Empire of Shadows

“Mr. Lance!”

Roger stood up with all the big guys, smiles covering everyone’s faces.

Lance raised his hand to signal for them to sit down, then he also sat down at the very front, facing them.

“Yesterday’s ‘International News’ was really hard to buy. They actually asked me for thirty cents.”

“Have you all seen it?”

Some said they had, some said they hadn’t but knew about the matter.

The Four-Nation War had already become the biggest public opinion storm in the Federation, with almost everyone discussing these things.

The old men drinking coffee at the street corner, the clerks in the shops, even the homeless people in the park, after a busy day, when they lay down in their shabby corners, would say, “Hey, have you heard?”

“The Four-Nation War is about to begin!”

People were all discussing these things, full of passion for it, but they had not yet realized that the war was actually not far from them!Roger stood up, “Mr. Lance, we have actually been discussing these issues for the past two days.”

“I know that if a war breaks out between the four countries, there will be many places to make money, but I’m not sure how to do it specifically. Perhaps you can tell us the answer?”

Lance raised his hand to signal for him to sit back down, “This is the reason why I have called you all here.”

“A war will definitely break out, and its scale may exceed everyone’s expectations. Do you know what is the most expensive thing in a war?”

Lance threw a question at them, and they immediately had many conclusions. Some said food, some said weapons, some said ammunition.

After they had discussed for a while, Lance gave a standard answer, “Medicine!”

“The price of medicine will be the most expensive because many people will be injured and will need medicine.”

“War will bring destruction and devastation. Whether it’s soldiers or ordinary people, they will need medicine.”

“Medicine will become a special currency more stable than gold.”

“So now, while people don’t have a clear concept of the future war, we need to do one thing, and that is to acquire a large amount of medicine!”

“Special anti-inflammatory drugs, special painkillers, these drugs will be very popular.”

“This time I will provide you with a way to make money.”

“First, you hand over the money to the Merchants Association. We, the Merchants Association, will handle this matter uniformly, still as we discussed before, ten percent and five percent.”

“Second, you go and buy the medicine yourselves, and then after the war has completely broken out and entered a white-hot stage, you can sell it.”

“For the second method, I won’t charge you any money, but you need to pay a five percent membership fee.”

“How you choose is up to you. You only have two days to raise money, because the longer you delay, the more difficult it will be to control the price changes…”

This was all that Lance had to say: tell them what to do and let them go raise money.

Simple, crude, but really effective!

Roger even left in a trot!

You know, before this, he needed a cane to walk steadily, but after joining the Empire Merchants Association, he could now even run.

It can only be said that the driving force of profit is too powerful. Driven by huge profits, there is nothing in this world that is “impossible.”

For a time, a large number of people began to borrow money everywhere, withdraw money. Mr. Jobav’s bank once again faced a small wave of a bank run.

Not everyone followed Lance’s advice and deposited their money in other large banks. There were still people who, for the sake of convenience, deposited their money in Jinda Bank.

Suddenly, someone came to withdraw a large amount of money again, which gave Mr. Jobav a bit of a headache. Although the Wolf Gang did not ask him for a lion’s share, he still had to give the minimum amount.

These gangs had indeed kept his campaign activities from being harassed, so he also paid a sum of money to the people of the Wolf Gang.

Ever since he decided to be a dog for the mayor in exchange for a path to advancement, he had already spent over a million in funds!

Fortunately, a sum of money had been transferred from the Empire, temporarily alleviating his somewhat insufficient funds, but this was not a long-term solution.

Because this money would eventually have to be transferred out of his hands.

Now someone was starting to withdraw funds again, which made him feel particularly troubled.

“Is it Lance’s people again?” the head of his campaign team asked.

It seemed like a question, but it was actually an affirmative sentence.

During this period of time, he had gradually gained a more comprehensive understanding of Mr. Jobav’s status and prestige in the Empire District. He knew that ordinary people here would not and had no need to target him.

The only one who could pose a threat to Mr. Jobav was always only one person, and that was the Lance Family.

The bank and being a banker were Mr. Jobav’s advantages in the election, but at the same time, they were also his shortcomings. Plus, Jinda Bank was not the kind of federal-level bank with particularly strong power; it was just a regional bank in a city. So sometimes his campaign team even wanted him to suspend his banking business.

However, this kind of thing could only be thought about. Once he had to suspend his banking business, it meant that Mr. Jobav was not far from bankruptcy.

A run on the bank would turn him into a pauper in an instant!

Mr. Jobav sighed, “I sometimes think about your suggestions. From the current point of view, the bank has indeed become a burden in my election.”

The head of the campaign team comforted him, “But it is also your advantage, Joe. People will be very relieved to have you keep their funds for them.”

“We all know that you can’t end your banking business in a short time, otherwise we can use this point to our advantage for publicity.”

“Publicize you as the guardian of the people’s funds, just in time to take advantage of the incident where Basil Investment Bank ran away with the money.”

“Let people realize that in the end, the ones they can trust are their own people.”

Mr. Jobav was a little tempted after hearing this. If this publicity strategy was successful, a large amount of funds would be injected into the already dry capital pool, and the funds he could mobilize would become abundant again.

“This needs to be planned well, but for now, I have to deal with the bank’s problems first.”

This matter certainly could not wait. The head of the campaign team did not continue to press him to discuss these matters.

Mr. Jobav went to the vault alone. His heart was now racing, his breathing was rapid, and there was even some sweat in his palms!

For an old man, sweating in the palms is not a simple matter. It’s as if asking him to stand up straight is simply making things difficult for him!

But he actually did it!

In the past, every time he came to the vault, it was a kind of enjoyment. He liked to stay here alone, sitting on the gold bars in the middle of the vault, and then looking at all the things around that symbolized wealth!

This was the result of his years of hard work, everything he had gained after coming to the Federation. It was success, status, and glory!

But now, he began to be afraid of coming here.

Because the constantly emptying counters were telling him that he was gradually losing everything he had!

He no longer felt any peace or happiness here, only palpitations and unease.

He opened the vault door, pushed the cart, and quickly walked in. He didn’t dare to look closely at the counters that were left with traces of things that had once been there but were now empty.

He walked to the place where the bearer bonds were stored, looked at the bonds that were only half left, and sighed.

He began to pile the bonds onto the cart, and then left here as if fleeing. He couldn’t stand it!

These bearer bonds were quickly exchanged for money from other financial companies, and he also lost a portion of the interest because of this.

But if you want to cash out in advance, this is the only way.

After Mr. Jobav brought the money back, he stood in the bank’s lobby, looking at the people queuing to withdraw money, a little dazed.

Just then, a familiar voice made him come back to his senses from a daze he didn’t even know he was in. It was an acquaintance.

After the man had withdrawn his money and was about to leave, Mr. Jobav called his name.

“Are there any rumors outside again that I’m going bankrupt?” he asked with a smile.

This man was about the same age as him. They were part of the same batch of immigrants who came to the Federation, but this old man’s life had been ordinary, with no ups and downs.

But he was different!

The old man smiled happily. He had a good relationship with Mr. Jobav. He lowered his voice, “The Empire Merchants Association has been making big moves recently. You know, this money can make money.”

Mr. Jobav couldn’t help but say, “Aren’t you worried they’ll steal your money?”

“Basil Investment Bank just ran away with the investors’ money!”

The old man looked at Mr. Jobav seriously and said, “The speed at which they make money is much faster than taking a few hundred dollars from me. Do you think it’s necessary?”

Although everyone didn’t know how much Lance’s bar could earn in a day, it was definitely in the tens of thousands!

He can earn $10,000 a day, would he still care about the few hundred dollars in the hands of ordinary people like them?

This principle, everyone understood. And it was precisely because they all understood that they were not at all worried that Lance would run away with their money!

Thinking of this, Mr. Jobav could only wish the other party to make a lot of money, and after the old man left with the money happily, he let out a heavy sigh.

The gap between him and Lance seemed to be getting bigger and bigger!

Lance was constantly making money, while he was constantly investing money into it. At this moment, he vaguely understood the true meaning of Lance’s phrase “wh—res and dogs”!

As a wh—re, he should be able to get some benefits from it. The benefits might not be great, but at least they were benefits, something that could let him earn a little money.

But as a dog, everything he had belonged to his master. Even his life, in the end, might not belong to him.

It’s just that some things, even if you know they are wrong, it’s already too late to turn back!

A large amount of funds converged into Lance’s hands at an extremely fast speed. In just one afternoon, they had gathered more than $500,000. This was because many people had not yet been able to withdraw their money.

By tomorrow, when the Federation banks gave them the money, they would be able to gather at least over $1 million!

The first successful investment made all of them still full of confidence in this investment. They believed that this time, Lance would lead them to make another big one!