Empire of Shadows

At lunchtime, Gomez suddenly came over.

During this period, Gomez had been running around with Roger. Previously, Gomez was the president of the Rapa Chamber of Commerce, helping Diego handle business matters.

He could be said to be very knowledgeable about Rapa’s domestic capital and business affairs. With his help, Roger could save a lot of time in handling matters.

Lance didn’t like this guy very much. He looked a bit clever, but deep down, he was uneducated and purely stupid. He didn’t like stupid people, and he certainly wouldn’t keep this kind of idiot by his side.

After the business in Rapa was over, if Gomez was a little smarter, perhaps there would still be space for him to survive. Gomez himself was actually well aware of this, which was why he had been working hard to cooperate with Roger. But this alone was not enough.

”Mr. Lance, I’ve discovered a new situation. I’m not sure if it will be useful to you.”

Lance nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

”This morning, Reo came looking for me...”

”Oh, right, Reo is Diego’s cousin.”

”He asked me how to quickly obtain federal immigration status. He wants to immigrate to the Federation with his family.”Hearing this, Lance spoke up, ”Are you saying Diego wants to retreat?”

Gomez scratched his head, ”I don’t know, Mr. Lance.”

”But I have this feeling.”

”Based on my understanding of the Ravila family, they wouldn’t think about leaving here unless it was a dangerous time!”

Gomez’s connection to the Ravila family was not as thin as people imagined. In fact, he had deep contact with members of the Ravila family, because of the assets he held in his hands that belonged to Diego but were not listed under the Ravila family name.

The Ravila family itself was also divided into factions and had conflicts; they were not a monolith.

Where there are people, there are classes. Although from the perspective of the bottom-level populace, the Ravila family was a whole, and everyone was a member of the family.

But within the family, these people were also divided into several classes.

At the very top was naturally Diego, and then it extended downwards. There was also a bottom level here.

The imbalance in the distribution of power and wealth would create conflict.

Gomez had once managed a certain amount of Diego’s private property. Diego had a lot of property.

Under his name, and that did not under his name—all this added up to a very large number.

It was impossible for him to regularly check the business situation and records of every industry, let alone to clearly check some of the things on these accounts. This gave some members of the Ravila family the opportunity to put Diego’s money into their own pockets.

Of course, they still needed Gomez’s cooperation.

In fact, some people in these industries, more or less, knew about these things, but the absolute corruption and decay that bred under absolute power had made the vast majority of these people join forces with them to rake in money together.

Report it?

Maybe someone had done so, but in the end, his fate would certainly not be very good.

Although Diego was a dictator, and could be considered a tyrant, he would not be so heavy-handed with his own clansmen. He would not, just because his clansmen had taken a little advantage of him, kill all these people.

After all, he also needed these people.

If he easily executed his own clansmen because of these ”small matters,” then who would dare to work for him in the future?

If even his own people were unwilling to stand with him, to work for him, then who could he trust?

Those outsiders with no blood relation?

Whether it was a backward and ignorant place, or an advanced and civilized society, people always had an innate trust and good impression of blood relations.

These people who were reported would not be executed, so the people who reported them would suffer.

This kind of thing didn’t even need to happen all the time. After it had happened a few times, and had been known by people, then in the future, no one would report the corrupt behavior of the Ravila family members in Diego’s industries.

They would only join in together, because only by joining in would they be trusted.

Under such circumstances, Gomez had gotten to know many people from the Ravila family, including Diego’s cousin, Reo.

These people themselves did not have much wealth. Their ability to obtain a large amount of wealth depended entirely on leeching off Diego.

In other words, if they were separated from Diego, and had lost Diego, then their income would plummet!

For these people who were born into the ruling class family, it was impossible for them to go and do certain things. They had already been symbolized, representing the face of the Ravila family, and to a certain extent, also representing the president’s majesty.

You want people who represent the family’s face and the president’s majesty to go and work in a factory?

So until it was a last resort, these people would not leave this place, would not leave Diego.

But now they seemed to be planning to leave. The information hidden behind this had made Gomez feel a little terrified.

Lance, after listening to him seriously explain all the matters, had praised his acuity, and had appropriately expressed that as long as he worked hard to cooperate with Roger, in the future, there would definitely be a place for him in Rapa!

This guarantee, although it did not explicitly guarantee any specific matter, was enough to make Gomez feel satisfied.

After the two had chatted for a few more sentences, Gomez had taken the initiative to take his leave.

He was a little smarter now than before.

Lance leaned back in his chair. Through what Gomez had said, he felt that perhaps Diego already had the intention to retreat.

Was it that the fierce battle during this period had made him feel the pressure?

Lance had to guess in this direction.

The scattered anti-government armed forces before had looked like a lot, and they were almost all over the country.

But among them, there were only about ten anti-government armed forces with real strength. The rest were all small characters. Some anti-government armed forces even had only twenty or thirty people, and did not even have firearms.

These people could not be called anti-government armed forces. At most, they were just gangs that were not hiding themselves while taking advantage of the chaos.

To deal with them, you didn’t even need to mobilize the army. Just sending out the police was enough.

The pressure on the government army was not very great. Although Fernandez had left, the things he had left behind were still very correct.

As long as the government army followed his plans, there wouldn’t be any big problems.

But now the anti-government armed forces had united, which was very different.

A sheet of loose sand had united. The forces that had originally been of no threat had also become a threat.

It wasn’t just Pedro and Ross who had grouped up. Other anti-government armed forces had also begun to group up, which had put a lot of pressure on Diego.

Mental pressure, financial pressure, and logistical pressure.

Now the ammunition was indeed not quite enough. Once the ammunition was used up, they would fall into the predicament of their guns being unable to fire bullets.

As for buying new weapons and ammunition from the Federation?

He had considered it, but he had not yet made up his mind, because it was too expensive.

The weapons were expensive, but he could grit his teeth and bear it. After all, a gun, as long as it could still fire when the trigger was pulled, could be used all along.

But the price of the bullets had also gone up, and had doubled. Even if they could afford these weapons, they might not be able to last long in terms of ammunition.

Diego’s mind had gradually calmed down. He had begun to seriously think about these problems, and had begun to think about... a way out.

He had casually chatted about this matter with a few core members of the family—”If the situation continues to deteriorate, perhaps leaving here will become the best choice.”

He could swear that this was just a casual remark, although he did indeed think so.

But these words had made some of the members of the Ravila family feel worried. If Diego really couldn’t hold on, then their best choice was to leave as soon as possible.

Compared to the high-level family members who were in power and could see the real situation, the middle and low-level members of the family, because they lacked a basis for judging the development of the situation, would be very sensitive to these matters.

Reo had heard from people in the family that there was a possibility of retreating to a foreign country. He had, at the first opportunity, packed up his assets, and was then planning to take his whole family to the Federation to seek asylum.

So that’s how this matter was exposed.

As for whether this was true... Lance no longer wanted to verify it.

He then dialed Tom’s number. Tom attached great importance to Lance’s call. ”Is there anything you need me to do?”

During this period, Lance had done a very good job in Rapa. The Federation had already confirmed its leading-brother status in the military alliance. Now Congress had a little more energy to put its eyes on Yalan.

This war had, in a certain sense, already had its nature changed by the Federation—

From a clash between soldiers, to a clash between money.

The Federation, in actual combat, had always used firepower to press the Dantra’s allied army so hard that they couldn’t even raise their heads. This extravagant way of fighting was indeed very enviable, jealous, and hateful, but if you wanted to learn it, you couldn’t.

At least Dantra did not have such a strong economic strength to let them bombard with shells as if they were free.

They had turned their heads to look at Yalan. This was also, in the view of Congress, a place that would become the Federation’s ”blood pack.”

The rich natural resources and the cheap labor had already made many politicians and capitalists begin to plan around these characteristics of Yalan.

And Lance, who was specifically in charge of making Rapa break away from the Yalan League, was naturally also a top priority.

Senator Cleveland had instructed that if Lance had requested for cooperation, it must be arranged as soon as possible.

”Diego might be thinking of leaving, but now is not the time for him to leave.”

”The government army and those anti-government armed forces still have a very strong strength, so I want to ask the Federation’s side to temporarily freeze those accounts of Diego’s.”

Tom immediately said that there was no problem. This was just a small matter for him.

In the face of national interests, what violation or non-violation of personal rights or privacy, had no meaning at all.

Of course, this matter also needed the senator to know.

After he had hung up the phone, Tom had gone to find the senator, and had repeated what Lance had said. Senator Cleveland was also very much in agreement with Lance’s handling of the matter.

If Diego were to leave Rapa now, and to let the anti-government armed forces occupy Zhuolan, and to establish a military government, then it would not be of any benefit to the Federation to continue to strengthen its control over Rapa.

A weak government, for example, like the Diego government, when they had encountered problems and difficulties, would still discuss and solve them with you.

Perhaps if you proposed a slightly excessive request, they would not refuse.

But a military government that had come to power by defeating all its competitors would not be so weak.

They would be very tough, and very opinionated. Even if the Federation had suppressed these people by force, this region would, in the future, also become a bomb that would explode at any time.

So the senator had agreed with Lance’s decision. Not to let Diego go, and to force him to continue to fight with the anti-government armed forces to the end.

When the people on both sides had been worn down, then they would let Lance decide what to do.

The senator had just nodded, and had said, ”Do as he says.” Then Tom had made a call and had, according to the records that Gomez had left, had all of Diego’s accounts temporarily frozen.

What seemed incredible to some people, for another small group of people, was just a matter of a phone call.

At this time, Diego still did not know that his account had been frozen. He was indeed, with a few of the core members of his family, talking about this.

”This war is a bottomless pit.”

”I must apologize for some of the problems we are facing now. The situation is much worse than I had imagined.”

Diego first made a self-criticism, and then he had talked about why he had such a cognition—

”If it weren’t for the interference of the federal people, we would have been able to uproot these anti-government armed forces from the map of Rapa.”

”But with the interference of the federal people, he has provided those anti-government armed forces, Pedro, Ross, and the like, with cheap weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies, to help them to better fight against us.”

”In this situation, it is very difficult for us to get a final victory.”

”So in this period, I have been thinking about this problem. Is it time to give up these things, and to start a new life?”

The other members of the family, listening to him, had different expressions.

Those old family members who had been by Diego’s side from early on, had already eaten their fill. They represented the group that didn’t care.

No matter where they went, or if they stayed in Rapa, their lives actually wouldn’t have much of a change.

Maybe it was possible that because they had gone to the Federation, they would, on the contrary, live a more comfortable, and cozier life than here.

And those clansmen who had a relatively low family status, and who did not have much of a way to make money, had a look of clear opposition on their faces.

Even if they did not embezzle a portion of Diego’s assets, just their surname ”Ravila” was enough for them to, in Rapa, without having to do anything, to get a large amount of wealth.

There were plenty of people who were willing to spend money to establish a connection with the members of the Ravila family. As long as you were thick-skinned enough, it was still very easy to make big money.

But in the Federation, who cares who you are?

Their surname, their identity, in the Federation, was worthless. Once they had gone to the Federation, there was a high probability that they would become low-income earners, or would not even be able to earn any money.

So these people were also relatively opposed to Diego taking the Ravila family and fleeing overseas. They wanted to ”fight” until the last moment.

”...After we have gone to the Federation, we won’t be able to do anything. And we are not federal people, and we have some conflicts with the Federation. I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to the Federation.”

They were still discussing whether to go to the Federation, and also how they should live after they had immigrated, when suddenly, the butler had walked in from outside.

He had walked to Diego’s side and had bent his waist, and had whispered in his ear for a moment. Diego had, with a start, turned his head and was staring at the butler, his eyes almost popping out.

The butler lowered his head, his waist bent even more.

Diego supported himself with the armrests of the sofa and stood up. Ever since he had fainted last time, he now felt that his physical condition was far from what it used to be.

”I need to leave for a while. If you have discussed anything special, and have an answer, remember to notify me.”

He had explained, and had left this room, and had returned to his own study.

The butler had brought him juice and snacks.

He sat behind his desk, glanced at the telephone receiver that was placed next to the base, picked it up, and put it to his ear. ”This is Diego.”

”Mr. Diego?”

”Hello, I am a customer relationship manager from Parkway Bank. In accordance with the bank’s operational manual, I am formally notifying you that your account with our bank has been temporarily frozen.”

”If you have any objections, you can submit a request to the Federal Reserve Bank, the Federal Cabinet, or other such institutions to review the reasons for our decision.”

Diego glanced at the butler. The butler hadn’t been lying.

He retracted his gaze, his tone very impolite. ”Why freeze my account?”

The customer manager explained in a very gentle voice, ”The Financial Regulatory Committee has sent a notice of investigation assistance. They suspect that the account you are using at our bank... poses a financial risk.”

”It might be involved in illegal activities such as money laundering. Therefore, all funds in the account will be frozen until the investigation is clear.”

”After the investigation is over, if we confirm that your account has not participated in any illegal financial activities, we will unfreeze your account.”

Diego was already very unhappy. ”This is my private account. How could it possibly be involved in money laundering?”

”Have your brains been eaten by a dog?”

”Even the few dogs I keep look smarter and more normal than you!”

The customer manager wasn’t angry either, and continued to say with a smile, ”Mr. Diego, please don’t be angry yet.”

”I know you are very angry, but this is just the work process!”

”If you wish to unfreeze it early, you will need to cooperate with us and explain to the Federal Investigation Bureau the origin of every sum of money, your tax situation, and so on.”

”Otherwise, you can only wait for the freeze to end.”

”Fuck!” Diego’s temper finally couldn’t be controlled, because a large half of his money was deposited in Parkway Bank.

He suppressed his presidential urge to destroy things and asked in a voice he could barely control, ”How much time do you need to sort out this damn account?”

”I’m very sorry, Mr. Diego. Until we determine that your assets are safe and legal, you will be unable to exert any control over it...”

Diego angrily slammed down the phone, then dialed the numbers of two other banks. There was no good news from either.

All of his accounts in the Federation had been frozen.