Our Discord Server: .gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: sgravitytales/coins-purchase-page/
Advanced chapter until 500
at /caleredhair
Just as Lance and William were discussing Mr. Jobav becoming their opponent, Mr. Jobav was also chatting with the mayor about this.
“…Lance’s status in the hearts of the Empire immigrants is very high. If he supports that William fellow to run for election, it’s hard for
to say I can secure a stable victory.”
The mayor sat behind his desk, frowning at the docunts on the table. He held a cigarette in his left hand and hadn’t smoked it for a long ti.
So much so that a considerable amount of ash had accumulated.
It was as if he had figured sothing out, or perhaps Mr. Jobav’s words had startled him. His hand trembled slightly, and the cigarette ash fell onto the edge of the desk.
He quickly picked up the docunt and blew hard towards his side.
The ash was blown away. After shaking the docunt, he rembered that Mr. Jobav was still here.
“Wait a mont.” He took out a pen and made so notes on the docunt, then put the docunt into a file bag.
After tightening the cap of the fountain pen, he looked at Mr. Jobav, “What did you just say?”
Mr. Jobav, sitting on the sofa, could clearly feel the mayor’s lack of regard for him. He was not a fool; he had only been a bit “naive” before.
He had also experienced many things and t many people. He could feel the mayor’s indifferent attitude towards him.
But he wouldn’t take it to heart. This was a necessary part of his journey to success and entry into high society.
“I was saying, Lance will support William’s campaign for the Empire District councilman. I might have a big problem.”
The mayor frowned, “William… what’s his last na?”
“Lawrence.”
“William Lawrence… I seem to have heard this na before.” He picked up the phone and dialed a number, “Do you know a person nad William Lawrence?”
Soon, the person on the other end of the line told the mayor everything he wanted to know.
He hung up the phone and looked at Mr. Jobav, “William used to be a civil servant in our municipality. He recently resigned and is now running for the Empire District councilman, and the reason is that Lance is going to support him?”
This sounded like an affirmative sentence, but it was actually a question.
Mr. Jobav nodded, “I’m afraid so.”
The mayor let out a “Ha.” He leaned back in his chair as if he had heard a relaxing joke. “On what grounds does he support a forr civil servant to run for city council?”
“Also, why do you think he will be your opponent, even a big problem?”
Different heights, different perspectives. From the mayor’s point of view, a “civil servant family” was just that, a civil servant family.
In the Federation’s administrative system, this could only be considered the very bottom of the political world. He didn’t take it to heart at all.
When did a city mayor ever start worrying about an ordinary, low-level civil servant and his family?
This was also why he couldn’t understand Mr. Jobav seeing this as a problem on his campaign trail!
A gang leader and a forr low-level civil servant are now making you, a banker supported by the mayor’s faction, feel troubled. Are you f—king kidding ?
Actually, Mr. Jobav had already said it once, but now he had to say it again. This was the price of success, he told himself.
“Lance’s status in the hearts of the Empire immigrants is no lower than mine. As long as they are qualified for university, he will provide money to help them complete their dreams.”
“He doesn’t collect any protection fees in the Empire District and even started an Empire rchants Association…”
The mayor lit another cigarette. Listening to Mr. Jobav talk about the things Lance was doing now, he couldn’t help but glance at Mr. Jobav a few more tis.
That look, as if looking at a piece of trash, was not caught by Mr. Jobav. Otherwise, this would beco another one of the “prices” for him to squeeze into high society.
From the mayor’s perspective, Mr. Jobav’s base in the Empire District was large and solid, but besides collecting deposits and lending money to the poor, he didn’t seem to have done anything particularly aningful.
Holding regular gatherings counted as one. Free food and… water could indeed make people grateful to him, but it was only gratitude.
He could actually have done much more, more and better than what Lance did, but he had done nothing.
It seed that besides running his bank and investnts, he had no other achievents, in terms of influence.
Even his influence was only because he was very rich and was treated as a kind of “totem” by people. If you stripped away these external factors, he really had nothing praiseworthy.
“So it seems you have indeed encountered a problem.” The mayor flicked his cigarette ash. “I heard Lance is a local, but so of you say he’s from the Empire. What’s going on?”
Mr. Jobav wasn’t too sure either, “I heard he changed his identity through so channels and then beca a local.”
“Is this useful to us?”
The mayor shook his head, “If William had done this, then it would be very useful. But whether Lance changed his identity or not has no effect on William.”
“People might even support him precisely because he is from the Empire!”
After speaking, the mayor fell into thought. It was his idea to have Mr. Jobav run for city council.
In this kind of battle, one more on your side ans one less on the other side. This is definitely not a difference of “one,” it’s a difference of “two.”
He didn’t know if Lance and William supported the locals, but at this ti, all fence-sitters were enemies.
You’re either with us or against us, there is no middle ground!
He quickly made a decision, “But you don’t have to worry too much about this. As long as Lance disappears, and no one provides William with campaign funds and popular support, he will definitely not be your opponent.”
“A local guy versus a successful immigrant of their own kin, they know who to vote for to truly represent themselves.”
Mr. Jobav wanted to say sothing. He could vaguely understand what the mayor ant by “disappear.”
He wanted to say that this was their “internal” problem, but in the end, he said nothing, because this was also the “price,” the “price” of climbing up. Soone had to be sacrificed.
Either him, or soone else.
Of course, the mayor also sensed Mr. Jobav’s low spirits. “Joe, do you know what your biggest problem is?”
Mr. Jobav, having recomposed himself, imdiately asked, “What is it, sir?”
The mayor raised his finger and pointed at him, “It’s your weakness, Joe.”
“If soone else were in your position, you would already be a mber of Golden Port’s high society, not like now. I heard even those gangs can extort you.”
“You have over two hundred thousand supporters here. This force would make anyone in Golden Port dare not ss with you. Once these two hundred thousand people demonstrate and march, affecting the city’s operation.”
“Then whoever caused all this would be the enemy of all vested interest groups in this city.”
“But look at yourself. So many years, and not a bit of developnt or change. It really makes one not know what to say.”
He shook his head and said, “With a personality like yours, even if you beco a city councilman, I’m afraid you won’t last long.”
A trace of dissatisfaction flashed in Mr. Jobav’s eyes, along with a trace of anger and an indescribable sense of understanding. Yet, he smiled on his face, “Yes, you are right. I am indeed too weak sotis.”
The mayor nodded slightly, it was unclear what he was nodding for. “It’s not too late to realize your own problems, at this ti.”
“You can go ahead and prepare for the election with peace of mind. Lance hasn’t established any charity foundation yet, has he?”
“You go start one in the city, specializing in helping immigrants from the Empire who are in financial difficulty. You don’t need to give every single one of them money or things. Pick a few typical cases. You should know better than .”
Mr. Jobav nodded, “Yes, I know what to do.”
The mayor continued, “Joe, you see, you know everything, but in the past, you did nothing, and let a young man get the jump on you.”
“But it’s okay, there’s still ti for everything.”
After letting Mr. Jobav leave, he dialed his personal secretary’s number. “Tell Brinton and his n to get to work once they’ve rested. Uproot Lance’s group as soon as possible. I get annoyed just hearing their nas now.”
A minor character dared to refuse his recruitnt?
Whether he was a local or not, this made him feel very disgraced, especially Orson the lawyer’s seemingly smiling yet not smiling expression, which made him very angry.
Hanging up the phone, he got up and walked to the window. The cool evening breeze blew in, making him squint his eyes slightly.
If one didn’t consider the issue of power struggles, retiring in Golden Port was actually a good choice.
He looked at the cars on the city roads and fell into new thought.
At the sa ti, Rob’s heart was beating violently. He left the bar, slightly drunk.
The people here didn’t respect him.
When he was about to order another drink, the bartender refused him and told him he was already drunk.
What was needed now was not “another round,” but to “go ho, get into bed, and have a good sleep,” and “don’t forget to have a glass of milk before bed.”
When the bartender said these words, the people around were all laughing out loud. Only Rob wasn’t laughing.
He was really drunk. He had already consud two “bombs” and two glasses of whiskey today. He was starting to lose control.
But this damn bar was really fun. It was full of young girls who were willing to respond to his advances, which made him very happy.
Even the pain of losing Selena seed to disappear in the process of flirting with these girls.
Now, he just wanted two more drinks, one for himself and another for his “female companion.” He felt he had a chance to take this girl ho today. He ca by car.
But the bartender not only refused him but also turned him into a joke. He cursed “f—k” and seed about to do sothing impulsive, but he quickly controlled his emotions.
Because two bouncers were standing behind him.
“If it weren’t for your father’s sake, I would take you to the back right now, instead of letting you leave!” The bartender tilted his head, and the two bouncers dragged him to the door and threw him out.
The mont the bar door closed, he vaguely heard the crowd’s laughter. His flushed face was indistinguishable between being from drinking too much or from anger.
He ca to a phone booth diagonally across the street from the bar. He glanced at the few people standing outside the bar’s alley in the distance, took out two one-cent coins, and inserted them into the public phone’s coin slot.
“This is the Bureau of Hazardous Materials complaint line. How may I help you?”
“I want to speak with Officer Lukar.”
“One mont…”
After about twenty seconds, a voice ca on, “This is Lukar, who’s there?”
Rob’s heart beat more forcefully and faster. He felt his mouth was dry, probably from drinking too much. He should have listened to the bartender and had a glass of milk.
He pressed his hand on his chest, as if trying to make it stop beating so violently. “It’s , Scarecrow.”
Scarecrow was his codena. In the Federation, a scarecrow had many special anings. He felt he could be a watchman.
“Oh, Mr. Scarecrow, thank you very much for your last report, which brought a great step forward for the cause of justice. So this ti, have you brought
good news again?”
Rob looked back at the intersection in the distance and lowered his voice a little.
He actually knew the other party couldn’t hear him, and it was impossible to hear the voice of soone talking on the phone in a phone booth dozens of ters away, but he still lowered his voice.
“In the Empire District… about one hundred fifty or sixty ters east on the road, there’s an alley that opens to the south. There are a few people standing at the mouth of the alley.”
“There’s a bar in here. You can find at least ten thousand dollars worth of liquor and money, and possibly one or two hundred drunkards drinking!”
Officer Lukar whistled, “No problem. Reward to be sent to the last account?”
“Yes!”
After saying that, he hung up the phone, then went back to his car, drove it far away, and stopped.
He wanted to personally witness the arrest process. That bastard bartender dared to laugh at him?!
Alright, let these people see how terrible the consequences and price of laughing at him were.
With definite news, Lukar quickly gathered a large team. He requested no sirens on the road.
Recently, there had been many “passers-by” around the Bureau of Hazardous Materials. They just stood brazenly around the main gate. As soon as they ca out with sirens blaring, these people would imdiately go to report it.
If they turned on the sirens, these people would quickly figure out where they were going, so now even if they had an operation, they wouldn’t use sirens.
And Chief Dale had told them to mobilize collectively when they were bored.
As long as they went out, all the bars in the city would have no peace!
And this could also numb these people, making them not know whether this operation was really to catch bars and bootleggers, or just to ss with them.
One armored car and five police cars left the Bureau of Hazardous Materials. The people at the entrance started making calls again. Although they were also very annoyed, it was necessary.
Lance’s bars also received calls. Elvin also arranged for people to stand guard at the entrances, but this ti they were not heading south, but towards the Priliccia District.
So the person calling was not so nervous, and the bars did not close, but continued to operate.
But what they didn’t know was that after these cars entered Priliccia and drove around a couple of tis, they suddenly began to accelerate towards the Empire District.
By the ti the lookout at the alley entrance saw the convoy, it was already close at hand!
A lookout ran to the bar entrance and banged hard on the door, “The black skin dogs are here!”
The burly man guarding the door turned and ran. He forcefully slamd a button on the inner wall of the bar. The music and lights instantly disappeared, replaced by incandescent lamps.
“The police are here!”
After a brief few seconds, the entire bar exploded like a pot. While they arranged for guests to leave through the other door, others collected the night’s cash and had soone carry the most portable banknotes to leave first.
These people from the Bureau of Hazardous Materials were too fast. They quickly surrounded the building and soon found another exit in the next unit—a few drunk people were yelling loudly, which eventually attracted the agents’ attention.
When the machine gun on the armored car was set up, the people who were still making a fuss finally quieted down, and also sobered up.
Lukar walked in through the main entrance of the bar. The peculiar sll inside the bar had not yet dissipated. He took a deep breath.
This was the sll of fa and fortune!
He made a move, not even needing to speak. The large number of reinforcents who had arrived began to clean up the scene.
The custors were herded to the roadside, squatting with their hands held high. The bar operator, the bartender in the dark brown vest, was now standing at the very front of the crowd.
“Identify your people.”
Officer Lukar vaguely felt that this bar should be Lance’s property, which made him excited!
The bartender didn’t speak, just spat at him, but he dodged it.
The next mont, he delivered a backhand hook punch to the bartender’s stomach, making him unable to straighten up.
At this mont, a colleague ca over, “The reporters are watching you. If you have anything to vent, you’d better do it after we get back.”
Lukar nodded, then gestured for the reporters to co up and take pictures.
He stepped on a few boxes of liquor, just as the ancestors of the Federation’s people had stepped on the corpses of those natives, holding a bottle of liquor in his hand, smiling for the cara…
Rob, who had witnessed everything from a distance, had a look of unprecedented, satisfying revenge on his face!
Lance had ruined his life, and now he had viciously retaliated. This made him feel an unprecedented sense of catharsis!
The news quickly reached Lance’s ears. He was also very annoyed about another bar being taken down.
“Check Lukar’s situation. Also, find out who is selling out the addresses of our bars?”
Elvin didn’t know how to answer this question, but soon the phone on the desk rang.
The call was from Morris. He brought a piece of news Lance wanted.
“Lance, I think I know who it is…”
***
Additional chapters: /caleredhair
Reviews
All reviews (0)