Empire of Shadows

The convoy traveled on the roads of Zhuolan. The populace didn’t pay much attention to Gomez’s luxury convoy; they saw it often.

Instead, they were somewhat curious about Lance’s convoy. They had never seen these boxy, greyish-looking cars before.

The locals weren’t surprised by luxury convoys because the ruling groups almost all had such fleets, and they often drove on these roads.

Like Diego, he had an imported car with a gold exterior, said to have cost him about a hundred thousand Federal Sols.

The entire car’s shell was made of solid gold, not that low-purity gold, but pure gold!

At first, people might have been shocked, but after being shocked too many times, they gradually became numb.

The rich lived a life above the clouds in this city, and below the clouds was mud mixed with dog shit, and people struggling to survive in that mud.

In truth, all of Zhuolan didn’t look that poor. There was an established commercial ecosystem on both sides of the streets, and people were buying things in these shops.

The development here was definitely not as good as the Federation, but it wasn’t particularly terrible.

The people were observing this strange convoy, just as the people sitting in the cars were observing them, and this country.The convoy soon stopped at the Rapa Grand Hotel in Zhuolan, a hotel named after the country.

From its magnificent exterior, it was clear that this should be the most high-end hotel in the country.

When Lance got out of the car, his men had already checked the surroundings. Gomez and his team had been waiting for Lance early on.

As Lance and Roger got out of the car, these people hurried up to them again.

”Mr. Lance, this is the highest-level hotel in Rapa. I have already applied to the higher-ups and will be opening the top-floor suite for you.”

”Your other entourage will also be properly arranged.”

”Please follow me.”

Lance nodded and entered the hotel with Gomez.

If one were to judge solely based on this hotel, it was actually no worse than the grand hotels in the Federation; it was extremely luxurious.

The mirror-like marble floor reflected the huge crystal chandelier on the ceiling. The wainscoting and corner lines were all gilded with bas-relief craftsmanship, giving people the feeling of entering a luxurious palace.

The waiters in the lobby were all very young, beautiful or handsome, with excellent appearance, temperament, and performance in all aspects.

There were also many non-Rapa natives here, all accompanied by escorts, female or male. When these people saw Lance’s group walk in, they all showed expressions of curiosity or surprise.

Some people recognized Gomez; these were locals. They knew what kind of status Gomez had in Rapa.

At this moment, seeing Gomez’s attitude, treating the young man behind him as he would a VIP, made them extremely curious. Who was this young man walking behind Gomez?

There were two other people who recognized Lance.

Lance actually had quite a bit of fame in the Federation, but not many people knew him. The only ones truly familiar with him were the people from Golden Port City.

These two people were from Golden Port City, and they were mainly in the foreign trade business.

It was just that their scale was very small. Wanting to expand production faced many problems, the first of which was the problem of stable orders.

Any production industry actually faced this problem, that is, the inability to secure stable orders.

Once a production line is blindly expanded, it is very likely to bury the risk of bankruptcy and closure: loans, labor, and site costs.

Only by securing stable, long-term orders would these factories expand.

Factories that expand just for one order basically never end well.

In the foreign trade market, the larger the enterprise, the easier it is to get larger orders, because their production costs are lower and more advantageous than small factories.

This is perhaps another reason for ”the rich get richer”; the advantage is always rolling.

So there were some people, people with a bit of an adventurous spirit, who were willing to come to Yalan to try their luck.

Some went to other countries, and some came to Rapa. Being backward doesn’t necessarily mean there are no benefits.

They were also very surprised when they saw Lance appear here.

Another reason for coming to Rapa was that they were unwilling to continue competing with those large enterprises.

Lance didn’t notice them, mainly because he didn’t know them. The group entered the hotel. Four elevators were already open and ready.

Lance and his group walked into the first elevator. The car was very spacious, capable of holding more than a dozen people, and it was also very stable.

Gomez began to introduce the hotel.

This hotel had been completed for more than ten years, mainly used to receive foreign guests, and to provide a place for the ruling and privileged groups to hold various formal business meetings, activities, or various celebrations.

They lived a life no worse than the middle class in the Federation, and in some ways, even surpassed them.

For someone like President Diego, he could host events in his own manor, but what about the ordinary privileged class?

Thus, the Rapa Grand Hotel came into being.

The hotel’s designer came from the Federation. In fact, Yalan was a region relatively severely invaded by Federation culture. They were too close!

As they spoke, the elevator slowly stopped. After the elevator doors opened, an extremely luxurious ”presidential suite” appeared in front of Lance.

This place didn’t use the relatively traditional design of a corridor connecting rooms, but opened directly into the suite’s living room.

The extravagant decoration, even if placed in the Federation, could be said to be top-tier.

Roger had his own room, on one of the floors below. Only Lance and some of his personal attendants, like Mador, would live here.

Mador had brought the entire instructor team with Lance to this place. Others would arrive in Rapa one after another, not all at once.

Lance planned to first send a thousand members to Rapa. With the subsequent recruitment and work unfolding, this number would grow larger.

If he needed more people, he would talk to Senator Cleveland about it, who was very supportive of his work.

When he left the Federation, he had even mentioned that, if necessary, they could exert some diplomatic and military pressure on the Yalan League.

Of course, these were not needed for the time being.

Lance took a tour of every room under Gomez’s guidance, and finally, he stood by the glass curtain wall of the living room.

It was a double-layered glass wall, and outside was the entirety of Zhuolan, the capital of Rapa.

The bustling, but not prosperous, city and the decoration here formed a sharp, ironic contrast.

On one side was extravagant enjoyment, and on the other were people whose income might not even be enough to fill their stomachs. They deserved to be overthrown in the plan.

After looking at the city for a while, Lance turned to look at Gomez. ”Let’s go to the study and talk.”

This was what Gomez wanted to hear the most right now. He quickly extended his hand towards the study. ”This way, please, Mr. Lance.”

After entering the study, Lance walked to the chair that looked very expensive and sat down. He patted the emerald-inlaid armrest of the chair. This chair was probably worth several hundred, or even thousands.

”Sit,” he said.

Gomez quickly sat down opposite Lance, a trace of desire on his face.

If before, selling out his country was not his only way out, then with the establishment of the Yalan League opening up the market to the Federation, his value to Diego would be greatly reduced.

Perhaps for his sister’s sake, this ”concern” might last for a while.

But his sister couldn’t stay young forever. One day she would grow old and lose favor.

At that time, would his family fall from heaven into hell?

Don’t count on Diego, or other ruling groups, to be so benevolent. Rulers in this kind of absolutely dictatorial environment are often either tyrants or madmen.

Diego couldn’t be called a madman, but he was definitely a tyrant full of greed.

If he was lucky, this time might last for three to five years, but if he was unlucky, it might just be this one or two years.

For Diego, the entire Rapa was his toy, including the men and women living here. Changing a woman was perhaps even less significant to him than changing his clothes.

Because changing clothes costs money, but to change a woman, he only needed to lift a finger.

In fact, in a certain sense, Gomez’s betrayal was also a kind of ”awakening.”

Lance was a bit younger than Gomez, but at this moment, Gomez was sitting cautiously, just as he would in front of Diego, not even daring to speak much.

He lowered his head, looking at the tips of his own feet, his heart filled with torment and unease.

After a while, Lance finally spoke. ”Actually, before, I had been considering how to make your dream a reality.”

As soon as these words came out, Gomez suddenly raised his head, his eyes shining as he looked at Lance.

But soon, the light went out.

Lance, as if he hadn’t noticed his excited expression, continued, ”But the appearance of the Yalan League has made this plan fall through.”

”Just changing the leader of one region cannot realize your idea. Instead, it will make you an enemy of the entire Yalan League, and you will eventually be eradicated by them.”

”This alliance of national forces is actually more like an insurance policy that Diego, or the leaders of other countries, have bought for themselves.”

”They discuss with each other, if a ruler is overthrown, whoever is the successor, they will target.”

”Dealing with these people is actually not that easy. The federal government doesn’t want to cause too many negative impacts. We are not aggressors.”

Lance took out his cigarette case, the same ivory one, a gift from the late Luigi.

It wasn’t that he particularly liked this cigarette case, but he was used to it.

Sometimes, habit is a very powerful force. Before Lance found the next cigarette case he liked, he would continue to use this one.

Gomez immediately bent over, took out the jewel-encrusted lighter from his pocket, and came over.

Lance took two puffs, and then quickly exhaled. This was why he didn’t like kerosene lighters.

These two puffs would have a kerosene smell. Although some people said they couldn’t feel it, he just could.

On the contrary, a match, apart from the strong smell of gunpowder burning at the moment of ignition, when it really started to burn quietly, would only have the smell of the matchstick itself.

For example, a match made of pine wood would emit a unique fragrance of pine when it burned, mixed with the smell of the cigarette. That one or two puffs were indeed not bad.

Aren’t the federal people in pursuit of a composite fragrance?

This is it!

Lance patted his hand and glanced at him. Gomez immediately obediently retracted his hand and sat back down, just like a boy scout’s posture.

”So the plan to directly push you to power has a high probability of not being realized.”

Gomez’s face visibly fell, dejected. He raised his head and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Lance’s raised hand.

”Gomez, I know that your heart is with the Federation, which is why I am here.”

”Rapa, other countries, the entire Yalan, are an inescapable part of the Federation’s ten-year plan.”

”So you don’t have to worry that this place will remain as it is. Soon we will bring some changes, and in the process of change, you need to contribute for us, for the Federation!”

Gomez nodded repeatedly. ”No problem, Mr. Lance. What do you need me to do?”

Lance rolled his neck. ”First, help me to understand this country, and the people who rule it.”

Gomez was worthy of being the president of the Rapa’s official chamber of commerce. He was very knowledgeable about Rapa, deep into all aspects of society, mainly in terms of the economy.

Although he had not received a higher education, he was also a somewhat clever person.

Lance regarded him as a fool, from Lance’s own perspective. Gomez was indeed a fool.

But this kind of a fool was actually the state of most people. After all, a person like Lance was still in the extreme minority.

To possess a sufficiently high intelligence, and at the same time, to have an advanced understanding of the world’s development that did not belong to this world.

Lance listened seriously as Gomez talked about everything about Rapa. At the same time, Diego was also talking about these people from the Federation.

Diego was not attending the Yalan League himself. He had entrusted his younger brother to attend the Yalan League, and he had become a representative of a member country of the Yalan League.

Rapa could only be considered middle-to-lower among the entire Yalan League, so according to their current statement, they would have to wait for thirty-two years before it was their turn to be the chairman of the Yalan League.

After thirty-two years, it was not certain if Diego would still be around, so he did not take this matter to heart.

”Gomez just told me that a business delegation from the Federation has come. They have already moved into the top floor of the Rapa Grand Hotel. They say it’s called something like the ’Empire Business Delegation.’ Do you know what this business delegation is?”

He was asking his ”Foreign Minister.” Of course, this foreign minister was his brother-in-law, and at the same time, one of the members of another ruling group family.

The entire Rapa was under the control of these few ruling groups. If you didn’t have their family’s blood flowing in your veins, you simply couldn’t squeeze into the ruling group.

But as long as their family’s blood was flowing in your veins, and you were willing to do something, then you could definitely become an official.

At the very least, a city official.

The Foreign Minister shook his head. ”Among the business delegations and financial magnates that I know of, this is just a not-so-famous small group.”

”However, I do know some things about them. They have a large amount of scarce medical resources in their hands. They received some attention some time ago. Later, I heard that those medical supplies had been disposed of privately, so the attention had dropped again.”

”On the contrary, that Lance White who came this time, I am more clear about him.”

Diego changed his sitting position. He was not tall, and was over two hundred pounds. His weight had already exceeded the standard by an unknown number of times.

If he maintained a sitting position for a long time, his butt would hurt. He had to move his body from time to time to be able to alleviate this situation.

In private, some people also called him ”Fat Penguin.” This nickname had been very popular for a period of time, and then it had become unpopular.

The reason why it had become unpopular was because the people who had called him this nickname, whether they had called it to his face, or had said it in a joke, had all been dealt with by him.

Thus, this name had become a taboo.

Then again, when he was swaying back and forth, changing his sitting position, he did indeed look like a swaying penguin.

”How much do you know about him?” he asked.

The Foreign Minister thought for a moment, for a few seconds. ”Our wine can’t be sold because of him.”

Rapa’s main core export commodity is grain. Grain can also be used to make wine, and the price of wine is much higher than the price of grain. So even if Diego was not a smart person, he knew that to turn grain into wine could make more money.

At first, they had indeed made money, but as Lance had begun to clean up all the smugglers in Golden Port City, Rapa’s liquor could no longer be transported to Golden Port City.

Later, on the Indeno State side, also because of the intensified confrontation between Lance and Gold Label Distillery, a large batch of smuggling groups had been eliminated.

As for South Anan State, the fierce Summurian people had already begun to clear the field. Besides some of the large local smugglers who were still fighting against them, some of the small smugglers had completely lost their chances.

Now, if these small-scale wineries in Yalan still wanted to sell their goods to the Federation, they would either have to take a huge risk and smuggle them.

Or, to accept Lance’s conditions, to give up most of the profits, and to sell the wine to Lance.

Lance had pressed the price of the wine very low, and he did not take just any wine.

This had led to the fact that many of the wines had no more sales.

Rapa did not have this kind of talent. In fact, they could continue to go north, to the northern regions of the East Coast to try to sell, but they did not have such talent, so the business of smuggling liquor could only be stopped.

Listening to the words of the Foreign Minister, an unhappy expression appeared on Diego’s face. ”It seems he’s an unwelcome guy.”

He did not have the idea of getting rid of Lance. The federal government was just worried that they had no reason to find trouble with them. If he were to take the initiative to hand the reason to the federal people now, it was estimated that the Yalan League would directly sacrifice him in exchange for a continuous peace.

He was indeed not a smart person, but he still had this bit of political sensitivity.

His brother-in-law had a different view on his opinion.

”Regardless of whether he is an unwelcome guy, as long as he is here with an investment, we can actually also welcome him.”

”After all, as long as he is willing to invest, in the end, won’t this money still fall into our pockets?”