[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-953":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},2268573,4428,"Chapter 953: Pawns","the-shadow-empire-chapter-953",953,"\u003Cp>“Sir, breakfast is ready.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fat cook placed everything on the table, and at her reminder, Lans smiled and set his newspaper aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From his perspective, the fat cook certainly had cooking skills, but whether she possessed exceptional experience was debatable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because sometimes, preparing food with high-quality ingredients requires no complex techniques—for instance, certain premium hams don’t even need cooking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just slice them thinly and mix them into anything—it tastes wonderful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The unique aroma of years-aged fat blends with the complex flavors infused into the muscle fibers during curing, creating an extraordinarily distinctive taste!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Premium hams command high prices for good reason, and their quality is instantly apparent with one bite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If such ingredients taste excellent even uncooked, how could a cook who has served nobility with top-tier ingredients ever produce bad food?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only possible explanation for bad food from her is that the ingredients have gone stale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans remembered reading a story once about a pig’s trotter sold for an astronomical price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many were curious how the trotter could taste so good—until the owner revealed the secret upon retiring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He used ingredients worth tens of thousands to prepare a single pig’s trotter; even a shoe insole would taste good under such treatment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The secret of cooking lies here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Willingness to spend money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the fat cook arrived, the villa’s ingredients have become more expensive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, Lans thought bacon costing a few dollars a pound was quite good, but now it’s switched to Shiji  dollars—of course, the flavor is better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He never exposed the fat cook’s secret to making delicious food—her son had died, her daughter-in-law had run off, leaving only her two grandchildren.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To escape the miserable conditions within the Empire, she fled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every month, Lans gives her one hundred dollars—more than enough for her and her two grandchildren to live well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now the fat cook stood nervously beside the dining table. “Mr. Lans, is the breakfast to your taste?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans smiled and nodded, his face radiant with sunshine. “Of course, it’s delicious. Thank you for breakfast.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fat cook’s face lit up with joy; she nodded repeatedly. “I won’t disturb you while you eat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her eyes, Lans was an angel who had rescued her and her family from despair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced unconsciously at the newspaper on the table—the front-page photo showed a man lying face-down, his face soaked in blood, eyeballs bulging outward—and her heart pounded with fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She quickly lowered her head and turned away. Too terrifying!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The article suited Lans perfectly—someone had to tear off the hypocritical mask; unless the truth was exposed and ordinary people’s hearts were pierced, they’d keep pretending ignorance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, even now, they remain pawns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Debbie had also seen this news that morning; she was sweating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sweating in summer was normal—but hers was cold sweat; she was deeply uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew Og—because she had recommended him to Lans, and he now worked for Lans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, she told Lans that Og was a highly skilled tailor in the region, with multiple garment factories waiting in line for him to quit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His joining Lans’s garment factory was purely due to her influence!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To elevate oneself, one doesn’t need to jump—just slightly exaggerate the difficulty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, seeing Og’s lifeless, unblinking eyes, Mrs. Debbie felt an uncontrollable, deep-rooted fear spreading through her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shuddered, dropped the newspaper, then picked it up again and began reading carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This concerned her—she needed to understand exactly what had happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading the paper, she quickly gathered the workers who had joined the labor union’s strike protests and assembled them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve all seen the news,” Mrs. Debbie said gravely—not because she genuinely mourned Og’s death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To her, Og was merely a pawn held in the hands of herself, Lans, and other powerful figures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She displayed the basic performance expected of a novice politician.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over a hundred people attended this gathering; their numbers were growing steadily. Though the Labor Union had helped them sue the refugees who attacked them,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the refugees were willing to compensate—but they had no money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone claimed they were eager to compensate and sincerely repent—but as for money, none.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And they were refugees, with no assets to seize; in other words, they won the lawsuit but lost their lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was despondent; now, seeing this news, some had emotionally collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not his fault!” Mrs. Debbie waved the newspaper in the crowd, the rustling sound sharp and jarring. “What did he do wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, he did nothing wrong. He followed the Labor Union’s orders—struck, took to the streets, protested, demonstrated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I knew Og—he was a good father, a good husband. He had no arrogance, worked diligently and responsibly, and loved his family deeply.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was a good man—but now, because he joined the Labor Union’s strike, his life ended forever yesterday!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we must find someone guilty, that person is the Labor Union!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone stared at her. As an intellectual, Mrs. Debbie knew perfectly well—the guilty man sat in one of the city’s two most luxurious offices, scrutinizing his “empire” through rows of numbers on paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no one would think of that, because everything halted at the step where the refugees admitted guilt and offered compensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Karl had vanished; the case ended there. They didn’t even get a chance to appeal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They admitted guilt—so what more do you want? The judge ruled entirely in their favor. What else could you ask for?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why they were confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why were they the greatest victims?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Debbie’s words gave them an outlet to vent their dissatisfaction. A strong man stood up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His arm was immobilized in a splint, hanging across his chest. He clenched his fist and swung it hard. “Yes, it’s all the Labor Union’s fault!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They should be held responsible for our injuries!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Debbie loved this scene—it was like a gender war: one side couldn’t act alone; the other had to respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She nodded, looking at the strong man. “You’re right. Without their demands, we wouldn’t have abandoned our jobs to protest, and none of this would have happened.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As organizers, when we received insufficient compensation, they should have stepped forward to bear our losses—not hidden themselves, continuing to exploit us for their ugly goals!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We cannot remain silent!” Mrs. Debbie was short and not physically strong, but her words carried immense power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More people stood up. Some couldn’t rise but raised their hands in support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What will you do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We support you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, go ahead!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Debbie pressed her lips together and nodded. “I’ve arranged an interview with a reporter from The Federal Post—he’s promised us a major feature.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We just need to tell them everything we’ve experienced!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She couldn’t reach reporters from The Federal Post. As the Federation’s top political newspaper, its renowned journalists could threaten politicians with “I’ll write you into the paper,” forcing them to compromise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper’s board chairman once casually remarked on its influence—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every morning, the President’s first act after waking is to have The Federal Post brought to him in the bathroom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It reflected the stance of the Presidential Palace, Congress, the Defense Force, and other top institutions. People used it to learn about shifts in the nation’s highest political circles—and some foreign affairs, though rarely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, if something appeared in The Federal Post, it would reach the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, and every member of both legislative chambers!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Mrs. Debbie couldn’t reach such reporters, Senator Cleveland could—and he didn’t even need to act himself; Tom solved this problem for Lans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Congress was deeply interested in what he was doing—and that’s why Lans could hold his ground in Congress; he made people feel they couldn’t do without him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past decade of Labor Union turmoil, no one had ever found its weak point and struck it as swiftly and heavily as Lans!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The better Lans performed, the higher his value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The higher his value, the more the masters couldn’t do without him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more they couldn’t do without him, the more his value increased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until one day, he might stand on equal footing with the masters, weighing them against each other!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the “initiator,” Mrs. Debbie knew this was a tremendous opportunity—a massive chance to elevate her own worth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others didn’t fully understand The Federal Post, but they were delighted—because a major newspaper’s reporter was coming to interview them; perhaps the news would change their fate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At ten-thirty, reporters from The Federal Post arrived at their gathering—two of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One reporter, one intern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After brief greetings and credential checks, the reporter sat on the sofa, notebook in hand, looking at Mrs. Debbie. “Where shall we begin?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Debbie thought for a moment. “Let’s start from when they contacted me to push for the strike—but I opposed it…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reporter looked up, surprised. “I heard you’re the head of the textile office for the Labor Union’s Licaile Provincial branch. Why, as a mid-level official, would you oppose the Labor Union’s orders?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Debbie’s peripheral vision caught the intern raising his camera. Her face glowed with righteousness. “Because laborers, the working class, are not tools for others to seize power!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Powerful words. Though the reporter knew this was… a script, he still applauded her brilliant performance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The interview went smoothly. These workers, injured and nearly bankrupt—or already ruined—had long harbored resentment, and now they could vent openly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Labor Union’s most vital grassroots supporters, they didn’t show the public’s assumed loyalty or gratitude—they were filled with bitterness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the interview, the two reporters politely declined Mrs. Debbie’s invitation to lunch—they had to go see Lans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Anderson’s restaurant in the Bay Area, Lans received them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having insiders in influential media like The Federal Post was crucial, so Lans was willing to befriend these two reporters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reporters were happy to meet Lans too—because this connection led to Senator Cleveland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the senator’s perspective, Lans might just be someone casually recommended; next time he wanted to reach someone at the senator’s level, he’d have no chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he wanted to seize this opportunity—he understood what a senator represented, unlike ordinary Federals who thought, “Politicians are elected by us”—that was absurd!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even facing Lans, a gang leader, he behaved with perfect decorum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Finished the interview?” Lans asked before the meal arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reporter nodded. “Ms. Debbie and her friends were extremely well-prepared and emotionally charged; we finished the interview in no time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have a feeling this story will spark a huge uproar across the country!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans was satisfied. He leaned slightly forward and spoke with firmer tone: “When cattle or horses on a farm are injured, the farm owners know to call a veterinarian to treat them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But when these people are injured, those who treat them like cattle and horses try to shift the blame onto others.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moreover, they are human beings, not cattle or horses—they deserve legal protection, and the law must not favor anyone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I believe in the fairness of the law, and I am heartbroken by their plight. I will hire a team of lawyers to help them sue the Lianhe Society.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you’re interested, you could make this a long-term topic—this case will drag on for a long time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He leaned back then. “The number of people injured across the nation due to strikes and protests demanded by the Lianhe Society is far more than one or two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Justice that falls only on a handful of people is not justice!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reporter bowed his head in respect—Mr. Lans intended to fight the Lianhe Society to the end!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He found it odd that a gangster would be clashing with the Lianhe Society, but he knew it wasn’t his business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately expressed strong interest: “I’ll apply to the editor-in-chief—there’s a high chance we’ll follow this case.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, he couldn’t cover the entire story himself; he would only personally handle the key moments, leaving the rest to his intern reporters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exploitation isn’t something only capitalists do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as a person holds even a sliver of power, they will use it to exploit others—no matter who they are.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rest of the meal was very pleasant. This was Anderson Restaurant’s “headquarters,” though the original headquarters wasn’t here—because of Lans’s actions, he had to relocate and open a new headquarters elsewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they were leaving, Lans handed the reporter an envelope—thick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reporter hastily stepped back, but Lans shoved it into his pocket anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve been too busy lately to properly host you—this is my apology!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Next time you come, I’ll definitely take you around.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was just polite talk to make the reporter feel comfortable taking the money—the reporter knew it well, and he said many thanks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he had felt the envelope—it was genuinely thick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the hotel, he opened the envelope Lans had slipped him. Inside were twenty-five twenty-dollar bills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He whistled, pulled out two bills, and handed them to the intern reporter. Then he said with deep feeling: “See? You don’t need to start a business or do anything special to get rich—just have enough resources, and wealth comes this easily!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused. “Alright, go get the photos developed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve got to write a solid article for these five hundred dollars.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew these five hundred were just the initial payment for their first meeting—once they became closer, Lans might give him even bigger assignments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could tell Lans wasn’t the type to stay quiet—he would keep stirring up major incidents!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of this matter, something interesting happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The article in Today Jingang mentioned Aug’s abuse and addiction to painkillers. During the day, representatives from the pharmaceutical group saw the report and immediately approached Today Jingang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although they hadn’t specified which painkillers Aug used, this act had already harmed the pharmaceutical group’s interests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They demanded that any reprints or reproductions remove these passages, or they would sue the newspaper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pharmaceutical group had long known their painkillers were highly addictive—whether the pills or those… super-effective injections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before the entire nation and the world turned against them, they wouldn’t stop—they would eliminate every obstacle and keep selling drugs Fengkuang .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinary pills came in small packs of three or five; only painkillers came in bottles of fifty or a hundred pills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this was just a minor side note—the reporter from the Post clearly understood the rules; when summarizing the “Aug incident,” he didn’t mention drug addiction at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They encountered such issues all the time and had long developed mature experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both men were energized—beyond Lans’s money, creating a major news story was exactly what they craved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2436,"2026-06-19T21:10:31.886Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c94abf2454373eb74b29348c821eabbcfa8a057900090a89f0d7bb1146e9d89f","the-shadow-empire-chapter-954","the-shadow-empire-chapter-952",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]