[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-11":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},2267631,4428,"Chapter 11","the-shadow-empire-chapter-11",11,"\u003Cp>\"Mr. President, over ten groups have decided to hold rallies in Jincheng City, protesting that excessive immigration has brought criminals and crime to the Federation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Senator Xilan publicly stated this morning that he supports your opponent, believing that stricter management of immigrants and illegal immigrants can effectively improve public happiness.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Additionally... Mr. ... and Mr. ... both hope you can return their calls.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The President raised his hand, stopping his aide from continuing—compared to other matters, these two gentlemen’s concerns were clearly more important.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were both campaign donors to the President; before his victory, he had promised them he would supply society with more cheap labor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, it wasn’t just these two gentlemen who received such promises—there were many more campaign supporters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Federation’s economy is growing rapidly; with technological advancement, the cost of raw materials and coarse processed goods has gradually declined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Conversely, labor costs have risen year after year; four years ago, they only needed to pay twenty-eight credits to hire a willing worker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, you need at least thirty-five credits to recruit a lazy, shirking worker; if you want someone diligent, you absolutely need forty credits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By next year, the standard wage may start at forty credits, and some positions will require even more!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For large factories employing thousands or even tens of thousands, reducing worker costs by just three credits per person per month could save tens of thousands of credits annually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the core motive behind the President’s push to legalize illegal immigrants—he must fulfill his promises to these donors by supplying cheap labor to society.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cannot make his own citizens abandon high incomes and accept wages below the social standard for physically demanding jobs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he must target these undocumented individuals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pondered for a moment, adjusted his thoughts, and first dialed a number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After brief pleasantries, he promised the conglomerate CEO he would resolve these issues quickly, and also mentioned that if he succeeded, he expected the man’s full support for his re-election in return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he called the second gentleman, then the third.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterwards, he summoned his aide team, and they held a morning meeting in his office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ve spoken with several gentlemen; right now, the most important thing is securing their support.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t want to say anything discouraging, but our campaign situation is difficult—if our supporters leave us, the chance of re-election becomes very slim.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You must find a way to solve this problem—we’re running out of time...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Presidential Palace remained busy; everyone seemed to have endless tasks, yet the aides discussed endlessly without reaching any good conclusions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. President, I believe the most urgent matter now is to quell the violence in Jincheng City—eleven law enforcers died; this outcome has caused massive social shock.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our opponents have already begun exploiting this news to rally support; we must either stop them or outdo them with even greater aggression.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The aide didn’t continue—right now, the President appeared to have two choices, but in truth, he had none left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The President considered for a moment. \"First, find a way to resolve this issue—don’t let people fixate on these conflicts. Release some positive news; people need uplifting content.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As for this incident, find a way to downplay its significance...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the President was pondering how to downplay the series of issues triggered by the clash, his rivals were also trying to create more trouble for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each of their goals was simple and harmless: to make their opponent lose the election.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for what might happen in the process, or what new societal changes might emerge, they didn’t really care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the house caught fire, it didn’t matter—if they became its owner, they’d build a new one, or at least give it a fresh renovation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they weren’t the owner, why should they care?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several days after the incident, sizable protest groups had emerged within Jincheng City, denouncing the local government’s tolerance of illegal immigrants and condemning the Federation’s neglect of the harm caused by smuggling and illegal immigration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indirectly, they were attacking the President’s policies and decisions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Federation is a free nation; the law permits people to say whatever they wish, so even if these protest messages seemed extreme, they and their speech were entirely legal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Driven by capitalist funding and the political influence of campaign teams, what should have been a quickly resolved case showed no sign of ending.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Protesters holding signs marched past the bakery; everyone looked furious, demanding all thieves, prostitutes, and criminals who had illegally crossed the border be sent back to their home countries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if all thieves, prostitutes, and criminals were illegal immigrants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Federation’s people were truly so virtuous, the nation would have collapsed long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans watched from behind the counter; public sentiment in Jincheng City was growing increasingly complex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were few customers in the bakery this morning—just a few old men sitting around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They ordered a ten-cent slice of toast and a fifteen-cent cup of coffee, then sat there for half the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fat owner had recently seemed to grow smarter; he rarely provoked Lans anymore. He had always wanted to pressure Lans into submission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the result was always the same—he achieved nothing but a bellyful of anger. Now he’d grown wiser; he wanted to see whether Lans, who owed him more money each month, could still smile by month’s end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans now owed him twelve credits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At ten percent monthly interest, by month’s end he’d owe fifteen credits, plus one and a half credits in interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t seem like much—but if he never paid him wages, Lans would work for him for free his entire life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I wonder when these protests will end—they’re already starting to affect our lives,\" one customer said to his friend, holding a newspaper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the true nature of the Federation Bakery—it wasn’t just a place to buy bread; it also had social qualities like a tea house or café.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some customers bought bread, then sat down, ordered coffee, chatted, and enjoyed their food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The slow rhythm of the elderly’s lives depended on this—it was one of their most relaxing moments each day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chatting, boasting, reading newspapers, voicing opinions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The customer beside him sighed. \"Who knows?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maybe things will calm down before the election...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, a newsboy suddenly dashed past the bakery door, waving a newspaper and wearing broken shoes, shouting, \"The Empire withdraws its ambassador—international situation faces dramatic change...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the bakery froze for a moment, then fell into a long silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no doubt—the reason for withdrawing the ambassador stemmed from the Emperor’s absurd \"idea.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, many ordinary people had realized that what was once called a declaration of war might no longer be the Emperor’s \"joke.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though most people rationally didn’t believe war would break out, the shadow of war had descended, making it hard to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The customers who had been chatting quietly left their money on the table and rose to depart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fat owner snapped out of his daze, looked at Lans with a complex expression, and asked, \"Do you think they’ll go to war?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This might be the first time in a long while he had spoken to Lans not to make him do more work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans wiped the display case, making it spotless, and replied, \"No... unless Mr. President...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he realized—if the President was losing the election, war might be the most advantageous move for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t a ridiculous act born of desperation by the Emperor—it was pure political opportunism with zero cost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it failed, he’d only be mocked—he’d already been driven out of the imperial capital by rebels; nothing could be funnier than that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Declaring war on the Federation would be, at most, the second-funniest thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if it succeeded, he could reclaim everything he’d lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it wasn’t reckless—there was a genuinely high probability of success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the Federation’s constitution, no election can be held during wartime; the President automatically gains re-election until the war ends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The President doesn’t even need to sustain the war for long—three months would be enough for him to secure re-election.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans’s sudden silence made the fat owner sense something unsettling in the air. He wiped his hands. \"I’m going out. Watch the shop.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He returned to his room with a serious expression, changed clothes—if war really might come, he needed to stockpile enough flour and ingredients.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether he baked them into bread or sold them directly, he could make a fortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The apprentice leaned against the doorframe, gazing blankly at everything outside—his confusion mirrored the darkening sky, devoid of any glimmer of wisdom.\u003C\u002Fp>",1449,"2026-06-19T21:10:27.799Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","51b364e586d5e17183b71c92be8649aa588afb5add01e1d6e51c423a4df74498","the-shadow-empire-chapter-12","the-shadow-empire-chapter-10",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]