Empire of Shadows

Drowsiness is a strange thing. It’s not like pain, which you can just endure for a while.

Nor is it like an impending ejaculation, which you might be able to hold back for a bit longer.

The more you fight drowsiness, the sleepier you get, until your whole consciousness becomes a muddled mess, and you don’t even know what you’ve said or done.

Tom was very sleepy right now. His body was protesting against his consciousness. What he needed most right now was to “get some sleep,” not to sit here and listen to a small character talk about his ideas.

However, he endured it. Small characters have their own value. At least Lance had contributed a lot in helping them suppress the workers’ strike, and he had done it quite beautifully.

Lance also saw his drowsiness and sped up his speech considerably.

“This matter has to start from after the New Year this year…”

He explained why he had bought the grapes, his judgment of the situation, and the first deal with the Liji Group.

Tom became a little more interested, and also less sleepy.

For men, as long as you find their sensitive and exciting spot, he can be reinvigorated in a short time.Politics, economics, gamesmanship—these were all things Tom was interested in.

He lit a cigarette, his eyes no longer as impossible to open as before. “And then?”

“And then this time I used a shell company and extorted $4,000,000 from the Liji Group.”

Tom stared at Lance in a daze for a while. “You are a warrior, Lance. Then let me guess, they didn’t pay you this money?”

“Yes, and they even plan to kill me.”

After hearing this, Tom couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He patted the surface of the sofa next to him. “$4,000,000!”

He nodded as he spoke. “$4,000,000, how many times can you hire an assassin to try to get rid of you with that?”

“You are one of the boldest people I have ever seen. So do you have any ideas now?”

Lance recounted what the Vice President had said to him, and then continued, “I am willing to donate $2,000,000 to Mr. Councilman’s foundation.”

Tom squinted his eyes and looked at Lance, as if trying to discern whether he was telling the truth or lying.

Mr. President’s campaign funds during the presidential election were about $22 million.

In other words, if Lance could donate $2,000,000, it would be equivalent to one-tenth of the presidential election campaign funds.

This was definitely not a small sum, but it wasn’t too much either.

Tom did not immediately agree, but thought about it seriously.

This matter was actually not as simple as $4,000,000 or $2,000,000. Behind it was actually the stock price problem of a group that controlled a monopoly position in the agricultural product channel.

The battle of capital has never been so simple and superficial. Sometimes, just because of a “small pebble,” it can cause a corporate group to collapse.

He pushed his hair back from his forehead a few times. “I’ll make a phone call. You sit for a while.”

Tom stood up, supporting himself on the arm of the sofa, and then quickly left.

He went to the study, closed the door, and then made a phone call to Senator Cleveland.

Senator Cleveland also had a social engagement in the evening, but he had not drunk too much, nor would anyone be able to make him drink too much.

As a rising senator, people were eager to curry favor with him. How could they make things difficult for him?

Although everyone was very enthusiastic, not many people insisted on clinking glasses with him.

“Tom, what’s the matter?”

Tom recounted what Lance had said. “The market value of the Liji Group is over a billion. Every point is a market value fluctuation of tens of millions.”

“Besides the stock price issue, there is another point. That vice president wants to go a step further, and he also needs someone to support him.”

“If we stand behind him, then our influence on the Liji Group will become greater. Some people might be interested in this matter.”

He was still a bit drunk just now, but now he was gradually sobering up. He realized that this was not a small matter.

To be more aggressive, they could unite with those capitalists and make a move on the Liji Group, which could allow them to gain tens of millions in profits.

Then Senator Cleveland, who had helped them earn this wealth, would naturally be more respected and revered by them, and Senator Cleveland could also get very practical benefits from this.

If they were more conservative, then when some changes occurred within the Liji Group’s board of directors, they would choose someone who was in line with their interests to take the stage.

It didn’t have to be the vice president, but it had to be someone who was in line with their interests.

An agricultural product channel distributor with a market value of a billion and a monopoly position could bring Senator Cleveland greater influence.

For example, making him more famous among a large group of farmers.

In this era of information blockade, fame often represents votes.

In fact, many voters don’t know that many politicians at all. So when these people need to vote, they will often choose a person they know and feel is not too bad to vote for.

This is the most real side of the Federation’s voters. You have to have fame to have votes.

This is also why everyone is now crazily holding various campaign activities. Only in this way can more people know them.

Behind the Liji Group are a large number of farmers. Although the Liji Group is not a good thing in the hearts of the farmers, it does have a significant influence on these people.

And the farmer class is an important social component of the Federation, so whether it’s an aggressive step forward or a conservative step back, it can bring great benefits to Senator Cleveland.

It was precisely after figuring this out that he gradually realized that when Lance had come to him and expressed his “confusion,” he was not asking for help.

He was here to make a deal.

A bold guy.

Senator Cleveland did not give him an answer immediately. “It’s too late. The people I need to contact are either unreachable or have already rested, so we’ll talk about this tomorrow.”

He paused for a moment, thinking, “I have time from one to two-thirty in the afternoon. Keep an eye on my phone then.”

“If necessary, you can bring him to my office. We need to sit down and discuss these matters in detail.”

“That…”

Tom reminded him, “Lance, sir.”

“Yes, Lance. Tell him not to be in such a hurry.”

“Since he’s in New Golden City, you find someone to take them around and have some fun.”

This was actually also a statement. You wouldn’t take a guest you looked down on around for a tour. You would only take someone you thought was valuable to you.

The next morning, Senator Cleveland pushed off some less important work and had a simple communication with the senators in his political circle.

If any of them had chips in the Liji Group, or if the Liji Group was “one of their own,” then he would most likely adopt a conservative method.

But if there were no “own people,” and the capital supporters behind him had the intention of operating on the Liji Group, then this would be an aggressive choice.

The night passed without a word.

The next morning, after Senator Cleveland got up, he contacted the senators in his political circle with whom he had a good relationship.

Congress is a very special place. Although the Social-Democratic Party is still the majority party in Congress at present, there have been some predictions that the seats in Congress will face a major adjustment again in the next term.

It is possible that the Liberal Party, after many years, will once again become the majority party in Congress.

So now there are also many changes within Congress, both good and bad.

Forming political interest circles (interest groups) is very necessary for these senators. Huddling together for warmth is always the best choice, regardless of strength or weakness.

After making and hanging up one phone call after another, Senator Cleveland already had some ideas.

There were no people from the Federal Agriculture Committee or the Federal Agricultural Product Trade Committee in his circle, so there would be no overlap with the Liji Group.

This gave him more directions to choose from.

Lance had thought he would receive a call at noon. He had been waiting.

Whether it’s a capitalist or any other organization, including a gang, if you want to move up and continue to grow, you must have a stronger supporter.

Otherwise, you can only be trapped in a small area, and at any time, a disaster could befall you.

If someone wanted to get rid of Lance and wipe the Lance Family from Golden Port…

Then they only needed to change the mayor and the police in the city, and the Lance Family would not be able to survive.

You can’t fight with the police every day. They get paid to cause you trouble, and you have to take care of business, the family’s affairs, and confront them, among many other things.

You must have a stronger force to support you to be able to go further.

Recently, when Lance had a conflict with the Kodak family, he could feel… a passive feeling.

The Kodak family did not choose to avoid them because they were afraid. It was just that they were unwilling to let the situation escalate and ultimately affect themselves. They did not really attach importance to Lance. Even if they had taken a step back, in Bandy’s eyes, there was still no Lance.

Because the Kodak family had people in Congress. It was easy to move them, but the big shots behind them were very difficult to handle.

There was still a year before Councilman Williams would take office. He could not completely bet his “treasure” on Councilman Williams.

Just in time to take this opportunity, to be active, to connect with Senator Cleveland, and by the way, to see if he could expand his network of relationships.

He waited anxiously, and Tom also waited anxiously. Senator Cleveland was a very punctual person and rarely missed a scheduled time.

The bigger the shot, the more they disdain lying, and even more so, they disdain breaking a contract. To be able to become a big shot, being self-disciplined and keeping one’s word is the most basic point.

If you can’t do it, you might get lucky, but it definitely won’t last long.

It wasn’t until 6:40 in the evening that the phone in front of Lance suddenly rang.

He took a deep breath, and after it had rung three times, he finally picked it up. “This is Lance White.”

“Sorry, we discussed for a long time this afternoon. This matter has more options than I expected, so we took more time.”

“We’re going to dinner later. You come over, and we can sit down and talk slowly.”

It was Senator Cleveland’s call. He gave Lance an address. Lance immediately rushed to the address.

This was a very secluded villa on the outskirts of New Golden City. It did not belong to any villa area. A large piece of land had been enclosed, and inside there was a garden or something else.

In fact, it was more like a small estate.

The surroundings were planted with vegetation. From the outside, you could only see a long wall of vegetation. Inside, there were steel fences and spikes, and they were very high.

When Lance arrived, someone was already waiting for him at the door. He was only allowed to bring one person in. He brought Mador.

The security personnel of the house checked their bodies to make sure they were not carrying any weapons before allowing them to enter.

This place looked very quiet, but you could often see security personnel hiding in the dark. Loose on the outside, tight on the inside, that’s roughly what it was.

There were also many dogs in the yard. When they saw Lance and Mador, they all stood up, their tails raised, and looked at them.

Someone next to them had the dogs sit down. Perhaps this was the reason they didn’t rush over.

After entering the house, Lance soon arrived at a side hall on the first floor. Mador was asked to stay outside.

Because Senator Cleveland had only mentioned Lance’s name.

Lance tidied his attire and then pushed the door open with his chest held high.

A gambling table. Senator Cleveland was sitting at the gambling table. He turned his head and glanced at Lance and said with a smile, “Last hand. Wait a moment. I’ll introduce you to the gentlemen here later.”

Some other people also looked at Lance, but with very ordinary gazes, showing no interest in him.

They were not playing for high stakes. The wins and losses were only a few dozen dollars. It seemed a bit unworthy of their status and net worth.

But for them, gambling was just a way to pass the time. The more important thing was to talk.

To just sit there and talk without doing anything was too boring. To play cards while talking was more interesting.

Lance didn’t quite understand the card game they were playing. It was quite complicated. After more than ten minutes, the game finally ended.

This amount of winning and losing was the same as not winning or losing to them. But even if it was just a little bit of money, as long as a winner and a loser could be decided, it could satisfy them.

The maids each pushed a small cart with a basin of water and a towel and stopped beside them. They washed their faces and their hands.

Constantly touching poker cards and coins would make some of them feel uncomfortable, a feeling of being unclean.

“Let’s go, let’s go to the dining room first. We’ll talk while we eat.”

He took the initiative to lead Lance at the front. When they entered the dining room, Lance saw Tom.

The two exchanged a look. There were also many people around Tom. Some Lance had seen last time, and some he had not. They should be the aides of the others.

The dining room was very large, but there were two tables. One was in the corner, where Tom and the others were sitting. And on the largest and most luxurious table in the middle, sat these people.

Some had a humble smile on their faces all the time. Some had a kind of arrogance and leisure on their faces. Some were cold and showed no emotional fluctuations, but they all had a common characteristic, which was a quality of being either rich or noble.

A quality that could be seen at a glance.

The exquisite clothing was so exquisite down to the direction and finishing of every thread. All the accessories were also particularly fitting and appropriate. Seeing them, a word appeared in one’s mind—nobility.

The Federation had no nobility, but these people, they were precisely the nobility.

They were the nobility without a noble title, the invisible rules, the unseen nobility.

“Sit next to me.”

Lance had already walked to the very end of the table, but he was still asked by Senator Cleveland to go to his side. He hesitated for a moment, and in the end, still walked over.

“Let me introduce you. First, I’d like to introduce our young and handsome Senator, Charles Lisdon.”

Lance followed the direction he was pointing and saw a middle-aged to elderly man who should have been in his fifties. Because of his grooming and maintenance, Lance was not sure if his appearance could represent his real age.

Since it was such a grand introduction, then Lance stood up and bowed slightly. “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Charles Lisdon.”

It could be seen that this group of them were all in a good mood now, so Senator Cleveland didn’t mind saying a few more words. “Charles pushed off an important matter this afternoon to be with us, to talk about the things you mentioned.”

“He has made an outstanding contribution to our decision, just like his ancestors.”

“By the way, you may not know this. You can go and look at the founding charter. His ancestor signed his name on it.”

This sentence finally brought a smile to this Mr. Charles’s face. “Oh, come on, Jeffrey. You don’t have to let everyone know about this.”

Although he said so, Lance could see that this Mr. Charles attached great importance to the fact that his ancestor had once participated in the founding of the country, and also hoped that people would know about it.

In the Federation, there were fifty “founding families.” They had signed their names on the founding charter, representing the forces they belonged to, and jointly established the Federation.

Some also believed that they were the largest exploitative and ruling institution in the world, because everyone who signed was a large landowner, a large rancher, a large plantation owner, a large slave owner…

They had a series of titles that would make the little black people tremble in fear, even “great warlord.”

But the “free Federation” that everyone yearned for was precisely established by these people who were best at wielding the whip. This was really fucking interesting.

But now when people mention these, most of them will not think of these.

They will only feel a sense of historical weight, a sense of mission.

Everyone will have their own “desires.” Some want wealth, some want sex, and some want fame.

Lance had a perfectly appropriate look of disbelief and shock on his face, which greatly satisfied Charles’s vanity. “You can call me Charles, just like Jeffrey (Senator Cleveland).”

Lance nodded slightly, but he would not address him this way. Directly calling someone by their first name was a privilege reserved for very close people.

His saying this was actually to give Senator Cleveland face, not to give him face. If he really called him that, it would be not knowing his own place, but he could not directly object either.

So he would continue to call him “Mr. Lisdon,” not “Charles.” This way, everyone’s dignity would be preserved.

He knew what discretion was.

(End of chapter)