Empire of Shadows

The first mate watched as the captain's expression gradually became grave. He understood what the captain was implying.

Life on the ship was dull, and when people were bored, they would chat.

The lower the social stratum, the more they liked to discuss the affairs of the higher echelons—domestic politics, foreign politics. Why?

Why did the upper class spend their days talking about eating, drinking, and having fun instead of discussing the political current affairs that so many others liked to debate?

Because they were exposed to these things from morning till night. The so-called national policies and world trends held no secrets for them.

Conversely, those at the bottom of society lacked access to such information. Trapped in a stratum far removed from these affairs, they became curious and thus discussed them.

It was like… the crew wouldn't discuss how to scrub the deck to make it gleam; they would only talk about how far the Dantella mechanists had advanced, how many people they had killed, and where they might go next.

In these heated discussions, they would inevitably touch on how the Federation might intervene in this battle.

Now, it seemed it had arrived.

And it was heading straight for them!

The first mate pursed his lips, leaned against the wall of the cabin, sat down next to the captain, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and lit one. "Sometimes, knowing too much is really annoying."

The captain's initially tense expression turned to surprise, then a hint of a smile. "Looks like this news is still within your tolerance range. At least you're still in the mood to joke."

The first mate gave a wry smile and patted his forehead. "What else can I do?"

"Cry?"

He paused for a moment. "What should we do? Is it too late to turn back now?"

The captain shook his head. "I wish I were a conspiracy theorist, a serious one. That way, our chances of getting hurt would be smaller."

"But my decades of life experience tell me that once bait is placed on a hook and cast out, it's either eaten or sinks to the bottom."

"The fisherman won't take the bait off and put it back in the bait box."

"If we turn back, we're dead."

The first mate's face was filled with despair. "Are we just not going to do anything?"

"Why don't we abandon ship!" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as if he had thought of a good idea.

The captain countered, "How will you solve the problem of direction on the open sea? How will you solve the problem of eating? How will you solve the problem of fresh water and calling for help?"

"We won't even last until we reach the shore; we'll die of dehydration. It's not realistic."

"The only hope now is that the Dantella warships won't immediately open fire when they see us!"

Soon, some of the crew members on the Hope were asked to bring out their bedsheets and sew them together with ropes to form a larger white cloth.

The freighter could fly flags; it was above the main control room. Although the sailor responsible for the daily maintenance of the flags wasn't sure why they suddenly needed to prepare to raise a white flag, he did as he was told.

This also made the atmosphere on the ship somewhat somber and oppressive.

Some people had a good relationship with the first mate, and relying on that relationship, they secretly asked him what was going on.

Others found the captain, wanting to know what had happened.

At first, they didn't say anything, but in such a repressive environment, some things couldn't be hidden.

Soon, some sailors opened more containers and saw more stones inside. A terrifying rumor began to spread on the ship.

In just three or four hours, the area outside the captain's cabin was filled with sailors.

They desperately wanted to know what was happening, whether it was what they imagined!

Some people even lost control and tried to hurt others, but they quieted down after the captain pulled the trigger of the weapon in his hand.

The captain walked out of the captain's cabin and stood in the sight of the people. "The only thing we can do now is to raise the white flag immediately when that moment comes."

"If we're lucky, we might be captured, and then we can survive."

"If we're unlucky…"

He shook his head. "Everyone, go back and write your wills, then give them to me. My cabinet is sealed."

"I will write too. I will record everything, write it all down. One day, they will see the light of day."

"When that time comes, we will let people know how despicable, shameful, and evil the federal government is!"

The captain's voice was filled with sorrow and helplessness. The sailors silently returned to their rooms.

No one asked them to wipe the deck today, no one asked them to check the ropes. Everyone sat in their rooms, holding a pen, not knowing what to write.

The afternoon was quiet, and people realized that doing nothing at noon didn't affect the voyage.

Seeing that evening was about to arrive, the captain breathed a slight sigh of relief. They were unlikely to be attacked at night.

"Maybe the situation isn't as bad as I thought; it's just a problem of corruption within the group company," he glanced at the containers outside. He actually knew this was impossible.

It was possible for one box of goods to be swapped, maybe two, maybe three or five.

But for all of them to be swapped, absolutely impossible!

The first and second mates were not in the mood to talk. People kept sending wills, and the captain put them all into his sealed, waterproof cabinet.

One day, it would be opened at some point, making everything that happened today one of the biggest scandals in the history of the federal government!

He firmly believed this.

As the sun was about to disappear on the horizon, some smiles appeared on the faces of the sailors. The captain walked out of the captain's cabin, holding the handrail by the door, looking at the "children" on the deck, and a few smiles appeared on his face.

"I've prepared some wine," he said loudly. The sailors on the deck were attracted by his words. They turned their heads to look at the captain, with some surprises on their faces.

"This wine was originally what I planned to take out and share with you bastards on the day I retired."

"But I think it makes more sense for us to drink it now!"

"Long live the captain!" Some sailors took off their hats and waved them, shouting similar words. The captain couldn't help but laugh.

He liked everything here. If it weren't for his retirement, he would still be willing to be on this ship with these young men.

Soon, the first and second mates led several sailors out of the warehouse, carrying several buckets of wine. The lids were all opened, and the sailors took their cups and scooped a cup from it.

They looked at the captain, and someone shouted, "Say something!"

"Like those old men at the banquet!"

Other sailors also started to jeer. The captain also had a wine glass in his hand. He held up the wine glass and thought for a while. Just as he opened his mouth, he suddenly heard the sound of thunder in his ear.

A rumble of thunder interrupted his train of thought. He raised his head with some doubts.

Although there were clouds in the sky, he couldn't see any dark clouds at all. How could there be thunder?

And even if there were rain clouds, and it thundered, then where was the lightning?

There was no lightning?

Just as he was wondering why it was thundering on a sunny day, he suddenly heard the kind of sharp whistling sound in his ear.

Something tore through the air, making an ear-piercing cry, carrying a huge pressure from far to near.

The pressure pressed on everyone's heart, making people breathless.

Seven or eight seconds later, a huge wave suddenly rose from the sea on one side of the freighter. Then, perhaps with an interval of only about a second, more splashes of water rose.

Everyone was stunned by this scene!

The captain shouted directly, "Go raise the white flag, go raise the white flag!"

The four sailors were stunned for a moment, then ran madly towards the tower. The captain told everyone to protect themselves as much as possible and not to be exposed outside.

There was another loud thunder in his ear, and then the whistling sound. The captain raised his head and looked in the direction from which the whistling sound came.

In the sky, some small black spots flew over quickly at a speed he couldn't understand.

Some fell around the freighter, and some fell directly on the deck.

With a deafening boom, everyone felt a distinct tremor. A sailor who was raising the white flag lost his footing and plummeted from the tower.

His "Ah~~~" was followed by a "Thud!" and then, silence.

The man was dead, but the shelling continued. The freighter was already quite large, but at that moment, it was like a leaf in a raging torrent, in constant danger of capsizing.

The freighter had been hit, and seawater was gushing into the hull through the breach. The captain, while instructing the sailors to save themselves, ordered the radio operator to send a coded telegram of surrender as quickly as possible.

They surrendered, unconditionally!

Meanwhile, some distance away, three warships were sailing silently.

One of the radio monitors looked at an officer behind him. "I've intercepted a cleartext radio message from the Hope, requesting to surrender."

The officer frowned. The sinking of the Hope was a scheme hatched by the entire upper class of the Federation. Only its complete destruction could trigger the Federation government's fury!

The loss of tens of millions in cargo in the East Ocean, along with the deaths of hundreds of Federation sailors, would be enough to shock the entire society.

At that point, the Federation government's declaration of war against the Dantela Republic would be logical and in line with 'public opinion'.

They had deliberately leaked the Hope's route and cargo information to the Dantela Republic through known spies, with the aim of allowing them to accurately target the freighter.

If they were unlucky, or too stupid, to find the Hope, then the three warships following behind would directly destroy the Hope and frame the Dantela Republic.

The Hope had to sink, and the crew had to die. Whether at the hands of the Dantela Navy or the Federation Navy, it didn't matter, but they had to die!

Now they didn't want to die, and that was not allowed.

The officer instructed the radio operator to continue monitoring the radio, then quickly left the room to report the matter to the captain.

The captain of this operation was a commodore, and he immediately issued an order: "Shell the waters where the Dantela Navy is located."

"Don't aim to hit them, but put some pressure on them."

The officer executed the order meticulously, and soon the three warships opened fire.

Sometimes naval battles happen beyond visual range.

Because the planet is round, you can't see beyond a certain distance, but shells can still reach.

The booming naval guns began to unleash their power. Honestly, their artillery fire was far off from the Dantela warships, but they achieved their goal.

The Dantela Navy, which had been wondering if this was a conspiracy, couldn't spare the time to consider where the shelling was coming from.

Their goal was to sink this important supply ship and leave.

The Dantela naval commander directly issued the order to continue shelling. After two more rounds of fire, the lookout observed the freighter beginning to sink.

Upon receiving the news, the Dantela Navy warships immediately began to return. They were unsure how many warships were escorting the freighter, or where they were, but in any case, their mission was complete.

More than an hour later, the sky had basically darkened. The Federation Navy warships arrived at the "accident" site, and their huge searchlights illuminated almost the entire sea surface.

This was where the freighter had sunk, but because some of the cargo containers were well-sealed and still had enough air inside, they would float on the surface.

At this moment, the shivering first mate saw a searchlight shining over. He couldn't help but secure his body and shout loudly, "Save me, I'm here!"

"Hey, can you see me?"

"I'm waving, I'm here!"

Along with his shouts, a beam of light shone directly on him.

The intense light made him unable to open his eyes. Although he couldn't see whose ship it was at all, at this moment his heart was full of joy. He was saved!

He waved his arms even more vigorously, but what greeted him was the sound of machine guns firing 'tongtongtong'.

Bullets as thick as a child's arm shot towards his location, instantly tearing apart the semi-submerged container holding him up, and also tearing apart his body.

His upper body spun in the air and fell. He looked at his lower body sinking in the water, his mind buzzing.

A naked massacre. Some surviving sailors were shot to death because they exposed their positions.

There were also some sailors hiding behind or under the floating cargo containers, trying to survive by taking advantage of blind spots.

In fact, they wouldn't be able to survive on the surface for too long. Those cargo containers would probably slowly sink in two or three days, and they would have no way to leave or survive.

But if they could live a few more days, who could give up?

The sound of the machine guns outside stopped, and these survivors thought they had survived and breathed a sigh of relief.

But immediately afterwards, those warships began to strafe all the floating objects, ensuring that nothing could float on the surface!

More than ten minutes later, the three warships left here, leaving behind only endless despair.

At seven thirty in the morning, Lance woke up from his sleep. He held his forehead and sat for a while, then took a shower, changed his clothes, and came to the dining car.

The chefs were cooking food in another glass room. Because of the glass barrier, the smell of oily smoke would not drift in.

"It will be ready in five minutes, please wait a moment." The car attendant placed the morning newspaper next to Lance's hand. "Would you like some milk, coffee, or black tea?"

Lance thought for a while, "Milk, but no sugar."

He then picked up the newspaper at hand and looked at it.

The train passed through a city at six o'clock, and had people prepare the day's newspaper in advance and put it in the station.

When the train arrived to load water and coal, it brought the newspaper up.

All the itineraries are arranged.

The Federation people always say that the Federation's trains are either one or two points late, but for the rich people's 'special train', its error is within five minutes!

The distance from Jincheng Port to Xinjin City is one thousand kilometers, for which he needs to pay the railway company a fee of twelve thousand yuan.

But I have to say, it's worth it.

His car and the people he brought were also in the carriages behind.

There is no 'Today's Jincheng' here. 'Today's Jincheng' is a local newspaper in Jincheng Port, which has some influence only in Licarai State.

Leaving Licarai State, basically no one has heard of it, let alone subscribed to it.

What he took was 'Federal Post', a heavyweight newspaper.

When he shook the newspaper open and saw the headline on the front page, he frowned.

"Dantela Republic Navy Attacks Federal Freighter, Resulting in Thousands Missing or Dead, Losses of Tens of Millions!!"

They used black and bold fonts, and the exclamation mark was bright red, as conspicuous as blood!

The report roughly reported the cause, process, and what they know now.

The author of this report is an editor-in-chief. His writing style is sharp and extremely inflammatory.

A large paragraph of description made Lance feel the urge to say "If the Dantela people cannot give a reasonable acceptance and compensation, they must be made to pay the price".

After reading this report, he flipped through other newspapers. The headlines were all this. They revealed a message to the public from all aspects.

War is really coming this time!

Everyone knows that the Dantela Republic is impossible to apologize, let alone compensate, so the Federal government will definitely declare war on the Dantela Republic.

Originally, things that should have felt dull, under the inflammatory descriptions of these reports, filled people with a sense of power and passion!

Nearly 100 million people in the entire Federation were dragged onto this chariot by a small group of people.

People may not have realized that this is not an easy or romantic thing.

Either they ram and smash everyone on the road ahead.

Or, be knocked over by other people's carriages.

There is no third possibility!