Empire of Shadows

A few days later, Lance was invited to a cocktail party about investment.

For the current Golden Port City, if Mayor Williams was the visible “high mountain,” standing above the sky of Golden Port City, then Lance was an invisible giant peak, hidden in everyone’s heart.

You couldn’t see him, and them.

The pedestrians rushing on the road, the young people gathered in groups of three and five, smoking, those… everyone you saw as you walked down the road.

You didn’t know if they were members of the Lance Family, nor did you know if they were carrying some kind of mission, but you knew that they were always there.

In a place you couldn’t perceive, watching you.

There were many legends about the Lance Family, about Bolton. Everyone knew that Bolton had become one of the eyes through which Lance controlled this city.

You couldn’t see him, couldn’t see them, but they could see you.

In addition, Lance controlled a large number of the most profitable businesses. His influence had actually already surpassed that of Mayor Williams.

However, he rarely appeared in front of the public. For the public, on the contrary, a person like Mayor Williams, whom they could see every day, was a little more influential.The theme of this cocktail party was about a new medium, the television.

The development of the television could not be said to be fast. The imaging technology had actually been out for many years, but it was only now that people had applied it to television.

In addition, with a minimum value of over a thousand dollars a set, almost all the working class could not afford it, so television stations had not appeared as quickly as imagined.

Many of the news groups in various places did not believe that television and television stations would develop.

“I have noticed that we have actually implemented a new tax law, and the tax rate is as high as over 40%!”

“This will prevent more people from trying to buy a television, including the middle class.”

This was a commercial gathering. Lance, as the person with the most abundant cash in Golden Port City, and at the same time the most special status, was also among those invited.

The one who had invited him was George… or rather, the Golden Port News Group behind him.

In this conflict between the Bay Area and Lance and Mayor Williams, the Golden Port News Group had chosen to stand on the side of Lance and Mayor Williams, so the equity structure had also undergone an adjustment.

You can’t still allow the defeated to enjoy the same power as yourself after a war, so those people were kicked out. The equity of the Golden Port News Group had completed an evolution, and had also allowed the group company to obtain a new round of capital injection.

With some money in hand, the Golden Port News Group began to consider its next investment.

Capital will never let money be trapped in a certain pool and not flow. Only when the funds flow will it bring more wealth to the capital.

After a period of investigation, the Golden Port News Group had become interested in the matter of establishing a television station.

The television station on the New Golden City side had been established for some time. It was said that the response was very good, and they had already found some ways to make a profit.

So the Golden Port News Group also wanted to develop in this direction. They themselves already had a radio station.

The main way for a television to receive programs at present was still through radio waves. If a television station were to be established, the news group’s side only needed to carry out a functional expansion of the radio station, and did not need to start from scratch.

Experts all believed that a more intuitive “reading” method would help more people pay attention to the daily news. Watching operas, watching movies at home, also seemed to be not a bad thing.

Many people had predicted that television would become the most indispensable part of family entertainment!

It had great development potential, but not now.

From January 1st of this year, the Federation had implemented a new tax law, which was that even if the income was only one cent, taxes had to be reported.

In addition, with the outbreak of war, which met the conditions in the bill regarding the change in the state of the country and the tax rate, basically half of everyone’s monthly income, over 40%, had to be paid in taxes.

According to the current calculation method, if a person could get forty-five dollars a month, then he would probably need to pay nineteen to twenty dollars in taxes.

The remaining money was barely enough for them to live on.

Under such circumstances, to ask ordinary people to take out at least a thousand dollars to buy a television was basically an impossible thing.

So the Golden Port News Group planned to give up the idea of them solely funding the construction of the Golden Port television station, and instead adopted a multi-shareholder investment plan.

After all, from some of the content they had learned so far, just being able to transmit radio wave signals that a television could recognize was not enough.

They also had to shoot and broadcast more content. Moreover, anyone could receive the radio waves. There were still blind spots in terms of charging, and no specific profit direction could be seen.

In a short period of time, it was very likely to face a continuous loss. This process might be two or three years, or three or five years.

But it could also be ten years or even longer.

Capital never does the work of basic construction. That does not conform to their demand for interests. So the Golden Port News Group planned to use this cocktail party to find some suitable investors to reduce the risk.

As for the future?

If the television station could really make money, and could make money, they could completely establish another one themselves. The left hand fights the right hand, and in the end, it is still them who win.

Representatives of both the new and old two capital groups attended this, what should be considered an investment promotion cocktail party, especially the new capital group. They were eager to join in more of the city’s construction and development.

Just like a puppy peeing, wanting to leave more of their own scent, to mark out a territory.

This was also the cunning part of the news group. There had always been confrontation and friction between the new and old capital. Neither of them would hope to see the other gain greater development and success. With them here, the investment was basically guaranteed.

Lance was also among those invited. As soon as he came in from outside, he heard some people around a gentleman not far away, talking about his views on the future of television.

“The price of a television is too high, gentlemen!”

“A thousand dollars a set. Even if the development of technology can gradually bring the price down, it is now wartime.”

“The tax revenue on the Golden Port City side is said to have already reached over 37%. Those poor people, so I think, the vast majority of ordinary federal people do not need it, and cannot use it.”

“I don’t deny that it will become dazzling in the future!”

“But, gentlemen, now, its rate of return and its return period, we simply cannot see!”

“I don’t know what you think, but for me, my answer is ‘no,’ a firm no!”

Lance stopped for a moment and listened to his statement. To be honest, at a cocktail party held by the Golden Port News Group, to say such bad things about the New Port Group could indeed cause him some trouble.

Someone saw Lance and immediately took the initiative to come over and greet him. As one of the most prominent people in the city, people were soon attracted by Lance’s arrival and gathered around him.

After a simple pleasantry, someone asked, “Mr. Lance, do you think the television station will become like an oven, a hairdryer, something that millions of families will have?”

Lance nodded, and then shook his head. “It definitely will, but not now.”

“Just as that gentleman said just now, the current televisions are too expensive. The people who can afford them are ultimately a minority.”

“But in the future, it will definitely be as dazzling as the sun!”

The person who had asked the question asked, “You’re optimistic about it?”

Lance nodded. “Yes, I’m very optimistic about this business. If it goes smoothly, I will also invest some money.”

People began to think. Some began to talk to others who didn’t know about these things. Some people’s minds were shaken, and they decided to think about whether to follow Lance and invest a part.

But there were also some who still held their own views, which was that within ten years, at least for ten years, television and television stations would not have any great development.

They were not very concerned about Lance’s judgment. He was just a gangster boss.

It was undeniable that he was very smart, his mind was very flexible, and his courage was also very great.

But now they were talking about the development of a scientific industry, not about how to make an opponent kneel down and beg for mercy faster. They did not say it, nor did they show it, which did not mean that they really cared about, or valued, Lance’s views on this issue in their hearts.

This was like a professor who might, for reasons such as upbringing, patiently listen to a homeless person’s thoughts on science, but he would not really adopt them, or really go and think about them.

The executive president of the Golden Port News Group took the initiative to walk over after seeing Lance. Seeing this, the others also made way for this president.

George was also by his side. In these two years, George had reported on many major news stories, had been nominated for the “Golden Newspaper Award” twice, and had successfully won once.

This year had just begun. It was said that he had already received a nomination at the Golden Newspaper Award. If in the next period of time, he could still produce heavyweight news, then winning another Golden Newspaper Award would just be a small problem for him.

The Golden Newspaper Award, as the top journalist selection award in the entire news industry, was a very important qualification for a practitioner.

It may seem that many people get it every year (it’s not a unique award), but if you put these few, a dozen or so people in the entire industry, with a scale of hundreds of thousands of practitioners, it is still extremely precious.

In addition, George and Lance had a good relationship, so the president had also brought him along.

The two shook hands. They had met once before, but were not very familiar.

“I just heard Mr. Lance talk about his views on the future of the television. You are very optimistic about the prospects of the television in the federal society.”

Lance did not deny it. “When the electric iron first came out, people said it would only enter the homes of the rich, just like people’s views on better multi-functional stoves.”

“Science and technology are always progressing, Mr. President.”

“An electric iron that used to cost several dozen dollars, now on the discount counter of a supermarket, it only costs 4.99.”

“Those multi-functional stoves that were worth several hundred, now also only cost less than a hundred.”

“Science and technology are developing too fast, always surpassing most people’s cognition of the future. Maybe in a few years, a television will also only cost a few hundred, or even… two or three hundred, one or two hundred?”

Hearing Lance say so, the president nodded noncommittally. “We have also had such a guess. In this aspect, our views are the same. We are both optimistic about its future development.”

“If you are very interested in our television station, I can make the decision and leave you a portion of the shares.”

He was saying these ingratiating words on the surface, but in fact, he agreed with Lance’s view, but not all of it.

He did not think that the price of a television would drop in a short period of time, and at the same time, he was not sure what the profit model of a television station was.

Those who had registered could receive the radio wave signal of the television. Those who had not registered but had bought a television could also receive the television signal.

So everyone was very confused, not sure if this matter would work or not.

Lance believed it was feasible. That was for the best. He could let Lance invest. If Lance was willing, this could solve a lot of trouble.

The president nodded. “We can talk in private. I am very interested in this topic now. If the television station can be successfully established, at that time, Mr. Lance, you will still need to give us more advice and help.”

Lance did not refuse. He also had a lot of ideas about starting a television station.

Whether it was to treat it as a project that would definitely make money, and a lot of it, in the future, or to treat it as a channel that could speak for him, or to treat it as a kind of political capital, it was very necessary to increase investment in this aspect.

After a few simple pleasantries, the president went to receive other people again, but George stayed behind.

“If you think that just because I invited you, you must invest…” he felt a little embarrassed, and also felt that Lance had said these things because of his invitation.

Lance was indeed very good to him, and he also indeed regarded Lance as a friend. Everyone was actually very unoptimistic about the short-term development of the television station. Otherwise, the news group would not need to recruit other investors at all.

They could do the money-making things themselves. Would they still leave it to others?

It was precisely because they felt that the prospects were not optimistic that they were thinking of absorbing some investors to fight against the risk with them.

Lance waved his hand. “I am not catering to anyone’s ideas. This is my true thought!”

He paused for a moment. “How have you been recently?”

George shrugged. “I’ve been reporting on the news of the Holy Bell Party. The more I dig, the more terrifying it feels, you know?”

“They recently discovered a…” he suddenly stammered, and after a long while, he shook his head and continued, “I don’t know how to describe it. In short, they will throw the people who died in the process of human trafficking into a pit. They have already cleared out more than sixty bodies from inside, and the number is still constantly increasing.”

“Some people say that there are at least two hundred or more bodies buried inside, and there may be more, and there will also be more… ‘corpse pits’!”

He had made up a word himself, but the description was very accurate.

“That’s really a bad news. Do you think you can win an award this year?” Lance asked.

George shook his head. “This news is a local news, and… you know sometimes the organizing committee is not satisfied with this kind of news.”

“They want the kind of news that can make people feel redemption, or despair, the kind that can trigger people’s emotions. I can’t really say clearly what it is, but it’s definitely not this.”

He paused for a moment. “Actually, I want to go to the front line and be a war correspondent.”

Lance was slightly stunned for a moment. “Your idea is very good, but I think doing so is too risky.”

“If you haven’t won a Golden Newspaper Award, I would support you. This is a good opportunity for you to realize your ideal.”

“But now you have been nominated many times and have also won a Golden Newspaper Award once. There is absolutely no need to be so desperate.”

George sighed. “Maybe this is the pursuit of a journalist. I always want to put the most shocking things in front of them.”

“I hear you have a good relationship with the military?”

Lance stared at him for a while and couldn’t help but persuade him again. “This is not a good choice!”

But George seemed to have made up his mind. “The news in the country is too blocked. It’s always the Department of Defense that issues a press release. Some of the well-informed media don’t say anything at all. I suspect there are some situations that we don’t know about.”

“Their news caliber is too unified. This is a clear sign that there is a problem.”

“The people have the right to know the truth!”

Lance tried one last time. “Even if you might die over there?”

George took a sip from his wine glass. “This is what I long for the most now.”

Lance frowned. “Alright, I will help you get a war correspondent’s certificate, but you have to be mentally prepared. Sometimes the bullets don’t necessarily come from the front.”

In fact, there were some things he had not said so clearly. A part of the navy that had been stationed here a while ago had already left the port. They were increasing the pressure through their naval military operations in the East Ocean to relieve the pressure on the ground.

In a situation where they were not facing the enemy’s main force, and were in a clear defensive advantage, and had still caused far more casualties than the other side, the entire Department of Defense and the military were keeping silent.

The country was shouting “Long live the Federation,” “Long live victory,” a scene of the world in my hands.

Abroad, they were being killed and their bodies were everywhere, and their blood was flowing like a river. How could they possibly allow this kind of report to appear in the country?

Isn’t this a huge blow to the authority of Mr. President, of the Department of Defense, of the military, and even of Congress?

This is a serious political event!

The reason why those state-level media did not report was because they also did not want to get into trouble.

Whoever dares to report the truth is the enemy of the Federation!

So much so that it can be said that the people of the Federation will not accept this fact either!

George could hear Lance’s meaning. He was a little hesitant, but he still gritted his teeth. “I want to go and see.”

Lance did not persuade him anymore. This was like someone wanting to jump off a cliff. You persuade him two or three times, and you have fulfilled your duty as a friend.

There is no need to use your own body to stop the other party from jumping, or to jump with him.

It was just that Lance felt it was a bit of a pity. After all, George had won a Golden Newspaper Award and was also a top talent in the news industry.

“You handle your work. When you’ve arranged it, give me a call. I’ll give you a pass.”

As they were chatting, Elvin came in from outside. Seeing this, George clinked his glass with Lance and quickly left.

“We’ve caught one, a killer from the Holy Bell Party…”

(End of a Chapter)