Shadow Empire

Chapter 136: Understanding and Ignorance
In the hospital, a man was lying on the bed, and beside the bed were a woman and two children.

For children... they are carefree at any time and in any place. Their values ​​have not yet been formed, and they lack sufficient understanding of joy, anger, sorrow and happiness.

No place, no time, is a reason to stop them from having fun, even in the ward at this moment.

Their father was lying on the hospital bed in pain, but the two children were laughing and talking about something at the end of the bed.

Children aged seven or eight are the most innocent and simple.

The woman beside the bed was wearing a light green dress with a lotus collar. She handed the peeled fruit in her hand to her husband, and the man opened his mouth and took small bites.

The juice was sweet, but it hurt him.

The woman's eyes became hot when she saw that her husband had such difficulty eating a piece of fruit.

Judging from her and her children's clothes and the fruit basket under the bedside table, their family is relatively well-off.

"How could this horrible man be so cruel to hurt you so badly..." Her legs went weak when she thought about how she rushed over after receiving the call and saw her husband covered in blood.

Fortunately, the doctor said that although the injury was serious, it would not be life-threatening, which made her feel relieved.

Just thinking of the scene at that time, she felt hatred.

The man's expression was complicated.

After being beaten, I was lying on the bed unable to move, and began to regret what happened that day.

Most people are like this. They never regret until they feel pain.

Only when you are truly hurt will you begin to reflect.

He had a little trouble that day, at work.

A sociologist once made a very interesting comment. He believed that the current federal society is dangerous and its economic growth rate is accelerating.

What plays a key role is not the real economy as in the past periods of rapid economic growth, but the real economy.

The current leader in economic growth is the financial sector.

Some false things kept setting new highs, breaking people's perception of value and creating an illusion of prosperity, and he thought all of this was dangerous.

Because once there is something that the Federation needs to deal with with hard power, all illusions will be shattered.

Following this comment, he also named the most dangerous group in the federation - the middle class.

The middle class has larger bank bills and loans than the bottom of society, but does not have the risk resistance of the truly wealthy in the face of economic storms.

Once they lose their job, it only takes three months for a chain reaction to occur, leaving them unable to pay so many bills and going bankrupt.

Every time they use "going to the opera" to enrich themselves, they end up adding an extra weight to the straw that breaks the camel's back.

They don’t just “watch an opera”, they play golf, tennis, socialize…

The man encountered a similar problem. His company had recently run into some troubles. Some big capital wanted to acquire them, so that the company's market value was constantly decreasing.

In this barbaric financial era, it is too easy for big capital to swallow up small capital.

They simply publicly release a series of "no trust" opinions, and the stocks of small companies will immediately start to plummet.

Then they can acquire this company whose stock price is obviously manipulated by market sentiment at a price far below the market price.

He becomes irritable because of work annoyances and considering the chain reaction of losing his job or having his income downgraded.

He was in danger of being fired, and everyone in the company was in a state of panic.

He exploded when he was embarrassed even when driving on the road.

He pushed open the door and got out of the car. He walked to the motionless car in front and banged on the window and roof, threatening the other party with a fierce expression.

"Either you step on the fucking pedal or I'm gonna step on your fucking face!"

Then...he was hospitalized.

He feels a little regretful now. People who have suffered heavy losses will have this emotion when they calm down, but he won't say it.

He just looked at his wife and tried to comfort her, "The doctor said I'm fine and everything will be fine."

While the couple was talking, the door of the ward was suddenly pushed open. A young man wearing a dark windbreaker, a suit of the same color underneath, a red tie, and a red pocket square held the door handle and smiled.

He looked very handsome when he smiled, and both the husband and wife had a good impression of him. The wife wiped the tears that had accumulated in her eyes and forced a suitable smile to maintain her upbringing as a woman from a middle-class family, "Sir?"

Lance stood at the door and took off his hat, "Is this Mr. Vidal's ward?"

In fact, he knew this was the place without asking, because the idiot lying on the bed was in a similar condition to what Ennio had described.

Mrs. Vidal stood up immediately. She realized that this person was looking for them. "Yes, please come in. Who are you?"

Lance walked closer, and the two children were not very scared when they saw him. People would not be too afraid of handsome people. Instead, they looked at him with curiosity.

It was good that they were brought up in a good family and didn't touch Lance's hat or touch him or anything.

"I apologize to you for what my brother Ennio did..."

At first they didn't react, but soon the man became agitated, and Mrs. Vidal also became agitated.

But the good education she received since childhood and her "self-esteem" made it difficult for her to say unpleasant words. She could only ask Lance to leave, "You are not welcome here, please leave, sir!"

The two children seemed a little overwhelmed by their parents' sudden change of mood. Lance did not leave and continued, "I know he did something stupid. It has happened. I want to do my best to make up for it."

"I also hope to ask for your forgiveness on his behalf!"

The man's voice was not loud. "I will not forgive him. I know what you want to do. I will never forgive him, let alone reconcile with you."

Lance pulled out a brown paper envelope from his coat. "Here's ..."

Before he could finish his words, Mr. Vidal coughed and said, "Take your money and leave my room, immediately!"

His wife soothed him while looking at Lance, "I'm going to call the guards."

Lance raised his hands slightly, "Okay, don't get excited, I'll leave first..."

After Lance left, Mrs. Vidal walked to the corridor and took a look. Only after she saw that his back was indeed about to leave the corridor did she return to the room.

Mr. Vidal no longer coughed, but his breathing was a little heavier.

"He wants me to forgive the murderer, but I will never forgive him!"

"And, dear, don't worry, they will not only bear our medical expenses, but also compensate us a large sum of money!"

"They must pay for the way I was beaten!"

Understanding and rationality are one thing, but he couldn't give up pursuing responsibility just for a little money after being beaten so badly.

His wife just looked at him silently and supported his decision.

In the evening, Mr. Vidal, who was suffering from fractures, injuries, and constant pain, soon fell into a drowsy sleep. His wife packed up and prepared to leave with the children.

The children have to go to school tomorrow, and she also needs to go home to prepare food and other things.

She can drive, but she is not very skilled. The cars on the road are moving slowly. She is concentrating on driving. Suddenly, one of her children sitting in the back seat says to her, "Mom, there is a car that has been following us since we left Dad."

Mrs. Vidal slammed on the brakes and the car behind her honked and almost hit her!
The driver stuck his head out of the car window and cursed loudly. It seemed that all drivers in Jingang City had bad tempers?

However, when the other party found out that the driver was a lady, his temper obviously became better, but he still hoped that she would try not to drive on the road if she was not yet proficient in driving.

She looked around nervously, "Where is the car?"

The two children looked around and said, "It's gone." Although it was possible that the children were mistaken, she was still a little scared after what happened in the afternoon.

She did not go home directly, but went to her parents' home, where she felt a little more at ease with her parents around.

At seven o'clock in the evening, when the family was having dinner, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Mrs. Vidal became a little nervous, but her parents thought it might be a neighbor visiting and told her not to be so nervous.

But it wasn't long before he heard a familiar voice.

"I came to talk to you..."

Lance stood at the door with a smile on his face, "Just sit down and have a good chat. No one will get hurt and nothing will happen. You can even call the police and have them protect you here."

"I promise. I just wanted to talk to you guys."

Mrs. Vidal’s father, who had more experience, asked, “Do you have your gun?”

Lance lifted up his windbreaker, then his jacket, "No weapons."

The old man thought for a while and motioned him to go in.

When Vidal stood at the junction of the dining room and the living room and saw Lance, she was obviously scared. "You were the one who followed us this afternoon?"

Lance shook her head, and her father told her to be quiet, "Go get us two cups of coffee."

He and Lance went to the living room and sat on the couch, "You can tell me anything you want."

Lance repeated what he had said in the hospital, "I just hope to apologize and win your forgiveness."

The old man looked at Lance and asked softly, "Are you a gangster?"

Lance didn't answer right away, "It depends on what your definition of a gangster is."

The old man took a deep breath and asked, "What do you want?"

"Letter of understanding."

Mrs. Vidal wanted to say something, but the old man stopped her, did not give her a chance to speak, and asked his wife to take their daughter out of the living room.

After watching the two women leave, the old man seemed a little helpless. "So we don't really have any other choice. After all, you're already sitting opposite me."

He was implying that Lance already knew about their family situation and might harm them and their families.

It looked like a request, but it was more of a threat.

Lance didn't deny it, but he didn't admit it either. Instead, he used a more tactful way to say, "I just hope that we can both get rid of this matter as soon as possible."

"Maybe I was a little impatient. I'm sorry if this caused you any trouble."

The old man thought for a while and said, "I will help you convince them, but I can't guarantee that I can do it."

Lance took out a manila envelope and placed it on the table. "Here is a thousand dollars. The medical expenses you are facing are very stressful. You can relieve some of them first..."

The old man refused. “The reason I persuaded them was not for the sake of money. I just didn’t want more people to get hurt.”

"As for the medical expenses, I'm sure the judge will let you give them to us."

He paused, "If this is your purpose, then now that you have completed it, can you let my family and I continue to have dinner?"

Lance thanked the old man for his choice and left.

After the old man left, Mrs. Vidal came downstairs and said with some complaints, "You shouldn't have agreed to him."

The old woman waved to the two children, who, like their mother, had not yet realized the seriousness of the situation.

He hugged the two cute children and looked at his daughter, "So you're going to go against a gangster just to make him angry?"

"You can ignore your safety and his safety, that's your business, but the children are innocent."

"They can find us here today and talk to us properly."

"I'll find your house tomorrow and talk to you in a less friendly way."

"My decades of experience have taught me one thing: don't use your life as a price to prove something. You can't afford to fail..."

Mrs. Vidal, in silence, accepted her father's choice.

The next day, Attorney Robben and his assistant went to the hospital to discuss reconciliation with the Vidals. The case was reported to the police by a passerby. At that time, Mr. Vidal had lost his ability to resist and even lost consciousness.

Therefore, it was classified as a criminal case of serious injury, and criminal cases are prosecuted by the federal prosecution system. In other words, this case is not suitable for out-of-court settlement, and ultimately it must be concluded through a court trial.

Attorney Robben quickly obtained a letter of forgiveness from Mr. Vidal when his wife told her that she was being followed and the man even came to her door.

He felt angry at first, but it soon turned into fear, and finally, after his wife's persuasion, he agreed to forgive.

And this forgiveness can reduce Ennio's sentence by at least one year!

The remaining process will be relatively simple. Since both parties have no objection to the course of the incident and Mr. Vidal admits that his attitude was not unfriendly, the court decided to open the trial on November 30, which is still a week away.

In the past few days, Lance's name has begun to spread among more imperial people. Mr. Bolton does have some problems sometimes, but he is not completely useless. At least when it comes to spreading news, he does a good job.

Through his hard work in publicity, more people in the empire knew that there was such a gentleman who was willing to provide financial assistance to students from the empire who could be admitted to university but did not have the funds to do so.

This is definitely good news. According to incomplete official statistics, there are approximately 1.2 million imperial immigrants with legal status within the Federation, and the number is still increasing.

As for immigrants without legal status, their number is difficult to count and their number is also increasing.

Whether it is to seek wealth or to escape the war in the country, this is a very suitable place.

These people are more or less related to each other, just like the neighbor who washes dishes. He encouraged his neighbors in the empire to immigrate to the Federation, and they will keep in touch with each other.

These later immigrants will also form social circles with other immigrants and exchange information.

Plus, Lance was essentially "giving away money," so the news spread quickly and everyone was discussing the authenticity of the matter.

After all, going to college is a considerable expense, and you need to prepare at least 500 yuan a year to cover the expenses of a college student.

They didn't quite believe that someone could be so kind, but they hoped that it was all true.

The news naturally reached the ears of Camilla's gang. Heller was sitting in his office. In front of him were two low-level gang members who were talking to him about the topic they had heard.

One of them said, "Lance said that as long as you can go to college, he will not only cover the tuition, but also give the student a house next to the university to live in..."

Another person added: "I've heard that too. I also heard that if you do well in college, you'll get a car worth more than a thousand dollars."

The first person who spoke nodded repeatedly, "Yes, there are also cash rewards, which add up to three thousand yuan!"

Heller watched them briefly describe “going to college” as a double leap of class and wealth, and couldn’t help but start to wonder.

He asked the two to leave first and made a phone call, "Have you heard about the recent incident with Lance? How much money do you think he has? No, I'm just asking because I'm curious."

"After all, it's not easy for such a friendly rich man to appear among our imperial people... Don't worry, it won't happen... Do you know what kind of people they are?"

"...Oh, I see. I thought they all had some special backgrounds, but it turns out they are all illegal immigrants and ordinary people. Thank you, I see!"

He hung up the phone with a laugh. He had decided before that he would get his lost money back from Lance and the others, but now he couldn't wait any longer.

The more famous Lance is, the more negative impact his actions may bring. At the same time, if Lance becomes richer and richer, the success rate of his actions will only get lower and lower.

In addition, he also realized that Lance's practice of spending money to buy fame was worth learning from!
It is said that the Camilla Gang has a bad reputation. If he can also sponsor some people to go to college, then wouldn’t his reputation be better!

(End of this chapter)