Chapter 176

After Branch Chief Bulu won the branch darts tournament championship and happily collected the one thousand dollars provided by the sponsor, he returned to his office with Lanse.

This time, Branch Chief Bulu didn't sit behind his desk but sat on the sofa with Lanse, and he also had his secretary bring two cups of good coffee.

The coffee was fragrant and mellow; the young policewoman's gaze lingered on Lanse for a while before she turned and left.

Being rich and young can always attract more of the opposite sex.

"Bulu, is it okay if I address you like this?", Lanse started by omitting the job title.

Branch Chief Bulu certainly wouldn't have any objections; in fact, although this sum of money couldn't be considered a very large amount for him, it was definitely not small either.

With this money as a cushion, Branch Chief Bulu would naturally be very easy to talk to, "Of course no problem, Lanse, my friends all call me that."

Lanse nodded, looking very happy, as if he were celebrating the fact that they could become good friends.

"I know a reporter friend, a big reporter for 'Today's Jincheng'; I chatted with him about the recent changes in the Imperial District, and he was very impressed that you could manage this place so well, so he plans to give you one-eighth of a page in the political section of 'Today's Jincheng'."

Branch Chief Bulu's eyes widened a bit; although he knew it was unlikely he would continue to rise to those impossible heights in his lifetime, who is really willing to bow to the future?

Moreover, 'Today's Jincheng' is one of the most influential newspapers in Jincheng, and its status in people's minds is like the 'Federal Daily' and the 'Federal Post'.

If he could have one-eighth of a page in 'Today's Jincheng' to describe himself, that would definitely be a great thing!

Even if he didn't have the chance to become the City Police Chief, maybe changing to a better branch would also be possible.

Jincheng has four districts that are dripping with wealth; the first is the Bay Area, where there is a secret that only the police know—

If you want to be the City Police Chief, you must first conquer the Bay Area!

This sentence means that without the support of the tycoons and dignitaries in the Bay Area, no one can sit firmly in the position of City Police Chief.

This includes the current Chief Chali; he served as chief for over forty years, ten of which were in the Bay Area, where he kept those lords very happy, so he became the City Police Chief without any obstacles.

As long as you go there, it means money and status are within reach.

The second district is the Starlight District, which is the entertainment area for the upper class from after dinner until bedtime; the same glass of wine sells for three dollars in the Imperial District, but ten dollars here.

It's not that the people here are stupid, but that this money makes no difference to them compared to three dollars.

Although many of the entertainment venues operating here have big backers, they still follow the rules, pay the regulatory fees, and pay a lot of them.

Troubles that can be solved with money are never troubles for the rich!

As for the third district, that is the city center.

The city center looks like it's all high-rise buildings, filled with various rapidly emerging financial companies, and other companies are also here.

There are also large shopping malls and shopping centers here, but its financial and work atmosphere is stronger.

Many people spend their time in busy work; they are in a hurry and never have time to stop and look into the roadside shops to pick out the goods they like.

They mostly just come here in a hurry and then leave in a hurry.

The last district is the Pulixiya District, located between the Port District, Bay Area, Imperial District, and Starlight District; it is home to the largest number of middle-class people in Jincheng and also has the largest middle-class community here.

The middle class has strong consumption power, perhaps not as much as the wealthy districts, but they are more numerous and have a strong desire to consume, so business in this district is also very good, provided it's a well-known brand.

It's possible that the wealthy, dignitaries, and people of the upper class might be deceived by fake goods; many of them don't know what a certain series under a certain brand is like or how to distinguish them.

But the middle class will definitely know; they might know more details about brands and products than the sales staff, and although there are also sellers of fake goods here, their days are not very easy.

The middle class has strong identification capabilities; after discovering they've been cheated, they won't be impotently furious like the underclass, but will directly call the police or file a lawsuit.

Branch Chief Bulu wants to go to the police stations in those more prosperous areas, which can not only bring him higher income but also allow him to expand his network and prepare for his descendants.

The police station, his job, is to him the "car" on his life's journey; if there is a chance to change to a better car, then why not do it?

Getting into the newspaper and letting more big shots see him is one of the few ways he can work towards this now.

But wanting to have a piece of news about yourself in 'Today's Jincheng', let alone one-eighth, even one-thirty-second, or even the gutter, is very difficult.

When Lanse mentioned this, the impact of that one thousand dollars was no longer so strong.

He shifted his body, letting himself lean back a bit, "Who do you know at 'Today's Jincheng'?"

Lanse didn't deny it, "A big reporter."

"A big reporter!", Branch Chief Bulu repeated, licking his lips, "But I don't know what we have here that can be reported."

Lanse shook his head, smiling but not quite, "Our public security is the best in Jincheng right now; this is a great direction for a report."

"Bulu, you should understand very well that compared to the poor underclass living here or in the Port District, the middle class and the rich care more about whether their own safety can be guaranteed!"

"If you can manage it well in such a poor, backward, and violence-filled area, then perhaps those rich people will one day think..."

"Why don't we let Bulu come here and try?", his tone was full of temptation, making Branch Chief Bulu unable to help but fantasize along with his words.

A smile appeared on his face, but he didn't notice it himself.

"As long as they have this idea, then your opportunity will appear."

Branch Chief Bulu thought seriously for a while, then became a bit worried, "But we all know that the good public security in the Imperial District now is not entirely my credit or the police station's."

Lanse catches criminals and beats them up, then sends them to the police station; they have even agreed on a schedule now.

Whose credit it is for sending them in the morning, whose credit it is for the afternoon, and also for the first half and second half of the night.

Lying still and getting merit; everyone likes Lanse very much now.

But if there were no Lanse, this place would soon become a mess again, so in reality, they need Lanse more than Lanse needs them!

Lanse wasn't worried at all, "If they want to transfer you over, it only means your predecessor did a terrible job."

"For them, this is already a very bad situation, otherwise they wouldn't transfer you over; even if you don't do well, you can push it onto your predecessor."

"But as long as there is a little bit of improvement, they will feel that you are indeed more capable than your predecessor."

"And, Bulu, I will help you; we are friends!"

Whether they are friends or not, Branch Chief Bulu didn't know at all, but he was truly tempted.

He sat and thought for a long while before his gaze became slightly less "obsessed", "Lanse, you must have something you need me for."

"You said it yourself, we are friends, you can just say it directly!", he took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, and the two leaned in together to light them.

Cigarettes are the best "stimulant" for men when discussing things; they can have many miraculous effects.

For example, two strangers can get to know each other because of a cigarette, which seems incredible to some non-smokers!

Lanse also leaned back on the sofa, both of them in a relaxed posture, not nervous at all, "I plan to unify the Imperial District."

Branch Chief Bulu didn't react at first, "It really should...", he suddenly sat up straight; because of the sudden movement, the cigarette wasn't held steady, fell, and landed on his pants.

He hurriedly stood up and patted his pant leg, which made Lanse, sitting to the side, unable to help but laugh, "You don't have to be so nervous."

"Nervous?", he looked up at Lanse, "If I heard you correctly, you said you want to unify the Imperial District, and the meaning of this sentence is that you want to drive the Red Dog Gang out of the Imperial District?"

He sat back down and frowned, "Lanse, the war between you and the Kamila Gang just ended; how long has it been, and you're planning to launch a new round of gang warfare?"

"Although there are some things I shouldn't say, you have to know that the big shots tacitly allowed you and Haile to fire without limits because some things have changed."

"Actually, all of us thought you would fall, but not only did you not fall, you also gave Haile a powerful counterattack."

"Do you know what this represents?", he asked.

Lanse certainly knew, but Branch Chief Bulu obviously wanted to say it himself, "It represents that the ruling power of the Kamila Gang and Haile is declining; even if you don't continue to trouble them, they will attract new challengers because they can't even handle you."

"By that time, some challengers coveting the Kamila Gang's territory and wealth will cause huge chaos here with them!"

"The street-level neighborhood families emerging here and there are a fact; the order of the Imperial District is collapsing, so when you decided to fight them to the end, those big shots wouldn't move."

"They want to watch, to wait."

"To see who among you can become the final winner; the moment the winner appears is when the new order will stabilize again."

"If Haile wins, then he will use your death and your family's death to tell people that they are still the rulers here."

"If you win, then everyone will know that a new family stepped on the corpse of the Kamila Gang to become the new king."

"No matter who wins, it will only make this place stabilize again, rather than becoming worse."

"Only if you don't go to war is the worst result, so everyone hopes you do that, which is why no one will obstruct you."

"Everyone hopes this city is a stable city; if you launch gang wars one after another, this is something no one wants to see."

"The Five Families have brought too much pain to this city; no one wants to see that day repeat itself!"

Lanse watched him speaking excitedly, holding a cigarette, and raised his hand to gesture for calm, "Sit down, Bulu, sit down, don't get excited."

Branch Chief Bulu sat down slowly; having said so much in one breath, he picked up his coffee and took a big sip, "Listen to me, don't act rashly for now, Lanse."

Lanse shook his head slightly, "Actually, you don't understand.", he pondered for a moment, "I won't take the initiative to go to war with them, but if they use force against me first, don't blame me for striking back."

Branch Chief Bulu thought for a moment and gave him a positive answer, "That's the best way; they broke the rules first, so it's much more reasonable for you to deal with them!"

When he said this, he also understood that Lanse's purpose in saying this was to tell him that Lanse would force the Red Dog Gang to act first, and then strike hard with justification.

"At that time, I need you to cover for us a little; once we start, we plan to end the war as quickly as possible, so it won't bring too much fear to the local area."

Regarding this point, Branch Chief Bulu agreed very much.

Actually, he still hoped Lanse would be fine; such an interesting person is not often seen.

However, since he knew Lanse's purpose, he had no worries about publishing the newspaper.

After waiting a while for this topic to end, he turned the topic back, "Do you think I look better in the newspaper working in the office, or is it more attractive when I'm patrolling in a car?"

The next morning, Lanse made an appointment with George in a coffee shop next to the 'Today's Jincheng' newspaper office.

George has been doing okay recently; Lanse sometimes advertises for his labor agency through him in 'Today's Jincheng'.

Although a reporter's status in the newspaper office is proportional to their influence in society, if they can also achieve some significant improvement in revenue, they will definitely be more popular.

And Lanse also opened up some ideas for him when writing articles; his relationship with Lanse was not bad.

After the two exchanged simple pleasantries, Lanse stated his purpose, "I would like to ask you to write a report."

George asked while drinking coffee, "What kind of report?"

"About some livelihood issues in the Imperial District."

Originally, George thought Lanse might need some news to beautify himself; the Lanse family and Lanse, this is not a small piece of news or a small matter.

More than half of Jincheng knows there is such a family and person, and they also know what they have done.

So George's initial thought was that Lanse might be hoping to whitewash himself; some people are doing this now, such as the Keda family.

They often appear in newspapers; the younger generation of the family will appear in newspapers with an "absurd" image, but every time they appear, those around them are children from other upper-class families in Jincheng.

Besides that, they also like to donate money and pay taxes actively, all of which are positive images that help them whitewash.

If Lanse also intended to let George help him write some content to praise him for doing good deeds, then George would refuse.

He wouldn't use his own future to help Lanse do anything; that's not what friends should do for each other.

But Lanse started with livelihood, which made him a bit interested.

Lanse said very frankly, "I have some victims here from the period when the Kamila family was in charge; perhaps people would be interested in what they experienced and the current situation in the Imperial District."

George frowned; he took out a cigarette and smoked while thinking.

After about three or four minutes, he nodded, "A very substantial topic; are those victims willing to stand up?"

"I mean, if they need to face the camera and society, can they face it calmly?"

Lanse nodded and said, "Of course, but I have a small request."

George was happy because there was a new report, and it was highly likely to be a serialized report; so at this time, Lanse had some small requests, and he wouldn't refuse.

This might be a rare serialized report in recent years that hits directly at gang crime; he already imagined the Gold Newspaper Award beckoning to him!

Although many news practitioners say the Gold Newspaper Award trophy looks like a fucking piece of used toilet paper flying in mid-air, that sour tone ultimately couldn't hide the jealousy in their hearts!

That is the Gold Newspaper Award, the top news award!

"What request is there between us?", George was very generous, no longer having the caution and care from just now.

Lanse wasn't polite either, "I hope the Imperial District Branch Chief, Mr. Bulu, can appear in the report, with a positive image."

"No problem!"

After agreeing on the time, the two parted ways; George still had to investigate some information to make the whole report more complete, objective, and more likely to participate in the competition for the Gold Newspaper Award.

If he could win this award, then he would have more room for choice in his work.

After two days of fermentation, people have successively come to sign up to join the Imperial Chamber of Commerce; this part of the number is only less than four hundred people.

Currently, there are at least twelve hundred operators in Lanse's territory, which means only one-third, or even less than one-third, chose to join the Chamber of Commerce and pay this ten dollars.

Everyone felt a bit unbalanced.

They maintained public security on the streets while helping them avoid being bullied by gangs, and now, just to save ten dollars, they don't even want the most basic decency!

At this time, someone shouted that they should let Lanse restore the tradition, go to their doors directly to collect, and if they don't give it, make it impossible for them to operate.

This idea was supported by quite a few people, but it was rejected by Lanse.

"They will regret it soon, but by the time they regret it, it will be too late."

"You don't need to be anxious at all; the ones who should be anxious are them. Wait a little longer, let the sea breeze blow for a while!"

"Although the sea breeze is cold, spring will always come!"