Empire of Shadows

In the end, Sam was still a little worried and personally checked everything, as it was related to whether the new Red Heels business could recover more quickly.

Actually, he was initially unwilling to take over this job. He was doing quite well in Paradise City, where he had a firm grip on the wealthy and respected customers of the upper class.

He had no worries about food and clothing, enjoyed a certain social status, and Paradise City was a bustling metropolis with a thriving entertainment industry that was more tolerant of people like him.

But someone really wanted him to come and help out, and the mayor was very likely to be vying for the governor's seat. Once the mayor became the governor, it would mean that Sam had an even stronger backer!

In this business, the biggest fear is not having a strong enough backer.

So he hoped to do well. To do that, he needed to adopt a style different from Liam's era. He needed to refine more details to impress customers. Only in this way could he wash away the labels on Red Heels that didn't belong to him.

His years of experience had taught him, 'Don't be a worthless person!'

Lisa lay on the soft cotton pad, with ribbons wrapped around her body. Although they covered some parts of her, she felt more ashamed and embarrassed than if she were naked!

The little torture tools around her were arranged like decorations on a gift.

There were also beautiful clothes, all kinds of clothing, even men's clothing, athletes' clothing, and even American football equipment.

When Sam was in Paradise City, he met someone who loved to wear American football equipment and play a football game with girls wearing the same gear.

Almost every time, every girl would be seriously injured. He was like a madman, saying he loved the feeling of delicate beauty being torn to pieces by his strength!

That guy was a big shot, very rich and powerful. Actually, Sam didn't like him because every time he placed an order, it meant that some carefully nurtured girls might be ruined.

His efforts, time, and emotions would be wasted.

But who told him he couldn't refuse that guy?

There are always many perverts in this world. Who knows, maybe some people in Angel City like these things too.

"What a perfect gift!" Sam looked at Lisa as he squatted beside the gift box and stroked her delicate face.

Seeing the fear and humiliation in her eyes, Sam suddenly seemed to become kind, gently wiping away her tears and comforting her, "Don't cry."

"Everyone likes perfect gifts. Your tears will ruin the perfection."

"I know you must feel that fate is unfair right now, wondering why there are so many girls in this world, and why it has to be you."

"Thinking about these things now, besides making you more painful, won't help you in any way!"

"Think carefully about your client, his quirks, his temperament. How will he tease you, or what kind of expression will make him laugh more happily?"

"Think about how to protect yourself, and without affecting the customer's experience, how to avoid being seriously injured."

"Lisa, we met for the first time yesterday, but what I want to say is, don't treat me as your enemy."

"We are all people who are being toyed with by fate. We can't decide our own destiny. All I can teach you is to help you live as healthily as possible."

As he spoke, he stood up, confirmed that there were no other oversights, and left the carriage.

The slowly closing carriage door blocked the light. In the dimly lit carriage, Lisa felt that even the sunlight had abandoned her at this moment!

Outside the carriage, Sam called the person in charge of delivery closer, "Tell the client that Lisa is an important commodity in our club, and we don't want her to have any accidents."

"But if the client accidentally breaks her into pieces, he will have to pay us an extra fee."

Booker stood next to him and couldn't help but say, "That gentleman doesn't have that kind of hobby."

Sam explained, "We need to remind him. This is our procedure, to make them understand that 'toys' are very expensive."

"Sometimes, the more expensive something is, the more intense the pleasure of destroying it…"

There were four seats in the van, and indeed four people got in.

Some were responsible for driving, and the other three were responsible for carrying things, including setting up the venue, if the client needed it.

Sam asked them to take a detour through the city center, then through the Starlight District to the northernmost part of the Bay Area, and then along the main road to the delivery location.

This would be a good way to promote the reopening of Red Heels. He believed that it wouldn't be long before more customers realized this, and there would be a natural increase in new customers.

The car quickly left the backyard of Red Heels. Sam took Booker back to Red Heels, which was being renovated.

His tone was full of disdain for Liam, the previous owner of this club, and also for Booker.

"A great club has been turned into a paradise for poor people by you. I really don't know what you people are thinking."

"Do you think those big shots are willing to play with the same toys as poor people?"

"But fortunately, I'm here, Booker. You can learn a lot from me, right?"

Booker didn't know what he meant, but in order to avoid angering him, he bent over and lowered his head, "Whatever you say, Mr. Sam."

A morbid smile suddenly appeared on Sam's serious face, "Yesterday you were still calling me 'Mommy,' and now you're calling me 'Mr. Sam?'"

Looking at Booker's desperate expression, Sam couldn't help but laugh loudly. He was very happy now!

On the other side, Morris followed the car as soon as it came out. Soon he realized that something was wrong, because the car was not driving east, but north.

The north is the city center. According to what the people who had already been contacted said, and what Alvin himself knew, Red Heels' customers were basically in the Bay Area.

There might be some in the city center, but they would definitely not go there in broad daylight. After all, the city center is densely populated and land is expensive, making it difficult to hide some things.

Unlike the Bay Area, with its various villa districts, once you enter the internal roads of the villas, hidden by vegetation walls, even if a few people die, no one will notice.

The direction of this car also made Morris a little unsure whether it was the one he was supposed to be watching. Fortunately, the car was not driving fast, and he still had three helpers in his car.

He asked the three people in the car to get out, "You guys contact Alvin and have them send another car over. I'll keep an eye on it."

The three had no objections. Morris drove the vehicle back on the road, following the Red Heels van that could hardly be ignored.

After receiving the news, Alvin immediately redeployed. The car accident scene that had been prepared on the main road in the southern part of the Bay Area remained unchanged.

At the same time, he mobilized a new truck to go to the northern entrance of the Bay Area.

There are other places to enter the Bay Area, but Morris's analysis was that they might be multitasking, both delivering goods and taking care of other business, so they would definitely not take the shortest route.

They were very likely to enter the Bay Area through the main entrance in the north of the Bay Area. If they didn't take that route, he would find a way to cause a car accident on his own initiative, temporarily keep them there, and then call for support…

In the swaying van, the four people chatted to pass the time.

They had been following Sam in Paradise City. Sam's work here was very easy, and for them it was also… very exciting. They could see the bodies of many different girls, although they couldn't touch them.

Some of the big shots have severe mysophobia, and they don't allow their toys to be played with by others, otherwise they will get angry, not only throwing away the toys, but also punishing the person who secretly played with their toys.

There are many places in Paradise City that engage in the flesh trade. Goldenport City doesn't have as many as Paradise City.

They were chatting about some of the things that had happened recently after arriving in Goldenport City, and as they chatted, they started talking about the newly released movie.

Previously, federal movies had always been silent films. If the actors couldn't use body language to make the audience understand what they were expressing, then it would be a very painful process for the audience.

Not everyone in the Federation knows those complicated words. There are still many illiterate people, so whether an actor is a good actor in this era depends on whether their body language and actions can express what the character they are playing wants to express.

This is also why the movements of movie characters in this era are relatively exaggerated.

If you're not exaggerated enough, you can't let those illiterate people know what you want to express. Not every moviegoer is a film critic or a master of micro-expressions.

Of course, sound movies didn't just appear recently. In fact, they existed more than ten years ago, but they didn't have the value to be promoted.

This is the same as laboratory products. Before they can be produced on an industrialized assembly line, being able to make them only proves that the theory is correct, but doesn't mean they have commercial value.

But now, they have solved the problem of synchronizing movie images and sound, and both recording and playback have become much easier.

As the first sound movie to be fully promoted, it is rapidly becoming the focus of discussion among movie lovers.

The car slowly entered the Starlight District amidst the discussion.

The Starlight District is a relatively important cultural and entertainment area in Goldenport City. The city's opera houses, theaters, concert halls, and other places are all concentrated here.

Goldenport City's most luxurious hotels are also located here, and it is also a relatively concentrated area for wealthy people.

But they only play here. When they are tired of playing, they still have to go back to the Bay Area to sleep.

Compared to the crowded city center, Starlight District had much less foot traffic. The poor wouldn't come here for entertainment.

Although there were many entertainment facilities here, this cruel society had taught them since they were young that this place didn't belong to the poor.

In places like the Imperial District, a movie ticket cost five cents.

But to watch the same movie in Starlight District, the ticket price would be at least twenty-five cents.

Even when window shopping, they rarely came to this area, so there were very few pedestrians on the road.

It had taken Red Heels' van over an hour to drive here from the Imperial District. Morris had been following them the whole time, and he had reconnected with the others in the meantime.

The car was ready.

At an intersection where they stopped for a red light, another car pulled up next to them. The driver rolled down the window. "Erwin said that they'll be entering the Bay Area soon. Taking action once they're in the Bay Area might trigger some unpredictable consequences."

"No cars came out of Red Heels, so there's a high probability that Lisa is in this van."

Morris nodded, a mental map of the city flashing through his mind. "At the intersection after the next one, force them to turn right. There's a water station there. Take care of them in front of the water station."

The young man driving the other car nodded and turned away after the light turned green.

At this time, the driver of the Red Heels van was driving along, thinking that they would be entering the Bay Area soon, which meant that their work was almost over.

After dropping off Lisa, they could rest for a while, and then pick Lisa up again at eight o'clock in the evening.

These kinds of orders were usually not just simple fluid exchange, and no one could last for several hours. They mainly used other methods to vent their desires, so the time wouldn't be too short.

Seeing that they weren't far from the Bay Area, the driver suddenly said, "There seems to be a car accident ahead."

The others looked towards the intersection. Two cars had collided behind the intersection. A car turning right had hit a car going straight, blocking most of the road.

The two drivers were arguing, and many people were standing around watching, almost blocking the road.

The driver honked a few times, but the two drivers didn't seem to have any intention of moving their cars, and even started fighting. Although they seemed weak, the crowd became even more enthusiastic.

Everyone wished they could teach the two drivers how to box!

"Let's go to the right and detour a bit," someone suggested, which was also what the driver was thinking.

"If I didn't have work today, I would definitely stay and see who wins."

The other three also started discussing. Someone thought the one wearing the vest would win, and someone thought the one wearing the baseball cap would win. When they had nothing to do, anything could become a topic of discussion.

This section of the road seemed more desolate than before. This area mainly consisted of public facilities, such as power stations and water stations. There weren't many attractive things, so rich people wouldn't come here, and there were very few pedestrians.

Just as they arrived at the entrance of the water station, a truck suddenly rushed out of the water station and crashed into the side of their van.

The entire van was jolted to a stop. The four of them were still in shock. After a while, they started cursing.

This van had just been fixed, and if it was damaged, Sam would definitely punish them!

The men opened the car doors and ran down, looking at the dented carriage and car doors, cursing non-stop.

The driver even ran to the door of the water truck and forcefully yanked open the driver's side door, and then he was stunned.

He stopped cursing and didn't make any other movements, just standing there dumbfounded, holding the door.

One of his companions saw that he looked so strange and walked over curiously, and then he also fell silent.

Then came the third person.

When the fourth person felt that something was wrong and ran to the driver's seat, leaning forward and rummaging through the toolbox to find a weapon, a gun was pointed at his head.

The men all slowly raised their hands. A young man darted into the Red Heels van, started the engine, and drove away.

And these four men were sent to the truck.

The four of them stood in the innermost part of the truck bed, raising their hands. At least six people were pointing guns at them. They didn't even dare to breathe too hard, for fear that the other party would misunderstand their intentions.

One of them was a subordinate who was relatively close to Sam. He tried to keep his voice down. "Do you know what you're doing?"

These people didn't speak. He could only bite the bullet and say, "If you want money, I have a few dozen dollars here. We're all working for others and don't have any money in our pockets."

Those people still didn't speak and kept staring at them. This feeling was terrible.

He hadn't given up and was still trying. "Do you know whose car you robbed?"

"It's Mr. Sam's. He's a big shot. If you don't want to cause trouble, you better let us go now and return our car."

"Otherwise, I guarantee that when Mr. Sam finds out that you robbed something you shouldn't have, not only Goldenport City, but even the entire Federation, will have no place for you to stand!"

Communication needs to be based on the premise that both parties can communicate, but it was obvious that the people here were unwilling to communicate, and the driver could only give up communication and remain silent.

The car went directly out of the city from the north and sped all the way towards the northwest. Watching the time pass by, the driver's emotions changed from anxiety to despair, and finally to apathy, becoming numb.

At the same time, Sam, who was enjoying Booker's service, was selecting some girls. He had his channels to get some girls from the Federation or other regions.

High-end "hunters" wouldn't disturb them before they needed them. The hunters would take photos with them as tourists or in some other capacity, or offer to take photos for them.

Finally, they would ask the girls to leave their addresses, on the grounds that the photos would be mailed to them after they were developed.

This way, the hunters would get the girls' photos and their residences.

When a customer placed an order, they would kidnap them based on the pre-assigned numbers.

Of course, these kinds of "toys" were all of very good quality, and the prices weren't cheap either.

Sam needed to cultivate some "customized toys." Some of those from Red Heels before were good, but from his professional point of view, they still lacked something, some characteristics, some special features.

What he needed were girls who could firmly grab some customers, not just those who were simply beautiful.

In order to cater to more high-end, private customers, Sam had to launch some higher-end toys.

Just as he was hesitating over some candidates, the phone rang. He kicked Booker, who was squatting down, with his foot, and the latter got up and brought the phone over.

"This is Red Heels Club."

"Mr. Sam, the boss is very angry. The delivery we agreed on hasn't arrived yet."

"The boss hopes you can give him a reasonable explanation…"