Empire of Shadows

In the office, the president was sitting behind his desk, busy.
His expression was sometimes relaxed, sometimes grave, and his breathing was constantly getting heavier and heavier, as if he was facing a huge problem.
He was currently fighting this problem!
After being busy for a while, he gripped the edge of the desk tightly with both hands, his face slightly flushed.
With a sudden long sigh, his whole person relaxed.
The secretary crawled out from under the desk, twisted her hips, and left.
Everything seemed to have become tasteless at this moment!
He came to the window and looked at the street below. The ordinary people crawled forward on the street like ants.
They could never stand at a higher perspective to observe the whole world, not understanding their own smallness, nor the greatness of the world!
“Next month is the last month. If we delay any further, our losses will be too great.”
“You need to get ready as soon as possible.”
The president grunted in acknowledgment. He sat back in his chair, pressed a button, and soon the secretary walked in again, twisting her hips.
“Notify everyone that there will be a meeting tonight. The entire business department will stay behind. Others who are willing to stay behind can also stay, no compulsion.”
As he spoke, he gestured for the secretary to leave. The secretary bowed slightly and then turned to leave.
This job was a bit torturous, but also very comfortable.
The torturous part was that from time to time she had to help the president solve some physiological problems, but the comfortable part was that she had a very high salary!
Her monthly salary of $500 outpaced many people, and no matter how much money she invested, the president promised her a 20% rebate.
Although she had to suffer a little now, she believed that once this terrifying compound interest started to roll like crazy, she could soon get rid of all this.
In the evening, all the business departments were kept behind for a meeting. The huge conference room on the third floor was crowded with people.
The president and the company’s senior management were all here, and many people from non-business departments also stayed behind, including Barbara.
Although Barbara’s job was clerical, she could also do business-related work, and she would also be given a standard commission.
She had already made a sum of money from her parents. The first month’s rebate and commission had allowed them to successfully recover one-third of their investment, which also made them extremely convinced that this was not a scam.
Because in just four more months, they would be able to break even.
After breaking even, they would be equivalent to having earned back their principal, as well as a 15% monthly rebate, which was very cost-effective!
Seeing that most of the people had arrived, the president tapped the microphone, “Our performance has been very good recently. Count Basil was very happy after hearing about it. He very much recognizes everyone’s efforts, but at the same time, a new problem has arisen.”
“The investment quota that the investment bank has given us is not much anymore.”
Discussion and clamor immediately broke out in the conference room. They didn’t quite understand what “insufficient investment quota” meant, but they could hear from these words that this feast of wealth was about to end!
For many business managers who hadn’t retired much of their performance, this was simply the most terrible news!
Watching others make thousands or tens of thousands on a single order, their hearts were about to burn with anxiety. Each of them wished they could just grab the money from the clients’ hands and help them buy various products, instead of persuading them.
It was said that some female managers had already completed their work better through some other means!
In this aspect, they did indeed have an innate advantage, and these workplace outfits did indeed give them a different kind of charm.
After watching the commotion below for a while, the president tapped the microphone again. The thumping sound made the conference room quiet down again.
“The 25th of next month is the last day. After the 25th, all investment products will be taken off the shelves and will no longer be sold to the public.”
“So you must make it clear to your clients. If they still want to invest, they must make the payment before the 25th of next month.”
“In addition, I have noticed that some business managers have not opened many orders so far. I don’t really understand your thinking. The company has given you the best platform and the most sincere products.”
“Even a pig, in your position, could do better than you by just grunting a few times.”
“Don’t let cowardice and shame stop you from rushing to the top. If you lose this opportunity, you don’t know how long you’ll have to wait for the next one.”
“Do you still remember what I said to you when you joined?”
“I hope that we will always be a team, that we will climb the highest peak in the world together, and when we reach the top, I hope you can all be by my side.”
“Instead of someone being left on the way, or even falling off!”
“You all think about it carefully!”
“In addition, I want to praise a few particularly outstanding business managers. They have created a performance myth this month…”
The atmosphere at the scene was fiery. Under the president’s description of the future, everyone was looking forward to a bright future, looking forward to a beautiful life where everyone lived in a big villa, sunbathing on a yacht on the sea!
Barbara’s mood was also high, fiery. After she drove home, she immediately called her parents over.
“The company said it will terminate next month on the 25th. My meaning is… we can buy some more.”
“The president just mentioned in the meeting that similar products may not be available in the future, and even if there are, they won’t be in the Federation.”
Her parents fell into deep thought after hearing this. They had already recovered a portion of their costs, and the tangible benefits also made them firmly believe that this was not a scam.
After all, the purpose of a scam is to trick people out of their money, not to give money away!
Such a large enterprise, as long as it can last for another three or four months, they can completely break even and still have a principal in the company.
The three of them sat at home thinking. Barbara’s father asked her, “Do you have any ideas?”
Barbara nodded, “I think we can invest all the money we have, and even… borrow a little.”
“The interest on that money is nothing in the face of such a high rebate!”
Her mother was a little worried. Last time, Lance had said they might be scammers. So far, we haven’t been able to find any evidence that they are not scammers.
Barbara immediately retorted, “But we also don’t have any evidence to prove that they are scammers, right?”
“And do you know who I saw today?”
“I saw Lance. He was also there, and it seemed he was preparing to buy a large sum. He even told me not to tell others!”
Her parents looked at each other and fell into a mental struggle.
After a good while, greed gradually gained the upper hand. A 15% monthly rebate. Even if God came, he would have to shave all his lambs clean and invest it!
Let alone a human being who is more easily influenced by society, a greedy human being!
“I have about $30,000 here,” Barbara’s father swallowed and then looked at his wife.
The woman thought seriously for a moment, “I still have $40,000 here.”
Barbara reminded them, “Our house is still worth $20,000 or $30,000. Let’s scrape together $100,000. I’ll talk to them and have them give us a 20% rebate. We can break even in a few months, with no risk at all!”
Her mother also said, “If you count your commission, we can get back forty percent in the first month. I don’t think there’s any problem!”
The head of the family was also persuaded, “Okay, I’ll go and make an appointment to talk about a loan right now…”
Lance didn’t know that his shushing gesture had made Barbara mistakenly think that he was telling her not to tell others that he was also investing in this project.
In fact, Lance was just telling her not to say what he had said at the party, about him thinking that Basil Investment Bank was a scam.
It was just that she had completely misunderstood.
In fact, even if there was no misunderstanding, there was a high probability that she would do so. After all, greed is one of the most difficult desires for humans to overcome.
Unlike Barbara and her family, who were considering how to scrape together money, Lance and the others were discussing how to get the money out.
Lance had just hung up the phone. Wally had called him to tell him that all investment projects would stop on the 25th of next month.
The 25th was the last chance. He suggested that if Lance had more money, he could consider investing it all.
He simply embellished the president’s words and said them, giving the impression that everyone was scrambling for the last share of the opportunity.
If you don’t speed up, you might not even have a chance.
Lance naturally said yes on the surface, promising to invest more.
After he hung up the phone, he returned to the sofa in the living room. The room was much emptier now, with only about twenty people.
Each of them was much more mature than they were half a year ago, whether in temperament or other aspects.
Lance continued the previous topic.
“…They took advantage of people’s greed and ignorance. I believe that many people, before they invested their money in them, didn’t completely believe them either.”
“But when they received the first rebate, they began to believe.”
“When they received the second rebate, they would believe it without a doubt.”
“This is actually not a very sophisticated scam, but it has a very deep analysis of human greed.”
“Just like just now, he told me that even if I want to invest, it has to be before the 25th of next month.”
“After the 25th, they will no longer accept investments.”
“This will give people a conclusion that they do not conform to the image of a scammer. After all, a scammer wants as much money as possible. How could they limit the investment?”
“This is precisely using a blind spot in thinking, plus greed, to make people who were originally a little uncertain ignore some problems and invest their money.”
“I told Wally that I would invest $500,000, but on one condition, that I must meet with their president.”
“I don’t know if this person is the mastermind behind the scenes, but I believe he must know a lot.”
“They won’t give up this $500,000 and will definitely agree to meet me. This way, I can get the time and address.”
“At that time, all of us will act together. Before that, we need to decide on a kidnapping plan!”
Hiram raised his hand, “We’ll take out everyone except the target, and then bring that president back…”
Lance threw the cigarette case at him, “I’ve never heard a stupider plan than this!”
Everyone burst into laughter. Hiram picked his nose, “Then you tell us one?”