Empire of Shadows

“Mr. Lance, I don’t quite understand.”

This was the second time Mr. Cassia had said this, the first being in the car.

Lance smiled. “Besides the current war immigrants, the Federation also has some other policies.”

“For example, talent immigration. If you can prove that you are a high-level talent in a certain field, like a scientist, an inventor, or something, you can also become a citizen of the Federation.”

“There is also investment immigration. For example, if you bring at least a hundred thousand to the Federation for investment, invest in实体, build a new factory, and increase the employment rate, they will also support you in becoming a federal citizen.”

“There are many ways to make you, your family, and your children become federal citizens, legal and compliant ways.”

“Mr. Cassia, you and Alberto are friends. Alberto is also my good friend. It is only right that we two are also good friends.”

“My friends all know, and you will know too, that I am very happy to help my friends achieve financial freedom.”

He paused for a moment to give Mr. Cassia a process to accept. “Has Rapa established diplomatic relations with the Federation?”

Mr. Cassia nodded. “We are diplomatic countries.”The Federation was still in the process of seeking a higher international social status, so for these countries that were willing to establish diplomatic relations with the Federation, even if they were just some inconspicuous small countries, the federal government was willing to establish diplomatic relations with them.

Although Rapa was just a small country, a poor and backward small country, it was ultimately a country. When the Federation needed it, they could give the Federation support in the international community and bring some international public opinion help!

“Do you know the ambassador here?” Lance asked.

Mr. Cassia was a little embarrassed. “We have not yet sent an ambassador to the Federation.”

Looking at Lance’s puzzled expression, he explained with some embarrassment, “We are friends, so I won’t be secretive.”

“We have no money.”

“Renting the land for the embassy, building the embassy, all these require money.”

“If it’s built too small, too shabby, Mr. President will definitely not agree. After all, this represents our image in the Federation.”

“If it’s built well, the country doesn’t have that much extra budget to take out.”

“You also said, Mr. Lance, that the grain we sell to the Federation is only a few dozen dollars a ton.”

“The cost of renting the land, the cost of constructing the building, may require the profit of our entire year’s export, or even two years or more.”

“We don’t have that much money to build this embassy.”

He had a rough understanding of the prices and land prices of the Federation. This required an astronomical figure.

This was also the current situation of many small countries, poor countries. They could establish diplomatic relations, but they couldn’t come up with the money to build an embassy. Some simply did not appoint a diplomatic ambassador to be permanently stationed in the diplomatic country.

This was not surprising.

Lance pursed his lips. “You see, isn’t the business coming?”

Now it was Mr. Cassia’s turn to be confused. He hesitated and repeated that sentence. He felt that since he had first come here, his worldview was rapidly collapsing and being reshaped.

“I don’t understand, Mr. Lance.”

Lance raised his hand. “No, you will understand, because this is also your resource.”

“If you apply to be the diplomatic ambassador to the Federation, will you get the president’s approval?”

“If you don’t need the president to pay extra money, and you raise the funds yourself.”

Mr. Cassia thought for a moment and then nodded. “He will not refuse. As long as I don’t let the country pay a large extra fee, they will be willing.”

After hearing this, Lance clapped his hands, a smile on his face like a spring breeze. “You see, isn’t this the biggest resource in your hands?”

“And now this resource belongs only to you, and the benefits it brings also belong only to you!”

He paused for a moment. “If you trust me, Mr. Cassia, you will become a remarkable, rich man.”

“Your family will have a better living condition here. Your children who are still in school will receive a better federal elite education. They will get an A in every subject!”

“Most importantly, you will become a rich person, Mr. Cassia, as rich as me, as rich as the federal rich people you have seen.”

Cassia’s emotions had already been stirred by Lance. He had just experienced the life of the rich people of the Federation. It was unknown if it was because he hadn’t had any water, but his throat was a little dry now, and so were his lips.

He licked his lips. “Mr. Lance, we are friends. If there’s anything, you might as well say it directly.”

“You go back and apply to be the diplomatic ambassador, to be stationed in the Federation, to help your president and your people, to sell more of their agricultural products to the Federation.”

“I will also give you some orders appropriately.”

The agricultural product orders that Lance was talking about were nothing to him. Not to mention grain, other orders, for example, pasture and the like, were all fine.

Anyway, a few dozen dollars, at most a hundred or two hundred a ton, one or two million, could buy ten thousand tons, or even more!

This was definitely a large order, enough to move their country’s president.

Lance briefly explained the problem of this order to him. Cassia repeated his sentence for the fourth time. “I don’t understand, Mr. Lance.”

“These are just the conditions for you to come here. I am paying for my friend’s ticket to freedom. You don’t have to take it to heart!”

“And, I can cash in the resources in your hands and earn this money back.”

In fact, these orders themselves were valuable. Even if these orders could not be sold for more in the Federation, he could sell them to others at a 20% discount, which would only be a loss of a few hundred thousand.

But the subsequent benefits and value generated by doing so would become very large!

Lance pointed at this house. “What do you think of this place?”

Mr. Cassia nodded. “Very good.”

“I will build another embassy in New Golden City that is larger than this one, and then rent it to you.”

Mr. Cassia was suddenly stunned, his eyes wide, and for a moment he had even lost the ability to react.

Looking at his dazed and stupid appearance, Lance couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He patted Mr. Cassia’s back. “Cassia, can I call you that?”

Mr. Cassia came back to his senses. “Of course, my friend!”

“I will rent that house to you to be used as an embassy, but you cannot afford the full cost, so you, at a price almost equivalent to the rent, have sublet 99% of the area to another person.”

“I will open another door for you on the side, so that the embassy will also be there, and the remaining area…”

He gestured with his hand. “These places will not have any changes. I will also give you an extra sum of money, one-thousandth of the profit.”

This was the fifth time Mr. Cassia had repeated that sentence. “I don’t understand, Mr. Lance.”

He completely couldn’t understand what Lance was talking about, what rent it to him, and then he couldn’t afford it and had to sublet it to others.

If he couldn’t afford it, he could just not rent it, right?

Why did he have to rent it and then sublet it to others?

Lance moved closer. “The embassy has the jurisdiction of its own country. In other words, whether it’s the police or the Prohibition Bureau, or any agency of the federal government, they cannot forcibly enter here.”

“This is your value, Cassia,” he paused. “Anyway, don’t think so much. It’s definitely not wrong to listen to me. I won’t harm you. We are friends!”

Once Cassia became the ambassador to the Federation, then Lance could legally create another “Super Project” on the New Golden City side, a den of pleasure where eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling were all gathered together.

Without the protection of Mr. Cassia’s diplomatic status, he would have to face a lot of trouble, but with this diplomatic protection, plus Lance’s intention to push for the “invasion” of the Yalan region, not only would his business be very stable, but he could also add a “traitor.”

Mr. Cassia was a little hesitant. “Please forgive me for coming from a remote place and not having much experience, Mr. Lance. If I do as you say and become an ambassador,”

“I…” he was a little embarrassed to speak, but Lance knew what he was going to say.

Among the things that made people feel difficult to speak of in this world, most of them were related to money.

“Twenty thousand dollars. If it’s less than twenty thousand, I’ll give you twenty thousand.”

“If it’s more than twenty thousand, then however much it is, I’ll give it to you.”

When he heard this, Cassia sucked in a breath of cold air. This was equivalent to several million of Rapa’s money. His emotions had already been stirred up by Lance.

A life of luxury. Since his last visit, he had been unable to forget everything here. So much so that when he had just returned to Rapa, he would even dream of everything here!

At this very moment, everything he had once fantasized about was close at hand, and he could grasp it with his hand. He was already a little unable to sit still. He now wanted to go back to Rapa and talk to the president about this.

Perhaps seeing Mr. Cassia’s urgency, Lance knew that he had already taken the bait. The rest was just to wait, to wait for him to bite a little more firmly.

“You don’t have to be in such a hurry. We still have time.”

As he spoke, he stood up. “You must be tired after a day of hard work. I have a room for you here. You can rest here.”

Mr. Cassia didn’t know what to say. Lance was too considerate. He was very moved.

Lance had the maid outside the door come in. “Take Mr. Cassia to his room.”

These were all already instructed, including the subsequent programs.

Tonight, Mr. Cassia would get the happiest, most extreme enjoyment of his life!

Looking at Mr. Cassia’s departing back, Lance smiled and shook his head.

The next day, Lance had Mr. Cassia go to the casino for a spin. If he lost, it was on him. If he won, it was on Mr. Cassia.

His luck was not very good, but even so, in the end, he had taken away 50,000 worth of chips.

This sum of money was already more than the total savings of his grandfather, his father, and him, for three generations!

But here, Lance had casually given it to him.

Mr. Cassia had finally stayed here for three days and then had eagerly returned to his country. He was a diligent and responsible person. He had to complete Lance’s instructions as soon as possible. It was absolutely not that he was greedy for any wealth. It was just that he didn’t want to disappoint his friend!

At the end of July, the editing of the movie was completely finished. It just so happened that Senator Cleveland, with two other senators and more than a dozen congressmen, had come to visit the Golden Port naval base and to visit Admiral Miles.

A political show that was performed for themselves. Although everyone knew that this was just a show, it still had the necessity to be performed.

Admiral Miles was only responsible for waiting for their arrival at the base. The one who was truly responsible for the reception was Lance.

Lance had been waiting by the sea since early in the morning. The entire pier had been cleaned up.

This was the tourist pier. Usually, many people would gather here, especially some beggars.

But today, nothing could be seen here. All the beggars had been driven away.

If they didn’t leave, Lance would send them to the battlefield, so they had run away without a trace early in the morning.

And the others, having heard that Lance was going to receive a big shot here, and that it was inconvenient for them to come in, they did not come in.

So much so that some of the passenger ships had temporarily changed their docking time because of this matter!

Soon, the passenger ship carrying the three senators docked at the pier and stopped. First, a group of entourages, congressmen, came down, and then the three senators finally showed their faces on the deck.

Senator Cleveland was walking in the first place, with the other two walking behind.

There were many young children on the pier. They were holding up flowers, as if they were cheering for the arrival of the senators.

There were also three beautiful young girls who took the initiative to offer flowers.

This scene had made the three senators a little… startled.

When he shook hands with Lance, Senator Cleveland asked in a low voice, “Is the standard a bit too high?”

“I thought the president was in the back!”

Lance, while shaking his hand, said in a low voice, “They did it spontaneously.”

This sentence made the senator stunned for a moment, and then he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He patted Lance’s arm. “You’re so humorous!”

He introduced the other two senators to Lance. These were all members of Senator Cleveland’s small group. Lance had even seen one of them before, in Senator Cleveland’s manor.

A very respectful welcome. The response of the two was also very positive, but Lance could still feel that their positivity was just a performance, not their real thoughts.

However, he didn’t care. His value would make these people look at him in the eye, and respect him, and fear him.

Soon, the three senators got into their respective cars. Lance and Senator Cleveland were in the same car.

As the convoy started and drove out of the pier, ten policemen on motorcycles were divided into five rows, clearing the way at the very front of the convoy.

And a large number of police cars with their lights on were following behind.

The road from here to the hotel was completely controlled, cleared, and on the side of the road were many young people, children, and beautiful girls waving flowers.

When Senator Cleveland saw this scene, he was a little amazed. “It’s not very good for you to do this. We shouldn’t not allow others to walk.”

“We are also public servants of the state, not rulers. We don’t need to do this.”

He said so, but from his enjoying expression, Lance could see that he was enjoying it.

It was just that he couldn’t say it so directly. He couldn’t say that he just liked the special privilege, just liked to clear the field.

He seemed to have thought of something. “When I came, I saw a few passenger ships that were still docked by the sea. Was it also because of us?”

Lance smiled. “I was afraid that some foolish people would offend you, so I had them wait a little longer.”

Cleveland raised his chin slightly. “Don’t do this next time!”

Lance also understood. “I see.”

The corner of his mouth curled up slightly. He looked at the scenery outside the window and even raised his eyebrows.

It could be seen that his mood was indeed not bad!

A person has worked hard his whole life to reach this level. Does he still have to suffer like the people at the bottom to be considered a good quality?

Don’t be ridiculous. How many of the feudal and corrupt gentlemen had worked hard with the purpose of suffering?

Wasn’t it all to ride on the heads of the people and be their ancestors?

His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest. Tom, who was sitting next to him, gave Lance a knowing look—

You’re fucking good!

According to the itinerary, they would not be able to visit the military district until tomorrow, so there was nothing to do this afternoon.

After lunch, Senator Cleveland took the initiative to ask about Lance’s movie. Some of the content of this movie had come out and had already begun to break out of its circle. The senator was also very interested.

“As it happens, I also want to take this opportunity to have the three gentlemen give me some suggestions.”

Senator Cleveland looked at Lance. For a few seconds, “You look very confident. The movie is very well shot in your eyes.”

He turned to look at the two behind him. “Are you busy this afternoon?”

When he asked this question, even if the two behind him were busy in the afternoon, they couldn’t be busy now.

The two both answered that they were planning to rest in the afternoon, or to take a walk. Senator Cleveland smiled and invited them. “Since there is nothing important, then let’s watch the movie that Lance has shot together.”

The two naturally agreed.

Soon they sat down in a small independent theater. As the movie began to play, from the beginning, they were not very concerned about the development of the love story. When the plot officially began, and then some omens, some rumors, and finally, the Dantra fleet appeared outside Golden Port City.

The real shelling footage brought a more real viewing experience. The expressions of the three senators all became grave.

A large part of the funds for the filming of the entire movie was used on special effects. After all, each sand table was worth a few hundred or a thousand. Every “explosion” represented a few hundred or a thousand in funds being burned!

The picture was very real. From the perspective of a modern person, when Lance looked at it, he would only think that there were still many flaws, but the two directors both said “simply perfect.”

Golden Port City had been reduced to a sea of fire. The Golden Port navy had suffered heavy losses. At the same time, the Dantra army, which had occupied the Yalan region, had posed a huge threat to the Federation’s homeland.

The Presidential Palace and the congressional side had decided to launch a strategic plan against Yalan, to drive out the Dantra people, to liberate the invaded Yalan countries, and to launch an attack on the evil Dantra allied fleet.

The moment the male protagonist had sacrificed himself with the largest battleship by riding on a torpedo, the three senators could not help but let out a long sigh of relief.

A little regretful.

But regret is often an indispensable part of perfection.

The Federation had won a victory in the naval battle. Through its control over the Star Archipelago and Yalan, it had indirectly strengthened its control over the entire East Ocean, thus gaining a huge strategic advantage.

The movie, at this point, could be considered to be over…

(End of a Chapter)