Shadow Empire

Chapter 109 Photos and Investigation

The old man and the young boy looked at each other for a moment, and the old tailor asked softly, "Mr. Lance, what do you want this child for?"

In fact, this "child" is older than Lance, but to the old tailor, he is a child. This also shows his protective feelings towards his son-in-law.

"Garment factory, I need a manager, but I don't trust anyone else."

"Come and help me manage this garment factory, arranging work, storage, purchasing, shipping, everything. I'll give you 100 yuan a month."

The old tailor and his son-in-law both gasped. One hundred yuan a month was not a small amount in their eyes. At least it could solve their current predicament.

The two looked at each other for a while, whispered to each other for a while, and then the old tailor nodded and said, "This is your kindness. We have no reason to refuse it."

Lance shook hands with the old tailor's son-in-law. "I haven't asked your name yet."

"Ryder."

"Mr. Ryder, I hope to see you at this address tomorrow morning..." Lance wrote an address to him, then smiled and said, "Now, let's solve the problem of our clothes first."

The newly made clothes were very decent and fit well. After all, he was an old tailor who had worked for nobles. Even in the empire, this was a rare honor.

Every friend put on new clothes, and this uniform dress gave them an unprecedented sense of honor and cohesion!
Melo came over happily wearing new clothes, "Should we take a picture?"

“I think this is a moment worth remembering and savoring!”

Lance thought about it for a moment and then agreed.

Morris drove to pick up Irvin. He had to be here at this important moment.

In fact, the recovery after the operation was quite good. As long as there was no strenuous exercise, standing for a while was no big deal.

There is a special photography shop on the street. When the photographers came here, they saw these young people who were dressed a little solemnly but had smiles on their faces. The strong contrast made them realize that this would be a classic photo!

Everyone crowded together, Lance stood in the middle, and with the coordination of the photographer, everyone stood where they should stand.

"Look here, when I raise my hand, you all say cheese."

Ethan was not used to this somewhat tight outfit. He asked softly, "Why cheese? Can't ham be used?"

Erwin turned around and glared at him, "Shut up, are you the photographer, or is he?"

Ethan rolled his eyes and faced the camera. The moment the photographer raised his hand, smiles appeared on all the young faces. The sudden burning light of the spotlight illuminated everyone, as if the light of the times was shining on them!

They took several photos in a row, and they even brought a chair and let Lance sit on it, while the others stood behind him around the chair.

This time they didn't stand so solemnly, but it gave the photographer a feeling... he couldn't describe it.

Erwin leaned on Ethan, Ethan looked into the sky, and Morris looked at the camera but held a stack of cards in his hand.

Ennio made a pistol gesture with his good hand and put it against his temple. He thought it was cool...

Everyone showed their own style, and Lance took out a red handkerchief, shook it, and stuffed it into his chest pocket.

He crossed his legs, held the armrests of the chair with both hands, leaned back slightly on the chair, and stared at the camera with a look of contempt and even contempt.

The photographer standing behind the camera felt a slight tingling sensation on his scalp, but he still recorded the scene at the most appropriate time.

Occasionally someone on the roadside sees this and will be stunned for a moment, then quickly leave, but this scene will remain in their memory for a long time, and will continue to deepen over and over again.

Lance shook the photographer's hand and gave him five dollars.

"Thank you for taking the time to come over. Can we pick up the photos later?"

"I mean, I want something big, not something small that I can hold in my hand, that I can hang in a room somewhere, preferably as big as a window."

The photographer nodded repeatedly, "No problem, Mr. Lance, I guarantee this is the best photo I have ever taken. I even think it will win a big award if I mail it to the Federal Photographers Association!"

He was looking forward to it, but Lance disagreed. "It's not a certificate for anyone to use to gain honors, right?"

The photographer was a little regretful. "Yes, it's my problem." He paused and put the money in his pocket. "If you are in a hurry, I can help you develop the photos as soon as possible."

Lance took out another two dollars and handed it to him, "Then as soon as possible!"

"You are very envious." The old tailor, holding his pipe, glanced at his son-in-law through the distance between his forehead and the lenses. He could see that the expression on Reid's face looked like he wanted to join them.

Ryder did not deny it. “They gave me an indescribable feeling. I felt… this would be a legend.”

The old tailor did not agree or refuse, but only reminded him, "This may allow you to live the life you want, but it may also send you to hell."

He has lived for so long and has seen so many things, so he knows exactly what these young people are doing.

He couldn't judge whether what Lance and the others did was right or wrong. Every era has its own characteristics and ways of living. This is the Federation, not the Empire. He is an old man, not a young man. He can't see the trend and direction of society as clearly as he did when he was young. There is not much he can do, just like the stubborn reefs left behind after the tide of the times has passed.

He also knew that he couldn't restrain Reid, stop him from doing something, or make him do something. He couldn't do it. He could only use his own experience as a reference when choosing the direction of his life.

Ryder also lit a cigarette. "But we're already in hell, aren't we?"

The chair was brought back, and Lance walked over to the two of them. "Very good craftsmanship. I have something to do these days. We can talk about me funding you to open a shop in a few days."

"Considering that you may become very busy and your son-in-law is not around, I can find some Imperials to be your apprentices if you wish."

"I'll take care of all their problems, you just have to let them do the work."

The old tailor didn't think too long and agreed. "I'm old, and one day I won't be able to do it anymore. I plan to pass on my skills to Reid, but it seems that he is not very interested in it now."

He held Lance's hand, "I only have one daughter, and Ryder is like my son. I hope you can take good care of him."

Lance clapped his hands, "I'll take care of every family member!"

The old tailor left soon, and Lance called Ethan over. "You know a lot about leather shoes. Go get us some. We don't need any famous brands or leather craftsmen, but you have to make sure we dress decently. Ask Mello for the money."

Ethan's father is a leatherworker. He has been exposed to various leather products since he was a child and knows this industry better than anyone else.

Sure enough, Ethan, who remained silent most of the time, answered with a resounding "No problem" at this time.

Lance patted his arm, signaling that he could go to work.

Melo came over and stood beside him. "This all seems incredible, Lance. Everyone seems to have experienced a baptism. We have been sublimated, body, soul, and spirit!"

"All of this is caused by you!"

Lance smoothed his hair, which was actually not messy, and said, "Someone has to stand at the front and split the waves for us, Mello."

“Instead of expecting someone else to do this for us, I’ll be the one to do it!”

He paused and said, "We may have more companies in the future. I plan to split the legal and illegal ones into two parts. Please help me find a reliable person, preferably one who is clean enough."

"Of course, if you want to go there, you can, but our contact here will have to be reduced."

Mello nodded, very seriously, "I understand, I will find this person as soon as possible."

At around 2:00 p.m., a police car stopped outside the office and two officers got out.

The two men, wearing sunglasses, looked at the bustling office and walked straight in.

"Is your boss here?" one of the officers looked around and finally his eyes fell on a girl at the front desk.

He took off his sunglasses and leaned against the bar, tapping his fingers on it.

Lance had told them that if any police came asking if he was there, they were to tell them to go to his office.

The girl gave them some directions, and the two walked to the end while observing the busy work here.

At first they seemed a little nonchalant. This kind of work was a benefit to them. They were also thinking about whether they could threaten the boss here and extort some money from him.

But when they passed the last few rooms, through a half-covered door, they suddenly saw some people in formal suits, with slicked-back hair and somewhat disturbing eyes sitting inside, with some weapons and daggers on the table.

Perhaps the noise they made while walking was too loud, which attracted the attention of the people inside. The person sitting by the door stood up, walked to the door, stared at them, and gently closed the door.

The police officer's breathing became a little faster and his heartbeat began to accelerate. The police officer walking behind him even put his hand on his holster!

These people are gang members, and they are not the kind that just do small-time riots!
The two looked at each other and saw seriousness in each other's eyes, but their current job was assigned by the branch. If they could choose, they wanted to leave now!
But they couldn't do it, they could only bite the bullet and move on.

At the end of the corridor, there was a door with "Manager's Office" written on it. They looked at each other and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

There was a sound from inside, the officer took a deep breath, pushed the door open and walked in, followed by another officer.

Lance sat behind the desk and looked at the officer who came in with a smile on his face, "How can I help you?"

"Mr. Officer?"

The officer closed the door as the two men entered and stood by it while the officer went to sit in the chair across from Lance's desk.

"I'm Officer Ferran from the Port Branch. I have something I want to know from you. Do you have time now?"

Very polite, but the reason for his politeness is definitely not because he has such noble character!

(End of this chapter)