Shadow Empire

Chapter 651 Let’s Talk Frankly

"here it is……"

"is it?"

"Okay, no problem. Who else?"

"Okay, I'll be there on time!"

After hanging up the phone, a gentleman leaned forward with a frown, supported his chin with one arm and rested it on the edge of the table, and turned his head to look at the gloomy sky outside the window.

It has been snowing these past few days, but it seems like it never stops snowing. It falls for a while, stops for a while, falls for a while, stops for a while.

You can't throw all the snow down at once, it will always be a cloudy day.

The coldness of winter is like a chaos magic attack, which is terrible for people living by the sea.

When the sun is out, the air is not so damp and cold, but dry and cold. As long as you wear thick enough clothes, you can avoid the cold.

Now the damp and cold air seems to be able to penetrate clothes. No matter how much you wear, you will still feel cold.

If the damp and cold chill of winter is in the "physical" sense, then some of the recent not-so-good news is in the spiritual sense.

He came back to his senses, rubbed his face, then looked at his watch. There was not much time left.

He sighed, packed up briefly, put some money in his wallet, picked up the cash checkbook in the drawer, then went to the cloakroom at the door, changed his clothes, and pushed the door open and walked out.

More than twenty minutes later, he arrived at a famous restaurant as agreed with President Vaughn.

The restaurant's chef is an old man with a bad temper, but their general manager is quite nice and likable.

This also makes this restaurant one of the more well-known restaurants in Jingang City. They have restaurants ranging from mid-range restaurants to high-end restaurants.

The restaurant they had agreed to meet at today was a high-end restaurant in the Starlight District.

There is no lobby here, all are separate suites.

With a dining room, a living room, an office and a dressing area, the entire suite is like an independent house.

The secluded and private environment makes this place the first choice for many people to discuss things. Of course, the prices here are not cheap either, with each meal costing at least three to five hundred yuan.

If you need to drink, it will cost thousands.

Spending thousands of dollars on a meal is somewhat painful, even for a businessman like him.

He didn't know if he would be the one paying today, so he came with cash and a checkbook.

When he was led by the staff to the room they had agreed on, he found that some people had already arrived. They were the ones President Vaughn had mentioned to him.

He was familiar with these people, so he hung his clothes on the hanger and found a place to sit down.

"Was there a traffic jam when you came here?" someone asked casually.

This kind of gathering is like this, even though everyone knows each other, some small talk is still needed to make the atmosphere more harmonious.

Starting with food, clothing, housing and transportation is a very simple and effective way.

Asking about traffic conditions, weather, and recent news are all good.

He shook his head. “Fortunately, it’s too cold now, so there aren’t many vehicles on the road.”

With this response, it was considered a greeting. "Do you know what Vaughn asked us to talk about?"

Someone asked, everyone had their own guesses, he sat there and listened, occasionally expressing his own views and opinions.

At first they wondered if it was related to the war. Some people had heard rumors that the General Labor Union was going to transfer some dock workers from various docks and ports to work in a military port provided by Slad.

Jingang Wharf is one of the largest wharves in the Federation, and it has the largest traffic and the most workers. They may need to transfer more skilled workers away.

Some people think that there must be something wrong with the Federation of Trade Unions' brains, and there is no need to get involved in such matters.

Instead of spending this time thinking about how to create more value and benefits for the investors of these docks!

But soon, some restless people were not satisfied with such ordinary speculations. As more people arrived, some people leaned forward, put their arms on the edge of the table, and said with an expression that said "I have a secret", "You say..."

"Is there a possibility?"

"Vaughn asked us to come here, but is it related to the recent situation in Jingang City?"

The topic initially silenced the room, but soon people began to express their opinions.

Some people are always like this. Being able is not enough, and they always hope that their performance can suppress others.

"It's very likely!" said a guy sitting in the middle. "The power struggle between Mayor Williams and the Bay Area has become intense. Now it seems to be just a matter of demolishing the old industrial area, but in fact it is a battle between the two sides to see who is the dominant force."

"For Jingang City, if this place is likened to a battlefield, then there is only one main battlefield!"

His voice was stretched out a lot, leaving more room for people's imagination and allowing people to follow his words and think about what he wanted to express.

Another person who was not able to answer continued, "The port, the dock."

The first person who couldn't make it stretched out his hands and pointed at the second person who couldn't make it, "Bingou, if you think of them as two armies, then we are the ones they need to fight for."

A smug expression of "we are actually very important" appeared on his face, as if he had already guessed the standard answer.

"I don't know which side Vaughn represents, but in any case, let's not promise him anything yet."

"We don't even have to agree to anything during this meeting. The more intense the war between them, the harder it will be to determine the winner, and the higher our value will be!"

Everyone else nodded, this was indeed a smart choice.

While these people were discussing these sensitive matters, President Vaughn pushed the door open from outside. He shook off the few snowflakes on his body and hung his coat on an empty hanger.

"Sorry, there's a traffic jam."

Someone laughed, "You must have come from the dock."

The others also showed smiles to varying degrees.

There are not many residents in the Bay Area. After all, the cost of living and housing prices here are too high. Which ordinary person can spend tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even two or three hundred thousand to buy a villa to live in?
Even small businessmen may not be able to come up with that much money, so the roads from the Bay Area to the Starlight District are very smooth and there is no traffic jam.

There will be traffic jams only when coming from the port area, and you have to pass through the Pricia area.

This was actually a not-so-friendly joke that slightly elevated his own status. It's not that President Vaughn didn't hear it, but he just didn't care about it very much.

He smiled and said, "Yes, I came from the dock. There were too many cars on the road."

They are friends, there is nothing wrong with that, just like a king also has a few ordinary people as friends, but this does not mean that both sides are absolutely equal.

The king would also make jokes about the holes in ordinary people's clothes, which was actually not too much of an exaggeration. At most, it was just a joke without any subjective intention.

He found a seat and sat down. The man who was obviously the most senior in the group began to take charge of the situation. "Let's have someone serve the food. I'm a little hungry."

He was about to ask someone to call the manager to serve the food, but President Vaughn stopped him and said, "There is another friend who will be here soon. Let's wait a little longer."

The man was stunned for a moment, and he looked around, "Who else?"

"The people you told me about are already here."

President Vaughn smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll give you a surprise, it will be ready soon."

The atmosphere in the room changed slightly, and the person who had originally planned to take control of the situation also smiled and shut his mouth.

A group of people started chatting. After more than ten minutes, footsteps were heard outside the door. After a few knocks, the door of the room was slowly pushed open.

President Vaughn stood up immediately. When the others saw him stand up, they also stood up, their eyes fixed on the door of the room.

When Lance appeared from outside, the thoughts of the people in the room paused and went blank for a short time. Lance came into the room, took off his hat and clothes and handed them to the people around him, then walked to a place not far from the table, smiling, "I have to apologize first, for some reasons I can't invite you in person, thank you very much for your kindness, I hope I am not too late."

Everyone in the room reacted immediately, and someone took the initiative to say, "It's not too late, it's us who arrived early. You came just in time, and the dishes haven't even started to be served yet."

Even the person sitting in the main seat took the initiative to give up his seat, "Mr. Lance, sit here."

Lance glanced at the seat, then shook his head, "It's okay, I'll sit next to Vaughn."

He walked to President Vaughn and someone immediately came over to pull a chair for him to sit in. He said thank you and turned around to ask the manager to start serving the food.

It’s not that those small shareholders are too “diligent”, but that Lance now represents more than just a gang leader.

He controlled almost all order in the city. When he got married, many people heard about it. The heads of almost all departments in the city went to the wedding. Even the navy sent two colonels to deliver gifts!
What the fuck is this concept?
This means that Lance's actual power may have surpassed that of the mayor. At least when it comes to "who to trouble", he is absolutely number one!

The police, the prosecutors, the courts, if you add his control of the docks.

Being humble is just because we realize the gap between each other. This is the adult world!
It's not like being in an ivory tower here, where some people know that "I'm not as good as you" but still want to show off their so-called character. In the adult world, character has long been broken and shattered into pieces.

After a few brief greetings, the restaurant began to serve the food. Since Lance came in person, the meal was cooked by Anderson (the restaurant owner) himself.

The story between him and Lance can also be regarded as one of the legendary stories of Jingang City——

This matter is worth talking about.

Before Lance grew up to the point where he needed people to look up to him, he didn't like to mention Lance because Lance made him feel humiliated.

Those feces and forcing him to bow his head, he felt severely humiliated!

But when Lance's fame started to grow, he suddenly realized that there was nothing shameful about it, as everyone was working for a living.

When Lance's level was beyond the reach of ordinary people and even most people, he began to take the initiative to tell people about his "friendship" with Lance.

Despite the conflicts, they got to know each other because of these things, and he also touted the good relationship between his partner and manager and Lance, which helped the restaurant gain some popularity.

Anderson rarely cooks now, but since Lance said he would come for dinner today, he decided to cook a dish himself.

Soon the manager came into the room pushing a cooking cart. After greeting Anderson and Lance, he stood beside the cart with a smile on his face and created some fancy "special effects" as the manager taught him.

Finally, the dish was divided and placed in front of each guest.

Lance spoke a few words to Anderson, shook hands with the manager, and then the men left.

Back at the dining table, Lance easily took the initiative.

"Try it. Mr. Anderson is a well-known chef. I heard that he is famous all over the country and even in the South."

“It’s not easy to eat the dishes he cooked himself!”

If others give him face, he will also give others face. Lance is not a complete jerk. He knows how to get along with others.

Everyone was polite enough to taste the food and praised how delicious it was. But in fact... it was just so-so, with the fame accounting for more points.

After tasting some dishes and dinner officially began, Lance started to talk about the main topic.

"You should have noticed recently that there are some problems within the city."

Everyone else put down their knives and forks. Some people had just cut the meat on the plate into small pieces and coated them with sauce, so they now had to put down their knives and forks and sit down.

Although he really wanted to have a bite.

As Lance spoke, everyone else nodded. This was the fact, and everyone could see it.

He paused for a few seconds to let them prepare themselves mentally, then continued, "I hope this city will be stable and peaceful just like you do, or even more than you do."

"Only in this way can there be a steady flow of money into my pocket."

"We've seen it during the conflict between the five major families. Tourists were afraid of being affected and chose not to come. The city was visibly depressed."

“Our income has also been affected.”

“If possible, I believe no one wants the city to become chaotic.”

The others nodded, and the first guy who couldn't help but said, "You're right, Mr. Lance. We don't want chaos."

Lance glanced at him and nodded slightly as a greeting, "But now you can see that the conflict has occurred and it cannot be avoided."

"Whether it's Williams or Charles and his people, the two sides are definitely not just fighting over the price of the land."

“More than anything, it’s still a fight over who has the final say in this city.”

"Gentlemen, we are all the masters of this city. We don't want it to get worse, but since the problem has already occurred and cannot be avoided, the only thing we can do is to find a way to speed up the process."

"As long as it ends quickly enough, the impact it can have on us will be small enough."

The others nodded again and again, after all, this was indeed the truth.

Lance pursed his lips and took out a cigarette. Before President Vaughn could react, someone came over with a lighter and lit it for Lance.

"Thank you!" Lance showed his politeness and civilization. He took a puff of cigarette and exhaled upwards.

"I have a better relationship with Mayor Williams and am familiar with him and his family."

"I am an emotional person. Sometimes I don't care whether what my friends do is right or wrong. As long as he is my friend, I will support him."

"Just like I will support Mayor Williams right now, just because he's my friend."

"I also hope to make friends with you. Will you give me this opportunity?"

He smoked a cigarette and looked at these people, his eyes constantly moving across their faces, and these people were also lost in thought.

Lance didn't rush them, letting them think slowly.

After a while, maybe two or three minutes, someone asked, "Mr. Lance, how do you plan to speed up this process?"

"I have no intention of exploring your thoughts and practices. I just want to know, if I stand on your side, how fast will this acceleration process be?"

"Will they use some...extreme means?"

“And what happens to those people in the end?”

The others also focused their attention. Lance talked about the ash and said, "Leave the political matters to Mayor Williams. I will take care of the non-political matters."

"I'm not afraid of you knowing, and I'm even less afraid of you telling them."

"First, I will bring disgrace upon some people. I have all the scandals and evidence against them, enough to make them outcasts from society."

"The police and prosecutors will then investigate these people, find evidence of their crimes, and bring them to court for a fair trial."

"Then I will mobilize the dock workers to strike and march to force the group's board of directors to hold a shareholders' meeting."

"I should have a portion of the shares in my hands by now. Together with yours, we can make a strong voice at the shareholders' meeting."

"Our goal is not to defeat them head-on, but to make them scramble."

"As for what to do next..." He smiled, "I will let you know after you join us."

Listening to Lance's plans, everyone's minds were working at high speed, and they made eye contact from time to time and had various expressions on their faces.

It can be seen that everyone's inner thoughts at this moment are different.

This plan... can only be said to have a high chance of success if he really has evidence of these people's crimes and scandals.

Lance was not in a hurry to get them to express their opinions. In fact, he didn't have to win over these people.

But now he is sitting here, winning over these people with the purpose of making the whole process look better, and at the same time forming a "force", forming a new interest group, an interest group with him as the core!
(End of this chapter)