Shadow Empire

Chapter 1192 Before Nightfall
The train started moving with a chug, and George's friend sat down next to him. "You seem a little off," he said.

George had no smile on his face. He had wanted to project a relaxed and less tense demeanor, and he tried to force a smile, but he couldn't manage one.

He didn't know what the outcome of this journey would be; he only knew one thing: there was a very high probability that he wouldn't be able to return.

The idea of ​​assassinating the governor... he still finds it somewhat unbelievable just thinking about it!

I, an ordinary person, am now going to assassinate the governor!

This is no fucking satirical novel!
But it actually happened, and it wasn't forced upon him; it was all voluntary.

He couldn't bear to watch his wife die in such agony. He wanted her to live longer. In his not-so-long life of over fifty years, everyone he loved and everyone who loved him had left one by one, leaving only his wife behind.

If even his wife leaves him, he won't know what else in this world is worth cherishing.

For George, life was not a beautiful journey, and there was no beautiful scenery along the way.

Dull, boring, and dark.

Life is like a train journey from dawn to night. It may experience the most glorious midday, but in the end, it will only head towards boundless darkness.

He now stands on the edge of darkness, only one step away from the destruction of his life and eternal loneliness.

He could have ended it all. He could have just gone to a normal gathering and he wouldn't have gotten into trouble. He could have gone back to his hometown and back to his wife. But what about his wife?
What will I do if she dies?
People always have various concerns and desires, but they can't have everything; they can only have some, a part.

George, sitting in the car, had no expression on his face. At this moment, he didn't even want to talk to his friend. He shook his head and turned to look out the window.

This made his friends realize that George might not be in a good mood at the moment, probably because of his wife.

His friend patted him on the shoulder and said, "Everything will be alright."

George was taken aback by these words, because they were something he often said to his wife.

Everything will be alright.

But in reality, it didn't get better; it just got worse.

He nodded slightly and said "thank you," then fell silent, his gaze fixed on the aimless wilderness outside the car window.

Meanwhile, Governor Wade, who was working in his state government office, also looked rather grim. He had warned all his family members and some of his business partners to suppress some social problems as soon as possible, even if only for a month until February.

He thought his orders were like divine commands to these people, but in reality, not only did some members of his family not listen to him, but the investors who cooperated with him also did not care about his thoughts at all.

Why should capitalists spend extra money to solve problems that they didn't originally need to solve?

That's absolutely impossible!

The fact that they didn't send police to suppress these resistance forces was already the biggest concession they could make, so the "growing pains" still exist in Indenor State.

Now, a group of people have gathered in the square outside the state government building, holding up various signs and placards.

Local media were hesitant to report on this news, given that it involved Governor Wade and the financial groups around him, but out-of-town reporters were less concerned.

They kept taking photos and interviewing the demonstrators, trying to uncover important stories from them.

All of this put Governor Wade in a somewhat passive position, as these people were scattered across various locations and could not pose any real threat to him.

But when they gathered together in the square outside the state government building, the impact on him and the state government reached its limit!

“We investigated and found that someone organized them to come together, but we haven’t found these people yet.” The state police chief stood in front of Governor Wade, slightly hunched over, like a schoolboy trying his best to explain to his teacher why he had done something stupid.

Governor Wade looked at him calmly but with immense pressure. Just that calm gaze caused a thin layer of sweat to break out on the state police chief's face, and his body felt hot.

The clothes, which were supposed to provide warmth and comfort, suddenly felt like a small sun had been hidden inside, making him sweat profusely.

The sweat began to come into full contact with the clothes, making them sticky and very uncomfortable.

He shifted his body slightly, and at that moment, Governor Wade's eyes twitched, which frightened him so much that he immediately froze, not even daring to breathe.

After a long while, the atmosphere in the room became so oppressive that it was almost impossible to breathe before Governor Wade finally said, "Send people out to investigate who these people are, find a way to find them out, and dig out the people behind these things."

"You should discover, prevent, and resolve these kinds of things in advance, instead of letting them completely erupt in front of me."

"What will the media say?"

"How will people in the state view me, and how will they view this?"

“It was originally a very small matter, but because of your negligence, it has become a big deal. I now seriously doubt whether you are capable of handling the job you are currently doing.”

"Get this sorted out before I completely lose faith in you, understand?"

The state police chief took a deep breath, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. "I know what to do, Governor."

Governor Wade nodded slightly. "Go to work now, and then close the door."

The state police chief breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had been granted a pardon, and turned to walk outside without looking back.

After the door was closed, Governor Wade's face showed an expression of annoyance.

He knows who did it, but it's useless for you to know who did it. The higher the status and the greater the social influence, the more important it is to ensure the legality of the evidence and the legality of the procedures.

This is one of the Federation's core rules of the game!

Knowing is useless; you have to find evidence. If you can't find evidence, even if everyone knows, it's still useless. After all, the federal government is a country that values ​​evidence and the law.

He took a deep breath. The Wade family's rise was too fast, and it was precisely because of this rapid rise that the "level" of the Wade family members varied.

But... there's nothing we can do about it; it all happened because of one wrong choice.

To this day, all of this seems like a dream to Governor Wade, who is being pushed forward by a mysterious force.

His deal with Sidney depleted the Wade family's resources. After all, even though the Wade family was one of the de facto controllers of Golden Harbor City, they couldn't possibly possess countless riches.

Their wealth is a much larger figure for ordinary people, or even some small capital groups, but it is still somewhat lacking in the ability to wield power on the higher political stage.

This is why he was keeping an eye on Lance's need to redistribute profits. During the gubernatorial campaign, although Lance gave them millions of federal soles in support, they still used up a large portion of their family savings.

They needed to replenish this money; his original idea was that if Lance could agree to his conditions, the Wade family's wealth would be restored.

Moreover, his demands on Lance weren't too bad; at least Lance could keep a profit of over ten percent.

It may seem like a small profit, but in reality, the profits from such illegal businesses are often several times or even ten times the initial investment. A profit of over ten percent is still an astonishing figure.

Given that Indenor consumes at least several hundred million dollars worth of alcohol annually, a profit margin of over ten percent would amount to tens of millions of dollars. Lance couldn't possibly be dissatisfied!
However, he overlooked one point: Lance wasn't solely focused on profit. The profits generated by the state of Licarle had already satisfied his pursuit of wealth. What he valued was an equal relationship, equality, and fairness.

Governor Wade's attempt to break the previously agreed-upon terms and violently acquire more wealth angered Lance, leading to a major falling out between them. Governor Wade couldn't back down first; he didn't know how things would unfold if he did, but he couldn't afford to.

In order to quickly make up for the financial hole caused by his falling out with Lance and to make his family rich again, he had no choice but to deepen cooperation with some local financial groups in the state and forcibly seize the capital from those non-local forces.

He knew this approach was very harmful, but given his current position, he had no other choice.

Now, it's not up to him to decide what to do next; it's up to the entire event to decide.

It was like a car tire, a very heavy, huge car tire, which was chained to Governor Wade.

At first, it remained motionless on the ground, and Governor Wade had to push it to make it move.

As Governor Wade kept pushing it, from walking to running, and then faster and faster, and then encountered a big downhill slope, even if he didn't push the tire, it would still be speeding forward at an even faster pace.

It's even because of the "chains" that it's linked together, it will carry Governor Wade all the way.

As for where they will eventually stop, only the tires know; even Governor Wade himself cannot choose or decide.

Just as he was considering how to resolve this troublesome situation, the phone on his desk rang again. He interrupted his thoughts and answered the phone, "This is the governor's office, this is Wade."

“It’s me, Jeffrey.”

Governor Wade paused for a moment, then said, "Hello, Jeffrey, I didn't expect you to call me. Is there something you need?"

Senator Cleveland's laughter came through the receiver. "Of course, why would I call you if there wasn't something important?"

"The real reason I'm calling you today is because of the list of candidates you submitted. I think you need to seriously consider it, don't you think?"

"The Chairman has probably contacted you these past few days, hasn't he?"

Governor Wade frowned. "He did contact me, and I've already explained it to him."

"I believe that adding two or three more Liberal Party candidates will make people more supportive and appreciative of our work!"

“Indenor State is a very ‘socialist’ region, with more than 80 percent of its voters being socialists, so it’s impossible for anything unexpected to happen in this congressional election.”

"Everything will be the same as before, they were just there to make up the numbers, but the final result will be a complete victory for the Socialist candidates."

Senator Cleveland listened patiently to what he had to say without interrupting him, and only continued when he had finished speaking, "I know what you're thinking, and I understand your thoughts."

"After all, the Federation is a just and equal country, which is what we strive for. Giving people more choices reflects our commitment to fairness and openness."

"But Wade, this is a very critical moment. The changes in the seats in Congress will determine whether we will be completely suppressed for the next four or even eight years. We cannot allow any mistakes to happen."

“I support you giving voters more choices when filling out their ballots in the next election, but this time, you have to listen to us.”

He spoke at a moderate pace, but his enunciation was clear, and he conveyed everything he wanted to say.

After listening, Governor Wade did not give an immediate reply. He knew that this was the best way to solve the current problem and to put everything on hold.

But is this pause button really that easy to press?

He has now developed a huge rift within the Socialist Party, and he can imagine that after his term ends, the Socialist Party will not give him any resources to support his continued candidacy for governor.

He doesn't have enough resources to win consecutive elections and serve as governor without the support of any political party.

By pressing the pause button, he has not only offended the Socialist Party, but also the Liberal Party. If both parties launch an attack on him together, he will have no chance at all.

It might seem like he still has a chance to change things, but in reality, he has long since run out of options.

When Sidney told him that he could use some connections to help him get the Socialist nomination for governor of Indenau, that path was already in front of him, and he didn't have much of a choice.

If a person wants to control their own destiny, they have to fight. He fought, but with a bad result, he can only continue down the current path.

Sometimes he would reflect, but reflection was actually useless, especially when you've walked into a dead end. Reflection would only lead you to crash into the final wall in pain and hesitation.

“I’ll think about it,” he gave an ambiguous answer, and Senator Cleveland knew that his call had not achieved its purpose.

But he wasn't disappointed. This was just one last effort, one attempt, one chance to give Governor Wade and the Wade family a chance to salvage the situation before it escalated!

However, it seems that Governor Wade's thirst for power has caused him to lose all respect for the Socialist Party.

A political faction that has managed to split from the Liberal Party and suppress it for so many years is not so easily crushed.

“I’m sorry, Wade,” Senator Cleveland sighed. “It seems we’ve reached an agreement on this issue.”

Governor Wade was slightly out of control at this point, and his voice rose a little, "I said I need to think about it. You can't always force me to make the decisions you want me to make!"

Senator Cleveland smiled after a brief silence. "Okay, you have plenty of time to think it over. Remember to call me when you've made up your mind."

After finishing his sentence, he hung up the phone without even waiting for Governor Wade to give him a "closing remark".

Looking at the now-silent phone in his hand, Governor Wade irritably placed it on the phone stand.

"Fuck, one by one, it's all the same! I'm not a puppet!"

He was furious. He didn't know what tricks these people had up their sleeves, but he was now prepared to face whatever came his way.

He sat there for a while, then picked up the phone and called the local Liberal Party committee chair; the call was quickly answered.

If the Liberals win a Senate seat nominated by a Socialist state, they will be able to dominate the Socialists in the Senate.

Of course, this is a rather idealized situation, but in reality, this situation does not occur very often.

Just like during the years when the Socialist Party was in power, the Liberal Party had indeed completely declined and, in theory, was the one being suppressed.

In reality, under such circumstances, with external pressure insufficient to unite the Socialist Party, it split into several political factions that began fighting amongst themselves.

Unless it's a core proposal, they'll fight amongst themselves.

In fact, the same is very likely true for the Liberal Party. Once they lose external pressure, their internal contradictions will begin to erupt.

However, on some core policies, they can still outmaneuver the Socialist Party.

They haven't yet managed to suppress the Socialist Party, so they remain united.

"I'm facing some problems right now. Do you have any suggestions on how to help me solve them?"

The local Liberal Party committee chairman was also aware of what had happened. After considering it for a moment, he said, "I will contact the higher-ups. You can also consider using extraordinary measures in this extraordinary time."

"Extraordinary methods?"

(End of this chapter)