Empire of Shadows

Alberto sat at the table, calculating accounts, a cigarette dangling from his lips, the smoke almost blinding him.

In reality, the profits Lezhu Company made through usury were far less than those from selling smuggled alcohol in bars, but this business was more stable.

No one knew how the future would unfold, and maintaining such an industry was actually a way to increase risk resistance.

Even if they couldn't sell alcohol one day, they could at least lend money at high interest rates, right?

Two employees were also at the table, both legitimately trained accountants.

The job of providing usury services for a financial company might sound a bit bad if it got out, but at least the salary was absolutely guaranteed, and the work was very easy.

No one forced them to falsify accounts, nor would anyone ask them to take the blame and go to jail.

The only thing they needed to work on each week was to calculate exactly how much money they had made that week.

Piles and piles of money stacked together did make people feel comfortable. Alberto picked up a few stacks and casually threw them back.

This week's income was probably less than ten thousand yuan.

It sounded like a lot, about twenty to thirty thousand yuan a month. A year ago, he would have been very satisfied with this income, after all, not everyone could earn so much money each month.

But his bar could bring in that much profit in one night, which made him a little melancholy.

Recently, he had focused on the bar, and there were not many people left at Lezhu Financial Company. They had all gone to the bar.

His old buddies also liked the bar business. The lively atmosphere of the bar allowed them to enjoy themselves.

People are creatures who like to enjoy themselves. Alcohol, beautiful women, money, a lively environment, who could refuse that?

"Lance is here," the office door was pushed open, and Fordis poked his head in from outside.

Alberto glanced at him, "Let him in."

Soon, Lance pushed the door open and entered. He glanced at the money piled on the table, but there was no emotional fluctuation.

This little bit of money wasn't even enough for him to spend in one night.

He sat on the sofa, casually picked up a piece of fruit, and took a bite. "Good business."

Alberto smiled as he walked over and sat next to Lance, "Please!"

"If I didn't need to figure out if anyone was messing with my money, I wouldn't even want to know how much money I made this week!"

"This is hard-earned money!"

He solemnly said something that made Lance cough violently!

He choked on the fruit juice. He wouldn't normally choke, but this sentence was too damn funny!

Alberto looked at him coughing for a while with some incomprehension, even rolling his eyes at him. He didn't quite understand what he had done.

When Lance had almost finished coughing, he took a deep breath, letting the air fill his entire lungs, a feeling that made him feel a little better.

"Have you carefully thought about what you're saying?"

"Sitting in the office all day with nothing to do, earning a table full of money every week, and you call that hard-earned money?"

"If the dockworkers heard you say that, they could hammer you to death!"

Lance showed a disdainful expression, but then both of them laughed.

Alberto and Lance hugged, "So, my brother, is there anything you need me to take care of?"

This was just a casual remark, like two good friends meeting, and one of them saying, "Hong Gao is treating today," just a way of expressing emotion.

But what he didn't expect was that Lance said a word, "Medicine."

Alberto didn't quite understand. He looked at Lance, "Are you injured?"

Lance shook his head and said, "Paul has a good relationship with the medical group. I want to get some medicine. You know, the war is about to break out."

"So I plan to buy a batch of medicine and sell it when the war is at its most intense. I'll definitely make a lot of money!"

Alberto looked at Lance's serious expression with a little… He didn't know what to say.

Golden Port City was about to become completely chaotic, and Lance was still thinking about doing business with medicine. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Lance, even if medicine makes money, it can't make more money than alcohol!"

"Moreover, the city will soon become a mess. Although hoarding a large amount of medicine now can make money, it will also reduce the amount of capital you have on hand. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Things that cost money are coming soon!"

Once the melee starts, recruiting soldiers, compensation, treatment costs, and incentive rewards will all be places to spend money!

However, Lance seemed to have already made a decision that could not be changed, "I have other funds, but I want a batch of medicine. If you have extra money, you can actually get some too."

"During the most intense period of the war, the value of various special medicines is more expensive than equal weight of gold and gems, and it brings not only money!"

The Gregg family may only be a small gang in Golden Port City, but they are definitely very important people in some remote feudal small countries.

Because they have medicines in their hands, these medicines can help the rulers rule longer. It is no longer just a manifestation of medical science, nor is it just wealth, it is an extension of power, it is political power!

Alberto thought for a while, he didn't understand this, and waved his hand, "Since you think there is no problem with this matter, then do it according to what you think."

"I'll help you contact Paul…"

As he said that, he stood up, signaling that the two accountants could leave. Although the accounts had not been settled, he really didn't care about this little money.

What he had to do was a gesture, a gesture of "I will check the accounts," so that those who wanted to reach out would learn to hesitate, that was enough!

The call was quickly connected. Alberto briefly told Paul about it. Not only did Paul not object, but he was willing to facilitate it.

His relationship with the medical group was like… a hitman and a client.

The Sumori hitmen have some fame worldwide. Medical groups face a large number of disputes and lawsuits every year.

They can handle some disputes and lawsuits themselves, but there are some disputes and lawsuits that they cannot handle within the rules!

For example, a certain company once did not obtain enough clinical data in order to launch the special medicine they produced to the market faster, resulting in serious complications in hundreds of users!

The vast majority of them reached a settlement, took a sum of money and signed a letter of understanding.

But there are also some people, whether because they want to get more compensation, or want to use what happened to them to warn the medical group, in short, they just don't compromise and don't sign.

Such a lawsuit cannot be fought, because the longer it is fought, the longer it is delayed, the greater the harm it will cause!

After simple communication failed, they found Paul, and after paying a sum of money, these people disappeared.

Of course, when reporting to the outside world, they finally accepted the company's conditions and accepted subsequent treatment.

In this era where there is no television and you can only rely on radio and newspapers to get news, with money, you can really do whatever you want!

The Pasreto family is trusted because of their good reputation, high execution, and no easy traces, and is respected by many people.

This is actually a very absurd thing, because he has good killing skills, so he has some connections with those upper-class companies.

For these medical groups, as long as Paul is willing to pay, who they sell to is not selling?

Even the more Paul buys, the happier they are, because in this way, the money they give to Paul is ultimately earned back from Paul, which is equivalent to Paul working for them for free!

Although this algorithm is a bit incorrect, most people think so.

Now Paul is busy preparing for the next thing and can't take care of the medical group. Now Lance suddenly says he wants to buy a large amount of medicine, which is equivalent to helping him continue to maintain his relationship with the medical group.

How could he refuse this?

So he agreed immediately.

After the two communicated a few sentences, Alberto turned to look at Lance, "The price of medicine has risen slightly now, about seven or eight percent. If you can accept this increase, then there is no problem at all."

"In addition, Paul wants to know how much money you need for the goods, so he can transfer the goods."

Lance crunched down on a crisp apple, "Three million worth of goods."

His incisors crushed the apple, and juice splattered from his not fully closed mouth. Alberto was stunned for a while, and then said, "You're crazy," but still told Paul the number.

"He wants us to go over and talk in detail."

Taking three million worth of goods at once is enough for Paul to take some time out.

Lance didn't have any other emotions about this. Sometimes there will be different performances between father and son based on different interests, let alone that they are not blood relatives, they can only be regarded as ordinary friends.

After Alberto hung up the phone, he sat back next to Lance, "How can these drugs be so valuable?"

Lance nodded, "Maybe in half a year or a year, it will become six million, or even more."

Alberto was silent for a while, "But I don't need to invest so much capital, and it will become so much in a year."

The meaning of his words was obvious, if it was just for making money, this was not a suitable investment.

Opening a bar, or even selling alcohol, is the top business in this period!

Lance shook his head. Considering he had provided information about Luigi, he said softly, "When the world is facing a drug shortage, whoever has the drugs holds absolute initiative."

"What you can gain is not just money, but also the friendship of the ruling groups of these countries!"

Alberto was somewhat unconvinced and retorted, "But medical groups can sell more drugs to them. We are not as important as you think!"

"Have you considered this factor?"

"Those blood-sucking guys in the medical groups won't let go of such an opportunity!"

What he said wasn't entirely wrong. Lance revealed a slight smile, "But the federal government may not allow them to do so, or even allow them to sell to a certain country…"

It was enough to say this much. There was no point in continuing. Alberto fell into thought.

At this moment, Paul, who was arranging work in the manor, hung up the phone and frowned.

Muller, who was sitting beside him, asked, "What's wrong, Paul?"

Paul came back to his senses. "Abe just called and said Lance wants that batch of medicine."

"That impressive young man!" Muller nodded. "How much does he want? I'll have someone send it over. He helped us a bit, and he seems important to Senator Williams' plan."

"Tens or hundreds of thousands, just give it to him."

The reason why the five major families are the five major families is not only because they have a lot of people and guns, but also because they have a lot of money.

Tens or hundreds of thousands might just be a day or two's gross profit for the five major families.

Giving it away won't have any impact on the entire family.

"He wants three million."

Muller gasped. "I understand. I'll contact them now."

About a few minutes later, Muller returned, his expression not so natural, as if he had encountered trouble.

"Did they raise the price?"

Muller shook his head. "It's not a question of raising the price or not. They don't have much stock left now. At most, they can only give us two million worth of goods first."

This made Paul curious. Those people in the medical groups can't be considered human at all.

If they walked past a stone on the roadside, they would pick it up, squeeze blood from it, lick it twice, and then throw it back. How could they not want to make money?

Just like recently, Paul received a job from them to deal with a reporter who was exaggerating the addiction to special pain relievers, causing some waves in public opinion.

This guy was unwilling to take money to shut up, and didn't accept any threats. He always said something like "The public has the right to know" and refused to compromise.

In the end, he disappeared completely.

So, it was unbelievable to him that the medical groups wouldn't want to make money!

"The situation may be a little tense now. The federal government has placed a very large order. For our sake, they squeezed out this batch of goods."

Paul also realized that the situation might really be a little unusual, but even if Tanfirth was fighting until the continent sank, it wouldn't have any direct impact on him.

On the contrary, if this difficulty cannot be overcome, the Pasreto family will disappear forever.

"I remember there are still some stocks in the family, give them all to him."

Muller nodded in agreement. "That's the only way."

In the evening, Lance and Alberto came to the manor. Paul personally received them and had the chef make authentic Sumuri cuisine.

"Try it, the most authentic Sumuri reef island cuisine." Paul appeared very polite and enthusiastic at the dining table.

From his explanation, Lance learned that Sumuri cuisine is actually divided into several factions. The one that Paul and the others admire most is the reef island style, which is a tradition, a heritage.

It must be said that the taste is indeed much better than the so-called "federal cuisine", at least they don't treat fried chicken or roast chicken as one of the main dishes!

Both sides avoided the content of Senator Williams' final separate conversation with Lance. Smart people know not to ask what they shouldn't ask, and they also know not to flaunt what they shouldn't flaunt.

Paul trusted Lance very much. He directly asked Muller to send all the medicines stored in the family over. As for the medicines from the medical groups, it would take a few more days to mobilize them.

After finishing the evening's social gathering, Paul lay on the bed, feeling the soreness all over his body and the satisfaction that rest could bring. He breathed a long sigh of relief.

Dover had been locked up for a while, and the matter of Lance being attacked had gradually stopped being discussed. At the request of some people, Dover was finally released.

Dover, who had just been released from confinement, finally felt the long-lost joy of freedom again!

He actually had a group of partners around him, and there were also some elders in the family who supported him, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to be so unscrupulous.

If his father hadn't died, there wouldn't be Paul today. At the same time, his father wasn't a nobody back then. Those relatives and friends of his father are now his resources.

This time he came out, Paul didn't arrange a job for him. On the one hand, Paul believed that Dover was not suitable for work now. Once things got chaotic, he couldn't guarantee Dover's safety.

On the other hand, not letting him work was actually to prevent him from causing trouble.

It was already annoying enough at home. If he was released again, who knows if it would cause some unexpected changes.

Dover is not a mature person.

If he were really a mature person, he would understand that he should respect Paul's reasoning, instead of going against Paul.

Perhaps it was because Paul felt that he owed Dover's family a lot, so he indulged Dover to the point that he was already an adult, but in some respects, he still seemed very naive.

Two days after coming out, Dover went to the warehouse. He planned to take a batch of medicine and sell it.

Recently, the price of medicines has been rising, making it a good time to sell medicines, but when he went to the warehouse, he found that the medicines that were everywhere were gone!

After he inquired, he learned from the younger generation of the family that these medicines had been sent to Lance.

This made Dover even more angry. He felt that Lance was targeting him!

Even Paul wouldn't help him!

In the evening, he took a few people to the bar to drink away his sorrows.

Like most young people, he didn't have any savings. The only difference was that most young people couldn't earn money, so they didn't have savings.

And he was too good at making money, so he didn't have any savings.

He has always spent money as soon as he has it. If he has a lot of money, he buys things. He loves motorcycles and cars and has bought several villas and even a dock warehouse to display his "collectibles."

Recently, he took a fancy to a new racing car, which cost more than 70,000. Originally, he wanted to get a batch of medicine out and sell it to raise the money, but he didn't expect that he couldn't do it!

The more high-end the racing car, the worse the sales, and the production will naturally not be high. Selling one means one less.

Watching his favorite racing car being bought, he took people and plunged into the bar to drown his sorrows.

Whenever he thought of Paul's favoritism, he felt a little unwilling!

Drinking until he was a little tipsy, he stepped on the coffee table with a flushed face and said to the people around him—

"If it weren't for my father taking a bullet for him back then, it would be hard to say who would be the boss of the Pasreto family now!"