Shadow Empire

Chapter 1084 Bet and Meeting
"Jeffrey and his group have expanded their influence in Congress very quickly in recent years..." At a gambling table in a room, a man who looked to be in his fifties, with a square face and some gray hair, said this while looking down at the cards in his hand.

He seemed to be focused on the gambling table, but also on the conversation. Then he put down his cards and threw a few chips into the betting area.

“I had someone do an investigation, and the reason Jeffrey’s power expanded so rapidly was because he went to Golden Harbor City. Everything happened after that.”

He looked at the next shop on his left and said, "Lance White is an interesting guy."

To his left was another middle-aged man from the Federation, roughly the same age as him. He had also looked at his cards, picked up a few chips of the same denomination, and tossed them into the betting area. "Call."

After saying that, he continued the conversation with the gray-haired gentleman, saying, "A large portion of the revenue from Golden Harbor Casino, Lance's liquor, and other sources ends up in the pockets of Jeffrey and his group."

“I’ve heard that the profits that Golden Port City and Lance himself transfer each year may exceed one hundred million federal soles. That’s enough to support them in doing whatever they want.”

The other man sitting opposite them continued, "So, to stop their power from expanding further, we need to first address the issue of Lance White constantly channeling benefits."

The person who spoke first nodded. "Everything is based on profit. If these people can't provide them with that much profit, they can't maintain the current size of their team."

"You know, everything costs money!"

"Rent, staff salaries, various expenses, maintenance costs, and all sorts of other expenses that I have no idea where they came up with or how they came up with them!"

"Can you imagine?"

"They cut their finger because of the paper, and then gave me a hospital receipt for 150 yuan!"

People around the gambling table couldn't help but laugh; some continued to play, while others folded.

Their laughter stemmed from the fact that everyone has experienced this kind of underhanded way of taking money from their pockets.

A water cup might cost twenty yuan, while a coffee machine could cost several thousand. Who hasn't experienced something like this?
But they won't break these unspoken rules of the game, because they'll also make some money from them.

This money all comes from the capitalists who support them, or from some legal or illegal business operators with whom they have vested interests. They transfer profits to these people and receive stable returns from them.

Provide assistance regarding political climate, policy changes, and when necessary.

Everyone is like this; they want to expand their power. In Congress, it's actually quite simple: just gain a certain status and then spend money.

The Senate itself represents the highest level of political status and prestige, something they are born with, but money is something that is a bit difficult to obtain.

Senator Lance and some capitalists have the support of the Cleveland senator, and these people also have similar groups of support behind them, only their supporters do not provide as much or as frequently as the financial backers behind Senator Lance.

There are no people like Lance who can contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in donations every year. Without money, it is difficult to satisfy the material desires of some people, so how can one gain people's support and help?

Joining Senator Cleveland's clique guarantees a minimum of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in legal income annually, and potentially more.

However, if you join them, you might earn 200,000 to 300,000 yuan a year, or at most 500,000 yuan.

With a difference of several times, when everyone is nominally equal in power, whoever can give more money will naturally gain more support.

Politics requires money, and a lot of money at that. Starting with the upcoming party nomination elections, money will keep flowing in.

The federal political environment allows campaigning, and in Congress, participants are even given specific time and space to campaign.

Promising favors is a last resort, but most of the time, spending money is the core method for winning votes.

Therefore, having money is equivalent to having power.

With greater power comes even more power; it's a continuous cycle.

It can go up or down.

The group circled back to the original spot where the gray-haired gentleman had started. One of the guys who had folded began to lay out the community cards. "Lance Poker" had become a phenomenon, and it was used even more in high-society settings throughout the Federation.

It combines gambling and entertainment, and allows for high stakes, which is why people like it.

The gray-haired man glanced at the table cards and then threw a few more chips onto them.

He took a cigarette from a jeweled cigarette case and lit it. "I recently spoke with Roland, and he'll find a way to get rid of people like Lance White."

"If he can do that, I have promised him that I will not change his position after I take office, and I will not even interfere with the work arrangements within the FBI."

Upon hearing this, the gentlemen at the table all showed expressions of some surprise.

"Can he do it?" someone immediately questioned Director Roland's (FBI Director-General) abilities. "He hasn't shown this ability before, and Lance has people like Jeffrey behind him. I heard that another Supreme Court Justice for life has sided with them."

“If we can’t divert their attention from Lance and curb their abuse of power, even if Roland has the opportunity to do so, it will most likely be stopped in the end.”

"After all, this involves such a large amount of money being transferred. There are too many links in the chain, and someone benefits at each link. By doing this, you are challenging Jeffrey's entire system of interests."

It's not hard to tell from their conversation that the gray-haired gentleman believes he has a very high chance of winning, so this is an internal Liberal Party gathering.

The gray-haired gentleman was one of the nominated candidates. His confidence in winning the nomination and being nominated by the Liberal Party for president stemmed from the fact that both of his ancestors appeared in the painting.

He is now a very powerful political force within the Liberal Party. Due to some inappropriate tactics employed by the current president, the Liberal Party has gained more attention from voters in recent years, and naturally, their influence in the political arena has been expanding.

This gray-haired gentleman had been preparing for this moment, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he was highly likely to win.

When asked by his friends at the table, he seemed somewhat unconcerned. "Jeffrey and his group are strong, but that doesn't mean they can be the sole will in Congress. Haven't you noticed?"

"As their power grows, so do the number of people in Congress who are resentful of them!"

"This is a trend, a current. Nobody likes a place where a dominant group or individual exists!"

These words were echoed by all the gentlemen at the gambling table. Senator Cleveland's increasingly assertive performance in Congress made him less and less popular.

He now effectively controls a veto, which is a good thing from the perspective of his political interest group. Any bill they don't want to pass will be stopped by them.

But on the other hand, they are essentially standing in opposition to everyone else outside their own interest group.

To put it nicely, they might engage in a deal or exchange of benefits to get certain proposals passed, but would friends, especially close friends, use such methods?
They make too obvious a distinction between "I" and "them." The stronger they are, the stronger the resistance will be, although it may not be very obvious now.

However, with the election and the new president taking office, the seats in Congress will be reshuffled, and the political interest group of the Cleveland senators will be challenged.

This is why Senator Cleveland believes they can only allow the Libertarians to govern for four years, because that would be too long; after eight years, there would be too much uncertainty.

Four years later, there will be fewer variables, and their control over Congress will still be very strong. At this time, by pushing their own president into office, they can maintain their rule over Congress for twelve years!

Even longer!

This is almost the same as standing at the peak for a lifetime; they've been there for quite some time now!
All parties involved in the game are well aware of this situation, so they continue to use their own means to benefit themselves. When everyone's demands reach a common point at a certain stage, a harmonious parliament can be seen – pushing the Liberal Party to power.

But this harmony won't last long.

The next player to the gray-haired gentleman hesitated for a moment, and finally threw the cards in his hand onto the table. "If Roland can do these things, then everything makes sense, but I'm worried that Roland can't."

The gray-haired man shrugged indifferently. "If he can't do it, replace him. Someone else will always be able to."

"Making the FBI more centralized is a core goal of Congress, and even Jeffrey and his team won't change that idea, which means that 'degangsterization' will be a long-term goal."

“I’ve noticed that Lance White and his group are actively trying to clear their names, which is actually a good thing for us.”

“A crab extending its two pincers makes us worry about getting hurt while catching it.”

"But if it breaks its own pincers, then we don't need to worry about that."

"When gangs launder their money and lose the violence that makes us wary, that's when they're heading down a dead end."

His speech was somewhat disjointed, but the gentlemen sitting at the gambling table all understood what he meant.

Laundering is an inevitable trend for grassroots gangs, and the proposal to de-gangsterize them has been passed, which will become a long-term law enforcement task.

Only by "laundering" their criminal past can these gangs continue to maintain their wealth and status. But once they are no longer gangs and become corporations, even those whose true nature is ambiguous, their fate is no longer in their own hands.

Taking down a large-scale gang, such as the five major federal families, is no easy task.

Take the Perez family as an example. If you include the peripheral members, the gang may have tens of thousands of members or even more.

How difficult would it be for you to deal with so many people?
But if they become a business, requiring a policy and several adjustments, they will go bankrupt.

Forcing gangs to transform and bring them into the federal government's game system before eliminating them is a clever and effective method.

These people in the federal government are all too familiar with the game of luring troublesome enemies into their own system and then using their privileges to eliminate them!

They've been playing this game for a long time.

As the fourth community card was dealt, a smile appeared on the gray-haired gentleman's face, and he placed another bet.

“Once Lance White is taken care of, we can turn our attention to Jeffrey and his gang. I believe many of them will be willing to join us in dismembering them.”

"After all, they have wielded too much power in recent years and offended too many people."

Everyone else nodded in agreement with his point of view.

In Congress, the top governing body of the federal government, being too powerful will not lead others to submit; it will only result in targeting, attacks, and conspiracies to subvert the government.

As the last card was dealt, the gray-haired gentleman pushed all the chips on his table, which probably amounted to tens of thousands of dollars.

Seeing him push the table without hesitation, the others shook their heads and threw their cards onto the table.

This allowed the gray-haired gentleman to get all the chips without having to show his hand. He laughed and circled the chips in front of him, then, with a slightly smug expression and emotion, he slammed the two cards in his hand onto the table, showing them to everyone.

The gentlemen at the table couldn't help but show surprise when they saw his cards, and some even swore, because his cards were the lowest among all the players' hole cards and combinations.

He stole a victory that wasn't rightfully his, just like a thief!

But perhaps that's the greatest allure of Lance Poker, and gambling in general!
Soon a new round of games started on the table, and their discussion shifted to other things.

For them, this is a process of discussing work-related matters, while also providing some entertainment, such as playing cards, experiencing wins and losses, and gaining some emotional value.

Sometimes, policies that can influence the entire federal government are determined, submitted, and passed in this environment, amidst wins and losses.

Meanwhile, in the study of the senior detective supervisor, after much hesitation, he decided to go and see Lance.

Lance's words made him feel uncomfortable and uneasy, with unease being the stronger emotion.

Since they have decided to target Lance and the Perez family as their first targets, they must do their homework on these two gangs in advance.

In learning about Lance's past, he discovered a problem—

Lance was like God's illegitimate son; he was either incredibly lucky or he always anticipated problems and prepared solutions well in advance.

So apart from the initial unexpected events and dangers the Lance family encountered at the beginning, their entire development process was very smooth from the time they grew up.

Moreover, the unexpected events and dangers in the early stages were not because they couldn't have foreseen them, but mainly because their forces were too small and their strength too weak.

Whether at the gambling table or in real life, using one's own resources to hurt others is always the most intractable attack method for the "poor".

The fact that Lance and his family were able to survive shows that they must be extraordinary.

In the mind of this senior detective supervisor, Lance White was among the top three gang leaders in the Federation.

If given another chance to develop, he might become a legend in the underworld, someone that cannot be ignored, and someone who will become part of the Federation's history!

"Are you going out?" He had just finished dressing and entered the living room when his wife, who was watching TV, sat up from the sofa.

Although she was used to her husband sometimes having to go out for work at night, she was still a little worried when she saw him going out so late.

After all, the FBI is not what it used to be. Before, they were just a bunch of clowns, but now their work is starting to become dangerous.

The senior detective supervisor nodded. "I forgot some materials from the Bureau of Investigation. I'll go get them and be right back."

Hearing this, his wife finally felt relieved and lay back down. "When you come back, bring me some coffee and snacks, and remember to add extra salad dressing!"

The senior detective supervisor nodded, said "okay," and left home without looking back.

He lied, mainly because he didn't want his wife to worry, and also because he was afraid that this trip would become a stain on his career. If his wife didn't know what he was doing, she wouldn't be able to find out if he was ever subjected to coercion or something in the future.

Instead of driving directly to the place he had arranged to meet Lance, he went to the FBI first and registered the time with the security guard.

The security guards didn't question these senior agents and consultants too closely, since they were the true core members of the organization.

So when he filled in the time in the register, he deliberately wrote down the wrong time by ten minutes, believing that ten minutes would be enough for him and Lance to talk.

After a while, he left and headed to the place he had arranged to meet Lance...

(End of this chapter)