Empire of Shadows

The chips looked new and round. The smallest denomination was twenty, and there were also some fifties and hundreds.

Lans didn't know if these counted as money.

He asked Ethan to watch Mr. White in the room while he took two chips downstairs to a phone booth and dialed the number Fordis had left.

Soon, the sweet voice of the receptionist came through the receiver, "This is Lezhu Financial Company, how can I help you?"

Her voice was pleasant, but Lans could imagine her doing other things absentmindedly, saying those words in an unimaginable way, creating a contrast.

"It's me, Lans. I need to speak to Mr. Corti, or Mr. Fordis will do."

The girl recognized Lans's voice, and her sweet tone immediately changed, "Fordis, phone for you!"

Soon, heavy footsteps approached, and then his voice came through the receiver.

"Is there any trouble?" he asked.

This was the only reason he could think of for Lans to call him. Perhaps Mr. White wasn't home, or he was refusing to pay.

He had not only seen such rookies, but had personally led two of them.

One was a guy who never intended to pay back the money from the start. He borrowed eight hundred dollars from the company and shouted, "I'll only give you the money if the judge says I have to!"

The two young men didn't have any solutions and even asked him if they should hand the matter over to the legal department, if the company had a legal department.

So he thought Lans must have encountered the same problem.

But soon, he realized he was wrong.

"Mr. White is willing to pay, but he's only willing to pay with chips. I'm not sure if these chips are worth the money."

He described the appearance of the chips and a line of small print on the back, "It says, 'This chip comes from the Kodak family.'"

Speaking of which, Lans wanted to laugh a little because he thought of that GG phrase—'Record beautiful moments.'

After listening, Fordis gave him a suggestion, "No problem at all. The Kodak family's chips can be exchanged for cash at their counters, and no proof is required."

He couldn't help but ask, "How did you get him to hand over the money?"

The company had already assigned someone to collect the debt, but obviously, they hadn't succeeded.

If they had succeeded, it wouldn't be Lans's turn to help.

Of course, the first collection attempt wouldn't be so aggressive. Lans was the second.

"I reasoned with him. Mr. White is a reasonable man, so he was willing to settle the debt."

"Do I need to write him a receipt or something?"

"Or give him the contract?"

"Not at all necessary, Lans. Just bring the chips and the contract back. Someone else at the company will handle the rest. Your job is done, so don't steal someone else's work."

"I'll tell the boss the good news. Your efficiency is high, and maybe you'll give us all a surprise!"

After hanging up, Lans returned upstairs and, in front of Mr. White, counted out three thousand five hundred dollars worth of chips from the paper bag.

"This is what you owe the company. I'm taking it."

"The rest is yours. I'm only taking what I should take. At the same time, I hate slanderers. You should understand what I'm saying."

He looked at Mr. White sitting on the sofa. After a brief outburst, Mr. White had completely caved. He nodded with shifty eyes, "Yes, I understand. I won't talk nonsense."

"Good!" Lans handed the paper bag containing three thousand five hundred dollars' worth of chips to Ethan. "Then I'm sorry for taking up some of your time. Have a pleasant day, Mr. White."

Mr. White didn't look happy at all, and the next day was destined not to be happy either.

The three of them left the apartment and drove towards the company.

On the way, Elvin asked about everything that happened upstairs. Buddy A and Buddy B were extremely excited, and Ethan couldn't stop talking—

"...I just glared at them, and they quickly shrunk their necks, like turtles pulling their heads back into their shells!"

"I thought someone would call the police or step out to stop us, but nothing happened!"

Lans, who was driving, continued Ethan's sentiment, "This shows that the Federation people aren't as strong as we imagined."

"When you're weak and yield to their bullying and probing, they'll force you back step by step."

"But when you show that you can hurt them and aren't afraid of their threats, they're not much stronger than the weaklings we know!"

"So you don't have to be afraid of the Federation people at all. They're the same as us, the same as the cowards we know. If you're strong, they're weak!"

"If you find that your opponents aren't backing down, it's not because they're not afraid, but because you're not vicious enough, that's all!"

These words were heard by the four young men. To them, these were profound truths, and they were proven truths.

The car quickly arrived outside the company. Lans led the four into the company and told them to sit in the lounge.

However, looking at the intimidating guys in the lounge, they decided to stand in the corridor instead.

In the office, Lans placed the paper bag on Alberto's desk. He took it out and counted it simply.

He was serious and clear about his work.

He could give Lans a hundred dollars, but Lans couldn't give him only three thousand four hundred dollars. That wasn't right!

"Three thousand four hundred and fifty, three thousand five hundred dollars, just right!" The last fifty-dollar chip fell from his hand onto the pile.

He looked at Lans and nodded slightly, "The Mr. White I know isn't a reasonable man. Can you tell me how you convinced him?"

Lans sat opposite him, looking relaxed, "I first chatted with him about the Golden Port City Sailing Team. He's also very interested in baseball, and then I chatted with him about cooking."

"We both found common hobbies, so it was easier to communicate. I asked him, 'Where's the money?' and he told me, 'In the flower pot,' just like that."

Alberto laughed so hard that he couldn't close his mouth, "I can imagine that the person he least wants to see in the future is you!"

He paused and took out three fifty-dollar chips from the pile and pushed them over. "This is what you deserve."

Alberto knew that Mr. White had money, because he had his own agents in the Kodak family's casino.

People who actively come to the company to discuss loan business will repeatedly overturn and redo the issues of interest, repayment methods, and how the company can make up for losses if they can't repay the money.

They will fight for any advantage for themselves and will never make any impossible compromises.

But in the casino, those gamblers with bloodshot eyes don't care what price they will pay in the future for the five hundred dollars they took from you!

They only care whether they can get enough chips to sit back at the gambling table before the next game starts!

The news that Mr. White had won a large sum in the casino was heard by the agent. He won more than four thousand dollars, which is roughly equivalent to one hundred months' income for an ordinary worker. Many people in the casino were discussing this matter.

The first time the company sent someone to clear the debt, they found that Mr. White didn't have the ability to clear the debt, so it was delayed until now.

Alberto firmly believed that as long as there were enough means, he could definitely take back the money that didn't belong to him from him.

He just didn't expect things to go so smoothly. It only took half a day to recover the money.

"I have high expectations for your next job, Lans," he said, and pondered for a moment, "Our rewards for others are all five percent. That's the rule, and you should get that money too."

"But this job may not be as easy as Mr. White's."

Alberto talked about the second "order."

"Mr. Anderson runs a restaurant in the Bay Area. Last year, his finances had some problems, so he came to me."

"But now he refuses to admit that he signed any contract and refuses to pay interest and return the principal, and he has sued us."

"If we appear around him and hurt him, he will sue us. The lawyer says we have a high chance of losing the case."

"So this order is different from Mr. White's. You can't be so violent, understand my meaning?"

"You can't hurt him, you can't even threaten him. Think of a way."

"If you can handle this order, I can give you double the reward."

"No matter how much money you recover from his hands, I'll give you ten percent!" To express the strong emotions in his heart, Alberto stretched out both hands and gestured.