Empire of Shadows

Lance sighed softly as he walked out of the cemetery. A boy barely in his teens had to shoulder the responsibility of leading a family. It was too much…

He didn't know what to say.

From a rational perspective, it was clearly the wrong choice. Francesco was too young. His grandparents, uncles, and aunts were in their prime and very capable.

This would lead the Pascarello family down a path of even greater decline, and it would be difficult to reverse!

People were willing to listen to Paolo because Paolo was already an adult and had achieved certain accomplishments when he inherited the position.

Not to mention his uncles and aunts, at least Paolo's siblings obeyed him, so he was able to sit firmly in his position.

But now, who would obey Francesco?

This would inevitably plant some seeds of problems, which would then escalate and eventually erupt.

But people are not rational animals. Alberto, who had received Paolo's favor, wanted to protect his son after Paolo's death and let his son regain control of the family. It couldn't be said that he was wrong, only that it was very difficult!

Difficult to the point that he might have to be at odds with everyone else in the Pascarello family!

But this was Alberto's choice. Lance would only support him, not deny him.

Everyone has to make choices when faced with crossroads time and time again. They have their own reasons and determination for doing so, and others cannot change them, nor is he someone who can be changed.

Lance lit a cigarette, exhaling the stale air and smoke from his chest.

Laun drove the car over. After Lance got in, he asked, "How's the situation at the docks?"

Today was "payday." In the past few days, some workers had been willing to accept the current IOUs and return to work.

This was also the reason why Lance didn't fully staff the docks with refugee workers, because the dock management company would definitely still hire a considerable number of these workers.

But there were also some people who, under the lobbying of the Labor Federation, the Dockworkers' Union, and other unions, were trying to continue their strike and protest.

The dock management company wasn't doing nothing either. They directly removed these workers from the worker roster.

In other words, these people were no longer dockworkers!

They even had people tell these striking workers that if they wanted to receive their wages for the previous half month, they had to sign a "Waiver of Rights."

Simply put, after signing this "Waiver of Rights," they would lose the right to sue or otherwise take action against the docks.

The dock services company was using half a month or more of wages to completely buy out their right to sue the dock services company.

Surely no one would sign it, so if they didn't sign, they wouldn't get paid!

Lance's people and the police were watching the docks. Once a problem occurred, they had to nip it in the bud!

Senator Cleveland also knew this. Everyone actually knew it, including the people in the Labor Federation, and even some of the workers.

But now, they had no way out!

Laun said as he drove, "I heard there was some unrest just now, but it's not clear yet."

Lance thought for a moment, "Drive over there, just to the entrance."

The convoy quickly merged into the traffic, and at the same time, the atmosphere at the docks had become extremely tense!

Lance had provided five thousand jobs, plus the more than one thousand people who had voluntarily stayed before, which meant that now one out of every two people wouldn't be able to return to the docks!

Now the initiative was in the hands of the dock management company. They wouldn't let you come back just because "you want to come back!"

They would eliminate those troublemakers and only keep the workers who were still decent.

Because of this, many workers who were not accepted by the docks had begun to confront the people from the dock management company.

This included the previous worker representatives!

Bearded Guy stood in front of the new manager, and the spittle spraying from his mouth landed on the manager's face. "Why won't you let me go back to work?"

The manager just looked at him with a fake smile. "You've been fired by the company. You're no longer our employee. There's no place for you here!"

"F*ck, I don't agree with your approach!"

The manager took out a handkerchief and wiped the spittle from his face. "That's your business, I don't care!"

He was just about to turn around and leave when Bearded Guy suddenly grabbed his collar. "You're not going anywhere until this matter is cleared up!"

Some other workers, including the worker representatives, also started shouting. These troublemakers had all been fired, and they couldn't stand it!

Bearded Guy grabbing the manager's collar was like a drop of water falling into hot oil. In an instant, the tense situation escalated!

Those disgruntled, fired employees overturned the tables used for signing, and some of them even picked up things around them and started attacking the people from the dock management company.

The situation here instantly spiraled out of control!

The manager took a punch to the face, but he wasn't afraid at all. "You're going to be in trouble, you know?"

Bearded Guy cursed him while giving him an uppercut, hitting him so hard that he almost curled up, and felt nauseous, retching.

But he didn't show any sign of backing down, and kept repeating the same sentence—you're going to be in trouble!

The first to enter were the police. The dock management company might not be a particularly well-known enterprise in the Federation, but in Goldport City, it was one of the very few!

Their influence on this city was enormous. Charlie still needed their support, so how could he refuse their request?

These police officers, carrying riot shields and holding batons, rushed in quickly, and they didn't care about the people who were fighting. They just raised the batons in their hands and whipped them over!

In an instant, these troublemaker workers were fighting with the police!

A reporter excitedly kept pressing the shutter.

The weather was good today, and he could capture the changes on the entire dock without needing to add light. He knew that he had grasped a big news story!

But just as he was muttering about sending out a press release along with these photos, suddenly the camera in his hand inexplicably became lighter.

By the time he reacted, it had been taken away by two young men who looked…a little intimidating.

"No photos allowed here!" One of the young men fiddled with it for a while. He hadn't handled this camera before, so he asked, "How do you take out the film?"

At this time, the reporter reacted. "F*ck, I'm a reporter for 'The News'! You are obstructing my freedom of the press!"

He also tried to grab the camera in his hand, but the young man, who still couldn't find how to take out the film, took two steps back, dodged his arm, and then slammed the camera in his hand hard on the ground.

This kind of small camera was a very precise instrument at this time. The people who made it might never have thought that it would have such applications.

So they didn't make many arrangements for its drop resistance, which led to the camera's parts being scattered all over the ground.

He smiled, bent down, found the film, and then pulled it all out. "They said this would work?"

The reporter looked at his actions in disbelief. "What the hell have you done?"

This camera was his most beloved thing. He had spent a lot of money to buy it, but now it had been smashed by these sons of b*tches!

His face turned red from the rising blood pressure, and he was about to rush over in excitement, but he suddenly stopped, because another young man lifted his coat and revealed the holster inside.

The great equalizer can awaken reason in most people at the last moment. He slowly raised his hands and retreated.

At this time, a louder noise came from a distance. The reporter suddenly turned his head and looked towards the place where the conflict was breaking out. A large group of young people with red armbands on their sleeves appeared on the docks, carrying帆船队 baseball bats.

Like the police, they frantically attacked the workers who were causing the conflict and unrest!

These people were more ruthless than the police, and they were more unscrupulous than the police!

The situation, which was still somewhat anxious, changed dramatically in an instant. The workers completely lost their ability to resist and were knocked to the ground!

Some people were still resisting, which only attracted more people to besiege them!

These people were not police officers. Everyone knew this, but they couldn't say it.

When he looked back, a young man had already walked towards the next "reporter," and the one who stayed in front of him gave him a suggestion by stepping on the debris on the ground—

"Get out!"

Lance's car was parked outside the docks at this time. He looked at the conflict on the docks without any emotional fluctuations.

Before, he actually sympathized with these dockworkers, and even when Councilor Williams proposed to kill some dockworkers to escalate the conflict, he took the initiative to use other methods to reduce the number of casualties among the workers, although a few still died in the end.

But if they had followed their method, there might have been more casualties.

Group incidents are very difficult to control. Once group emotions erupt, individual reason will only be crushed into slag under the will of the group!

Lance was not a saint, he just felt that there was no need to do this. He hoped that these people could firmly stand with him and become his helpers.

But as soon as he turned his head, these people abandoned standing with him for the sake of profit, just because they could work one hour less a day and earn a few more tens of cents a month?!

His friendship was not that cheap!

But he was not angry, because these dockworkers were just ordinary people.

Ordinary people are around us. They may be very flattering and brown-nose the leaders.

They might act very passively, only doing their own job and not asking about anything else.

They are keen on taking small advantages, only seeing some immediate benefits while ignoring the long-term advantages.

This is the average person. You can't expect everyone to be smart or rational. So, Lance felt it was normal for them to stand on the other side for those small benefits.

Since they are ordinary people, they can only be dealt with using methods for ordinary people!

These young people who loved baseball immediately changed the situation on the dock. With the police's coordinated encirclement, many workers quickly couldn't hold on.

They started running towards the outside of the dock, and some drilled into the dock. Soon, the scene was completely controlled. The workers were either pressed to the ground or lying on the ground.

As the whistle sounded, those young people wearing red armbands disappeared from the dock quickly and orderly like a receding tide, leaving only the police with shields and batons.

At this time, the reporters who were allowed in began to take pictures frantically. These were reporters that Senator Cleveland and the Bay Area had found through connections. They would "fairly and impartially" report what they saw and heard.

At this time, all that remained in their camera negatives were majestic police officers and riotous mobs who had failed!

Watching everyone quickly disappear from the dock, Lance raised his hand and knocked on the partition of the driver's cabin.

The convoy slowly started up and finally left here.

Those former dockworkers lying on the ground groaning, and the new dockworkers standing in the distance indifferently watching them, formed a sharp and strong contrast!

A "legitimate reporter" captured this scene, with a barbed wire fence separating two worlds.

On one side were indifferent expressions, on the other side were faces contorted by pain.

One side standing, one side lying…

The big bearded man who started the trouble was panting heavily. He was being held down by four or five policemen, who were putting handcuffs on him.

His head was already bleeding, his eyes were swollen, and there was a dark bruise on his cheek.

At this time, he could no longer speak, even though he felt he was having difficulty breathing!

"It's over!" After hearing these things from his secretary, the mayor rubbed his temples, "Simple, direct, crude, and reasonable. This is the Senator's solution."

He looked at the secretary and continued to analyze, "Lance, the police, the Bay Area, plus the news propaganda. He wants to use this method to tell these people that resistance and struggle are meaningless."

"Those ordinary people can't win lawsuits against them at all. From the Attorney General to the Supreme Court Justice, they are all their people. How could they possibly win?"

"Use other means?"

"Lance's people have already controlled most of the port area and the entire Empire District, which means that if they really want to do anything, they must first move out of these two districts!"

"Houses in Goldport City are not cheap!"

"The wealthy people in the Bay Area represent the most stubborn and orthodox forces in the Federation. They can connect with all classes. These people have no way to resist."

"They will soon sign, take the money, and accept their fate according to their wishes!"

He smiled as he said, "However, we are unlikely to use this method, at least not now, because we cannot unite so much power."

"You can't make the gangsters, the police, and the people in the Bay Area listen to your commands, so you can't reach his level."

"But, Owen, don't be discouraged. One day you can do it!"

Some light flashed in his secretary's eyes, "I will work hard in this direction!"

The direction he spoke of was the Senator.

The mayor was very pleased with his statement. He turned to look at the bright sunshine outside the window, "I don't have much time left to be active in politics. I have been thinking about something recently, to give you one last push."

The secretary showed some sentimental expression. He knew that the mayor had been abandoned by the higher-ups, and his future was bleak.

Up to now, Senator Cleveland has not contacted him, nor has he asked him to come forward for anything, which shows how bad the Congress, or rather the Socialist Party, feels about him now!

They do want to get the huge benefits of Goldport City, but not by him destroying it!

For those in high positions, all tools only have one chance.

As long as you don't do well this time, or it's too difficult, then there won't be a second time. They will directly throw you into the trash can and then throw it away.

Because they have countless tools waiting for them, they don't need to repair and polish the tools themselves and continue to use them like the poor.

If you can't do it, someone else can!

"Go find out and issue a press release. Although we have been marginalized, you still have to do what you should do."

"It's just me who has been marginalized, not you!"

Later, the secretary issued a notice on behalf of the mayor, roughly meaning that some former dockworkers had a conflict with the dock management company due to a dispute.

The Goldport City Police Department quickly arranged police forces after receiving the report, quickly resolved the conflict, and arrested the person who started the dispute.

The City Hall will investigate them and eventually file a lawsuit against them for the crimes they committed…

The dock was completely quiet!

The next day, as newspapers containing related news and accompanying pictures began to be printed and sold, more people learned about the small riot that occurred yesterday through the newspapers.

The official government has defined this incident as a "riot by unemployed people dissatisfied with society" and emphasized that the strike in Goldport City has ended.

Vaughn also appeared in the newspaper. He, Dave, and the executive director of the dock management company stood together, holding each other's hands, standing in a way that looked very uncomfortable.

These reports stated that under the arrangement and promotion of the Goldport City Dockworkers Union, the worker strike issue has been satisfactorily resolved.

The workers have gotten what they wanted and have all returned to their jobs.

The Labor Federation called it "a disgusting conspiracy," but it didn't have much effect, and the nationwide strike they were trying to promote could not continue.

For the people, they believe what they see and believe what those in authority say!

There are indeed many workers working on the dock. If those who were arrested were dockworkers, shouldn't there be no one working on the dock now?

Although there may still be some twists and turns in this matter, these twists and turns are no longer so obvious.

Even the Labor Federation quickly gave up on continuing to speak out for those people.

Now the federal economy is not so prosperous. Many people care about their jobs. Not everyone can empathize with other people's experiences and pay the price with their own lives and work!

On the other hand, Congress also put a lot of pressure on them, forcing them to handle this matter coldly.

Apart from the worker representatives who were imprisoned and about to be sent to court and prison, and those ordinary people who suddenly lost their jobs, for the people of Goldport City, the dock was not much different from before!