[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-17":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},2267637,4428,"Chapter 17: Everyone Just Wants to Live","the-shadow-empire-chapter-17",17,"\u003Cp>A apartment building, located in the city’s central district.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two most bustling areas in Jincheng City are simply these: first, the commercial street in the downtown core, where Jincheng’s most thrilling money-sinking dens gather.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the most upscale hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, to the most famous adult industries, strip clubs, and casinos—all are concentrated here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“An inch of land, an inch of gold”—that’s what downtown Jincheng is like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other area is the port and its surrounding districts, which lean more toward the “working class.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you rent a private room at a downtown strip club and hire a dancer for thirty minutes, it’ll cost you at least fifty credits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the cheap, lively bars near the port, you can get all that for just ten credits—and if you add five more, you can enjoy an excellent service—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s not illegal, because according to federal law, illegal erotic transactions require actual physical acts; this doesn’t count.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sailors casually squander their hard-earned money; girls busily earn theirs through labor—nothing shameful about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond these two areas, nowhere else is considered lively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where there’s no bustle, rent stays low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at this mid-range apartment, Lans hadn’t even stepped out of the car before he began assigning tasks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elvin, you and… (Partner A), stay downstairs and watch for anyone coming out. If you spot that idiot running off, stop him—the trunk has a crowbar.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ethan, you and… (Partner B) come up with me. Your main job is to guard the entrance. If anyone gathers to watch, scatter them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Remember, act brutal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans emphasized, “If this job goes smoothly, I’ll mention it to Mr. Cotty—we might get a cut. This work isn’t illegal, and it pays faster than a regular job.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clapped Elvin on the shoulder. “Hold the door tight—your job isn’t easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elvin laughed bitterly. “No need to comfort me—I know what I’m supposed to do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans grinned and punched him lightly, then opened the car door and grabbed the baseball bat from the trunk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three walked toward the apartment. At the entrance stood a reception desk, where a security guard, around forty, froze upon seeing them enter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hesitated, as if weighing whether to fulfill his duty—but Lans helped him decide—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised the bat toward the guard, who immediately raised his hands and sat down. “I know nothing, sir.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans told Ethan to press the elevator button. “We’re here for someone. We won’t damage anything. If anything breaks, leave a bill—I’ll pay.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But don’t do anything else I didn’t order.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thirty credits a month? Don’t sell your soul for the capitalists.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guard’s face darkened with serious thought. “You’re right, sir.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans lowered the bat, and the three stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the fourth floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old elevator always made Lans feel unsafe. Ethan’s hands trembled—whether from excitement or fear, he couldn’t tell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Partner A, however, seemed more excited. “Will I have to hit someone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Should I punch him in the jaw or kick his balls?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What if I crack his skull? Will that cause trouble?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans rolled his eyes. “You just watch me. Don’t move until I give the order.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the fourth floor, they stood outside an apartment door. Lans banged hard. “Anyone in there?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knocked for a long time. No answer. But he heard footsteps inside—the man clearly wasn’t opening up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He changed tactics immediately, pounding harder. “You haven’t paid your sanitation fee this month! Open up or I’ll lock you in and starve you, you son of a bitch!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Ethan and Partner A’s shock, footsteps stirred inside. “Fuck! I just paid that fee!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door yanked open violently—but what greeted Mr. White wasn’t the guard or the manager’s annoying face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. White instantly realized his mistake and shoved hard to slam the door shut—but Lans was faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slammed forward. As the door burst open, Mr. White grabbed the nearest thing—a fish tank, already covered in green mold—and hurled it at Lans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the vase, books, and other objects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anything he could grab, he threw. Lans dodged and weaved until he closed in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Mr. White tried to bolt into the inner room, the bat cracked across his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dull thud. Lans rolled his shoulders, then walked toward Mr. White, writhing on the floor, screaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His screams had drawn attention from nearby tenants. Lans glanced back at Ethan and Partner A. “Send them back to their rooms. If anything else happens, call me. I need to talk to Mr. White.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shut the door. The screams inside instantly dulled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those nosy neighbors, who’d been peering out to watch, now saw Ethan’s grim smile—and within a second, every door slammed shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who the hell cares if your neighbor’s in trouble, living here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as the trouble doesn’t touch you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, Mr. White still howled on the floor. Lans pulled out a cigarette, lit one, and took a drag.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked down at himself—drenched in the stench of that rotting fish tank water, sharp and foul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bloody gash ran along his arm—from the fish tank. His eyes darkened as he stepped toward Mr. White.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. White, now recovered from shock and pain, scrambled backward four or five meters. “I don’t know you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans pulled out the contract and showed it to him. “Three thousand five hundred credits. Remember?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Undoubtedly, Mr. White remembered. His eyes darted away. “I signed under duress—I can’t pay this back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans studied the contract. “But when you took the first thousand, you didn’t look so troubled.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. White, honestly—I have no direct tie to the finance company. They pay me; I collect the debt. If you have a problem with this contract, sue them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But you can’t let your dispute with them cost me my job—and starve me and my brothers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here’s your chance: don’t make this hard for me, and I won’t make it hard for you. I just need to take back three thousand five hundred credits to settle the account—not drag you and your money out of here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before I came, Mr. Cotty told me: the money’s optional—but you must be brought to him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know how these big men are—sometimes they’d rather lose the money than let their anger go unavenged.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once you’re there, whether you live or die, whether you’re crippled—I can’t predict.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you think three thousand five hundred credits matter more than your life and health, nod now. I’ll walk away and never ask for a cent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell me your choice, Mr. White.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. White’s face twisted with terror. This debt had been unpaid for two years—interest had stopped accruing a year ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Albert knew people like this: even if you told them the interest was ten times the principal, they’d shrug. They never intended to pay from the start.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All these high-interest borrowers were the same. When desperate for cash, they’d sign their names even for a hundredfold interest—without blinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether they could repay? Who the hell cared?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they truly cared, would they even take out a loan like this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some people just hold onto false hope—thinking these people won’t harm them over a few credits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. White stayed silent. Lans, cigarette dangling, gripped the bat’s handle and raised it high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face twisted in panic, voice cracking. “I don’t have the money!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re lying!”—the bat cracked hard against Mr. White’s thigh bone. The bone was tough, but it had cracked—sound dull, fragmented, not solid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rolled on the floor, clutching his leg, unbearable pain forcing snot from his nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans glanced at Mr. White, then at the kitchen, walked over, and picked up a dinner knife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. White’s terror deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans wiped the blade. “I’m an imperial citizen. An illegal immigrant. Who knows when immigration will drag me back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To survive here, Mr. White, I’m willing to risk murder. But are you ready to die?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Lans entered the bedroom and pulled out a bedsheet, spreading it on the floor, Mr. White trembled violently—even the pain in his leg seemed to fade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face twisted in agony, struggling—then he screamed as if crying out: “In the flowerpot on the balcony!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fuck! Shit!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take the money and get the hell out of my apartment—I’ll sue you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans grinned. “That’s your problem, Mr. White.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked to the balcony, smashed the flowerpots onto the floor, and found two bundles of chips wrapped in brown paper—five thousand credits total.\u003C\u002Fp>",1405,"2026-06-19T21:10:27.799Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","997d80f0df0d4a173afcc0b66412ae3a6baca0bad6cffc58466a5a41ff0c0e20","the-shadow-empire-chapter-18","the-shadow-empire-chapter-16",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]