[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-47":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},2267667,4428,"Chapter 47: Going Home and the Gathering","the-shadow-empire-chapter-47",47,"\u003Cp>In the evening, Lans escorted Patricia to a place not far from home—not because he didn’t want to keep her with him, but because if he did, marriage might not be far off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans didn’t want to marry yet, though this wasn’t due to irresponsibility—right now was the best time for his career, and everything else had to yield to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patricia lived in a middle-class neighborhood; the fact that she was so young and already employed by the Bureau of Commercial Services meant she certainly wasn’t from the absolute bottom of society.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before heading home, she tidied her outfit, and when she opened the door, she found her father sitting on the sofa with a dark expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph!” he grunted—he knew his daughter had been on a date, but he still couldn’t shake his irritation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a process every father of a daughter had to endure: after twenty years of having only himself as the center of his girl’s world, she was about to enter another man’s arms, and even as a father, he felt displeased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emotionally speaking, this was, in effect, a form of cuckolding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patricia’s mother, however, took it in stride. “William, you’re holding your newspaper upside down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged man on the sofa blinked, then placed the paper back on the coffee table. “I’m reading a crossword puzzle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Lawrence chuckled softly and brought over juice and some small pastries, then sat beside her husband. “Pat, tell us—was your date enjoyable?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patricia was a little afraid of her father, but her urge to share made her eager to recount all the happy things that had happened today!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment’s hesitation, her expression brightened. “We went to the amusement park, rode the roller coaster, the carousel…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She left out certain details—kissing, intimate physical contact—she knew how to avoid provoking her rigid father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to her daughter chatter about everything she’d experienced, Mrs. Lawrence smiled with satisfaction. “What a wonderful day—even though I wasn’t there, just hearing you describe it made me feel it must have been fun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced at her husband; though his face was still stern, as his partner, she could tell his attitude had softened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s his name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Lawrence’s ears nearly perked up—he sat up straight, feigning indifference, but his full attention was fixed on his daughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lans. Lans White. A local.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Lawrence promptly peeled an apple, sliced it into pieces, placed them on a plate with two fruit forks, and handed it over. “So—he has a job, or is he doing something else?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He started a business!” Patricia lit up at the topic. “He registered a financial consulting firm—helps people solve problems. Today, when we talked about it, he said he might register another company next week, and he even asked about taxes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chewing on the crisp, sweet apple, her words came out slightly muffled. “But I don’t understand tax stuff, so I gave him my cousin’s contact.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Mr. Lawrence clear his throat. “Did you two…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patricia quickly replied, “No! We just held hands!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stood up. “I’ve got other things to do…” and ran off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching her daughter head upstairs, Mrs. Lawrence frowned. “You shouldn’t have asked that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Lawrence disagreed. “There are too many bad people out there now, and those heretical ideas are corrupting young girls’ minds.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They actually equate sex with female oppression—unthinkable, my dear.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You may never have seen those twisted doctrines, but plenty of girls are already becoming promiscuous. I don’t want my Pat to become like that—or be turned into that!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My stance has always been consistent: before marriage, I won’t let her stay out overnight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m protecting her. You should understand that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Lawrence didn’t want to argue with her husband—in fact, she’d attended some community gatherings where these topics inevitably came up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some of those ideas were indeed twisted, but others she thought were actually good—like giving women more autonomy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she knew William was an old-fashioned man, so she wouldn’t challenge his authority at home over unnecessary issues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief pause, Mr. Lawrence continued, “He’s already asking about taxes. It seems this Lans White has some unique insight into making money.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think we should meet him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Lawrence immediately sat up straight, like a she-leopard entering hunting mode. “Don’t you dare. Until she brings it up herself, I won’t let her be harmed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whether by outsiders or by family—you’ve controlled her too long. She’s twenty now. She deserves her own life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’s not your pet or your toy. The very idea that you can dictate her choices is fundamentally wrong!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, Mrs. Lawrence stood and took away the apple plate—not a single slice remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She needed to talk to her daughter. Though she didn’t want her hurt either, she knew that when the mood was right and emotions ran high, certain things were hard to avoid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She needed to tell her daughter how to protect herself when those things happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Lawrence sighed. Who could understand the heart of a father?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Saturday morning, Lans attended the Empire people’s gathering as usual—he was now considered part of this larger group, and people generally accepted fellow countrymen quite readily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After greeting several gentlemen, he found Enio and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I started a company. I can give you some extra work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He got straight to the point—these young men cared only about fun, cigarettes, alcohol, sex, and how to make more money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talking to them about anything else was pointless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when Lans mentioned money directly, the young men quickly gathered around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How does this work?” Enio asked first—he held some status among them, having fought for two of them before, so they all respected him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s how young people socialized: whoever had more prestige, they followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans explained his business. “To be precise, two jobs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First: small loans. If someone needs a little cash urgently and finds the finance company’s interest too high, refer them to me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t charge much interest. For every successful deal, I’ll give you five percent of the interest.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If someone borrows a hundred from me, you’ll earn about five as commission.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But there are requirements: the person must be a Federal citizen and have a work card.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second: I have some work cards available for rent. If any Empire nationals without permanent residency need work, refer them to me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I pay eighteen per card per month. You get one as a one-time commission.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Note: these are all short-term jobs—three to six months, no long-term positions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If they’re not from the Empire, I pay nineteen per card per month, plus a one-dollar commission. If you can negotiate twenty, you earn two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, as always—limited quantity. Call me first before doing anything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He handed out a stack of business cards. “If you run into trouble, don’t force it—contact me immediately, whether it’s work-related or not.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of the young men didn’t hear that last part—their full attention was on the two jobs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Empire nationals with permanent residency faced poor working conditions now; their coworkers stared at them strangely, as if these immigrants had stolen jobs and money from native-born citizens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in reality, those damn natives didn’t work any harder before the immigrants arrived—they just slacked off or stole. Their own laziness caused their misery, not outsiders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet politicians kept brainwashing them, telling them their suffering was caused by immigrants. Those unwilling to admit they were useless, lazy fools naturally accepted the politicians’ lies and blamed their unhappiness on immigrants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some had even lost their jobs—Lans now offered them new income sources, effectively helping them greatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enio looked at the card and asked, “Lans, what if… we want to borrow money?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans didn’t hesitate. “I’ll cut your interest in half.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enio exhaled in relief and hugged Lans. “I’ll find you later.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he’d finished chatting with the group, Mr. Chobaf’s assistant approached and said Mr. Chobaf wanted to speak with Lans alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After bidding farewell to the young men, Lans joined Mr. Chobaf near the edge of the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard you’re working for Mr. Cotty?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it sounds familiar, don’t look in the mirror.\u003C\u002Fp>",1358,"2026-06-19T21:10:27.799Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","01e8af36604ddfe629857c0f8fa81cdaebcdbc0cd9cb4a01a42dcee91dc6f184","the-shadow-empire-chapter-48","the-shadow-empire-chapter-46",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]