Empire of Shadows

Becca City is the capital of South Yanan State. Although it is very prosperous, it is still a bit inferior compared to the East Coast.

However, for these Summurie people who have just come to the Federation from Summuri Island, this place is already paradise!

Life on Summuri Island, compared to here, is simply boring to death!

Two brown-haired Summurian men looked back at the Boss in the office who was seriously reading the newspaper. After confirming that the other party was not in trouble, they turned back to look at the girls in revealing clothes on the street, chatting in low voices.

”I feel like the Boss’s mood has been a bit off these past few days. We organized a party last night, and he didn’t even go.”

One of them lit a cigarette. His thick sideburns made him look somewhat strange.

The person next to him shook his head, ”Who knows?”

”Maybe he’s facing some important choice in his life.”

”Anyway, as long as the business doesn’t have any problems, it’s fine.”

The two men’s attention quickly shifted away from Camilo, who had become fond of reading newspapers. They began to talk about the hot and unrestrained federal girls, and the rich nightlife here.All kinds of nightclubs allowed them to have a good place to go after dinner and before going to bed.

This point alone was a hundred times better than Summurie Island.

There was no nightlife on Summuri Island. After seven or eight o’clock, everyone would stay at home and not go anywhere.

Or they would gather in groups of three or five to drink. This was their biggest entertainment.

But look at this place!

Bars, nightclubs, casinos, performances, this place is simply paradise!

No wonder they said the air in the Federation was sweet. From this point of view, it was indeed true!

The two were talking about a strip club that had just opened nearby. Of course, it was the underground kind, and in fact, it didn’t have much to do with them.

They were only responsible for shipping the goods. The ones who were specifically operating these liquors were all local gangs. They had already established a good relationship with the agents of the Dangerous Goods Administration.

Although there was no Lance here, people’s pursuit of more benefits was the same.

The two talked to an exciting point and wished they could leave their work posts right now and go to the bar for a round, to experience the exotic charm of the new batch of girls from other countries.

What they didn’t know was that their Boss, the ”Camilo Bianchi” in their eyes, was currently in a state of annoyance.

The newspapers were all reporting news about Lance, which made him a little uneasy.

Lance’s fame, status, and social influence were getting higher and higher. Sooner or later, he would be discovered.

He had never thought that just by changing his name, he could hide for a lifetime. But as long as Lance didn’t develop in this direction, and there was no direct conflict between them, there would be no trouble.

But now Lance was getting more and more famous, his influence was getting bigger and bigger, and the things that happened to him and around him would also be mentioned and paid attention to by more people.

This was like... people might even be very clear about the name and the color of the dog that their immediate superior kept.

There will always be some opportunists who want to curry favor with Lance, but they don’t have any bargaining chips in their hands that are worthy of Lance’s attention.

These people will study Lance’s past, to study if he has anything he particularly wants, or if he has any regrets or the like.

They will, through this kind of a ”tribute” method, to gain Lance’s favor.

This kind of situation was especially common in ancient times. Some opportunists, merchants, or what-have-you, they would try their best to present some rare and exotic treasures or things that the king liked, as a gift to the king, in order to get everything they wanted.

If someone had studied Lance’s past, and knew that he had several enemies who had not yet been successfully avenged, maybe someone would have discovered him, and then had told Lance.

This kind of thing was very likely to happen. He had encountered it before.

The thought of Lance knowing his existence, made him feel very annoyed and irritated.

The annoyance was because he was afraid that Lance would really find him, and then would arrange for someone to assassinate him.

No one can guard against an assassination for a lifetime. One will always, in some accident, lose one’s life. Even the federal president has times when he can’t dodge a bullet, let alone a small character like him?

His annoyance was directed at that old fellow, Leonardo. He had insisted on having Christopher come to the Federation to preside over the sales work here, on the grounds that he was very familiar with this place.

However, Christopher also knew very well in his heart that the old man must be very dissatisfied with some of his actions, for example, that he had killed his own wife.

So the other party had, using this matter as a pretext, to ”punish” him.

”These damn old things, they should all be killed!”

Christopher put down the newspaper in his hand, clenched his fists, and stood up, a little restlessly, and walked back and forth in the office.

Although he was a little worried, he was not particularly uneasy. After all, it was impossible for Lance to have noticed him so quickly.

He had used a fake name, and did not meet with people from the East Coast. If Lance could still find him here like this, then it could only be said that God really did not want him to continue to live.

However, even so, he had decided to reduce his chances and times of showing his face, and to, as much as possible, not to expose his appearance in a crowded place.

If you don’t consider the threat and danger that Lance posed to him, in fact, his current life was also very happy.

He had money, power, and status!

Wasn’t this the life he had always wanted?

But he didn’t know why he couldn’t feel much happiness, not at all like in the past.

Sometimes he would also dream, dreaming of his former self, who was so simple, and happy.

Perhaps the reason why people like to reminisce about the past is because the present life is too tasteless.

He returned to his chair, and pulled open a drawer. The semi-automatic handgun inside and two magazines full of bullets, had given him some spiritual comfort.

After a while, he had just gotten into a magazine, when the phone rang.

Not many people knew this phone number, so he had directly picked it up.

”Boss?”

”It’s me!”

”There are a few guests who want to buy some brandy from us.”

Christopher frowned. ”Can’t you handle this yourself?”

”Why do you have to call me?”

The one who was calling him could be considered a relatively capable salesperson under him, and at the same time, could be considered the number four in their small group.

Although he was said to be the number four, this guy was not on the same path as him. He was Leonardo’s man.

Leonardo didn’t trust him very much, but he also needed to rely on his familiarity with the Federation’s environment, so he had planted some of his men in the company, which could also be considered to be, from the side, to keep an eye on him and the sales of these liquors.

After all, for those stingy old men on the island, even if it was one cent less, they would feel that their wealth had been stolen, and their hearts would ache!

He was also very clear about these situations. Everyone was in a ”showdown” state, but they just hadn’t completely broken it.

It was impossible for Leonardo’s side to directly tell Christopher that he was suspicious of him, so that was why he had arranged for many sales personnel to come over.

Christopher also couldn’t possibly tell Leonardo that his stingy, and suspicious appearance was like a pile of shit.

His tone towards this salesperson was not friendly, just because of this.

To say that he really dislikes the other party?

It’s not to that extent. Usually, these people would not interfere in his work, let alone to interfere or to affect his judgment and decisions. They were just ”faithfully recording life.”

However, this kind of person did indeed make people feel uncomfortable.

The salesperson explained, ”The other party needs a million’s worth of goods at one time, so they want a lower price. I don’t have this authority.”

The selling price of these brandies was a little higher than that of whiskey, because the price of its raw materials was much higher than the price of the raw materials for brewing whiskey, so the selling price was also much higher.

The sales personnel had a certain power to adjust the price, but it was only to ”a certain extent.” If the other party’s request had exceeded the limit that the salesperson could give, they would push it to Christopher.

After all, he was the nominal person in charge, and had a higher discount authority. Once the discount that the salesperson could give could not move the customer, then it was possible that he would be needed to make a move.

A million’s worth of liquor was indeed not a small sum, at least it was ten or twenty thousand bottles. This was also a big achievement.

He then stopped thinking. ”Are these people still in Becca?”

”Yes, they are right here.”

”Have them come to my office,” he instructed.

...

At a little after two in the afternoon, Christopher was leaning back in his chair, feeling sleepy.

It might be that as he had gradually grown older, he had also begun to feel sleepy in the afternoon. Sometimes he would also want to go and take a nap, but most of the time, he would just lean back in his office for a while.

It wasn’t that he loved this job so much, but purely that there was more of a sense of security in the office.

The salesperson had hung up the phone, and had turned his head to look at the few merchants from out of town who were standing not far away. ”The Boss has agreed to see you.”

”Before you see the Boss, I must tell you a few things.”

”First, don’t ask for the Boss’s name, and don’t talk about any questions related to his name or his person, unless he takes the initiative to say so. He doesn’t like others to be interested in him!”

”You are just here to do business, not to make friends. Even if you want to make friends, you have to wait until we are familiar.”

The few merchants all nodded. Then he said again, ”The second thing, don’t ask about the origin of these liquors, and don’t ask about the situation on Summuri Island and the families we belong to. This also has no relationship with your purpose, you understand?”

Seeing that the few had nodded again, he was somewhat satisfied. ”The last thing, that is, when the Boss says ’this is the last price I can give you,’ it means that the bargaining session is over.”

”If you continue to pester, it might have the opposite effect, you understand?”

”The quality of our brandy is very good. In the Federation, we are not short of customers and channels!”

The merchants naturally would not have any objection. The purpose of their trip was to meet Christopher.

After confirming that no one had any objections, the group of people had, by car, come to a small building that Christopher had bought in the city.

The car had stopped outside the company’s office building. The few people in the car had looked at the street. Here, there were many guys who, at a glance, were clearly gang members, in groups of three and five, standing in different places. There were even some on the other side of the road.

Their gazes had been fixed on this car. The salesperson who had brought them had gotten out of the car first, and only then had the warning gazes disappeared.

”Come with me, gentlemen. The Boss is already waiting for you.”

The few of them had straightened their attire, and had, behind this person, entered this ”Summuri Style Trading Company.”

They were still a relatively primitive gang, and needed a storefront and some legitimate business to cover up their criminal activities.

As soon as they had entered, it was a business premises like an ordinary, large-scale grocery store. On the counters here, were all the specialties from the Summuri region, all kinds of, and they looked not bad.

It was just that there were no customers. The two girls behind the counter had just glanced at them sideways, and then had not paid any more attention.

They had passed through the shop on the first floor, had come to the stairs in the corner, and had soon gone up to the fourth floor. And in the innermost office on the fourth floor, they had seen Christopher.

The moment they had seen Christopher, the eyes of two of the people had immediately changed.

The two had looked at each other, and had seen the surprise in each other’s eyes, and also a trace of... ecstasy!

After the few had sat down separately, Christopher’s gaze had lingered on each of these people’s faces. When he had looked at one of them, he couldn’t help but ask, ”Have we met before?”

The person he was looking at was one of the members of the Passoreto family. He was very familiar with Christopher, but the latter was not familiar with him.

Now he was being stared at by Christopher, and this had made the others couldn’t help but sweat for him!

”Have we?”

”I’m not sure, sir. I have not been to Becca City before.”

Christopher was a little puzzled. This person did indeed give him a feeling of being a bit familiar, as if he had seen him before, but after he had really racked his brain, he couldn’t find where he had seen him.

In the end, he shook his head, and did not continue to think about this. As long as it was not someone he knew, it was fine.

”I hear you need a million’s worth of brandy...”

They had soon begun to enter the normal business talk. They had, on the basis of the original, again, fiercely, made a cut.

To say it was ”fiercely” cutting, but in fact, the Summuri distillery behind Christopher could still make a large sum of money from this.

In the end, after the two sides had agreed on the price, Christopher had asked, ”How are you going to transport this liquor?”

”If you don’t have a transport team, we can provide one, but there will be an extra charge, calculated by the kilometer!”

Christopher had clearly, after experiencing so many things, perhaps had grown a little. In the past, he would not have thought of these.

The person in charge of negotiating with him shook his head. ”We have a ship. Just send it directly to the dock.”

A million’s worth of goods, less than 20,000 bottles. Calculated at six bottles a case, it was just a little over 2,000 cases. A single container was enough to hold it.

Christopher didn’t know what the other party’s game was, to have it sent directly to the ship, but if they didn’t ask for delivery, Christopher would not take the initiative to take on the responsibility of transportation.

After the two sides had completed some of the details, this matter was settled. The next step was to wait for the goods to be transferred and sent.

After these people had left, Christopher still felt a little uneasy. He had found his subordinate. ”Go and check on the situation of these people.”

His subordinate looked at him with a slightly puzzled expression. ”Are you saying there’s a problem with these people?”

They have just paid a deposit of 50,000. If there is a problem with them, what good will it do them?

Christopher frowned. ”Find out about that...” he described the appearance of the person who had made him feel a little familiar, ”...his background. I always feel that I have seen him somewhere.”

The subordinate vaguely realized that Christopher was worried that the other party was a merchant from Golden Port City. He felt in his heart that Christopher was making a fuss over nothing.

No matter where the other party came from, this is Becca, this is the West Coast!

Even if Lance and the Lance Family’s influence is great, it can’t reach here. In his eyes, Christopher was too careful, so careful that he even felt a little cowardly.

However, he would not show it. He just, with great energy, agreed, and then turned and left.

While Christopher was talking about the face he felt was a little familiar, these few from Golden Port City were also talking about Christopher.

”It really is him!” The guy who Christopher had thought was a little familiar had a shocked look on his face.

Another guy, who had been sent by Francisco, had also confirmed this. ”It’s him. He hasn’t changed at all.”

”But he has changed his name. He is now called Camilo Bianchi. He has defected to Leonardo!”

Summuri Island is not large, so for the Summuri people who were concerned about the development of the island, what had happened on the island was actually not a particular secret.

Their families were all still living on the island. They could, by means of a phone call, to contact their families, and to get some information from the island.

Not to mention, the Bianchi family could be said to be one of the four major families!

The person who was sitting in the passenger seat was a little curious. ”Is this Bianchi family very formidable?”

The guy who was a little familiar nodded and said, ”One of the four major families, and also a war hawk. I hear that now some of the military officers in the army are members of the Bianchi family. What do you think?”

Hearing this, the guy in the passenger seat also had to admit, ”They are indeed formidable.”

Soon they had returned to the hotel where they were staying, and then they had given Lance a call.

”Boss?”

”We have already confirmed. That is Christopher.”

Lance did not immediately give a reply, but had waited for two or three seconds. ”Have you already confirmed?”

One of the two had immediately replied, ”Yes, Mr. Lance. I guarantee that person is Dover.”

”But he has changed his name now. He is called Camilo Bianchi, so we have not heard anyone talk about him.”

Lance said ”hmm.” ”Your mission is over. Be safe.”