Empire of Shadows

The sound of the brush sweeping the floor reached the back hall, where the apprentice stood by the door, juggling the somewhat hot bread in his hands.

His gaze towards Lance also carried a hint of mockery, as if to say "Even if a country bumpkin flies to the sky occasionally, they will eventually fall back to the earth"—probably the kind of expression he was going for, though he himself could never articulate such a profound statement.

Lance straightened up, holding the brush, "Did you enjoy the bread from the day before yesterday?"

The room still lingered with the rich scent of cheese and ham, and the apprentice's smile, not yet fully spread on his face, vanished in an instant.

His mouth turned down bit by bit, his expression as if his pride had been shoved into his pockets. He wanted to say something, but in these confrontations over the past month, he had never won.

He was always the loser, and not willing to make a fool of himself, he had learned his lesson this time. He didn't argue with Lance and just huffed, preserving his last shred of stubbornness before walking away in silence.

The apprentice didn't continue the argument with Lance, because past lessons had taught him that whatever he did, he would be the one to suffer in the end.

The whole world seemed bad to him, and he felt hurt, especially when he could smell the thick aroma of milk and ham in the air, but all he had in his mouth was a bitter taste, like bread difficult to swallow with grit.

The feeling of being injured by the world, abandoned by the world, intensified!

Lance knew that Johnny wasn't a good person, but he needed a place that could shelter him.

He could have gone somewhere else, but dealing with Johnny seemed easier compared to the worries and precautions needed elsewhere.

In his view, Johnny was an idiot, who, aside from getting some petty advantages with his mouth, couldn't really harm him in any substantive way.

Money?

That stuff was just in the drawer, and when he decided to leave, no one could stop him from taking what was his.

The bakery was extremely busy during the three days of the weekend, and presumably because of the pizza incident, the apprentice had been staying in the back hall without coming out.

His mental state seemed to be troubled, but the fat owner did not care about this.

All he needed was a fool who could work for him without wages; he never intended to pass on his skills to this lad.

To be allowed to learn here because his not-so-young mother had taut skin and good mouth skills was favor enough.

As for learning anything, that had nothing to do with him.

After all, this was how the industry had always been: the clever ones learned something, and the fools were just fit for labor.

If it weren't for Lance, it might have been an ideal life for the fat owner.

But there were no ifs.

Harassing the fat owner from time to time, rendering him impotently furious, had become another of Lance's little pleasures.

On Monday morning, the time of the week when the customers were the scarcest, Lance shook out the newspaper the overweight owner had read and soon saw the news about the Empire.

The Emperor and his mad army had been consistently losing to the rebel army, prompting His Imperial Majesty to issue the most severe draft order in history; all Empire males over fourteen years old must go to the battlefield to defend their country.

There was even the possibility of women being conscripted, as fewer and fewer people were willing to fight for the Emperor and the Royal Family.

Even the nobles had chosen to remain neutral at this time.

Otherwise, the lowly rebel forces could not have repeatedly defeated the Royal Knights and forced the Emperor to flee from Imperial City.

Complete madness—that was the state of the Emperor at the moment.

The Federation reported this news because the ongoing war in the Empire had disrupted two trade routes, causing a persistent rise in the prices of some goods.

Furthermore, commercial traders were warning the market that the prices of such commodities were unlikely to fall back down anytime soon unless the war ended abruptly.

Below this news, they mentioned that there would be more refugees shortly, coming to the Federation to avoid the war.

The number of illegal immigrants in the last six months was far greater than in the previous few years; heated debates on whether to deport illegal immigrants were in full swing.

In Golden Port City and some other flourishing cities, due to rapid economic growth and constant job increases, the conflict between illegal immigrants and natives had not erupted.

But in some economically stagnant areas, such conflicts had already started to emerge.

The newspapers stated that three states in the Midwest had decided to step up their crackdown on illegal immigrants. The caught immigrants would be ordered to leave the Federation within a limited time, or else they would be imprisoned.

However, Lance thought such measures were of little use, as, for most illegal immigrants, prison itself was a means of "making a living."

Actually, the situation in Golden Port City had also changed somewhat; the increase in work card fees was the most apparent indication.

In the afternoon, Elvin, Ethan, Melo, and several other buddies came over.

The day's workload wasn't too heavy, and everyone had opted for a day off to gather and relax.

Lance swung open the door to greet them and embraced each person, calling them "brother."

This greeting elicited different emotional responses from these young men, with most feeling an indescribable sense of excitement. They hugged Lance back with equal fervor, patting his shoulders and back, and in turn addressed him as brother.

Passersby occasionally glanced over, but quickly moved on, as nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

The group had come together partly because Ethan wanted to thank Lance once again for his help, and also to strengthen their bonds.

After all, even though Ethan's incident was unfortunate, it had led to something positive.

It had awakened in the young men a realization that "we are a group," a feeling that was not only alluring but also comforting to their young souls in a foreign land.

Lance had taken time off work, losing one yuan in the process, but he wasn't really bothered about the money.

A group of young men walked along a road brimming with the spirit of the times; everywhere were small cars and fashionably dressed modern women.

The whole city pulsated with a strange vitality!

You could feel the city's heartbeat, sense its growth, its progress.

Since his arrival, Lance hadn't taken the opportunity to tour Golden Port City; now he enjoyed exploring with the group.

The more streets they walked, the more they saw, and a vague impression in their minds became clearer and clearer.

Lance lit a cigarette, which had cost him five cents. The tobacco quality wasn't great, and it was a bit harsh to inhale.

Ethan couldn't resist trying one himself, "Let me have a go..."

Lance handed one over, as the others couldn't help but want to try. Who had tried this back home?

They'd probably be beaten to death with a stick by their fathers!

But now that they were alone in the Federation, the shackles around their hearts were breaking, and their approach to life had become more unrestrained, more passionate.

As expected, everyone coughed after their first puff. Ethan tried to hold back his cough, but eventually couldn't help bursting into coughs with a red face.

Lance watched these playful young men with a smile, sensing a vitality peculiar to youth reviving within him.

He flicked his cigarette ash and asked, "What kind of people do you all aspire to be in the future?"

Ethan coughed and raised his hand, "I want to be a rich man, buy a big house and bring my mom over."

Lance looked at Elvin, who tilted his head in thought for a moment before replying, "I want to become a lawyer. I've heard they make a lot of money."

Some buddies started to tease him, "But you haven't been to school. To become a lawyer, you need to go to university, and you barely know how to read!"

Elvin, somewhat angry and embarrassed, turned and gave the guy a couple of punches, "Then I'll just be like Ethan, become a rich man and hire a bunch of lawyers to work for me!"

Some hoped for God to grant them a beautiful girlfriend; others hoped to win the lottery.

Melo, a little older at twenty-two, appeared much more mature than the others. While everyone was horsing around, he simply sat and laughed.

Lance turned to him, "How about you, Melo?"

Melo scratched his head, "I hope I can get legal status as soon as possible. I don't really crave money much. My family has always been very ordinary, not rich and somewhat poor."

"But that would give me peace of mind. Sometimes I feel having a lot of money isn't such a good thing."

"I'd rather create wealth and everything I need for life with my own two hands."

"Sometimes, though, people's ways make me feel breathless; right now, I just want to break free from all this, to stand tall when facing life, instead of bending over."

This sobering response changed the mood among the laughing friends; some sighed, some complained about their jobs, but regardless, it strengthened everyone's desire to be wealthier, to have a higher status.

The seeds that had just started to sprout were nourished with special fertilizer today; no one could predict what kind of fruit they would ultimately yield.

Finally, the conversation turned back to Lance, with Elvin asking him, "What about you? What kind of man do you plan to become?"

Lance took a deep drag, hissing as he exhaled, with a half-smile, "I plan to become a person useful to society!"

The young men were stunned for a moment, then someone pushed Lance over, and the play fighting resumed.

Through their roughhousing, some of their inner confusion was being eroded bit by bit, playing a deeper role in their integration into the era.

Lance felt gradually that he was no longer a mere passerby in this world; he was blending into it, becoming a true person of this era, living right here!

"Lance, do you think... can our dreams really come true?"

Lance stubbed out his cigarette and nodded vigorously, speaking with unshakeable certainty, "Absolutely!"