Shadow Empire

Chapter 169 Denial, Insider, and Arrival

After the phone rang twice, it was answered. Sam took a deep breath and tried not to be so... angry.

"Erwin?" He had already inquired about it. The core of the Lance family is Lance himself, and then below are the three higher core members: Erwin, Morris and Hiram.

further down?
There are a lot of senior officials, but he is not interested in this. He just wants to get Lisa back and let her please Mr. Hof to solve a series of problems.

Erwin's voice sounded very young, which made Sam envious, even jealous.

His youth was almost worthless - this is not a literary rhetorical device. He dropped out of school in his first year of high school and then followed his mother to find food in a small city next to Paradise City.

Although Paradise City is beautiful, it is not easy to live there. Higher rents, higher prices, and higher prices for everything are restricting people living there from finding happiness.

But even living around Paradise City was not an easy thing. His mother was not the kind of female worker with skilled skills, except for lying down.

So in his prime, he played a role he shouldn't have played until he was in his early twenties.

His mother found a... guest who seemed to be like-minded, and the two hit it off and left him behind.

Sam, who was full of confusion about the future, finally bought a ticket to Paradise City.

People say that Paradise City is like a paradise on earth, full of joy and happiness. If his life deserves happiness, then this happiness should be hidden under the starry sky dyed red by neon lights in the middle of the night!
He had worked in many jobs in Paradise City, and later met someone who had a profound influence on him. He thought they were each other's spiritual salvation, and he felt they were each other's heroes, and that one day everything would be fine.

But... all the short-lived happiness at the bottom will always be broken by a rapidly approaching bad news. He cheated on her, not with Sam, and the two sides had a big fight.

It turned out that everything he thought was beautiful was just a game played by the other party. His things were thrown into the street by the other party, along with his self-esteem and the last bit of yearning for beauty.

After he realized the fact that "people without status don't deserve happiness", the Sam who was full of ideals and hope for life died, leaving only the Sam who was willing to give up everything in order to get ahead.

In the blink of an eye, he has reached middle age. The slightly bald look in the makeup mirror makes him feel sorry for himself. Why is it him and not someone else?
Just like during the darkest period of his life, he often asked himself, why me again, and not someone else?
He envied the youth, determination and confidence that came from Erwin's voice, which was what he once had but lost.

In this moment of distraction, his tone softened a little, "I'm Sam. You should have heard of me. I'm the new manager of Red High Heels."

Erwin did not say anything bad, "Yes, I heard about some big shot coming from Paradise City."

"Ahaha, what big shot?"

“We are all people who provide services to others.”

Erwin's good talk made him think that this matter had started off well, so he got to the point, "I want to apologize to you for my men accidentally shooting and wounding your man. How much did it cost to treat him?"

"Three thousand, or five thousand?"

Without knowing exactly what the other party is trying to do and with a gentle attitude and tone, Alvin would not take the initiative to create conflict.

"No, we have money."

Sam's tone became more relaxed. As long as they could communicate, it was good. Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding?
"No, I must compensate you with the money. I will show you my sincerity."

As he spoke, he quickly wrote a check, deliberately writing with a fountain pen on the wooden table so that the writing sound would be especially clear through the receiver.

He also unabashedly called over a subordinate and handed him the check, "Send it to Empire Nights Nightclub and give it to the Lance family."

He glanced at the receiver, a faint smile on his face, and watched his men turn and leave before he picked up the phone, "I have had the check delivered, and I apologize again for the stupid things our idiots did."

Erwin was silent for a moment, "I'll tell Lance."

What does it mean?
Can't you feel my sincerity?
Of course, it could also be a way for the locals to express themselves. Sam was concerned about the recovery of the young man who was shot, and then the topic quickly shifted to Lisa.

"Erwin, there is a lack of effective communication between us. You see, if we can maintain effective communication, many problems will not occur."

"We can be good friends. You work for him and I work for him. We are meant to stand together."

Alvin didn't say anything, which made Sam somewhat dissatisfied, but this dissatisfaction had not yet reflected something uncomfortable in the "tolerance" gained from the previous preparation.

He paused for a few seconds and said, "How is Lisa now?"

Erwin firmly denied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please, don't think your little tricks can fool me. Lisa must be in your hands. Is she okay?" Sam felt a little uncomfortable at this time. I said so much, and all my emotional expressions were in vain?

But he still retained some hope, considering this as the other party's vigilance and caution.

Erwin firmly denied that Lisa was with him, but Lance had told him not to admit it. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

Sam's expression was finally no longer the same as before, with a faint smile on his face. He became serious, and even his sitting posture changed from leaning on the chair with his legs crossed to putting his legs down and sitting up straight.

"Erwin, my patience is limited. Don't play word games with me."

"I don't care whether you admit it or not, you'd better send Lisa back to me before noon tomorrow."

"Someone important has ordered her order. We've already missed it once. If we miss it again, you don't want to know the consequences!"

After waiting for about three or four seconds, Erwin asked, "Are you done?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. If you're done, I'm going to hang up. I have things to do."

Sam's expression finally became extremely ugly, "When will Lance come back?"

"Just these two days..." He hung up the phone after he said that. Looking at the busy tone on the receiver, Sam threw it to the ground.

The handset is very sturdy, with a metal and wood structure. It didn't break when it was dropped, but it made a loud noise.

He took two breaths, and suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and ran to the door, "Someone go and stop... and make him come back to me with my check!"

Since the other party doesn't appreciate his kindness, he doesn't want to give him the five thousand yuan.

It was difficult to explain to such a small character, so he planned to talk to Lance in person. He heard that Lance was a person who could communicate.

While he was selecting new girls, he was waiting for Lance.

At this time, Lance was already at sea. He directly asked for a speedboat and headed towards the federal coastline.

The cruise ship moves slower because it is not in a hurry, but also has to take into account the scenery along the way, such as visiting some nearby islands and reefs, allowing people to appreciate the beauty of some tropical islands.

If you go directly to the federation, then the speed will be very fast.

It only takes a few hours to take a speedboat from the southernmost part of the Federation to the northernmost part of Alan. The Republic of Aldra is slightly southwest of Alan. If you set off at seven in the morning, you can return to Jingang City around five to six in the evening.

It wasn't actually as long before he returned as Erwin said.

Lisa's kidnapping frightened many girls working in the bar, mainly because most of these girls used to work at Red High Heels.

Although Erwin didn't want to scare them, they were still scared.

Between young boys and girls, many messages are regarded as "peacock feathers" as a means of showing off or attracting the opposite sex.

Young boys always use "Have you heard?" as the beginning of a conversation to try to get close to the girls they like, and the girls also get to know some news that they don't really want to know.

All the women in the room felt a headache when they saw Erwin.

If it was just one or two, maybe he could handle it, but there were too many girls, and the strong smell of cheap perfume on them was also a headache.

Everyone seemed to be talking about their own things, which made it impossible for Erwin to communicate with them. He slapped the table hard a few times, shaking his hands so much that they hurt, but fortunately, the girls in the room finally quieted down a little.

"You sent two representatives to talk to me. I can't communicate with you like this!"

As he said that, he turned and went to the side hall. This was not an office or a bar, but where the girls lived. They called Erwin to come over.

Lance rented a lot of houses for them to live in, right in the New Bay Area. They were all townhouses, different from villas, but obviously much more upscale than ordinary houses.

Soon two girls came to Erwin, looked at each other, and then sat down.

From their faces and the temperament they exuded, Erwin vaguely realized that these two girls were at least middle class in the Empire before they were deceived or trafficked to the Federation.

There is a huge difference between the confidence displayed by educated people and uneducated people.

Educated people are obviously more confident, and people with higher education are even more different.

But no matter what, they seem to be unlucky, and their education has not taught them how to distinguish between bad people and lies.

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Can I?"

Both girls nodded. He took out a cigarette and lit it himself. "There have been a lot of things these days. I don't have that much time to listen to each of your requests, so tell me, what do they want?"

One of the two girls who looked lighter said, "Actually, they are all good people, but everyone is really scared. We want to know Lisa's current specific situation. We are very worried about her."

Erwin shook his head. "I don't know her current situation, but she should be fine. The people in Red Heels are also looking for her, which means she hasn't been given to her client, or something has happened to her."

He still didn't tell the truth. He had discovered something very interesting during his previous job at the dock.

Some overseers of Imperial origin will be stricter and more cruel to these temporary workers than the native federal overseers!

They were whipped at every turn, just because they stood there for a while after finishing their work, or they were cursed and driven to do other things.

In order to have a better living environment in the Federation, or to be able to better integrate into the local community of the Federation, these people have completely stood on the opposite side of the Imperials.

They try to please the federals by doing things that the federals are unwilling to do, thereby gaining recognition, approval, and possible opportunities.

Erwin couldn't guarantee whether there was such a person among these girls.

Maybe there are girls who have already "surrendered" lurking here. In order to survive or for some other reason, they choose to join Red High Heels.

Otherwise why would Lisa be discovered by Booker?
You know, the bar's working hours are at night, and Lisa will sleep at home during the day. When she wakes up and finishes her meal, it is already evening.

The New Bay Area is some distance away from Red High Heels, and she didn't wander around. It's impossible for her to be discovered by Booker just because she went out for a walk. Someone must have contacted Booker.

He wasn't sure who this person was, but he had asked someone to keep an eye on the phone numbers of the houses where the girls lived to see if anything unexpected had happened.

The fair-skinned girl looked worried, "Are we in any danger?"

"That guy Booker is a lunatic. If he catches us..."

She hugged her arms and her body trembled slightly. Erwin might not have felt much, but the girl next to her had enough empathy.

When you are in a safe and favorable environment, beauty is your greatest asset and the seed of happiness.

But if you are in an unsafe environment and have no control over yourself, the more beautiful you are, the more suffering you will suffer.

Among this group of girls, those with ordinary looks are actually... not that important.

They didn't suffer so many terrible tortures in Red High Heels. At most, they were unwilling to perform or receive ordinary guests at the beginning and were severely punished.

But as they began to change and were willing to perform and receive ordinary guests, except that they had no money, Red High Heels would not abuse them because there was no need.

They are all low-end money-making tools, and no one cares what shape they are.

But those high-end resources are different. They must be shaped into different appearances according to the customer's requirements. This is also the biggest pain point for those who are beautiful.

Erwin looked at the two girls and said softly, "I will arrange for someone to come and protect you. You should not leave here for the next few days."

"Once the storm over this matter has passed, you will be safe."

The two girls didn't understand the implication of his last words. They were so frightened now, how could they concentrate on reading comprehension?
Alvin added a few more things, such as having food, clothing and other daily necessities delivered regularly. He also reminded the two girls to pay attention to the situation of other people.

"You doubt...Oh my God, why would there be such a person!"

Both girls understood what was said, "Could it be that Lisa is..."

Erwin shook his head. "I'm not sure, but it's very likely. I heard that someone ordered her food, and then she was kidnapped. Her whereabouts are still unknown."

"Booker can't be so powerful as to guess that she works in our bar. Someone must have revealed her whereabouts. You all need to be careful."

"Lock the door at night. If you encounter any problems, call for help immediately. Our people are nearby..."

Walking out of the house the girls rented, Erwin finally breathed a sigh of relief. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his hairline and hair. These women were so troublesome!
After putting his hat back on, he looked around, opened the car door and got in.

In the past few days, the new Wanli Financial Services Company has re-selected a location in the Empire District. Now that it has its own territory, it must be located in its own territory.

Of course, there will also be a branch in the Triangle Area, but it will not be as big as this one.

This time, Erwin found a three-story storefront facing the street and ensured that it was "accessible in all directions." He no longer wanted to be stuck in an alley and leave everything to fate.

The new store is still under renovation, but many people have come to borrow money. For the federal people, money is never enough. They know that borrowing money is not a good thing, but no one can resist the temptation of borrowing money.

In addition, he also has to help Nick set up the brewery.

They bought a lot of wine-making supplies and two tons of grapes, and Nick has started the preliminary brewing.

But I heard him say that these grapes are not specifically used for making wine, but are only edible grapes, so the wine made from them will not be as bright red as red wine.

It might be a little lighter than the last time he brought it, but the alcohol level will definitely not be a problem, these grapes are sweet!

A lot of things weighed on him, which made him realize how much work Lance had to do every day.

As the sky gradually began to darken, winter nights come earlier than summer nights. It was just a little after five o'clock and the sky was already starting to get dark.

At this time, a speedboat had already landed at the dock outside Jingang City.

Although the Federation had a coast patrol during this period, it was impossible for them to patrol every minute of every second. Besides, Lance was indeed a Federation member, and everyone on the dock knew him.

At half past five, Erwin rubbed his temple and prepared to go downstairs to eat. The neon lights of Empire Night Nightclub also lit up, and the nightlife time was about to begin.

Ordinary people can now rest, but their work continues.

At this moment, the phone on the desk suddenly rang. He was already standing by the door. He looked back, his mind was empty for a few seconds, then he turned around and walked back, picking up the phone.

"Come pick me up at the dock..."

A little sleepy, took a nap

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(End of this chapter)