[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-37":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},2267657,4428,"Chapter 37: A New Beginning","the-shadow-empire-chapter-37",37,"\u003Cp>Political maneuvering among the Federation’s upper echelons seemed to have reached a turning point—the President publicly responded to the Empire’s accusations against the Federation—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Federation government has never condoned anyone treating Imperial immigrants differently, regardless of whether they arrived through legal channels!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before these accusations, the Federation President had remained silent, but this time he called them rumors—even if true, they were isolated incidents, not political movements or events.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Federation is a highly open, free, tolerant, and inclusive nation, where anyone who loves peace may live.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Federation government will not acknowledge any groundless accusations, and the President will gradually open channels for illegal immigrants to apply for permanent residency cards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, the Federation government will not respond positively to the Empire’s immoral threat of military force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if the Imperial army dares to invade Federation territory, the Federation government will strike back fiercely…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On television, the President stood passionately on the podium, fist raised to emphasize his words; outside the frame, a dense crowd waved their arms and cheered loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A torrent of political jargon poured from his mouth, as if the Federation were already about to become the happiest nation on Earth…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing his cigarette, the TV in the cabinet shut off; Lans restarted the car and returned to the house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alberto had not revoked his use of the car—it was worth at most two hundred credits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Legally and reasonably, he could have taken it back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave it directly to Lans, trading two hundred credits for a favor—this deal was actually quite worthwhile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Lans returned, the others were sitting in the living room discussing something; they all stood when he entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After leaving the Empire, we only have each other—we’re family, siblings—there’s no need for this formality.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked over to Merro and sat down on the floor, not on the sofa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat cross-legged, squeezed in with the others, refusing to sit on a chair and look down on them just because he had rented the house and solved everyone’s survival problems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had left him a chair, but he didn’t sit in it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes, moving others is very simple—and that feeling stays with them for life, even until death, they won’t forget it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you discussing?” He glanced at Ethan, sitting by the door. “I’ve got two packs of cigarettes, some bottles of alcohol, and food in the car—bring them over.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan burst into laughter, his big yellow teeth showing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For dinner they had plain vegetable leaves mixed with coarse grain rice, soybeans, lima beans, chickpeas, red beans—all kinds of beans, plus some wheat kernels; these were actually high-grade feed sold for horses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But humans could eat them too, and they weren’t expensive—many poor people ate this to fill their stomachs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If humans and cattle or horses worked the same only in physical labor, now that humans ate the same feed as cattle and horses, there was essentially no difference between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans asked a question; when he learned they were eating vegetable leaves mixed with beans, he frowned. “Didn’t I tell you to get everyone better food?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked Merro—he had given Merro money; Merro was older than the others and more level-headed, so handling their daily needs was no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merro looked embarrassed. “If we ate bread or something else, we’d go through a lot—we don’t work now, so we don’t need to eat well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a simple, honest reason. Lans patted his shoulder—he knew Merro wanted to save money. Twenty-odd youths, eighteen to twenty years old.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let them eat freely, and one meal could consume forty or fifty pounds of food—or more!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if they ate ordinary food, one meal might cost two or three credits, five credits—seven to ten credits a day!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who the hell could afford that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A monthly food budget of three hundred credits was unimaginably high—and most importantly, they had no income, only draining their savings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It all depended on Lans… which was possible, but Merro thought this approach unsustainable, so he bought the cheapest beans—pennies per pound, and very filling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Ethan, after eating less than two pounds of vegetable leaves mixed with beans, couldn’t eat another bite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry about work—I saw the news on the way back. It’ll resume soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans didn’t say much more—he believed this outcome was highly likely. For the President, all he needed was a positive “response” to the Emperor’s provocation, using the pretext of “preventing Imperial military attack” to declare a state of emergency and invoke presidential powers—he’d be guaranteed re-election!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, as long as he didn’t care about the consequences, re-election was certain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the core of this political struggle wasn’t whether the President could be re-elected—it was how much he was willing to sacrifice to secure it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The unrest in Jingang City was merely “one glimpse” of this political struggle; the economic engine had stalled, and capital forces would soon move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the coordination of capital forces, political factions reached a compromise—the President received a promise of re-election, and the conflict ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the lower classes saw none of this—they only saw the President say the Federation would become greater, and they became inexplicably excited, cheering wildly—that was all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They didn’t know why their lives had become such a mess, or why good fortune never favored them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan walked in carrying a large bundle of food; everyone sat in a circle, cigarettes, alcohol, and food placed within easy reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans bought a lot of fried chicken—much cheaper than beef or lamb; since large-scale mechanized livestock farming began, the price of chickens and ducks changed daily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three fried chickens for one credit—aromatic and irresistible—who could refuse?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Add in some other high-sugar, high-fat foods, and their happiness skyrocketed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They smoked, drank, dreamed of the future—everything felt so beautiful!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While enjoying the meal and chatting, Merro asked, “After this… movement passes, do we go back to working the docks?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone turned to Lans—in this small group, he was the “head.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How much do you earn working?” he asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone fell silent. After eating and drinking, and being exploited by capitalists, three to five credits left at month’s end was the limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone knew work wasn’t the answer—but they didn’t know what else to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans picked up a cigarette; Merro immediately lit it with a match—scratch! The smoke from the friction and the sudden flare of flame added a hint of gunpowder to the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some people liked the smell of gunpowder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans took a sip of alcohol; his cheeks flushed. “I used to work at Johnny’s bakery—even if he didn’t cheat me out of wages, I only made fifteen credits a month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But the gangs and police took at least dozens of credits from him every month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are dozens of shops on that street—even if others got less, twenty or thirty, or even just ten credits—that’s still a fortune.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, I’m just giving an example—I’m not telling you I plan to do this. Actually, it’s a dirty job.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t earn much, and you’re hated. If anything goes wrong, the first ones thrown under the bus are the collectors and their organization.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What I’m saying is, there are many ways to make money—and many ways to make big money. Don’t fixate on that pitiful wage from working.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Look at the Federation’s capital titans, the political dynasties—how many of them got there by working a job?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merro looked confused; the others did too. “Then what should we do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Start a company.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Start a company?” Merro scratched his head. “I remember you need a permanent residency card or citizenship to register one—are you going to find someone to register it for you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans shook his head. “My status will be updated soon—I’ll register it myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And you—all of you—are my employees. I’ve already decided what we’ll do, and I guarantee: if you follow me closely, I’ll make sure each of you can buy a house, buy a car…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But before that, I need you to prepare mentally.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Making more money means taking greater risks—psychological, physical—get ready for both.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then join me—and face the storm of this era!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1355,"2026-06-19T21:10:27.799Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","7ef35bc2ebcc6eb758cf066a1312fc79e626747c4fe77ec60503b25ad54085bc","the-shadow-empire-chapter-38","the-shadow-empire-chapter-36",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]