Shadow Empire

Chapter 175: Trade, Trade, Trade
After Chief Blue won the darts tournament and gladly accepted the one thousand dollars from the sponsor, he and Lance returned to his office together.

This time, Director Blue did not sit behind his desk, but sat on the sofa with Lance. He also asked his secretary to bring two cups of good coffee.

The coffee was very fragrant. The young policewoman's gaze stayed on Lance for a while before she turned and left.

Being rich and young can always attract more opposite sex.

"Blue, is it okay for me to call you that?" Lance omitted the title of his position as soon as he opened his mouth.

Chief Blue would certainly not have any objection. In fact, although this amount of money was not a large sum for him, it was definitely not a small amount.

With this money as a cushion, Director Blue would naturally be very easy to talk to. "Of course, no problem, Lance, that's what my friends call me."

Lance nodded happily, as if celebrating the fact that they could become good friends.

"I know a journalist friend, a big reporter from Golden Harbor Today. I talked to him about the recent changes in the Empire District. He was impressed that you have managed this place so well, and he plans to give you one-eighth of the current affairs section of Golden Harbor Today."

Chief Blue's eyes widened. Although he knew that it would be unlikely for him to continue to rise to those impossible heights in his lifetime, who is really willing to bow to the future?
Moreover, "Golden Port Today" is one of the most influential newspapers in Golden Port City, and its status in people's minds is like that of "Federal Daily" and "Federal Post".

If I could have one eighth of the space in "Today's Jingang" to describe myself, it would definitely be a great thing!

Even if he doesn't have the chance to become the chief of the city police department, he might be able to switch to a better precinct.

There are four lucrative areas in Jingang City. The first one is the Bay Area. There is a secret here that only the police know.

If you want to be the city police chief, you must conquer the Bay Area first!
What this sentence means is that without the support of the wealthy politicians in the Bay Area, no one can hold the position of city police chief.

This includes the current Chief Charlie, who has been a chief for more than 40 years, including more than 10 years in the Bay Area. He made the adults very happy, so he became the chief of the city police department without any obstacles.

As long as you go there, it means money and status are at your fingertips.

The second area is the Starlight District, which is where the upper class hangs out after dinner and before going to bed. The same glass of wine that costs three dollars in the Empire District will cost ten dollars here.

It’s not that the people here are stupid, but this amount of money is no different from three dollars to them.

Although many of the entertainment venues here have large backstages, they still abide by the rules, pay fees, and pay a lot.

Troubles that can be solved by spending money are never troubles for the rich!

As for the third area, it is the city center.

The city center seems to be full of tall buildings, filled with various rapidly emerging financial companies and some other companies.

There are also large shopping malls and shopping centers here, but it has a stronger financial and working atmosphere.

Many people spend their time in busy work. They are in a hurry and have no time to stop and look at the shops on the roadside to choose the products they like.

Most of them come here in a hurry and then leave in a hurry.

The last area is the Priscilla District, which is located between the Port District, Bay District, Empire District and Starlight District. It is home to the largest middle-class population in Jingang City and also has the largest middle-class community here.

The middle class has strong spending power, which may not be comparable to that of wealthy areas, but there are more of them and they have a strong desire to consume, so business in this area is also good, but the prerequisite is that it is a well-known brand.

It is possible that rich people, politicians, and people from the upper class will be deceived by fakes, and many of them do not know what a certain series under a certain brand looks like and how to distinguish them.

But the middle class will definitely know that they may know more details about brands and products than the salesperson. Although there are counterfeiters here, they don’t have an easy time.

The middle class has a strong ability to identify fraud. When they find out they have been cheated, they will not be as helpless and angry as the lower classes. Instead, they will directly call the police or sue.

Chief Blue wants to go to police stations in more prosperous areas, which can not only bring him higher income, but also allow him to expand his network and prepare for his offspring.

The police station, his job, is to him the "car" on the road of his life. If there is a chance to change to a better car, then why not do it?

Being on the newspapers and letting more big shots see him are the few ways he can work towards this goal.

But if you want to have a piece of news of your own in "Jingang Today", it is very difficult to get one eighth, one thirty-second, or even the middle.

When Lance talked about this, the impact of the thousand dollars was no longer so strong.

He moved his body so that he could lean back a little, "Do you know anyone at Today's Golden Harbor?"

Lance didn't deny it, "A big reporter."

"Big reporter!", Chief Blue repeated, licking his lips, "but I don't know what we have to report here."

Lance shook his head, half smiling, "Our public security is the best in Jingang City right now. This is a great direction for reporting."

"Bruce, you should understand that the middle class and the rich care more about whether their safety can be guaranteed than the poor people living here or in the port area!"

"If you can manage such a poor, backward and violent area well, then maybe one day the rich people will feel..."

"Why don't we let Blue come here and try?" His tone was full of temptation, making Chief Blue unable to help but fantasize along the lines of what he said.

There was a hint of a smile on his face, but he didn't notice it.

"As long as they have the idea, then your opportunity arises."

After thinking seriously for a while, Chief Blue became a little worried. "But we all know that the good public security in the Empire District is not entirely due to me or the police department."

Whenever Lance catches a criminal, he beats him up and then sends him to the police station. They have even discussed and made a schedule.

Whose credit is given to those who deliver in the morning, who’s credit is given to those who deliver in the afternoon, and who’s credit is given to those who deliver in the first half of the night and the second half of the night.

Just lying still will earn you merit, and now everyone likes Lance very much.

But without Lance, things would quickly become a mess again, so they actually needed Lance more than Lance needed them!
Lance wasn't worried at all, "If they want to transfer you there, it just means your predecessor did a terrible job."

"This is already a very bad situation for them, otherwise they would not transfer you there. Even if you do not do well, they can blame it on your predecessor."

"But as long as there is a little improvement, they will feel that you are indeed more capable than your predecessor."

"Besides, Blue, I'll help you, we're friends!"

Director Blue had no idea whether he was a friend or not, but he was really moved.

He sat and thought for a long time, and his eyes were slightly less "obsessed". "Lance, you must need me for something."

"You already said it, we are friends, you could have just said it directly!" He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and the two of them lit them together.

Cigarettes are the best "stimulant" for men when talking about things, and they can play many miraculous roles.

For example, two strangers can get to know each other because of a cigarette, which seems incredible to some non-smokers!

Lance also sat back on the sofa, both of them were very relaxed, not nervous at all, "I plan to unify the Empire."

Chief Blue didn't react at first, "Indeed I should..." He suddenly sat up straight, and because of the violent movement, the cigarette was not held firmly and fell onto his pants.

He quickly stood up and patted his trouser legs, which made Lance laugh beside him. "You don't have to be so nervous."

"Nervous?" He looked up at Lance. "If I heard correctly, you said you want to unify the Empire. Does that mean you want to drive the Red Dog Gang out of the Empire?"

He sat back down and frowned. "Lance, the war between you and the Camilla gang just ended. How long has it been? Are you planning to start a new round of gang war?" "Although some things are hard for me to say, you have to know that the big guys tacitly allow you and Heller to fire without restrictions because things have changed."

"In fact, we all thought you would fall, but not only did you not fall, you also gave Heller a strong counterattack."

"Do you know what this means?", he asked.

Of course Lance knew it, but Chief Blue obviously wanted to say it himself. "It means that the dominance of Camilla's gang and Heller is declining. Even if you don't continue to cause trouble for them, they will attract new challengers because they can't even deal with you."

“At that time, some challengers who covet the Camilla Gang’s territory and wealth will cause huge chaos here with them!”

"The new neighborhood families, big and small, that have emerged on the streets are a fact. The order in the Empire District is collapsing, so when you decide to fight them to the end, those big guys won't move."

“They have to watch and wait.”

"Let's see who will be the final winner. The moment the winner emerges, the new order will be stabilized again."

"If Heller wins, he will use the death of you and your family to tell people that they are still the rulers here."

"If you win, then everyone will know that the new family became the new king by stepping on the corpses of Camilla's gang."

"Whoever wins will only make things more stable here, not worse."

"The worst outcome is if you don't start a war, so everyone hopes that you will do that, and no one will stop you."

"Everyone wants this city to be a stable city. If you keep starting gang wars, that's what no one wants to see."

"The five major families have brought too much pain to this city. No one wants to see that day happen again!"

Lance looked at him talking excitedly, holding a cigarette in his mouth, and raised his hand to press, "Sit down, Bruce, sit down, don't get excited."

Chief Blue sat down slowly. After saying all this in one breath, he picked up his coffee and took a big sip. "Listen to me and don't do anything rash, Lance."

Lance shook his head slightly. "You don't understand." He groaned for a moment. "I won't start a war with them, but if they attack me first, don't blame me."

Chief Blue thought for a moment and gave him a positive answer, "This is the best way. They broke the rules first, so it is much more reasonable for you to deal with them!"

When he said this, he also understood that the purpose of Lance's words was to tell him that Lance would force the Red Dog Gang to take action first, and then he would have a legitimate reason to take ruthless action.

"We'll need you to help us cover up a little bit when the time comes. Once we start, we plan to end the war as quickly as possible so as not to bring too much fear to the region."

Chief of the Blue Branch strongly agrees with this point.

In fact, he still hoped that Lance would be fine. It was not often that he met such an interesting person.

However, now that he knew Lance's purpose, he had no worries about publishing the newspaper.

After waiting for a while after the topic was over, he changed the subject back to, "Do you think I look better in the newspaper when I'm working in an office, or when I'm patrolling in a car?"

The next morning, Lance asked George out at a coffee shop next to the "Golden Harbor Today" newspaper office.

George has been doing pretty well lately, and Lance sometimes uses him to place advertisements in "Golden Harbor Today" for the labor agency.

Although the status of journalists in newspapers is proportional to their influence in society, they will definitely be more popular if they can also achieve some significant increase in revenue.

Moreover, Lance also gave him some ideas for writing manuscripts, and he had a good relationship with Lance.

After the two exchanged a few simple pleasantries, Lance explained his purpose, "I would like to ask you to write a report."

George asked as he sipped his coffee, "What's the report?"

"Regarding some livelihood issues in the Empire District."

Originally, George thought that Lance might need some news to glorify himself. The Lance family and Lance, this is not a small news or a small matter.

Most people in Jingang City knew about this family and this person, and also knew what they had done.

So George's initial thought was that Lance might want to whitewash himself, and some people are doing this now, such as the Kodak family.

They often appear in newspapers, and the younger generation of the family will appear in the newspapers as "ridiculous", but every time they appear around them, they are children from other upper-class families in Jingang City.

In addition, they like to donate money and pay taxes actively, which are all positive images and help them whitewash themselves.

If Lance also planned to ask George to help him write some content praising his good deeds, George would refuse.

He would not use his own future to help Lance, and that was not what friends should do.

But the first thing Lance said was people's livelihood, which aroused some interest in him.

Lance said frankly, "I have some victims from the Camilla family's time here. Perhaps people will be interested in what they went through and what's happening in the Empire District now."

George frowned, took out a cigarette, and smoked it while thinking.

After waiting for about three or four minutes, he nodded and said, "It's a very interesting topic. Are the victims willing to come forward?"

"I mean, if they need to face the camera and society, can they face it calmly?"

Lance nodded and said, "Of course, but I have a small request."

George was happy that there would be new reports coming up, and there was a high probability that it would be a serial report. So at this time, if Lance had some small requests, he would not refuse.

This may be a rare serial report in recent years that directly hits the theme of gangster crime. He has already thought that the Golden Newspaper Award is beckoning to him!
Even though many journalists say that the Golden Newspaper Award trophy looks like a fucking piece of used toilet paper flying in the air, their sour tone cannot hide their inner jealousy after all!
That’s the Golden Newspaper Award, the top journalism award!

"Is there anything else you want to ask for between us?" George said generously, without any of his previous caution.

Lance was not polite either, "I hope that the director of the Imperial District Bureau, Mr. Blue, can appear in the report with a positive image."

"no problem!"

After agreeing on a time, the two separated. George still had to investigate some information to make the entire report more complete and objective, so that he would have a better chance of competing for the Golden Newspaper Award.

If he can win this award, he will have more options in his work.

After two days of fermentation, some people have come to sign up to join the Imperial Chamber of Commerce, and the number of people is approximately less than 400.

Currently, there are at least 1,200 business operators in Lans' territory, which means that only one-third, or even less than one-third, of them have chosen to join the Chamber of Commerce and pay the ten yuan.

Everyone felt a little unbalanced.

On the one hand, they maintained law and order on the streets, and on the other hand, they helped people avoid being bullied by gangs. Now, they have thrown away even the most basic decency just to save ten dollars!
At this time, some people were clamoring for Lans to restore its tradition and to come and ask for it directly. If Lans didn't give it, they would have to close their business.

Many people supported this idea, but they were all rejected by Lance.

"They will regret it soon enough, but by the time they regret it, it will be too late."

"You don't have to worry at all. They should be the ones who are anxious. Wait a little longer until the sea breeze blows for a while!"

“Although the sea breeze is cold, spring will always come!”

(End of this chapter)