[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-9":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},2267629,4428,"Chapter 9: Have You Ever Had a Dream?","the-shadow-empire-chapter-9",9,"\u003Cp>The sound of the broom sweeping the floor reached the back room, where the apprentice stood by the door, holding a slightly hot loaf of bread, shifting it from hand to hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze at Lans held a hint of mockery, as if to say, “Even a barnyard hen that occasionally flies up will eventually fall back to the ground”—though he himself could never articulate anything so profound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans straightened his back, holding the broom, “How was the bread from the day before yesterday?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rich aroma of cheese and ham still lingered in the room; the apprentice’s half-formed smile vanished in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His lips slowly sagged, his face darkening as if he’d swallowed a turd, and though he wanted to say something, he had never won a single exchange with Lans in the past month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was always the one who lost; tired of self-inflicted humiliation, he now knew better—not arguing with Lans, only letting out a cold snort to preserve his last shred of pride before walking off in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The apprentice didn’t press the issue further, for past lessons had taught him that no matter what he did, he alone would suffer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The whole world was rotten; he felt wounded, especially when he could smell the rich scent of milk and ham in the air, yet his mouth held only bitterness, like bread laced with sand, impossible to swallow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The feeling of being hurt and abandoned by the world grew overwhelming!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans knew Johnny wasn’t a good man, but he needed a place to stay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could go elsewhere, but compared to the constant vigilance and dangers of other places, Johnny’s place felt easier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his view, Johnny was a fool—capable only of verbal petty gains, incapable of inflicting any real harm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Money?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That stuff was in the drawer; when he decided to leave, no one could stop him from taking what was his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On weekends, the bakery was extremely busy; perhaps spurred on by pizza, the apprentice hadn’t left the back room these past few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mental state seemed to be slipping, but the fat boss didn’t care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only needed a dumb fool to work for free—he never intended to pass on his craft to this brat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only allowed him to learn here because, though his mother wasn’t young, her skin was still tight and her oral skills were decent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether he learned anything was none of his concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, this trade had always been this way: the smart learned, the fools only worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without Lans, this might have been the fat boss’s perfect life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there was no “what if.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans’s occasional teasing of the fat boss, driving him to impotent rage, had become one of Lans’s small pleasures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Monday morning, the quietest time of the week, Lans unfolded the newspaper the fat boss had read and quickly spotted news about the Empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Emperor and his mad army had been pushed back step by step by the rebels; His Majesty had issued the harshest conscription order in history: every male in the Empire over fourteen must take up arms to defend the nation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was even a possibility women would be conscripted, as so few remained willing to fight for the Emperor and the royal family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the nobility had chosen neutrality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, how could a band of rebel commoners have repeatedly defeated the Royal Knights, forcing the Emperor to flee the capital?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Utter madness—that’s what the Emperor had become.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Federation reported these news because the Empire’s war had intensified, disrupting two shipping routes and causing sustained price increases for certain goods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The exchange warned the market that these goods’ prices were unlikely to drop soon unless the war ended abruptly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below this news, it mentioned that more refugees would soon arrive in the Federation to escape the war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The number of illegal immigrants in the past six months far exceeded that of the past several years; heated debates were underway over whether to deport black immigrants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Jincheng and other prosperous cities, rapid economic growth and rising job opportunities had so far prevented conflict between illegal immigrants and locals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in regions with slower economic development, this tension had already begun to surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newspaper reported that three states in the Zhongxi Force had decided to intensify crackdowns on illegal immigrants: those caught would be ordered to leave the Federation within a set time, or be imprisoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lans thought this strategy was useless, because for most illegal immigrants, prison itself was a form of “livelihood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jincheng’s situation had also changed slightly—the cost of work permits had begun to rise, the clearest sign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the afternoon, Elvin arrived with Ethan, Merro, and several other friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today’s workload was light, and everyone had taken time off, gathering to relax together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans opened the door and stepped out, embracing each person and calling them “brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This gesture stirred varied emotions among the young men; most felt an inexplicable excitement, hugging Lans tightly, slapping his shoulders and back, and calling him brother in return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Passersby occasionally glanced, but quickly looked away—it seemed perfectly normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This gathering was partly because Ethan wanted to thank Lans in person for his help, and partly to strengthen their bond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, though Ethan’s incident was bad for everyone, it had led to something good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It made the young people realize “we are a group”—a feeling that, for young souls far from home, was not only deeply attractive but also profoundly reassuring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans took a day off from the fat boss, who docked him one dollar, but he didn’t care about the money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A group of young men walked down a street steeped in the era’s atmosphere, where cars filled the roads and fashionable modern women were everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire city pulsed with strange vitality!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You could feel its heartbeat, sense its growth, its progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans had never explored Jincheng before; now, for the first time, he wandered with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more streets they passed, the more things they saw, the clearer the vague shadow in their hearts became.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans lit a cigarette—he’d paid five cents for it; the tobacco was poor quality, harsh on the throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan couldn’t resist, wanting a puff: “Let me try…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans gave him one; the others also wanted to try—who back home had ever dared?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d be beaten to death by their fathers!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, alone in the Federation, their mental chains were breaking; they grew bolder, more passionate toward life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, everyone coughed after one puff; Ethan tried to hold it in, but his face turned red before he couldn’t help but cough violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans watched the rowdy young men with a smile; a youthful vitality was reviving within him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tapped off the ash and asked, “What do you plan to become?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan coughed, raising his hand: “I want to be rich—buy a big house, bring my mom over.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans turned to Elvin, who tilted his head, thinking: “I want to be a lawyer. I heard lawyers make a lot of money.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the others teased: “But you never went to school—you need college to be a lawyer, and you can’t even read!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elvin, embarrassed, turned and punched the guy twice: “Fine—I’ll be rich like Ethan and hire a bunch of lawyers to work for me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One hoped the heavens would grant him a beautiful girlfriend; another wished to win the lottery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merro, older at twenty-two, seemed far more composed than the others; while everyone else played around, he sat quietly smiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans looked at him: “What about you, Merro?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merro scratched his head: “I just want a legal status as soon as possible. I don’t crave money much—I come from an ordinary family, not rich, even poor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But it would make me feel safe. Sometimes I think having too much money isn’t good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’d rather create wealth and everything I need with my own hands.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But sometimes these people’s ways choke me—I just want to break free, so I can stand tall when facing life, not bend over.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a heavy answer; the young men, who had been smiling moments before, grew quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some sighed; others voiced discontent with their jobs—but all of it strengthened their desire to become richer, to rise higher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seed, already slightly sprouting, had just been given special fertilizer; no one could predict what fruit it would bear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, the conversation returned to Lans; Elvin asked, “What about you? What do you plan to become?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, a half-smile on his face: “I plan to become someone useful to society!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young men froze for a moment, then someone shoved Lans down, and they erupted into play-fighting again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their roughhousing, some inner confusion was slowly worn away, deepening their sense of belonging to this era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans felt himself gradually no longer a mere visitor to this world—he was becoming part of it, a true person living in this time, living here!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lans… do you think our dreams can come true?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans crushed out the cigarette and nodded firmly, his voice unwavering: “They will!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1520,"2026-06-19T21:10:27.799Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e99016837819340f0f7de71784f4578c63e64b6aa816ece99aca0c93c69ced5e","the-shadow-empire-chapter-10","the-shadow-empire-chapter-8",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]