Empire of Shadows

The convoy slowly left the slums, followed by the factory district, where some new factories were rising from the ground.

”The federal people spend very little time building these buildings. You see, they are already far, far ahead of us in industry.”

The secretary continued to introduce the buildings under construction to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Workers were wearing safety helmets, tied with safety ropes, and sitting on the steel frames to work.

Tightening arm-thick bolts, then welding them dead, or applying anti-rust treatment to some parts.

Although it was only a frame, the Minister of Foreign Affairs could already see from this frame what it would probably look like in the future.

”It’s not that they are too far ahead of us...” he said with some emotion, shaking his head slightly, and said with a despair that only he could detect, ”We are not on the same level at all.”

Yes, they were not on the same level at all, so naturally, there was no talk of how far ahead they were.

They were still using the most primitive methods for small-scale steelmaking. When they really needed steel, they would either spend money to buy it from the Jede Republic, or they would exchange iron ore with the federal people.

Most of the time, they would exchange iron ore for steel with the federal people, because this way they didn’t need to pay an extra sum of wealth.

If they bought from the Jede Republic, they would need to pay a sum of Federal Sol foreign exchange reserves. The parameters of the steel bought were a little worse than those from the Federation. It was better to exchange directly from the Federation.Anyway, they didn’t need to pay those miners much. The cost of human development was extremely low. The only cost might be to transport the iron ore from the mine to the port.

But with the Jede Republic building a large number of railways, this problem was also solved.

They couldn’t even produce high-quality steel themselves, so how could they possibly go and study how to use steel structures to build high-rise buildings faster?

It seemed that this was just a very, very simple matter, but behind such a simple matter was a desperate gap.

In fact, when you really reach a certain level, you can, on the contrary, look at these things with an ordinary heart.

Those workers were persisting in their work under the scorching sun. He could see that those key workers, the technical workers, were all federal people.

Only those workers who were engaged in heavy manual labor were Rapa locals.

The car took a turn around the construction site, and then headed towards Lance White’s manor.

On the way to the manor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs had been thinking about some issues: his positioning, and to what extent he could go after defecting.

As a member of the ruling group, his requirements were actually not high.

Either his wealth could be guaranteed, or his power could be guaranteed. He had already given up on some other unrealistic ideas.

The difference was too great. To mention those conditions would seem a bit stupid.

If Rapa was the Jede Republic, he would still try, after all, the Jede Republic had their own capital. But Rapa, had nothing.

After the car arrived at Lance’s manor, it was quickly approved for entry. Looking at the federal people who were holding guns everywhere in the manor, his mood became both heavy and light.

What was heavy was that these people could arm themselves so wantonly, which meant that they must have a relationship with the people who were supporting those anti-government armed forces. Maybe it was Lance who was supporting them.

What was light was that after knowing these truths, he, on the contrary, did not have so much anxiety, because in the depths of his heart, he, for the upcoming meeting and probing, already had a result.

He had not thought about it in detail, but he had subconsciously already realized this point. He would follow the trend!

”I’m sorry, Mr. Minister, if you want to see Lance, we need to check the things you are carrying.”

”And, you are only allowed to bring one accompanying person to see Mr. Lance.” Before entering the elevator, a young man had blocked his path.

This had made the secretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs suddenly become annoyed!

Even Diego’s office, the Minister of Foreign Affairs could go whenever he wanted, and not go if he didn’t want to.

How come here, in a non-governmental organization’s place, he actually had to abide by so many rules?

His face was red, and he was just about to open his mouth, when the hand of the Minister of Foreign Affairs pressed on his shoulder. He looked back at his Minister, somewhat stunned. The moment their eyes met, the secretary’s eyes had changed from anger to doubt, and then to submission. In the end, all the flames were extinguished, and he had maintained his previous silence.

The young man who had blocked him, seeing that they had not refuted or had done anything impulsive, had had two young girls check the things they were carrying, and at the same time, had helped them to search their bodies.

After confirming that they were not carrying any dangerous weapons, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, with his secretary, had taken the elevator and had gone to the top floor.

The moment the elevator doors opened, he took a deep breath.

The entire corridor was still the appearance of a corridor, but in his eyes, it had become a bridge to the future!

He had walked to the end of the room. Someone had pushed open the door for him, and had told him that Mr. Lance was waiting for him.

After about two doors, he had finally seen Lance, who was sitting in a chair.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs’s face was immediately filled with smiles. He had taken the initiative to walk over, and Lance had stood up and had stood at the side of the desk.

How the gentlemen in the past had ”treated” him, now he was using the same way to treat this Minister of Foreign Affairs.

For those who had taken the initiative to come and seek refuge, they would definitely lose something in terms of status.

After all, things that are too easy to get are not cherished by people, whether it is a girl’s first laugh, or the loyalty of these people.

After they had shaken hands, Lance had invited him to sit down, opposite the desk. This was a very clear, business-like attitude.

If Lance had wanted to appear more intimate, he could have completely invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs to sit on the sofa. This way, their conversation would not have been so formal, and some of the very choking, or very difficult-to-answer questions would not have been so easy to ask.

But now, between them, it was a little too formal, which had made the Minister of Foreign Affairs a little worried.

”How should I address you?” Lance asked.

He only knew the Minister of Foreign Affairs’s surname, Rabour.

This surname, in the entire Yalan region, could be considered a very high-status surname. Including Rapa, at least seven countries had the surname ”Rabour,” and they all belonged to the local, powerful and prestigious families.

It was the same in Rapa. The Rabour family owned vast farms, several mines, and also some real estate in the cities.

They had hired many workers to work for them. This was definitely a famous and prestigious family in the true sense.

The ancestors of Minister Rabour had once also been a tribal chief. They had a sufficiently deep foundation and reputation in some regions.

”Paul. You can call me Paul.”

In fact, there were many middle names here. The more noble a person’s status, the more they wanted to express their nobility in their name. For someone like Paul, if he were to introduce his full name, there would be at least a dozen or so middle names.

From the origin of their family, to the proudest thing his father had done when he was born, these elements would all be added to his name as a middle name.

When someone read out his full name, they would know what an illustrious background he had.

But in fact, not many people were willing to remember those meaningless things. He himself knew, so he did not introduce himself to Lance, and Lance did not ask.

”Cassia said you and he are very good friends,” Lance said.

Minister Rabour did not deny this. ”Cassia... we are indeed very good friends. I have always hoped that he could come to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help me, but he has always felt that commerce is the department that can change the status quo of Rapa.”

”But fortunately, now, strictly speaking, he has really become my subordinate, and at the same time, we are very good friends.”

Ambassador Cassia was previously the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, and could also be considered a member of the privileged class, but his status in the privileged class was not considered high.

To be able to have a connection with a prestigious family like Minister Rabour, was mainly because Cassia was indeed a capable person.

The main work of the Ministry of Commerce was definitely not to develop the domestic business environment. It was impossible for them to develop, at least not for the next fifty years.

Ambassador Cassia had once hoped to, through the method of free trade, to play a small role in changing this country’s purpose, but in the end he had failed, but he had still gotten the appreciation of some.

Now that he was engaged in diplomatic work, he was naturally considered a subordinate of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

After he had said these words, he had observed Lance’s expression. In fact, his relationship with Ambassador Cassia was not as good as he had wanted to express. He could only be considered a good friend, but not the best.

”In the past period of time, we have had several phone calls, and have also talked about some of the problems we have been avoiding.”

”Mr. Lance, I have a question. Between us, Rapa, the Federation, is there really no possibility of peaceful coexistence?”

This question was a bit ”out of line.” If he had asked a federal senator, or the federal Secretary of State, the president, the vice president, it would have at least seemed a little more appropriate.

Lance is just a gangster boss!

However, Cassia had also said a lot to him on the phone, letting him understand that Lance could play a key role.

Those big shots couldn’t possibly come and talk to him, a minister, about these things. Lance had become a necessary link for him to get in touch with the big shots of the Federation.

He would not look down on Lance, but on the contrary, would treat him as an equal, so he had asked such a question that he should not have.

Lance did not brush him off, but just, after a slight thought, said, ”When your neighbor is just a seven-year-old child, but he has a large, coveted wealth.”

”And you just so happen to need money, and you know that even if you do something to him, you will not get any bad consequences, what will you do?”

Before Minister Rabour could answer, Lance had said his thoughts, ”A country and a country cannot be bound by morality in their mutual behavior. The war that is currently breaking out has made this very clear.”

”Between a country and a country, there are only interests!”