Shadow Empire

Chapter 984 The Person I Want to See All My Life

Lance spent a few days in Mantegnon and even managed to meet with Commissioner Dale.

Commissioner Dell is currently doing very well on the state's Prohibition Commission because he can bring more tangible benefits to everyone!

Sometimes, corruption, from zero to one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, is only missing a small "loophole".

Commissioner Dale himself was the weak link in the Prohibition Committee, and through him, the entire Prohibition Committee quickly succumbed to Lance's gold rush and completely compromised.

Indeed, some people were reluctant to compromise, but they eventually did, since as long as they lived in Licarle State and the Federation, Lance's influence was ubiquitous.

He may have slightly less influence in other regions, but that doesn’t mean he can’t arrange for some people to work in other places.

When those committee members received calls from their families, when their families told them that strangers were around them, along with some intimidation, some invitations, and even some rebukes from the Congressional Prohibition Committee.

Soon, these people joined in.

If you don't join in, not only will you be in danger, but your family will also be in danger.

But after joining, not only did their own income increase, but their families were no longer threatened!
When 70-80% of the people became good friends with Dell, they would participate in various activities together outside of work, and even organize some exciting parties.

The absence of one or two individuals will not make them appear so incorruptible or independent in the eyes of others.

In the eyes of others, they can only be repulsive!

Everyone else took bribes, so why didn't you guys?
What do you want to do?
Do they want to use the corruption of their colleagues to highlight their own integrity?

In such cases, they are more likely to be targeted.

Human thoughts and actions are a very interesting thing. Before a change in their thinking occurs, people are often able to stick to their original intentions.

Once their minds change, they become worse than the bad guys!
It's as if they're taking revenge on their past, righteous selves!
Director Dale and Lance didn't talk for very long; frankly, his current job was essentially a state of idleness.

Local hazardous materials administrations regularly report to them on their progress in banning alcohol. Large quantities of seized alcohol are sent from different parts of the state to Mantegnon, where they are then destroyed in front of reporters and a large number of people.

Every so often, newspapers would report on their progress in prohibition in Likale, and Congress would call to commend them for their efforts and contributions to the prohibition cause.

If things are already like this, and you still want to make things worse, then you really don't want to get better!
Director Dale is very satisfied with his current work and life. At the same time, he knows that he has taken Lance's money and is no longer just a member of Lance's circle. He has also reached the limit of his life.

Whether he can achieve a higher status has little to do with how hard he works or whether Lance is willing to help him.

Congress certainly knows the situation here and the situation of these people. The fact that Congress is pretending not to see these terrible circumstances does not mean that they are unaware of them.

They wouldn't let someone with such a tainted reputation as Director Dale continue to advance, so this is the pinnacle of his political career!
But his son still has a chance to climb even higher!

Unfortunately, Director Dale didn't have the opportunity to attend the Saint Farm party. To Lance, he was just someone he could easily replace; he wasn't qualified to be part of the core.

Besides these two people, Lance also met with the lieutenant governor.

The deputy governor was very pleased with Lance's visit. He was now a big shot, and for such a big shot to take the initiative to visit could only mean that the other party still cared about him.

The lieutenant governor invited Lance into his study and personally poured him some coffee. "I heard you've already been to Terry's place?"

These past few days, news has been circulating in Mantegnon that Lance has decided to support Terry. The city, which had initially felt a bit like a contest, suddenly lost that pre-election tension.

Because people already knew the outcome of the election—Attorney General Terry would win the Likale state election by a landslide and become the next governor.

Since the result is already known, why waste money?
Wouldn't it be better to pocket so much campaign money?
The atmosphere and intensity of the election campaign have cooled down, and people can definitely feel it.

Lance nodded and said, "I've already spoken with him, and he expressed his gratitude for your withdrawal."

The lieutenant governor chuckled twice. "Terry has already called me twice, both times to express his gratitude."

Lance nodded. "Are you planning to serve another term as lieutenant governor here, or are you planning to be transferred to another state after Terry takes office?"

The lieutenant governor leaned back in his chair, looking remarkably relaxed. "I'll be transferred away once Terry takes office; things have already been arranged there."

As a high-ranking member of the Socialist Party, such a transfer was relatively easy for the deputy governor.

He was a friend of the new governor of another state controlled by the Socialist Party, and through some exchanges of favors within the party, he was able to smoothly go to another state to become the lieutenant governor and run for governor four years later.

Politics is indeed a very complex and difficult thing to understand for those who don't understand it.

But for those who understand it, there's nothing complicated about it at all.

“Is there anything I can do?” Lance asked.

Since the deputy governor took the initiative to make concessions, he should certainly reciprocate in kind; it's a matter of courtesy and politeness.

The deputy governor said with a smile, "I might need your support then."

He sighed as he said that he was going to a new place and had to start all over again. Although it would be difficult, it was also a challenge for him.

As Lance spoke, he took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it over.

The deputy governor was somewhat surprised when he saw the envelope he was handed over, but he also felt that everything made sense.

He did not refuse. During his last three years in Likale, he watched as Lance gradually expanded from Golden Harbor to cover the entire state of Likale.

Congressional support also played a significant role, and was absolutely crucial!
He wouldn't be too polite with Lance, and deep down, he had a feeling that "this is what I deserve."

He picked up the envelope, glanced at Lance, and asked, "Can I open it?"

This is a very clever way of asking questions. If Lance asks him to open it now, it means that the contents inside will definitely satisfy him.

As for Lance saying that it can't be disassembled now?

He didn't think that was possible, after all, everyone knew Lance's style, he was a very generous person who was never stingy with money!
Sure enough, Lance nodded. "Of course!"

The deputy governor opened the envelope, took out the check, and looked at the long string of zeros on the check. At that moment, he felt like a flower in full bloom!
“Three million!” The lieutenant governor smiled and placed the check on the table in front of him, jokingly saying, “I didn’t know I was worth so much!”

Lance maintained his smile, "Part of this is to make up for your losses, and the other part is my support for my friend!"

"Contact me when you need to run for governor, and I will continue to support you."

This is essentially a promise, a promise that allows the lieutenant governor to face the election in another state with ease.

He nodded. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Lance gestured for him to put the check back in the envelope.

For someone like the deputy governor, he has plenty of ways to handle this money cleanly, so he doesn't need Lance's help. This is also related to the fact that he is not a core member of Lance's interest group.

It's impossible for a small investment to generate such a huge "dividend profit" of three million. If Lance were to use the foundation he's currently using to handle these bribes to give him three million, it would mean that others would also have to pay according to this standard, otherwise there would be a loophole.

Why did the deputy governor receive clearly non-compliant investment returns despite having a small share of investment?

However, others did not receive this additional return on investment. Is there a situation where the investment was used to transfer benefits?

The federal officials can be quite irrational at times. They try every possible way to legally collect illicit money while simultaneously preventing any overt transactions. Perhaps this is one way they protect themselves from such illicit activities.

As for how the deputy governor will handle the three million, it will most likely be through investment returns. After all, at his level, there will always be someone willing to help him deal with this seemingly unreasonable sum of money.

The conversation with the lieutenant governor did not last long, and the lieutenant governor did not invite Lance to dinner. He would be leaving soon, and it was best not to be labeled as part of Lance's faction.

Come clean and leave clean, so that it will be easier to get things started when you change locations.

Once he's labeled, people over there will look at him with suspicion.

That concludes Lance's trip to Mantegnon. Next up are the gubernatorial election results and the holiday trip to Lawrence's ranch.

During this time, he continued to monitor the situation in Lapa. Diego seemed to be trying to leave, but Albert noticed and then they deployed three large trucks, forcing him back to the presidential palace.

It could be said that this operation was entirely aimed at taking his life, which terrified Diego.

After he returned home, he killed two maids and claimed that they had stolen his things and gone through the documents in his study.

However, there is another version of the story, which says that he was so scared that he wet himself.

Because he was too fat to change his pants, which he had wet himself in fear, two maids helped him change them, but they were killed as a result.

The president was so frightened that he wet himself. If this incident, which undermines his dignity, were to be leaked, it would be a heavy blow to his personal image and authority.

He tried his best to keep it a secret, but for some reason it still got leaked.

In addition, the struggle between the government forces and the insurgents has become increasingly fierce. The insurgents have begun to band together, forming five large "battle groups" that are now able to fight the government forces to a standstill.

The government forces' consumption was increasing and they were about to be unable to keep up. Lance thought that it wouldn't be long before Diego would contact him again to borrow money.

After all, this was the only thing he could do to prolong his rule and life.

He had considered surrendering to the rebels, but he also knew that the only possible outcome of his surrender would be death.

On September 25th, Maurice got married.

The wedding was to be held on Golden Beach. Lance had a large section of the beach cleared out, even though it was government property, he could use it as he pleased.

In the federal government, there are times when special privileges are appropriate to be exercised.

Like a boxer, if his punches are powerful enough, he should swing them more often instead of just standing there motionless.

If a boxer doesn't throw his fists, others won't know how powerful he is, and they'll develop a very dismissive attitude.

But people will only respect him if he occasionally swings his fist or hits a punching bag, showing everyone how powerful his fist is.

The wide, clean, golden beach was already crowded with people by nine o'clock in the morning.

The Lance family now has more than 6,000 members. As for the members on the outer periphery, not counting those within the Lance family, there may be another 7,000 or 8,000, or even 10,000. All of them together could exceed 15,000.

This is only the result of Lance's constant control. If he didn't control it, the family's population would soon exceed 10,000, and would rush toward 20,000 or even 30,000!
This is not a good thing. He had talked to his family members before. After the war, the Federation would have more confidence and strength. They would definitely not let the gangs and their "shared rule" continue. They would definitely take action against the gangs entrenched within the Federation.

Whoever has the larger scale will be the first to be sent to the chopping block, so Lance has been controlling the number of people.

When the war comes to an end, he will send a significant portion of his family members to the Alan region.

By then, Alan should have already begun to integrate into the Federation, but there must still be resistance organizations in the area, and it was still in a chaotic phase.

The federal government certainly won't send troops to suppress these illegal organizations whose members are ordinary citizens, but gangs can.

As Lance stood on the beach, gazing at the horizon where the sea met the sky, his soul seemed to find a sense of ease.

He glanced at the people on the beach, took a sip of his wine, and thought, "This might be the last glorious moment for the gangsters in the world!"
"Why are you here all alone?" Lance turned around and saw Barbara, who was walking towards him in a beautiful dress, exuding an even more alluring charm than before.

Lance smiled and turned to look at her. "I didn't know you were coming too."

Barbara shrugged. "Gerald said Maurice is getting married. If I remember correctly, the groom's name is Maurice. He also said you'd be coming, so I took time off to come."

Barbara has now secured her place in the entire Federal film industry. She is very beautiful, has a great figure, and exudes a charming and alluring aura that is fatally attractive to many men.

Perhaps her acting skills aren't good enough, but her face and figure are good enough to make up for that.

Barbara herself is willing to make some concessions in this regard, after all, for her, acting skills will gradually improve with more acting experience.

However, if you don't use your face and figure now, they will expire and become useless.

She didn't know how long her flowering period would last, so she could only use it as soon as she had it.

She walked over to Lance and naturally took his arm. "Where's Pat?"

"Didn't they come with you?"

Lance shook his head. "Patricia and Emily are still at the farm and haven't come back yet. It's much safer there than here."

What he did was truly appalling. If some people can't deal with him, they might turn on his family, which would be disastrous.

So when he wasn't in the Federation, he told Patricia and Emily to go to the farm and not come back. Anyway, they didn't need to work to prove they were excellent and independent women.

And even if they want to work, whether it's at the city government or the state government, isn't it just a matter of a word?

Patricia was quite happy to be able to vacation on the farm with her children. She actually liked farms more than others because she grew up on one and was also very popular with the grandfathers.

So she had no complaints, except for not being able to see Lance.

Actually, this matter is easy to resolve. There are many toys available now, and if she wants to solve it, she can always find a way!
Listening to Barbara talk about these things, Lance asked curiously, "What about you?"

Is anyone pursuing you?

Barbara pursed her lips. "Yes, there are many, but I don't like any of them."

She turned to look at Lance, her eyes filled with infatuation.

She didn't actually have any other thoughts about Lance; she just thought he was an ordinary kid.

But as Lance gained a foothold in Golden Harbor City, in Likalai State, and even on the federal stage, she began to take Lance seriously and was attracted to him!

Throughout the years she and Patricia grew up together, she was always the "big winner," outperforming Patricia in every way, whether it was academics, work, looks, figure, or anything else.

However, in terms of choosing a partner, Patricia not only had the upper hand, but she was also far ahead of her.

She had once read a book that said if you met someone in your youth who could amaze you for a lifetime...

So for the rest of her life, she will live in this person's shadow.

She didn't know or believe that anyone could amaze someone else's life before.

But the moment Lance turned to look at her, she understood everything!
(End of this chapter)