Empire of Shadows

The screams of pedestrians and the wail of police sirens drew closer. Barbara, sitting in the back seat talking to Lance, couldn’t help but look toward Deterland Avenue.

”What’s happening?” she asked, cradling her cheeks, which felt warm.

In Patricia’s eyes, Barbara was always a brave, bold, and modern girl, always ahead of the curve.

But in reality, she was far less... bold than she appeared.

Lance also looked toward the distant street. Then, to Barbara’s shock, a small black dot fell from a building, followed by a second one.

”My God, what happened?” Barbara was startled. She leaned back, looking at Lance with disbelief.

Lance quickly retracted his gaze. ”This is Deterland. Are you familiar with this place?”

Barbara nodded, still slightly shaken. ”Yes, I know Deterland, but what does that have to do with it?”

She had once been a peripheral figure in the financial industry, working as a staff member in a fundraising scam company. One could say it was related to finance.

It certainly brushed shoulders with finance, as the work involved the pure manipulation of money.But to say that fraud was part of the financial industry... that felt like a joke.

However, when they recruited people, they told them they were part of the financial industry.

Anyone working in the financial sector, or who considered themselves part of it, could hardly be ignorant of this place—

The financial sacred ground in people’s minds: Deterland.

It was home to the best traders, investors, and capital sharks in the Federation and even the world.

Investors worldwide had heard the stories that originated here and deeply yearned for this place.

Barbara, the former ”Finance Lady,” had also heard of and yearned for this place. If she hadn’t become a victim of the scam herself, and then accidentally become an actress, perhaps she would have eventually come here, seeking another path.

This past, paradoxically, made ”Deterland” remain in her mind as a relatively sacred and perfect place.

Meeting her perplexed gaze, Lance didn’t mind explaining. ”Those people must be investors who failed.”

”Faced with debts they couldn’t repay, they ultimately chose to escape by ending their lives.”

”Incidents like this might only happen once or twice every few years in other places, like Golden Port City or Likalai State.”

”But here, it happens almost every month, every week.”

”It’s just that the number of people involved today might be slightly higher.”

Barbara found Lance’s explanation hard to believe. ”They bought stock. Even if they lost money, they could just sell it off. Why would they incur debt?”

The moment she spoke, she seemed to realize the answer herself. ”Did they borrow money to invest?”

”I’m afraid so,” Lance pursed his lips, wearing a look of regret. ”There are always people who want to borrow someone else’s hen to lay eggs. If they’re lucky, the hen will lay some eggs for them.”

”And those eggs hatch and grow into new hens that continue to lay eggs for them.”

”But there is also the possibility that the hen they borrowed ran away or died due to some other reason before it even laid an egg.”

”Then they must bear the responsibility and debt for a chicken, which might be three to five thousand dollars, but this...” Lance turned his wrist. ”It could be thirty to fifty thousand, three hundred to five hundred thousand, or even more.”

”Bank loans, loan sharks, or even misappropriated public funds.”

”Human desire is endless, Barbara. Didn’t you also once want to achieve financial freedom through some simple logic?”

Barbara had initially felt sympathy for these people and their plight.

But Lance’s last sentence made her slightly embarrassed and annoyed. She rolled her eyes. ”Please, don’t mention that. I’m mortified!”

She had caused her and her family to lose money, pushing twenty years of hard work back to square one overnight, and she had felt immense guilt for it.

However, she was feeling better now; the emotional shift was helped by the fact that being an actress paid quite well.

Lance was generous. A few tens of thousands of dollars per film, which already made her one of the highest-paid actresses in the Federation.

The money lost in the investment had already been recovered.

Perhaps because many people had jumped from the building, the police started directing traffic, and the congested street quickly cleared.

After leaving that busy, bustling intersection, Barbara’s mood gradually calmed down.

”I never imagined that the first profound, unforgettable impression this city left on me would be like this.”

Lance seemed quite unperturbed. ”If you live here long enough, you’ll get used to everything that happens.”

”People always come, and they always leave.”

The motorcade quickly merged into the traffic and disappeared.

Barbara was here for the premiere. The company had high hopes for the film, hoping it would not only win awards but also perform well at the box office.

After all, this was tied to the future development of the screenwriters, directors, and other actors.

The next evening, after Lance drove Barbara around the New Golden City, they were invited to attend the premiere together.

Many celebrities from the film industry attended the premiere: directors, producers, and even some company shareholders and board members.

Wanli Pictures held significant weight in the Federation at this time. When they presented a film as their entry for the summer box office battle, people attended, whether for networking or to gauge the quality of the film.

The premiere was held at the largest cinema in the New Golden City. By 8:00 PM, the area outside the cinema was packed with stars, and a large number of reporters were there to capture photos of the celebrities, creating a lively scene.

There were also many fans gathered. With every star that stepped out of a luxury car, the fans shouted their names with the greatest enthusiasm!

Perhaps this was one of the reasons people wanted to become stars.

Real life tells us that the world does not revolve around us, but when you are a star and those fans are around you, you become the center of the world!

When Lance’s car arrived, even more reporters raised their cameras. The host recognized Barbara. As a current popular actress, who wouldn’t recognize her?

Moreover, she was on the guest list for the premiere and was the female lead of the film.

However, the host was slightly surprised that Barbara wasn’t walking the red carpet with the male lead, which went against the established protocol for premieres.

The typical process involved crew members and the male and female leads walking together. If there were other important supporting actors, they would walk too.

There was another possibility: the director and the female lead walking together, but this pairing was rare. If it did happen, it often implied an unusual relationship between the director and the female lead.

Furthermore, the male lead had already entered the cinema alone. Why would Barbara be walking behind the male lead?

It didn’t make sense!

The host held the microphone, looked at the guest list, and announced loudly, ”Next, let’s welcome the female lead of this film and currently the hottest actress, Ms. Barbara, and...”

He paused, but quickly recovered. ”...and the Honorary Chairman of the Wanli Pictures Board, the Honorary Chairman of the Film Association, Mr. Lance White!”

The moment the car door opened and a scarlet high heel stepped out, the fans began screaming and cheering wildly!

Barbara smiled charmingly, waving her arm at the crowd, which elicited even more frantic screams from the fans.

Sometimes, Barbara struggled to understand these people. Some fans were simply too fanatical, bordering on unimaginable.

She had previously heard that some fans would turn over the production crew’s garbage outside the set, searching for props that might have been used by a certain star to keep as collectibles.

It sounded disgusting, considering what might be in the trash bags.

Someone had even previously claimed to have found the bloodied menstrual pad used by the Opera Queen and kept it as a souvenir.

It was rumored that this item sold for hundreds of dollars on the fan trading market!

Such incomprehensible behaviors occurred here. It only suggested that the mental state of Federal people was as... abstract and amusing as the freedom they constantly championed.

After Barbara stepped out, Lance followed. The flashbulbs intensified even further.

Although the fans didn’t know who Lance was and weren’t particularly interested in the string of titles, their focus was entirely on Barbara.

But the media reporters knew who Lance was and understood his standing in the film industry.

The fact that they managed to bring out such an important figure showed their immense confidence in this film.

Barbara walked the red carpet with Lance holding her arm. When people had absolute confidence in their influence and status within a field, they wouldn’t linger too long on the red carpet.

Soon, Lance and Barbara arrived inside the cinema, where some people proactively approached Lance to greet him and exchange a few words.

Some were known to Lance, some were not, but everyone wanted to meet him.

The Film Association had developed remarkably well in recent years, thanks largely to the full support of Lance and Wanli Pictures in areas like funding, influence, and even eliminating competitors.

Although he rarely, if ever, attended Film Association meetings, his influence was unparalleled.

Chatting with him and getting acquainted might prove beneficial later on if they needed to rely on Lance’s influence.

Lance dealt with them for a while, then was escorted by an usher to the front row.

Barbara remained by his side throughout the process, including during the socializing. She handled the networking effortlessly, which was where she surpassed Patricia.

If it were Patricia, she might have been reserved and somewhat uncomfortable.

Patricia was too simple. Simple people couldn’t adapt to such complex settings. This made Lance recall what Barbara had said to him in the car.

”Are you spaced out?” The lights were dimming. Barbara noticed Lance staring intently in a certain direction and asked.

Lance turned to her. ”Thinking about other things.”

With that, his attention turned to the movie.

The movie’s content was simple and straightforward. Not many brilliant minds emerged in the film industry during this period.

If one were to use a concept to describe the artistic quality of films at the time, it would be ”Mountains are mountains, water is water”—everything was displayed at the most superficial level.

At a time when education levels were still low, making films overly obscure was pointless.

They wouldn’t win awards or draw audiences, so every film was direct.

Love was love, hate was hate.

The core narrative centered on war, specifically two—or more—people forced apart by war, continuing their journey through conflict and trauma.

Some characters eventually reunited, but more did not.

This was a tragic narrative, not a happy ending. It was precisely this imperfection that left a deeper impact and memory on the audience.

The film utilized dark tones. Inside dimly lit trenches, armored vehicles and tanks constantly sped overhead.

Explosion-kicked earth rained down like debris.

Interspersed throughout were real war footage clips. The editor’s exquisite technique made it impossible for viewers to distinguish between the film and reality, prompting constant gasps and wonder.

As the main plot progressed, fewer and fewer of the young comrades remained, and everyone sustained injuries or disabilities.

When the war ended, the male lead stood beneath the Federal flag, saluting countless gravestones with his disabled hand.

He placed the precious photograph he carried onto the heroine’s tombstone.

The camera focused on a close-up of the photo: two or three dozen people smiling together, their young faces brimming with uninhibited youth and laughter.

The image subtly flickered. Time seemed to rewind to before they left for the battlefield. The people in the photo moved, embracing and greeting each other, only the male lead was missing.

They waved their arms at the male lead. Each person said a word of farewell.

Everyone then ”froze” again, turning back into the final photograph.

The camera pulled back to the male lead. He turned and walked away, leaving behind only the countless gravestones covering the hillside and the flag flapping vigorously in the wind.

As the credits listing the cast and crew began to roll, the lights in the cinema brightened. Lance stood up, leaning on the armrest of his chair, and started to applaud.

More and more people began to applaud the film. They had seen something in this movie that was absent from other films.

The cruelty of war brought about a more brutal and realistic introspection!

A masterpiece!