Empire of Shadows

These past few days have been pretty good for Hope, the refugee social activist who even wants to become a federal politician to become a federal citizen.

His performance in front of the media has garnered him some support.

Never underestimate the complexity of humanity and human nature. Even though many people think he's not a good person, there are still those who are attracted to what he portrays and believe he is a good person.

And there are quite a few of these people in the Federation.

Several charities have approached him, willing to help him and those refugees waiting for humanitarian aid, which is a good thing.

He knows better than those charities who needs help and who doesn't. Coupled with his popularity in the media and among the public, all the charities are actively seeking to cooperate with him.

Charities are not necessarily doing charity for real, because there is no charity in the Federation, only business.

Charity is also a business, and a very high-level business. It can help people establish a positive image, gain huge social praise, and also deal with some sensitive money and make it insensitive.

Using charities to evade the tax bureau is not a new trick, but it is very effective and difficult to investigate.

Besides these things, the biggest business of charities is fundraising.

How can a charity make people actively donate money to them?

It's actually very simple: do charity.

As long as people know that they are indeed helping those who need help, and that they are using the donations properly on the poor or refugees, they won't have to worry about fools donating money to them—

This is not to say that the rich people who donate money to charities are fools. They donate money for a purpose. The money they donate can get them more than they lose.

The real fools are those "good people" who, under certain public opinion trends, are not even wealthy themselves, yet still donate money to charities.

The media also often reports on this kind of thing. They need to use noble virtues to move ordinary people and gain the focus of public opinion, and charities also need to let more people know that doing charity is the right thing to do, even if it means treating themselves poorly.

People who can donate money to charities are either stupid or bad.

A large number of reporters surrounded Hope. These reporters were all hired by charities. They needed more exposure in order to get more donations.

This was Hope's moment of glory. In front of the media, he frequently showed his face, helping the charity workers hand over supplies to one person in need after another.

It's just that people didn't notice that the oily sheen on his face before the flash, and the fact that he didn't have the slightest bit of luster on his face like other starving refugees, seemed a little different.

This is one of the benefits of being a social activist. As long as he shows his value, someone will soon provide him with some "conveniences."

"Thank you, thank you to you and these gentlemen. If it weren't for you, we really wouldn't know what to do!"

The lady who accepted the gift cried very sadly. Hope supported her and introduced her to the media, "Her husband starved to death this winter. I met him. He was a kind man, spoke very gently, and was friendly to everyone."

"But such a good person was taken away by the cold and hunger!"

"We need the attention of the whole society. Our purpose in coming to the Federation is to seek humanitarian aid. President has also expressed his willingness to accept us."

"But we cannot jump from one hell into another hell, a humanitarian hell!"

His face was full of sadness and solemnity. He looked at the charity workers, "In short, thank you, if it weren't for you, there wouldn't be these supplies. Thank you, thank you for your helping hands, may God bless each of you!"

Those charity workers had already prepared their "strategy" before they came. They recited their lines according to the script, and the two sides continued to cooperate, continuing to give those worthless things to people who needed them, or didn't really need them, gaining one praise after another.

The entire aid ceremony lasted about forty minutes, and all the supplies were distributed.

Hope stood in front of the camera, behind him was an open space crowded with refugees, the air was filled with an unpleasant smell, but he seemed not to feel it.

"Today we are fortunate to receive three thousand dollars worth of supplies, and three hundred refugee families have been rescued as a result, but gentlemen, look behind me, how many more than three hundred families are there here?"

"We need more people's attention, more people's help, don't let the beautiful Federation become a cold hell, love brings us together, and we should also return each other's love…"

After the interview, he said goodbye to the reporters and those charity workers and returned to his residence.

An unfinished apartment that he had someone pry open, and he chose a relatively complete room to live in.

Because of his actions, many surrounding apartments were pried open, and people moved in, but it was impossible for so many people to move in, so most people still lived outside.

Back in the apartment, he sat on the sofa he had picked up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, lit a five-cent pack of cigarettes, and relaxed completely.

"How much money did they give this time?" he asked.

He helps charities promote themselves, not for free. As a social activist, he knows some social unspoken rules better than others.

The assistant he selected looked it up, "Two hundred and twenty-five dollars, sir."

Hope was very satisfied. Two hundred dollars, although not much, is a good sign.

He actually has the ability to move out, but he won't do that. He wants to be with his refugee brothers and sisters at all times.

Today he has an important thing to do.

Many gangs have gradually emerged among the refugees. Some are just to protect themselves from being bullied by other gangs.

Some are to get supplies from others so that they can live a better life.

And some are trying to infiltrate other areas or run various criminal businesses.

It is said that a group of guys stole steel bars from a construction site and bought a lot of money, and have achieved freedom to eat.

Hope actually looks down on these people. Whether in Slader or in the Federation, these people can only be at the bottom of society, but he must rely on these people now, because they represent power, they represent the fists of the refugees.

As a social activist whose goal is to become a well-known politician, he knows very well that a group cannot be without fists.

It's like a person, if he doesn't know how to resist and attack, then he can only be trampled underfoot by others.

Sometimes violence does make things worse, but it can also make people respect you more!

He made an appointment to meet some well-known refugee gang leaders here. With his current status and reputation among the refugee community, it is not surprising that he can do this.

One after another, those gang leaders who could not yet be called gangsters came to his apartment.

It must be said that Hope has done a really good job recently. He is very famous, and everyone knows him.

Some people don't like him, but they still came, and some people admire him very much.

As more and more people came, the room became a bit crowded. He was considering buying a villa in the nearby New Bay Area for seven or eight thousand dollars, which was a suitable price.

He never worries about whether he can come up with the money. It would be news if he couldn't come up with it, not if he could.

After waiting for about twenty or thirty seconds, he walked to the middle of the room, "We come from roughly the same country and are strangers here."

"Recently, I have gained some attention through public opinion, and some people are willing to support us, so that we can have a better living environment and opportunities."

"The reason I called you together today is to discuss something with you."

As he spoke, he took out a cigarette and lit one himself.

The smell of cigarettes filled the air, which made the other refugee gang leaders couldn't help but start lighting cigarettes, and the room was filled with smoke for a while.

"I… I want you to do things for me," he said after taking two puffs of his cigarette.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room became a little abnormal. Some people were thinking, some people were just looking at him, and some people were sneering.

"Hope, why do you think we would do things for you?"

Faced with such provocation, questioning, and suspicion, he was not angry or annoyed.

He looked at the person and nodded twice, "A good question."

"A good question should have a good answer."

He held the cigarette in his mouth and took out a stack of money from his pocket, about a hundred dollars.

Seeing this money, the expressions of these leaders changed again.

"This is just the change I have in my pocket. In fact, I have already saved several thousand dollars in the bank."

He looked at these people, admiring their shocked expressions, "Making money is not a difficult task, gentlemen."

"Refugees are our bargaining chip and the foundation for us to move towards a better life, but your utilization efficiency of the refugee identity is too low, even inefficient!"

"You are very energetic and have a lot of execution. You shouldn't just waste your talent for a bite to eat and drink."

"Follow me, I can make you rich quickly."

"Money, food, tobacco, women, even wine, are all available."

He paused for a while and continued, "Do you know the Lance family?"

"Lance said some time ago that this city has a liquor market of 200 million, gentlemen."

"Two hundred million!"

He held up two fingers. "Even if it's just one percent, that's still a two million market."

"While those gangsters are frantically stuffing money into their own pockets, what are you doing?"

"Snatching pocket change from children, fighting over scrap metal with garbage collectors, and some of you even resort to robbing passersby."

"They're gangsters, and you're also...gangsters, so why is there such a big difference?"

He looked around. "Because you can't think of it, you don't know how to survive properly, but I do!"

"I know how to make you grow rapidly, I know how to make us rich, and I also know how to make everything move in a better direction, but there's one prerequisite: you have to work for me."

Hope had fallen into a somewhat fanatical state. As an active social activist, he was very clear.

If you want to convince others to believe in you, you must first convince yourself!

If you don't even believe in what you're saying, how can you use emotion to infect others and make them believe you?

Someone looked at him with considerable interest. "What are you planning to do?"

This was a test, but Hope wasn't worried at all.

"Greater influence," he said, looking at the people there, a hint of indifference and ruthlessness in his eyes, "and greater destructive power."

"A child who only cries but doesn't make a fuss is less likely to get attention from their parents than a child who cries and makes a fuss."

"Now everyone sees us crying, but just crying isn't enough. No matter how fiercely we cry, it won't make them feel pain."

"The Federation people might even treat our crying as a spectacle!"

"If we want them to be more inclined to help us, we must make a fuss, make them feel trouble, make them feel it's difficult to handle."

"Goldenport City is a beautiful city. If a large number of refugees appear in the city center, in the Starlight District, in the Bay Area, and on those beautiful docks, what do you think the Federation people will do?"

The person who asked the question couldn't help but swallow. "The Federation guys will go crazy!"

Hope nodded. "Yes, they will go crazy, and they will also want to solve this big problem of ours as soon as possible."

"Just grab a refugee from the roadside and let him solve these problems?"

"No, he can't do it. He can't even handle one person, let alone everyone."

"They can only come to me!"

"I admit that I have selfish motives and my own goals."

"I can gain more attention and contact capital or political forces to get out of this mud pit."

"But, at the same time as I get out, I can also help more refugees."

"The aid from charitable organizations these past few times is the best example. Without my publicity and activities, they would never have come here and provided tens of thousands of dollars worth of supplies to help the people here!"

"I may not be a great person, because I have selfish desires, but I believe I am a greater person than others, because I can help many people."

"Prevent them from freezing to death, prevent them from starving to death, prevent them from dying of illness, and let them at least live with dignity!"

Hope's tone was full of confidence, which was why he had been doing this all along.

As long as the Federal government contacted him, he would have successfully taken the first step.

Then he would use these gangs to firmly control the refugee population in his own hands, making them his political bargaining chips.

In this process, there would definitely be some challengers, for example, those who learned something from him and tried to become the next him, or even replace him.

Influence is only so big. If you take a little, and he takes a little, it's useless.

There would also be some people who opposed him or stopped him. These people were all blocking his way forward and had to be eliminated.

He couldn't do it himself, as that would become his stain and trouble, so he needed "fists."

Take one step and look three steps ahead. He had already seen a more glorious future!

He elaborated on some ideas that didn't involve core secrets, and many people seemed to be interested in joining his command.

Most importantly, he promised to make these people money.

But he didn't tell these people how he would get them money, just ensuring that it was real.

"Think about it, and tell me after you've thought it over. I don't have much time to give you."

"Because I don't have much time to stop either. Once I've rested enough, I'll run forward again."

"Those who don't keep up with me will only be left far behind by me, by us."

It was indeed a special gathering. Barney came out of the room. He was also among those invited because he possessed some 'resources' and quickly stood out among the ordinary gangs.

He also didn't shy away from the fact that he had gained the appreciation of the Federation people. This was a plus, not a minus.

He was a key focus for Hope. Making good use of Barney would allow him to move faster.

"That man has great ambition," his companion, who had grown up with him since childhood, commented on the way back. "We have to tell Mr. Lance."

Barney glanced at his good brother with a complex expression. "Carl, do you think he's a bad person?"

After listening, Carl shook his head. "To be honest, I was also very excited when I heard what he said. I don't think he's a purely bad person, but he can't be called a good person either."

"He's using our compatriots to realize his own ambitions."

Barney didn't refute this statement, but he asked again, "But those people really benefited from what he did."

"They got food, some pocket money, and some medicine. Some people were rescued because of it. Isn't that enough?"

Carl's expression was a little strange. "But have you ever thought about it? The work that Mr. Lance provides, the relief we give in winter, saves far more people than he does!"

Barney nodded. "I don't deny that, but I think..."

He sighed. Some words were left unsaid. Carl's gaze at him became slightly serious. "You're not planning to tell Mr. Lance about this?"

Barney was a little lost. "I don't know..."

Barney was obviously absent-minded on the way back. He kept thinking about these things. He wasn't a bad kid. Lance had helped him in the worst of times.

He had always listened to Lance and worked hard to do what Lance had told him to do.

But when faced with whether to "betray" Hope, he developed some conflicting feelings.

That wasn't a bad person. He had helped many compatriots. Barney didn't want anything to happen to him.

In the evening, he was clearly somewhat absent-minded as he lay in bed. His mother noticed his abnormality and took the initiative to come to his room.

"You seem a little off. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Barney told her what he was thinking. After listening, his mother asked, "Then why don't you talk to Mr. Lance honestly?"