Empire of Shadows

Cooper did not leave immediately after the ”Question and Answer” session, because the hotel had a reception, where they had booked a restaurant and prepared a very sumptuous amount of food.

Even some fermented fruit juice sparkling drinks were placed on the tables with almost no attempt to hide them.

Cooper picked up a bottle and took a sip. It was cold and delicious. The special feeling of the bubbles bursting in his mouth brought a sensory enjoyment. He could taste that this sparkling fruit juice drink was about seven or eight degrees proof.

If you say it’s liquor, it’s liquor, but you can also say it’s over-fermented juice.

”You just leave this kind of thing on the table?” Although Cooper also drank liquor and stored it, they didn’t do things this way where he lived.

They would close the door and drink secretly, not openly.

The stockbroker, who also had a bottle of drink in his hand, said, ”Come on, this is Deterland!”

”Brother, remember this. Here, in Deterland, there is nothing that capital cannot settle.”

”If there is, then change to a bigger capital.”

”You just enjoy yourself.”While the two were talking, the voices of some people next to them came over. They both looked over, and it was a few investors who were gathered together, chatting.

Cooper and his stockbroker also moved closer.

”I’m not joking with you or deceiving any of you this time. I have a stable, reliable piece of inside news that is guaranteed to be true...”

He was speaking, then suddenly stopped. The few gentlemen around him also followed his gaze to their backs. They saw Cooper, the stockbroker, and three or four others who had been attracted over, just like them.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on them, which made Cooper feel a little uncomfortable. ”I...”

He was just about to explain something when the stockbroker played his role and value. ”We are also investors. We just heard you say that you have some inside news. We are very interested, if you don’t mind...”

The speaker took the initiative to take a step forward. The others all made way. He reached out and shook the stockbroker’s hand, stating his name. The stockbroker also gave his name.

Then it was Cooper’s turn. As a middle-class person, yet an engineer working on a factory assembly line, this was the first time he had participated in this kind of financial circle socializing. He was a little restrained.

However, he still, imitating his stockbroker, extended his hand and shook the hand of the man who had spoken. ”Cooper, from the North. Also an investor.”

The man’s memory seemed to be very good. ”I remember you. You were sitting in the fifth row.”

”You all invested over 100,000, right?”

They were seated in different places according to the amount of their investment. The stockbroker and Cooper exchanged a glance. Both nodded, not denying it.

The man patted Cooper’s arm, and then looked at the other few people next to him. He also shook their hands and stated their approximate seating locations.

”It seems we are about to welcome some new friends. As for the question you asked just now, my answer is—”

”No problem.”

”I can share it with you, because you will all know about it soon.”

”I’m not working for their company, and there is no illegal operation.”

”I heard from a... friend of mine. You know, everyone has many friends. Useful ones, useless ones, and very useful ones.”

As he spoke, he made some small gestures with his hands. These small gestures made him look very humorous, and also helped to set the atmosphere, keeping people’s attention on him.

”I heard that the company’s headquarters and the Rapa government are in talks for a very crucial cooperation. You all know that Rapa is poor, backward, and war-torn. They simply can’t manage their own industries well.”

”Hope Mining’s president has some connections in Rapa. They have managed to establish a relationship with the president’s side, and it is possible that they will help the Rapa government manage the Rapa government’s industries and assets!”

”I don’t know exactly how many years they will sign the contract for, but it definitely won’t be a short time!”

When Cooper heard this news, he didn’t immediately respond. He was a mechanical engineer. If you asked him to interpret the deep meaning of some news that could be seen everywhere in the newspapers or on television, sorry, he couldn’t do it.

Although he couldn’t, someone next to him could.

”If what you said is true, it means that Hope Mining’s scale will expand several times. I know Rapa. Although they are very poor, their natural resources are very rich.”

”Ore, gems, timber, fishery, and also population. All aspects are very rich.”

”If these things are in the company’s hands, they only need to develop a part of it to double the entire company’s market value!”

At this time, the stockbroker understood. ”You mean to say that the company is going to take over the entire Rapa’s state-owned resources, including the use of them?”

The gentleman standing in the middle nodded slightly. ”Yes, that’s the meaning.”

Immediately, the stockbroker sucked in a breath of cold air. ”Then Hope Mining’s market value might multiply three to five times, or even more!”

A look of frenzy appeared in his eyes.

As a stockbroker, he shouldn’t be so invested in his work. He should separate himself from his work, but this was his job. He had confidence in his ability and professional integrity.

He knew what this represented. This represented that he was about to become extremely wealthy.

A look of ecstasy immediately appeared in the eyes of him and some of the people around him. He grabbed Cooper’s arm, so excited that his arm was trembling. ”We’re going to strike it rich!”

A suppressed voice was squeezed out of his throat. His face, which was distorted by ecstasy, looked a little grim. He looked at Cooper. ”Do you understand?”

”We’re going to strike it rich!”

Watching these people vent their emotions for a while, the gentleman in the middle gently tapped the drink bottle he was holding with the ring on his ring finger. People’s attention was drawn back to him.

”Gentlemen, please don’t reveal this news. I plan to continue to buy shares today, at least a million, or two million, as long as the price is reasonable.”

”I know some of you are very worried about this. If you are planning to leave the market, please sell the stock to me.”

The current federal trading market was still in the manual matching era. That is, if someone was selling, and someone was buying, and they found each other, they could complete the transaction.

It was not like in the past, where everyone just needed to press a few buttons to trade with all the traders in all the exchanges.

Here, they could only trade with the traders who had trading seats in the three major exchanges, so they supported point-to-point trading.

The more he said this, the more others indicated that they also saw a good future for this stock. No one would sell it at a time like this.

The man who had revealed the news looked a little regretful. ”If you decide to sell, call me anytime.”

He handed these people a business card, which had some titles on it. He looked like a rich person who was transitioning from the physical industry to finance.

The stockbroker excused himself and left in a hurry. Cooper looked at his small, running figure, a little curious.

He didn’t leave. He stood here, listening to them talk about this stock, and talking about some interesting anecdotes in the financial market, which broadened his horizons a lot.

Sure enough, being in Deterland and being in their community salon were two different concepts. The environment here, the atmosphere, the things he could come into contact with, were more and more astonishing. He was very interested in everything here.

After about ten or so minutes, the stockbroker rushed back, a flush of excitement on his face, and also sweat.

”What’s wrong?” Cooper asked.

The stockbroker smiled and shook his head. This made Cooper even more interested. ”Come on, I trust you so much, and you’re still trying to hide something from me?”

The stockbroker hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the crowd. ”I got another sum of money, about fifty thousand.”

”If what that person said is true, then this fifty thousand will soon become a hundred and fifty thousand, two hundred thousand.”

”My total assets might break a million!”

”When that day comes, I can retire. And that day is not far from us.”

Cooper looked at him with some confusion. ”You just heard a piece of news...”

He felt that Cooper had a bit of a gambler’s nature, but Cooper said with a smile, ”I’ve checked around. What he said seems to be true. Many big shots are frequently contacting the Hope Mining Group, and... even if what he said is not entirely correct,”

”With their acquisition of more mineral resources in the Rapa and Yalan regions, their stock market value will definitely continue to increase.”

”This is the first time I’ve seen such a good opportunity in all the years I’ve been in the industry!”

”I don’t know if there will be another one, but if I miss this one, I’ll regret it for a lifetime!”

His words, and the atmosphere here, also made Cooper’s heart stir. He was a little hesitant. He also wanted to increase his investment, but he didn’t know how.

He glanced at the stockbroker. He remembered this guy saying that he was already all in. ”Where did you get the money?”

The stockbroker looked at him for a while, four or five seconds. ”A part of it is borrowed. A part of it is from a mortgage loan. And I’m considering whether to use leverage.”

His words had given Cooper some ideas. He still had a house, a car, and some other assets, including bonds. These things could still scrape up about thirty to forty thousand.

If what they said was true, this thirty or forty thousand would soon turn into hundreds of thousands.

His breathing also became rapid. The accelerated blood circulation made him feel hot all over. He picked up the bottle of drink and took a big gulp. The cold feeling did not alleviate the heat in his body. Instead, it gave him a more uncontrollable impulse!

He tore at his collar. His breathing became heavy. Opportunity, once missed, will not come again!

For the sake of his and his wife’s dream, for the sake of his child’s future, for the sake of... himself!

Mr. Cooper was about to make a decision that would violate... his ancestors probably didn’t know what he was going to do, so there was no talk of violation, but he definitely wouldn’t dare to tell his wife about this, after all, it involved the entire family.

He knew that his wife was sometimes very stubborn. He didn’t want to waste this good opportunity with too much explanation. When he had earned more money, she would understand that he was the pillar of this family.

...

At the same time, the area around Zhuolan could already feel the dullness and oppression that came before a large-scale battle.

The government army had been defending along the river, and they were doing a pretty good job. The two sides had always been in a state of tug-of-war.

Now, this situation had undergone some changes. These rebel armies had united. At the suggestion and contact of Pedro, they had sat down together.

”The situation now is very unoptimistic. The unoptimistic part is that we don’t know how much more of the country’s interests Diego and his government will sell out.”

”I really don’t want to say this, but I have to. We are facing the Federation, which is much stronger, countless times stronger than us.”

”If he continues to sell out the country, the portion of the interests he sells out, even if we overthrow him, we won’t be able to take back from the Federation’s hands.”

”Because we are too weak.”

”If we forcefully try to take these things back, the federal government will have a reason to send troops. This is very bad for us. So my idea is—”

”Before he sells out more of the country’s interests, we will first pull him down from the position of president. This country has been plagued by these ruling-class parasites for too long. It’s time for us, the people, to be the masters!”

There was a passionate feeling in his voice. People listened very seriously.

The expression on Ross’s face was very calm. No abnormality could be seen.

In fact, he was not too happy now, because ever since he had cooperated with Pedro, his subordinates had gradually begun to move closer to Pedro.

Ross was only a worker, but Pedro was a high school teacher. He had been abroad, and had been to the Jede Republic. His knowledge, his understanding of the world, far exceeded Ross’s.

He could speak some grand principles that Ross could not. This kind of person is actually the easiest to gain the favor of those who are uneducated.

It was like those social activists who were most common at the bottom of federal society. They only needed a briefcase, a box, and then to find a street in a slum where people were coming and going. Standing on the box, waving their arms and promoting their views and ideas to people, a group of people would gather and become his ”believers.”

So Ross was a little unhappy. He felt that his things were being stolen, but now was not the time to have a falling out.

The others were much simpler in their expressions, because Pedro’s analysis was very correct. Once Diego decided to continue his power by selling out the country, then even if they overthrew Diego and took back the country, it still wouldn’t lead to any good change.

For example, the New Federation Center. Even if they overthrew the Diego government, they would still have to recognize the special status of this New Federation Center in Rapa.

Now there was only one. What if there was a second, a third, or even a larger one, distributed throughout various regions of Rapa?

They simply couldn’t imagine it!

”I support your idea, Pedro. Tell us what to do!”

”I also support you, Pedro. Let’s do it!”

There were many people who supported him, but there were also some who had not expressed their stance. They had neither expressed support nor opposition. They had, with a tacit gesture, acknowledged this matter.

They also had roughly the same thoughts as Ross. Overthrowing the Diego government was the result of everyone’s joint effort, but in the end, there could only be one person who would stand at the pinnacle of power!

They would not yield. When they needed to take a step forward, they would not pause, let alone retreat.

Pedro actually also knew this, but for now, their purpose was unified.

”We must fight our way to the Zhuolan region. Just as I said, the longer we drag it out, the worse the situation will become.”

”The federal government has supported him with a lot of equipment and funds. Next time, it might be more. So our time is very tight.”

”I plan to launch an attack from here...” Pedro turned to a wooden board and began to introduce his battle plan. Behind him was a map. Everyone’s attention was drawn to it.

Just as he and these leaders of the rebel armies and anti-government armed forces were discussing how to kick Diego off the presidential throne in a short time, Diego was also haggling with two people from the Federation.

”I can sign, but after signing, I need you to help me unfreeze my account in the Federation.”

There was still tens of millions inside. Even if it wasn’t for himself, he had to do it for his family, although he himself didn’t have a son.

Perhaps when a person reaches this point, they also begin to become more rational. He had to leave a bloodline for the Ravila family.

One of the two gentlemen sitting opposite him shook his head slightly. ”I can’t do that, but I can promise to transfer a million into an account that you designate.”

Diego had already prepared himself mentally, but at this moment, he was still so angry that he was nearly choking!

”One million?!”

”If you do this, I absolutely cannot sign this agreement!” he roared, as if he really wasn’t going to sign.

But these people still maintained their composure, as if... he couldn’t change anything at all!

”Your Excellency President, you can choose not to sign. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be you who signs it, you personally.”

”If someone else signs this agreement, then we will only transfer the money into someone else’s account.”

”One million. This is no longer a small number. It is enough for your family, or the person you hope for, to live a very privileged life in the Federation.”

”As long as he doesn’t mess around, this money is enough for him to enjoy a rich life for a lifetime.”

Diego’s teeth were clenched tightly. He could hear the threat in these people’s words. His gums were bleeding from the pressure.

Faced with the aggression of these people, his stiff and tense body finally softened in a sigh.

”I’ll sign...”