Empire of Shadows

After the telephone rang twice, it was answered. Sam took a deep breath, trying his best not to be so… angry.

"Elvin?" He had already inquired that the core of the Lance family was Lance himself, followed by Elvin, Morris, and Hiram, these three higher-level core members.

And below that?

A bunch of senior executives, but he wasn't interested in that. He only wanted to get Lisa back now, and then have her please that Mr. Hoff, in order to solve a series of problems.

Elvin's voice sounded very young, which made Sam a little envious, even jealous.

His youth was almost worthless—this was not a literary rhetorical device. He dropped out of high school in his first year, and then followed his mother to find food in a small city next to Paradise City.

Although Paradise City was beautiful, it was not easy to live in. Higher rents, higher prices, higher everything, were restricting people living there from finding happiness.

But even living around Paradise City was not an easy thing. His mother was not the kind of female worker with skilled techniques, except for lying down.

So, in his most youthful time, he played a role he shouldn't have played, until his early twenties.

His mother found a… like-minded guest, and the two hit it off, leaving him and running away.

Sam, filled with confusion about the future, eventually bought a ticket to Paradise City.

People said that Paradise City was like a paradise falling into the world, full of joy and happiness. If his life deserved happiness, then this happiness should be hidden in the starry sky dyed red by neon lights in the deep night!

He had found many jobs in Paradise City, and later he met a person who had a profound impact on him. He thought they were each other's spiritual redemption, he felt they were each other's heroes, and one day everything would be alright.

But… all short-lived happiness at the bottom would be broken by a rapidly approaching bad news. He cheated, not Sam, and the two had a big fight.

It turned out that all the beauty he thought was just a game for the other party. His things were thrown on the street by the other party, along with his self-esteem and the last bit of yearning for beauty.

After he realized the fact that "people without status are not worthy of happiness", the Sam who was full of ideals and still had hope for life died, leaving only a Sam who could give up everything in order to get ahead.

In the blink of an eye, he was already middle-aged. The slightly bald appearance of himself in the makeup mirror made him feel sorry for himself. Why wasn't it someone else, but him?

Just like he often asked himself during the darkest period of his life, why is it me again, and not someone else?

He envied and was jealous of the youth, firmness, and confidence revealed in Elvin's voice. This was something he once had, but lost.

It was during this moment of distraction that his tone eased slightly, "I'm Sam, you should have heard of me, the new manager of Red High Heels."

Elvin did not speak harshly, "Yes, I've heard of you, some big shot from Paradise City."

"Ah ha, what big shot?"

"We are all people who provide services to others."

Elvin's easygoing manner made him think that this matter had started well. He began to get to the point, "I apologize for my subordinate accidentally shooting and injuring your people. How much did it cost to heal him?"

"Three thousand, or five thousand?"

Without figuring out what the other party was trying to do, and with a very gentle attitude and tone, Elvin would not take the initiative to create conflict.

"No need, we have money."

Sam's tone was even more relaxed. It was good to be able to communicate. Maybe everything was just a misunderstanding?

"No, I must compensate you. I will let you see my sincerity."

As he spoke, he wrote a check with a swoosh, deliberately writing on the wooden table with a pen, so that the sound of writing would be particularly clear through the receiver.

And he also unreservedly found a subordinate and handed the check to him, "Send it to the Empire Nightclub, and give it to the people of the Lance family."

He glanced at the receiver, with a faint smile on his face, watching his subordinate turn and leave, he picked up the phone, "I have already sent someone to send the check over, and I apologize again for the stupid things our idiot did."

Elvin was silent for a while, "I will tell Lance."

What does this mean?

Can't you feel my sincerity?

Of course, it may also be a way of expression for the locals. Sam also cared about the recovery of the young man who was shot, and then the topic quickly shifted to Lisa.

"Elvin, we lack effective communication. Look, if we can maintain effective communication, many problems will not happen."

"We can be good friends. You work for him, and I work for him. We are inherently standing together."

Elvin didn't say anything, which made Sam a little dissatisfied, but this dissatisfaction had not yet manifested anything uncomfortable in the "tolerance" gained from the previous foreshadowing.

He paused for a few seconds and said, "How is Lisa now?"

Elvin firmly denied, "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Please, don't think your little tricks can fool me. Lisa must be in your hands. Is she okay?" Sam was a little uncomfortable at this time. I've said so much, and all the emotions are wasted?

But he still had some hope, taking this as the other party's vigilance and caution.

Elvin firmly denied the fact that Lisa was here with him. Lance had told him, never admit it, "I really don't know what you are talking about."

Sam's face finally didn't have the faint smile it had just now. He became serious, and even his sitting posture changed from leaning back in the chair with his legs crossed to putting down his legs and sitting up straight.

"Elvin, my patience is limited, don't play word games with me."

"I don't care whether you admit it or not, you better send Lisa back to me by noon tomorrow."

"A big shot has ordered her service. We have already missed it once. You don't want to know the consequences if we miss it again!"

After waiting for about three or four seconds, Elvin asked, "Are you done talking?"

"I don't know what you are talking about. If you are done talking, I am going to hang up. I still have things to do."

Sam's face finally became extremely ugly, "When is Lance coming back?"

"In the next few days…" After he finished speaking, he hung up the phone. Looking at the receiver with the busy tone, Sam threw it on the ground.

The receiver was very strong, using a metal and wood structure, and did not break, but made a loud noise.

He gasped for two breaths, and suddenly as if he thought of something, he ran to the door, "Who, hurry up and… stop him, let him bring my check back to me!"

Since the other party doesn't appreciate it, then he doesn't want to give this five thousand yuan.

It's not clear to talk to this kind of small character, he plans to talk to Lance in person. He heard that Lance is a person who can communicate.

He picked out a new girl while waiting for Lance.

At this time, Lance was already at sea. He directly asked for a speedboat to set off towards the federal coastline.

The cruise ship travels slower because it is not in a hurry to get on the road, but also takes into account some scenery along the way, such as going to some nearby island reefs, so that people can appreciate the beauty of some tropical islands.

If you go directly to the Federation, then the speed will be very fast.

It only takes a few hours to take a speedboat from the southernmost part of the Federation to the northernmost part of Yalan. The Republic of Aldra is slightly southwest of Yalan. If you leave at 7 am, you can return to Jincheng City at about 5 pm to 6 pm.

His return is not as long as Elvin said.

Lisa's kidnapping has frightened many girls working in bars, mainly because most of these girls used to work in Red High Heels.

Although Elvin didn't want to scare them too much, they were still scared.

Among young boys and girls, many news will be used as "peacock feathers" as a means of showing off or attracting the opposite sex.

Young boys always use "Have you heard?" as the beginning of a chat, trying to get close to the girls they like, and the girls also know some news that they actually don't want to know.

A room full of women, Elvin's head hurts a little when he sees this.

If there are only one or two, maybe he can handle it, but there are too many girls, and the strong smell of inferior perfume on them is also a headache.

Everyone seems to be saying their own words, which makes it impossible for Elvin to communicate with them.

He slapped the table hard a few times, hurting his hand, but fortunately, the girls in the room finally quieted down a bit.

"You send two representatives to talk to me, I can't communicate with you like this!"

Saying that, he turned and went to the side hall. This is not an office or a bar, this is where the girls live. They called Elvin over.

Lance rented a lot of houses to provide them with accommodation, in the New Bay Area, all of which are row of detached houses, different from villas, but obviously more advanced than ordinary houses.

Soon two girls came to Elvin. After they looked at each other, they sat down.

From their faces and the temperament they exuded, Elvin vaguely realized that before these two girls were deceived or trafficked to the Federation, they were at least middle class in the Empire.

The confidence shown by educated people and uneducated people is completely different.

Educated people are noticeably more confident, and those with higher education are even more so.

But regardless, their luck doesn't seem to be very good; their education didn't teach them how to distinguish between bad people and lies.

He took out a pack of cigarettes, "May I?"

Both girls nodded. He took one out, lit it himself, and said, "There have been a lot of things happening these days, and I don't have that much time to listen to each of your requests. So tell me, what do they want?"

One of the girls, who looked fairer-skinned, said, "Actually, they are all good people, but everyone is really scared. We want to know the specific situation of Lisa now; we are very worried about her."

Erwin shook his head, "I don't know her current situation, but it should be fine. Red High Heels is also looking for her, which means she hasn't been sent to her client or had any accidents."

He still wasn't telling the truth. He had discovered something very interesting during his previous work at the dock.

Some supervisors of Imperial descent are stricter and more cruel to temporary workers like them than the native Federal supervisors!

They would whip them at the slightest provocation, just because they stood in place for a while after finishing their work. Otherwise, they would curse and drive them to do other things.

In order to have a better living environment in the Federation, or to better integrate into the local Federal community, these people have completely stood on the opposite side of the Imperials.

They try to please the Federation people by doing things that the Federation people are unwilling to do, in order to gain recognition, acceptance, and possible opportunities.

Erwin couldn't guarantee whether there were such people among these girls.

Maybe there are girls who have already "surrendered" lurking here. In order to survive, or for something else, they chose to take refuge in Red High Heels.

Otherwise, why would Booker have discovered Lisa?

You need to know that the working hours of the bar are all at night. Lisa sleeps at home during the day. By the time she wakes up and finishes eating, it's already evening.

The New Bay Area is some distance away from Red High Heels, and she doesn't wander around. It's impossible for Booker to have discovered her just by walking outside. Someone must have contacted Booker.

He wasn't sure who this person was, but he had already asked people to pay attention to the phones in the buildings where the girls lived, to see if anything unexpected happened.

The fair-skinned girl looked worried, "Will we be in any danger?"

"Booker is a madman. If he catches us…"

She hugged her arms, her body trembling slightly. Erwin may not have felt much, but the girl beside her had enough empathy.

When you are in a safe and comfortable environment, beauty is the greatest asset, the seed of happiness.

But if you are in an unsafe environment, unable to control yourself, then the more beautiful you are, the more you suffer.

Among these girls, those with ordinary looks are actually… quite indifferent.

They haven't suffered so much terrible torment in Red High Heels. At most, they were unwilling to perform or receive ordinary guests at first, and were severely taught a lesson.

But as they began to change, willing to perform and receive ordinary guests, Red High Heels would not abuse them except for the lack of money, because there was no need.

They are the most low-end money-making tools, and no one cares what shape they are in.

But those high-end resources are different. They must be shaped into different appearances according to the customer's requirements, which is also the biggest pain point of being beautiful.

Erwin looked at the two girls and said softly, "I will arrange for someone to come and protect you. Don't leave here for the time being for the next few days."

"You will be safe after the storm of this matter passes."

The two girls didn't hear the implied meaning in his last words. They were frightened now, how could they have the mind to do reading comprehension?

Erwin added some more, such as arranging for people to deliver food, clothing, and supplies regularly. At the same time, he also reminded the two girls to pay attention to the situation of other people.

"You suspect… my God, why would there be such a person!"

Both girls understood this sentence, "Could it be that Lisa is because…"

Erwin shook his head, "I'm not sure, but it's very likely. I heard that someone ordered her, and then she was kidnapped, and her whereabouts are still unknown."

"Booker couldn't possibly be so powerful as to guess that she works in our bar. Someone must have revealed her whereabouts. You all need to pay attention."

"Lock the door at night. If you encounter any problems, call for help immediately. Our people are nearby…"

Walking out of the house rented by the girls, Erwin finally breathed a sigh of relief. He took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his hairline and hair. Too troublesome, these women!

After putting his hat back on, he looked around, opened the car door, and sat in.

In the past few days, the new Wanli Financial Services Company has relocated to the Imperial District. Now that he has his own territory, it must be placed on his own territory.

Of course, there will also be a branch in the Triangle District, but it will not be as large as this one.

This time, Erwin found a three-story street-front store, ensuring that it was "accessible in all directions." He never wanted to be trapped in an alley and left to fate again.

The new store was still being renovated, but many people had already come to borrow money. For the Federation people, money is never enough. They clearly know that borrowing money is not good, but no one can resist the temptation of borrowing money.

In addition, he also had to help Nick set up the brewery.

They bought a lot of brewing equipment and two tons of grapes. Nick has already started preliminary brewing.

However, according to him, these grapes are not specially used for winemaking, but are used for eating, so the wine brewed will not be as bright red as red wine.

It may be a little lighter than the one he brought last time, but there will definitely be no problem with the alcohol content. These grapes are very sweet!

Many things weighed on him, which made him realize how much work Lance had to do every day.

Seeing that the sky was gradually darkening, the winter nights came earlier than the summer. It was only a little after five o'clock, and the sky had already begun to darken.

At this time, a speedboat had already docked at the pier outside of Goldport City.

Although the Federation has a coast patrol team during this period, it is impossible for them to patrol every minute and every second. Moreover, Lance is indeed a Federation person, and everyone at the pier knows him.

At half past five, Erwin rubbed his temples and planned to go downstairs to eat. The neon lights of the Imperial Nightclub were also lit up, and the nightlife moment was about to begin.

Ordinary people can already rest, but their work continues.

At this moment, the phone on the desk suddenly rang. He was already standing by the door. He looked back, spaced out for a few seconds, turned around and walked back, and picked up the phone.

"Come pick me up at the dock…"

A little sleepy, dozed off for a while