Shadow Empire

Chapter 1054 We Became Him

As Ross and his men left the presidential palace, someone called Lance.

Lapa was unusually quiet in the morning, and there were hardly any people on the streets.

Lapa had just experienced a purge by fleeing soldiers, and almost every household was licking their wounds at home.

In the slums that were not attacked by these fleeing soldiers, people mostly stayed at home or on the street in front of their homes.

The complete shutdown of the city center has resulted in a large portion of the slum dwellers, who rely entirely on the city center for employment, losing their jobs.

Diego certainly had many problems, but in Zhuolan, the people living there didn't feel much about his brutality or anything like that.

The dictator's sword will not fall on the slum dwellers; the only thing they can feel is that the city is becoming more and more prosperous because of Diego and the Rapa government.

The bustling city provided them with more job opportunities, enabling them to support their families.

Although the jobs they get are not respectable, and are neither safe nor healthy, at least they can support their families.

Now that all of that is gone, they will soon face the same problem they faced before.

Without income, they can't afford food and can't support their families.

So from these people's perspectives, whether it's Diego or the newcomer Pedro, they are essentially no different.

Ross led his men quickly toward the new federal center. Along the way, he noticed ordinary people from the bottom of society hiding in alleys or behind buildings, staring at them with unfriendly eyes.

If it were just one or two people, he might not have cared too much, but the fact that almost all the eyes were on him gave him an indescribable chill.

He could sense that he, and they, were surrounded by this malice.

He didn't quite understand why, instead of being grateful, these people looked at him with such hostility and even hatred, when he had clearly liberated them and rescued them from Diego's brutal dictatorship.

Even during the public trial, from beginning to end, these people did not bring any deeper emotions into the trial, as if Diego's death was as ridiculous as bad news to them.

These despicable wretches!
The thought popped into Ross's head, then he dismissed it.

Rather than figuring out why these lowly people don't accept them, what he needs to do now is to capture Lance and take him back.

Their group was stopped when they entered the new federal center.

"I'm sorry, we haven't received any permission to proceed."

"If you want to get in here, either show your pass, your resident card, or you can call any official in charge of this."

A man carrying a rifle blocked the way, and thick barricades wrapped with barbed wire were placed in the path.

These people, dressed in long overcoats and bearing obvious markings, did not show the unease that ordinary people would feel when facing anti-government militants, and Ross disliked this.

He had become accustomed to the expressions of awe and even fear on people's faces when they saw him and the soldiers behind him. Only in this way could he concretely feel the manifestation of power around him.

After watching the soldier and the man blocking his way exchange a few words, he pushed through the crowd and walked to the front. "I am General Ross, and I am going to see Lance."

When he said that, the person who was stopping him couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Laughter seemed contagious, making everyone around him laugh, and some people laughed loudly and unrestrainedly, completely disregarding his dignity.

This was unbearable for Ross, who was very concerned about his image these days, and he put his hand on his holster.

The big man standing in front of him curled his lip, revealing an expression that said, "If you can't handle it, don't play." "I shouldn't have laughed at you, Ross... General."

He couldn't help but laugh again, and the instant Ross opened his holster, everyone raised their weapons and pointed them at him.

At the same time, three armored vehicles drove out of the alleyway and blocked the road.

The machine guns above were also aimed at them.

Seeing this, Ross slowly removed his hand from his holster, while the man in front of him wore a condescending and mocking expression. "Either get out of here, General Ross!"

"Or, we'll throw you into the river next door."

Ross's face was no longer just red, it was now white, he was furious.

He pointed at the person, then slowly took two steps back before turning around, which made everyone burst into even louder laughter.

After walking some distance from the entrance to the new federal center, an officer beside him asked, "Are we just going to leave it at that?"

Ross shook his head. "Of course not, go and get two cannons over here."

The officer next to him was stunned for a moment, but then a somewhat manic look appeared on his face. He immediately stood at attention and said, "I'll go right away."

Lance learned that Ross had transferred two cannons from the armory before the cannons even left the armory.

Whether it's Diego's government or this seemingly powerful insurgent army preparing to establish a new government, there is essentially no difference between them.

They are all composed of three groups of people.

A group of idealists, like Pedro, want to mold the world into the shape they desire according to their own preferences.

As for his understanding and perception of the world, whether it is wrong or reasonable, he doesn't care.

What he cares about is whether this place will become the paradise he imagines.

The second group consisted of ambitious individuals, such as Ross. These people took advantage of the famine to successfully rise up in rebellion and conquer Zoran, soon becoming the only legitimate government there.

They are the greatest enemies of idealists; they have a clearer understanding, a more obvious and intense purpose, and are more unscrupulous in their methods.

In pursuit of goals and ambitions, they may temporarily abandon certain things, including morality and bottom lines.

They are also the most dangerous part of this group.

The third group consists of speculators.

Speculators are everywhere, whether in Detland's financial markets, in all sectors of the Federation, or in this officially recognized rebellion, which they themselves consider to be the liberating army of the people.

Speculators are numerous. Their purpose in speculating is to profit. In the early stages of the uprising, they supported the rebellion and Pedro's march on Zoran, and have now reaped substantial profits.

In Pedro's plan, these people would become the backbone of the new government, while some would be contracted to various government projects.

After all, many cities were destroyed and need to be demolished and rebuilt. Such a huge project naturally means huge profits.

If these people were betting on the rebels not for official positions, then it must have been for money.

They also have no bottom line. As long as their interests are guaranteed, or they can break even in a downturn, they can completely abandon their bottom line and morality.

These three types of people constitute the rebel army: idealists and ambitious individuals make up the majority, while opportunists also constitute a significant number.

When they arrived in Zhuolan and took over the area, and everything seemed to be going well, these speculators may have already sensed that something was amiss.

Some of these individuals secretly reached an agreement with the Lance Group.

They don't even need to do anything proactively. They might just make a phone call, or contact someone through their own means, give them a look, or a hint, and a deal is done.

This is the situation for any force when facing risks: some want to persevere, some want to run away, but others want to turn their original disadvantages into advantages.

Pedro learned of Ross's actions immediately. When he heard that Ross had been stopped outside the concession and severely humiliated by Lance's soldiers, he was shocked.

Pedro did not interfere with his unauthorized use of artillery. Sometimes he believed that one should not always be accommodating to the Federation people, including "invaders" like Lance, and that it was sometimes necessary to show a tough stance.

If you don't take a hard line, they won't learn to respect you, just like they did with Diego's government.

If Pedro and his group continue to back down, eventually the Diego that keeps popping into his mind will merge with him, and he will become the next Diego.

But soon the phone on his desk rang, and he answered it. It was Lance calling.

“You’ve made a very stupid decision. Now you have ten minutes to turn this around.”

"Ten minutes later, the navy will bombard the presidential palace."

Before Pedro could fully process and analyze the information, Lance hung up the phone.

He pressed the spring several times, but there was no response.

"Fake!"

Pedro, who was usually able to calm down quickly, was now losing his composure. He dared not bet on whether this was a "threat" or a "warning." If the Federation Navy bombarded the Presidential Palace, the impact on them would be enormous!

They were about to fight the armies of those princely states. If news of the bombardment of Zhuolan spread, the morale at the front would plummet instantly, and there was even a possibility of a large-scale rout!
Like Diego's troops, he still had some fighting power in the end, but the soldiers and officers had completely lost their morale and courage, and only cared about running away, which led to the collapse of the entire line.

Having just experienced it, how could he not understand the horror of this situation?
Moreover, he dared not gamble.

Judging from the current situation in Lapa, Lance, the federal government, including the leaders of the princely states, and the ministers who have sided with Lance, do not regard Pedro and his men as any kind of rebels.

These people still refer to them as "rebels" or "anti-government forces," which means that Pedro and his men, who shelled the presidential palace, do not have to bear any diplomatic responsibility.

Pedro could even imagine that when the shelling ended, the ministers of those princely states would say that it was their own request, not an unauthorized action by the federal navy.

The invisible constraints around him increased after entering the presidential palace, and he gradually began to understand Diego.

I understand the suffocating feeling he had in his final moments here, in the presidential palace.

This place was supposed to be a symbol of the pinnacle of power for the Lavila family, but it ultimately became his prison, making it impossible for him to breathe!

He hung up the phone and quickly picked it up again, "Go to the entrance of the concession, stop Ross, and bring him back..."

"If he refuses, why don't you fucking use the weapon you have?"

"In my capacity as Commander-in-Chief, I demand that you bring him and his men back, immediately!"

Pedro slammed the phone down. He couldn't sit still any longer. He paced back and forth a few steps, looking towards the port.

This place is one of the highest points in Zhuolan, where you can see several warships docked outside the harbor. He found a telescope and saw their gun barrels slowly moving towards him.

When he saw those dark, gaping cannon barrels, a feeling of unease instantly rose within him, forcing him to put down his binoculars and no longer dare to look.

It took him a while to calm down. He couldn't stay here any longer, but he couldn't go out either.

As the current commander-in-chief, his every word and action is closely watched.

Even though it was winter and the temperature was only around ten degrees Celsius, he was sweating profusely.

He paced back and forth, cursing Ross, Diego, and Lance.

About eight or nine minutes later, he was so nervous that he clenched his fists when the phone on the table suddenly rang. He rushed over and answered the phone; it was Lance's voice.

"Don't do anything stupid again. This is the last time."

The call was disconnected after just one sentence, as usual. Pedro wiped the sweat from his face and let out a heavy sigh of relief.

He slumped into his chair, completely devoid of the excitement he felt a few days ago when he had captured Zhuolan and was about to establish the Lapa People's Government.

Only deep exhaustion!
Ten minutes later, Ross stormed in, slamming his fist on the table. "Why did you have someone stop me?"

Have you also become timid and withdrawn?

Pedro looked at Ross with a complicated expression. "After you mobilized the artillery, Lance called me and said that if they couldn't stop you within ten minutes, their warships would bombard Zoran."

Upon hearing this, Ross, who had been filled with anger, fell silent. He leaned on the table and slowly sat down opposite Pedro, his face showing some confusion and bewilderment.

"Is there... really no other way?"

Pedro shook his head. "I've been wondering if Diego, in his final days, was facing the same terrible situation we are in now."

"We want to leave but can't, we want to stay but can't, we can only be like puppets, being pushed forward to a place we don't want to go."

(End of this chapter)