Empire of Shadows

Alberto crossed his legs and lit a cigarette. He bowed his head, and when the first puff of smoke was sucked into his lungs because of the lit cigarette butt, he threw back his head and exhaled.

"So..."

Lance continued where he left off, "So I plan to find some locals with legal status, vagrants or whatever, give them a few dollars, have them dine at Mr. Anderson's restaurant."

"Then, I will also find reporters to promote them, for example...the most popular restaurant among the commoners or vagrants?"

After listening, Alberto was stunned for a while but then nodded in agreement, "Your idea is excellent, Lance."

"No one likes to dine in the same restaurant with a bunch of smelly vagrants. It won't be long before his restaurant gains a bad reputation."

He happily tapped on the table, "How about using our people?"

Lance did not agree, "Mr. Kodi, it's not that I don't want to find something for them to do, but I believe Mr. Anderson will definitely call the police. If we use our own people, there might be some trouble."

Alberto thought seriously for a moment, his face breaking into a smile, "You're absolutely right, Lance. That's what I admire most about you."

"You're much more mature than you appear!"

Saying this, he pulled open a drawer, counted out two hundred dollars, placed it on the table, pushed it over, along with a business card, "I'm not in the habit of having others spend their own money to work for me. This is your new budget."

"Also, the guy on this card has some dealings with us, you can try contacting him."

"My only requirement is to make him extremely angry, yet completely powerless. I want him to call me, begging!"

Lance glanced at the money on the table and smiled, indicating, "You will see him furious yet cautious, Mr. Kodi..."

The next morning, Lance appeared at Saint Naye Cathedral. There were quite a few people on the lawn outside the church. If you added those inside, there were at least four or five hundred.

Four or five hundred people might be a considerable gap from the "thirty thousand" Mr. Burton spoke of, but these four or five hundred represented at least two hundred families. Radiating out from these two hundred families could be a thousand families, already making up a quarter, perhaps even a fifth, of the legal immigrants.

So although the number was small, its influence was not insignificant. And those who could attend such a gathering were mostly the ones who were doing well.

Burton also saw Lance, and originally he didn't plan to talk to Lance, as he disliked these gang members. But when he saw Lance arrive by car, he changed his mind somewhat.

He took the initiative and walked over, greeting Lance with a warmth just louder than the others, "Lance, is your car parked well?"

Lance, who was just about to find a way to break the ice, looked back, puzzled; his car was parked neatly in its spot without any issues.

But soon he caught on and responded with an equally warm greeting, "Uncle Burton, I've made sure it's locked."

Mr. Burton was satisfied with Lance's response, and immediately someone leaned in toward him, "Burton, why not introduce us to this young... where are you from?"

"Balman State!" Lance took the initiative to walk over and shook hands with the man about fifty years old standing next to Burton.

Mr. Burton quickly got it, "This is Lance, a young man who has just come to the Federation, currently with a very flexible job."

He then introduced the man next to him to Lance, "This is Mr. Jiobaf, known as the pride of the Imperial people in Golden Port City!"

"If you have extra money that you want to keep safe, and desire a higher interest rate than what Federation Bank offers, Mr. Jiobaf is your best choice!"

"Over forty percent of the Imperial people deposit their money with him!"

Hearing Mr. Burton's introduction, Lance reached out with both hands and warmly shook Mr. Jiobaf's extended hand, shaking it a few times, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Jiobaf. Are you a banker?"

Mr. Jiobaf laughed heartily, taking back a cigar from someone's hand, took a draw, and exhaled slowly, "Banker is a bit of a stretch. I'm just trying to do what I can for our compatriots."

"At my place, you don't need an Immigration Certificate from the Federation, nor any residence permit or work card. As long as you're Imperial people, you can keep your money with me."

He glanced subtly at the sedan in the church parking lot and quickly made a judgment.

The car was old and probably worth around four or five hundred at a second-hand dealer. But to have a car upon arriving here and wearing clothes that cost around fifteen dollars a set meant he was a young man with potential.

And who wouldn't want to expand their connections with a young man with potential?

After chatting with each other for a bit longer, Mr. Jiobaf took the initiative to step out of the circle, "I can see that others also want to meet our new friend, so I won't take up more of your time."

He shook hands with Lance again before leaving, and sure enough, soon new friends came over to greet him, getting to know Lance through Uncle Burton.

In the Empire, they might not actively seek to know someone just because they were richer.

But having survived in the Federation for such a long time, for these Imperial immigrants still at the bottom of society, they were eager to find a ladder to climb up and escape their lower-status predicament.