Empire of Shadows

As soon as the car door opened, a large group of reporters swarmed forward, the flashing lights causing the Liji Group's president to frown.

His bodyguards and secretary immediately raised their briefcases to shield the president from the cameras, preventing the flashing lights from causing any adverse reactions.

"President, what do you think about the Supreme Court accepting your appeal?"

"Based on the currently released information and evidence, there doesn't seem to be any grounds for appeal. Is it true, as the outside world says, that you're planning to default on your debt again?"

Most of the reporters' questions focused on the word "defaulting." Liji Group had so many negative news stories that they had long stopped caring.

News like "Beating farmers and forcing them to sell their crops to them" or "Liji Group violating professional ethics and breaking contracts" were too numerous, happening every year, and in large quantities.

But the people at Liji Group didn't care, the shareholders didn't care, and the investors in the financial market cared even less!

As long as it could bring stable profits, who the hell cared where the money was stolen or robbed from.

As for the negative impact?

Yes, there was, but the Federation was a country that valued evidence and law. If you thought Liji Group was doing something wrong, you had to produce evidence.

The group's spokesperson had stated publicly more than once that they were willing to accept the final judgment of the court and hoped that all media would use the court's ruling as the basis for the truth of the matter.

They would reserve the right to prosecute any media outlets that spread rumors!

Because most of the "victims" were just ordinary people, and they happened to have relatively strict control over these ordinary people, most problems ultimately fizzled out.

Ninety-nine point nine-nine percent of them.

Some farmers simply refused to sell their goods to Liji Group, and they tried to resist.

But what was the result?

Their agricultural products ultimately rotted in warehouses and in the fields. Bailide and Nongda companies would not open a separate transportation channel for a small amount of profit!

For businesses involving logistics, transportation, and storage, they would not rashly open a new route, mostly trying to push forward to the surrounding areas based on the existing market.

At the same time, they offered the most favorable policies to the farmers in these "war zones" in order to consolidate their territory.

The farmers and households in the "heartland" didn't have it so easy.

Families like the Lawrence family, with large farms and their own sales channels, were ultimately in the minority.

This wasn't a simple matter of planting something in the ground, harvesting it, and then literally transporting it out and selling it.

There were actually many problems that ordinary people couldn't solve, such as the preliminary and refined processing of agricultural products, transportation, storage, how to sell them, where to sell them, product competition, and a whole host of related issues.

This required extraordinary organizational skills, capital investment, and business operations. Did you expect those farmers to be able to do this?

Moreover, they might not actually be able to obtain enough profit from the sale of their own agricultural products to make it worthwhile, so they ultimately had to rely on these agricultural product distributors who came to their door.

You just needed to negotiate a price with them!

In recent days, Bailide Group had even been dispatching harvesters to help farmers reduce unnecessary expenses and encourage more farmers to join them.

This was an industry where both meager profits and huge profits coexisted. As long as you lowered your moral bottom line a little, you could earn even more money.

Since the moral bottom line had been lowered, who still cared about these things?

The chairman strode into the company's luxurious office building, his face unchanging. He had experienced too much, and he had become accustomed to it.

The on-duty secretary, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately carried a large stack of documents, her high heels clicking on the marble floor, closely following the president, "This is the points document sent over in the middle of the night yesterday..."

"This is... a report submitted by the department this morning, and you need to make a decision before 9:35."

"...Mr. called the office not long ago to ask if you had time to chat with him briefly."

"Today's schedule is..."

The two entered the elevator, and the secretary proactively pressed the floor button. Immediately afterward, the elevator doors closed, separating this place from the outside world.

This was the president's private elevator, which would directly reach the president's office door. The secretary went over today's work arrangements, and the president made some simple adjustments, signed a few words at random, and then the elevator door opened with a ring.

"That's it. Have today's newspapers been brought?"

The secretary trotted alongside the president's brisk pace, saying, "Yes, they've been placed on the desk outside your door."

The president nodded very satisfied, "Good, I'll call you if I need anything..."

The moment the president's office door was pushed open, the secretary stopped outside the door. Without the president's permission, she was not allowed to enter the office.

Even if the president was here.

After taking a few documents that he needed to handle immediately from the secretary's hand, he entered the office, picked up the phone for the publicity department, "Give some money and get those reporters outside to scram. I don't want to see them again when I go out for lunch."

"Also, ask what's going on, why the appeal matter was leaked."

Without waiting to see if the other person had understood or not, he hung up the phone directly.

Didn't hear clearly?

Didn't understand?

Can't do it well?

It doesn't matter!

The next successor will do it well.

He quickly dealt with the most urgent documents, and then, while having the secretary bring in a pot of coffee, had her take the documents away to be processed.

He finally had a short period of leisure. While sipping coffee beans that cost dozens of dollars a pound, he selected some news reports that interested him to learn about the situation. Then, the internal phone on his desk rang.

"President's office."

"It's me."

"Chairman, what's the matter?"

His tone became slightly respectful. The chairman of the board was the absolute core of the company. Even if he didn't respect him, he had to maintain a respectful attitude.

"I inquired about the Supreme Court appeal through some friends. There's no problem."

"But I always feel like something's not quite right. You talk to him."

What they were talking about was "Why was the vice president suddenly able to get connections to get the Supreme Court to accept this appeal?" They themselves had spent a lot of money on public relations, and they still couldn't guarantee that they could get it done.

But the Supreme Court suddenly accepted the case, and the vice president said that he did it through public relations, which was a bit incomprehensible.

What was his status, what level of person was he, how could he possibly do public relations so smoothly?

In addition, the media had also received the news, so the chairman was bound to suspect that the vice president was being used.

He had never thought that the vice president would stab them in the back, after all, they were on the same side.

The vice president had shares in the company, not many, and he was also on the company's decision-making level, but he was not on the core decision-making level either.

The vice president's identity, position, and wealth were all closely related to the company.

If the company was good, he would be good.

If the company was bad, he would be bad.

So they weren't too worried that the vice president would betray the company, they were just worried that he would be deceived.

The president did not refuse, "I will talk to him as soon as possible."

"Okay, remember to tell me the results."

After hanging up the phone, the president called the vice president and asked him to come to his office.

A few minutes later, the vice president walked in, seemingly full of energy and spirited.

He couldn't help but be spirited. He was about to be promoted to president of the group, and he could increase his holdings of the company's stock.

He also had a little friendship with the Bailide Group, and he also had the opportunity to use Lance as a stepping stone to get in touch with members of Congress.

He had been bowing down and acting humble for decades, and suddenly he stood up. How could he not be happy?

Moreover, he himself had thought about it. Even if the group company suffered a heavy blow in finance, it would only be temporary.

Even if the company lost a large number of users as a result, even if it was cut in half, they would still have 20% of the market share, which would still bring him a huge amount of profit.

The company lost, the shareholders lost, the investors lost, but he earned, what else was there to be dissatisfied with?

"You were looking for me?"

The president walked out from behind his desk. He asked the vice president to sit on the sofa and casually asked, "The court is going to open in a few days. There are some things I still want to ask. How did you get connections with the Supreme Court?"

"You need to know, we also tried, but the progress wasn't very obvious."

Since they dared to do this, they had naturally found a suitable reason for the vice president, which was nothing more than that he had found a "key person" through some connections.

And this key person had a certain influence over the justices of the Supreme Court. After paying off favors and a certain amount of money to get this key person to take action, the Supreme Court accepted the lawsuit.

It couldn't be said that there were no problems at all, but there were no major problems in terms of logic. The vice president hadn't even used much of the company's money—

He used a favor, his father's favor. He used his own family's favor for the company's future. Isn't this what capitalists pursue?

The president listened, regarding it as a story, yet believed it completely, and no longer had any doubts, giving high praise to the vice president's performance of loving the company.

"You've done a great job with this. After the trial starts, the materials and evidence we have won't be enough for us to drag out the result for too long."

"So you still need to work hard on your end. If there's anything you need, just tell us. As long as we can do it, we will do our best to provide it for you."

"After the middle of next year, I will consider suggesting to the board of directors that you increase your company shares."

How much power a manager has in a company doesn't depend on how high their position is, but on how many voting rights they have.

If a security guard owns 66.7% of the company's shares, then even if this security guard is just a doorman, he is the supreme king of this company—

Because the voting rights in his hand exceed the "majority," the shareholders' meeting and the board of directors become his personal echo chamber. He can pass any plan he wants to pass and oppose any proposal he doesn't want to pass.

Allowing the vice president to continue to increase his company stock is actually increasing his power within the company.

Apart from the circulating shares, the other shares in the company are limited and have owners. If the vice president wants to increase his holdings, then someone must reduce their holdings. This actually involves an adjustment to the company's equity structure, which is no small matter.

But whether this promise will be fulfilled is unclear. Perhaps because of something he does that doesn't meet the president's or the board of directors' wishes, it will be put on hold.

Capitalists know too well how to make a dog wag its tail frantically without spending any money!

"Thank you for your trust in me and the board of directors!" The vice president promptly expressed his excitement.

The president maintained his smile, raising his hand and pressing down in a gesture, "This is what you deserve. You've done a lot for the company over the years. You've proven your attitude towards the company through your actions."

"The chairman and I have been chatting these past few days. He's not young anymore and plans to step down from his position as chairman of the board in a few years. At that time, I may step down from my position as CEO and take over his job instead."

The president smiled and patted the vice president on the shoulder, "Then you will be the best candidate for the group's president!"

The vice president looked excited, "Even without these things, I would still work for the company. This place is like my second home..."

After the two people exchanged some corporate pleasantries, the president asked the vice president to leave. He then called the chairman of the board, "There's no problem, everything is normal."

The chairman still felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He just instructed, "Pay attention."

"Also, arrange for someone to investigate how Steven really died. I suspect this matter has something to do with Lance and them."

These past few days, the chairman finally remembered Lance's name. The president naturally wouldn't object, "I'll call the police station later."

For the powerful, the police chief is like a trash can. Anyone can use it whenever they want, and it doesn't cost any money.

During these two days, Luca also came to New Gold City from Goldport City. The huge city made him, who originally had a sense of being a "city person," suddenly feel a little short of breath.

There were too many skyscrapers here, and everywhere he looked, there were taller and bigger buildings than in Goldport City. There were more pedestrians on the street, but what made him feel a little incredible was that the traffic situation here was actually much better than in Goldport City!

"As the core area of the Federal politics, the development of New Gold City is inherited in an orderly manner."

Sitting in the back of the car, Lance explained this issue to him, "Anyone can be the mayor of Goldport City, people from anywhere, with any background. As long as their rise to power is in line with the interests of the party, then even a cat or a dog has a chance to be mayor."

"Some of them try to develop Creek Valley, some focus on building the Goldport Wharf and the Port Area, and some want to get rid of the former rulers and create their own political achievements."

He was talking about the "New Port Area" and the "New Bay Area," which is the current mayor.

"The expansion of the city is disorderly, and everyone has their own ideas."

"But the inheritance of New Gold City is orderly. Behind every mayor, there is a clear or unclear line, so they can better build on the past and usher in the future in urban planning and design."

When everyone has the same concept of developing the city, the development of the city will become more unified and beautiful.

Luca sincerely praised, "You know so much!"

Lance smiled and changed the subject, "This time your mission is relatively easy. The media will interview you soon. At that time, you only need to show strong indignation."

Luca was a little worried, "If they take pictures of me, will I expose my identity?"

Lance shook his head and said, "No, someone will do your makeup, and you will wear a pair of glasses. Even people who are very familiar with you won't remember who you are for a while."

"Besides, who stares intensely at a man's photo when reading the newspaper?"

Hearing Lance say this, he felt relieved.

Now the two sides of the "competition" are already in place, and the next step is the moment of the competition!

On the second day after Luca arrived in New Gold City, many media outlets came to interview him. In front of the media, he denounced the despicable behavior of the Ligee Group, accusing the Ligee Group of delaying the delivery time, causing the Hanging Gardens Trading Company to suffer huge losses in its business on the Tanfite continent.

It is impossible for reporters to actually run to the war-torn Tanfite to verify whether there is such a company and whether this company has compensated a large amount of money for breach of contract.

What they care about now is only one thing, that is, whether the Ligee Group can win this lawsuit, and whether justice can be served!

Some well-known social activists have stated that if the Ligee Group can still win this lawsuit, then this is a failure of the Federal judiciary and a failure of fairness and justice!

However, some people have raised objections, believing that this case should be tried together with the dockworkers' retaliation case, as there is a clear causal relationship between the two cases.

It cannot be ruled out that this is a possible commercial fraud, which is also the reason why some people believe that the Ligee Group's appeal is reasonable.

Two days before the trial, a large number of short-selling of Ligee Group's stock suddenly appeared in the financial market. For a time, Ligee Group's stock experienced a significant shock.

Many consulting agencies have given a "wait and see" warning, not believing that now is a good time to enter the market.

However, some companies have given views of selling or holding, which are obviously speculative judgments.

Obviously, this is not a very important lawsuit, but some people have gradually felt that something seems to be wrong, because the media coverage is too high, and the public's participation is also too high.

It's like there is an invisible black hand pushing everything forward behind the scenes!