Empire of Shadows

《Alcohol Prohibition, Day Three: Work Efficiency Increases by 200%!》

Today's *Goldport Gazette* featured a sensational headline. Given the public's trust in newspapers during this era, they chose to believe the outlandish claims, trusting that the paper wouldn't lie, no matter how absurd it sounded.

The reporter interviewed several workers with a history of heavy drinking, who stated that before Prohibition, they could buy large quantities of cheap alcohol.

Alcohol had robbed them of their ability to work. One even claimed to have lost two fingers due to being drunk on the job.

But since Prohibition began, they had resolutely obeyed the city and state government's decision, refusing to buy or consume any alcoholic beverages, and now they felt great.

They could climb six flights of stairs in one go, punch a bull to death, and no longer felt drowsy at work or had their minds constantly occupied with thoughts of alcohol.

Even on the assembly line, they had the strength to continue working after eleven hours. If the capitalists weren't concerned about their health and prevented them from working overtime, they would work sixteen hours a day before resting!

Their lives had been changed and improved by Prohibition, and they sincerely, from the bottom of their hearts, thanked the implementation of Prohibition...

This is politics.

Whether it's absurd or not doesn't matter. What matters is that the people who made the decision see that the policy is being thoroughly implemented and receiving positive feedback.

Lance saw this report while eating breakfast, and it could even be said that the entire political section of the *Goldport Gazette* was filled with positive feedback since the implementation of Prohibition.

But he scoffed at it, because this is politics.

What it presents isn't necessarily the truth; it only needs to be believed.

Whether by the lower or upper classes.

The gentlemen in Congress would wave this newspaper and loudly yell at their political enemies who didn't support Prohibition, "Open your dog eyes and look! Prohibition has won another new victory!"

"The decline in productivity and violent crime caused by alcoholism will soon be eliminated from the Federation. This is a great victory for humanity!"

But for the common people, it's business as usual.

On the way to the company, Lance had already seen more than one protest. Many drunks were holding signs that read "Alcohol is innocent!" and loudly protesting Goldport's city-wide alcohol ban.

Many bar workers also participated in the march.

Think about it, how can those drunks who used to drink and watch dancers slowly take off their clothes do that now?

Drink red tea or juice?

Or maybe milk?

Without the stimulation of alcohol, they wouldn't throw money on the stage like fools just to get a closer look or touch the smelly seafood.

Strippers' incomes have dropped significantly, drunks have lost their entertainment, and bar workers have lost their income, so they can only protest.

Perhaps this is why, even though the Federation is under Prohibition, alcohol sales in the states that have already banned alcohol have skyrocketed.

People don't necessarily drink because they want to drink; they drink to protest the federal government's impulsive policy-making.

They're not drinking alcohol; they're drinking a form of questioning, a spirit!

Lance first went to the financial consulting company. The situation there was very stable, with monthly interest income of over ten thousand dollars, maintaining a slow growth trend.

On the other hand, the labor dispatch agency was entering a period of explosive growth, with monthly income already exceeding seven thousand dollars.

Because word-of-mouth was spreading, more and more people who didn't want to work but still wanted to get paid chose Wanli.

They only needed to sign an authorization contract, hand over their work cards to Wanli for use, and they could receive a minimum of about thirty-two dollars per month.

They didn't need to worry about contact with illegal immigrants; the labor dispatch agency took care of everything. They only needed to wait to receive money each month.

In the morning, Lance had a meeting with George, the reporter from the *Goldport Gazette*.

George was very punctual. He had an indescribable feeling towards Lance, similar to admiration. In his eyes, everything Lance did was like a miracle!

After a brief greeting, Lance welcomed him into his office in the firm and ordered two iced coffees from the side.

"It's very lively here. I'm glad you chose a promising industry!" George first offered his congratulations, then asked about the purpose of Lance's invitation, "So, you want me to publish an advertisement for you?"

The *Goldport Gazette* was definitely a major media outlet in the state. Although it was only a local newspaper, it had sales points and a fixed readership throughout the state.

For people in remote or backward small cities and towns, they were more interested in knowing what was happening in Goldport than in their own boring lives.

Even many other regional media outlets would buy news from them to publish.

This was the only reason he could think of why he might appear here.

But Lance shook his head, "Have you considered doing a feature?"

George asked while drinking the iced coffee, "About what?" Whether it was the iciness of the coffee or something else, he suddenly became a little interested.

"About the difficult lives of illegal immigrants in the Federation," Lance looked at him, "The vote is next month, and we all know the President will definitely be re-elected..."

George shook his head and complained, "This is the shittiest part of the Federation. Whether the President is re-elected or not can be used as a deal, and we know the result even before the vote. Capital controls everything!"

"And then?" he asked.

"The President promised to solve the problem of illegal immigrants, even if it's step by step. Perhaps we can focus on the issue of illegal immigrants before the President's office shifts its attention from other matters to the illegal immigrant community."

"The President's office will thank you then, illegal immigrants and immigrant communities will appreciate you, everyone will."

George's heart skipped a beat after hearing this. Everyone wanted to win the Federation's highest journalism award, the "Golden Newspaper Award," the highest honor that all media professionals aspired to!

But this award was very difficult to win. To get it, you had to report on a pain point, something that people wanted to avoid but couldn't, and at the same time, you had to analyze it more deeply and then seek a way to salvation.

Illegal immigrants were indeed a good entry point. As more and more illegal immigrants arrived, they gradually transformed from a small nuisance into an undeniable force, a marginal force, that began to affect people's lives.

George took out his notebook and pen, "I'm interested. Do you want to co-sign?"

"Yes."

He wrote a few strokes, "Then where do we start?"

Lance tapped his fingers on the table, "Start here."

George immediately realized, "You're actually advertising for yourself!"

He said with a smile, "But this kind of advertisement won't be annoying. I even thought for a moment that I should give you some money so I can justifiably put my name before yours."

He paused, "So when do we start working?"

"Let me first talk about my ideas." Before he started working, Lance first wanted to set a tone for this report, even a series of reports.

George knew Lance's "skill" and immediately began preparing to take notes.

"We can start with my labor dispatch agency. It specifically provides job opportunities for illegal immigrants who need work. We will rent work cards to those people."

"Then their work income is divided into three parts: the work card holder gets the majority, we get one dollar, and they get a small portion."

"Start with whether our work is legal and reasonable, then delve into the contradictions and competition between local workers and immigrant workers, and find the core issues."

"Then report on the current terrible situation of illegal immigrants. I will find some typical examples for you, the kind that all national readers will love to read."

"We need to shape whether illegal immigrants can find work into a moral issue for the Federation."

"We cannot sit idly by and watch them starve to death, die of illness, just because they don't have legal status, and even push them to accelerate their deaths in the civilized world!"

"The more civilized we are, the more humane we should be. Even if we don't like them, we must give them the most basic right to survival."

"How to guarantee the rights of local workers, whether illegal immigrants have the right to survive, who will pay attention to their health and survival issues, as well as conflicts and contradictions."

George recorded in detail, adding some of his own ideas. He began to feel excited. This would definitely be a huge news story!

"If I win the Golden Newspaper Award, I will have them engrave your name on the base," George said very seriously, "You have half of it here."

"I thought you would say give it to me." George laughed loudly after hearing this, "Don't even think about it!"

"Even if you want to have dinner with my wife, I can tolerate it, but the Golden Newspaper Award is absolutely impossible!"

Lance called Elvin, and he came over soon, "Take Mr. George around and let everyone cooperate with him. Also, find some typical examples among illegal immigrants, both those who cooperate with us and those who don't."

Elvin was very clever and could understand Lance's meaning, which was to find some miserable ones. There were plenty of such people among illegal immigrants.

If it weren't for Lance, they would be in dire straits right now.

That afternoon, Gold Harbor City had another rain shower. After the rain, the bleakness and coolness of autumn were finally more clearly felt. The old tailor happened to bring Lance's new clothes, which Lance was very much looking forward to.

Of course, the old tailor lived up to his expectations. Completely handmade, on the inside of the left collar, there were the letters "G.J." crocheted with thread of the same color, which was the old tailor's unique mark.

Well-fitting and comfortable, unlike ready-made clothes that are either a little too big or a little too small, you can never buy one that fits just right.

The others who saw it almost drooled with envy, but there was nothing they could do. Purely handmade work is slow. There are only the old tailor, his daughter, and his son-in-law. It was already the result of working overtime for several days to make two suits and a windbreaker for Lance.

If others want to have it made so quickly, I am afraid they will have to wait for some time.