Empire of Shadows

"Mr. Pasreito, money laundering in the film industry isn't just limited to movie theaters. Every step of the process can help you launder money completely."

"But in the early stages, movie theaters are definitely a good way to launder money with small investments and big returns."

"We can build some movie theaters in the western regions, even in uninhabited areas. It could just be a simple building with a simple projector and a large screen."

"All these investments combined might not even reach five hundred dollars."

"Even if we build a hundred such theaters, the total investment wouldn't exceed one hundred thousand dollars."

"But each month, it can launder at least one and a half million dollars for you, and potentially as much as two million."

The western regions have a small population, and population movement has gradually stabilized. Some towns or small cities may only have a few thousand people and lack entertainment options. The local area also lacks more job opportunities and tax revenue.

The local government will also support this kind of 'investment behavior,' so it's a win-win situation.

Mr. Pasreito took a puff of his cigar and began to think. Lance's words didn't stop. "We just talked about the issue of taxes. Alberto and I have also discussed this."

"As long as every movie showing isn't completely empty, as long as people watch and buy tickets, that's extra income for us."

"In some remote areas, they might think five cents for a movie ticket is too high. Then we'll make it three cents, as long as they're willing to come in!"

"The money they pay for movie tickets can offset some of our tax expenses, especially since I heard there have been huge developments and advancements in film recently. Movies will further become an important form of entertainment for ordinary people."

"It will attract more people to go to the movie theater, and the price of movie tickets will also see a huge increase."

"In addition, we can use the movie theaters to play movies that we filmed ourselves. The money we pay to the actors, crew, including the director, can all be… you know, they have legitimate reasons for paying taxes, and we have legitimate expenses, but no one will really check if our expenses are coming from the bank or the safe."

A smile appeared on Mr. Pasreito's face. "Very interesting idea, continue," he said, already showing some interest.

Lance changed his approach, using more concise language that was easier for him to understand, "We can use black money as part of the film's expenses, paying the actors, directors, screenwriters, the entire crew, and for everything else we need to spend money on."

"This part can be used to offset a portion of our tax when the company pays income tax."

Lance looked at a pen on the table and picked it up. "Mr. Pasreito, do you know how much this pen costs in a store?"

It was a very ordinary pencil. He thought for a moment, "About two for a penny. I'm not too sure. It's been a long time since I personally handled these things."

Lance nodded. "But in our film expenses, each one is worth ten dollars!"

Alberto stood up. "That's impossible."

"Nothing is impossible. It's a special prop, not just an ordinary pencil. Whether they admit it or not, we, as the producers, accepted the 'supplier's' price."

"Whether we're fools, idiots, or whether it's worth the price doesn't matter. On the books, it's ten dollars!"

"These ten dollars can allow us to pay a few dollars less in taxes, but in reality, we only spent one cent."

"The tax savings can make it easier for us to handle more black money, pay less taxes, and reduce losses during the money laundering process."

"When the movie is released in our own movie theaters and more theaters, the theaters will make money and launder money. As producers, as long as the movie does well at the box office, we can also make money."

"It's possible that a movie can not only help us launder millions of dollars, but also bring us hundreds of thousands of dollars in legitimate income!"

Mr. Pasreito understood the general idea. "Very interesting method. I never thought that movies could bring us these things. How did you think of this?"

In fact, even now, no one has thought of using movies for money laundering, because the industry has only just begun to develop.

At this time, federal movie theaters mainly showed movies lasting from twenty minutes to an hour. Movies lasting an hour were rare, so movie ticket prices couldn't go up.

A movie with dozens of people watching, collecting a dozen dollars, this amount of money wasn't even as much as a washing machine in a laundromat could process in a day.

But Lance saw something in it that others couldn't see, which made him even more interested in Lance. His previous understanding of this young man came from Alberto.

When he talked about Lance and his people borrowing money, the calmness they showed made him willing to give them a chance to clear this debt, which was actually not a real expense, by working for him.

Lance and his team performed surprisingly well, which made him decide to continue interacting with Lance. Later, his performance became even more amazing, to the point that Lance was almost catching up to him in some ways.

Apart from Lance not having a background in this city and not having built a complete network of connections, he was actually not worse than those gangs that had been established for many years.

Mr. Pasreito was also very interested in the young man that Alberto strongly recommended, but before this, his interest in Lance was only because he thought this young man was energetic and had some cleverness.

He didn't have the idea of letting Lance join his family.

If his previous interest was only based on Alberto's boasting, then now, he had realized that this was indeed a very talented and thoughtful young man.

Lance showed a humble side in front of Mr. Pasreito. The Five Families of Goldport City were among the top criminal groups in the entire Federation.

If you had to find a direct comparison, it would be like… a senator in Congress, and there was no president or emperor in this industry. Senators were the top.

So Lance would give him the respect he deserved.

"Mr. Pasreito, the Federation has many bad things, but it is indeed the fastest-growing economy in the world."

"I will use my eyes to observe this society and look for suitable opportunities. I believe that movies, which are not paid attention to by people, will become an important opportunity!"

Mr. Pasreito nodded. "I definitely don't understand this matter as well as you do. Why don't you do something first and let me see?"

Lance thought for a while and agreed, "I will do it, sir."

It wasn't that he wanted to rely on Mr. Pasreito's family, but that the matter itself had huge benefits.

The Kodak family lost half of their million dollars after laundering it, leaving only five hundred thousand.

There must be taxes that should be paid on the money won in a private casino, but the Kodak family also took a lot of money from it.

Casinos were their main source of profit, and so was money laundering.

But what if there was a more reasonable money laundering channel now?

Moreover, the handling fee for money laundering was less, and it was safer and more reliable. Would people join?

Lance believed that they definitely would!

Even if he charged a 30% handling fee, these people would join him, so why couldn't this be done?

But if Lance did this alone, there was a high probability that it wouldn't work now, because he was just a small character without any background.

With the size of the Five Families of Goldport City, with the scale of the Five Families of the Federation, they might not even need to pick up the phone to suppress Lance now.

They just needed to whisper to the people around them, "I heard that there's a guy named Lance in the Imperial District who's been very arrogant lately…", and then he might have to find Jason to compete to see who could hold their breath longer.

In the rich experience Lance gained in another world, pulling the tiger's skin to make a big flag was always a good way for small characters to rise quickly.

You may not be afraid of me, but you can't not be afraid of Mr. Pasreito behind me. Although Mr. Pasreito behind me has never said, "I will back this young man", who dares to bet that he really hasn't said it or thought about it?

After coming out of Mr. Pasreito's manor, Alberto looked very happy. He had always felt that Lance would definitely become a big shot. Now even his boss was starting to pay attention to him and was interested in his things.

This was a sign. People who can succeed will show that potential even before they succeed. That's what he thought.

For example, the Four Great Families of Sumuri Island. Even when the Prime Minister went to Sumuri Island to promote his political ideas, he had to visit these Four Great Families one by one before he could talk about his governing philosophy.

He grew up listening to the stories of the founders of these Four Great Families, like Cole, who was born with a ray of light shining into the room in the dark night.

Like Ivan, who clearly drowned but saw his future in the water and thus succeeded.

There was also someone who could face lead bullets head-on and not die from being shot, leaving the legend of "Immortal Enzo" in Sumuri - but there were also rumors that Enzo eventually died from assassination.

An assassin stabbed Enzo in the chest with a dagger in disbelief.

But Enzo's family claimed that the despicable assassin used poison. No one knew the specifics.

In short, successful people always have some special potential. When Lance easily handled things that he thought were tricky, he felt that this was potential.

If Lance performed exceptionally well and gained even more appreciation from Mr. Pasreto, Alberto's position would be elevated due to Lance's success, regardless of whether he joined the family or not.

Everyone wants to stand higher, even if ranking higher in a criminal group means dying faster during sentencing, they are still willing to do so.

Sitting in the car, Lance asked a question, "Do you know where to get cheap liquor?"

Alberto found it a bit strange, but considering Lance said there was something off about the origin of that batch of liquor, he didn't delve deeper.

He merely pondered the question itself, and at the same time, he came to a conclusion: "You're planning to open a bar?"

Lance nodded, but then shook his head, "Not exactly."

"I've contracted the workers' club. I signed a contract with the dockworkers' union. For the next ten years, I will be running the workers' union."

"There are over ten thousand workers on the docks..."

Alberto gasped, "Even if each person earns you five cents a day, that's still several hundred, but they definitely earn you more than five cents!"

His gaze towards Lance changed again. Isn't this the potential of a successful person?

Who would have thought of this? Who would have even considered it?

Lance shook his head, "Not everyone will come, so you're exaggerating. Besides, I'm not doing this to make money."

Seeing Alberto's distrustful gaze, Lance found it difficult to explain. From the birth of the Federal Labor League and unions to the present, they have been doing one thing for decades—

Trying every possible way to diminish the influence of the Labor League and unions among the working class, to completely separate them from the working class.

In reality, they have already achieved a part of it, but the effect is not yet too obvious.

But these things have nothing to do with Lance. What's related to Lance is that since they can shout "National Workers' Solidarity", then why can't he shout it out?

Perhaps shouting it at this time is not as effective as it would have been at the beginning, but he can unite the workers, right?

If these ten thousand dockworkers all become his people, then there are so many things he can do!

Therefore, Alberto couldn't not understand his thoughts. Perhaps this is the issue of people's vision regarding the developmental trends of the times.

You can always grasp the key points more easily than others regarding things that have already happened and been experienced.

Alberto shrugged, "Anyway, what are you planning to get?"

"Beer, cheap whiskey, preferably some fruit wine and sparkling wine. There will be some girls there."

In fact, to a certain extent, working at the docks and working out in the gym are essentially the same. Both are high-intensity cardio and tearing exercises.

This also leads to the workers being affected by testosterone, and their desires become stronger. Even if they can't do anything with these women, they are willing to come and sit for a while and have a drink just by looking at them from a distance.

Of course, there is also a profit model in this. Lance plans to try it out to see if anyone is willing to be the top fan.

"These are all very common liquors. Many distilleries in the Federation have inventory, but their prices are relatively high, already close to market prices."

"I've also been inquiring about this matter recently. There are many distilleries in Yalan that have very cheap prices, and the transportation costs are not too expensive."

"I might go there in a while. If you also want to find a stable source of goods, we can go together."

Lance didn't hesitate for too long and agreed, "Let me know when you're leaving."

After returning to Lezhu, Lance went to the lounge to meet with the others, and then left after playing a few games of pool.

These people have always been friendly to him, whether it's because of Alberto's reputation or not, Lance doesn't really care.

After returning to the company, everything seemed to calm down again. Although Will's death brought some changes, changes in everyone's spirit and some other changes, it didn't really affect their current lives.

The next morning, in the open space outside St. Naya Cathedral, this time when Lance arrived, more people took the initiative to greet him, such as Mr. Bolton.

When he saw Lance getting out of the car, he raised his hands high and waved them constantly, calling Lance's name affectionately, as if they had a very good relationship.

"I've heard some things, Lance, is it true?" His eyes had a different kind of brilliance.

For the people of the Federation, for the residents outside the Imperial District, the name Will is not familiar to them at all.

But for the Imperial immigrants within the Imperial District, this name and the things behind it are people's nightmares!

No one wants to be targeted by them. Once targeted, they will not only lose a lot of money, but may also die.

These people don't really follow the rules. They often tear up the ticket. People don't like them and are afraid of them.

Now that they suddenly know that someone was killed by Lance, and it looks like Lance is living well, these people have some different thoughts.

Although it may offend the Camila gang, it may also gain a layer of protection.

Lance shook his head, not answering directly, "I'm not too clear about what you're saying. It shouldn't have anything to do with me. Besides, don't spread this kind of thing around. Maybe someday, you'll provoke someone."

Mr. Bolton immediately closed his mouth and made a zipping motion, "Don't worry, my mouth is the tightest."

"But in any case, Lance, people feel happy. If there's anything I can do to help, tell me anytime!"

Although the true villain, Mr. Bolton, is really unlikeable in some aspects, he is more than a hundred times better than his son in playing the villain and maintaining decency.

Lance didn't stiffly refuse him, "If I need your help, I will definitely tell you. I hope you don't hide from me then."

This sentence made Mr. Bolton feel very honored. He laughed loudly and wanted to pat Lance's shoulder, his hand was already raised, but when he thought about the current gap between the two, he brought his two palms together in front of his chest, rubbing them together.

"Look at what you're saying, whether it's what you've done for us or that you're Gerald's friend, as long as you need me, I will never refuse."

He saw that some people around were looking over here and took the initiative to leave, "Then I won't bother you. It seems that everyone wants to talk to you."

He apologized and took the initiative to leave. Soon someone came over, greeted Lance cordially, and said two flattering words.

The actual meaning behind these people's words is actually revealing one thing—

If one day, I encounter difficulties from the Camila gang, can I ask you for help?

No one knows whether those who specialize in persecuting them will choose them. They don't dare to take chances like those who have already had their tickets torn up. They have to be prepared.

In response, Lance said that everyone is an Imperial person in the Federation, and if they need it, he is willing to lend a helping hand.