Empire of Shadows

Fernandez was handling the work at hand. After a while, he suddenly stopped and rubbed his wrist.

Writing is a very unaccommodating job. It requires too much coordination between the wrist and fingers.

An organization once conducted a survey, and one of the reasons why some students were unwilling to study hard was that they were unwilling to write for long periods.

They hated writing, so they would rather not study hard to cope with this boredom.

Sometimes they are not very smart; they don’t know what they are giving up.

Sometimes they are very smart, because they know how to end it all.

Fernandez had been writing for many years, but even now, he would still feel uncomfortable due to writing for a long time.

He sat there, frowning. For no reason, he suddenly couldn’t concentrate on his work. He looked at the documents and notebooks on his desk, and his mind went blank for a short time.

He seemed to be thinking, but there was nothing in his mind. It was just that his work had suddenly, and naturally, stopped.

He didn’t know why, but he always felt that something had happened, but he didn’t know what on earth had happened. He was very confused, and also felt a trace of panic.He rubbed his wrist and took a few deep breaths, then forced himself to get back to work.

There were many problems in the Rapa government that needed to be dealt with. He had picked some of the more important ones to handle.

This time, after discussing with the president, he believed that it was necessary to help Diego stabilize his regime. Only in this way would it be most beneficial to the Yalan League, and to Jede.

Just as he had just returned to his work, and had just begun to get invested, the phone on his desk suddenly rang!

The sudden ringing had made his whole person shiver. He had accidentally drawn a very heavy mark on the document with the tip of his pen—

If you press down hard on the nib of a fountain pen, then the nib will separate under the force, and more ink will flow out.

”Shit!” He quickly lifted the fountain pen. Looking at the ink, which was about two centimeters long, like a worm, left on the document, he quickly picked up a piece of absorbent paper, and carefully absorbed the ink on it.

After he had dealt with these, he looked at the phone, which was still ringing.

He shook his head as he picked up the phone. ”This is the Presidential Palace Office.”

”Mr. Fernandez?” The voice coming from the receiver was very unfamiliar. Fernandez seriously tried to recall, but he really had not heard this voice.

This had made him a little curious. A person who could call this place, and who could call him by his name, must not be an ordinary person.

What does this person want to do?

”It’s me. I don’t know who you are.”

”We should actually be very familiar, because your recent work, if there are no accidents, a considerable part of it is centered around me, Mr. Fernandez.”

This sentence from the receiver had made Fernandez’s expression become a little grave. He already knew who the person on the other end of the receiver was.

”Mr. White?”

”Yes, it’s me.”

This simple admission had made Fernandez lean back in his chair. He looked at the receiver in his hand with some suspicion, and then put it to his ear again. ”Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

His tone was very steady, and he did not add his emotional changes to his tone.

Lance laughed heartily. ”Do you have time?”

”I want to have a chat with you, a face-to-face chat.”

Fernandez frowned. ”I’m sorry, Mr. White. I’ve been very busy recently, and I may not be able to find the time to meet with you.”

”If there’s anything you want to tell me, we might as well talk on the phone.”

Fernandez knew very well that he was now a ”dangerous person” in Rapa, in every sense.

He was a dangerous person to those anti-government armed forces, and at the same time, he was also a dangerous person to himself, a person who was prone to danger.

Someone wanted to kill him. There was no doubt about this, those anti-government armed forces, and also this group of people from the Federation.

He didn’t know why Lance wanted to ask him out. He had, through some intelligence analysis, concluded that there was a high probability that Lance was the mastermind who was manipulating the direction of the entire Rapa situation.

He didn’t know if the federal government, the gentlemen in Congress, were bold, or if Lance really had some of his own abilities, to let such a person control a plan that would affect the future direction of eleven countries.

Of course, he would not blindly think that Lance was definitely not capable. He must still have some abilities.

The more capable a person is, the more they can understand how important his guidance is to what is happening here, so he would not go out at will.

Once he died, the situation in Rapa would quickly deteriorate. Under Diego’s control, this place simply couldn’t last for long.

He had politely refused Lance, and also did not want this guy, Lance, to do some extreme things.

As long as they maintained the most basic decency, and did not use some excessive, reckless means, Fernandez believed that he could completely maneuver with Lance, and also the federal government.

His hand was tightly gripping the receiver, until Lance’s voice came from inside, ”Is that so?”

”What a pity!”

”Mr. Fernandez, the matter I want to talk about is not convenient to talk about on the phone. You know, sometimes our eyes, body language, and even some other auxiliary communication things can play a big role in communication.”

”Without these, it’s very difficult to achieve the ending that we all want.”

”But it doesn’t matter. I believe there will be opportunities in the future, and you will also have time.”

He laughed twice as he spoke. Fernandez, who had heard Lance’s laughter, did not feel good. He didn’t know why he would have such a thought.

”How about this? When you have time, and you can meet with me, then give me a call.”

”My number, you can write it down...”

Lance then gave his number to Fernandez. ”I await your visit, Mr. Fernandez.”

As he spoke, Lance had hung up the phone. Fernandez’s family had already been controlled by them.

It had to be said, when the federal government, the military, the Department of Defense, also began to do these despicable things, they were definitely more professional, and less likely to be discovered than Lance’s subordinates.

They had directly handled the pipeline company. It could be said that as long as they had not seen the crime scene of these people with their own eyes, no matter how they investigated, they could not find any problems.

The identity of every plumber was ”real,” and was registered on the company’s staff list. Whoever called, they would give a real answer.

So when they had, with a truck, dragged away the ”waste boiler” that contained three people, the guards of the villa area had checked the truck, had not found any problems, and had just let it pass.

As for the four maids?

Sorry, their luck was not good. At the same time, they were also ”props” used to warn Fernandez’s wife and children.

There is nothing more frightening and shocking than to have someone you are relatively close to, suddenly, for some reason, die in front of you!

The fragility of life was vividly displayed at this moment.

They had all behaved.

After these people had been smuggled out, it had become much easier to send them to other places. The Federation was also infiltrating the Jede Republic, and many people here had already established contact with the Federation.

Especially some of the gangs.

Not everyone felt that they could lead the Yalan League to successfully resist the Federation and to become a hero. They had already seen the power of the Federation, so they were even more certain that it was meaningless to follow the high-level of Jede to the end.

The person had already been sent to the Federation. As for what to do next, it all depended on Lance’s decision.

Lance did not continue to disturb him. He also had a lot of work to do.

With some of the construction sites starting to give priority to hiring people who had registered their identity information, now many people had begun to take the initiative to register their personal information.

The small card that you got after registering this thing, could make it easier for them to get a job on a federal person’s construction site or in a factory.

Here, it was necessary to mention a little fellow named ”Juan.” His luck was not bad, and his registration number was ”10.” Lance had even asked about this in the past few days.

It wasn’t that he was specifically asking about this Juan, but that he was planning to continue to promote and to set up some role models.

With a role model, people will know where to go.

This was like if there was a lighthouse in the dark night, then people would not lose their way.

Juan had gotten a better, easier job, and his income had also become more. The most crucial point was that he, who had registered his identity information, could, through a thing called ”work points,” to exchange for more things.

Even a boat ticket to the Federation, or an opportunity to study, or to pursue advanced studies in the Federation!

This had indeed triggered some enthusiasm in the slums of Rapa. At the same time, a new round of ”great demolition” had also begun.

Lance had planned to level a part of the slums, and to rebuild some buildings. The land use rate of these slums was too low, and for the Rapa government to let them build houses at will was not a smart choice.

The correct choice was to give them better living conditions, and to let them bear a loan, and at the same time, to give them a job where they would be exploited to the extreme.

A person, in order to live, has to breathe.

He can also, in order to live, to work hard.

The cheaper the labor, the fuller the pockets of the capitalists!

There were too many things that needed his attention and his decision. As for the others who were worried about the anti-government armed forces fighting their way into Zhuolan, and whether they would destroy these newly built buildings, he was not very concerned.

If they were really destroyed, then it meant that he would receive a compensation of several times, or even dozens of times the production cost.

After about three or four days, Fernandez’s parents had wanted to see their children, and had taken the initiative to call Fernandez’s wife.

They did not live together, because Fernandez’s work and rest time was very irregular, and the old people’s rest was easily disturbed, so they did not live in the same villa.

When they had wanted to see the children, they would call and tell Fernandez’s wife, and then would bring some of the things that the children liked.

Homemade pastries, candies, or toys from the Federation.

From an adult’s point of view, these toys were actually very childish—some prefabricated models made of wood or other materials, like steel structures, that allowed the children to build a building, and then there were roads, which could let a small toy car run down.

These things could make the children focus on it for one or two hours, which was also why the federal people’s consumption power for toys was the highest in the world.

There is nothing more cost-effective than a toy that can make that damn little brat shut up for one or two hours!

The first time they had called, no one had answered. Although the old couple had felt a little strange, they had not thought too much.

Who would have thought that a perfectly fine family would suddenly disappear?

They had thought that Fernandez’s wife had taken the children out to play. Because Fernandez was not in Jede, she might have taken the maids with her.

This way, the maids could, on the one hand, take care of the children, and at the same time, could also help her to carry things, or to take care of her.

Then, in the evening, at a little after six, the old couple had called the villa again. This time, there was still no one who had answered.

Then they had felt that something was not right. They had urgently notified the community service company of the villa area, and had also entrusted the other party to go and check.

The people from the community service company had gone to check. The doors and windows of the house were intact. Some of the guards had looked in through the windows, and had not seen anything abnormal. Everything was very tidy. The only thing that was wrong here was that there was no one.

Then the old couple had called the parents of Fernandez’s wife. They had suspected if she had taken the children back to her parents’ home, but the news they had gotten was also unsettling. They had not seen Fernandez’s wife and children either.

The matter had begun to escalate. They had contacted more relatives, and in the end, they had not found the lady and her two children.

In the end, they had chosen to call the police.

Because this matter involved the ”president’s best friend,” the Presidential Palace’s side had also gotten involved. They had gone directly to Fernandez’s villa, and after a detailed inspection, they had finally, in the compost bin in the greenhouse, found the bodies of the four maids.

They had already become a part of the flower fertilizer!

This matter had quickly alarmed Mr. President, and had also made the president feel that it was tricky.

He sat in his chair, his body tilted, his right elbow supporting the armrest of the chair, and at the same time, his palm was supporting his forehead. This sitting posture was very unsightly. His butler had reminded him twice that he needed to pay attention to his image, but he had not moved at all.

Very bad, very troublesome.

”I don’t know how to tell him,” the president rubbed his cheeks. ”He, for the sake of this country and for us, is in Rapa, helping a fool to fight against the federal people.”

”But I have lost his family.”

”Have you found out the situation of those two cars?” he asked.

The community service company’s side had provided some intelligence, and had mentioned the two cars and their license plates.

The butler nodded slightly. ”Someone has already reported. They have found that company. The boss knows nothing.”

”His company has recently received some investment, and then in the process of expansion, some people have joined.”

The president sighed lightly. ”I guess those investors also can’t be found.”

”I’m afraid so, Mr. President,” the butler bowed slightly. ”The ones who had invested had left false information. The investors had requested the company to expand, and to hire some more people.”

”The people they had later hired, there is a high probability that they had participated in this kidnapping.”

The president had many speculations and deductions in his mind, but in the end, they all pointed to the federal people.

There is a high probability that it was the federal people who did it. These federal people really have no bottom line!

He had never thought that a such a powerful country, the politicians they had elected, could actually do such a thing. He found it incredible!

But it had indeed happened. It must have something to do with the federal people.

It’s just that they have no evidence.

Without evidence, they could not prove their guesses. The federal people would absolutely not admit it.

He had the butler leave first. After he was the only one left in the room, he had, with a grim face, picked up the phone, and had dialed Fernandez’s number.

The call was quickly answered. Fernandez was now, almost, living in the Presidential Palace.

Diego had found him a three-entry room. The middle was his office, and the back was his lounge. He was now working and resting in the Presidential Palace all day.

So as soon as the phone rang, he could immediately answer it.

”This is the Presidential Palace Office. I am Fernandez.”

The voice of Mr. President had soon come from the receiver. ”Fer, there is something I don’t know how to tell you.”

Fernandez was stunned for a moment. He had at first thought that the president was planning to joke with him, so he had just played along, and had not thought that anything would happen. ”I hope it’s not something terrible!”

This sentence had made the president almost unable to say what he had wanted to. In this period of his silence, Fernandez had keenly sensed that the ”atmosphere” was not normal.

”What happened?” His tone had become a little anxious. ”Did something happen to my parents, or my wife, or my children?”

He was already very nervous now.

A smart person is just not so good in this. It’s too easy to guess the truth!

Although he had already guessed it, he still didn’t believe that this was true. He hoped that this was just a joke that the president was playing on him.

”I’m sorry, Fer.”

”Your father called your wife, wanting to see the children, but no one answered.”

”We have been looking for two days. In the end, in your greenhouse, we have found your family’s four maids. They have become fertilizer.”

”Your wife and children are missing. We analyze that there is a high probability that they are still alive.”

”I suspect that the purpose of their doing this is you!”

Fernandez sat there, his eyes a little empty.

He then closed his eyes, and after cursing ”fuck” a few times, he asked, ”Are there any other clues?”

”When did this happen?”

The president’s side, according to what the guards of the villa area had said, had come to a possible time when this had happened.

”We are in the process of looking for other clues. I have already requisitioned several ’super detectives’ to come and cooperate with the investigation.”

”The time, it should have been a few days ago...”

When he had heard the date of the incident, in his mind, the memory of that day, when Lance had called him, wanting to chat with him, had suddenly appeared.

”The person is in Lance’s hands!” he said, with great certainty!