Empire of Shadows

"You're very greedy, Mr. White," the secretary said, looking at Lance as if trying to see right through him.

Lance dragged a chair over, sat down, lit a cigarette, and turned to look out the window as sunlight pierced through the shade of the trees, streaming through the gaps between the leaves.

Even though only a small sliver of sunlight remained, it still radiated light and heat.

Tiny dust particles danced in the air, making the invisible light seem to transform into tangible matter at that moment.

Lance turned back to him, "A scammer calling me greedy, Mr. Secretary, honestly, it's a little funny."

The secretary stared straight at Lance, "How can you be sure we're scamming money?"

This was a question he hadn't been able to figure out; this scam had only recently appeared in the Gahr Empire.

It could even be said that it wasn't a scam from the beginning, because the company was indeed very profitable. The returns they promised weren't as exaggerated as they are now, but they were higher than the bank's.

So, some people took out loans from the bank to invest in them, using the rebates to pay the bank's interest, with a little money left over.

This meant they didn't have to put up any money themselves and still got an investment and two or three percent income.

If they invested enough, it was a significant sum.

But what they didn't know was that the company soon suffered investment failures due to investment and management strategy issues. To prevent investors from withdrawing their funds, the company's board of directors even announced false news of significant investment profits, distributing slightly more money than usual.

This move immediately attracted more capital inflow.

After receiving these investments, due to certain reasons, the shadow of war, and domestic problems, investments were not as smooth as in previous years, leading to successive failures.

The more this happened, the more they dared not announce the actual situation to the public. At the same time, to prevent investors from paying too much attention to their operations,

they fabricated many overseas high-quality industries and made professional false profit reports, while increasing the rate of return to attract more investment.

So, these people discovered that honestly doing financial investment was far less profitable than fraud. Their scale had become very large.

But because the number of participants was constantly increasing, they were able to maintain monthly rebates on time.

President Peymann and his people discovered this possibility and business opportunity. They also faced a series of problems such as declining investment returns.

So, several people put their heads together and did it, and soon they had the current scale.

Irresistible rebates and the profits brought by recruiting new members were constantly increasing the number of victims. The more victims, the more money they received.

Many people blindly trusted them, but he didn't understand why Lance saw through this scam at a glance?

Lance shook his head slightly, "You know what?"

"Even if you invented finance, you couldn't earn this much money!"

The secretary was stunned for a moment before he understood what Lance meant. He asked incredulously, "Just because of that?"

Lance nodded very seriously, "Just because of that. Anything that doesn't conform to the operating principles of this world, anything unreasonable, is either fake or a scam."

The secretary wanted to say something, but Lance stopped him, "I don't want to discuss why I know you're scamming. You just need to do one thing, and that's give me the money."

"Honestly, your scam is actually quite advanced. If I spare your lives, you can continue to scam elsewhere. You still have the opportunity to become millionaires, multi-millionaires."

"Perhaps because of me, you'll correct some of your logical errors and loopholes, making the next scam smoother and earning more."

"But if you refuse, then I'll have to keep you here forever," Lance said, putting down his crossed legs and walking to the window.

That ray of light penetrated the window and shone on his hat, making his face less visible, but his body was draped in a layer of light!

It seemed as if he was about to merge into the sunlight!

"The scenery here is beautiful. It's a good choice for a final resting place. Consider it," he said, smoking his cigarette and looking at the scenery outside the window, enjoying the wonderful feeling.

Those rays of sunlight shone on him as if they were tangible, giving him a feeling of sanctity.

President Peymann and his secretary were exchanging glances, and it was unclear how they were communicating, but it seemed they had reached some agreement.

President Peymann said, "Even if we wanted to give you the money, we couldn't. The money isn't on us right now."

"Let us go, and we can write you a check, and tell you where the money is..."

Lance looked at him expressionlessly, tilted his head, and Ethan rolled up his sleeves and walked in front of President Peymann, whose eyes were filled with fear. His thick palm swung and slapped him across the face!

In that instant, President Peymann was completely stunned!

His ears were ringing, his head was throbbing, his vision went black, and even his thoughts seemed to be scattered by the slap!

Lance took another breath, "If you think I won't hurt you because I can't, then you can try again. I guarantee you won't last even a minute."

President Peymann didn't dare to speak anymore. The secretary said softly, "Some of the money is in the bank, and some of it we... hid in the cellar of the villa."

He looked at Lance, "Not much cash, about two or three million. The rest is in the bank."

"Mr. White, even if I write you a check for tens of millions, can you take it to the bank to cash it?"

"Will the people at the bank believe you?"

"And also, do you dare?"

He still maintained that calm, even slightly mocking tone, although he didn't show it, Lance could still sense it.

Strictly speaking, what he said was correct. Even a few hundred thousand in cash withdrawals would be very troublesome for the bank.

Not to mention the transfer of millions or tens of millions of funds.

Lance didn't plan to let them leave here, even if he really wrote the check, Lance wouldn't be able to get the money.

Not only would he not get the money, but their disappearance might also attract the attention of the bank and the police.

Seeing that Lance didn't speak, the secretary continued, "I know what you want isn't our lives, it's money."

"Mr. White, this money is too much for you to handle. I'll give you a million, and we'll end this here!"

"We won't call the police, and we won't look for you afterwards. Take the million and live the life you want, and we'll never meet again."

A million was indeed a lot, enough to shake many people.

But they overlooked that Lance wasn't an ordinary person.

Lance threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his toe. The old wooden house and the surrounding ground, still covered with dead leaves from winter, were the best kindling. He had to be careful.

He reached out to Hiram, who handed him the gun.

He stood in front of the two terrified men, looking at them, "Who can get this money?"

"I'm getting annoyed. We only need one person."

The dark muzzle of the gun made the secretary's expression tense, and President Peymann was so scared that he almost peed!

"I, I can get the money," he shouted, scrambling to speak.

Lance immediately raised his gun and aimed it at the secretary. He cocked the hammer back, just as he was about to fire, the secretary shouted, "He can't get it!"

"You're lying!" President Peymann shouted in shock and anger, "I'm the company's president!"

The secretary said, "But in our team, you're just the front man!"

His meaning was clear: he was the one behind the scenes.

The two were still arguing when Lance fired a shot at each of their feet.

Both of them screamed at the same time. They had enjoyed the most luxurious life that so much money could bring, when had they ever suffered such hardship?

The backs of their feet were pierced, and some of their muscles were torn. Every heartbeat made them feel immense pain!

But this did calm them down.

The secretary endured the pain and looked at him, "Mr. White, actually... you're the one who hasn't figured things out."

"Even if I transfer this money to you, do you really dare to take it?"

These words made Lance fall into thought. After a while, he asked, "How much money?"

"Eight figures!"

The others in the room gasped. Eight figures, how much was that?

Lance also understood why they had given him that feeling of mocking him before, because the money was simply too much!

So much that it made him feel a hint of pressure!

So much money would be too easy to track. As long as they kept a close eye on it, once the case became public, the federal government might even step in to investigate.

At the request of the federal government, the bank would definitely cooperate, and ultimately, who the money was transferred to, how many accounts it passed through, and who ultimately withdrew it, would be impossible to miss!

Every step had the risk of exposure, which was indeed a tricky problem.

But soon he realized that they must have made preparations, having scammed so much money.

The secretary seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, and he said frankly, "We will transfer the money overseas in the name of investment. These accounts and transfers have been approved by the bank in advance."

"But, Mr. White, we can transfer it out, but you can't!"

Mr. Jonathan was currently handling his work. As the vice president, holding an administrative position, and also in charge of the loan department, it could be said that he was already a solid winner in life.

How many steps are there from an ordinary manager to a vice president?

Answer: As long as you can earn one million for the bank!

Anyone, as long as you can earn one million for the bank, you can become a department manager or even a vice president.

Capital never looks at how much ability you have, but rather whether you can bring enough wealth growth to the enterprise.

In Baihui Bank, some managers have their own independent offices and very high salaries, but they never work.

Some people who have just joined the bank will have doubts, and even generate emotions of dissatisfaction.

Why is it that everyone else is working hard, while these people are either drinking coffee and reading newspapers all day, or sitting together chatting about where to get their hair done or where to spend money after work, or things related to fashion?

But as long as they work in the bank for a little longer, they will gradually understand that these highly paid, non-working managers actually bring far more profit to the bank than those working outside!

So they have their own independent offices, can not work, and can also enjoy everything that ordinary employees cannot.

Their way of making money may not be through their own excellent business ability, it is also possible that they are handsome or youthful and beautiful, so someone is willing to cooperate with the bank for them.

And their work is just a small addition to the cooperation between two capitals, but even such a small addition is a mountain peak that many people can hardly reach in their lifetime.

This world is very unfair, but it is also very fair.

It is fair because everyone will be weighed on a scale before finding their place in society.

And what is unfair is that not everyone's weight is equal!

He was looking at a document that mentioned some domestic production and consumption situations. The Federal Savings Bank planned to continue cutting interest rates to stimulate consumption.

All banks need to keep up with the trend, which is actually not a good sign.

Baihui Bank's internal analysts believe that the domestic consumer market is starting to weaken. If corporate revenue is all placed on exports, it will be difficult to achieve everyone's expected goals, and it will be difficult to even guarantee current profits!

Clearly, stocks are rising every day, even if not by much, but at least they are rising. Why is this happening?

Jonathan was not very clear. The document mentioned the need to further stimulate public consumption. The head office believed this was a good opportunity to appropriately relax the review of loans, but it was necessary to ensure the safety of the bank's funds.

To put it bluntly, it may not have been easy to borrow money in the past, but now, as long as there is collateral, you will definitely be able to borrow money, it's just a matter of time.

Jonathan didn't quite understand why the head office would make such a decision, but he believed it was indeed a good policy and would have a certain impact on those small financial companies!

The main reason why people go to borrow high-interest loans instead of taking out loans from banks is that banks don't approve loans, or approve very little.

But now, with a slight relaxation of the policy, some people who didn't meet the requirements before, such as those with collateral but no income, can also borrow money.

While Jonathan was thinking about the things behind these policy changes, his phone suddenly rang.

"This is Baihui Bank..."

"I'm Lance, I have something I want to meet with you to talk about."

"Of course, no problem, are you coming over or am I going over?"

"I'll come to you!"

After hanging up the phone, Jonathan told his secretary that someone would be coming later, and asked him to turn away other visitors or postpone new visitors.

For him, Lance was obviously more important than other visitors.

More than twenty minutes later, Lance entered Jonathan's office under the guidance of the secretary.

A luxurious office.

The decoration and various furnishings in this office probably cost tens of thousands of dollars, but now, here, they are just a part of the vice president's office.

After Jonathan asked his secretary to bring a pot of fine coffee, the two closed the door.

Lance sipped his coffee without speaking immediately. Jonathan didn't urge him either. He knew that Lance must be thinking about how to start. This also made him feel interested and confused. What exactly did Lance want to say?

After about several minutes, he said, "I have a friend who wants to transfer a large amount of funds from the original account, and doesn't want people to know where the money is going. Is there any good way?"

Jonathan glanced again at the closed door, lowered his voice, "Are you helping someone launder money?"

That was the only thing he could think of.

Lance shook his head, "It's not money laundering, it's just... I don't know how to say it, roughly that's what it means."

Jonathan pondered for a while, "How much?"

"Eight figures."

Jonathan was stunned for a while, "Including the two digits after the decimal point?"

"Jonathan, I'm not kidding, eight figures, before the decimal point!"

Jonathan gasped. He vaguely knew that there might be something wrong with where the money came from. "I need to ask first, is this safe?"

Lance told the truth, "Not very safe."

Jonathan then began to think seriously. He thought of many ways, but finally shook his head, "Whether the funds flow within the bank's different accounts, or flow in different banks, it will leave traces of operation."

"If the trace is broken at a certain step, then find the person in charge of this step, it must be the trick he did."

"If no one checks this money, I can help you get it out, but such a large sum of money, as long as its owner calls the police and investigates it, it will definitely not be able to be hidden!"

Lance proposed another idea, "What if it goes through a bank account and then is transferred overseas?"

Jonathan handed him the document in his hand, "The Federal Savings Bank and the head office have just issued a document, large amounts of funds leaving the country need to be applied for in advance. So much money, at this time, what you need is not just time, Lance."

Lance also understood what he meant, and immediately felt a little regretful. Such a large sum of money was placed in front of him, but he couldn't get it...

"Is there no way at all?"

Jonathan kept shaking his head, "I really want to help you, we are friends, but this is something we really can't do."

Lance was silent for a while, and said, "I don't know if this news can help you, but I think maybe you can use it."

Jonathan was immediately interested. Intelligence worth eight figures must be useful.

"Have you heard of Barz Investment Bank?", Lance asked.

Jonathan nodded, "I've heard of it, and more than once."

"They have been very famous among free investors recently. The ultra-high rate of return is a bit unbelievable. I have always felt that they may not be very formal, or that they use the money for illegal purposes."

"What's wrong, does your news have anything to do with them?"

At this time, Jonathan's heart suddenly jumped violently, so that he covered his chest, his eyes widened, "Don't tell me, the money you want to transfer out is theirs!"