Empire of Shadows

“Withdrawing isn't a problem, but the management company…” Hunter didn't immediately agree.

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As an executor, he and Charlie had actually done a lot for the Bay Area. He knew very well that the Bay Area didn't care how you did it, only whether you achieved the results they wanted.

Withdrawing now was equivalent to failure.

In the past, Charlie would be the one in trouble when an execution failed, but now that Charlie wasn't responsible for these things, he would be the one in trouble.

Charlie's reiterated voice came from the receiver, with a hint of unquestionable authority, "Withdraw!"

"Then, I'll inquire about the situation and consider how to resolve it."

Hunter was silent for a few seconds and compromised, "You're the boss, Chief."

Charlie on the other end of the phone frowned. He could hear Hunter's dissatisfaction with his decision, but he didn't have time to explain it clearly to Hunter now.

He directly dialed Lance's number, but after dialing several times in a row, either he wasn't there or no one answered. This made him realize that Lance was deliberately avoiding calls.

The police's intervention and subsequent withdrawal completely released the striking workers' passion. In the end, even the security guards on the docks chose to give up, and the entire dock became a paradise for the workers!

As container after container was opened, the goods inside began to be looted, and the entire dock fell into complete chaos!

Actually, it's quite interesting.

The last time the docks were this chaotic was when the city indulged them to attack the Empire immigrants.

The police chose to watch from the sidelines, watching them beat those innocent workers, just like at this moment, watching them open the containers and take the things inside.

They even set fire to the dock management company's office.

The raging flames ignited the sky above the entire dock, and under the light of the fire, people's crimson faces were filled with various expressions.

Twisted, ferocious, greedy, hysterical…

The entire dock was completely in ruins at this moment!

The mayor also quickly learned of this news. His injuries were still far from healed. He usually needed someone to slowly help him complete the action of sitting down.

The gunshot wound in his abdomen affected the movement of his upper body. Movements that required the use of the waist and abdominal muscle groups were basically impossible to do.

But when he heard the news, he suddenly sat up, "How could this happen?"

The secretary stood aside with lowered eyebrows, "According to the information I received, some conflicts occurred between the striking workers' representatives and the manager of the management company in the evening. The manager asked the security guards to drive them out, and the two sides fought in the process."

"Then more and more people joined in, and eventually this riot was triggered. Now the docks have been completely occupied by these workers."

The mayor covered his wound, closed his eyes, and after feeling a little better, he asked, "What about the police?"

"What are the police doing?"

"That old dog Charlie must be listening to the Bay Area. The people in the Bay Area must be interfering in such a big matter. Where are he and his people?" Saying that, he stretched out his hand, "Give me a hand."

The secretary hurriedly walked over, helping the mayor move backward and smoothing the pillow so he could lean on it.

"The police went to the docks, but now they've withdrawn. There are too many rioting workers on the docks!"

"They even set fire to the dock management company's building. Now the fire brigade can't even get in!"

The mayor took a deep breath. He picked up the phone and dialed a number in the capital.

After a moment, the phone should have been connected, "I didn't intend to call you so late, but there's been a bit of an accident. I want to know when the militia can depart?"

"What, do we have to wait for the process to be completed?"

"Can it be faster?"

"No, it's nothing, there's no problem… Okay, I understand."

The call was to a friend of his who worked in the state government's militia office. He was asking if the militia could enter Goldport City faster, but obviously, these things had to go through the process.

The secretary was a little confused, "Why are you so sensitive to the unrest at the docks?"

The mayor frowned, "Because it relates to many problems. Do you think the docks are just docks?"

"Whether it's internal or external, this is an important political bargaining chip!"

"The more critical the moment, the less we can allow accidents to happen!"

"Once the unrest here reaches a certain level, in order to avoid further intensifying the conflict, Congress may urgently call a halt to the militia's entry into the city!"

"If they really do that, many of our arrangements will be invalidated."

Feeling the wound in his waist and abdomen throbbing again, the mayor had to close his eyes and concentrate all his strength to fight the pain!

But the thought of the situation getting out of control only made the pain worse!

After waiting for a while, he recovered a little, picked up the phone again, and dialed a special zone number.

This time he looked obviously more careful.

"Mr. Jensen, I'm Sidney, the mayor of Goldport City. I'm very grateful that you can answer my call, and I apologize for calling you so late…"

"Thank you for your understanding. Some small accidents have occurred here in Goldport City… Yes, everything is under control, it's just that the development may be a little beyond our expectations."

"My idea is that we can solve our own local affairs ourselves. If you've noticed… Yes, that's right, the militia will soon enter the city to take over the security issues."

"Okay, okay, thank you very much for your support… Yes, I was indeed injured and am still in the hospital, thank you for your concern… Okay, okay, goodbye."

After he hung up the phone, his expression didn't show any joy. This Mr. Jensen was a senator in Congress, and his relationship with this Mr. Jensen ended after this call.

He didn't even mention the idea of visiting the other party to thank him, because he couldn't see the other party at all.

Unless a middleman helped him, there was a high probability that he would never have any more contact with this Senator Jensen until he died.

Now he could only hope that this Senator Jensen could help him delay for a few more days.

At night, more people learned about the unrest at the docks, and they also knew that many containers had been pried open. Some companies rushed into the docks to protect their property.

The riots continued to worsen, and even if Lance came now, it wouldn't work!

The next morning, almost all of the federal mainstream media reported on this matter, and The Federal Daily even put the news on the front page.

The photo used in the newspaper was taken by a reporter. Outside a building burning with raging flames, several workers were leaving with a large number of goods.

They also used a more sensational headline—"The Day the Northern Hemisphere Stopped Rotating!"

This directly caused The Federal Daily to sell out!

Many people wanted to know how the Northern Hemisphere stopped rotating, and they also wanted to know what could appear on the front page of such a high-level newspaper!

The newspaper described the entire process of the chaos and the current results in more detail.

A large number of companies began to protest to the federal government, including some multinational corporations.

More and more cargo ships were waiting to enter the port outside Goldport City, but they never left. It wasn't as simple as unloading the goods somewhere.

In an instant, the attention of the entire country began to focus here, and even Congress held a small emergency meeting specifically for this matter!

"Well done!" Councilor Williams gave Lance a compliment. He rarely praised others so directly.

James specifically explained to make Lance aware of how difficult this sentence was, "I haven't heard this evaluation for many years, Lance."

"Even 'not bad' is rarely heard. His expression is very subtle, this is already the strongest expression."

Lance smiled, "I hope I didn't mess it up!"

Councilor Williams shook his head, "Of course you didn't mess it up. You did much better than I imagined!"

In front of him was a copy of The Federal Daily printed by the Likelai State branch. This report made him feel very comfortable!

"How did you convince those workers?"

Lance shrugged, "To be honest, I told them the truth, then put a little pressure on them, and found solutions for them by the way."

"Mr. Williams, this may require you to help me a little. Some of them are very likely to be prosecuted."

Councilor Williams laughed loudly after hearing this, "Just leave this little thing to me. We have good relationships with judges in both state and local courts."

"The State Attorney General used to be my classmate!"

In fact, he was not only his classmate, but also Councilor Wade's classmate, as well as classmates of quite a few other celebrities.

At that time, there was only one university in Likelai State. With their status and background, it was natural for them to go to university, and it was also natural for them to become alumni.

"In short, I can help you solve this matter." It could be seen that Councilor Williams was very excited now. It could be imagined how important it was for him to disrupt the mayor's conspiracy.

After he was happy for a while, he said, "Next, I will contact Congress and wait for my good news."

"Maybe I'll still need your help then, Lance."

"Once Congress starts to intervene, we must stabilize the city as soon as possible. You should be able to contribute some strength in this regard, don't you think?"

Currently, most cities rely on gangs to solve security issues. The police can only handle problems of ordinary people, but issues between gangs can only be resolved by gangs.

Lance nodded and said, "We will take over the port area soon. I can't manage other places, but I can definitely stabilize the port area."

Councilman Williams was very satisfied, extremely satisfied. "Good, very good. If you have any other problems, you can find Williams."

"You are all young people, you can interact more. Leave the rest to me!"

Hearing this, Lance knew it was time for him to leave, so he got up to say goodbye.

"Help me see him out. Please forgive me for being old and not able to move around easily," Councilman Williams said politely. James immediately stood up.

Seeing that the other party intended to escort him to the office door, Lance took the initiative to tell him not to get up.

But Councilman Williams insisted on escorting him to the door.

When leaving, Lance also saw Arthur. They weren't familiar and hadn't had much contact, but Williams asked Arthur to say hello, and Arthur greeted him obediently.

The old guy had told him that if he wanted to maintain his current life in the future, he had better listen to his half-brother.

Arthur was very obedient. He took the initiative to greet Lance and shook his hand.

After James saw Lance off and returned, he ran into Arthur leaving. "Didn't you go to greet Father?"

Arthur looked a little restrained. "He's busy and told me to get lost."

James couldn't help but laugh. He walked over and patted Arthur's arm. "That's also his way of expressing love, don't take it to heart."

"Don't run around lately, it's not safe outside."

Arthur nodded and watched James leave.

This was the difference between him and James. Councilman Williams told him to get lost, but James could enter the office. This was the "first-mover advantage."

This couldn't be blamed on him or his mother, because at that time his mother was just a little girl.

Back in the office, Councilman Williams was on the phone with a senator, which actually reflected the difference between him and the mayor.

The mayor had done a good job with Fides before, but Fides was not a particularly important city after all, and the political resources he could access were very limited.

And what about Goldport City?

It was related to the major issue of shipping in the Northern Hemisphere, not only rich in oil but also rich in political resources.

He could directly talk to the senators, and not just one, and not just a one-time favor.

James came in and sat quietly across from him. Councilman Williams glanced at him and smiled, continuing his phone call, "Yes, it's too chaotic. If we let the militia into the city, it will only further intensify the conflict!"

"I heard that Tanfirth has actually started the war, they just haven't officially declared war yet."

"Goldport City's position in the global transportation industry will become more important. We may even become the world's number one!"

"But if we let the conflict continue to intensify and escalate now, it may push the future towards an unpredictable future!"

"Okay, I'll wait for your good news. I've already talked to the others."

"After the matter is resolved, you will definitely not be shortchanged here... Haha, okay, I'll go to the Special Zone next month, and we'll play a few rounds then!"

He smiled and hung up the phone, then curled his lips, and then looked at James, "Did you see him off?"

"I saw him off."

He smacked his lips, took out his pipe, took a puff, "Lance's ability is very strong. If you can subdue him, it will be of great help to you and our family's future."

"Of course, this is if you are confident. If you are not confident, you can be friends first."

"I'm eager to see Sidney's stinky face. He took this shot for nothing!"

He couldn't help but laugh, "Interesting!"

What he said was interesting referred to Lance's approach, which dragged many people in the Bay Area into the water, creating a greater impact.

And those companies that suffered huge losses will only put pressure on the port management company.

If the Williams family wants to dominate Goldport City, they have to consider how to treat these people in the Bay Area in the future.

In terms of attitude and position.

Councilman Williams didn't have any other ideas before, but now, he doesn't want to "co-govern" Goldport City with the Bay Area anymore!

He has greater ambitions!

The wharf has become worse due to continuous fermentation. Many dockworkers have even clashed with some people who protect company property, and the entire wharf has become more chaotic.

Humans are a terrible animal. Once the demons in their hearts are released, they will cause great destruction!

Just like now, there are flames everywhere, even more chaotic than last time!

Heavyweight media reporters from all over the Federation continue to arrive in Goldport City. Their first stop is always to take pictures at the wharf, and with the arrival of these people, more news about the riots in Goldport City began to spread at home and abroad.

It even suppressed the undeclared war on the Tanfirth continent —

The world's first and second largest shipping terminals are on the Tanfirth continent. Now, due to the outbreak of war on the Tanfirth continent and the trend of war spreading, the importance of the Goldport terminal is constantly increasing.

If even the Goldport terminal has problems and cannot be restored in a short period of time, it may not only cause chaos in world trade, but also cause the Federation to lose an opportunity to become number one!

Congress held another temporary emergency meeting to discuss the handling of the Goldport terminal issue.

Among them, Senator Jansen said that the riots in Goldport City were just a strike by workers dissatisfied with their wages, and could not be regarded as riots. They could completely ask the state government to urge the port management company to resolve the current problems as soon as possible by increasing wages and other means.

However, several senators also put forward different views. These senators believed that the problem of the Goldport terminal was not just a matter of raising wages, but involved many aspects.

Moreover, the importance of the Goldport terminal is very special. In less than a year, two riots have occurred at the Goldport terminal. If these problems are not completely resolved, the same situation will continue to occur in the later stage.

Under the core premise of resolving the terminal issue, send a working group to Goldport City to assist all parties in resolving the issue.

After more than an hour of discussion, Senator Jansen finally had to accept the results of the vote.

At 6:30 that evening, Congress issued a public announcement.

They will send a senator and three congressmen to Goldport City to investigate and resolve the terminal issue. At the same time, Congress urgently called a halt to the militia that was about to set off.

As soon as the news came out, some people laughed so hard that they couldn't stop hiccupping, and some people were so painful that they wanted to cry!

When the news reached Goldport City, the chaotic Goldport City seemed to be quiet for a moment...