Empire of Shadows

Lance hung up the phone and had Andy come over again.

As soon as he entered the door, Lance said, ”First, pay for fifty bolt-action rifles for them.”

”In addition, give another ten thousand rounds of ammunition, and some supporting equipment.”

”Like ammo belts, I’m not very clear. You should have some understanding.”

”Get this done as soon as possible.”

Andy did not immediately agree. Lance looked up at him, a little strangely. He saw Andy with a constipated-like expression on his face.

”You seem to have a different opinion on my decision?”

Lance’s words were like a key, which had opened Andy’s mouth.

”Mr. White, please forgive me for being a little direct, but I don’t think now is a good time to give them military equipment!”

Lance pointed to the chair opposite him, asking him to sit down. ”Tell me your thoughts.”He actually didn’t like this Andy either, but to be selected to come over, perhaps he also had some merits?

Lance was not very clear about this, but he was willing to find out, to hear what ”high opinions” this Mr. Andy had.

Andy brewed for a while. ”Mr. White, they haven’t been forced into a desperate situation yet. This is different from our original plan.”

”We are not in a position of absolute dominance in our relationship, which is also not in line with the plan formulated by Congress.”

”I don’t think this is a good time for us to aid them with military equipment. We can wait a little longer.”

In the plan that Congress had given him, a concept had been broadly mentioned.

When these civil resistance groups had been forced by the Diego regime to the point where they had already sprouted clear anti-government ideas, but had no resources and could only flee everywhere, that was a good time to further deepen the bilateral relationship.

Because at this time, they were in a desperate situation, and the Federation’s aid would be particularly important to them. For this aid, they would agree to many conditions that they would not normally agree to.

For example, to sign some contracts, terms, and to promise that if they could, by any chance, overthrow the Diego government, they would lease a part of their territory to the Federation for a long time, or to set aside a piece of land here to allow the Federation to station troops.

Because as long as they were forced into a desperate situation, whether it was to survive, or to overthrow the Diego regime, they would be willing to pay any price!

In such a relationship, the Federation would firmly occupy a dominant position. Everything would be based on the will of the Federation as the final decision.

Andy had seen the whole plan and felt that it was very reasonable, and full of wisdom.

It would be of great help to their future control of the Yalan region.

But now Lance was aiding these people with weapons in advance. Their ”master-servant relationship” would become a relationship of ”equal transaction.” They would pay some things, and then get some supplies from the Federation.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that the process is the same. The Federation is putting some sensitive supplies into their hands, but the result is definitely not the same!

Andy’s objection was not completely without reason. At least in his position, his rejection of Lance’s request was not completely unreasonable.

Lance, after listening to his statement, nodded. ”You have a point, but Andy, the development of this world is chaotic.”

”You knew a week ago that you were going on a business trip to Rapa, but it’s also possible that some accidents would happen in the middle. For example, they had a new candidate, or you suddenly couldn’t come.”

”The plan that Congress has shown you is only the result we can get in an ideal state.”

”This is like I’m in a casino and I put my only chip on a certain number on the roulette wheel. I predict that if I can win, I will get a huge prize.”

”But that steel ball may not necessarily land in the slot I want.”

Lance paused for a moment. He took out his ivory cigarette case, took out one, and lit it. ”The situation is the same now. What you have is a workbook under the best development, but the progress of the situation here is different.”

”This person, Pedro, is a high school teacher. I know you, and some people, look down on him, and think... it’s just a high school teacher. What ability can he have?”

”But I want to remind you, this is Rapa, this is not the Federation. The difficulty of wanting to become a high school teacher here is equivalent to becoming a university professor in the Federation!”

”His learning ability, his ability to accept new things, his ability to distinguish and analyze, are not comparable to those high school teachers in the Federation.”

”From the fact that he had called me at the first opportunity, you should be able to tell this point!”

He had used ”should be able,” but the problem now was that Andy ”could not,” so this was a relatively mild ”accusation.” He was accusing Andy of not having figured out the situation.

Andy had been listening. At this time, he couldn’t help but refute, ”Mr. White, I don’t think what you said has any relationship with what is happening now.”

”He wants to get things from us, no problem, but he should follow our rules.”

”He wants to have an equal transaction with us. This is not what we want. What we want is to clearly make him lower his head.”

”I think we can drag it out a little, find any excuse, for example, that the Rapa customs has seized our container. He can’t really go to the customs to seek an explanation.”

”Or, for example, that we need to discuss the gains and losses of doing so, and that it requires a period of time.”

”The Diego regime is pressing very hard. These people will soon be unable to take it. At that time, we will be able to, as planned, to grasp the initiative.”

Lance sized up Andy again. ”Excuse me for asking, what was your major in graduation?”

Speaking of this, Andy raised his chin slightly. ”I graduated from Huddleston with a major in sociology!”

Lance nodded. ”I’ve heard of Huddleston University, one of the alliance schools. You’re not an Ark member?”

This sentence had made Andy’s proud chin retract a lot. He was not an Ark member, not even a reserve crew member, because he was not outstanding enough.

He had a classmate who was, and was a formal crew member, but he could only, when he was chatting, from the bits and pieces of what others had said, to understand some of the things about the Ark.

He knew that this was a secret society that covered the whole world. Starting from a hundred years ago, all kinds of secret societies, secret parties, had been rising all over the world, and people were proud to join these secret societies and secret parties.

He also really wanted to join the Ark, but he was not outstanding enough. The people of the Ark had not taken the initiative to contact him, nor had anyone mentioned to be an introducer for him.

”I... am not, but what does this have to do with what we are talking about?” After he had admitted that he was not, his tone had suddenly changed, and had become very stiff.

Lance said with a smile, ”I was just curious. If you were outstanding enough, you wouldn’t have asked these questions.”

”I don’t know whose route you took to get here, but I hope you can understand a truth.”

”You have come here to work, not for you to come here to decide what can be done, and what cannot be done!”

”The report that you admire so much, which Congress had given you, it just so happens that I was the one who wrote it. I now believe that the problems we are encountering are not very slow to match my previous predictions of the situation, so I am making some modifications. It’s as simple as that.”

”If you want me to give you more explanation, I don’t mind wasting some time to make it clear to you.”

”Do you want it?”

Lance’s words had made Andy’s face quickly turn red. The report that he had always regarded as a work guideline that could not be violated was actually written by this gangster boss in front of him?

How is this possible?

His mentality had, in an instant, had some problems. Anger, terror, grievance, and even a feeling that God was so fucking unfair!

Countless thoughts, emotions, were, like lightning, constantly flashing, colliding in his body, and his body was also trembling slightly.

After he had been silent for a while, he had suddenly stood up and had said with a blank face, ”I know what to do.”

After he had finished speaking, he had, without looking back, directly left Lance’s room. He had wanted to maintain his dignity as much as possible, but he had already lost his composure.

Lance looked at his departing back and felt that this person was a bit fucking comical. He thought for a moment and had someone call Albert over.

In this visiting delegation, Andy clearly respected Albert more, not only because Albert was still an ”employee” of a government agency, but also in terms of political status and influence, he was also clearly higher than himself.

”I just saw Andy. His mood seems to be a little off!” Albert, after he had come in and had greeted Lance, had talked about this matter.

They lived on the same floor. He had been smoking in the corridor and had seen Andy return to his room in a clearly wrong state. He had realized that something must have happened.

Lance briefly recounted the matter. Albert was stunned for a moment, and then fell into a deep thought.

”I didn’t expect that Congress would arrange for such a person to come over. I will talk to the senators about this and have him replaced as soon as possible.”

Originally, the things they were doing were already a bit dangerous, and also a bit... not so able to see the light.

This kind of work should have been united from top to bottom. As a result, for Andy to have so directly opposed Lance’s decision, it was clear that he was no longer suitable for this job.

To transfer him away, or to send him back, was clearly the most correct thing to do now.

Lance nodded. ”You can just make the arrangements.”

Albert asked with some curiosity, ”It’s a bit presumptuous, but I also want to know, why did you make such a decision?”

The two looked at each other for a moment. Albert’s eyes were very calm. This was what a politician should be like, which made Lance not know if he really didn’t know, or if he was just pretending.

However, he didn’t mind explaining to Albert.

”The fact that Pedro can take the initiative to contact us shows that he actually already understands some of the relationships behind this famine and turmoil. We are the ones who have led to all this.”

”We came, and so the disaster has come. Although to say so... makes me feel a little bit not like a positive character.”

Albert laughed twice. ”The gentlemen in Congress will definitely not like this description!”

Lance was also smiling. ”But they can see, and Pedro can see. Then those of the ruling class, the ruling group, can their people see?”

”Actually, the current Rapa is just like the previous Empire. The nobles had, towards the rule of the royal family, and also everything that the emperor himself had, a trace of prying.”

”So a group of mud-legged dogs who didn’t even have the means of production had rapidly grown strong, and had even forced the emperor and his loyal soldiers to flee from the imperial capital in a disheveled state.”

”If it weren’t for the fact that these mud-legged dogs were too stupid, and at the last moment, they had an internal strife over who would preside over the surrender ceremony, maybe the political landscape of the Empire would have already undergone a huge change!”

”The situation in Rapa is the same now. If Pedro can see it, then there must be others who can see it.”

”If at this time, a person from a certain minister were to contact Pedro, and to say that he was willing to support them with weapons, supplies, everything, and could also provide important intelligence,”

”Albert, do you think he will still fall to our side?”

”Do you think, will the other ruling groups immediately follow up?”

”When that day really comes, and all this has happened, what else is there for us to do?”

”Compared to accepting the aid of us, these masterminds, and signing all kinds of unequal treaties with us, these traditional ruling forces are clearly more recognized and welcomed by them.”

”So some of our strategies need to be changed in advance to meet the constantly changing situation.”

”But Andy doesn’t understand these. He lacks sufficient political wisdom!”

Albert’s eyes, as he looked at Lance, were already filled with an unconcealable shock!

In fact, he had not, as Lance had imagined, been able to see such deep things. He just felt that now was indeed at a turning point, so he was very careful, and would not make any active intervention.

Now, after Lance had explained the matter so thoroughly, he had suddenly understood, and Lance had even used the Empire as an example!

Although the large-scale uprising that had occurred in the Empire had been almost suppressed, everyone still had a fresh memory of it!

He frowned. ”I will report this to Congress, and then have him transferred back.”

Lance knew this. He didn’t want to say it again to the congressional side, so he had directly told Albert. As for whether he had had any guesses or understanding before, he was not very concerned.

”I’m worried that he may not follow my request, so you keep an eye on him.”

”This matter is related to the execution and the result of our entire plan. No mistakes are allowed!”

Albert nodded. ”I will personally keep an eye on this matter.”

Then he stood up and took his leave. While thinking about the matter, he returned to the floor below.

Soon he had come to the outside of Andy’s room and had knocked on the door. In a short while, the door was opened.

Seeing that it was Albert, this team leader, the indifference on Andy’s face had eased a lot. ”Is there something?”

If it had been before he was ”educated” by Lance, he would definitely have taken the initiative to invite Albert in, but now he was not in the mood.

He had been taught a lesson by a gangster boss. He felt that his perception of the world was now having problems.

Albert glanced inside. ”Are you alone?”

Andy nodded. ”I don’t do those things.”

This visiting delegation was definitely not just the two of them. There were also some other members, some experts, some reporters, some people from all walks of life.

Cultural exchange, even if it’s fake, you have to make it look like it’s real.

During this period, many of the members of the visiting delegation had already begun to get used to the life here. They had all found an escort, and during the day, they would go out and play, and at night, they would play in their rooms.

Someone had told Albert about this. Albert had reprimanded some of the people he could manage, and the situation had improved a little.

It was just that now these people were not doing these things in their own rooms, but had instead begun to frequent the red-light districts of Zhuolan.

Just like the red-light district that had formed outside the Golden Port military base, some of the red-light districts that were specially used to entertain foreigners had also gradually appeared around the Zhuolan Grand Hotel.

Some young and beautiful girls had taken the initiative to come and do this job. They even felt that to accompany a foreigner was not a shameful act, but on the contrary, a glorious one.

You’ve earned money, and you’ve also experienced the style of a foreigner. How many people are envious and can’t get it!

Andy, standing at the door, had not invited him in. He suspected if Andy had also found a girl to come in. For the guests who were living here, they just had to pick up the phone in their room, and say a word to the front desk, and soon a girl would come up.

Albert’s action had made Andy realize something. He immediately made way at the door. ”Please come in. It’s a bit messy. I haven’t tidied up.”

After entering the room, the two sat down separately. The room was actually not messy. Andy’s words were just a supplement, or rather, an explanation, for his not having let Albert in at the first opportunity.

”I just went to Lance’s side. He told me some of your matters.”

”We haven’t had a serious talk since we came, Andy.”

His words had made Andy a little nervous. The Agency for International Economic Cooperation was a department directly under Congress. In other words, Albert, as an important member, was directly responsible to the congressmen.

He could directly talk to the congressmen. Maybe he himself was not a very high-status politician, but his influence was clearly much greater than his position.

The former mayor of Golden Port City, Sidney, in his struggle with the local interest groups of Golden Port City, had lost because of his too-grassroots background. He had no connections in Congress.

So the moment the senator had appeared, all his plans had failed!

For a low-level political participant like Andy, a senator was very far away. Even if he had met one, the senator might not necessarily talk to him.

But Albert was real, and he could influence those people. He immediately sat up straight, as obediently as a boy scout.

”I... was just worried that this would ruin Congress’s plan...” he had subconsciously explained, but then he had thought of the fact that the plan had still been written by Lance, and his face had had some subtle changes.

Albert stared at him for a few seconds. ”Andy, you are not the formulator of this plan, nor are you the leader. You are just a low-level obeyer, an executor.”

”A tool does not need to have its own thoughts. You can question, but you must reserve your own opinion, and not to affect the work.”

”To be honest, I am considering whether to apply to have you transferred back. I feel that you are already somewhat of a threat to our work safety!”

Hearing these words, Andy’s face instantly turned pale!