Chapter 982: Lance's Law

As soon as Lance got out of the car, he heard Attorney General Terry's hearty laughter. He laughed as he walked down the steps, went to the car, and personally opened the door for Lance. "You're finally back, Lance!"

"If you hadn't come back, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to sleep at night!"

Lance got out of the car and shook his hand. "Then you should have gotten a new female companion."

This sudden, small, what-should-be-a-joke didn't cause any offense. Attorney General Terry just smiled and nodded. "I'd like to, but my wife probably wouldn't be willing."

The two let go of their hands and, led by the Attorney General, walked up the steps, where he saw some of his confidants.

Lance had seen some of these people before, and they took the initiative to greet him. There were also some Lance hadn't met, and after the Attorney General's introductions, they were considered acquainted.

To Lance, these people were really just a list of names right now—if he heard these names in the future, he might vaguely recall knowing who they were, but he couldn't completely connect them with their faces.

This is why people always hope to appear frequently in front of big shots, to "mix a familiar face."

The repetition rate of names in the Federation, and even the world, was simply too high. If it was just a name, it was hard for big shots to have a deep impression of them.

Only when they left a deep impression on the big shots would the big shots, when talking about their names, remember their faces.

These people would all serve as the main government officials after Attorney General Terry took office as governor.

The governor holds the entire state's executive power. In the Federation's system, the governor and the president are of equal rank, so this also endows the governor with greater power.

He could completely ignore the requests of the president or Congress and arbitrarily appoint government officials within the state. Even if he appointed a dog or a cat as lieutenant governor, that was his power.

However, in real life, such an extreme phenomenon would basically not occur. After all, politics is not absolute opposition; everything can be traded, can be compromised.

So the possibility of "if" doesn't exist.

The group entered the living room. The servants had already tidied it up, and it looked very clean. Of course, after the servants brought in some items, they took the initiative to leave.

Attorney General Terry's butler personally checked, and after confirming that there were no other servants in the main building, he closed the main door.

This was a... protective measure.

Not everyone can keep a secret. Those servants are just people who take a fixed salary. If someone offers them conditions they can't refuse, they will definitely compromise.

In order to prevent Attorney General Terry from distrusting these people, and also to prevent them from feeling the discomfort of being suspected, when discussing important matters, and not in a relatively private, enclosed space such as a study, they would definitely clear the room.

Lance walked to the independent sofa on the right of the sofa group and sat down. This position was second only to the host's.

Although Attorney General Terry had said that he should sit in the center, Lance still sat here.

"Do you still have other competitors?" Lance looked at Attorney General Terry with some curiosity. "Who else could be your opponent?"

"I remember the lieutenant governor talked to me last time. He doesn't really want to run for governor in Likalai State."

Lance had, at Terry's request, talked with the lieutenant governor last year, which was also a way to probe the lieutenant governor's attitude towards running for governor.

After all, as one of the top three politicians in Likalai State, if he wanted to run for governor, his winning rate, without the interference of other external forces, was actually greater than that of Attorney General Terry.

The reason was very simple: the lieutenant governor's visibility was much higher than that of the Attorney General.

The post of Attorney General might seem to have a lot of power, and he had a certain amount of power in the judicial field, but ordinary people couldn't feel this.

Criminals might feel it more strongly. After all, they always have to have contact with prosecutors. And those rich people, they might be relatively more familiar with Attorney General Terry. They are also a group that often has to deal with the judiciary.

But it was very difficult for ordinary people to connect with someone as distant as a prosecutor. They couldn't be said to know Attorney General Terry.

But the lieutenant governor was different.

The lieutenant governor was mainly responsible for the specific implementation of some of the governor's executive orders. He would have more contact with ordinary people, and ordinary people would know more about him.

And as it happens, at all times, the largest part of the electorate is composed of these ordinary people.

When they walk into the polling station and get the ballot card, looking at the several names written on it, there is a high probability that they will choose the name they know, and then throw it into the voting machine.

This was also the conclusion reached after many organizations had conducted surveys. About 68% of voters, when faced with no politician they liked or had chosen, would cast their vote for the person on the list they knew, rather than choosing one at random.

So if the lieutenant governor had run, his chances of winning would have been high. But he had told Lance that he would not run in Likalai State.

Lance had talked with him in more depth, and the lieutenant governor had not hidden his thoughts. The Lance family, the Williams family, the Lawrence family, these forces now had too much influence in Likalai State!

So great that even if he became governor, he would have to consider their feelings when issuing some normal regulations.

If they supported it, then everything would be fine.

But what if they didn't support the new policies issued by the governor?

It was clear that this would make the governor lose face. The lieutenant governor was a person who cared about his face. He didn't want to offend Lance now, nor did he want to offend others. He was willing to take the initiative to withdraw from the election and go to other states to run.

Of course, he had made such a decision, also hoping to get some support from Lance.

In this regard, Lance had not been stingy with his wealth and some of his connections. As long as the lieutenant governor needed it, he would definitely stand up for his campaign.

So, having removed the person who was the biggest threat to Attorney General Terry, the others, in Lance's view, were nothing.

Attorney General Terry pursed his lips. "We are indeed leading in the polls against those competitors, but Lance, until the last moment, the moment the answer is revealed, I can't rest easy."

Lance nodded, indicating that he could understand his current worry. These worries, in Lance's view, were necessary and normal. After all, Attorney General Terry's advantage could not be said to be very large.

If Lance suddenly turned to his other competitors, then Attorney General Terry would definitely lose the chance to become governor. His nervousness was very reasonable.

"Don't worry!"

"Terry, we are old friends!"

"It's not the first day you've known me. When have you ever seen me say no to my friends?"

The atmosphere in the living room had originally been a little heavy, a little serious, but with Lance's statement, that heavy atmosphere had disappeared in an instant, and in its place was a kind of relaxation.

Including Attorney General Terry's subordinates, they all had a happy smile on their faces.

Once Attorney General Terry took office as governor, these people would naturally be given important positions.

If not them, then who?

And now the "atmosphere" in Likalai State was very strange.

Lance had bribed a large number of government officials, which had led to the state government and local officials and the gangs being twisted into one rope.

In addition, Lance opposed the chaos of the city's public security. Likalai State had already become the most suitable region for gangs to survive, but at the same time, it was also the most unsuitable region for gangs to survive.

To say it was suitable for gangs to survive was because the criminal business here would be very stable. For example, the current sale of illicit alcohol was very stable.

Every city, every bar, every gang, they would, every once in a while, take the initiative to take out a part of their "performance" and send it to the Dangerous Goods Administration, and then those agents of the Dangerous Goods Administration would not find trouble with them.

It was the same for the police station, and the municipal officials. Everyone could get their own share of the benefits from the high-profit industry.

And society was also very stable, not turbulent. It could be said that this place had already become a model of "living and working in peace"!

To say it was not suitable for gangs to survive was because the essence of a gang is destruction.

Many of the gangs from other regions were all laughing at the gangs in Likalai State, saying that they were "castrated chicks," which was a very humiliating evaluation.

Because in Likalai State, there were almost no more large-scale firefights between gangs. It couldn't be said that there were no firefights at all, but large-scale ones were basically no longer to be seen.

The remaining were all small-scale, with little influence, and mainly occurred between the street families. They would, for the sake of whose street the streetwalker business belonged to, get into a fight.

This kind of a firefight was not very scary. A group of people would be beaten up by another group. This was the limit.

As for things like shooting and killing people in the street, it was almost no longer to be seen.

The underworld had an order, and everything seemed to have to be done according to the rules. This was very uncomfortable for many of the gangs who wanted to take root and to develop here.

Once they had used force within the city, it would mean that they would, at the same time, offend the entire city's gangs, as well as the police and officials, and in the end, would be jointly cleaned up.

There had been more than one outside gang that had tried to, in their own way, in Likalai State, to get their own territory, and then had become a pile of corpses in the suburbs.

Even that wonder of Golden Port City—Angel Lake, whose water level had been rising every year, now the water was not rising much, and this year it had even dropped a little.

People said that this was all thanks to Mr. Lance's rules, which had restored the peace here.

Besides the gangs that had benefited a lot here, the rest were the officials at all levels.

Not just Golden Port City. The "rules of the game" that Lance had set had already begun to be implemented in the entire Likalai State. From the mayor, to the police chief, and even to an ordinary city police officer, they could all, from the profits of the liquor sold by the gangs in the city, get their own share!

So everyone now was willing to be an official, and was also willing to climb higher, because a higher status meant more extra income every month.

Like Attorney General Terry, he could get an income of 300,000 a month. Who wouldn't be envious of this income?

It might not seem like much, but you have to know, an income of 300,000 is already the income of 5,000 workers for a month!

He, by himself, was equivalent to the income of 5,000 workers who didn't eat or drink. Who wouldn't want this money?

The next Attorney General to come to power would also be able to get this much money. What about the other officials in the government?

How much could they get?

It was said that the governor could get a stable "investment return" from Lance's foundation every month!

Yes, the governor also had his share, and it was still very clean money. This thing, "investment return," even if someone came to investigate, it would be of no use.

According to the laws of the Federation, government officials are allowed to engage in business and investment.

And the tax rate paid on the income from investment in the Federation is very low, even lower than the tax rate that those workers have to pay on their hard-earned monthly wages!

Lance's "tentacles" were like a blood vessel, and had quickly spread throughout Likalai State. The entire state's political arena seemed to have been completely eroded, infiltrated, and in the end, had formed a super monster.

From the perspective of actual life, now everyone's political achievements were very good, and the gangs were not making trouble. The city's public security had also gone up, and their pockets had also become full. Who could still feel dissatisfied with such a good life?!

If there was really someone who was not satisfied with this environment, and wanted to do something, to deal with Lance or to destroy "Lance's Law," then this person and the forces behind him would become the enemy of the entire Likalai State.

This was also why Attorney General Terry had to meet with Lance to talk about the votes. Lance did indeed already have the ability to manipulate the results of the Likalai State's gubernatorial election, and everyone had to show him respect.

Attorney General Terry had gotten the answer he wanted. His whole person had also clearly relaxed a lot, and his tone was also filled with a lightheartedness when he spoke.

Lance took out his cigarette case. He drew out a cigarette. The state prosecutors around him, and some of the state government officials, immediately, one after another, all took out their lighters.

Just as they were about to rush to light Lance's cigarette, Attorney General Terry had taken out his own lighter, and had struck it.

The others all silently put away their own lighters.

Lance smiled and used his hand to shield the flame on the lighter in Attorney General Terry's hand. In fact, this kind of a kerosene-and-wick lighter, even if it was not shielded, would not be blown out by the wind, but this was a habit.

After he had taken two puffs, and had lit the cigarette, he had patted Attorney General Terry's hand, to have him take the lighter away. Then he had taken another puff and had quickly exhaled, before he had truly taken a puff into his lungs.

The previous few puffs would have had a kerosene smell, which was why Lance didn't like this kind of kerosene lighter. It would ruin his smoking experience.

Attorney General Terry put away his lighter. He looked at Lance. Lance also looked at him. The two couldn't help but laugh.

The people who were standing around them, although they didn't understand why these two big shots were laughing, they had also followed suit and had laughed. For a time, the living room was full of people's happy laughter!

When the laughter had almost subsided, Lance finally asked, "This year's gubernatorial election results, will they come out before the Harvest Festival, or after?"

Attorney General Terry immediately replied, "On October 15th. There is still a week before the Harvest Festival."

"After all, the Harvest Festival is an important holiday. Neither the federal government nor the state government is likely to let the voters and us, these people, to have a tasteless Harvest Festival."

The Harvest Festival has a very important status in the Federation, second only to the New Year. So much so that now people even feel that the festive atmosphere of the Harvest Festival is better than that of New Year's Day.

New Year's Day won't have all kinds of floats parading, but the Harvest Festival will. And there are also many celebration activities and agricultural product competitions, exhibitions, and the like. It's very lively.

Lance nodded. "In that case, if you have nothing else to do on the Harvest Festival, let's go to the Lawrence Farm and celebrate together."

"I have had a simple chat with Mayor Williams before. We may have some new ideas. You are the governor, and we also need some of your suggestions."

Attorney General Terry immediately realized that this might be a meeting about the formation of an interest group. He was a person of Likalai State, and the governor was, with a high probability, the "pinnacle" of his political career.

After he had stepped down from this position as governor, there were only two paths to take. Either to run for president, or to find a way to get a position in the Senate.

Whether it was to run for president, or to try to get into the Senate, in the end, he would need Lance to give him enough help!

So he had not considered for too long and had agreed. Even though he knew that as long as he had gone to the Lawrence Farm and had participated in this "party" for the Harvest Festival, he would be labeled as "part of Lance's faction," he had still decided to do so.

After all, this was the Federation, a federalist country. The federal government only had the power to advise and to guide in all the affairs of a state. They had no way to decide what a state's political ecology was like!

"Good, I will definitely go. Can I bring my family?"

This was a very clever inquiry. Lance did not object. "The Lawrence Farm has many fun things. If your wife and children have nothing else to do, they can totally go over and have some fun, just as a vacation."

"On the farm, they can ride horses, they can go hunting with the cowboys, and they can do anything they can't do in the city. It's very interesting!"

Lance said with a smile, talking about how he also had a horse. "My first horse in the Federation that belongs to me is on the farm. But it's a bit unfamiliar with me. Even if I go over with a carrot, it doesn't really pay attention to me!"

This was clearly small talk. Because the important content had already been chatted about, and the atmosphere was so relaxed, they also didn't have any serious topics to discuss.

Everyone was chatting about some of the happy things they knew, to enhance the atmosphere.

This meeting was very smooth and successful. Attorney General Terry had kept Lance and his family for dinner. And with the news of Lance and Attorney General Terry having dinner together spreading, the last bit of suspense for the gubernatorial election had also, it could be said, come to an end.