Shadow Empire

Chapter 1002 Anxiety, Troublemaking, and Whether It's Shameless or Not
Ambassador Kassia sat in his office chair.

The chair back is very soft, and it uses some new federal materials that are said to resemble a certain animal. Ambassador Cassia is not an expert on how it was made.

However, he knew that these chairs were very comfortable to sit in.

The filling material in the seat cushion and backrest is not the stiff cotton of the past. It will be a good experience at first, but it will become stiff after a while.

The current filling material ensures that these soft areas remain highly resilient and soft, making them very comfortable.

Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating him, while the room's heating kept out the cold. Steam still rose from the coffee on the table.

On a pastry plate placed next to the coffee tray, seven or eight kinds of pastries were arranged together.

Next to it were some documents. Diego had clearly not completely backed down yet. He asked Ambassador Cassia to find a way to contact the federal government directly to see if there were any other ways to "negotiate".

An ordinary day.

Ambassador Kassia has recently been somewhat anxious, mainly because the domestic situation is changing too rapidly.

One moment the anti-government forces are "approaching Zoran and posing a huge threat to the Lapa government," and the next moment it's "the government forces have successfully thwarted the anti-government forces' plot and are advancing again." The ferocity of the war is no less than that of the war currently raging on the continent of Tanfet.

Perhaps those people in China don't know where Lapa will ultimately end up, but he can already foresee it.

The Commonwealth people rarely discuss the situation in Lapa, as if they really don't care about Lapa.

However, he knew that Lapa's fate was already sealed. The moment some people, those ambitious individuals, placed it as a bargaining chip on the world's giant gambling table, its fate was already predetermined.

The problem that made Ambassador Kassia feel anxious stemmed precisely from this.

Once Lapawan is annexed by the Federation, his position as ambassador will become worthless.

The best place for a worthless person is a garbage dump.

He didn't have this view until he came to the Federation.

There are many such cases in the federal government.

A valuable person will be valued and given important responsibilities by the company; they can become a member of the management team, a partner, or even a shareholder.

However, when he can no longer bring profits to the company and has no value of his own, he will be immediately kicked out and left to live among the homeless.

The reality of being a federal citizen instilled a sense of fear in him. What could he do if he lost his status as a "diplomatic ambassador"?
He picked up his coffee and took a sip. At over thirty dollars a pound, even the most discerning person would find it hard to find anything wrong with the coffee.

Will he still be able to treat it as a part of his life as he does now, instead of something like a luxury?
How will he support his family's huge expenses after losing his income?

How can he earn money to ensure that their quality of life does not change?
He is now feeling anxious about these things, and as things unfold, he feels that Lapa's "end" is not far away.

Perhaps he should talk to Lance; maybe Lance can give him some advice.

Just as he was worrying about the unseen future, some noise came from outside, coming from the bar.

According to Lance's design, a large portion of the entire embassy was given to the bar, so the bar itself was also part of the embassy's operations.

Just like some embassies have special shops that sell local specialties or promote their culture and customs.

It seems quite normal that a bar has been opened inside the Rapa embassy.

Many embassies now have bars.

This practice effectively circumvented Prohibition and actually made money.

However, not many embassies can be persuaded to open a bar inside their premises, and the Lapa Embassy is one of them.

He never cared about the bar's operations; those things were none of his concern.

Sometimes there are troublemakers at the bar. After all, bars are places where business is inseparable from these kinds of things. There will always be some people who overestimate their alcohol tolerance and underestimate their unreasonable behavior.

Ambassador Cassia put down his coffee, walked to the window, and tried to look as far as he could to the other side.

He was too embarrassed to open the window and stick his head out to look; that would be a bit too... inappropriate, after all, he was a diplomatic ambassador, not an ordinary person who wanted to watch the spectacle.

Although watching a spectacle is human nature, it was also his nature.

He wasn't worried that these people would cause any big trouble. This was New Gold City, and the police would arrive very quickly. Besides, the bar belonged to Lance, and there were many thugs inside.

In the past, everyone who came to cause trouble would end up getting a severe beating and being thrown onto the street outside, and this time will probably be no exception.

Inside the bar, more than a dozen troublemakers were pinned to the ground, and the entire bar was in chaos.

After drinking too much, these people suddenly started attacking those around them and began smashing bar equipment with things around them, such as chairs, stools, or other objects.

In a very short time, the bar was completely thrown into chaos.

The bar manager immediately ordered the thugs to take action, but there were too many troublemakers, and soon some of the customers escaped.

The rest gathered on the edge, seemingly watching the spectacle.

The federal people love to watch the show; after all, it's not them who suffers the loss, so why wouldn't they like to watch the show?

After more than ten minutes of control, all of these people were pinned to the ground.

After Lance had Madol beat up Peggy, he increased the bar's security by more than one level.

This is a special situation. Congress had warned them beforehand that they should not fight each other before the war was over, so he was not worried that the Perez family would risk offending Congress by fighting him.

At the same time, he was not worried about the Perez family going south to Licale to cause him trouble. If they did, Lance would only thank them for their foolishness.

So after thinking it over, if these people wanted to take revenge on him, the only way they could find it in New Gold City was through the bar in the embassy.

Lance deployed more security personnel and quickly brought the situation under control.

But what he didn't expect was that these people weren't primarily focused on vandalizing the bar.

What Lance found most offensive was their indiscriminate attacks on the guests around them.

The fact that the guest was injured and frightened means he might not come back next time, which shows that the person who made this decision still has some sense.

Fortunately, the situation is under control now. The manager was panting heavily; he had also joined the fight earlier.

He looked around at the messy bar and felt a surge of anger, so much so that he wanted to kill all these people.

But before that, he had to tell Lance.

Lance has his own fixed address in New Gold City. It took two phone transfers to finally find Lance who was out.

"What happened?" The moment Lance's gentle voice came through the receiver, the manager felt a sense of relief.

After organizing his thoughts, he said, "The Perez family came to the bar and caused trouble. They attacked our customers indiscriminately and vandalized our bar."

Lance was also surprised by their choice when he heard the manager's description: "Indiscriminately attacking our guests?"

"How are those guests now? Were they injured?"

The manager was somewhat annoyed. "Yes, many people were injured, and several were seriously injured. I have already had them sent to the hospital."

“We’ll cover all the medical expenses. Tell them they don’t need to worry about the treatment costs; we’ll give them an explanation.”

"What about those people?"

"Have they been caught?"

Manager: "Yes, they've been apprehended and are still in the bar."

"Great, I'll be there shortly."

Lance hung up the phone, apologized to his friends who were chatting, and prepared to leave.

He was chatting with several Imperial immigrant merchants from Jinzhou. Lance now enjoys high prestige among the Imperials, even in New Jin City.

These imperial merchants invited Lance in order to cultivate a relationship with him, as they might need his help in the future.

It's definitely better to maintain a good relationship with Lance when you're not in a bad situation than to ask for his help when you really need it.

Lance also treated these imperial merchants well, seeing them as figures of influence.

These imperial merchants were having a lively conversation with Lance about investing in the Lapa and Alan regions, and Lance was very supportive of their plan.

There are significant incentives in federal policies now, such as tax rebates and subsidies. Selling the same item for one dollar in the federal market might only yield a small profit.

However, selling it in the Asia region at a price of 80 points actually generates a slightly higher profit than selling it in the Federation mainland, so many people are now considering doing business in Asia.

However, things are a bit chaotic in Alan right now. These people can't seem to make a decision. It's a good opportunity to talk to Lance and hear his opinion.

Lance definitely wants them to go there, as this would not only revitalize the market but also make the area more "federalized," which would greatly help promote public acceptance of the federation.

However, he had more important matters to attend to and needed to leave for a while. Naturally, the other merchants asked him if he needed any help, but Lance refused.

After wasting another two minutes here, Lance finally got into his car and left.

New Gold City was very congested. With the Lunar New Year approaching, the flow of people and vehicles was many times higher than usual. It took Lance's car twenty minutes to finally enter the parking lot of the Lapa Embassy.

When he entered the bar, the people were already lined up against the wall.

The Lance family and some of the bar staff were still cleaning up; there was broken glass everywhere, and the floor was wet, especially near the bar, which smelled strongly of alcohol.

Upon seeing Lance arrive, people temporarily stopped what they were doing, and even some of those who hadn't left became interested.

They were waiting for Lance's arrival to see how he would deal with these people.

Lance had the onlookers asked to leave; what was about to happen was not something they could continue to watch.

Some people were reluctant, but after seeing those people take out weapons, they agreed.

The bar door was simply closed, and that single act of closing the door made those who had been arrested inside feel a heavy sense of pressure.

The door to the world of light was shut shut, and the entire bar was shrouded in shadow.

Lance dragged a chair over and sat down in front of them, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his lap. "Can you tell me who sent you here?"

"And who gave you permission to attack the customers in my bar?"

These people looked at each other, but no one said a word.

The Perez family's status as one of the five great families of the Federation is definitely not due to their brilliance.

It is a consensus within the Perez family that those who betray the family cannot survive.

Like Lance, they have deep connections and extensive ties to the Senate and the House of Representatives, which means they can easily extend their reach into detention centers or prisons.

It's not that no one has ever betrayed the Perez family, but rather that those who betrayed them have ultimately become a thing of the past.

Fran dislikes traitors, as did the previous head of the family; the fate of traitors is often worse than death.

This predictable outcome led those captured to refuse to answer Lance's questions.

Lance smiled. "I like people with a strong will."

He lowered his raised leg, placed his hands on his knees, leaned forward slightly, and used his strength to stand up.

He walked to the pile of trash that was about to be disposed of, picked up a stick, about the thickness of a child's arm, and a table leg that had fallen down because the table was broken and crooked.

The table leg felt very comfortable in his hand, and he walked up to the first person, a young man in his mid-twenties who seemed a little nervous.

“Are you their leader?” Lance asked.

He didn't want to guess one by one, so the best way was to ask directly.

The young man suddenly spat on Lance's collar. Lance looked down and saw that it was either thick phlegm or a breakthrough, white and composed of many bubbles, which was constantly flowing down his collar.

He then looked up at the young man and said expressionlessly, "You've dirtied my clothes, and you still haven't answered my question."

The young man took a deep breath and turned his head away from Lance, as if he were expressing his opinion in this way.

Lance found it amusing. Instead of attacking immediately, he asked with a hint of curiosity, "Your last name is Perez?"

The young man glanced at him, then looked away.

Lance looked at the man beside him. "His last name is Perez?"

The other young man he was questioning paused for a moment, but quickly shook his head subconsciously.

Lance's gaze returned to the first guy who had spat at him. "You're not a member of the Perez family, so why are you doing things you shouldn't be doing?"

Before the young man could answer, he suddenly raised the table leg in his hand and slammed it hard on his head.

In an instant, the young man who had just been so determined to never bow his head or compromise collapsed to the ground, his limbs stiffening and beginning to convulse.

His brain was hit hard, and his body began to produce a self-protective and instinctive response, but this was not an accident, and its response was meaningless.

Lance spread his legs slightly and kept swinging the table leg in his hand. The sound of the whipping changed from the "thump" of wood and bone colliding to the "slap" of a wet towel being whipped.

Everyone stared in horror at Lance, whose body was constantly splattered with blood, and at the young man who trembled with each blow to the table leg. In an instant, immense pressure descended upon them.

After being hit several times, with blood splattered all over his coat, Lance finally breathed a sigh of relief and stood up straight again.

He placed the table leg on the bar next to him, then took out a slightly yellowed silver cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.

He squinted slightly, smoke swirling around him, and no one dared to look him in the eye.

He waved his hand. "Take care of it."

A young man from the Lance family came out, walked over to the other young man, felt his carotid artery, then grabbed one of his legs and headed towards the kitchen.

They have a way to dispose of the body over there.

For gangs, especially established ones, corpses are actually the easiest thing to dispose of.

Lance looked at the second person. "Who is your leader? Is he here?"

Perhaps because a friend had died so simply in front of him, the second young man was trembling all over.

He found it hard to stop himself from looking at one of the people, and the person he was looking at changed drastically, even cursing out, "Fuck..."

Lance patted the cheek of the second trembling young man and said with a smile, "Goodbao."

He was clearly smiling, but to the young man, it was the smile of a devil.

He couldn't hold it in any longer and peed a little. It was fucking terrifying!

The Perez family has a long-standing reputation, and few people would take such initiative to deal with them, especially in New Gold City.

These people are nominally a gang, but in reality they are far worse than those "country gangs" in their eyes!

When Lance approached their leader, the latter was already sweating profusely with nervousness. He looked at Lance with fear, yet tried to force himself not to be afraid.

Lance looked him up and down. "Is your last name Perez?"

After a few seconds of silence, the leader suddenly spoke up when he saw Lance reach for the table leg, “No, my surname is not Perez.”

Lance walked over from the bar, carrying a table leg in his right hand and a cigarette in his left. As he walked, he asked, "You're not named Perez, yet you work so hard. Don't you think you're despicable?"

(End of this chapter)