Shadow Empire

Chapter 129 Thoughts, Competitions and Administration
Alberto looked at Lance to see if he understood what he just said, "You said the film industry can help us?"

Lance nodded, "I'm sure you have a lot of money here that needs to go into the bank."

Alberto would certainly not deny this, because Lance also had more than 400,000 yuan in his hands that needed to be deposited in the bank, but it was not deposited in the end because the money could not withstand investigation.

In fact, he can just deposit the money in the bank. The bank doesn't care whether the money you take to the counter is stolen money or earned by yourself. All they want is that you use the money in exchange for a deposit certificate with a cost price of no more than two cents.

But the tax bureau will be concerned about this. The bank told the tax bureau that someone deposited 400,000 yuan at once. After the tax bureau got the information and investigated, they found that this person had never reported a high income or paid taxes, so they checked him.

Then Lance got screwed.

No one is innocent in the hands of the IRS.

Therefore, before the money is laundered, it can only stay in the safe, and when it is needed occasionally, only a small part can be taken out.

Lance was already so "painful" even though he didn't have much money. Alberto and the Pasreto family above him, whose main business was smuggling and other high-profit businesses, had even more dirty money to launder.

Alberto nodded. He did not deny it. “But what does this have to do with the film industry?”

"It's only five cents a ticket, how long will it take us to clean it?"

"This is not three or five thousand, Lance, this is..." He didn't continue, but Lance could infer from his context that it was at least three or five million yuan to be laundered, or even thirty or fifty million yuan.

Lance saw it differently, "It's a nickel a person, but he can buy a soda for another nickel, and then a can of popcorn for two cents."

"If we offer a three-cent shoe-shining coupon and attract enough people, then one person entering the cinema can provide us with 15 cents of legal income."

"One theater, four screening rooms, eight hundred tickets, one hour!"

"Eighteen shows a day, that's two thousand one hundred and sixty dollars."

"If you have ten movie theaters, you can clean twenty thousand dollars a day."

"That's 600,000 a month, 7.2 million a year."

"I paid the Kodak family 150,000 or 200,000 in fees to let them launder my money. I might as well take out a loan to build a few cinemas first."

"And it's not just the cinemas that can launder money, the entire filming process can be used to launder money."

"More importantly!" Lance's tone suddenly became more serious. "Building a cinema can provide jobs for society, increase local fiscal revenue, and enrich social and cultural circulation."

"And it's impossible that there won't be any audience at all. As long as there are audiences, even if there aren't many, the money will be laundered cleanly while the loss to us will be reduced to a minimum!"

"The most important thing is that it's the respectable thing to do and no one can blame you for it."

"When you and your movie theaters are all over the Union, even in the No Man's Land West, people will respectfully address you as 'Mr. Coty, the Movie Tycoon.'"

After hearing this, Alberto felt a little tempted. They also had their own way of laundering money.

They would smuggle this part of the stolen money away from the federal mainland, and then return to Sumurri Island. Through their local power, they would complete the process of turning the money from illegal to legal under the help of a shell company.

At this time, only about 800,000 yuan was left of the one million yuan. Every link had obtained the benefits they wanted, and only then could the money enter the local bank without any problems.

Then let the money come to the federation through legal channels, either in cash or by wire transfer. The people of the federation never care about the way the money comes in to people who bring money to invest in the federation.

But the money cannot go directly into the Pasletto family's accounts, as this would also attract the attention of the federal banking and tax systems.

Some businessmen from Sumur Island would purchase some legal properties and then "lease" them to the Pasreto family for use.

A car, a house, or something else.

Although they do not have actual property rights, this also helps these industries get rid of some of the troubles that might be involved.

If the IRS, the federal police, and the Department of Justice cannot prove that these industries are related to the family, then these industries are safe even if their family gets into trouble.

It seems that this approach is good and the loss is not high, but it is risky after all. Just figuring out how to smuggle the money out of the federation is not an easy task.

If you don't use connections, if it's discovered, all the money will be lost. Therefore, using connections to ensure that the money can leave the federation stably also costs money and involves risks.

Overall, after cleaning out the one million, there will be about 750,000 to 800,000 left. This is the limit, and it is impossible to have less.

Originally Alberto thought this was already very efficient, but after simply listening to what Lance said, he suddenly felt that Lance's method seemed better.

"I don't know much about these things. Maybe you should talk to Mr. Pasretto in person."

He paused and said, "But we do know someone in this field. You can take your friend to contact them and they will give your friend a role."

Alberto didn't take the matter seriously. He was only interested in what Lance said about laundering money by shooting and showing movies.

The two chatted for a while, and suddenly Alberto seemed to remember something, "Do you have anything to do tomorrow morning?"

Lance shook his head. "The police have been keeping a close eye on me lately. They follow me wherever I go, so I don't have much to do."

Alberto laughed. "You get used to it. They used to stare at me, too. We all go through these stages."

"Since you have nothing to do, why don't we watch a baseball game together?"

“You’ll love the atmosphere there!”

Lance thought about it and agreed.

The next morning, Alberto took the initiative to pick him up. Fordis drove the car, and the three of them went directly to the baseball field in Jingang City. This was the home field of the sailing team. Before the game started, the place was already crowded with people!
There were many people selling snacks and other things outside the stadium. Lance also saw some people selling beer almost semi-publicly. However, the police who were maintaining order did not seem too interested in what these people were doing.

This is also related to the fact that many people do not understand the Prohibition, including many police officers who think that the Prohibition was issued inexplicably and they are also one of the resistance groups.

Some police officers even change into plain clothes and go to nearby underground bars for a drink after work.

After Fordis parked the car, the three of them entered the stadium together. Lance noticed that Alberto had specially worn the sailing team's jersey and a baseball cap today!

"Our stands are in the best position, facing the batter. If we are lucky enough, we can even get a ball!" Alberto became excited after arriving at the stadium. It can be seen that he really likes baseball.

There were many people around him who were as excited as he was. They were all wearing sailing team jerseys, ball caps, gloves, and were having heated discussions.

Lance didn't understand much about this, so Fordis chatted with him while drinking beer.

As the players of the two teams began to enter the field, the sailing team's anthem was even heard in the stands. Alberto also stood up, so enthusiastic that he didn't look like a Sumulian at all.

"Isn't it incredible?"

At this moment, an old man sitting in the back suddenly poked Lance's shoulder with his hand, "Why didn't you sing?"

Lance looked at him with an expression of "What the hell are you talking about?", and perhaps because he felt that Lance and Fordis beside him were not easy to mess with, the old man finally put away his temper.

"Since you are sitting in the main stands of the sailing team, you have the responsibility to cheer for the sailing team with us!"

Alberto reacted and put his arm around Lance's shoulders. He turned to the old man and said, "This is my friend. This is his first time to watch baseball. I'm sure he will soon become a fan of David."

The serious expression on the old man's face suddenly turned into a smile, "Yes, no one can resist David's charm." Then he looked like "I'm waiting for you to become a fan." Lance suddenly felt that he should not have agreed to Alberto's request to watch the game together.

When the Sailing team's main batsman stood in his position and adjusted his posture, the home crowd all stood up.

This forced Lance to stand up. It was difficult for him to understand the fanaticism of these people, but in order to avoid the old man from causing trouble for him, he had no choice but to do as he was told.

The bowlers were very nervous at this point, the home ground of the Golden Harbour City Sailing Team was definitely not a comfortable environment, and the home supporters who stood up put a lot of pressure on them.

Moreover, the fans during this period were not so honest and obedient, and there were actually people who rushed onto the field and beat up the players.

And baseball is also considered one of the high-risk sports during this period.

It’s not about how many professional athletes die unexpectedly in baseball games, but about how many baseball players get injured accidentally because they perform too well or too badly.

As a hitter who has the potential to enter the Hall of Fame, David is very popular here!

The pitcher threw the ball with force, and the baseball fell into the catcher's glove at an incredible trajectory in the air. David swung the bat in vain, and the umpire gave the result of a valid pitch, and there were boos and insults from the stands.

Of course, they were not scolding David, but the bowler. In fact, it was difficult to curse so harshly in the federal language, but even if it was just a normal greeting, it was unbearable to have so many people greeting together.

At the second ball, the bowler's pressure increased significantly, and with the sound of the swinging bat, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly exploded!

Watching David running around the field and the catcher chasing him, for a moment, Lance seemed to understand a little bit why people cheered for the game.

This was indeed a game full of power, speed and passion. The eyes of the entire stadium were fixed on the "running elf" as the commentator spoke. These were the commentator's original words.

But an elf weighing over a hundred pounds... isn't it a bit too big?
Alberto was waving his fists and swearing, but he wasn't swearing out of anger; it was his way of cheering himself up.

It's probably like shouting "Go" or "Run" or something like that, but now it's "Fuck".

The hit went far enough, showing David's value as a star hitter, that he made it to the final base before they recovered the baseball and tagged him out.

The old man behind him laughed loudly, and Alberto waved his arms and hugged Lance, as well as the guy on his other side...

There is no doubt that the sailing team won the final race, and David contributed a very wonderful performance. In fact, from a neutral point of view, Lance felt that others did well too.

But... celebrities and their fans are all born with filters, there's nothing that can be done about it.

After the game, Alberto dragged Lance and Fortes to the exit, hoping to get his autograph, but the players looked very tired. Except for the first few who signed their names on the ball cards, some of the spectators at the back did not get any autographs.

Neither did Alberto, and he was disappointed.

"You can invite him to dinner and he will give you an autograph." Lance didn't quite understand Alberto's idea and approach. In fact, he could get David's autograph easily.

Alberto put away the prepared ball card and shook his head. "That would lose its meaning, Lance. You don't understand this."

There was a hint of disdain in his tone, and Lance really didn't understand.

On the way back, he took out a card and drew a few strokes on it with a pen. Lance leaned over to take a look and saw the schedule.

"I am now one step closer to ten million!"

Alberto put the card away. "So this is the charm of baseball. Not only can you get the passion and everything you want from them, but if you know them well enough and add a little luck, you can get more happiness."

"Has anyone ever won the jackpot?" Lance asked curiously.

If it is just a single game, he thinks it is not a big problem, but if he needs to guess the entire schedule, even if he does not need to guess the score, it is also a difficult task.

Even if you know every team well, problems can still arise!
He didn't believe that anyone could win. Maybe someone had won before, but he didn't know whether they were lucky or were arranged to win the jackpot.

Alberto gave several examples. Every few years someone would win the jackpot, from the initial two million to the current ten million. Baseball enthusiasts across the federation are keeping an eye on the annual leagues and competitions.

Hope they are serious!

After having a Sumurian-style lunch with Alberto at noon, Lance said goodbye.

Alberto needed a nap. Watching the game in the morning made him exhausted and he needed to replenish his energy by resting.

Some people always envy the President for his high position and power, but they don’t know that when ordinary people can take a nap and rest, the President is still busy working.

The President is also a big fan of baseball. As a sport that is promoted by the federal government, men of almost all ages are very fond of baseball.

The President even has several signed baseball caps from his hometown team's championship team!

But at this moment, he did not have the time to watch a baseball game, but had just finished a meeting.

Now, he has a document in front of him, which is a document of the National Administration of Alcohol, Tobacco and Hazardous Substances, which was established by Congress and multiple departments.

As long as he signs his name on the document, the department will be established immediately.

The job of this new department is to inspect all smuggled liquor.

Those people in the church, some capitalists, and politicians are very dissatisfied with the current intensity of federal prohibition.

Although a total ban on alcohol has been in place for almost a week, according to their survey, various forms of semi-public drinking can be seen almost everywhere in the country.

The so-called prohibition of alcohol simply means that the price of alcoholic beverages has risen, causing some people at the lower class to be unable to afford alcohol and drink it.

Those who can afford to drink are still drinking heavily, and in some areas there have even been cases of robbery and theft in order to get money for alcohol.

This seriously violated the purpose of implementing Prohibition, so under the promotion of multiple departments and forces, they finally decided to strengthen the maintenance and management system of Prohibition to prevent alcoholic beverages from harming federal citizens!
The President waited for a long time with the pen in his hand. The people next to him who were waiting for him to sign the documents and go ahead were getting a little impatient, but they didn't want to urge the President, so they could only wait quietly.

Perhaps he had thought something through, and finally the President moved, and the tip of his pen landed on the signature on the document.

The President's name appeared on it in one stroke. After signing, he handed the document to the waiting staff and put away the pen. "That's it..."

At 2:15 p.m., the Presidential Office spokesperson held a press conference, citing examples of individuals in some areas where serious crimes had occurred due to the alcohol ban.

Both Congress and the President were strongly dissatisfied with this, believing that some areas were not fulfilling their obligations in enforcing Prohibition.

At the same time, it was also realized that more extra work should not be added to the city police, so the "Tobacco, Alcohol and Hazardous Materials Administration" was established, which will be specifically responsible for inspecting the circulation, sale and use of these products.

Officer Lucard, who was sitting in the office, was stunned for a moment after hearing the news. Before this, the inspection of alcoholic beverages was jointly enforced by the Tax Bureau and the Police Department.

But now they are setting up an independent law enforcement agency, and I don’t know who will be in charge in Jingang City.

Just as he was thinking about this, someone knocked on his office door and said, "The director wants you to come over."

Officer Lucard put his legs down from the desk, straightened his clothes, and quickly came to the director's office.

The director looked him up and down, pointed to the chair opposite him, and said, "Sit down..."

(End of this chapter)