shadow empire

Thunderstorm.

The crackling raindrops the size of soybeans instantly covered the entire city and surrounding areas.

The world seems to be covered with a veil, making it difficult to see clearly.

The streets were full of people hiding from the rain. Those beautiful skirts were soaked by the rain and stuck to their slender and round legs, making them look even more beautiful.

Some people who were hiding from the rain came to the bakery, and for the sake of face, they bought some bread, more or less.

If it were usual, there would definitely be some regular customers chatting at this time, which would liven up the atmosphere in the bakery and make it seem more cheerful.

But today, no one seemed to be in the mood to chat, and everyone was preoccupied with something.

They were all looking at the dark sky outside the window. The dark clouds were so low that it seemed as if they could touch it if they walked out and stretched out their hands.

It not only weighed down the sky above LOS City, but also suppressed people's emotions.

In fact, such thunderstorms often occur in LOS City. It is summer now and this is by the sea, so thunderstorms come and go quickly.

Sometimes people are grateful for such thunderstorms, because their arrival washes away the dust in the city, makes the air fresh, and brings a touch of coolness to the hot city.

But now, people are not in the mood to think about these things.

It's not that the Federation has never experienced war, nor has it never participated in wars. It is precisely because they know the horrors of war that they are caught in a situation of confusion and anxiety.

It is always a happy thing to see others in trouble, but when this misfortune happens to yourself, no one can laugh.

The gloomy sky at this time is very much like people's hearts where the sun is blocked by dark clouds.

Lance, who thought he had seen some big scenes, could only stare in amazement at the torrent of history as it roared towards him, without any way to do anything.

Because of the thunderstorm, there were few people on the streets before noon.

The thunderstorm finally ended at around eleven o'clock, and the golden sunlight once again pierced through the haze, tore through the dark clouds, and shone on the earth.

After being washed by the rain, LOS City is full of freshness, and the number of pedestrians on the streets is gradually increasing.

Councilman Petrit looked at his wet trouser legs with some dissatisfaction. In fact, federal politicians at the level of "city councillor", do not need to take sides in principle.

That's what it seems on the surface.

But in reality, you still need to take sides.

If they want to move up, whether it's running for mayor or entering the state legislature, they have to have someone supporting them.

Behind Congressman Petrit is the majority party in the state senate, and behind him are higher-level figures in Congress.

Political instructions were conveyed from top to bottom, layer by layer until they reached him. He was supposed to hold a press conference today, but it suddenly rained heavily, which made him a little irritated.

Perhaps he could not sum up the insightful statement that "once you enter politics, you have no choice", but he also understood that when he made the choice to go into politics, he lost a lot of things, even part of his personality.

At this stage in the urban political circle, especially for an economic engine like Jingang City, there is no chance to continue climbing up simply by relying on personal ability.

Taking sides becomes a necessary choice.

The resources in the team are distributed layer by layer, and you have a share. So when you are needed, you have to contribute your own strength to the entire team.

When Congressman Petrit stood on the wet stage, feeling the rain seeping into his leather shoes through the not completely sealed seams on the edges, and his toes could clearly feel like they were wrapped in water every time he moved, he became even more irritated.

Damn politics!

But his face was as bright and dazzling as the sun that broke through the dark clouds at this moment.

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen for coming here. This is a brief press conference..." Many reporters have already started shouting, with a very violent emotion brewing in him.

He resisted the urge to destroy something, pursed his lips, and continued, "Regarding the exchange of fire a few days ago, after a detailed investigation by our investigation team, there are a few things that need to be explained."

"First of all, not all the people on the smuggling boat are armed. There are only a few armed people, probably less than ten in total, and the rest are all stowaways."

"Secondly, the number of Coast Guard officers who died at the scene was two, with many seriously injured, while the price paid by the militants was that almost all of them were wiped out."

"The remaining seven people were sent to the hospital, but died during rescue efforts because the hospital did not have enough emergency doctors and surgeons."

"In other words, they could have survived."

"Finally, I must admit that our officers killed approximately 37 innocent people out of personal vengeance after the exchange of fire."

"I apologize on their behalf for the innocent victims..."

In fact, when Petrit said this, he already knew what he was going to face next, but he was ready. This was what he had to do.

Only in this way can the good brothers in the "team" see that he is a good brother who is brave enough to take responsibility and is not afraid of responsibility.

What he published seemed to be a supplement to the investigation of the case, but in fact, he was denying the previous conclusions.

First, he hinted at the incompetence of the Coast Guard and local police officers, as eleven of them died when there were less than ten militants.

If the other side is a large number of armed militants, the people may think that it may be because the armed militants have strong firepower and are very professional, so they will only sympathize with the victims.

But now, they just think these people are fucking stupid!

Secondly, he told the media and the public that only two people actually died in the exchange of fire, and the rest died because of untimely rescue.

Transfer the public's dissatisfaction and hatred towards illegal immigrants and even legal immigrants to the medical system.

In fact, federal people have hated medical groups and the medical system for a long time. This is a suitable target to bear the responsibility, and they don't really care about these things.

The last point is that the sacrificed police officers, who are being heroized by some people, are demonized in order to reduce people's favourability and sympathy for them.

People will only sympathize with the departure of a hero, and will not express such emotions towards a demon.

In this way, the purpose of getting people out of this matter can be achieved.

No one likes to be deceived, and the same goes for those who are joining in the fun. They will definitely feel angry and feel that they are being used.

Councillor Petrit was well aware that after he said these words, he would be at the centre of a storm and would be silent for a while if he wasn't careful.

But this is also an opportunity. As long as he can get through this crisis safely, he will be qualified to run for mayor or enter the state legislature.

This kind of public statement that clearly and completely denied the previous conclusions immediately triggered crazy media reprints, and public opinion became more complicated.

Two other city council members also took the initiative to jump out and criticize Petrit for saying that what he said was bullshit and slander without actual evidence. The coast patrol even said they would sue him!

In fact, neither side could produce any real and valid evidence to prove that what they said was true, and that innocent illegal immigrants were indeed massacred out of anger.

A member of the Coast Guard entered the cabin with a submachine gun, and then the other members had to go in and fire more shots in order to silence him and avoid complicating the situation.

At the same time, it cannot be said that the statement about the untimely rescue was completely wrong. Anyway, as long as the person was still breathing and entered the hospital, and as long as he did not die on the spot, the responsibility of the scene was reduced by half.

The two sides threw dirty water on each other, abused each other, and exposed each other's past, vividly interpreting the essence of federal politics.

According to a survey conducted by the world's mainstream media "Times", random interviews were conducted in major civilized countries around the world. Among more than 50,000 samples, 77 percent of people said they would pay attention to federal political news.

It's not because they are interested in politics, but they want to know how ridiculous the federal political arena can be!

Some people want to reduce the severity of this case, and naturally there are also people who want to continue to increase the severity.

Soon people were divided into two factions. This was also the social activity with the largest number of participants in the history of the Federation, commonly known as "political fighting."

But no matter how things change, those who are destined to be unlucky will still be unlucky.

Because of Lance's words, Erwin and his people would stick together every day. When things were at their peak two days ago, someone tried to attack them.

But seeing that there were many of them, and they were all young and strong men, he ultimately failed.

However, as things continued to ferment in the past few days, and the imperial emperor continued to make hysterical and absurd demands, the federal people's dissatisfaction and even hatred towards the imperial people continued to rise.

Just today, as soon as they arrived at the dock, the people from the dock management office told them that they had to leave.

"I know you are all good guys, but you have seen the current situation. They may not be able to cause any trouble to you, but they will cause trouble to us."

"Some people have already gone to the company's door to block it, demanding that we ban you from being hired."

"And this incident is not directed at anyone. Anyone who does not have a social security number and work card will not be allowed to work at the port. We respect and abide by federal laws."

The dock workers who had been in charge of allocating the work showed expressions of great regret. In fact, they also liked these illegal workers.

These illegal workers are hardworking and willing to do anything. Even if they are asked to unclog a sewer, they will jump in directly.

Instead of asking for this and that like the locals, and also demanding extra salary for "work outside of job content".

But we have to do this now. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that LOS City is becoming a place where two forces, or even multiple forces, clash.

Although the terminal management company has a big tree behind it, it is obviously more cost-effective to temporarily lay off some illegal workers than to stabilize the stock price!

The capitalists know what is right.

This decisiveness also made Irwin and others realize that they were unemployed.