Empire of Shadows

Jonathan had a mysterious trust in Lance, having watched him rise from absolutely nothing.

Just last year, this young man was coming to him with IOUs seeking loans, and now, he was plotting against a monopolistic enterprise like the Ligee Group.

Even though his own promotion speed was already quite fast, feeling the confidence in Lance's words made him realize that his own development wasn't actually that rapid.

"Since you have your own ideas, then I won't influence your judgment, but if there's anything I can help with, give me a call!"

Jonathan felt that a new legendary story would continue to unfold.

In fact, the underworld was full of miraculous stories. In Gold State, a young man only needed two or three years to become one of the leading underworld forces in Gold State.

The underworld was different from the aboveground world. The aboveground world had too many rules and too many things to abide by, making it difficult to act freely.

Moreover, the acquisition of "power" didn't come from courage.

In other words, you might have the courage to declare war on large capital groups or large political groups, but that doesn't mean you actually have the qualifications to fight them.

They wouldn't even give you a second glance, or they might not even notice you at all; their subordinates would take care of everything.

Erasing a small, insignificant challenger was just a phone call away for them.

But the underworld was different.

The biggest rule here was that there were no rules. As long as you had the courage to challenge, then you had the potential to create miracles!

Only in the underworld did God achieve equality for all—

No one could survive being shot in the head with a pound of lead, whether you were a corporate executive, a homeless person, a gangster, or… the Federal President!

The moment a bullet blew your skull apart, regardless of their identity, they ultimately all simply returned to one.

Human!

As long as a vital point was hit, you would die. This was the only principle in the underworld.

And buying weapons, loading bullets, and firing didn't require layers of rules; you just needed the courage to walk up to that person and pull the trigger on their head!

So, it was easy to create a miracle in the underworld: kill others and avoid being killed.

Questioning authority, challenging authority, becoming authority—that's the underworld, not the aboveground world.

Jonathan felt that Lance could go further because he was shining in his most proficient field. That was his confidence!

After Lance hung up the phone, he sat in his chair, propping his chin with his hands, thinking. Since they wanted to play hardball, then he would give them a chance to play hardball.

He even found it a little funny.

Using exquisite porcelain to play hardball with roadside stones?

Hopefully, they didn't have heart disease!

Lance called Alvin.

These past few days, he had been at the labor agency. Sean had officially started his college life, so Alvin often needed to go over there to help.

Lance had already scouted out several professional managers, but he hadn't officially contacted them yet. He needed to observe these people for a while longer.

Although the business there was legal and compliant, it was still possible to be involved in some family business to some extent, so he had to be cautious.

"The Ligee Group has decided to drag things out with us, and according to the news from Luca, they most likely believe we did it."

"I need you to do something. Have our people check all of the Ligee Group's warehouses and properties in King's Harbor City."

Alvin agreed immediately. "I'll have Johnny do it…" He paused, and the sound of a match being struck came from the receiver. "You're planning to wipe out all their warehouses?"

Lance didn't give a definite answer. "That's related to the second thing. We need to talk to the insurance company, but this matter… I'll find a way to handle it."

"Just handle what I asked you to do first."

Alvin was a little confused. "What does this have to do with the insurance company?"

He hadn't received a better education and wasn't that familiar with the workings of many areas of the Federation. He didn't know that most warehouses on the docks had insurance, and this insurance was for the warehouses themselves.

After the warehouses were rented out, the companies that rented the warehouses might also insure the goods inside.

In the Federation, getting insurance was a very important business practice because you never knew when something unexpected might happen.

Moreover, the Federation had a relatively high level of acceptance of social insurance because there were many examples of insurance companies going bankrupt due to natural disasters, including the Gold State earthquake, which directly led to the bankruptcy of a large insurance company.

Stores on the roadside, especially stores in the city center, also had the habit of getting insurance.

Whether it was a robbery or some other accident, the insurance company would pay the full amount.

This was also why many stores were very cooperative when faced with robberies because they had insurance, and they could file a claim. Although they might not get paid, and they might not get the full amount, at least they weren't afraid of it!

The wheat wasn't insured because the Ligee Group thought that the wheat would be shipped away soon.

Moreover, even if the premium for two million dollars' worth of wheat was only two or three percent, that was still a considerable amount.

People came and went on the docks, and there were people working even at night, so they weren't afraid of theft or fire, and they only had a week of storage time.

The profit margins for this common wheat were generally not high. If they compressed the net profit by another two or three percent, their profit margin would be compressed a lot.

Moreover, they didn't think that anyone could steal so much wheat.

But who the hell could have imagined that those people would not only not steal their wheat, nor set it on fire, but would instead frantically water it, causing the wheat to sprout.

Even if they had insured it, no company's contract would have a clause stating that "wheat must be compensated if it sprouts."

As for the other warehouses and other properties, Lance wasn't sure if they were insured, so he had to figure it out first and then decide what to do.

After hanging up Alvin's phone, he called out, "Allen, come here!"

Soon, Allen pushed the door open and entered. He had become a little more steady now, and his interpersonal skills were still very good, but he wasn't as active as before, where he could become good friends with anyone.

Now, he would think and discern. He would distinguish whether those people were worth associating with.

After Allen sat down, Lance instructed him on something: "Go to the toy store and buy some toy trucks. Send one to each of the management of the Ligee Group's King Kong branch."

"That's all."

Allen, who had just sat down, stood up. "I'm going to do things now."

Lance nodded. "Get money from Melo over there, or come back for reimbursement."

The company had a very complete reimbursement system. Lance hated the kind of thing where employees had to spend their own money to do things for the company.

If you are filled with revulsion and disgust for a thing or a person, then it is best not to become such a person yourself!

He went to Maurice's office. Maurice's condition was recovering well. Apart from his body still appearing weak, he was actually not much different from a normal person.

But people who knew him could feel that his body was not as good as before.

At least he couldn't do some physical work now, and he couldn't even run. He would stop after running a few steps, gasping for breath.

As soon as he entered the door, Lance found that there was also a girl in Maurice's room.

Lance met their gazes and then showed some smiles.

The girl was named Piper, a nurse. Someone had to take care of Maurice when he was inconvenient before.

Moreover, it wasn't really appropriate to find anyone else for this kind of thing. His mother had already remarried, and it would obviously be even more inappropriate to let his mother come.

As for his father… if he let his father come, it would only make a mess everywhere.

So, Lance hired him a professional nurse, a professional girl. His personal care in that situation was actually a very private matter, but fortunately, the girl wasn't averse to these things.

In fact, the hospital initially planned to equip male nurses. Male nurses were also in the majority in hospitals during this period, but Lance gave enough money, so naturally girls were willing.

The female nurse helped Maurice walk from the window to the sofa and let him sit down.

"Something up?"

Lance nodded. "I want to find someone familiar with insurance to understand something. I think about it, didn't Ennio's father used to be an insurance salesman or something?"

Maurice nodded. "His third job was as an insurance salesman."

Saying that, he looked at the nurse. "Bring the phone, I'll call him."

Ever since the last incident ended, Ennio's father hadn't continued working. He had been thinking and re-observing this unfamiliar world.

He felt that he actually didn't understand the Federation at all. Everything here was both familiar and strange. He had to adapt.

Soon, the phone was connected, and he would come over immediately, which would take about ten minutes.

These people all lived in the surrounding area, and transportation was very convenient.

Before long, Ennio's father came over. He was very familiar with Maurice, after all, they were neighbors, and the relationship between the two families had always been good.

He also came to Maurice's father's funeral, and he was also quite touched.

However, when he saw Lance, he became a little restrained, and he didn't even know how to address Lance.

Calling a young man who was even younger than his son with honorifics or something else made him feel a little indescribable awkwardness.

Fortunately, Lance saw his worries. "Just call me Lance. Ennio and I are good brothers. You can think of me as your nephew."

He paused for a moment, "I heard you've done a lot of jobs before, including insurance sales?"

The middle-aged man looked embarrassed when this was mentioned, as it was a terrible memory.

At that time, a newspaper reported an article entitled "From One Dollar to an Insurance Empire," which introduced the story of the birth of an insurance company.

The chairman and founder was originally a grassroots salesman in a company. Through his love for his work and loyalty to his customers, he quickly gathered a large group of customers.

Because of the conflicting interests between some customers and the company, he stood on the side of the customers, which led to his dismissal from the company.

But his customers supported him immediately, and he also had the idea of starting his own insurance company. Then, through loans and other methods, he raised the start-up capital.

Of course, this part was glossed over. The newspaper would not tell people where the money actually came from.

In short, he is now the chairman, major shareholder, and billionaire of a large insurance company.

This filled him with confidence and passion for the industry, but when he really entered the industry, he realized that everything was fake.

Those obedient and friendly customers only existed in the newspaper, and he couldn't be loyal to his customers because denying claims was also part of his job.

You clearly know that this person listened to your nonsense and bought insurance from you, but when he needs your help, the company tells you that either you reject him, or the company rejects you!

Maybe he didn't see through these things at first, but as time went on, and after he came into contact with many things that ordinary people didn't know, he became disgusted with this profession.

Lance listened to his narration of what happened in those years and was a little confused. "Uncle, I don't want to... be pedantic, but I just think that since you know that the nature of an insurance salesman's job is not so good, why would you still be a salesman?"

The middle-aged man was silent for a long time. "I think... selling things and selling insurance are different. You can't tell whether everyone needs to buy insurance."

"But if someone needs the product you're selling, they will definitely be interested and buy it."

Okay, a very simple logic. Lance couldn't find any problems. "Then can you still contact those former colleagues in the insurance company?"

"It's best to be a supervisor or someone with some authority. I need you to help me find out something."

"Which company is handling the insurance for the Liji Group on the dock, and what are their specific insurance projects?"

The middle-aged man did not refuse. Lance had helped Ennio a lot. If it weren't for him, Ennio might still be wandering the streets, living a life where he couldn't even fill his stomach.

How could he just give him a sum of money for him to spend as he pleased?

In terms of both emotion and reason, he needed to obey Lance's order, whether it was for his own sake or for his son's.

Lance took two thousand dollars from the account and gave it to him. Instead of talking about friendship with those insurance people who only knew money, it was better to talk to them directly about money. "If a problem can be solved with money, it is definitely not a problem."

"Just agree to whatever price they offer. As for whether it's reasonable or not, that's my business."

"Even if they ask for one hundred thousand!"

The middle-aged man nodded. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it!"

For some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of mission.

This was the first time he had so much money in his pocket. A whole stack of twenty-dollar bills made him feel a little nervous.

He drove to the outside of the insurance company. This car was provided to him by Lance. Looking at this brand-new insurance company, he wondered how many people's blood and money had built its glory today.

The moment the middle-aged man stepped into the lobby of the insurance company, someone immediately greeted him, "How can I help you?"

He looked at the young man in his twenties with a happy smile on his face and vaguely saw himself in the past. "Is this job not very easy to do?"

The young man's expression froze for a moment, and he continued to maintain his smile, "I don't quite understand what you mean, sir."

He quickly explained, "I'm here to find someone."

He said a name, and the young man looked a little surprised, "You need to go to the front desk on the sixth floor. Do you have an appointment?"

The middle-aged man shook his head, but still took the elevator.

Two minutes later, the secretary at the front desk on the sixth floor made a phone call to the manager, and he got ten minutes of time.

The moment the office door was pushed open, the former supervisor had been promoted to department manager. After many years of reunion, he had aged a lot, but the other party seemed to look very young.

He thought it should be because of his mental outlook. The other party's mental outlook was obviously better.

"When they told me just now that you wanted to see me, I thought it was someone with the same name. I didn't expect it to be you!"

The manager pressed the button on the phone, "Send two cups of coffee."

He invited Ennio's father to sit down, "It's been many years since I've seen you. You look good?"

Ennio's father then remembered that he had changed into the clothes that Lance had prepared for him, handmade by a master craftsman, which looked expensive at a glance.

He felt that he had aged a lot, but in the eyes of the manager, he was not so old, but had a bit of the temperament of a successful person.

Otherwise, he wouldn't even have ordered coffee.

Ennio's father pursed his lips and smiled, "Not bad, I was passing by here and wanted to come in and take a look. I thought you might have been transferred, but they told me that you are now the manager."

The manager emphasized, "And a partner!"

The pride on his face was from the bottom of his heart. To become a partner in an insurance company, even if it was just a partner in a branch, he had reached the top of the mountain!

This was the achievement that Ennio's father had once dreamed of, but now, he had seen through it.

Because under this mountain, the lives and wealth of countless people are buried.

What impressed him the most was that someone needed to be hospitalized due to illness and came to apply for a claim.

According to the terms of the contract, the insurance company should compensate the person with a claim amount of about six or seven hundred dollars.

This money might not be enough for him to fully recover, but at least it could help him get through the current difficulties.

But the company refused to pay, and the reason was also very absurd, because he had a fungal infection (athlete's foot), but he didn't tell the company, so the company's health assessment of him was wrong, and the policy would not take effect.

In the end, that person died because he didn't have money to see a doctor and missed the best opportunity.

This is one of the records of this partner. He can always find reasons to refuse claims from a special perspective, saving the company a lot of money.

The coffee was quickly brought in. After the secretary went out, the manager sat opposite him, "Tell me, I know you came here not just to see me, an old friend, there must be other things."

Ennio's father picked up the coffee, took a sip, and went straight to the point, "Do you know which company is handling the insurance business of the Liji Group?"