Shadow Empire

Chapter 981 Explanation, Dinner and the Sympathy of the Rich

Lance's words left Maurice somewhat confused.

His eyes held a clear emotional fluctuation, a mixture of excitement and longing. "Can organs be transplanted too?"

Lance did not deny it, saying, "It's a medical prospect. I don't know if they've started researching organ transplant surgeries yet, but I'm sure they can do it."

This is where Lance's greatest confidence comes from: he knows what the future will be like. What is a future shrouded in mystery for almost everyone is already laid bare before him.

On this huge gambling table, who can win money from someone whose cards are already revealed?
They have a very low probability of beating Lance; the best they can do is not lose, and that's the limit of what they can achieve.

"Maybe I'll go and ask some people in medical groups during this time. And this isn't just your problem; maybe some of us will need it someday in the future."

Hearing Lance's certainty, Morris's smile became much more natural.

Aside from life and death, nothing else matters in life. For him, who is now all alone, if what Lance said could be done, his biggest psychological burden would disappear.

"I hope so!" he said, looking forward to the future with great anticipation.

After chatting with them for a while, Lance told them to go back to their own business, but he kept Enio and Morister behind.

“Your brother cares about you. I mentioned it to you once before, but we didn’t discuss it in detail.”

“Enio is always worried about your relationship with that girl, afraid that she will hurt you.”

Morris glanced at Enio with a helpless and somewhat frustrated look, then turned around, put his hands on his hips, and looked at his good friend. "I really don't know how to talk about this. Didn't we already talk about it before?"

Yes, they had talked about it once before, but not in much detail.

This is a situation that often occurs between very close friends.

I thought you would understand me, so I didn't explain in much detail.

If you really think about it, if even such close relationships as fathers and children, and husbands and wives, can't achieve complete mutual understanding, how can good friends possibly understand each other perfectly?
Enio's voice was noticeably louder: "I don't know!"

Morris turned to look at him, and only after confirming from his face that he truly seemed unaware of his meaning did he sit back down on the sofa.

"You should have told me."

Enio rolled his eyes and sat down. "You always get impatient whenever I bring this up."

Lance clapped his hands, interrupting their little argument, "Alright, since there's some misunderstanding between you, let's clear it up now."

“So…”, he looked at Morris, who understood what Lance meant, and then he began to explain.

“Actually, I know what she was thinking. The time when she felt that way about me…” Morris turned his wrist, adding a gesture that heightened his emotions, “…was when she knew that my life might not be long.”

"The doctor said I could live to be forty, and it seems I have more than ten years left."

“She was a little younger than me; more than ten years later, she was only thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old.”

“At that time, part of my inheritance may go to my mother, and the rest will go to her if she can give me a few more children.”

"So I knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her!"

Ennio couldn't help but interrupt him, "Then why are you still with her?"

"She just wants your money!"

Morris looked at him with a more mature gaze than Enio, making Enio feel a little embarrassed. "I know."

"But brother, even if I change to another girl, do you think any girl would like me before I reveal my identity and wealth?"

"I have time to meet ordinary girls and have a two- or three-year relationship with them, but is it still possible that we'll end up together?"

"I simply don't have that much time to do something that might be very simple for ordinary people!"

"What kind of people do we come into contact with?"

Ennio fell silent. He hadn't considered these things; the people they interacted with most were girls who worked in the sex trade.

They don't look down on these girls; many of their friends are these girls, but that doesn't mean they can marry them.

If they were just petty thugs at the very bottom of society, perhaps that possibility still existed.

But they weren't the kind of people who were insignificant; they couldn't possibly marry these streetwalkers or girls who worked in the sex industry, which left Maurice with almost no options.

Lance crossed his arms. "So it seems your judgment and choice were absolutely correct."

"Although this girl likes your money, she has a clean background."

Morris nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's what I think too."

Ennio had given up on changing Maurice. He looked at Maurice, walked over and hugged him. "You should talk to me properly. I understand you."

Morris smiled and replied, "Why don't you ask?"

Okay, the misunderstanding is cleared up. Communication is always one of the best ways to resolve misunderstandings.

He then let Maurice leave. He was still in charge of the casino, although the casino didn't need him for everything and his job was quite relaxed, but he valued his work very much.

He didn't say these things to Lance and Enio to anyone else.

If his mother hadn't insisted on him getting married, he probably wouldn't have gotten married at all.

Having children doesn't necessarily require marriage. In most areas, abortion is illegal, so as long as someone can get pregnant, they can definitely have a child.

But Maurice's mother desperately wanted him to get married so that he could find someone to take care of him.

Her mother had remarried and had two more children, and Maurice planned to leave 30 percent of his estate to her.

The remaining 10% will be left to his wife, and the remaining 60% will be left to his children, whether they are boys or girls.

He believed that Lance and others would take good care of his property.

He didn't dare give it all to that woman; who knew if she would squander it all?

After returning to the casino, he surveyed his territory and then went back to his office.

Perhaps he was a little emotional today, or perhaps he was very active, because he kept coughing on the way back.

Three bullets pierced his lungs. Although doctors have done their best to repair his organs, there is still a significant loss of function compared to normal organs.

This is why the doctor said he wouldn't live very long.

He had been in a very low mood. Those who caused all this were gone, but the dead and his injuries could not be healed.

For anyone who has lost the ability to engage in strenuous exercise and knows that they may not live much longer, every minute and every second is torture.

But he feels much better now because Lance said that people will be able to get organ transplants in the future.

Even without relying on Lance, with his current wealth, he believed he could hold out until that day and be qualified to perform the surgery.

Sitting in the chair, I turned to look at the azure sky outside the window, and a smile involuntarily crept onto my face.

Lance wasn't a particularly important figure, and many ordinary people didn't know that he had returned to Golden Harbor City. However, the upper class of Golden Harbor City knew about it.

Mayor Williams called him immediately, hoping to invite him to dinner to discuss some recent changes.

Attorney General Terry also called him, inviting him to Mantegnon (the capital of Likale) for a talk, and it was quite urgent.

The reason is simple: the gubernatorial election in Licale is about to begin. As a major voting bloc in Licale, with its rapidly growing population and electorate, the sentiment in Goldenport often significantly influences the election's direction.

Not to mention that Lance has Lawrence Farm behind him.

Whether it was the Lawrence family or the small landowners who depended on them, these people were an important source of votes in Licale.

Therefore, as long as we can get things done with Lance, we will have a lot of confidence.

Lance and Attorney General Terry agreed on a time, and he would definitely go there in a couple of days, but for now, he needed to see Mayor Williams first.

Mayor Williams was very pleased that Lance had agreed to the appointment that evening, and he solemnly invited his whole family to attend this "family dinner".

There was a family dinner, and he seemed to be using this method to continuously strengthen and deepen his relationship with Lance.

Lance's development is accelerating and becoming increasingly incomprehensible, but he has a feeling that Lance will become a major figure who can influence federal policy in the future.

Even if he doesn't get into the Senate, he can't become president.

Before dinner began, Lance chatted with the men of the Williams family, including Mayor Williams' wife.

She is already forty years old this year, but her comfortable life makes her look like she is thirty-four or thirty-five years old.

Whether a person is rich or not can be seen from their outward appearance.

Because of their poverty, poor people face many troubles and have to work a lot, leaving them with no ability to take care of their own health.

However, wealthy people have no worries and do not need to work. Their bodies age more slowly, and because they have better care and medical conditions, they tend to look younger.

In addition to Mayor Williams and his wife, there were also James and Arthur.

It is worth noting that Mrs. Williams sat next to Lance, which allowed Lance to smell the expensive perfumes she was wearing.

This is actually a very normal social etiquette. For example, if Lance finishes his coffee, or if some pastries are too far away for him to reach, someone has to do it.

Some might think these things should be done by James or Arthur, but they are men.

Mayor Williams is a relatively traditional federal man, the kind of person who can be stubborn at times, such as adhering to certain rules.

This is done to make guests feel a warm sense of friendship, something that can only happen when the relationship is strong enough.

If the relationship isn't that good, then Lance will be served by a full-time maid who will stand by his side.

Keep adding coffee or tea for Lance, and constantly rearranging the locations of pastries and snacks for him to access.

"Try this year's new tea," Mrs. Williams said, pouring a small cup of tea into her teacup. This was also Lance's choice; he didn't really want coffee before dinner.

The tea looked very tempting, and there were other things in the teapot. The tea leaves were not green tea, but black tea, and they were mixed with some flower petals and even spices, which eventually formed what some upper-class people called "court black tea".

They say it's art...

Lance's response to this was "Hehe".

He took the teacup from his wife and took a small sip. To be honest, the taste was a bit strange; it wasn't exactly delicious, but it wasn't bad either.

Thankfully they didn't add sugar, otherwise it would have been really terrible.

Lance gave a brief comment, then took another pastry from her and took a small bite.

His gaze then shifted to Arthur, who was dressed very formally today and had a much more serious expression, showing none of his previous carefree demeanor.

Mayor Williams noticed the change in Lance's attention and smiled more. "Doesn't he look better than the last time you saw him?"

Lance nodded and said, "Yes, he looks more like an adult now. What happened?"

Mayor Williams looked at Arthur, who immediately straightened his back. "I'm getting married."

The whole family smiled as they arranged a political marriage for Arthur.

This was at his mother's request. Mayor Williams originally intended to just assign anyone, but his mother disagreed.

He adored his young wife, even treating her like his own daughter. With her dual identity, Mayor Williams had no power to resist and used his connections to find Arthur a suitable marriage partner.

The other party is a mid-to-high-level member of the Socialist Party, with good prospects for future development. Of course, this is also related to the fact that Mayor Williams is on the same line as Senator Cleveland.

Some believe that, barring unforeseen circumstances, the next ten to twenty years will be a golden age for Senator Cleveland.

Their political influence will continue to increase, eventually reaching its peak, and then slowly decline.

Even if they decline to the extreme, they are still much better off than ordinary senators, and they will not allow such a thing to happen.

It is highly likely that when their influence begins to decline, they will immediately use their seats as bargaining chips in political transactions, jump out of Congress, and set up their own "political offices."

This kind of thing is everywhere in New Goldshire, from every president, every speaker of both houses of parliament, and those influential senators, including governors.

Setting up their own political offices is their main task after retirement, allowing them to continue using their influence and become political brokers.

Don't think that brokers are all like rats in the sewers. You should know that the most powerful brokerage team in New Gold Market right now is the team of the former president and the former president before that.

Therefore, as long as the Cleveland senators don't provoke public outrage or violate any fundamental principles, their future is undoubtedly bright.

At this point, some people naturally hoped to align themselves with Senator Cleveland.

Top-level politicians will directly invite them to private events and then express their stance.

Those who are relatively low-ranking within or outside the Party and cannot be contacted try to cultivate good relationships with their subordinates.

Tom's recent stock price is incredibly high, and that's why.

They couldn't contact or communicate directly with Senator Cleveland, but they could talk to Tom and become friends.

Listening to Mayor Williams' words, Lance turned his gaze to Arthur, "When are you getting married? If I don't have anything else to do, remember to send me an invitation."

This is why Mayor Williams brought up the topic himself; the presence of someone like Lance, a core member of the Cleveland Senator team, at Arthur's wedding would definitely add a lot of prestige to the event.

He was all smiles. "I'll have that bastard prepare it for you!"

Arthur's mother smiled even more sweetly, picked up another piece of pastry, placed it on a plate, and handed it to him, saying, "Try this, Lance, it's delicious."

She really went to great lengths for her child, and it seems the results are quite good.

The cooks quickly prepared dinner, and at Mayor Williams' invitation, the five of them went to the restaurant and had Lance sit in another seat opposite Mayor Williams.

At the dinner table, they naturally started talking about things in Lapa, as domestic attention to the Alan region has been steadily increasing.

In particular, some shocking photos have sparked discussions about the Asia-Pacific region.

Those reporters, with their superb filming skills and ruthless hearts, captured one chilling scene after another!
Photos like "Vulture and Child," "Old Man's Dinner," and "Burden" deeply moved every Confederate!

Sometimes it has to be said that the people of the Federation have a pretty good capacity for empathy, and public opinion even suppressed the fervor for discussing the war at one point!
These photos and reports have already secured a spot in this year's Golden Newspaper Awards.

People were filled with curiosity about the place, including Mayor Williams and his family.

Lance selected a few things to say and spoke to them, causing them to look at him with pity for the people of Alan and to exclaim in surprise.

Of course, these emotional responses did not affect their eating speed; they listened to others' miserable lives while enjoying delicious food.

It tastes even better now!
After all, beauty is always highlighted by contrast!

(End of this chapter)