Empire of Shadows

The two pretty girls at the front desk bar were chatting about some new items in a fashion magazine. These trendy things were a favorite among girls.

Who doesn’t want to be fashionable?

To become fashionable, they could sleep with a man they’d known for less than five minutes, or they could shed the clothes representing their shame for a film fee and strike alluring poses in front of the camera.

Perhaps at first, they weren’t quite used to it, feeling a bit shy and embarrassed.

But once they started to enjoy the wealth gained from selling their dignity and took pleasure in it, it became very difficult for them to break away from these things, and this kind of life.

The company’s main door was pushed open, and several classy-looking young men walked in.

Lance and his crew were wearing top-tier, handmade suits from the old tailor. In the Empire, this was a craft that only the nobility could enjoy.

These girls, including the middle class, were very good at distinguishing the quality of these clothes. Just a few simple glances at the details of the workmanship, and they knew these clothes were not cheap.

“Hello, is there anything I can do for you?”

The two girls put their magazines back in the drawer, then stood up, their faces adorned with sweet smiles.Lance walked to the counter, glanced at the decorations on the backboard behind them, and finally, his gaze fell on them. “I’m looking for a girl.”

“Are you saying you want to choose one?” one of the girls asked, her face all smiles. Business had arrived. “What purpose do you intend for her?”

“A print model, for a film shoot, or for some event?”

She took out a small introductory brochure and handed it over. She seemed to be flipping through it casually. They supported many activities, including “party girls,” which the girl hadn’t mentioned.

These “party girls” were a group similar to an atmosphere team. If someone wanted to throw a party at their villa and wanted some pretty, disposable girls to attend…

Then they would provide them, starting at a minimum of $50 each. Some might go for $200-$300, $300-$500, or even $1,000 or $2,000.

They would take pictures of some of these girls that resembled magazine covers to tell you why these cost $200-$300 or $300-$500.

Because they were all somewhat famous models, their prices were higher.

In fact, they might not be somewhat famous models. The people who selected these girls wouldn’t really care if they were or not. What they cared about was the quality and the thrill brought by spending money.

The money of these rich people was really not hard to earn. As long as you discovered their needs, you could put the money from the rich people’s pockets into your own.

Lance shook his head. “Do you have a more senior person in charge?”

“A client manager or something like that?”

The front desk girl nodded. “Please wait a moment.”

She felt this might be a big order. She picked up the phone, pressed a blue button, and whispered a few words. Soon, a man in his thirties, exuding an aura of “living off women,” came out from the back door.

“Hello, sir. I am Mike, the client manager of Dream Crystal. I will be at your service now!”

“Please, come with me.”

He could also see that Lance’s outfit was not cheap. The man was practically glowing.

He gave the two girls at the front desk a “I’ll remember your kindness” look, and then led Lance into his office.

After the front desk girl brought in the coffee and everyone was seated, he sat in his own seat with his hands clasped together.

“So… sir, how should I address you?”

“White.”

“Alright, Mr. White. I’d like to know what kind of girl you’re looking for.”

“We operate various projects here. Whatever your needs, even if it’s not girls, we can also provide boys.”

“Models, actresses, dancers, ballerinas, anything you want!”

He even lowered his voice. “We are not that strict about age!” he said, showing a meaningful smile.

Lance looked at him for a while, took out the small photo the middle-aged man had given him. “I’m looking for this girl.”

The manager took the photo with some curiosity. He frowned. “Sorry, this photo looks… a bit old. I can’t quite tell if she is a contracted model here.”

He returned the photo to Lance. “But we can provide someone who looks similar to her, or prettier, more experienced.”

“What do you want her for?”

Lance took the photo back in his hand. “Can I talk to your scouts?”

Manager Mike’s expression froze. He seemed to realize that Lance was not here for business.

The smile on his face instantly disappeared. He squinted his eyes slightly, a dangerous glint showing in the slits. “Mr. White, if you are here for business, we welcome you very much!”

“But if you’re here to cause trouble, I can only say you’ve come to the wrong place. This is not a place where just anyone can act wild!”

The Dream Crystal company was backed by the powerful people of the Bay Area. If anything happened, they didn’t even need to sort it out themselves; the powerful people of the Bay Area would take care of it for them.

He was not afraid of Lance, nor was he afraid of most people in this city, now that he knew the nature of his work.

Lance stood up. He extended his right hand. “It seems we can’t make this deal.”

Mike was taken aback for a moment and also stood up. At least for now, it seemed there would be no accident.

Out of politeness, he also extended his hand. “It’s a pity we couldn’t…”

Just as he thought the two would shake hands and end this fruitless negotiation, Lance suddenly grabbed his wrist. In his astonished expression, he pressed his palm onto the desk.

In the instant he was still reacting, Lance drew a dagger from his waist. The dagger pierced through Manager Mike’s palm, pinning his hand to the desk.

With a thud, it was clear that it was pinned very tightly.

He subconsciously cried out in pain and instinctively pulled back. The sharp blade cut a little bit of muscle. He immediately dared not move, just screamed.

“Ah, ah, someone help, there’s a madman here!”

The sound of footsteps outside the door did not make Lance show any panicked expression. He even held the two sides of his collar and gave it a shake, making the clothes that had become a little messy due to the sudden, violent, and large movements become neat again.

Then he sat back in his chair, took a cigarette from the cigarette box on the desk, and lit it with the desk lighter.

It was a silver desk lighter, in the shape of a girl in a dress. When you pressed her arm down, her clothes would be torn open, revealing the naked body inside.

Low-class, vulgar, but it suited the atmosphere here.

The office door was pushed open. Two security guards rushed in with fierce looks on their faces. Soon, the expressions on their faces turned to astonishment, and they slowly raised their hands.

Two guns were pressed against their foreheads. Besides raising their hands, they dared not do anything else.

“My hand…” Manager Mike held his injured arm with his other hand, his body trembling from the pain.

But at this time, his screams were not so intense. He realized that he, or rather the company, had really run into big trouble.

“You know…”

Lance blew smoke at him. He coughed a few times and cut himself off from what he wanted to say.

“I’m looking for a girl. She might have been discovered by your scouts and taken away.”

“If you can cooperate, I promise that within thirty minutes, you can go to the hospital to treat the wound on your palm.”

“If you can’t cooperate, I can only guarantee that you will be in one piece when you are buried.”

Manager Mike looked at him. It didn’t seem like he was lying. After a fierce internal struggle, he pointed at the phone and said, “I need to call them over.”

Lance raised his hand to signal him to go ahead.

He picked up the phone and, in a slightly trembling voice, said, “Motherfucker, get to my office!”

He slammed the phone down as he spoke.

This person was the supervisor of the scout office. All the dozen or so scouts in the company were his responsibility.

Although he knew that this had nothing to do with the scout supervisor, it still didn’t stop him from venting his temper on this supervisor.

Lance grabbed the dagger and pulled it out forcefully. The manager cried out in pain again. He held his palm, which had already begun to swell a little, and showed a pleading expression. “I need to go to the hospital.”

The wound on his palm was constantly bleeding. He was terrified.

But Lance shook his head. “Those girls also wanted to go to the hospital, but the vast majority of them didn’t have the chance to enter a hospital alive.”

Manager Mike’s face became even worse, even a little ashen. He knew that the person in front of him knew their core business.

About four or five minutes later, the office door opened again. The scout supervisor was taken aback for a moment. He was just about to turn around when his hair was grabbed by Hiram and he was dragged in.

He quickly put on a smile. “I don’t know what happened, it has nothing to do with me…”

He glanced at Manager Mike and stood obediently.

Lance looked at him and asked, “Have you guys been scouting for girls in the New Port District recently?”

The scout supervisor was taken aback for a moment, also cursing in his heart.

You fucking have someone you care about, why don’t you take her away from that dangerous place?

Isn’t this just harming people?

But now he could only smile and say, “This matter is not handled by me. Can I make a phone call?”

Lance let him make the call. While explaining, he picked up the phone. “We have two scouts responsible for the New Port District. They are good at discovering talented girls…”

A few minutes later, the door opened again, and two somewhat sleazy-looking middle-aged men were passively led in.

Lance showed them the photo in his hand. “I’m looking for this girl. Has anyone of you seen her?”

The two’s gazes were focused on the photo. The expression of one of them flickered for a moment, but they quickly said they had never seen her.

(End of chapter)