Empire of Shadows

The President’s secretary sat on the sofa in the hotel lobby. A hotel waiter brought him a glass of ice water.

In the Yalan region, there are about ten months in a year that are in a muggy environment, so people love ice water.

It wasn’t just President Diego who liked iced fruit juice; most people in the Yalan region, as long as they could afford iced fruit juice or ice cubes, would prefer to drink ice water.

Even in winter, when the temperature in the Jede Republic was only about ten degrees, ice water was still the choice of most people.

He held a newspaper in his hand, the ”News Daily,” a relatively authoritative official newspaper of the Jede Republic. It contained a lot of official news.

Even he, the Great President’s secretary, couldn’t possibly know everything that happened every day.

Reading the newspaper had become an important way for him to obtain this news.

When he read that the overall economy of the Jede Republic had seen a significant increase in the second half of this year, primarily due to the increased foreign investment, mainly federal investors frequently investing in various projects, it was very noticeable.

They compared the economic growth in the third and fourth quarters of the past five years. Last year’s third and fourth quarters could be said to be the fastest-growing two quarters in the Jede Republic’s history.

The reporter who had written this news believed that this was a very good performance. The Federation, as the center of world capitalism, the recognition from federal investors was equivalent to the recognition of capital.This would bring more effective and valuable investment projects.

In this article, the reporter gave an example to illustrate this point. For example, some federal investors had brought in some light industry technologies, filling the gap in the Jede Republic in this area, and had achieved a huge leap of ”local production from scratch”!

There were also quite a few such investment projects.

Not everyone had come with money. Many had come with technology. This reporter believed that compared to financial investment, the authorities of the Jede Republic should pay more attention to the technology investments.

Money, this thing, as long as there are people, and as long as people can continuously reproduce, there will definitely be countless people, which means that countless wealth will slowly emerge in the future.

But technology, this thing, either you have it or you don’t. Even some technologies that might be considered outdated in the federal industrial system are still leading technologies here, in the Jede Republic.

These technologies are what the Jede Republic needs for its current development, whether it’s for the economy, or for local technology and industrial accumulation.

However, the author of this article, this reporter, had also given a warning.

With many federal investors entering the Jede Republic to look for opportunities, some federal ”poor people” and ”cheaters” had also come to the Jede Republic.

They had already carried out many scams and had swindled a lot of people’s wealth.

They had to maintain a high degree of enthusiasm for the federal investors, to make them willing to let their funds and technology land, and at the same time, they also had to be wary of all their actions, to avoid being cheated by them again.

Seeing this, the Great President’s secretary nodded. This report was very well written.

It didn’t have the blatant flattery of the federal investors that was on some second-rate newspapers, as if with the help of these federal people, the Jede Republic could achieve an economic leap.

In their mouths, the federal people were angels sent by God to the human world to help the Jede Republic, but in reality, the federal people were a hungry wolf.

It was hungry, and was coveting the most fertile piece of meat that was Yalan!

In any country, there will be some sober, rational people who look at society, but more are the ordinary people who can only see the shallow surface.

The elevator buzzer suddenly rang ”ding,” very crisp. The gold-plated elevator door was opened by the elevator attendant, and a very fashionable young girl walked out.

Her attire was very ”federalized.” Because the arrival of federal investors had also brought a lot of federal culture and books, including some fashion magazines.

The instinct of admiring power in people’s bones had been stimulated without them even realizing it.

They would be very keen to buy federal magazines, and then, based on the contents in the magazines, they would imitate the federal fashion.

For example, just as... the President’s secretary’s eyes lit up. This girl was a typical ”federal modern girl.” Of course, a ”follower” had to be added later.

However, they would call these girls ”modern girls,” omitting the word ”federal.”

These girls were very famous in the Jede Republic, but the opinions were mixed.

The girl who had just come out of the elevator had just been ”punished” by Engineer Smith with his fists. She was still feeling weak in her legs when she walked. If it weren’t for the fact that Engineer Smith had to go to work, she would have preferred to stay on that bed, no matter what he did!

In this girl’s mind, as long as it was a federal person, a foreigner, one who was hairy, like a humanized ape that was relatively close to a human in evolution, or a human that had degenerated a little, she would like him very much.

It seemed that through this way, by having these men inject their freedom from the Federation into her body, it could make her also become a federal person with inner freedom!

Just as she felt a gurgling heat flow, she suddenly glimpsed the President’s secretary who was sitting on the sofa, looking at her with shining eyes.

She didn’t know this young man, but she didn’t like him. Because his body exuded the rotten and boring smell of the Jede Republic.

She, with a look of slight disdain and impatience, rolled her eyes at the President’s secretary, and also proactively pulled her low-cut neckline up a little, afraid that if she exposed a little more flesh, this local who was so poor that he could only cheat for ice water in a hotel would take advantage of her.

She seemed to have forgotten that not long ago, a guy she didn’t know, but had heard was a federal person, had almost seen her naked, and she had not felt any shame or embarrassment. On the contrary, she had very generously stretched her body, as if to tell the other party that she was in heat, and that she needed an injection.

The President’s secretary, who had been inexplicably rolled his eyes at, smiled and shook his head. He was not angry. This situation was becoming more and more common now.

These young men and women who had no ability to distinguish right from wrong always thought that the Federation was the future. This might be related to the movies they had broadcast for propaganda during the cultural exchange with the Federation before.

They had described themselves as the great heroes who saved the world. If it weren’t for them, the Dantra people would have stolen the world’s safety, and would have become the evil rulers who lorded over everyone.

They had used a large amount of content that was difficult to distinguish between true and false to promote the Federation’s various advantages and benefits. Now the authorities had reacted, and were also reducing the frequency of cultural exchanges. At the same time, the scrutiny of the exchanged cultural works had also become much stricter.

He didn’t know what would happen if things continued like this, but he knew that if most people, and especially those young people, preferred the Federation to the Jede Republic, it would definitely be a disaster.

The President’s secretary folded the newspaper. He no longer had the mood to continue reading. The arrival of the federal people had brought too much chaos to this country. Sometimes he admired the Great President.

In a situation as bad as this, he was still persisting, which also gave him a sense of wanting to dedicate everything to the country!

After about a dozen or so minutes, Engineer Smith and his partner came out of the elevator. The President’s secretary immediately stood up, and with a beaming smile, went to meet them.

He had originally intended to shake hands with Engineer Smith, but the other party had, without warning, given him a hug. He could only respond awkwardly.

”You...” He wanted to ask what was wrong, but he held back.

Engineer Smith was, on the contrary, an ”honest person.” ”For you to come and find me, it means you have accepted my quote.”

”Isn’t this good news for me?”

”I will get some profit, and also the continuous share of the profits. I am very excited now!”

The President’s secretary seemed to have accepted his statement, and smiled as he invited him to leave this place. ”We have already prepared a place elsewhere. Everyone wants to talk to you again before paying this money.”

”You know, this is 50 million after all. It’s not a small amount for us!”

Originally, their foreign exchange was already very tight. To draw out this 50 million Federal Sols again, the entire country’s Federal Sol foreign exchange reserves might only be less than 100 million.

If something happened that required a huge external aid, their foreign exchange might not be enough!

Engineer Smith also appeared very open-minded. ”Of course, of course. I don’t feel that this is offensive.”

”Then shall we... go now?”

”I hope we can finalize this matter as soon as possible. Don’t let it drag on.”

He fanned his hand. ”I’m already a little annoyed.”

The President’s secretary said with a half-smile, ”Coincidentally, so am I.”

Then he ushered the two into the Presidential Palace’s dedicated car, and they drove to a very beautiful river bend on the outskirts of the capital.

The Great President had built a manor here. From the main building of the manor, one could look down at most of the city, and also see the river below, which was not exactly surging, but was certainly not calm either, hitting the rock banks on both sides of the river bend.

It had a unique flavor.

Soon they had sat down across the negotiating table. After everyone had taken their seats, the President’s secretary, as the main negotiator for this round, naturally took charge of most of the content.

”Engineer Smith, we have, in principle, agreed to obtain these two assembly lines through your method.”

”But the price... we feel that it should be adjusted again.”

”The current price is too unreasonable!”

To sell something that costs less than 7 million for 50 million?

Is there anything blacker than this?

He had thought that Engineer Smith would object, but he was surprised that the other party had also continuously nodded. ”I think so too.”

An official from the Ministry of Defense, who was accompanying the negotiation, smiled and said, ”It’s really good that you think so. It seems that our negotiation this time will be very smooth. At least we have the same goal on the same issue.”

The President’s secretary also nodded. ”That is indeed the case. I have a premonition that we will soon complete this negotiation, and both sides will be satisfied!”

Engineer Smith had a somewhat... inappropriate smile on his face as he looked at them. ”You might have gotten one thing wrong.”

”The price adjustment I mentioned is not downwards, but upwards.”

He still had that playful and smiling appearance, but anyone could see the sarcasm and arrogance on his face. ”You didn’t trust me, which made me feel very hurt. Now their quote is 60 million.”

The President’s secretary was stunned for a moment and raised his hand, but he didn’t slam the table. Instead, he almost stood up, his face serious. ”I don’t understand!”

”You understand!” Engineer Smith retorted very strongly.

”If you had only negotiated with me from the beginning, and were dissatisfied with the price, perhaps we could have discussed it further.”

”But you turned around and contacted the group company through domestic channels, trying to bypass me and buy directly from them. You have seriously hurt my feelings!”

”I feel very uncomfortable. Your attitude makes me feel that if I maintain the original price, it is a kind of a humiliation to myself.”

”So, now the quote is 60 million.”

The President’s secretary took a deep breath. He slowly sat back down. ”Engineer Smith, you were the one who said that we could inquire about it.”

Engineer Smith did not refute. On the contrary, he agreed. ”Indeed, I was the one who said that, but I didn’t tell you to buy it. I just told you to inquire about the price, and you, on the contrary, wanted to buy them directly.”

”You were the ones who first lacked the spirit of the contract. Even if you had rejected my quote and then done so, I wouldn’t have been so angry.”

”But you, on the one hand, were keeping me on the hook, and on the other hand, were trying to purchase it from somewhere else. Now that you couldn’t buy it, you have come back to me.”

”What is it?”

”Am I so worthless?”

Looking at Engineer Smith’s almost completely unreasonable attitude, the President’s secretary’s expression changed again and again. After more than ten seconds, his tone suddenly softened.

”I’ll be honest with you. The fact that you have been inquiring everywhere about the purchase of the bullet production assembly line has already been exposed to some people.”

”You have also attracted the attention of some federal departments, which has made the difficulty of transporting them out of the Federation increase a lot, and there are more key channels that need to be cleared.”

”On the arms industry groups’ side, I need to have people keep quiet, to change the two assembly lines from ’inventory’ to ’scrapped’ and ’destroyed.’ Then I need to have some of the gentlemen congressmen who can decide the final direction of this matter to selectively not see.”

”Then I also have to handle the customs, those greedy hyenas. Once they inspect our containers, it means that our losses will be huge.”

”So in order to silence them, we must ensure that it is 100% impossible for them to inspect these things.”

”This might require the help of some other people. After all, I don’t know the congressmen. All this requires money!”

”I’m telling you the truth.”

”I will, at most, only get a profit of 2 million from this deal, and that’s for the two of us to split. The rest of the money will not end up in our hands.”

”Because you were inquiring everywhere about the purchase, which has attracted the attention of some people. So these people need an additional fee to keep them silent.”

”If you think my quote is unreasonable, you can try to find someone else.”

It sounds... a little reasonable. But the President’s secretary knew that even if he was telling the truth, it certainly wouldn’t cost 60 million.

What the hell costs so much money for public relations?

But at this moment, he couldn’t refute it, because Engineer Smith ”again” said, if you don’t agree, you can try to find someone else.

He believed that as long as he had gone to find someone else, when he came back, it might not be 60 million, but 70 million, 80 million, or even more!

He could only show a look of negotiation. ”We really don’t have much foreign exchange left. If you can accept payment in Larry, I can agree to this matter.”

According to the official exchange rate, 60 million Federal Sols should be equivalent to 600 million, but in reality, 60 million Federal Sols could be exchanged for about 800 million, which means they would save some.

Engineer Smith shook his head. ”That’s impossible. Although I live in the Jede Republic now, it doesn’t mean I will live here forever.”

”It must be paid in Federal Sols. And have you considered one problem?”

”How can I persuade those people in the Federation to accept Larry, which they simply can’t use, and which the federal domestic banks don’t even consider valuable, instead of Federal Sols?”

The President’s secretary sighed. He knew that this negotiation was truly difficult, because it was all passive.

This was not a game where you could just play passively and win.

This was a business negotiation, a political negotiation, and the result of being completely passive was that they could only ”obey” the other party’s demands, and not ”talk” and ”negotiate.”

Since this money could not be changed, the President’s secretary had turned his thoughts to supporting services.

”I will report this new price to the President, but since we are paying so much money, can we add some small requests to the original plan?”

”For example...” He glanced at the weapon designer next to Engineer Smith. ”To jointly design a new weapon with us?”