Empire of Shadows

After everyone had left, Senator Cleveland called Lance and Tom to his parlor.

A study was a very special place. Before Lance could show Senator Cleveland that he was worthy of respect and treat him as an equal, Lance was unlikely to enter his study.

The parlor was actually quite nice, with several sofas and a small bar, and the environment was very good.

"You heard what we said just now. I have a few things I need to tell you."

Senator Cleveland took out a cigarette, and Tom immediately lit it for him with his silver lighter. He took a puff and slowly exhaled, "War is the will of Congress. To advance this goal, anyone, anything, that tries to stop the war from coming will be crushed."

Lance nodded. In effect, he was telling Lance to go ahead and do it boldly, and Congress would back him up.

But such words can only be believed… ten percent, no more.

It's not that they wouldn't do that, wouldn't crush those who tried to stop the war from breaking out, but that after everything was over, Lance might become a used tissue, crumpled up and thrown into the trash.

So how to do it, and to what extent, he would have his own considerations.

"The second thing is that the Department of Defense will soon come up with a cost estimate. This cost will definitely be higher than we imagine, but that doesn't mean all the money has to be spent. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lance nodded. "Everyone gets a share."

This answer stunned Senator Cleveland for a moment, and then he burst out laughing.

He had drunk some wine just now, and his emotions were more erratic and more sincere. He pointed at Lance and looked at Tom, "You see, some people are just born smart!"

Although he was shaking his head, everyone could see that it was an expression of admiration. "Since you understand, then you should also understand what I'm going to say."

Lance nodded again. "I will flexibly adjust my work strategy based on the actual usable portion."

This made the senator smile again.

The cost estimate might be two or three hundred million, but the actual funds used for military base construction might only be sixty percent, at most sixty-five percent.

In addition to some flexible money, the rest of the funds would be distributed to layers of officials.

It's not that they are greedy, it's just the norm.

Those senators, congressmen, and top federal politicians, their annual salaries are only two or three thousand, but each of them owns real estate, cars, stocks, bonds, and anything of value.

It could be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of times that number!

This money doesn't come out of thin air. Some are political donations, bribes, and some are directly diverted from certain links.

Federal government politicians don't care about the process in the middle, they only care about the result.

As long as the result is that money is spent and things are done, then they don't care, and the people won't care.

How much can be saved depends on their ability.

As for the appearance of greed?

The masters never care about this, because the appearance of greed is for others to see, and those mud-legged dogs are not qualified to see it.

"The last thing, don't cause too big a scandal. I heard you plan to use a lot of refugees. These people's 'attributes' are a bit special."

"Even if something happens, you must suppress it as soon as possible and prevent it from spreading. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lance wasn't a fool, of course, he wouldn't say that. "Keep people's mouths shut."

Senator Cleveland was very satisfied. Lance was very smart, his mind was flexible, and his bottom line was also flexible. He admired such young people.

In his position, he came into contact with almost all the most outstanding young people in the Federation, but most of these young people were useless.

Either their minds were not flexible enough, they were very rigid, or they actually had a damn moral bottom line!

Please, this is politics, who the hell still has that kind of moral bottom line?

It's not that only by abandoning the moral bottom line can one become a politician, but that as a politician, a politician who can determine the future of the country, every policy formulation and release, while benefiting some people, will inevitably greatly damage the interests of another part of the people.

If the promotion of certain policies is stopped because the interests of some people are harmed, then the country does not need to develop.

From their perspective, as long as there are more beneficiaries than those who suffer losses, then this must be a policy worth implementing. As for whether there will be moral risks, that is not important.

Lance had obtained his approval on three important issues, and the smile on his face increased a little. "Bruni will be fully responsible for this work. You can contact him more when the time comes."

"He has good connections in the Department of Defense. There are already several candidates for the garrison commander, and his relationship with them is also okay."

"You can get to know the garrison commander through him, and with us old guys around, no matter who it is, they will give you some face."

"Are there any other questions?"

Lance shook his head, "No, Senator."

Senator Cleveland nodded, stood up holding the armrest of the sofa, and Lance also stood up quickly, "These things will be implemented soon, you can start preparing in advance."

"If there are any problems, call Tom. If he can't solve it, I will intervene."

"Then… that's it."

He didn't shake hands with Lance, just nodded, and quickly left the room.

Lance also quickly left the room. At this time, the sky became a little gloomy, with a light rain falling. The luxurious villa looked different in the rain.

Almost all the places that can be seen with the naked eye nearby are various luxurious buildings hidden in the plants, and there are figures shaking in the streets and alleys.

Those people wearing raincoats standing on the street corners were observing everything here.

"You're lucky, I have to say, Lance."

Tom said with a smile while driving, "Of course, it also has something to do with your ability. Both are indispensable."

He knew very well that the work of building the military base would definitely not be completely handed over to Lance. He would be assigned a part of it, but even this part was enough for him to obtain a lot of profit.

The most important thing is not the profit issue. He can take this opportunity to connect with people from the Department of Defense and the military, and develop his own network of contacts.

This is what Tom envies the most.

Because as a senator's aide, he actually can't develop his own network of contacts, and he can't even develop it!

If Senator Cleveland knew that he was secretly contacting other senators or other government officials, then he would definitely be wary of Tom, be on guard, and eventually marginalize him.

And other senators are unlikely to become friends with other people's aides and develop into a link in the network.

The same is true for those officials. They can clearly meet with Senator Cleveland directly. Why should they be friends with his aide?

But Lance is different. He can't be regarded as the senator's person, so he has more freedom than Tom.

If anyone needs Lance, if they go to the senator, it may be very troublesome. Instead, it is better to directly contact Lance, so Lance can contact more senators and government officials.

He is more free than Tom in some aspects, and much more free!

If it were an ordinary person, Tom would not be jealous, because they may not be able to develop very well.

But Lance, he is envious and jealous. He has personally watched this marginal character, who was just a marginal character at a banquet at the beginning, gradually develop into someone who is valuable to the senator through a few simple things.

His growth is very fast, so fast that he is now at a point where he can't even be envious or jealous.

It can be foreseen that if he does this thing beautifully, then he will enter the eyes of other senators and officials.

When they have projects that can be cooperated with Lance next time, they will continue to look for Lance, and Lance's network will be truly consolidated and expanded.

And what about him?

Tom, who was driving, suddenly felt a little confused. Although being a senator's aide is indeed considered to be in a high position, everything he has now is based on this layer of skin—the senator's aide.

If he loses this layer of skin, what will he have left?

If he no longer works for Senator Cleveland, will those senators and officials he knows still see him?

Will they still have contact with him, or even talk about cooperation?

He doesn't know.

Or rather, he knows, but he pretends not to know.

Maybe one day in the future, the Senate will recommend him to work in a certain department, or even recommend him to work in the state legislature, but how long will that be?

The drizzle was pattering on the car window, and Lance's success made him feel as confused as the rainy day outside where the road could not be seen. The rain and fog covered the direction of progress.

Lance didn't expect Tom to think so much in his mind for a while. He said with a smile, "This is also thanks to you for helping me communicate and coordinate with the senator. Your success also has a part in it, Tom."

Tom looked at Lance through the rearview mirror, "You really know how to talk. I'm not praising you, I'm just stating a fact."

The drizzle gradually increased, crackling on the roof and windshield, and Tom, who was driving, didn't have any more ideas to talk, and the car was very quiet.

It wasn't until the vehicle stopped at the entrance of the hotel that Tom turned his head and said to him, "We're here. You'd better go back and start preparing recently. If you have any questions, give me a call."

Lance didn't know why his mood would suddenly become so low, nor did he have any intention of trying to enlighten him. "Okay, I understand. I will."

After getting out of the car, he watched Tom's car leave, shook his head slightly, and returned to the hotel.

This trip to New Gold City was basically done, and he didn't expect some unexpected surprises.

He knew that these old men in the Federation were very greedy. From another perspective, they were actually capitalists, political capitalists.

They used politics as a bargaining chip, wealth, to cash in and trade, in order to obtain huge profits.

He had heard a joke before, saying that if you want the war to end smoothly, you must first fill the bellies of these people.

If their bellies are not filled for one day, the war will not end for one day.

It seems that this is indeed the case.

Lance booked a ticket to go back that night, but left Laun and his men behind, because he knew that he would soon meet that Mr. Cerre again.

Nothing unexpected happened on the way back. For a big client like Lance who chartered an entire luxury carriage, the railway operating company could not possibly make Lance feel the slightest discomfort, in addition to providing the best service.

Without a word along the way, it was three days later when he returned to Gold Harbor City. It felt much more comfortable to be back here, after all, it was his own territory.

As soon as he got off the train, Councilor Williams had Arthur come to invite him over.

Along the way, Arthur asked many questions about everything in New Gold City.

Since he was born, he had been in Gold Harbor City and had never been to the outside world. He also knew that the surname Williams was not very useful in the outside world.

And he was the kind of person who sometimes made stupid mistakes, so he had always been in Gold Harbor City.

People say that New Gold City is the core of the Federation, and he also wants to go and have fun and take a look.

Lance answered simply. When he heard that New Gold City actually had a 200-meter-high building, his eyes almost popped out!

He wanted to see it.

The car quickly stopped outside the Williams family's manor. Councilor Williams stood at the door of the manor building to greet him, with a smile on his face.

After the two shook hands, Councilor Williams took his arm and welcomed him into the room.

Lance knew the purpose of Councilor Williams looking for him. After the two sat down, they thought quietly for a while. They needed to use their brains before speaking.

"This time you went to New Gold City..."

Councilor Williams looked at Lance with a slightly strange look in his eyes. He and Senator Cleveland had clearly known each other first, but now it seemed that Lance had a better relationship with the senator than he did.

He didn't know how to express his feelings, but he knew that what he needed to do now was to cooperate more closely with Lance.

If there was a "superior-subordinate relationship" between the two parties before, then this situation no longer exists. They are equal.

Councilor Williams also has his own relationships and channels to inquire about some news. These news may be slightly delayed, after all... these are not directly conveyed from the senator's mouth. He also wants to know what will happen in this city.

Because he will soon become the mayor of this city.

According to past rules, around October to November, the old mayor will begin to hand over work, and Councilor Williams will take office in December and fully preside over the daily work of the City Hall.

It's already August now, and there isn't much time left before he takes office. He has to know whether this is a "trouble" before he takes office.

"I heard there's going to be a war?" he asked tentatively.

Lance nodded, "It can be seen that Congress has a strong desire to go to war."

The economy continues to decline, and domestic class conflicts are frequent. If nothing is done, it may trigger some unpredictable large-scale political events.

War seems to be one of the few and appropriate opportunities to export conflicts, plunder benefits, and return everything to the initial value.

Hearing Lance's answer, Councilor Williams was a little worried, "Will it affect us?"

In fact, it will affect him, not "us", but he used this word at this time to make everything look related to Lance.

Lance didn't expose his little thoughts. After the garrison is stationed, many things here will definitely change, especially when the war breaks out, everything will revolve around serving the war.

Lance shook his head, "To be honest, I'm not sure, but they said that the war will be far away from the Federation's mainland. As long as the flames of war don't burn here, it won't have much impact on us."

Councilor Williams shook his head slightly, "Who can say for sure about this kind of thing?"

He paused, "Is there anything you need me to cooperate with?"

Lance must have brought back a mission from New Gold City, and Lance didn't hide it, "They are very likely to build a military base on the open space under the industrial area, and requisition New Port Wharf as a temporary military port at the same time."

"I have taken on part of the work, and there may be places where I need your cooperation."

Councilor Williams nodded, "Give me a call if you have any needs."

His contact with Lance will only become more frequent in the future, so there is no need to say too much at once. In addition to wanting to know some accurate news, what he wants to know more is how high Lance's position has been in Senator Cleveland's eyes and what kind of news he can know.

Now it seems that Lance is much more important in the eyes of that senator than he, the mayor.

After Lance returned to the company, he called the director over, "I have something I want to discuss with you."

The director was a little nervous.

Generally, when the boss tells you that he has something to discuss with you, it is probably not a good thing.

He sat up straight. To be honest, he liked this job very much. It had a high salary and was his beloved career.

At the same time, with the popularity of "The Mystery of Angel Lake", he also began to become a well-known person in the film industry as a producer.

He didn't want to lose this job, because if he lost it, he would lose not only his salary, but also his position, influence, and even his dreams in this industry.

His attitude was very humble, almost with his hands on his knees.

Lance waved his hand with a smile, "Don't be so nervous, it's not a bad thing."

"I want that money back."

Seeing his confused expression, Lance added, "The money from that Kergan Cinema, I want it back."

The director nodded when he heard this, "This is a good thing. How much money do you want back?"

"According to the screening situation of other cinemas, there should be at least more than 100,000, right?"

He became excited as he spoke, "In this way, our box office revenue this time will exceed one million, which is definitely a big event!"

"A big event that can be recorded in history!"

The first film with a box office of over one million, he is the producer. When he thinks that all the people engaged in this industry in the future may learn about him through this incident, he is instantly happy!

And being happy also made him make a heartfelt compliment, "Mr. Lance, you are really an amazing person!"