[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-975":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},2268595,4428,"Chapter 975: Lans: The Best Friend of the People of Lapan","the-shadow-empire-chapter-975",975,"\u003Cp>Suddenly, at this very moment, Pedro had so much he wanted to say to Lans—and even wanted to punch him in the chin!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt his hairs stand on end, overwhelming fear dominating his body, making him tremble and shiver!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just imagining that terrible scene made him instinctively want to flee!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that he was too weak—it was that the scene was too horrifying!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact… many people have no accurate understanding of hunger; many think hunger simply means being hungry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in reality, hunger can change a person’s soul!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under hunger, people do countless unbelievable things—their morals, ethics, all the postnatal restraints imposed upon them, are undone by hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is like a key that eventually unlocks one Pandora’s box after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one knows whether what escapes is an angel or a demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps there are more demons—when people submit to desire and instinct, that is the demon!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone bumped into him from behind; he snapped out of his trembling, glanced around, clenched his food bag, shoved through the crowd, and ran toward the nearest grocery store.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he left last week, he had seen the grocery store owner, who told him someone had come to buy grain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, he hadn’t connected it to anything complex—but now, he suddenly realized everything had already been arranged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The script wasn’t written today—it was written long ago—and each of them was merely a part of that script.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some played the background; others played the lead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind was a mess, filled with chaotic thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The grocery store door was open; the owner stood behind the counter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Give me some food!” he walked to the counter and placed his food bag on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were other people in the store; they all glanced toward him, half-heartedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The grocery store owner shook his head, hands resting on the counter. “Sorry, sold out. But I’ve contacted the warehouse—they’ll bring more next week.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pedro stared into the grocer’s eyes; after a moment of eye contact, the grocer deliberately looked away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They knew each other—they’d lived on the same street for years. As a high school teacher, clearly the highest-status person on the block, Pedro still held some respect among neighbors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unable to bear Pedro’s gaze, the grocer gave a slight shake of his head and whispered, “I have none left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did have some—about twenty to thirty pounds of wheat berries, and over twenty pounds of flour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The store was run only by him and his wife; his children lived elsewhere. These supplies were enough for them to last a month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he worried whether his children had food—so he hadn’t planned to sell any of the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pedro looked at him twice, then at the food bag on the counter. He muttered “Fuck,” grabbed his bag, and ran out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he ran out, he saw four or five tense young men entering the store.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they passed him, one young man was sweating profusely!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was winter—temperatures around ten degrees—and he was sweating!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now wasn’t the time to meddle—he needed to get food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the store, the street was filled with panicked crowds; the gunshots and robberies had set a terrible precedent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw a few people at a distant corner fighting over another man’s food bag; one kept kicking the man’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city had only two hundred police officers to manage two hundred thousand people—they couldn’t possibly cover everything!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pedro glanced twice, then looked away, turning to run farther away. He hadn’t run far when he heard the grocer’s cries for help from inside the store!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stopped dead, suddenly experiencing ringing in his ears, even a sensation of dizziness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His blood pressure had risen—he didn’t know it—but he stood there, staring at the store’s entrance, his mind already picturing what lay inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Help!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone, please help me... ah, help!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People were walking toward the store—but they stopped at the doorway, not entering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seconds later, the grocer suddenly burst out!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was covered in blood; visible wounds gaped open, even flipped outward, across his black hair, gushing blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His arms and body were also wounded, bleeding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared in terror at the people outside—he didn’t understand why no one came to save him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his panic, he stumbled and fell with a thud, face-down on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then his body began slowly dragging itself back toward the store; his face twisted in terror as he clawed at the ground, trying to escape!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood-stained handprints marked the pavement—whether from his own blood or from his fingers scraping raw on the ground, no one could tell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if realizing this wouldn’t free him, he rolled onto his back and thrashed violently, as if kicking his legs?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon, in agonized screams, he gave up resistance. From the expressions of the onlookers outside, it was clear he was being tortured, then dragged back inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man who always seemed so tough soon couldn’t even cry out for help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within twenty seconds, all sound ceased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two minutes later, several young men burst out carrying three bulging food bags; they waved knives, and the crowd instantly scattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they vanished into the street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This should have been an outrage—but what did Pedro hear?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Serves him right. I knew he was hoarding food—he wanted to keep it all for himself. Now look!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Greedy people never get a good end!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were condemning someone who hadn’t done anything wrong—and yet, absurdly, Pedro even felt… a tiny bit of truth in it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The remaining crowd suddenly surged into the store—he could imagine what they were there to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though not food, at least it might bring them some comfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was collapsing—and collapsing fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The poorer the place, the worse its food reserves. He could hardly imagine what would come next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pedro, having witnessed the entire scene, shuddered again, cursed, and turned to run toward the school—he feared for the students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The school was still in decent shape, as it gathered children from the city’s middle-class families, and security had been prioritized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Parents had paid to hire four guards to ensure the school’s safety—and now, those guards were proving useful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pedro greeted the guards and entered the school; seeing the normal order inside, he exhaled in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The school had a cafeteria—he’d feared people might storm it, but it seemed they didn’t want to provoke the city’s middle class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the question remained: where would he and his family get food?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire city’s food reserves had been consumed in an instant—most hoarded by a few.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angry, irrational people, terrified masses running wild, and opportunists, conspirators, and ambitious men smiling at the chaos…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This peaceful city was falling!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About to plunge into hell!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Zolan, food shortages hadn’t reached here yet; to avoid triggering unnecessary trouble, Zolan’s food supply remained ample.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diego turned to the official beside him; the phone had just rung—he’d been speaking with Lans about cooperation, so the official had taken the call.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diego wasn’t an easy man to get along with. He acted relatively normal around Lans and the others—not because he was normal, but because he couldn’t handle these foreigners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could control these foreigners, Lans wouldn’t be sitting nearby—he’d be locked in a basement, being tortured until he revealed his bank accounts and credentials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of how Diego treated his own people when angry, the official immediately forced a smile. “Nothing serious. Some cities may be short on food—they’re worried something might happen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diego frowned at the news. “There’s plenty to eat in the wild—why don’t they just find it themselves?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dismissed the official who brought bad news and turned to Lans. “A reasonable plan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems the Lianbangzheng Prefecture truly has its own unique way of governing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood up, gripping the armrest—his movement looked ridiculous, but no one laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s eat first!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s late—I’m hungry. We’ll discuss the rest after dinner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lans brought two things: first, increased investment—build more factories, hire more workers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ore, rubber, precious metals, timber, furs—anything that could make money, he wanted!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He offered Diego fifteen percent equity—Diego didn’t have to do a thing, yet he’d earn a fortune every year!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diego was satisfied—because this money went to him personally, not to the Lianbangzheng Prefecture or any other ruling group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, he brought Diego a tax plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone earning over one thousand Pala per month—currently thirteen Lianbang Sol at the exchange rate—must pay taxes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tax rate starts at twenty percent and rises with income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How would they track it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was simple: high-income earners all worked in Lans’s factories; Lans could directly transfer their taxes into Zolan’s National Bank’s designated account.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, even if Diego and others did nothing, they’d gain tens of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—of Lianbang Sol in monthly tax revenue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could he not be delighted?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he would host a grand banquet to express his “gratitude” to Lans and the Lianbang people!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diego stood beside Lans, golden cup in hand, face flushed with joy, raising his glass. “Lans, you are the best friend of the people of Lapan!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reporters around them frantically captured this historic moment!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1525,"2026-06-19T21:10:31.886Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a5abc009028a83b969f3461f9d1c54b03e3854f1c5fa89d4d95ab2e1db689f7b","the-shadow-empire-chapter-976","the-shadow-empire-chapter-974",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]