Empire of Shadows

The Federation’s weapon design technology is currently considered to be excellent worldwide. Although the Jede Republic had also designed its own set of weapons with independent patents, they were still somewhat inferior compared to the Federation’s.

It’s not just about a qualified weapon being one that fires a bullet when the trigger is pulled after it has been loaded into the chamber.

Weapon design involves a lot of knowledge. How to let a bullet launch its warhead into another human body in the most comfortable way is what weapon designers do.

It is a cruel yet sacred thing, because in a single war, tens of thousands of people will die miserably on the battlefield because of the weapons they designed.

In a way, he is also one of the executioners. Even if they don’t personally kill, their hands are still covered in blood!

This is not a simple job!

The Jede Republic needed to obtain some new technology and some new inspiration from Engineer Smith and his friend.

The light weapon system they had previously developed, to say it was developed by themselves, would be better to put it more bluntly—it was clearly copied.

They had dismantled several decent federal firearms and had conducted detailed research.

The thing about firearms is actually not that complicated. To put it simply, it’s a pile of parts assembled together.The moment any single part is taken off the complex operating machinery, it loses its mysterious halo.

The Jede Republic’s weapon experts, after a considerable period of research on these disassembled federal weapons, had finally developed a ”sovereign firearm” that belonged entirely to the Jede Republic.

They had publicly announced that this batch of weapons was mature and reliable, a symbol of the Jede Republic’s industry achieving maturity. But in reality, there were still some minor flaws.

As for why they had such a strong desire to develop military equipment themselves, in the end, it was because they wanted to break free from their dependence on the Federation in the industrial and military aspects.

This dependence was not a good thing. As a developing industrial country, the Jede Republic simply could not completely break free from the Federation and achieve independence. To produce a fully locally manufactured light weapon could greatly boost morale and uplift spirits.

But just one type was not enough.

Faced with the President’s secretary’s idea, Engineer Smith agreed on behalf of his partner, ”As long as you are willing to pay the design fee.”

He demonstrated the Jede people’s stereotype of the federal people to the fullest, as if as long as they could pay, Engineer Smith could just find a rope and hang himself on a lamppost!

The negotiation process couldn’t be called smooth, but it couldn’t be called unsuccessful either. Engineer Smith was very easy to talk to in other aspects, except for his extreme focus on wealth and money, which were actually not that important.

They tried to raise some questions, such as hoping Engineer Smith could, in his spare time, help them solve some other mechanical problems, and would also pay him an advisory fee. He agreed to all of them.

This negotiation only took one hour. The speed could be said to be very fast, so fast that some people who were concerned about this matter couldn’t quite believe it. They really made a decision about this negotiation, which might change something, in just over an hour.

The President looked through the document the secretary had handed over. The entire process was very calm. No one could tell whether he was happy or unhappy from his face.

His father, the former Great President, had once warned him that if a president could be guessed what he was going to do next, he would soon be sidelined.

From childhood to adulthood, he rarely showed any emotion, as if he were born with a blank expression.

Soon the document was flipped to the last page. This was an application form, an application to mobilize a large amount of foreign exchange reserves from the Jede Central Bank.

Looking at the considerable string of zeros on it, the Great President’s gaze fell on his secretary. ”I hope it was you or the staff who filled it out incorrectly, and not...”

He placed the document directly on the desk. The compressed air swept outwards, forming a small wave of air. ”...really wanting me to pay such a large sum of money!”

The secretary repeated the excuses that Engineer Smith had given, and finally added his own view, ”It’s obvious that he wasn’t completely honest, but it also reflects a fact from the side: we did indeed alarm some people.”

If they hadn’t really alarmed some people, Engineer Smith wouldn’t have known that they were attempting to purchase the bullet production assembly line directly from the arms industry enterprise.

And this piece of news also made the Great President a little sensitive.

This was a crisis, but it was also an opportunity.

The federal people now knew that they were planning to produce bullets themselves. Forget about giving them a chance to buy the assembly line; even the export of bullets might be controlled more strictly.

They already couldn’t buy the standard model bullets. Now, it was even possible that they couldn’t buy the export version bullets either.

This speculation also made the Great President feel a sense of urgency. He was racing against time. Perhaps it was next year, perhaps next month, or even tomorrow, or even this very second!

Engineer Smith’s channel would be permanently shut down. He didn’t think that the federal people, after learning that they were planning to buy a bullet production assembly line, would ignore their actions.

They would definitely use some means to counteract, to deal with him!

”Sixty million!” He repeated this number. At this point, the secretary next to him didn’t speak anymore, because he could roughly judge that the Great President had probably made up his mind.

After a long period of brainstorming, the Great President sighed. ”As long as he can bring what I want here, sixty million... I’ll give it to him!”

He quickly took out his fountain pen and signed his name on the signature column for the final appropriation of funds on the document. Then he handed it to the secretary. ”Be quick!”

”This project has been dragged back and forth for a year now.”

”It took a year to get here, and we’ve continuously invested so much money. We have to bring this matter to a successful conclusion, right?”

The Great President put his fountain pen back into the pen cap. He looked at the secretary. ”The fact that he wants so much money is not entirely a bad thing for us.”

Meeting the secretary’s confused and puzzled eyes, the Great President’s face showed a few more smiles.

He, like his father, was a smart ruler. Not the falsely smart kind, but genuinely smart. So he had discovered something special in this matter.

”Since he said he is going to bribe some federal officials, congressmen, whether they are senators or representatives, and also customs officials.”

”No problem. We are willing to pay this money, but I have a request.”

”That is for you, or someone you trust, to participate.”

”Go with him to bribe those federal officials. See if we have a chance to connect with these corrupt federal officials. Perhaps through them, we can help break the stalemate with the federal high-level.”

The Federation’s peculiar political system allows for many possibilities and diversity. Just as there are people who support the war, there must also be people who oppose it.

As long as sufficient benefits are offered, some federal officials, and even high-level officials, can be persuaded to speak for the Jede Republic, and for the Yalan League.

If a somewhat influential official stands up at this moment and says that the Yalan League is a friendly neighbor of the Federation’s era, and that they shouldn’t be thinking about invading the Yalan region...

Perhaps it could bring a turn for the worse in the dire situation that the Yalan region is facing!

The Great President stared intently at the secretary. ”You must not be careless with this matter. You must do your best.”

The Great President’s secretary took back the document and bowed slightly. ”Yes, Your Excellency President.”

He straightened up. ”I will ensure that this money is absolutely used to expand our network, and is not embezzled by him, or some small fry.”

The Great President nodded. ”Very good. I look forward to the good news you bring me.”

This was him telling the secretary that he had to leave.

The secretary bowed again and turned to leave with the document.

Not long after, he saw Engineer Smith again.

”His Excellency the President has agreed to your plan. He will soon allocate the funds for us.”

”But before that, there is one more thing I must tell you!”

Engineer Smith’s face was filled with a gentle smile, and a subservient look. It was not at all like the displeasing look he had just a while ago.

This scene made the President’s secretary feel a certain kind of discomfort.

He, and some other officials, were actually going to be forcibly extorted for so much money by this person. He suddenly felt that it was a little unworthy.

”Please speak.”

Engineer Smith’s words startled him. He looked back and said, ”I will accompany you to the Federation. We also have a request, which is to go with you and to confirm that this money is used where it should be used.”

A hint of a warning, and also a hint of a reminder, was in his eyes. ”And not to be, under these pretexts, put into your own pocket.”

Engineer Smith was stunned for a moment. Then the smile on his face gradually cooled down. He looked at the President’s secretary. ”Then this cooperation ends here.”

”It is impossible for me to take you, and to pay the money to those people in front of you. Don’t even think about it!”

”Don’t think I don’t know what you are thinking. The relationship between us ends here!”

He said as he was about to leave. The President’s secretary blocked his way. He should have been the one who was passive, but at this moment, he, on the contrary, showed an expression that only a person who had the initiative would have.

”Engineer Smith, don’t forget, this is the Jede Republic.”

Just a very simple statement made Engineer Smith’s asshole slightly clench.

He didn’t really believe that these people would kill him. After all, he still had a lot of value, and he was a federal person—

He had deeply felt what it was like to be an ”upper-class federal person” in the Jede Republic during this period, but he also didn’t dare to gamble that these rulers were like the people at the bottom, and wouldn’t dare to do anything to him.

Silence is not a bridge; it is a sign of weakness. A few more smiles gradually appeared on the President’s secretary’s face. ”It seems that Engineer Smith has agreed to our suggestion.”

”In order not to affect the stable progress of our work plan, I will go to the Federation with you. Likewise, the weapon designer will have to stay behind to complete the new round of design as soon as possible.”

”Of course, if you think he can replace you in contacting the people you mentioned, then you stay behind and continue to push the factory’s renovation and the workers’ training. The weapon designer will go with us.”

Another silence, but this time it was shorter. When it came to matters related to their personal interests, people can often quickly break through their moral bottom line and make a self-serving decision.

”He doesn’t know how to contact those people, but I do.”

The President’s secretary nodded. ”Very good. You prepare yourself. We need to go to the Federation as soon as possible to finalize this assembly line.”

”You don’t have to worry about the money. 60 million has already been wired to a federal account. You just need to tell me how much to give each person, cash, check, or something else. Then I will handle it.”

Engineer Smith, who had always been a little arrogant, was, at this moment, completely deflated. He lowered his head and nodded. ”I see.”

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, the President’s secretary did not stay any longer. He left the room with a mocking smile. ”Alright, I won’t disturb you anymore. We will take the boat tonight and will arrive in the Federation tomorrow morning. Get some rest early.”

After he had finished speaking, he stood up and left the room, leaving only Engineer Smith.

The moment the door was closed, the frustration, dissatisfaction, and resentment on Engineer Smith’s face all disappeared, and were replaced by a calm look.

He was not actually a real technical person. Including the weapon designer, neither of them were real technical personnel. They were both high-level agents belonging to an intelligence department under the Federal Department of Defense.

In order to execute this plan, the Department of Defense had helped them to fabricate a work history of nearly ten years in arms industry enterprises.

And it was not just one arms industry enterprise, but several. They all had files on them.

It could be said that without resorting to directly prying their mouths open, the results of an investigation from the side would all be the same.

One of them was a technically mature engineer, and the other was a somewhat talented weapon designer.

Continuously weakening the overall strength of the Jede Republic was a measure that was being implemented under the premise of not initiating a war.

This plan would not only drain their already small amount of foreign exchange, but at the same time, it would also deal a major blow to the Great President’s regime.

It wasn’t just them. In fact, there were also many investors who had come with a mission to commit fraud.

When they had obtained the federal government’s tacit approval, or even encouragement and connivance, these fraudsters were bold enough to challenge the heavens!

It was like those who were using federal bank cashier’s checks (real ones) to commit fraud. If anyone had really taken the cashier’s checks they had given to the bank to cash, the bank would definitely tell you that they were fake!

Disrupting Jede’s domestic economy, inflicting a heavy blow, and destroying the prestige of the Great President’s ruling family here. They had not only failed to progress in these past few years but had also regressed. This was the overall ”special operation plan.”

Now the main plan was about to enter the next stage.