

Goldport City is definitely one of the places with the highest liquor sales. Maybe the price isn't the highest, but it's definitely relatively high.

Like those small cities with only tens of thousands of people, even if there are many alcoholics, how much liquor can they consume in a month?

In contrast, Goldport City, with a population of more than 1.5 million, is still constantly expanding. Most people here need alcohol, especially the sailors.

They not only need to drink cup after cup, but also need to take alcohol on their ships.

Surrounding cities and even surrounding states are also trying to import goods from Goldport City, such as Galio from Fides City, who imported a large batch of liquor from Lance.

There are too many businesses related to alcohol here, and it's not like whoever has liquor has the final say. This liquor must be able to get in!

Everyone already knows that this place is full of countless wealth. If Luigi's liquor can't get in, the liquor of other people in the Republic of Aldra can get in.

Then, even if Luigi's power is great, he will soon be caught up, surpassed, and then left far behind.

He tore up the agreement with Lance, so he has to bear the corresponding consequences.

Lorne stood by the door and asked, "Do we wait for the ship to dock and rob it?"

Lance shook his head, "If the ship docks, it means that the transfer of this batch of liquor is over. No matter who ordered this batch of liquor, we can't have direct conflict."

"I mean, before they pick up the goods, we find a way to get rid of them!"

Erwin seriously considered it for a while and raised his own question, "We can get some speedboats, but we don't have transport ships."

"Besides, we haven't fought on the sea before. I'm not doubting you or ourselves, I just think we might not be good at it."

"I don't have much hope of hitting anything while shooting on a swaying deck!"

Fighting on the sea is indeed different from fighting on land, and this time, not only do they have to deal with those escorting the goods, but they also have to find a way to get the liquor back on the ship.

He was right to consider it. If those escorting the goods were old sailors, Lance and his men might be in danger instead.

Don't fight others in unfamiliar territory, that's a wise conclusion!

Lance thought for a while, "I'll go find a way, you guys also have to be prepared."

It was still early, so he took a car (followed by several cars) directly to the port. He wanted to chat with Jack.

Jack worked at customs, responsible for random inspections of containers entering and leaving the port. Although the work wasn't easy, he did have some special power in his hands.

When he saw Jack, he was leading people to randomly inspect the countless containers. They would open some containers to check whether the goods inside met the Federation's import and export standards.

If they encountered anything that didn't meet the requirements or wasn't declared, they would detain it.

This was a seemingly ordinary and hard work, but it only seemed that way.

When Lance and his group stood next to him, Jack couldn't help but see them even if he wanted to ignore them.

He arranged the follow-up work and took the initiative to walk over. The two walked to the shore away from the crowd.

"What's the matter?" he gave Lance a cigarette and asked.

Lance looked him up and down, "That uniform looks great!"

Jack smiled. The coastal patrol team had begun to strengthen one after another. As the Federation's largest port and the busiest port in the Northern Hemisphere, the coastal patrol team here was also the first to change equipment.

They had already begun to use gunboats for patrols, which also meant that those smugglers could no longer arbitrarily send goods in.

Either face the coastal patrol team and their bullets and artillery.

Or go through the regular process at the dock and face customs random inspections.

In the past, they were unwilling to go through the dock because the dock had the risk of being inspected and confiscated, but now, compared to a whole ship of goods being completely destroyed, going through the dock was less risky.

This also led to a huge change in Jack's current status. In the past, those smugglers and businessmen who didn't look up to him much were now contacting him and those in his department.

Hoping to let go of certain containers during random inspections.

These people were also generous and willing to give anything as long as they asked.

However, right now, whether it's Jack or his department, these people haven't quite adapted to these changes, and they're also worried about whether taking money for services will lead to any trouble.

This is a very contradictory process. On the one hand, Jack really… wants to make some money.

Whether in this era or in the future, the importance of money is paramount.

On the other hand, he's very worried that Congress or higher authorities will notice the changes on the docks, putting him in a passive position.

“Stop with the sweet talk. Do you have some goods coming in?” he said, exhaling smoke and looking at the people around them who were keeping their distance.

This gave him a subtle feeling of tension, as if he were doing something bad in front of everyone.

Even if some people weren't looking at him, he felt like they were watching him.

Lance shook his head slightly. “Do you know anyone from the Coast Guard?”

Jack didn't react at first, but quickly nodded and said, “I know some, why?”

“Are you close?” Lance asked again, “Ideally, someone like a captain.”

Jack frowned and thought for a moment. “I know some, but I don't have any deep friendships. What do you want to do?”

Lance said softly, “Tomorrow night until the early hours of the day after, a ship loaded with smuggled liquor is coming to King's Harbor.”

“The owner of this shipment has offended me.”

Jack confirmed again, “A smuggling ship?”

“Yes, a smuggling ship.”

A relaxed smile appeared on Jack's face. “You want to have this shipment seized?”

“Not just seized, I want to buy it.”

Seeing Jack's somewhat confused look, he added, “From the Coast Guard.”

Jack was stunned for a while before joking, “Is this how you always do business with people?”

“Honestly, your words are a bit hard to follow. You're buying illegal smuggled goods that law enforcement confiscated, I don't even know what to say!”

Lance smiled easily. “Don't be like that, Jack. Don't make it sound so unsettling.”

“If you have something that the police confiscated, or you want them to confiscate something, give me a call.”

“I guarantee that for an extremely cheap price, I can get those things into your hands, delivered by police officers in a police car!”

“Help me set up a meeting with your friend. I'll convince him. Ask him if he has time at noon.”

Jack was still hesitant, but after thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth. “No problem, I'll call him.”

There were many public phone booths on the dock. Lance asked curiously, “Don't you have your own office?”

Jack shook his head. “Not quite yet.”

Lance pressed, “How much is 'not quite'?”

“Can money solve it?”

Originally, Jack wanted to say it was far off, but suddenly he thought of something. He stood there in a daze for a while before saying, “Not sure.”

Lance noted this small change in his mind, and he would ask about it later.

The call connected quickly. Customs and the Coast Guard had a lot of business cooperation, such as in anti-smuggling, where they overlapped and cooperated with each other.

The person on the other end readily agreed and set a time.

It was still a while before noon, so Lance didn't want to keep disturbing Jack's work and left.

More and more people on the dock recognized Lance, and many people even came up to greet him.

“Mr. Lance, I heard… the price of drinks is going up?”

The club recently mentioned this matter, raising the price by a few cents. In fact, compared to the price increases outside, it was as good as not increasing at all.

But for the workers, spending five cents more each day meant spending an extra dollar and fifty cents each month. And maybe they drink more than one cup a day?

Lance could only appease them. “The price of liquor is rising too fast. I'm losing several thousand dollars every month. If we don't raise prices, we may not be able to last long.”

“But you don't have to worry too much. I'll talk to Vice President Vaughn.”

Although the Dockworkers' Games were somewhat imperfect due to the shooting, they had begun to attract attention in the entire labor system.

In particular, the “Lance White Rating Method” had been recognized by the Labor Federation as an excellent plan for effectively classifying professional skill levels, and they were actively discussing and formulating classification schemes for various types of work.

If nothing went wrong, Lance would soon become famous. By then, workers all over the federation, and even the world, would be classified according to the grading methods he proposed.

He would have great prestige among the working class.

President Scott had already held such a grand event that was enough to change the working class, and he was valued by the General Federation of Trade Unions. He would probably be transferred to the Dockworkers' General Federation in October.

Vice President Vaughn would naturally become the next president.

After appeasing several groups of workers, Lance finally had time to make a call. He called William.

“Why do you have time to call me?” William was busy in his office, responding to Mr. Chobaf's promotional strategy.

So he was curious about Lance's sudden call.

“I'm at the docks, with Jack. I want to know, if he were to get promoted again, I don't know what position that is, but if he were to get promoted one or two levels, how would that work?”

“I don't know much about this, so I wanted to ask you.”

William put down his work and thought for a moment. He had worked in the federal government for so many years, and he couldn't say he knew every department well, but he at least knew how to operate.

“Customs is relatively independent. We don't know anyone high up, but I have a suggestion.”

“After I'm elected as a city councilor, I'll have the opportunity to contact them. Would that be more appropriate?”

After the two talked for a while, Lance hung up the phone and went to the labor office, which was still overcrowded.

The prosperity of King's Harbor attracted more illegal immigrants to come here. They craved a job, and only here could they find one.

Now the office could earn more than 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a month from these people, which was actually a very remarkable income!

It was just that compared to Lance's other income, it seemed a little inconspicuous.

When it was 12:30 noon, Lance arrived at the restaurant they had agreed on ten minutes early. After about four or five minutes, Jack and a middle-aged man walked in.

Lance took the initiative to stand up, pushed back his chair, and went to greet them.

“This is Captain McCock, he's responsible for patrol, towing, management, and rescue work during one shift.”

“This is Lance, Lance White, he's my sister's boyfriend.”

Captain McCock was also a typical federal person. He had a beard, looked a bit rugged, and wore a pair of brown sunglasses.

His skin was slightly rough and dull, which was a common problem for people who were often at sea.

He shook hands with Lance and said with a smile, “Lance White of the Lance family?”