Shadow Empire

Chapter 413: Lost People and Competition
The Cassia family is also very powerful in Asia.

Anyone with money can gather a large group of people to follow him in Yalan, whether it is doing legitimate business, mining, or doing other things.

Or they may engage in shady business, selling girls abroad, or hiring a large number of gunmen to gain wealth through illegal means.

As long as you have money, there will always be people who will fight with you.

Most of the time, federal people cannot experience that kind of desperate poverty!
That kind of life is so poor that it makes people suffocate at first glance!

For the people of today's Federation, the so-called "extreme poverty" means nothing more than begging on the streets. This is the limit of poverty they can recognize.

Most of the time he was either stealing or begging, and often spent his free time lying on the roadside in the sun.

Or at night a group of street friends would gather around an oil drum filled with flammable materials to keep warm or have a barbecue.

They don't need to work, the government provides relief from time to time, and apart from illness which might be a hassle, there is nothing in their lives that requires them to worry about.

Why the fuck does it sound like it gives me a feeling of longing?

But in Yalan, being poor is a form of despair.

There is no subsidy from the government, and you won’t get any money by begging. Life is hard for everyone, so who would tighten their belt to give you some pocket money?
All good and beautiful virtues come from the satisfaction of material wealth. Only when people have money can their kindness be stimulated.

Without money and everything, you might be caught and sent to the mines, or to places like rubber plantations where you will be exploited and oppressed, and eventually die in a stinking ditch.

The girls are willing to pay any price to leave the country or get a stable job.

The same goes for boys.

So as long as you have money, you can play the role of God in these countries in Asia.

Just like Rick at this moment, he just made a phone call and more than a hundred gunmen gathered at the dock.

Some of them are members of local gangs, some are just ordinary people who come here to make up the numbers. What is surprising is that there are also police officers and even soldiers among them.

They also want to leave this terrible area and go to the Federation to enjoy the beauty there. Who wouldn't yearn for a developed country?

The crowded cabin was filled with the stench of sweat, smelly feet, and sour food. It would take them a whole day to reach the Federation, but that was already fast.

The cabin was quiet. Everyone was praying and looking forward to a new life that would slowly unfold before them.

They had all heard some rumors, such as some selected gunmen "disappeared" during missions after arriving in the Federation, and the Cassia family would not go to great lengths to find them.

Most of the time when someone goes missing, they just treat them as dead and don't care anymore. This is their way of escaping from the Cassia family and embracing a new life.

However, once they become a little more familiar with life in the Federation, they may not think so, although the Federation cannot make a person so poor that he is desperate.

But the inconvenience caused by having no money is even more troublesome than Ya Lan.

In Yalan you can catch some small animals when you are hungry, but in a big city, you can't find any small animals you can catch except rats.

The bumpy waves are like the cradle of memory, and the ups and downs of the waves make the people in the cabin drowsy.

As they got closer to the Federation, the atmosphere on the ship became slightly more tense.

They didn't want to run into the Coast Guard.

The smuggling boat turned off all lighting equipment and slowed down its speed slightly so that it could sail "silently" on the sea.

In the dead of night, it is difficult for people to spot these ships with their lights turned off with the naked eye. They blend into the dark sky and sea.

In the darkness, pairs of eyes sparkled with hope for a bright future!
A half-asleep gunman in the cabin suddenly opened his eyes, and he seemed to hear some other sounds.

He was not sure if this was an illusion, but he just had this feeling. At this moment, the entire ship suddenly became quiet.

Some other more sensitive people also noticed something was wrong. Just when they were still wondering what happened, the cover of the cabin was lifted and a dark head poked in. "Don't make any noise. I'll kill anyone who makes any noise."

He didn't say why, he just gave the order, and the cabin was still very quiet.

In fact, it was the Coast Guard that showed up.

On the distant seashore, two armed ships were moving together at a distance, and it did not look like a routine patrol.

The captain of the smuggling boat stopped the engine immediately. Although the sound of the engine would most likely be covered by the sound of the waves on the sea, there might be some more talented people on their side.

The light from two searchlights kept scanning the sea. Suddenly, a color slightly different from the sea attracted the observer's attention, and soon the light beams were focused on the smuggling boat.

The captain of the smuggling boat cursed a few words, turned on the engine again and increased the horsepower to maximum.

Organizing smuggling will result in a fine and imprisonment, but the captain does not want to go to jail, he just wants to make money.

"The ship ahead immediately stopped... I repeat, the ship ahead immediately stopped for inspection."

"We are the Federal Likalai State Coast Guard. You have entered federal waters. Please stop the boat immediately for inspection..."

Hearing the shouting, the captain of the smuggling boat immediately made all the engines run at full capacity, which made the boat even more bumpy, and the people in the cabin screamed in the dark!
In such a dark environment, facing unknown dangers from the outside world will give people a very scary feeling!

Obviously, many of these people were prepared to kill or be killed, but at this moment, they were just like those girls, uneasy and nervous to the point of wanting to poop and pee!

McCock picked up the intercom and said, "Fire. Repeat, you can fire."

The sound of machine gun fire rang out. The tracer bullet not only guided the direction of the warhead, but also left beautiful streaks of light on the sea.

fleeting.

The smuggling boats were converted from large fishing boats and could not withstand machine gun fire. The painful wails and desperate screams of the people in the cabin were like a piece of music composed by the devil, making the captain want to escape into the distance frantically.

But the gap between the two sides was too big. Its speed became slower and slower, and finally it stopped on the sea.

The two armed ships quickly caught up and fired machine gun bullets at the ship without mercy, and it was soon cut in half.

Whether it was the stowaway gunman in the cabin or the sailors hiding on the deck, they all began to struggle for survival.

A huge searchlight illuminated the sea, and McCock came to the edge of the deck with a cigarette in his mouth and a rifle in his hand.

He pulled the bolt, aimed at the person struggling in the sea and pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the unlucky guy with a bang. He screamed, splashed some bigger water, and began to sink into the water.

The smell of blood attracted predators from the surrounding waters, and tonight was destined to be a sleepless feast!

The two boats began to return only when there were no more living people to be seen on the surrounding sea.

Of course they feel a little guilty, but for the sake of the money and everyone's cooperation, they are still willing to help with this small favor.

Some people may feel uneasy at this moment, as the killing just now has caused them to have other negative emotions in their hearts.

But there were also people who kept talking excitedly. This kind of killing made them feel the pleasure of ruling the fate of others and deciding their lives!
At five o'clock in the morning, the five buses arranged by Rick had already stopped at a location on the street, which was some distance away from the port but relatively easy to dock.

Those places that are easy to dock are the focus of the coast patrol's inspections, while those places that are not easy to dock are relatively less strictly inspected.

The gunman is not a commodity that will float away with the waves if thrown into the water.

They would use a launcher to launch several ropes connected to the fishing boat, and then the gunmen would grab the ropes and wade through the water, come to the bottom of the cliff, and then climb up along the ropes.

There aren't many patrols here, so it's relatively safe. They've received several groups of people here.

The wind was strong at the seaside. The contact person was sitting in the car, smoking and chatting with the people around him. But as time went by, something seemed wrong and the sky around him became brighter, so he could no longer sit still and got out of the car. The sea was still the same sea, without any trace of fishing boats, and his expression became particularly serious.

Until seven o'clock, there was still no sign of any ship. He knew that something must have happened.

He drove away directly in a car. He had to tell Rick the news. Rick had already made relevant plans and preparations. If something happened to these gunmen, many plans would have to be rearranged.

Rick immediately called Yalan's people. His tone was very unfriendly, "Why didn't the person I wanted show up in front of me?"

The person on the other end of the phone considered many possible reasons why Rick called him, but this was the only one he hadn't thought of. After two or three seconds, he realized, "How should I know?"

"They set out before dawn yesterday. According to the time, they should have arrived long ago. Did something unexpected happen on the way?"

Rick was annoyed when he heard this. "I'm about to use these people to do something big, and you actually told me that there was an accident on the way?"

"Do you know that I have to change all my plans because of your accident?"

"Fake!"

The person on the other side was also a little annoyed. "I said, I arranged someone for you. How can I deceive you about this matter?"

"Didn't the previous groups of people arrive at your place at the agreed time?"

"You must know how complicated the situation is at sea. Maybe they encountered a storm at night, or were hit by a whale or something. It's all possible."

"I'll arrange for another group of people to go over there right away. Just calm down and there won't be any problems in a few days."

Rick was silent for a moment, "I hope this is the last time!"

The person on the other side immediately assured, "No problem, I promise, this is the last time..."

Seeing that Rick stopped cursing, he breathed a sigh of relief, rescheduled the time, hung up the phone, and walked out of the office.

Several people who were sitting at the table next to him chatting and drinking coffee immediately stood up and walked over to him.

He had an unhappy look on his face. "That damn fishmonger didn't deliver the goods on time. I don't know if he dumped our goods into the sea halfway. Anyway, he makes me very unhappy now!"

"Throw his family into the sea. I want to make people know the price of disobedience!"

"Then we'll find a new fishmonger, recruit another 130 to 150 gunmen, and send them to our old friend!"

After giving his instructions, he returned to his office cursing, and his men started to work.

In less than an hour, more than a dozen people in the family, young and old, were tied to large rocks and thrown into the bay.

Many people on the shore saw this scene, but no one called the police or anything. Such things are very common here.

Sometimes the police can't solve these problems, but instead make them more troublesome.

Also, many people in the police station are members of these gangs or have been bribed by them. If you don't want to cause trouble for yourself and your family, it's best not to do anything.

This is Yalan. Under the scorching tropical sun, it is actually extremely cold.

Not far away, some people have already started signing up to go to the Federation and are looking forward to a new life.

At 7:15, Lance made a call to Alberto, who then contacted Salifo. Now they all knew that Rick's gunman had sunk in the sea.

From Salifor's somewhat pleased voice, Lance could sense that he was going to cause trouble for Rick.

If Rick's gunmen cannot come over, it means that it will be difficult for him to launch an effective counterattack against Salifo and their new alliance in a short period of time. If there is no ability to counterattack in the confrontation, even if it is only temporary, the situation will be very passive.

At this time, he didn't know, or he couldn't imagine at all, that this was not an accident, but a premeditated "beginning"!
In September, the Federal Professional Baseball Premier League has entered a critical moment, and some media reported that more than 70 percent of people are paying attention to the game.

Apart from those gamblers who use the competition to place bets, most people are still very enthusiastic about these competitions.

Young people wearing sailing team baseball caps can be seen everywhere on the streets. It will be no problem for the sailing team to enter the playoffs this year. Everyone played very well, and David performed particularly well!

This year, the owner of the Sailing Team spent a lot of money to introduce last year's best pitcher in the league. The transfer fee was as high as 1.75 million, and his salary was as high as 900,000 a year.

His performance in the game was also very outstanding, leading the team to lead the entire Eastern Conference.

As it stands, if they can keep winning and beat the second-place team, they will be able to enter the playoffs as the perennial champions.

The value and role of the ace pitcher are very obvious, and this also makes the people of Jingang City look forward to the performance of the sailing team even more.

As one of the richest cities on the East Coast, Golden Harbor City has many baseball stadiums. The Sailing Team will face the Aliens, who are ranked fourth in the Eastern Division, at home.

Three days before the game, there were already many more fans on the streets, and some Aliens fans from Van Pembrokes also appeared in groups on the streets.

There have been some minor frictions between fans in the past few days.

The quality of most fans is still good, but there are always some young people who can easily get into conflicts over a few words.

Compared to the citizens or team fans' desire for the game, the police system hopes that all this can end as soon as possible.

Fortunately, after today's game, everything will return to normal.

"Don't run around these few days." Rick looked at his son and said seriously, "It's not safe outside now."

But it was obvious that his son did not listen to his words, especially since he had been locked up at home recently and he really couldn't stand it!

He is also a loyal fan of the Sailing Team and has a room dedicated to displaying some baseball-related exhibits.

There are many collectibles related to the sailing team, including the signed jerseys, hats, gloves and bats of the Hall of Fame players, and the Eastern Conference championship trophy.

It is said that the trophies in the sailing team club are fake, and this one is the real one.

Among all these prizes, the only important thing missing is the playoff championship trophy!
The purpose of the manager of the sailing team introducing the ace pitcher is not only to challenge the playoff championship, but also to meet the demands of the wealthy people in Jingang City.

They have watched the game for so many years, and although they often made it to the playoffs, they have never won a championship trophy, which is a shame for their support for the sailing team.

So the boss, under great pressure, spent a huge amount of money to get an ace pitcher.

If the sailing team can win the playoff championship this year, he promises that the trophy will be placed in his display room!

Everyone thinks that they have a good chance of winning the championship, so he naturally wants to watch it in person rather than sit by the radio and listen to the announcer's rapid-fire reports, which is not exciting at all!

Seeing that his son seemed not to be listening, Rick could only tell him to get lost, and then told his deputy to send someone to keep an eye on him.

He had several sons, all of whom were illegitimate except this one.

As the head of a family, it is perfectly normal to have several lovers and illegitimate children.

But compared to those illegitimate children, this legitimate child obviously has a higher status in his mind.

Moreover, those illegitimate children cannot inherit the Cassia family. If an illegitimate child becomes an heir, the family will definitely be in big trouble!

Back in his room, he picked up the phone and chatted with the other people he had made an appointment with. The baseball game would start at 3:30 this afternoon, and they had already made an appointment to watch the game in his VIP box.

He has a box that he has booked all year round. Most wealthy people actually have the habit of watching football games in the box. They don't want to squeeze together with those lackeys.

Today they will bring girls and wine with them to celebrate their upcoming victory.

He also promised his friends that he would call David and the new ace pitcher into the room to have fun with them.

(End of this chapter)