Shadow Empire

Chapter 986 Looks familiar
Beka City is the capital of South Yaan State. Although it is very prosperous, it is still somewhat inferior to the east coast.

However, for these Sumuri people who have just come to the Federation from Sumuri Island, this place is already paradise!

Life on Sumuli Island is incredibly boring compared to this!

Two brown-haired Sumuri men glanced back at their boss, who was seriously reading the newspaper in the office. After confirming that he was not in trouble, they turned back to look at the scantily clad girls on the street and chatted quietly.

“I’ve felt that Boss’s mood has been a bit off these past few days. He didn’t even go to the party we organized last night.”

One of them lit a cigarette, and his thick sideburns made him look somewhat odd.

The person next to him shook his head. "Who knows?"

"Perhaps he is facing an important choice in his life."

"As long as the business doesn't run into problems, it's fine."

Their attention quickly shifted from Camillo, who had become engrossed in reading the newspaper, and they began talking about the hot and outgoing federal girls and the vibrant nightlife here.

Various nightclubs provide them with a good place to go between dinner and bedtime.

This is a hundred times better than Sumuli Island.

There is not much nightlife on Sumuli Island. After seven or eight o'clock, everyone stays at home and doesn't go anywhere.

Or they might gather in small groups to drink, which is their greatest form of entertainment.

But look here!
Bars, nightclubs, casinos, shows—this place is simply paradise!

No wonder they say the air in the Federation smells sweet; in that respect, it certainly does!
The two chatted about a strip club that had recently opened nearby, an underground one of course, and which didn't really have much to do with them.

They were only responsible for shipping the goods; the actual operation of these liquors was handled by local gangs who had already established relationships with agents from the Bureau of Dangerous Goods.

Although there is no Lance here, people's pursuit of gaining more benefits is the same.

The two got so excited that they couldn't wait to leave their jobs and go to a bar to experience the exotic charm of the new girls from other countries.

Unbeknownst to them, their boss, whom they considered "Camillo Bianchi," was currently in a state of agitation.

The newspapers were all reporting on Lance, which made him a little uneasy.

Lance's fame, status, and social influence are growing, and he will be discovered sooner or later.

He never thought he could hide forever by changing his name, but as long as Lance didn't develop in this direction and there was no direct conflict between them, there would be no trouble.

But now that Lance is becoming more and more famous and influential, more and more people are talking about him and what is happening around him.

It's like... people might know exactly what the name of their boss's dog is and what color its fur is.

There will always be some opportunists who want to curry favor with Lance, but they don't have any assets that Lance would value.

These people would study Lance's past, to see if he had any particular desires or regrets.

They would try to gain Lance's favor through this kind of "offering".

This was especially common in ancient times. Some speculators, merchants, or other people would try every means to present the king with rare treasures or things that the king liked in order to get everything they wanted.

If someone researches Lance's past and learns that he has several enemies he hasn't been able to avenge to this day, someone might discover this and tell Lance.

This kind of thing is very likely to happen; he's encountered it before.

The thought that Lance knew about his existence made him extremely irritated and annoyed.

He was agitated because he was afraid that Lance had actually discovered him and would then arrange for someone to assassinate him.

No one can defend against assassination attempts for a lifetime. Everyone will eventually lose their life in an accident. Even the president of the United States can't dodge bullets sometimes, let alone a nobody like him.

His anger was directed at that old man Leonard, who insisted on having Christopher come to the Federation to oversee the sales here, arguing that he was very familiar with the area.

However, Christopher knew in his heart that the old man was definitely unhappy with some of his actions, such as killing his wife.

So the other party used this incident as a pretext to "punish" him.

"These damned old bastards should all be killed!"

Christopher put down the newspaper in his hand, clenched his fist, and stood up, unable to sit still, pacing back and forth in the office.

Although he was somewhat worried, he wasn't particularly uneasy, since Lance couldn't possibly notice him so quickly.

He used a false name and didn't meet with people from the East Coast. If Lance still managed to find him here, it can only mean that God really didn't want him to continue living.

Even so, he decided to reduce his public appearances and avoid exposing his face in crowded places as much as possible.

If we disregard the threat and danger that Lance poses to him, he is actually living a very pleasant life now.

Rich, powerful, and influential!
Isn't this the life he's always wanted?
But for some reason, he didn't feel much happiness; it wasn't like before at all.

Sometimes he dreams of his past self, a person who was so simple and happy.

Perhaps people like to reminisce about the past because life now is too dull.

He returned to his seat, opened the drawer, and found a semi-automatic pistol and two magazines full of bullets, which gave him some solace.

A little while later, just as he was engrossed in a magazine, the phone rang.

Not many people knew this phone number, so he answered it directly.

"Boss?"

"it's me!"

"Several customers want to buy some brandy from us."

Christopher frowned. "Can't you handle this yourself?"

"Why did you call me?"

The person who called him could be considered one of his more capable sales staff, and also the fourth most important person in their small group.

Although he's number four, this guy isn't on the same page as him; he's Leonardo's man.

Leonardo didn't trust him much, but he needed to rely on his familiarity with the federal environment, so he placed some people in the company to keep an eye on him and the sales of these drinks from the side.

After all, for those stingy old men on the island, even losing a single penny would make them feel like their wealth had been stolen, and it would hurt them!

He was well aware of these circumstances; everyone was in an open state, but no one had fully revealed their intentions.

Leonardo couldn't tell Christopher directly that he suspected Christopher, which is why he sent so many salespeople over.

Christopher Reece couldn't possibly tell Leonardo that his stinginess, pettiness, and suspicious nature were like a pile of shit.

He wasn't friendly to the salesperson because of this.

To be honest, I really don't like the other person.

That's unlikely. These people don't usually interfere with his work, nor do they interfere with or influence his judgment and decisions. They are simply "faithfully recording life."

However, this kind of person does make people feel uncomfortable.

The salesperson explained, "The other party needs a million worth of goods at once, so they want a lower price, which I don't have the authority to offer."

These brandies are priced higher than whiskeys because the raw materials used to make them are much more expensive.

Salespeople have some authority to adjust prices, but only to a "limited degree." If the other party's demands exceed the salesperson's limits, they will pass the buck to Christopher.

After all, he is now the nominal person in charge and has higher authority to offer discounts. If the discounts offered by the sales staff fail to entice customers, then he may be required to step in.

One million bottles of wine is indeed no small sum; it's at least ten or twenty thousand bottles, which is quite a significant achievement. He stopped thinking about it and asked, "Are these people still in Becca?"

Yes, they are here.

“Have them come to my office,” he instructed.

Around 2 p.m., Christopher leaned back in his chair, feeling sleepy.

Perhaps it's because he's getting older, but he's started to feel sleepy in the afternoons, and sometimes he wants to take a nap. However, most of the time he just rests in the office for a while.

It's not that he loves the job so much; it's just that he feels safer in the office.

The salesperson hung up the phone and turned to look at the several out-of-town businessmen standing not far away. "The boss agrees to see you."

"Before I meet the Boss, I have a few things to tell you."

"First of all, don't ask the boss's name, and don't talk about anything related to his name or him as a person, unless he brings it up himself. He doesn't like people being interested in him!"

"You're here to do business, not to make friends. Even if you want to make friends, you'll have to wait until we get to know each other."

The merchants nodded, and then he said, "Secondly, do not inquire about the origin of these drinks, nor about the situation on Sumuli Island or our family. This has nothing to do with your purpose, understand?"

Seeing the group nod again, he was somewhat satisfied. "The last thing is that when the Boss says, 'This is the final price I can give you,' it means the bargaining process is over."

"If we continue to argue, it might backfire, do you understand?"

"Our whisky is of excellent quality, and we have no shortage of customers and distribution channels in the Federation!"

The merchants naturally had no objections; their purpose in coming here was to meet Christopher.

After confirming that no one had any objections, the group drove to a small house that Christopher had purchased in the city.

The car stopped outside the company's office building. The people inside looked towards the street and saw a number of men who were clearly gang members, standing in groups of three or five in different places, even across the street.

Their eyes remained fixed on the car. Only after the salesperson who brought them got out of the car did those warning glances disappear.

"Come with me, gentlemen, the boss is already waiting for you."

The group straightened their clothes and followed the man into the "Sumuli Folk Customs and Trade Center".

They are still relatively primitive gangs, needing a storefront and some legitimate business to cover up their criminal activities.

Upon entering, you find yourself in a typical large general store, where the counters display a variety of local specialties from the Sumuli region, which look quite appealing.

There weren't many customers, and the two girls behind the counter only glanced at them sideways before paying no further attention.

They walked through the shops on the first floor, came to the stairs in the corner, and quickly went up to the fourth floor, where they met Christopher in the innermost office.

The moment they saw Christopher, the expressions in two people's eyes changed immediately.

The two looked at each other, and saw surprise, and a hint of... ecstasy, in each other's eyes!
After the group sat down, Christopher's gaze lingered on each of their faces. When he looked at one of them, he couldn't help but ask, "Have we met before?"

The person he was looking at was a member of the Pasreto family. He knew Christopher well, but Christopher did not know him.

Now that he's being watched by Christopher, everyone else is holding their breath for him!

"Have you seen it?"

“I’m not sure, sir. I’ve never been to Beka City before.”

Christopher was somewhat confused. This person did give him a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him before, but after really racking his brains, he couldn't find anywhere he had seen him before.

In the end, he shook his head and didn't think about it anymore, as long as it wasn't someone he knew.

"I heard you need a million for brandy..."

They quickly moved into the normal business negotiation phase, and then took an even steeper cut on top of what they had already negotiated.

While it was described as a "severe" cut, the Sumuli distillery behind Christopher still managed to make a considerable amount of money from it.

After the two parties finally agreed on a price, Christopher asked, "How are you going to transport these wines?"

"If you don't have a transport team, we can provide one, but there will be an extra charge, calculated per kilometer!"

Christopher has clearly grown after experiencing a lot, things he couldn't have imagined before.

The person in charge of talking to him shook his head. "We have a boat; we can take you directly to the dock."

One million units of goods, less than 20,000 bottles. If we calculate based on six bottles per case, that's just over 2,000 cases, which is enough to fit in one shipping container.

Christopher didn't know what their intentions were in sending the goods directly onto the ship, but since they weren't asking for delivery, Christopher wouldn't voluntarily offer to take on the responsibility of transportation.

After both parties completed some detailed discussions, the matter was settled, and the next step was to wait for the goods to be transferred and shipped.

After these people left, Christopher still felt uneasy, so he called his men over and said, "Go and check on these people."

His subordinate looked at him with a slightly confused expression. "You mean there's something wrong with these people?"

They just paid a deposit of 50,000 yuan. What good would it do them if they had a problem?
Christopher frowned. “Find out who’s inside…” He described the appearance of the man who seemed somewhat familiar, “…something about his background. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

His subordinate vaguely realized that Christopher was worried that the other party was a businessman from Golden Harbor City, and he felt that Christopher was making a mountain out of a molehill.

No matter where the other person comes from, this is Beka, the West Coast!

No matter how great the influence of Lance and the Lance family is, it can't affect this place. In Christopher's eyes, he is too cautious, so cautious that he even seems a bit cowardly.

However, he didn't show it; he simply agreed energetically and then turned and left.

While Christopher was talking about the face that seemed somewhat familiar, the men from Golden Harbor City were also talking about Christopher.

"It really is him!" Christopher thought the man looked somewhat familiar, a look of shock on his face.

Another guy sent by Francisco confirmed this as well: "It's him, he hasn't changed at all."

"However, he changed his name to Camilo Bianchi and has switched sides with Leonardo!"

Sumuli Island is not large, so what happens on the island is not really a secret to the Sumuli people who care about the island's development.

Their families still live on the island, and they can contact them by phone to get information about the island.

Not to mention, the Bianchi family can be considered one of the four major families!

The person in the passenger seat asked curiously, "Is this family more powerful than the Anqi family?"

The somewhat familiar-looking man nodded and said, "One of the four major families, and a staunch advocate of war. I've heard that some officers in the army are members of the Bianchi family. What do you think?"

Even the guy in the co-pilot couldn't help but admit it, "He's really impressive."

They quickly returned to their hotel and then called Lance.

"Boss?"

"We have confirmed it; it is Dover."

Lance didn't answer immediately, but waited two or three seconds. "Have you confirmed it?"

One of the men immediately replied, “Yes, Mr. Lance, I assure you that it is Dover.”

"However, he has changed his name to Camillo Bianchi, so we have never heard of him before."

Lance grunted in agreement. "Your mission is over. Be careful."

(End of this chapter)