[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-16":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},2267636,4428,"Chapter 16: A New Beginning","the-shadow-empire-chapter-16",16,"\u003Cp>“I didn’t really have a choice,” Lans said, neatly arranging the two contracts. “But it’s also the best option.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused. “So when do I start?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alberto didn’t immediately send him to work; instead, he asked about Lans’s current job. “What are you going to do about your bakery job?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s just twenty bucks. I’ll handle it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alberto pulled open a drawer, took out a roll of cash, counted out twenty bills, and handed them to Lans. “Here’s forty. That’s your expenses for the next few days. I hope this forty makes me feel like I spent it well!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans took the money. “I guarantee you’ll think it was worth every penny.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go find Fodis. He’ll give you some small tools you can use when collecting debts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Get to work. I’m waiting for good news.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans stood up, straightened his clothes, then turned and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, Alberto had already spoken to Fodis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when he arrived at the lobby, Fodis was already waiting for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He led Lans to a small house beside the parking lot in the back. “What kind of weapon are you used to?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A baseball bat, a dagger, or a hunting knife?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I don’t recommend you start with lethal weapons. If you accidentally kill one of our esteemed clients, the boss will peel your skin off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Unless you can make up for his losses!” As he spoke, Fodis opened the door. From the outside, the room looked unremarkable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But inside, you’d find weapons hanging everywhere in piles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Baseball bats, daggers, hunting knives, steel pipes, steel rods—almost everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you have guns?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fodis’s expression of “You’ve never seen anything like this, country bumpkin!” hadn’t fully formed before it turned awkward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thermal weapons are with Stone. You’ll meet him later—but not now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Without the boss’s permission, you can’t get a gun from the company. Of course, buying one yourself is your own business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So pick a weapon first. I recommend this one!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took down a baseball bat with red, white, and blue stripes, swung it a few times, and handed it to Lans. “Authentic Jinchang City Sailboat Team bat. I love their games. This season, they’ll win the championship!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was clear he was a baseball fan. Then he handed the bat to Lans. “Learn how to strike first. Then consider more threatening weapons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our job is to help people who need money to get through hard times—and then get our money back once they’re through. We never initiate violence. Do you understand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fodis repeated this several times, then left the “weapon room” with Lans. “Go pick a car. We can’t have you and your friends running around for us…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans’s eyes lit up. Nobody disliked driving. He immediately looked toward the shiny luxury sedans gleaming in the sunlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unfortunately, Fodis turned his body in another direction and pointed to a few battered, filthy cars parked in the alley. “Those are the ones you should pick.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He scratched his head; his scalp felt strangely warm. “For heaven’s sake, can these even run?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why not?” Fodis walked over to one car, grabbed the door handle, and gave it a light tug. With a click, the entire door came off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quickly caught the nearly collapsing door and shouted loudly, “Jamie! Why is there a car here with its door off?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A middle-aged man in denim overalls, covered in grime, stepped out from what looked like a warehouse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held a cigarette in his mouth and said impatiently, “That car just arrived. The ones next to it are fine. Why’d you pick the broken one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this our new partner?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fodis clapped his hands and released the door. “Not exactly. But I think we’ll be working together for a while.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He introduced Lans. “This is Jamie. If you watch racing, you know the Supersonic Team—he’s their number two mechanic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But something unpleasant happened, so now he works for the boss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jamie shrugged. “I owe him a favor, so I’m working to pay it off.” He paused, picked a key from a row hanging on the wall, and tossed it to Lans. “Try your new car—the brown one. I tuned it specially.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many debtors genuinely can’t pay—they have no money. To reduce losses, the company repossesses their cars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luxury cars can be rented out or resold. Other cars, if they can be sold to secondhand dealers, are sold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ones that won’t sell are kept here—they’ll be useful someday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans started the engine with some difficulty. What felt unfamiliar was the car’s manual throttle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An old car—no one knew how many years old. The throttle was on the right side of the steering wheel, operated by pulling back to increase speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had a gauge where the throttle rod could be hooked to hold its position, ensuring constant fuel flow—call it a throttle rod, though Lans didn’t know what else to call it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But one had to admit: this might be the earliest car with cruise control…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief trial, he got used to it. Even with the manual throttle, once accustomed, it wasn’t inconvenient at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans put the baseball bat in the trunk, bid farewell to Fodis and Jamie, and drove off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two exchanged a few words, then went their separate ways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Driving on the road, Lans remained nervous for a while, but eventually grew accustomed to the traffic of this era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as he didn’t exceed thirty miles per hour, the car ran fairly smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drove straight to the bridge near the docks—Elwin and the others lived there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Passing a store, he stopped and spent two bucks to buy ten packs of cigarettes and a box of matches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time he reached under the bridge, forty minutes had passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The honk made several heads pop out from the underpass. Elwin stared in disbelief at Lans standing beside the car.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held a cigarette between his lips, slightly bent over, right hand resting beside the steering wheel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My god, where did you get this car?” The guys quickly ran out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They carried a distinct odor—summer, long without bathing or changing clothes—but it wasn’t their fault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were no good washing facilities here, even though the river was right beside them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jinchang City’s sewage and treated industrial waste flowed into the sea, so the river’s water was black and stank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In winter, the smell wasn’t as sharp; in summer, the sea salt could mask some of it. Though people had complained to City Hall many times, the masters only cared about economic growth comparisons—not whether the river stank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Young men who hadn’t bathed or changed clothes for days, and who sweated easily, smelled like they could knock someone dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They stood beside the car, touching this true old-timer. Lans handed them cigarettes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Corti—the man we borrowed money from—gave us a new job.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we help him recover two of his debts, our debt to him is wiped clean, and we’ll get a cut.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He patted the car. “This is his advance on transportation. I need four people with me. Who’s first?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elwin stepped right beside Lans. “I’m going.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan slapped his chest. “I’m going too. I owe you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merlo opened his mouth, but Lans stopped him. “Stay behind. You’re older—you’ll stay calmer in emergencies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If anything happens, buy time. We’ll be back soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He casually picked two others from the crowd and told them to get in the car.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan sat in the front passenger seat. As he entered, the car visibly sagged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans asked curiously, “How much do you weigh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked embarrassed. “One hundred eighty pounds. But I’ve lost some weight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elwin laughed from the back seat. “Don’t believe him—that scale only goes up to one hundred eighty!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan flushed with anger. “Damn it, no one will think you’re mute if you shut up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the car moved, their laughter faded. They rolled down the windows, enjoying the hot, uncomfortable wind blowing in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first debtor owed Alberto a thousand bucks: a man named Candra, an insurance company employee. He’d borrowed the money and was now due to repay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d been stalling, and rumors said he was planning to flee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are we going to beat him up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the destination neared, Ethan couldn’t help asking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans drove, not looking back. “That depends on whether he cooperates…”\u003C\u002Fp>",1387,"2026-06-19T21:10:27.799Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4decb31c653b7709a05ea459d792f0d8ed6e918fb017dd2dcf326b680a28f9b1","the-shadow-empire-chapter-17","the-shadow-empire-chapter-15",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]