Empire of Shadows

The reason people find it hard to accept bad news is because of the ”unknown.”

Before they get this bad news, they don’t know what they will face next, so they will feel uneasy, or even afraid.

But when they know what they have to face, their emotions can gradually stabilize in a short time.

Just as people often say, no matter how bad it is, it can only be this bad, there won’t be anything worse!

This is an attitude, a mentality, a psychological and emotional stability.

Before it was clear where his family and children had gone, in those short few minutes, Fernandez was very afraid.

He was afraid the kidnappers would hurt his wife, would hurt his children.

He is not some saint. He is just an ordinary person with ideals and ambitions, and who has the opportunity to realize his ambitions. He is not that remarkable, and this matter doesn’t allow him to be.

If his wife was violated, he wouldn’t know how to handle it. The wife of a political leader was raped?

Even if they are the victims and not the perpetrators, this will still become a scandal in the political circle, making him forever lose, at least on the surface, the opportunity to gain more power.Smart people are like this. In a very short time, they will think of many things. He thought of many things.

Could it be political enemies?

Don’t just look at the Jede Republic and Rapa being essentially the same, a country where power is highly centralized.

But the reforms in recent years have also awakened some people’s consciousness, and the most important point is that, under the president, there are still different factions.

Everyone is from Jede, but they belong to different factions.

Like some reformists, some conservatives, some progressives, there are many political groups.

Can the president decide everything?

Obviously not, and this is tantamount to giving them the opportunity to fight for power and profit. Whoever can reach a higher position, can, to a greater extent, display their own political ambitions.

There are also some Jede people whose loyalties have long been skewed. Fernandez even suspected if they had been bought by the federal government, and were always standing on the side of the federal government, speaking for the Federation.

These people might also be extremely eager to take him, this advocate for independent reform, down. And he is also the president’s university classmate, his best friend.

These conditions, these affixes, stacked together, had made his influence on the president much greater than others.

So creating a super scandal, although it couldn’t take him down, would make him very embarrassed, weaken his influence among the people, and even weaken his influence on the president’s side.

But when he heard the president mention the date of the incident, all the anxiety, the fear, disappeared, leaving only a hard-to-describe sense of melancholy.

”Lance did it?”

”How do you know?”

Fernandez lit a cigarette, took a puff. His whole person was now more inclined to a state of relaxation. ”Ah, yes, he did it.”

”That afternoon, he gave me a call, saying that he wanted to meet with me.”

”I refused him, but he said that we would still have a chance to meet, and he said it very confidently, as if he knew that I would definitely take the initiative to contact him, and to ask to meet with him.”

Listening to Fernandez’s words, the president, instead of relaxing, became even more nervous. ”Are you going to see him?”

Fernandez nodded and said, ”My wife and children are in his hands. How can I not go and see him?”

The president opened his mouth, his hand tightly gripping the receiver. He had originally wanted to say something that might be rational, but would hurt his feelings—

In the Jede Republic, this most developed and advanced country in the Yalan region, the system of polygamy still existed, and there was also such a market and habit.

A capable man should take on the lives of more young, beautiful girls, and their families.

Before, there had been reports that a 91-year-old man had married a 19-year-old girl, and had even had a child.

Let’s not care if this child was his or not. This matter at least showed that he still had that kind of ability.

Alright, that’s a bit of a tangent. The president’s thought was that Fernandez’s value was clearly much higher than his wife’s and children’s. It was just a woman and children.

If Fernandez was willing, the president could find him a hundred women, to bear him a thousand children!

Because this woman, these children, no matter how many, their value added up would not be comparable to one Fernandez.

But he couldn’t say such words. The moment he said it, there would be problems. Even if Fernandez didn’t say anything now, a thorn would be planted in his heart.

”Good luck. Be safe. Do you want me to arrange for some people to go and meet up with you?”

The president, in the end, had replaced the idea of persuading him to give up, with a blessing and a reminder to pay attention to his own safety.

Fernandez laughed twice. ”He is willing to talk to me, for no other reason than that he thinks I am more valuable alive than dead, and he knows the relationship between us.”

The president also thought this was possible. ”With the federal government’s ability to collect intelligence, there is a high probability that they know how good our relationship is.”

”Perhaps they want to use you, to influence some of my decisions and judgments.”

He had said it very bluntly. What followed was a burst of silence. Fernandez stubbed out the cigarette, which he had only smoked half of, in the ashtray. ”In short, I will be careful.”

Mr. President did not try to persuade him anymore.

Because as the two of them had continuously talked, and communicated on this issue, they had gradually discovered a most terrible part of this damn plan.

The federal people, Lance, these people, they had never thought of concealing their own ideas.

They had just swaggeringly transported the people away, and had even left enough clues for them. Why?

They have, in fact, already achieved a goal, which is to create some problems in the trust between Fernandez and the president.

Even if it was just a very small problem, it was like a hairline crack appearing on a super dam. It was very short, very thin. For the entire dam, its existence could not be detected at all.

But it existed after all, and it would, as the number of thoughts increased, begin to continuously grow larger!

They didn’t even need to discover anything. As long as they constantly thought about this problem, the two of them would drift further and further apart.

This was also the reason why they had suddenly stopped talking. Because the more they talked, the less trust they would have for each other.

After putting down the phone, Fernandez rubbed his cheeks. This conspiracy was really terrible, because he could feel it.

Even he himself, in the end, would doubt whether he had made some compromise in this matter.

If Lance released his wife and children, it would be even harder for him to explain.

I hope they are not that smart!

Thinking of this, he sorted out some of the matters again. After about twenty or so minutes, he dialed Lance’s phone number.

He had Lance’s phone number, and it had always been by his side. Now he was using it.

The phone had waited for a while before it was answered, and the one on the other end of the receiver was not Lance, but should be someone by his side.

”I’m looking for Mr. Lance White. Please pass him on. I am Fernandez.”

It was a while before a reply came from the receiver. ”I’ve noted it down. I’ll give you a call after he comes back.”

After he had put down the phone, Fernandez had no mood to work at all. He would, from time to time, handle the work at hand, and then would suddenly raise his head to look at the phone.

With his attention so scattered, there was no way for him to work well. He simply stopped working, and instead leaned back in his chair, his mind filled with the things that had happened during this period.

After about two hours, the phone had rung for the unknown-th time.

It had rung before, but it wasn’t Lance.

He quickly picked up the phone, put the receiver to his ear, and took a deep breath. ”This is Fernandez.”

The familiar voice of Lance immediately came from the receiver. ”Mr. Fernandez, good afternoon. Is there something?”

At this time, Fernandez was not like a person whose wife and children had been kidnapped, and who was in a state of unease and anger. He was able to maintain his calm and reason. ”Last time you said you wanted to meet and chat?”

Lance laughed twice. ”It seems you have time now.”

This was an obvious sarcasm. Last time he had said that he didn’t have time, so he could only talk to Lance on the phone.

But now, he clearly shouldn’t have time, but he, on the contrary, had time to chat with Lance.

Lance was using his previous answer to satirize him, which had made Fernandez suddenly feel that it was a little funny.

Of course he didn’t laugh. Not being in the mood was the main reason. He found it funny, was just a feeling.

”Yes, I have time now. How can I see you...”

Soon he had hung up the phone, and then had simply tidied up.

There was a weapon in the drawer. He didn’t take it, because he knew one thing very well. If he could really appear in front of Lance, then it was impossible for him to be carrying any weapons, and even if he had a weapon, he would not have a chance to use it.

To bring a weapon would only make him look comical, so he might as well not.

Soon, three armored vehicles had appeared outside the Presidential Palace. Fernandez had stood by the window upstairs and had watched for a while, and then had sighed, had gone straight downstairs, had gotten into the car that Lance had sent, and had left this place.

He had, in the phone call, proposed to set a location, and then he would go over himself.

This way, it would be convenient for him to operate.

Whether he had driven there directly, or had gone home first and then had driven over, he could have ”avoided suspicion” very well.

After all, the federal people, led by Lance, were the root of the turmoil in Rapa. He, who should have come to Rapa to solve the root of these turmoils, was now, on the contrary, messing around with Lance. He would definitely lose Diego’s trust.

Diego, this person, was very suspicious, and once he felt that a person was very suspicious, he would become more and more suspicious, just like Gomez.

He had no evidence to prove that Gomez was in cahoots with the federal people, but as long as he believed this, and knew that Gomez was relatively close to the federal people, he could make a decision.

He wanted to avoid the connection between him and Lance from being discovered and publicized by people, but his request had been directly rejected by Lance. Lance had said that he would arrange for someone to pick him up.

He had tried to resist, and had insisted on driving over himself. As a result, Lance had given him a ”if you are not ready, I can continue to wait for you,” which had made him have no way at all.

Lance’s armored vehicles were very conspicuous. The entire Rapa, only Lance had these armored vehicles, so as long as he had gotten into these cars, he would definitely be told to Diego.

He had just stood upstairs and had watched for a while, for about ten or twenty seconds, and many people had already gathered around the first floor of the Presidential Palace.

He had no other choice, and could only, with a stiff upper lip, get into the car.

Amidst the chatter of the people, he had left the Presidential Palace in Lance’s car.

”Where are we going?” he asked, as he sat in the back seat.

However, the driver did not speak, but just drove quietly, all the way to Lance’s manor.

He slapped his forehead. He had forgotten about this.

Now for Lance, the safest place was Lance’s manor. He clearly could have guessed it, but the news had made him lose his sense of propriety.

After the vehicle had stopped, he had been taken to a small reception room.

It looked like Lance was already sitting there.

After seeing Fernandez come in, Lance had not stood up, and had not even had the thought of shaking hands with him. He had pointed to the sofa on the side with his finger. ”Sit.”

The word ”Sit,” like a command, as if it had a real weight, had directly pressed Fernandez onto the sofa.

He looked at Lance. ”Mr. Lance, what did you want to talk to me about?”

In the room, it wasn’t just Lance alone. There were several others, but they were sitting far away, or standing.

Lance didn’t beat around the bush with him either. ”Actually...” he shook his head slightly, ”when you came to me, what I wanted was already obtained.”

”It’s just that you see, originally this matter was very simple and easy.”

”I called you, and you came. But you were unwilling to cooperate with me, letting the situation become something none of us wanted.”

Fernandez bit his lip and took the initiative to bow his head. ”This is my fault.”

Lance did not accept his apology, but changed the subject. ”You are a smart man, and you should also know some of our plans now, so I hope you can cooperate with us.”

Fernandez’s expression showed a slight distortion. He had a look of confusion. ”I really don’t understand, Mr. White.”

”What don’t you understand?”

He continued, ”The Federation is already so advanced and developed. Your level of science and technology is I don’t know how many times ours.”

”Maybe even if we use another fifty, or a hundred years, we still won’t be able to catch up with your footsteps.”

”Why can’t we coexist peacefully?”

”We can totally become important, geopolitical, solid and reliable friends. We will become the best strategic partners!”

”And I believe that under the influence of all aspects of the Federation, although we may still be an independent country, an independent regime, the people in society will see themselves as spiritual federal people.”

”You absolutely don’t need to do this!”

He was saying his truest thoughts. He had never understood this. Yalan is so poor, why do you still have to invade here?

Lance pressed the pads of his index fingers together. This was a very obvious ”thinking sign.” Some said that this kind of a gesture often represents thinking, or the like. It’s unknown if it’s accurate or not.

”Mr. Fernandez, you see, the biggest disagreement between us on this issue is that you are standing from the perspective of a Yalan, and we are standing from the perspective of a federal person.”

”There are rich mineral resources here, there is labor that is so cheap that it’s like it’s free, and it has a very important strategic position, and has a great strategic influence on the East Ocean.”

”With so many advantages, although this place is very poor, for the Federation, it is an indispensable part of making the Federation become powerful.”

”There is no conflict between us, no hatred, no problems that can cause friction, or conflict between our two sides.”

”But it’s just because you have the key to a new world that we want to open, and you don’t plan to hand this key over to us.”

”You feel that the thing is in your hands, and we can also use it, and that’s enough. But that, after all, is in your hands!”

”So...” his hands separated, he pursed his lips, and also shook his head and said, ”...it is destined that an irreconcilable conflict will break out between us. In the end, we can only resolve it in a way that none of us want to see.”

”Or perhaps you can persuade your Mr. President to choose to join the Federation, to become a part of the great federal family.”

”By the way, I can, on behalf of Congress, give you a promise. As long as Mr. President is willing to join the great federal family, we can promise him the position of governor, and this position of governor can be hereditary.”

The Federation’s current policies have made the votes almost all controllable by human means. You must have a house, you must have a job, you must pay taxes. As soon as these three policies came out, if any troublemaker was disobedient, then in an election year, just make them unemployed.

Just like some enterprises, they require the workers to vote according to the requirements of the enterprise. If anyone does not vote according to the requirements of the enterprise, then they will be fired.

They have too many ways to control these votes. And even if controlling the votes has no effect, they can still directly modify the votes and the election results.

In fact, people don’t really understand the real Federation. If they had understood the real Federation, they would have known that this thing called democracy, in the Federation, is, just like freedom, a joke—

It is worth mentioning that freedom is written into the charter, and is at least one of the national elements that is recognized by the federal government.

You can hold up a placard and spit at the president, and tell him that this is an expression of your free will. The president will just pretend that he didn’t see you.

But if you want to ask the president for the right to democracy, there is a high probability that he will give you a punch.

The Federation does not recognize democracy, because it is not mentioned in the charter. The Federation is a society ruled by law.

They do not recognize anything that is not written into the law. Of course, even if it is written, they also have the right to amend it.

So for Lance to say that he can guarantee a hereditary governorship is not a joke.

This was indeed a very sincere solution, but the problem was, before this, the president was, first of all, a president!

And a governor is just a governor!

Fernandez, after hearing these words from Lance, had been shaking his head. ”I can’t make the decision, Mr. White. How the president chooses is his business. I can’t interfere in his decision.”

Lance, with great regret, spread his hands. ”You see, we lack the most basic honesty. We all know that you have a great influence on the president.”

”But since you can’t help with this, then you should be able to help me with another.”

”And that is to take your men back to Jede, and to tell your president, not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.”

For some reason, at this moment, Fernandez felt a little like laughing.