Empire of Shadows

“Please sit, no need to be so polite. This is your home, not mine.”

The Vice President was restless. He didn’t know how his family was doing now.

Although he hadn’t given his wife a kind look in a long time, for some reason, at this moment, he actually began to worry about her safety.

“My wife and child…”

Lance pointed to the rooms above. “If they aren’t too stupid, no one will get hurt. I’d rather talk to you about the matter between us.”

This sentence made the Vice President relax a little. He hesitated for a moment, then said, “Actually, my original intention was to support the company in fulfilling the contract, but you know, I am only a vice president.”

“Above me, there is the executive president, the chairman of the board, and the people on the board.”

“My word doesn’t count!” From his humble attitude, it could be seen that he was indeed trying to win Lance’s trust, speaking very sincerely.

Both in expression and attitude.

Lance nodded noncommittally. “Then how do you think I can get the money that belongs to me?”In fact, Lance was also in a very special situation right now. It was clear that the Liji Group was unwilling to give him this money, but he couldn’t give up, nor would he.

Both sides were at a standstill, both having reasons not to give up, which had brought the situation to a not-so-ideal position.

But this matter had to be resolved, otherwise he would not be at ease, and he believed the higher-ups of the Liji Group would not be at ease either. This was the reason he had come to this city.

The Vice President’s mind was spinning at an unprecedented speed. He licked his lips. “Mr. Lance, actually, from the very beginning, you’ve given us a difficult problem.”

Lance suddenly wanted to laugh, and a smile appeared on his face. “So this is my fault?”

The Vice President nodded.

As long as Lance didn’t pull out a pistol and turn him into pieces at the slightest disagreement, then he could completely say some of his true thoughts.

“You made things too obvious, and look, it’s already the end of the year.”

“The year-end financial report is a very important part. For the company, it determines the development trend of the company’s stock in the next three months or even half a year.”

“If the shareholders, the investors, know that the company has a loss of $4,000,000 at this time, and it’s because of extortion!”

“Then there is a high probability that it will cause a sharp drop in the company’s stock.”

“If you can extort us, then others can also extort us. Our risks in the environment will continue to increase.”

“They will become less trustful of us, there will be problems with investments, the stock will fall, and everything will become very bad.”

Lance also had some understanding of this aspect. He had heard a friend with the surname Lin talk about it inside. He nodded. “So?”

“So we can’t be extorted by you. We have to solve this problem.”

“We need to let the shareholders and investors believe that we are no different from the past. No matter what challenges we encounter, we can solve them.”

“Only in this way can the stock price stabilize, and the investors will still be optimistic and full of hope for the next year.”

“Every one of us can get a large sum of money from it. Nothing will go bad; it will only get better and better.”

“So, even if it means paying a certain price, or using some means, it is worthwhile, and we must do it.”

“It’s not just a matter of money, or rather, it’s a matter of more money.”

Lance thought seriously for a moment and quite agreed with his point of view. He also knew that for a listed company, the stock price was the only benchmark of wealth.

A slightly disappointed expression appeared on his face. “Then it seems we can’t solve this problem.”

His tone was tinged with a… disappointment that seemed to want to end everything.

This made the Vice President suddenly startled. It was only at this moment that he remembered that someone had just recently died. “Mr. Lance, I’m talking about normal circumstances. We have no way. But aren’t there still abnormal ways?”

The smile on his face was very sincere. Lance looked at him and motioned for him to continue.

“If… I’m saying if, we were not successfully extorted, and we solved this problem…”

“Then the shareholders and investors would still be full of confidence in us, and the stock next year would still continue to rise. No one would have any trouble.”

“$4,000,000, it might not be a small sum for you…” He noticed the subtle change in the expression on the face of the person next to Lance and quickly said, “Of course, it’s the same for me.”

“But for our stock, it might only be a few thousandths, or even a few ten-thousandths of a price fluctuation.”

Currently, the market value of the Liji Group company was over a billion. It sounded a bit exaggerated, but in fact, this was not the company with the highest market value, and even the word “high” was a bit of a stretch.

Many years ago, capitalists had created amazing wealth through monopoly. What ten-billion families, twenty-billion families, were everywhere.

When stocks began to be more widely available to ordinary people with a lower threshold, this place was filled with all kinds of miracles and myths.

For a company with a market value of over a billion, $4,000,000 was just a few thousandths of a price fluctuation.

A piece of bad news could instantly evaporate countless money. So from an objective and calm point of view, the Vice President was actually not wrong.

Lance was silent for a moment. “I just want to get back what you owe me.”

The Vice President let out a sigh of relief. “Then there is a solution between us.”

Lance thought of the words Steven had said to him.

The Vice President also gave a clear answer. “We will continue to drag on the case. We will disclose to the outside world in our financial report our determination and confidence in winning the lawsuit.”

“Then we will privately transfer a sum of money to your account, and this matter will be over.”

“The stock will not plummet. On the contrary, it might experience unplanned growth because of this matter.”

“At the same time, you also get what you want.”

This was indeed a solution.

However, Lance looked at him with a not-so-trusting gaze. “How will you persuade the board of directors to agree to give me the $4,000,000?”

This was indeed a trouble, but at this moment, the Vice President’s heart was racing, and even his breathing had become a little heavy.

He swallowed, his voice tinged with a… indescribable madness.

“Mr. Lance, Steven is just a small character. He does the dirty work for the company. His death, besides making people uneasy, won’t scare anyone,” he said to Lance.

Lance also understood his meaning in an instant and saw the Vice President’s ambition in his eyes.

What he meant was that getting rid of Steven was not a trouble for the company, but on the contrary, it had done the company a favor.

If the company were to deal with this person, Steven, it might, on the contrary, cause some trouble.

After all, Steven had done so much dirty work for the company. The more bad things he did, the more worried he himself would be about his end. He might even sense something in advance.

But with Lance’s move, he had no chance to make any arrangements. Now the president and the chairman of the board might have already arranged for people to go and raid Steven’s house.

Steven’s death had nothing to do with the company, which allowed them to calmly change a pair of new gloves. So it was hard to say whether Steven’s death was more beneficial or detrimental to the company.

So, to truly intimidate the entire company and make them understand that “we must make a choice,” Lance had to do something big. Either someone was backing him up, for example, a certain senator.

Or, a heavyweight person had to die. Only then would they truly feel the arrival of danger.

Lance thought for a long while before saying noncommittally, “I don’t like to be used as a weapon.”

The Vice President waved his hands. “I didn’t mean that, but for you, this should be the simplest method.”

“Unless a big shot speaks for you, otherwise the company will not give you the money just because of Steven’s death.”

“He wasn’t worth that much when he was alive, let alone after he’s dead.”

“Or, let those real decision-makers feel scared, let them feel that their lives are also like those of the common people they look down on, that they will fade away.”

Lance thought for a moment. “I don’t like to be led by the nose.” He beckoned to the Vice President with his finger. “Bring your face closer.”

The Vice President didn’t know what Lance meant, but could only lean his head forward.

The next second, Lance suddenly punched him, knocking him off balance and onto the floor. He staggered, trying to get up, but the punch was heavy and had hit him on the cheekbone. His body had temporarily lost its ability to balance.

He looked at Lance in terror, fearing that the next second Lance would pull out a pistol and shoot him a couple of times.

What vice president, what big shot, what status—at this moment, his only thought was to live.

Looking at his terrified appearance, Lance adjusted his clothes. The two looked at each other.

He saw deep fear in the Vice President’s eyes, which made him a little satisfied.

Even if he were to adopt the Vice President’s idea, it would be he who was in control, not this person.

“Help our Mr. Vice President back up.” Someone helped the Vice President and put him back on the sofa.

At this time, his body began to tremble slightly again. He thought Lance was going to deal with him.

But the next second, a sentence from Lance made the fear in his heart disappear completely, and at the same time, gave rise to endless joy. “Who do you think is most suitable for this role?”

“I’ll consider it.”

The people who could suppress him all flashed through his mind. He lowered his eyes and his head slightly and asked, “Can I choose two?”

Lance looked at him for a moment, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“I like your greed, Mr. Vice President.”

As for which two he had chosen, only he himself knew. Lance had not completely agreed to him, only saying that he would consider it. But this had already made the Vice President very happy.

In his view, besides carrying out this plan, Lance had no other way to go.

Don’t look at how fast Golden Port had developed in the past ten years. In the eyes of the people of New Golden City, it was still just a “small fishing village” that had just had some improvement.

A gang leader from such a place, with no foundation, what big shot could he know?

After Lance and his crew had left, his wife and child came down from upstairs. Their eyes were full of worried expressions.

“Should we call the police?” his son asked.

The Vice President’s eyes suddenly widened. “Call the police?”

“Why call the police?”

His son hadn’t reacted yet, but his wife had already reacted. She quickly said to her son, “Those gentlemen just now were your father’s friends. They were just playing a little joke…”

His son was not a complete fool. He couldn’t believe this was true. Just as he was about to say something, the Vice President’s wife took his hand. “Darling, believe us. We won’t harm you.”

“Forget about this. Didn’t you want that car?”

“You can go and pick the color now.”

The young man was immediately distracted by this matter. His face was full of surprise. “Really?”

The Vice President nodded with a smile. “Yes, your mother calls the shots.”

“Thank you, thank you…”

The couple looked at each other, both of them showing smiles.

Although he hadn’t been with this woman for a long time, he had to admit that among his female sexual partners, only this woman understood him best. After finding an excuse to make his son believe that no accident had happened, the husband and wife, for the first time in almost five years, slept in the same bed that night.

“What’s going on with that young man?” she couldn’t help but ask.

The Vice President hesitated for a moment. He told her what he could, which made his wife can’t help but exclaim, “If they are finished, do you have a great chance of becoming the company’s president?”

A president and a vice president, although both are presidents, their status in the company and in society are completely different.

The Vice President suppressed the joy and excitement in his heart and nodded. “There’s a high probability.”

His wife’s eyes suddenly softened. “The vice president’s wife” and “the president’s wife,” she knew how to choose. She threw herself on her husband. She knew that her husband was very fond of those young girls and was not so interested in her body anymore. It was not certain that what she wanted to happen would happen.

But it didn’t matter. She had a great mouth. She could push all this forward.

On the other side of the city, Tom (Councilman Cleveland’s staff) had just returned home from a social engagement. He tore off his tie and sat down on the sofa.

He had drunk a lot of wine tonight and reeked of alcohol.

It was funny to say. The Bureau of Hazardous Materials in New Golden City actually knew very well that there were some places that had various alcohol-filled social engagements every night, but they just didn’t go to check.

Why? Because they all knew that that place was full of big shots.

Senators, congressmen, cabinet members, heads of various departments, those celebrities and political figures worth billions. There was no one they could afford to offend. It could be said that except for New Golden City, the Bureau of Hazardous Materials in all other regions of the Federation was in full control. But right here, they didn’t dare to move.

As one of Councilman Cleveland’s staffers, Tom also took on some of the work.

He just wanted to rest now, but the ringing of the phone was particularly harsh.

Who the fuck would call him at this time?

Many people would. Those who found it inconvenient to contact the senator directly would all contact him through him. Some of these people didn’t know when he would be free and could only call every once in a while.

Some had even gotten this number from who knows where and were harassing him.

But he didn’t dare to miss a single call, because if he missed an important one, he would have made a mistake.

“This is Tom…”

He had no title, no identification, only his own name.

“Mr. Tom, this is Lance.”

Tom searched in his mind for a long while before he remembered who this name was. “Ah-ha, Lance, I remember you. Is there something wrong?”

“It’s like this, Mr. Tom. I’m in New Golden City right now. I’ve run into a little problem and wanted to ask for your advice in person. Do you have time now?”

Tom perked up a little. “You’re in New Golden City?”

He didn’t wait for Lance to answer and spoke again, “Let me see…”

He took out a notebook. On it were recorded the things to be done tomorrow.

Because it was already the end of the year, almost every day was fully scheduled, and they were all important schedules.

Those that were not important didn’t even have the right to be on this notebook.

The next free time was still more than a week away, and he thought that even if it was scheduled for a week later, there was a high probability that other things would occupy this free time.

He rubbed his temples, hesitated for a moment, and then said, “Let’s do it now. I don’t have that much time at other times. You’d better make sure that what you want to discuss with me is worth me taking out thirty minutes for you.”

Lance promised on the phone, “I can promise you that these thirty minutes will be absolutely worth it.”

Tom didn’t say anything more and directly gave Lance an address. Twenty-something minutes later, Lance arrived here.

Tom also lived alone. The nature of his work made it inconvenient for him to live with his family, whether it was sudden calls in the middle of the night or the many classified materials in his life.

He knew that even family members would sometimes let things slip, even if they didn’t mean to.

He had already taken a shower and eaten something before Lance arrived, but this made him even more sleepy.

When he opened the door, he had no energy. “If you hadn’t come, I would have almost fallen asleep.”

He glanced at the people outside the door. “You come in alone.”

Lance raised his hand to signal. The others all stayed outside. Lance entered the house alone.

He didn’t go to any study, but sat down in the living room. “If you want something to drink, you can get it yourself,” he pointed to the bar next to the dining room.

He leaned back on the sofa himself, looking tired. “Speak, what do you want from me?”

“But you’d better be concise, because I’m about to fall asleep.”

(End of chapter)

The novel has already been fully translated up to the last updated chapter. You can access it free until chapter 600+ on my Patreon at /caleredhair