Empire of Shadows

After the maid had brought the coffee and small snacks, Mr. Gomez couldn’t help but say with a laugh, ”You’ve changed a lot, Cassia.”

Their relationship was good.

The Undersecretary of Commerce and the president of the Rapa Chamber of Commerce had many collaborations.

The great president was not very interested in how to revitalize the economy. Anyway, in his, in the eyes of these real rulers, Rapa was no different from a primitive tribe.

As long as they could exploit wealth from society, as for whether the ordinary people of Rapa had money, they didn’t care.

In any country with absolute rule and absolute corruption, there will inevitably be an absolute privileged class.

Mr. Gomez represented such a group.

They were not the rulers, but everyone had an intricate connection with the rulers. They had formed another, a privileged interest group that was outside the ruling core and did not belong to the ruling class.

Just as the great president did not care how his own people lived, in fact, these chambers of commerce, under the slogan of helping people to improve their lives and promoting trade, were continuing to squeeze the potential value of the people.

However, they had done one thing quite well, which was that when they were full, they would let the ordinary people have a little soup, which could be used to fill their stomachs with dry food.In that terrible, poor, and chaotic country, this small group of people, less than 1%, controlled 90% of the wealth and everything!

The former Mr. Cassia, although he was also a part of the privileged class, he was just the outer layer of the privileged class, a useful tool, so his situation was actually not as good as that of these core privileged class members like Mr. Gomez.

Meeting again this time, Mr. Gomez found that this old friend had changed a little more than before.

He had become more confident, more dignified, and more mature.

Mr. Cassia couldn’t help but laugh twice. ”Only after walking out of that small world do you know how big the outside world is, Gomez.”

Mr. Gomez agreed with this view. ”Then how big is the world?”

This unexpected rhetorical question made Mr. Cassia stunned for a moment. His mood became a little low, dejected. ”It’s terrible, at least much worse than I had imagined before I came out.”

”I don’t know if you can understand this feeling. When I wear decent clothes, put wax on my hair, polish my leather shoes to a shine, and restrain my own behavior, I thought I was going to a high-society social event.”

”But the moment I pushed open the door, I saw the most primitive desires.”

”They were grabbing things to eat with their hands, not at all high-society, not civilized, and even less polite and elegant.”

”But very barbaric!” he raised his finger and pointed diagonally at the ceiling. ”Very barbaric!”

”Some of the food looked at least cooked. If they used their hands, so be it. But some of the food was raw, bloody, and they also used their hands.”

”So much so that it was alive!”

”They pounced on it and tore at it, not caring at all whether the food was in pain, whether it was screaming, whether it was their own kind!”

As he spoke, he shook his head and picked up his coffee. ”To be honest, all my beautiful fantasies about the Federation have been shattered in these few months.”

He took a small sip of coffee. The taste was very good, much better than the most expensive coffee he had ever drunk before.

He had heard that this kind of coffee bean cost over a hundred a pound. This was fucking... simply extravagant!

After he had put down his coffee, he invited Mr. Gomez to also try it. ”Give it a try. It’s unexpectedly good.”

Mr. Gomez took a small sip. It was indeed a very good coffee, and the degree of roasting was just right.

The oils were very rich, and at the same time, there was no bitterness from over-roasting, beyond the bitterness of the coffee itself.

He pursed his lips. ”Good coffee. You can’t get it in Rapa at all.”

It wasn’t a matter of whether you had money or not, but that you couldn’t buy it even if you had money.

It can be imagined that any luxury brand, unless there is a large order, otherwise they would not go to a poor place to sell.

So even if Mr. Gomez was willing to spend a thousand to buy a pound in Rapa, no one would sell it to him, unless the price he offered was enough for those enterprises to make a special trip for him.

He then put down his coffee cup, picked up a small, square pastry, and put it in his mouth.

Its outer shell was the flaky kind, very sweet.

When the saliva had soaked its outer shell, this plastic shell had melted in an instant, and then the very fruity sugar heart had flowed out, and his whole mouth was filled with the sweetness and fragrance of fruit.

He noticed that these small squares had different colors, which should represent different fruits.

The bitterness in the aftertaste of the coffee was covered by the candy, a good match.

”Cassia, what’s troubling you?”

Mr. Gomez asked back. He leaned back in his chair, patted the soft armrest with his hand. The thick and moist feel let him know that this chair was also worth a lot of money.

He looked at the other furnishings in the room again. ”You see, you are living in a large villa that even the great president can’t compare to, and you are enjoying this kind of coffee that may be several hundred or a thousand a pound.”

”Your family is studying in the best schools in the Federation, your wife is socializing with the noble ladies of the upper class, and you are also entering and leaving the important government departments of the Federation, and whether you admit it or not, to some extent, you represent a country.”

”Not only do you bear your responsibility, but you also hold the status and power of this country in the international community.”

”You have a much better life than 99% of the people, yet you are complaining.”

”Can I take this as you showing off?”

After hearing this, Mr. Cassia couldn’t help but laugh a few times. ”I really haven’t thought of it that way. It’s just that a lot of things have happened recently.”

”Rapa is very powerful in our eyes, but in the eyes of the people of the Federation, in the eyes of these people, it is like a baby in swaddling clothes. No one cares about it, about the people in this country and their thoughts.”

Mr. Gomez realized where the problem was. He asked with curiosity, ”What happened?”

Mr. Cassia was finally able to pour out his heart. ”Have you seen ’Surprise Attack on Golden Port’ (Surprise Attack on Golden Port City/Surprise Attack on Golden Port)?”

Mr. Gomez shook his head. ”You know, there are no movie theaters over there.”

”Even if there were, there would be no these new movies.”

The entire Rapa had only two movie theaters. The first was the ”National Cinema,” which was mainly for the relaxation of high-ranking officials.

They would watch some movies from foreign countries, especially from the Federation. This was also a way for them to understand the Federation.

There was also a movie theater in the Presidential Palace. It was the great president’s private movie theater, but he didn’t watch it much either. It was just a decoration. He was not interested in movies.

The things that could be shown in a movie, he could do at any time, so it had no attraction for him.

Mr. Cassia briefly recounted the plot. Mr. Gomez immediately caught a core of this movie.

Others saw the contest of naval power between the Dantra Republic and the Federation, while Mr. Gomez saw the value of a strategic key point in a war.

”You mean, they have ideas about Yalan?”

Mr. Cassia couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. ”How can it be just ideas?”

”I think they are evaluating the risks and benefits of invading the Yalan countries. They are planning to invade!”

Mr. Gomez’s mouth was a little agape. After a long while, he finally came back to his senses. ”Are you sure?”

”I’m sure!” Mr. Cassia nodded vigorously. ”They have been talking about these things recently, and have also called me over to talk to me, asking if the people of Rapa yearn for the Federation, and if they are willing to be friends with the people of the Federation.”

Mr. Cassia certainly would not really think that this was what the people of the Federation wanted to ask. He knew the things behind this, and Mr. Gomez naturally also knew.

He couldn’t help but take out a cigarette and light it.

As a ”big rich man” of Rapa, his cigarettes were all self-produced.

He had a tobacco field, which specially produced high-quality cigarettes for him.

Because Rapa was poor, it was not like the Federation, where there were also cigarettes for sale.

In Rapa, it was all the tobacco farmers who sold fresh or dried and processed tobacco leaves on the side of the road. People would have to process them a little after they bought them home, at least to cut them into shreds, and then to smoke them.

You can’t buy any good tobacco leaves from the market. Where can a group of mud-legged dogs get any good varieties?

All the people in the upper class either grow their own, or get them from other members of the same class who grow tobacco leaves.

Mr. Gomez’s tobacco field was very large and had supplied many high-ranking officials. This was also one of his important businesses.

The cigarette in his hand was clearly different from the ones on the Federation’s side. It was a little bigger, a little longer, and it was also a raw tobacco leaf.

An un-cured tobacco leaf, when lit, is very choking. Whether it’s the tar or the nicotine, it’s all very strong, but some people just like this. There are also many people in the Federation who like raw tobacco, and believe that this is the kind of cigarette that men should smoke.

As for the kind of cured tobacco leaf cigarette, they call it the ”ladies’ favorite cigarette.”

”If they really want to invade Yalan, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Mr. Cassia had originally thought that this old friend of his would say something that was on his side, but he had not expected that as soon as he opened his mouth, he had come up with a completely different content.

He looked at this close friend with wide eyes, as if he were seeing his true face for the first time!

”Don’t look at me like that!” Mr. Gomez smiled and also handed a cigarette to Mr. Cassia. ”I’m serious.”

”What do you think of the life of the people of the Federation?”

Mr. Cassia took the cigarette, lit it, and took a drag, but then he coughed twice. The cigarette was too choking!

Its power was too great, and the amount of a single puff was also much larger than that on the Federation’s side. For a moment, he was a little unable to get used to it.

This made Mr. Gomez can’t help but laugh out loud!

”Look, Cassia, in just a few days, you can’t even stand the cigarettes we’ve always smoked.”

”You’ve really changed a lot!”

Mr. Cassia was a little embarrassed. He knew that this slightly sarcastic statement was not malicious. He could only roll his eyes and take another puff.

This time it was much better.

He said in a hoarse voice that was swollen by the nicotine, ”I just wasn’t mentally prepared just now!”

Then, before Mr. Gomez could continue to laugh at him, he answered the question he had mentioned before. ”The life of the people of the Federation is a hundred, a thousand times better than the life of our people!”

“Although my beautiful longing for the Federation’s high society has been broken, my heart still holds admiration for this nation.”

His attitude was very serious, not just casual talk. ”They, through an election, elect the managers of the city, these people, and some of the low-level politicians.”

”These low-level politicians then elect the upper-level rulers, and then the president of this country, the members of Congress!”

”It can be said that the opinions of the ordinary people determine the direction of the future rulers of the country. This is something we can never do!”

On the surface, Rapa was said to have an election system, but in fact, it was a hereditary system.

The president’s son is always the next president. The official’s son is also the next official. There will be no change.

”They live in freedom, with dignity.”

Mr. Gomez nodded. ”Yes, compared to the situation in our country, I believe that the homeless here are much more decent than them!”

Mr. Cassia’s face was ugly as he admitted this. ”What are you trying to say?”

Mr. Gomez shrugged. He seemed very relaxed. ”Since we all know that the rule of the Federation is superior to the rule in our own country, why not let the people of the Federation rule Rapa?”

”Anyway, the situation won’t be worse than now. Maybe it will also, because of their arrival, let Rapa get an opportunity and a change!”

Mr. Cassia’s mouth was wide open as he looked at his good friend, looking at him in disbelief. ”Are you crazy?”

”Are you trying to betray the country?”

”And...” he hesitated for a moment, ”isn’t the great president your relative?”

The great president’s third wife was Gomez’s cousin, and the great president and this wife had had two children.

It might not sound like a lot, but the great president had more than twenty children, which made it very inconspicuous.

Gomez took another puff of his cigarette, and then exhaled the thick smoke. ”I am also a person of Rapa. I also have freedom and ideals in my heart.”

Hearing this, Mr. Cassia couldn’t help but laugh out loud. His laughter was full of mockery. ”You’re just a speculator. Are you trying to take refuge with the people of the Federation?”

”Darkness is shrouding Rapa. If I can bring the sun to the people, do you think I am a hero, or a bastard?”

A gleam was constantly flowing in Mr. Gomez’s eyes. His other hand was trembling slightly. This was an opportunity!

An opportunity that might not come once in a thousand years, an opportunity to completely rebuild the class of Rapa!

If the great president can be the ruler, why can’t he?

If he brought the people of the Federation into Rapa and killed the great president, would he also have a chance to aim for that position?

Although the great president was his brother-in-law, he was also the brother-in-law of many.

The reason why he could become the president of the chamber of commerce was not because of the relationship of Mr. Gomez’s cousin, but because his mind was flexible, and he had stood out among that group of fools!

He also had his own ideas, his own ambitions. He felt that this was an opportunity.

”History will prove that we are not sinners!”

What he needed to do now was to persuade his good friend, Mr. Cassia.

Only by persuading him could this matter continue to be carried out, because he himself did not know any of the officials of the Federation. He needed someone to lead the way for him.

Mr. Cassia was smoking, thinking about what he had said. It had to be said that what he had said had a point.

As a qualified tool person, his days in Rapa were actually not very good, but just because he had ability, and could also be considered a part of the privileged class, so the ruling class would use him.

He also had many dissatisfactions with the ruling class, but the army of the entire Rapa was controlled by the ruling class, which was also the core of their continuous rule.

Relying on personal strength, you can’t stir up any waves at all. But with the help of the power of the Federation?

He picked up his coffee and took a sip. The mellow taste of the coffee and the smell of smoke in his mouth, and the remaining nicotine mixed, formed a unique flavor.

Mr. Gomez did not rush him, but just waited for him to think for himself.

When he saw the fluctuation in Mr. Cassia’s eyes, and that he was beginning to become hesitant, he finally continued, ”And, Cassia, my friend.”

”Do you think that if we don’t do this, and pass the news back, the federal people will not invade Yalan?”

”Will they, because of your loyalty, give up invading Yalan, give up invading Rapa?”

This question had caught Mr. Cassia off guard. Once the power of the Federation invaded the Yalan region, it would definitely completely unify the entire continent.

Otherwise, their invasion would be meaningless, and Yalan was not a particularly large continent. For the size of the Federation, it could be completely swallowed.

Mr. Cassia answered with a frown. “They will still invade.”

”Yes, they will still invade. At that time, if the great president decides to resist, a large number of the public will be sent to the front line to die.”

”When he thinks he is no match for the federal people, he will take the initiative to surrender. His people will not be in trouble. The ones who will die will only be the ordinary civilians.”

”If he surrenders from the very beginning, and does not resist at all, he will continue to strengthen his ruling power.”

”I have a question. Do you think that under the control of the federal people, he will be the same as he is now, with no changes, or will he be more crazy in extorting wealth, and then find a way to transfer the funds to the Federation?”

As he said this, Mr. Gomez leaned forward a little. ”I’ll tell you a secret. I’ve helped many people to open accounts in the Federation and have deposited a large amount of funds.”

After he had finished speaking, he leaned back again. Some things you say, and you impose on others, will not be valued by people.

Only what they have thought out through their own efforts and intelligence will be valued by them.

Mr. Cassia’s mind was a little confused. He supported his forehead with both hands. ”I don’t know!”

Mr. Gomez did not rush him either. ”You should think about it!”

“I think this is an opportunity. You’ve admired the Federation’s rule all these years. Now that there’s a chance for the people of Rapa to enjoy freedom as well, we shouldn’t give it up.”

”The people should enjoy a better, freer life, instead of being born to be ruled, enslaved by certain people!”