Empire of Shadows

Chapter 348: Chaos +++

The mayor always liked to light a cigarette when he encountered trouble; the dopamine helped him feel less anxious and agitated.

The secretary stood to the side, "Should tomorrow's speech be postponed?"

The mayor looked at him, "Why postpone it?"

"Because of the strike?"

The secretary nodded, "If there really is a strike, the entire port will come to a standstill, and the whole country's attention will be focused here."

"At that time…"

The mayor closed his eyes and shook his head, saying, "How do you solve the strike problem?"

The secretary was silent, "We can talk to the management company and get them to meet…"

He trailed off, realizing that if this was Councilor Williams' "move," then the management company would definitely not agree to the workers' demands.

They were creating irreconcilable conflicts instead of trying to resolve them.

When the only party capable of resolving the strike was focused on escalating the conflict instead of resolving it, then that conflict would never be resolved.

Unless the person escalating the conflict gave up on escalating it!

No one knew the situation behind the scenes. He didn't know, and the mayor didn't know either, but the mayor clearly had his own ideas.

"Tomorrow's speech doesn't need to be postponed. We spent a long time choosing the date and made a lot of preparations."

He took a puff of his cigarette; the smoke gave him a sense of relaxation. "Since they want to make trouble, let them all come!"

"Owen, you need to understand one thing: no one cares what we went through before we achieved our goals."

"People only care whether we fulfilled our promises and did what we were supposed to do!"

The secretary lowered his head, accepting this idea, even though the reality behind it might be bloody and cruel.

After a night of fermentation, the strike officially began the next morning.

Large numbers of dockworkers appeared outside the port, blocking other workers from going to work and demanding that they join the strike.

The management company wasn't doing nothing. The manager was constantly bribing some workers who were leaning towards the company, influential workers, to get them to pull more workers back to their jobs.

A simple sentence of "This has nothing to do with me" did indeed persuade some people to return to work.

The vast majority of these people were under great pressure to support their families. You couldn't blame them; you could only say that they were the best employees who had been carefully selected, nothing more!

The others refused to work unless the manager came out and apologized to Johnny and reinstated his job.

But this was clearly unacceptable to the manager. If he really did that, then he would be even further away from his ultimate dream.

Just as the general strike began, the mayor appeared in the middle of Goldenport City Stadium.

He was wearing very simple and plain clothes, and the cotton and linen short sleeves gave him an indescribable sense of oddness.

Although the clothes were plain, they didn't give people a cheap feeling; perhaps this was the value of temperament.

Many citizens came to the stadium, but even more were reporters. The mayor stood on the wooden platform in the middle.

The sunlight shone on him, adding a sense of justice and positivity.

As the time approached 9:50, he began his official speech, and the stands were almost full—not crowded, just seemingly full, as many people needed to work.

Therefore, this speech was broadcast to the entire region and even surrounding cities.

In factories and offices, many people turned on their radios, wanting to hear what the mayor had to say about the current chaotic city.

The mayor's voice was somewhat low, but very emotional, and it contained a power that had not yet been revealed!

"I know that many people are waiting, wanting to hear what I will say standing here."

"Some people are waiting for me to say nice things to gloss over our actual situation."

"Some people are also expecting me to say unpleasant things, so that more people can have a more direct understanding of the current chaos."

"Since when did our city become this terrible?"

The entire city seemed to be put on slow-motion by a single question. The actions in people's hands seemed to pause, and the workers on the assembly line in the factory were not as efficient as before.

Since when did it start?

Perhaps it was the changes during this period, or perhaps it had been going on for some time. Everyone's understanding of stability and chaos was different, so their interpretations of the mayor's speech would not be exactly the same.

"Every mayor hopes that their city is prosperous, stable, and constantly developing."

"I am no exception."

"On my first day here, I had the best hopes and dreams for this city. I wanted to make it the most dazzling pearl in the Federation."

"But I overestimated my own abilities and underestimated the troubles I would encounter."

"Big troubles!"

Councilor Williams frowned slightly behind his desk. The old men in the bay area, who were drinking and laughing, gradually put down their glasses and began to pay attention to the radio.

They had a premonition that the mayor was going to lift the fig leaf!

What rulers dislike most is for people to know the inside story of their rule, as this will make people question them more.

Once the ruled lose trust in the rulers, the work of governing becomes very difficult.

It's like when people always firmly believe in the rulers. When the rulers tell them that they need to make sacrifices to get a good life, they believe it and start to sacrifice to get a good life, which may not be so good, of course.

But at least they believe in the rulers, and they believe that sacrifice is a prerequisite for obtaining a good life. They will not object to the demand for sacrifice, nor will they resist it.

But if one day, they start to question the rulers' demands and orders, then they will also start to wonder whether obtaining a good life must be achieved through sacrifice.

Then they will observe whether the rulers are happy, whether their happiness is obtained through sacrifice, and what he, they, and the entire ruling class have sacrificed in order to obtain such a happy life?

This is a very frightening thing, but now, the mayor, as one of the ruling class, actually intends to uncover these things. How can some of the ruling class not be angry and terrified?

Even Councilor Williams, and Councilor Wade, who had already stepped aside, felt a pang of panic.

The mayor did not stop because of their unease and panic.

"Goldenport City's troubles have always revolved around 'interests'."

"I once tried to continue building new port areas and new bay areas to expand the future development of Goldenport City."

"Our port's load has already reached 80 percent, and it will soon become crowded, and incoming ships will have to queue up."

"But if we build the new port well, then we will have more berths and become more competitive!"

"These constructions will provide more job opportunities and allow more people to enjoy the era benefits brought about by the development of Goldenport City."

"But the new port has not been built yet because I touched the interests of some people."

"Some people who claim to be 'the interests of the locals'!"

"You know who they are. You have heard their names from newspapers or other channels. They are common guests in high society and big figures in people's eyes."

"They and their families have created the glory of Goldenport City, but they have also restricted its future."

"For me, this city is like a huge cage, and you, everyone living here, are prisoners in this cage!"

"Bang!"

Someone slammed the table and couldn't sit still anymore. He looked at the people around him, "Shouldn't we do something?"

"We can't let him continue to talk like this!"

But the others' reactions were indifferent. "We can stop him from doing what he wants to do, and we can make him lose his due rights, but the only thing we can't do is stop him from speaking!"

The speaker leaned back on the sofa, "I really hope someone can give him a shot right now and shut him up forever!"

The others also seemed a little depressed and even desperate. The mayor's speech would inevitably attract the attention of higher levels. If Congress really thought that Goldenport City had "lost control," then it would be a very bad situation for them!

It was possible that they would directly intervene at this critical moment!

Once Congress started to actively intervene, both the mayor and the locals would lose their true "power."

This was also why they thought the mayor was crazy. He still seemed to have some advantages, so why was he suddenly messing around like this?

They didn't understand.

It was like in a company, when the board of directors asked a small manager of a certain department whether he could handle his department and work, everyone's answers were the same—

"I can, sir!"

No one would say, "Oh my god, I can't manage my department and my subordinates at all. Who the hell can come and help me!"

No one would say that, because besides making the board of directors think you are a waste, it would not have any other meaning.

The country was the same. The mayor seemed to be personally severing his own political future. Was he really crazy?

Could it be that the despair and pressure everyone gave him was too great?

It shouldn't be!

They couldn't figure out why the mayor suddenly wanted to do this, but the mayor's speech would not stop.

"Those who actually rule are the owners of the cage. They use a hound to manage the people living inside. Oh, you might not know who that is. He has a very unique nickname, the 'Bay Area Hound'!"

The mayor chuckled, "A very unique nickname. If someone called me that, I would definitely feel insulted."

"But this 'Bay Area Hound' doesn't feel that way at all. On the contrary, he feels it's an honor because, by becoming a hound, he has reached heights that many people cannot."

"He's even running for city council!"

Speaking of this, the mayor couldn't help but laugh. Apart from those who didn't understand and laughed along, thinking how stupid or bored someone would have to be, the others couldn't laugh.

Including Charlie himself, he couldn't laugh either, and his face turned ashen!

He knew that even if he succeeded in the election after this, he wouldn't be a respected city councilor.

With people from the Bay Area looking after him, he couldn't possibly fail in his bid for city council, but this wasn't the kind of success he wanted!

Yet, he was utterly helpless!

His eyes held some hatred, but also some longing, some desire.

This is the politician, the top politician in terms of city size. As long as he's willing to go all out, he can ignore all the rules, say whatever he wants, and destroy whatever he wants.

"I feel uncomfortable, citizens, every citizen here, every citizen listening to the radio."

"It's like there's a thick layer of dark clouds pressing down, preventing me from exercising my abilities, pressing down and making me unable to move."

"Officials and capitalists colluding with each other, those who should be guarding justice have become the rulers' lackeys, layer upon layer, circle upon circle, making it hard for me to breathe."

"They are like a mountain, making people feel despair!"

"I've thought about it for a long time. If I want to change the current situation, the only way is for me to borrow a little strength from each and every citizen of Goldport City."

"When everyone's strength is gathered together, we will have the ability to move this mountain!"

"Move it away from our heads, and then throw it away."

"I don't know if life will get better, but I know it won't get worse..."

In a VIP box where no one should have been, a gunman was aiming at the mayor who was speaking. They had done several experiments to determine the angle that would produce the greatest and most shocking effect without being fatal.

Although someone did die in this experiment because they couldn't be rescued in time, those people were criminals with centuries-long sentences, and no one cared about their life or death, including their relatives.

The gunman loaded a golden bullet into the chamber, pulled the bolt, and began to aim.

He had specifically chosen this position after discussing it with the mayor, allowing him to have a clear view of the mayor and shoot steadily.

The distance here wasn't too far from the mayor, so he didn't need to over-consider the influence of parameters such as wind speed. Moreover, this was inside a stadium, and the wind speed wouldn't be too outrageous.

He glanced at the flags hanging on the steel cables above the mayor, estimated the wind speed, adjusted the sights slightly, and then began to wait.

Waiting for the mayor to say that key word!

"I will use the rest of my time and energy to fight against these interest groups. I may not represent justice, but I can represent myself and declare war on evil!"

Reporters frantically took pictures. At the same time, a gunshot rang through the entire stadium. With a 'pop,' the mayor suddenly fell to the ground, and then blood stained his clothes red!

Countless cameras focused on the mayor lying on the ground with his eyes tightly closed. The blood on the ground and his pale face were in stark contrast. Every reporter was so excited they wanted to pee. This was huge news!

The surrounding staff screamed in panic, and the bodyguards quickly rushed over to protect his safety. The scene instantly became chaotic!

The broadcast faithfully played all the sounds from the scene. Apart from the citizens, the Bay Area masters couldn't help but smile when they heard the commotion.

They were also inquiring about who had done such a good deed.

Councilors Williams and Wade frowned deeply. They felt that the shooting was too suspicious. Who would assassinate a mayor for no reason?

To be honest, if they were to be assassins and had to assassinate a politician,

they would rather assassinate the president than assassinate a mayor.

Assassinating the president might not have serious consequences, but assassinating the mayor was definitely a death sentence!

In a social-democratic stronghold like the State of Licari, key positions throughout the state were held by social democrats. There was no hatred between them, which meant that the mayor had no enemies at this time.

Assassinating the mayor was equivalent to declaring war on the Licari State Social Democratic Party, declaring war on the Licari State government!

But assassinating the president wasn't so bad. After all, the president has enemies, some people want you to die, but others want you to live!

Councilor Wade had a moment of speculation, wondering if this was a political show orchestrated by the mayor himself, but he quickly dismissed it.

After all, having to take a bullet, could the mayor trust the gunman, and could the gunman trust his own hands?

A large number of police surrounded the entire stadium, and Chief Dale also arrived at the stadium with a large number of special agents, but it was useless.

Apart from finding a rifle with the serial number erased in the VIP box, they didn't gain anything.

The mayor was urgently transferred to the best hospital in Goldport City for surgery. Before he fell into a coma, he appointed his secretary to preside over the work of Goldport City during his coma.

The whole city seemed to become different. Many important people came to the hospital, including Councilors Wade and Williams.

Through their connections, they learned that the mayor's condition was indeed very dangerous. The bullet had penetrated his body, but whether it was lucky or unlucky, it hadn't caused too much damage.

This was also the reason why they didn't find the bullet casing at the scene. The gunman used a non-standard bullet.

In short, the mayor fell, and the whole city seemed to become more chaotic!

The mayor's speech and shooting incident caused a huge impact in the State of Licari, and even the entire Federation!

Many people began to discuss and study the "stubborn forces" and "interest groups" in Goldport City. The Congressional side even demanded that the killer be found within a limited time and sent to the gallows.

This was a blasphemy against justice, a blasphemy against the hard work of politicians!

The Governor of Licari decided to use the State Police as the backbone and draw elite police forces from various regions and departments to investigate the stadium shooting.

The mayor's distrust of the Goldport City police system led by Charlie in his speech also made people feel horrified by this network of interests!

If even the police were their thugs, perhaps the despair and helplessness in the mayor's speech were not exaggerated!

Even Shengli Bank was robbed that afternoon, and more than 500,000 in cash was robbed by the robbers. The whole city seemed to fall into chaos all of a sudden!

Although Charlie immediately asked the police to handle these cases and maintain law and order, it seemed a bit too late.

The Wolf Gang, which had been quiet for many days, also suddenly launched an attack on Lance's territory, just like... fucking planned!