[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-103":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Shadow Empire",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2267723,4428,"Chapter 103: Resistance Only Causes Greater Harm, and How to Become a Socialite","the-shadow-empire-chapter-103",103,"\u003Cp>This era of the Federation could be called the finest of all, as everything was developing in a savage manner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under social rules that had not yet been fully perfected, under people whose courage had not yet been restrained by the judiciary, under circumstances where desire crushed reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, now, would be the finest era in the entire long history of the Federation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was better than when the Federation was first founded, because complete disorder was not necessarily a good era—people had no good life beyond plunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this very moment, a fascinating turning point had arrived, and everything was at its best.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Future historians and sociologists would summarize what was happening here, and what was about to happen, as the “Golden Age.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would likely describe everything occurring now as “gold lying everywhere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Higher incomes, lower unemployment, everyone had money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because everything was still in its primitive stage, still in the phase of savage development.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You could walk into a police station with a stack of cash and give five dollars to every officer you saw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would not refuse; they would only smile and say, “Good morning, sir,” or “Good afternoon, sir,” thank you for your generosity, then slip the money into their pockets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not refuse you outright and awkwardly tell you they couldn’t accept your money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you were committing a crime and happened to encounter them enforcing the law, they would smile, put away their weapons, and tell you and the other victim that this was surely a misunderstanding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was also the worst of eras, because everything was uncertain—it could be a ladder to your success, or a fast train to your damnation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You never knew what you would face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lately, Lans had been paying attention to newspaper reports that some Federation-native conglomerates had been sanctioned for violating the Monopoly Act, but strangely, the more they were sanctioned, the richer they became and the larger their empires grew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, one company monopolizing an industry had a market value of only one billion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, that single company had been split into ten companies, each with a market value of five hundred million, and all core shareholders were themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, their wealth had quintupled, yet the Federation government and capitalists told the public that monopolies had vanished!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, foreign capitalists were merely dismantled, served up on tables, and turned into delicacies because they refused to share their wealth with Federation citizens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Federation citizens, this was the finest era—they could brazenly trample the law and savage-plunder any wealth they desired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to those outside the Federation, this was the worst era—if you couldn’t make Federation citizens feel you were covered in thorns, they had no qualms about preparing your seasonings and cooking methods in advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like… Mr. Chobaf right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans looked at him; this was not the last extortion, only the beginning, and Lans knew well that Mr. Chobaf could not refuse such extortion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His current struggle was essentially meaningless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Out of respect for their shared imperial homeland and the desire to unite more imperial people, Lans said softly, “Mr. Chobaf, my personal advice is that you speak with the mayor, give him twenty thousand privately, then give Arthur two hundred thousand to settle this matter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Instead of trying to resolve it through more aggressive means.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My analogy may be inappropriate—if you feel offended, please forgive me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s as if you, right now, are a beautiful young woman, cornered by a gang of thugs in a dead-end alley at midnight; they’ve stolen your belongings and demand you take off your clothes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You feel trapped, so you’re considering whether to resist—you might think resistance will rob them of courage and stop them from further violating you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But, Mr. Chobaf, sometimes resistance doesn’t achieve that—it only reveals their more brutal side.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At first, they may have only wanted… a little sweetness from you, but your resistance made them feel disrespected, so now they don’t just want sweetness—they want your life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Chobaf stared directly at Lans; this analogy was deeply offensive, yet it struck him right at the heart!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That feeling… was exactly right!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s it—a gang of thugs surrounding him, and now he wanted to resist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Chobaf looked at Lans, his expression strange—wanting to laugh, yet wanting to cry, twisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So… must I just endure their violation?” he said, then suddenly let out a faint laugh, quickly stifled, but he had indeed laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A laugh of self-mockery, a laugh at Lans’s exaggerated humor, and a laugh of helplessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assistant’s expression was also twisted; laughing now was impolite, but… he turned aside, ignoring Mr. Chobaf’s warning glance, shook for a moment, then turned back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans nodded, “You endure, and you lose only a little dignity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if you resist, you might lose everything you own.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you weren’t a millionaire, but someone like me—with no burdens—then let them come!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Until the final moment arrives, no one knows whether they violate me—or I violate them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was also a curious phenomenon: organized crime syndicates in the Federation were growing wildly, some of which had reached astonishing sizes, with revenues rivaling those of major conglomerates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet no one ever troubled them; instead, people maintained close ties with them, because every plunderer knew these gangs were dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One misstep, and you’d pierce your own hand—the poison on the needle’s tip would cost you your life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far easier targets were those foreign capitals without threat, without thorns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to Lans’s words, things he had once struggled to understand suddenly became clear; his mood relaxed slightly, “So… it seems I have no choice?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans considered for a moment, then, under Mr. Chobaf’s expectant gaze, said softly, “Actually, there’s another way: bankruptcy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bankruptcy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans pulled out a cigarette; the assistant quickly produced an elegant silver lighter and lit it for him. “Yes. Bankruptcy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You lose all value to plunderers—they won’t bother you. It’s like… when they lift your hair to commit violence and discover you’re the Federation’s ugliest.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It would instantly kill all their interest!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And you’d be safe!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sometimes poverty isn’t a problem—for us immigrants, it’s actually protection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who would bother an immigrant who’s utterly destitute?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’d avoid you as fast as they could; if you bit them, they’d just get bitten—would they dare bite back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Chobaf stared at Lans in amazement, “I’ve never heard anyone see through the surface so clearly and strike straight to the core—you’re the first, Lans.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A third option beyond obedience or resistance—I’m curious how someone so young could possess such terrifying wisdom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans took a drag of his cigarette, “Maybe because I don’t want to become someone like you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Chobaf froze, then fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lans kept talking, “Whether you want to provoke them, submit to them, or make them realize you’re too hard to bite, you must be prepared to bear the consequences.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, my personal advice remains the same: if you want to enter the Federation’s upper circles, you must learn to become a courtesan first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if it means becoming a mistress to different men.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you want something, you must pay for it, Mr. Chobaf—logically, your experience should surpass mine; you should know better than I do that nothing is gained without sacrifice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The more you gain, the more you pay!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Chobaf let out a bitter laugh, lit his own cigarette, “You’ve given me many ideas, but it feels like we’ve done nothing—I’m not content, Lans.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It was the same in the Empire.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nobles oppressed and exploited us; I had to flee to the Federation, built success over decades, and now the Federation’s nobles have begun again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re right—as long as I don’t enter their upper circle, to them I’m always just a courtesan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Used when needed, discarded afterward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He crushed the cigarette he’d only smoked two puffs of into the ashtray, then stood and extended his hand, “Thank you for your help—it’s clarified many things for me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve decided to give you a gift—I hope you won’t refuse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans showed the right amount of appropriate curiosity, turned to the assistant, “Have the lawyer prepare a debt transfer agreement—transfer the debts we selected earlier to Lans for one dollar.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assistant blinked, then quickly went to do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Chobaf looked at Lans, “I know you might think… this isn’t a good gift. But I have my own reasoning—I’m short on cash right now and can’t afford to repay you with much money. These debts might be another way to thank you—if you can recover them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans was curious, “How much?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Chobaf paused, then laughed, “About five hundred thousand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans couldn’t help but whistle, “Mr. Chobaf, even though we’re friends, now that I know this number, I’m tempted to join them and extort you myself!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Chobaf laughed too, “You should’ve joined earlier.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He made his decision: if he must become a courtesan, he would become the most illustrious, the highest-class courtesan in this circle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the way, in upper circles, courtesans weren’t called courtesans—that term was too crude; they were called—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Socialites!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>1: Night symbolizes how Federation law fails to illuminate people; the dead-end alley represents the impossibility of seeking legal solutions, illustrating the Federation’s darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>",1536,"2026-06-19T21:10:27.799Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","519406d1fe0e27c64a5601c3ff93f13cb131bb39dbcda46b78cf54f004306789","the-shadow-empire-chapter-104","the-shadow-empire-chapter-102",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]