Shadow Empire

Chapter 357 Who is striking and exploding?
In a low building not far from the dock, an elderly man who looked thin looked at the two "young men" in front of him who looked much younger than him and asked, "Who is that person?"

"He seems to have a certain prestige at the dock. I don't remember such a person in the company or at the dock. His appearance is obviously beyond my cognition."

One of his men whispered, "That man's name is Lance. He's a... uh, gang leader."

"Gangsters!" The old man curled his lips. "I don't like gangsters. They always make things worse or more complicated."

“But sometimes you have to deal with these people.”

He paused and said, "See if any of our friends know him. Maybe we can use him."

The young man nodded and agreed, "The manager?"

The old man frowned slightly and said, "He still has one and a half days. We said we would give him three days, so we will give him three days."

At this time, a man walked in from outside. He was also a middle-aged man. He looked somewhat similar to the old man.

He was about forty years old, dressed very elegantly, and wore a platinum watch with emeralds to mark the time.

If you place the watch in the sun, it will reflect a fascinating luster.

A watch like this costs tens of thousands of dollars, it’s not a cheap item!

He walked in and sat on the chair next to the old man. "He may not obey."

The middle-aged man with brown hair sat down and took a sip of wine. "He doesn't seem like an obedient person, and I heard that he is a little different from the average gang leader."

The old man smiled reservedly, "No one is different from others. If there is, it's just because you haven't discovered their demands, that's all!"

"I always believe this, as long as you can find what they want and prove that you can give it to them, you are their friend."

The middle-aged man had no intention of arguing with the old man. He talked about another thing. "It is very likely that firing the manager will not be able to quell this strike. I have always believed that the only way to end the strike is to increase wages."

He turned to look at the old man, his face showing some confusion. "I still don't understand this. We all know that we will have to compromise in the end. Why not now?"

Everyone knows this, or the vast majority of strikes aimed at raising wages are ultimately successful.

Since this thing is destined to succeed, why not agree to it immediately and let them return to work?

In this way, there would be no problem with the order of the dock, and he would not need to run between different dock companies every day instead of between different women.

The middle-aged people didn’t quite understand and felt annoyed about what had happened in the past few days.

The old man raised his hand, and the two young men in the room bowed and left the room, closing the door.

After the door was closed tightly, he called out the middle-aged man's name, "Edward!"

The old man's face did not show the anger or dissatisfaction that the workers had imagined, nor did he show any emotion.

There was not much fluctuation in his eyes, as if this incident had not happened to him. "Sometimes you have to understand that a strike is not entirely a bad thing for us."

He leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. “This is the distance between you and me, and between you and them.”

"Don't you always ask why I don't let you join the board of directors?"

"Look, everyone can see this clearly, but you don't understand it yet."

"It took me half a lifetime to figure this out, and it looks like it might take you longer."

Edward was a little unconvinced. This old man was his father. He thought he was a very smart man. At least he was able to graduate from a prestigious university, run his own trading company, and make a lot of money.

Of course, his father also donated a lot of money.

He was not quite convinced when he looked at his son, but when he thought that he was his own son and the only one in the family who could inherit the family business, he felt a bit of a headache.

He explained, “Why do you think the board of directors is not in a hurry when so many people are on strike at the docks?”

Edward thought seriously for a while, he really thought seriously!
"Do you have any idea how to solve it?"

The old man's eyes, which were originally full of expectation, suddenly became calm again.

He shook his head. “You should spend more time studying instead of playing dirty games with those women.”

He paused, "Everyone, you see, even you know how this will end, but why don't we do it that way."

"That's because we are waiting too. We are also on strike. We are waiting for the companies on the docks to finally be unable to bear it. Only then can we talk to them about raising prices."

Edward felt like... a chisel had punched a hole in his brain, and the sunlight suddenly shone in, completely transparent!

"Hou Li Crab!" He shuddered, just like the last time, "I think I figured it out!"

He took out a cigarette and said, "Maybe I will never be able to reach your level in my lifetime, father."

The old man smiled and said, "At least you can understand it instead of me having to explain it to you bit by bit. This is your growth."

"In fact, everything is not difficult, Edward. The workers are pursuing their own interests, and we also have our own interests. There is no contradiction!"

This was the third day of the strike, actually, but the company had done nothing other than asking managers who clearly couldn't do the job to appease the strike, as if they were really trying to quell the strike.

Don’t care, don’t ask, that seems to be their attitude. Why?
In fact, it is very simple to stay away, because they also see benefits from the strike and see more profits!
The port has not increased various management expenses for more than a year. In fact, the economy has not been particularly prosperous in the past two years.

Those who have access to first-hand port data can discover this through reports and statistics, so when it comes to price increases, those companies are very resistant.

But now, the workers are on strike, and companies are starting to get anxious. They are anxious to ship or unload goods!
Otherwise, the daily expenses may result in liquidated damages, which will make them bankrupt!

They couldn't deal with the workers, and ultimately the only one who could make the workers compromise was the dock management company.

The condition for the workers to return to their jobs is a wage increase, and the condition for the board of directors of the terminal management company to compromise with the workers is another increase in various management fees and other expenses!
Even if the company finally compromises and increases the workers' wages as Edward said, it will definitely not be because the company can no longer bear it!
It is those businesses that can’t bear it, it is the factories that need Jingang Wharf as a springboard for trade that can’t bear it!
They have to compromise first, and then once the company gets the benefits it wants, they will compromise with the workers.

So it seems that the company has suffered a loss, but in fact the company can make a profit from this strike that exceeds the extra wages paid to the workers each year!
If they pay the workers an additional salary of 300,000, they can then snatch a profit of one or even two million from businesses large and small!

The more the workers make a fuss, the happier the board of directors of the terminal management company is, but of course they can't show it.

After all, everyone is watching, and perhaps this is the last bit of decency in the capitalist world - I want to eat you, but I will pretend that it is you who put you into my mouth, instead of me bringing you to the table!

Edward's silence made the old man feel a little comforted. At least this idiot was still thinking and growing, and they still had some time to make him more mature!

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, a sudden violent explosion shook the entire city, and many people looked in the direction where the explosion came from.

Lance, who was in the office, also walked to the window.

The whole city was quiet at this moment.

"It sounds like an explosion in the Starlight District?" Alvin was a little uncertain, but the sound did come from there.

The city is becoming more and more chaotic, even explosives are used, these people are fucking crazy!

Lance was a little worried. The current chaos was obviously a little bit wrong. Both the Wolf Gang and the explosion were concentrated in these two days.

And all these forces are pointing to the mayor.

It is said that the mayor has not woken up yet, so it is impossible for him to give the orders personally. So no one knows what is going on!

But no matter what, at a time like this, it would definitely be better to have a few tall people standing in front.

Lance walked to the desk and called Alberto. He had a bar in the Starlight District, and there were many people from the Pasletto family there.

No one answered the phone, which gave Lance a bad feeling.

He called Burton and asked him to find out what was going on.

Not long after, Bolton sent back a message.

The explosion did not come from the Xingguang District, but from the farther Sumuli District.

In the afternoon, the Cassia family attacked the Pasreto family's estate. They sent a truckload of explosives in and successfully detonated it.

One third of Paul's house was blown down, and there was no telling how many people were killed or injured. The loss was heavy!

Paul was said to be injured.

"These people are completely crazy. How dare they use such powerful explosives in the city?" Everyone in the room was shocked, except Hiram.

He was planning to ask the gunsmith if he could get some explosives. Otherwise, it would be a real disadvantage if only the enemy had explosives and they didn't!

Although fragmentation grenades are not bad, they are still a little bit inferior to real high-powered explosives!
It would be best if it was the kind of explosives that often appear in movies, where a lot of them are tied together, then lit and thrown out...

Lance didn't notice the change in Hiram's expression. Even if he did, he probably wouldn't have thought that he was thinking of something bad!

He was so shocked by the news that he didn't know what to say. "Everyone, please pay more attention these two days. Distribute the weapons and make sure everyone carries a gun."

"When you encounter danger, fight back immediately. Life is extremely precious and you only have one."

"Between the death of others and your own death, I hope you can make others die faster."

He paused, "Keep the money separate. It's not safe to keep it together."

Erwin nodded but said nothing.

Now the money is basically kept in the cellar at home. If they come here like crazy and drop bombs, all the money might be gone.

Even if it is not bombed or burned, if the cellar collapses, it will take some time to dig it out.

"In addition, we should not live in a fixed place during this period. We should change places more often and keep it secret as much as possible."

He sighed, what a terrible situation!
Later that night, he called Pasletto Estate directly, and this time the call was answered.

"I'm looking for Alberto, this is Lance."

The person who answered the phone had heard of Lance's name, "Wait a minute, let me see if he's free now."

After waiting for about four or five minutes, when Lance was beginning to wonder if he hadn't found Alberto, he was picked up by the phone, "Bad day, Lance!"

Hearing his complaints, Lance breathed a sigh of relief, "I was almost ready to have someone make me a black formal suit!"

"Your plan has failed. I have to say that you won't have to prepare this for me for at least the next thirty years!"

He then changed the subject, "You must have heard the explosion, too."

"Yes, that's right. It scared me."

Alberto seemed to want to talk. "They are a bunch of lunatics. Someone drove in with a car full of explosives..."

He still breaks out in a sweat when he recalls it now!

The Cassia family attacked them directly, and the two sides exchanged fire inside and outside the manor. Suddenly, several of their cars rushed in.

No one dared to look up during the fierce gunfight, but someone still killed the drivers of several cars.

A car with a piece of iron plate covering its windshield drove directly into the door of the building and detonated the bomb.

It was a suicide attack, and the huge explosion directly collapsed the row of houses in front of the door, killing many people!

“Paul is discussing how to fight back. To be honest, this time… we suffered a huge loss.”

Contrary to what he had told the outside world, Alberto told the truth.

They were exchanging fire with members of the Cassia family at the time, so most of the people were in the courtyard and the front half of the manor building, using the windows as cover for shooting.

This explosion directly killed more than a hundred of their people, and they were the backbone of the family, including some elite gunmen!
Paul is trying to transfer people from Sumur Island, but the situation is not optimistic.

"What about you, are you hurt?"

Alberto's voice was not so heavy. "He was injured. He was shot. It was just a scratch. But several of my men died."

He was silent for a moment, "Don't comfort me, I'm proud of them!"

Perhaps this is the fate of gang members. They can enjoy many things that ordinary people cannot enjoy in their entire lives.

Fine wine, delicious food, beautiful women, as well as money, status, and people's fear.

But they also need to take responsibility for it.

It’s fine when they are not required to pay, but once they are required to pay, what they pay is often their lives!

The people under Alberto are actually his relatives, and he is actually very sad.

But there's nothing you can do about it, that's the life of a gangster.

There will always be someone who is one step ahead of others, either him or you.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Lance asked.

Alberto had done him a big favor, and he had promised that no matter what it was, as long as Alberto asked, he would help Alberto.

Alberto thought about it for a while and refused. “You have too few people. They can’t do much for the battle. Besides, it’s really dangerous this time.”

"What if... I shouldn't actually say this, what if Paul or someone... you know, this is our fate."

"When the time comes, I, or Fordyce, or anyone else, may need your help. Don't refuse."

Lance agreed.

Alberto had a bad feeling, this time the attack was so intense that it even violated the agreement among the five major families to avoid using high-powered explosives as much as possible, this was definitely not a reckless decision on their part.

They had a purpose because they could use explosives, the Pasletto family could use them, so there must be a purpose behind this.

"Someone called me over there. I won't talk to you anymore. I'll call you when I'm free." Alberto took the initiative to end the call and said goodbye to Lance.

With a gloomy face, he came to another room where Paul was sitting and the remaining backbones of the family were.

He found a spot on the edge and stood against the wall.

In the family, he can be considered a cadre, but not a senior cadre. After all, he is not fully involved in the family's core industries, nor is he a core member in the true sense.

The core members are all Paul's direct relatives, not those who are several bends away.

"The island refused to send anyone over. Their current situation is very tense. They have already started a war and can't take care of us."

"So we have to carry it on our own this time."

He took a puff of his cigarette, looking very embarrassed. The bomb almost hit him. "They were the first to break the rules, so we don't have anything to worry about."

"Get some dynamite and show them some color."

"But this operation is very dangerous. You can decide for yourself whether to go or not. I hope you will think carefully and not raise your hands and then get scared."

It is indeed not an easy task to plant a bomb on the Cassia family. If you are not careful, you may not be able to come back.

The first person to raise his hand was a guy Alberto knew. That guy’s brother had been killed in the explosion and only half of his body was found.

With hatred in his eyes, he said, "I'll go!"

Paul nodded, "We're still missing a few."

More people raised their hands one after another. Alberto hesitated for a long time and then raised his hand as well.

Paul looked at him in confusion, but said nothing. "Okay, that's enough for the last person. Everyone else go back to deal with the things you have at hand. Those who signed up stay."

Alberto was walking towards that direction, thinking about something, when he was suddenly bumped into by someone.

He looked back at the man who bumped into him, and the man stopped and looked at him as well.

"Dover, you hit me."

Christopher's face was pale, and his lips were bloodless, as if he had his period for a month. "Sorry, I didn't notice you."

Seeing him apologize, Alberto shook his head and stopped caring about it. Paul was still waiting for him.

(End of this chapter)