Shadow Empire

Chapter 252 Family Gathering
When it comes to feelings, if you want to deceive others, the first thing you have to do is to deceive yourself.

You have to devote yourself to having an emotional encounter with someone you may not necessarily like, and find some advantages in the other person.

Professional emotional scammers can promptly remove themselves from the role they play after the other party has been tricked. Lisa is obviously not such a professional emotional scammer, and she is a little immersed in the role she plays.

The moment Ponda gave her the money without reservation, she fell in love with him.

Maybe she hasn't fallen that deeply, but she has fallen.

The initial difference between standing on the sand and standing on quicksand is actually not that big, but as the quicksand flows, people's struggles will only become deeper and deeper.

At the same time, Lisa began to feel a sense of worry and fear. What if one day... Ponda knew her identity and knew everything...

In order to ensure that Lisa can complete the task assigned by her well, and of course for her to find her ideal destination, Lance made a suggestion, "I will find someone to play your parents, and then make them disappear when necessary."

Lisa covered her open mouth in disbelief, "You're going to kill them?"

Lance rolled his eyes, "I'll just make them have an accident and disappear from your life, but nothing will happen to them. They'll be living somewhere else."

In this era when information communication technology is not well developed, people living in two different cities are unlikely to meet in their lifetime unless they have a special connection.

Lisa was tempted, but she also knew that although these things were free, free things were more expensive. "I will help you get Ponda..."

The next day, Alvin followed Lance's instructions and separated some of the recently recruited people and sent them to work in different bars, saying that this would allow them to become familiar with the business.

The Viper Gang has become a thing of the past, and now Lance plans to take back the nightclubs and bars.

In name they did belong to Eric, but Lance believed that Eric would be willing to sell them to him for a very low price, for example, one dollar.

Therefore, a large number of people are needed to familiarize themselves with these tasks in advance. This excuse is very appropriate and no one has any strange associations.

Finding undercover agents is actually a very complicated matter, which requires observation for a period of time, or Ponda can get the information of those undercover agents.

In the afternoon, Patricia called Lance and invited him to attend Barbara's family gathering in the evening.

She had a little admiration for her cousin who worked in a financial company because Barbara always wore the most fashionable clothes, had the most stylish makeup, and had a good job that everyone envied. She was almost the envy of most girls in the family!
Patricia was also envious. She always felt that her job was very boring. She spent every day helping others fill out forms. It was not at all chic and cool.

Lance drove to pick up Patricia in the afternoon. Unexpectedly, William and Emily also wanted to go together. Of course, they would drive their own cars.

William now has some supporters of his own in the Imperial District. He is more humble than Congressman Ruth and knows what the grassroots want better than Mr. Jobaf.

Now every time he holds a street activity, there will be many followers who come to cheer for him, which is actually a kind of success.

When everyone around him knows him, or some people around him support him, it is inevitable that he will win the constituency!
As a family member who is about to become a city councilor and achieve class advancement, William now has a relatively high status in the family.

He can also let others chat around him instead of him chatting around others.

Although we are all one family, even within the family, there are still different levels of people.

Two cars parked one after the other in the parking lot. There were no parking spaces outside Barbara's villa as many people came today.

On the way, they met some relatives of William's family and greeted them. Patricia introduced these people to Lance.

Some of them didn't know Lance at first, but when Patricia mentioned his name, their smiles became more sincere!
They also suddenly understood why William, a guy who had not made any progress in twenty years, was suddenly running for city councilor.

When they arrived at the lawn of the villa, there were already quite a few people there. Emily immediately let go of William's hand and went to practice tea art with the women in the family.

William also gave Lance a hint, and then walked towards the middle-aged people who were talking about national affairs.

Lance and Patricia got some food and then joined the rest of the siblings.

When Jack saw Lance, he took the initiative to walk over. After the two shook hands, they stood aside.

"There's a piece of news that will definitely interest you," Jack gave Lance a cigarette.

Lance pressed his cigarette against the matchbox to make the tobacco firm. "I hope it's good news."

Jack smiled, "It's hard to say whether it's good news or bad news..."

He dragged his words a little, then broke the news, "Congress feels the Coast Guard isn't doing its job, and now smugglers from all over the world are shipping alcohol into the federation."

"So the coast guard will receive key support in terms of policies and resources, and will focus on increasing efforts to crack down on smuggling boats."

He lowered his voice slightly, though no one would overhear, "They also equipped the patrols with gunboats."

Lance's eyes widened slightly, "So congratulations, Jack. Customs will become even more important."

If the Coast Guard patrols with gunboats and Congress allows them to attack smuggling ships, it will mean that smuggling by sea will become more difficult.

Especially for large-scale smuggling, the target is too large and it is easy to be discovered.

If smuggled goods are seized by the Coast Guard, it is almost impossible to get them back, so there is a high probability that they will find a way to smuggle them through customs in the end.

Disguise the goods as something else, or transport them by land from other places into the federation.

So in any case, customs will become more important to the smuggling gangs.

Jack had a reserved smile on his face. He knew Lance could understand this. "This news may not be released until late June. I heard that some details have not been finalized yet."

"But basically nothing will change. All that's left is a vote after the problem is solved."

Lance nodded slightly, "This is indeed very important news. I have to make some preparations."

Once maritime smuggling is curbed, the price of alcohol will usher in a new round of skyrocketing. He has to do something. This is another opportunity to make a fortune.

It was not surprising to Lance that Congress would do this. After all, while they were strictly cracking down on smuggled liquor, they were almost unprepared for maritime smuggling. Congress would definitely pay attention to this.

Once they notice this place, it means the good days of maritime smuggling are over.

Those coast guards in speedboats certainly wouldn't dare to fight the fully armed smuggling boats, but when they switched to gunboats, they had no worries.

The two chatted about other things for a while. Jack asked about the conflict between Lance and Liji Group. After learning that they were in a lawsuit, he cursed the Federal Capital Group.

They have always been the most disgusting and envied group of people. In fact, everyone hopes to be a hunter rather than a prey, but this can only happen in their dreams.

Lance's "success" made many of Patricia's brothers and sisters come over to greet him. They also heard their parents sometimes talk about how the family might be able to move to a higher level with the addition of Lance.

Especially after William became a city councilor, he had status, power, wealth, and even military force.

These things can provide the family with a foundation for its rise, so they are all very enthusiastic about Lance.

I chatted with everyone about this and that for a while and felt the long-lost relaxation. Although the topics discussed by most people were rather boring, this is the true nature of life.

There are no power struggles, no bullets and death, only complaints and yearnings for life and work.

As dinner was ready, everyone came to the table. They had prepared four large dining tables and everyone sat at different tables.

Lance was somewhat unexpectedly invited to sit at the first table - these were the backbone of the family, they were all civil servants in various departments, or middle and lower-level managers of the company.

He was arranged to sit next to William, in the fifth position on the right.

The host of today's family gathering was Barbara's father. He had a big belly, and the formal suit and bow tie made him look a little funny, especially the federal formal suit was a little loose, it looked like a piece of black cloth was put on his body. He gave a series of passionate speeches, the general meaning of which was that the Lawrence family had existed in this land for 150 years and would continue to exist.

Although they are not as prominent as the Wade family or the Williams family, he believes that with the efforts of some family members, the family will eventually achieve leapfrog development.

He also mentioned William by name, saying that William would become the light of hope for the family's rise.

This made William keep his mouth open throughout the entire meal. They didn't call him like that in the past!
The dinner was sumptuous. In fact, from a practical point of view, the Lawrence family could be said to have already touched the edge of the privileged class. Now they were only one step away, and William and Lance were the last piece of the puzzle.

The atmosphere at the family dinner was very relaxed. There was no prohibition on young people speaking. Everyone was discussing food and other things.

At Lans' table, the discussion was relatively "high-end". They were discussing the international situation.

Because recently, the first group of rebels in the empire was eliminated, and the head of the rebel leader was sent to the emperor. The picture of the emperor standing on the city wall holding the head of the rebel leader was widely circulated in many countries.

In the Empire, they used "His Majesty the Emperor is Suppressing the Rebellion" to report the news, but in the Federation, the International News used "The Cruel Imperial Emperor Kills Civilians Wantonly" as the headline, using the picture to illustrate the story, making up a story that the emperor killed civilians every day to relax.

The federal people believed this, and they also believed that the emperor was a cruel, brainless emperor who had suffered from polio and might even be a royal lunatic and had obvious genetic defects.

But it is this emperor who is gradually recovering everything he has lost!
Then they talked about the war in Tanfit. The tension between the major powers has become increasingly intense, and military frictions have even occurred in some regions.

A group of civil servants sitting at a table in the Federal Golden Port City on another continent were discussing the possible development of war and the development trend if the war broke out.

Everyone has their own opinions, but on one point, everyone agrees.

"Lance, do you think a war will break out?"

It just so happened that Lance had also read some International News recently, and they were obviously more neutral when reporting on the conflict on the Tanfit continent.

At least there wasn't some brain-dead emperor who suddenly declared war on the Federation, causing some people to suffer from serious mental illnesses.

Lance put down his knife and fork and thought for a moment. "It will definitely break out, and I think once the war breaks out, it will be very large in scale, and it may even affect the whole world."

"I don't want a war to happen, but obviously my personal wish or wish won't change the course of it."

In fact, when they asked Lance for his opinion at the beginning, they just wanted to avoid ignoring his idea. It was like everyone was talking about something enthusiastically, and if someone didn't speak, he seemed marginalized.

But this person is valuable, so the host will definitely find a way to let him speak so that he doesn't feel isolated.

As a result, when this person opened his mouth, he used a very affirmative tone, even with some disturbing descriptions, which attracted their target.

At this time, these gentlemen have to consider whether this is Lance's true thought or he deliberately said it in such a shocking way to attract attention.

"Is there any evidence?"

Instead of answering "yes" or "no", Lance talked about the speed of technological development.

"Today's warships are getting faster and faster, and so are ships."

“It used to take us two or three days to get to Yalan, but now only one day is enough.”

"In other words, with the rapid development of technology, the world is shrinking."

"The friction between the several nations of Tanfit cannot be resolved, ethnic, cultural, historical and geographical issues, coupled with the internal contradictions that continue to pile up."

"Over the years, they have always been ready to open fire at any time. People's desire for war far outweighs their fear of war. Everyone is holding their breath, waiting for the outbreak of war!"

"So once the war starts, it will be an all-out war, not just a war between these countries. It may also trigger a series of diplomatic reactions, and may even trigger a world war that affects the entire world!"

"As the federation with the fastest economic development and the most significant economic achievements in the world, it is qualified to be invaded."

"wealth!"

The gentlemen at the table were all thinking about the possibility of what Lance had said, and some even frowned.

He didn't go into detail, but these civil servants already understood Lance's concerns through his words.

William was also thinking that maybe this was the advantage of the Lawrence family, they were low-level civil servants but had the heart of the Presidential Palace.

"If it really breaks out... World War, that's what it's called, right?"

"That would have to be the scariest thing. Jingang City's location might not be very good, and there's a good chance we'll be hit hard."

"Gentlemen, we can't just sit there and do nothing. We have to do something."

Lance looked at William, picked up the spoon again, scooped a spoonful of soup, and said jokingly, "Are you going to call the president?"

"I hope you have his phone number."

William didn't care too much, "Lance, this is the gap between you and us."

Others also smiled, which made Lance feel puzzled. William looked at him with a slightly proud expression, "You are a non-partisan, and we are all partisans."

"We can contact local opinion leaders or directly contact party representatives. As long as they agree with our views, they will pass them up the chain of command."

"Ultimately these issues will be on the desks of members of Congress and will become one of the issues they will address!"

"This is the benefit of the party. Although I don't have the President's phone number, I have ways to influence him!"

"Moreover, after I become a member of parliament, I will have greater influence, both inside and outside the party."

Lance was also a little surprised. He really didn't expect this. "Okay, Congressman William, you convinced me, but I won't join the Federal Party!"

The gentlemen around suddenly burst into laughter, and some of them almost laughed to tears. This joke was so funny!

William was also laughing, "What we lack is an opportunity!"

Barbara's father laughed and said, "You said that a hundred years ago!"

William couldn't help but fight back, "At least the Federal Party has not been split into two parties. We are united!"

He was referring to the fact that the Liberal Party split into the Liberal Party and the Socialist Party. For a long time, this was a big blow to the Liberals and even made them question whether the Liberal Party's party platform was meaningful.

Fortunately, they persisted, and it seems that the Liberal Party has a great chance of winning in three and a half years!
Emily, who was sitting at another table, looked back at the first table whose voice was obviously louder than that of other tables. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, "I really can't understand why he is always so passionate about politics, even more than spending his energy on me!"

The other women all burst into laughter when they heard this. Compared to the gentlemen's discussions about the world situation and nationalism, they talked about more mundane things.

For example, what positions to use and how long they can last, those men don’t know that their most important private secrets have long been revealed by their closest people.

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Emily, are you showing off?"

Emily raised her eyebrows and said without hesitation, "Show off?"

"A little!"

"William is full of energy now, like a male dog in heat. We have sex at least several times a week, sometimes even in succession!"

The ladies immediately cried out in envy and jealousy...

(End of this chapter)