I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 24

The Trap of Greed

Once they’ve taken the bait, the initiative is completely in our hands.

James sat with his legs crossed, exuding the carefully cultivated composure that bordered on arrogance.

“Of course, you should know. I’d be surprised if someone involved in construction hadn’t heard of it.”

“Hahaha… As I said, I wasn’t expecting such a topic to come up so suddenly. May I ask what brings you here to discuss the Liverpool-Birmingham branch line?”

*Since they know nothing, they’ll want to extract as much information as possible from us.*

*They’ll definitely try to minimize their own statements and focus on asking questions.*

Everything was unfolding exactly as Killian had predicted, making it remarkably easy to respond.

“As you know, it wouldn’t make sense for Liverpool or Manchester *not* to be connected to Birmingham when London and Birmingham are being connected. Once connected, you can travel from London to Liverpool or Manchester non-stop. If that’s not profitable, what is?”

“Of course. From the initial planning stages, most people assumed that Liverpool and Manchester would eventually be connected to Birmingham.”

“Right, right. And it seems like the railway bill to be processed in Parliament next year is shaping up nicely. So, it looks like the Liverpool-Birmingham section might be handled all at once, but the problem is the lack of materials and manpower.”

*Even someone scamming people with railway projects should understand this.*

A quick glance confirmed that Turner was nodding, following the conversation closely.

“You know John Lenne, the one who proposed this route, right? He’s very thorough and won’t include any company that can’t reliably supply funds or materials for this route.”

“Haha, he’s quite the perfectionist.”

Of course, James had never even met John Lenne, who proposed the London-Birmingham railway line.

He was sure that the scammer was in the same boat.

Yet, he was casually referring to him as ‘that guy’ and ‘him’ as if they were old acquaintances, which was truly audacious.

*How would John Lenne, who is currently struggling to get the railway bill passed, feel if he knew about this?*

“So, has your company decided to supply materials for this branch line construction?”

“No, we’re focusing on supplying materials for the main line.”

“Hmm… But if you’re still receiving investments, doesn’t that mean you can free up more materials? That’s why I came here with some hope.”

“Ah, of course, it’s possible if we free them up. But what do you mean by ‘hope’? Is there still a place for us?”

A hyena smelling money revealed its insatiable greed.

The hunter, holding the key to the trap, threw a juicy piece of meat right in front of him, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“That’s why I came all the way here. I’ve gathered several companies to raise capital, but I’m having trouble finding more than one company to supply materials. The more companies cooperate, the more confident we can be in providing a stable supply of materials, right? Do you understand what I mean?”

“Of course. But could you tell us the exact scale of the project?”

“Nothing is confirmed yet, so just consider this a rough estimate. The total construction cost will probably be similar to the London-Birmingham railway. It’s likely to be over 5 million pounds, and we can secure about one-fifth of the section. The cost of materials will be around 40-60%, so that’s about 500,000 to 600,000 pounds. I was hoping to allocate about 200,000 to 300,000 to your company if possible.”

“300,000 pounds…”

Turner’s eyes flickered slightly at the mention of the approximate amount.

Even though they’ve been scamming people with railway schemes for nearly a decade, they probably haven’t amassed more than 200,000 pounds.

This was an opportunity to earn an amount equal to or greater than their decade’s worth of effort all at once.

But of course, they can’t supply those materials.

How could they, who have only been spouting plausible lies and stealing people’s money, possibly supply materials?

Yet, they couldn’t afford to miss out on such a lucrative opportunity.

Turner was probably racking his brain, trying to come up with a plausible excuse to get involved in this project.

“I’m very sorry, but we currently have very few materials available to supply. We’ve converted almost all of our current stock into cash.”

“Why? You’ll need to place large orders once the railway bill passes next year and construction begins, right?”

“Ah, yes, of course. But we heard that raw material prices might drop next year, so we’ve been trying to maximize our cash holdings.”

Since they probably only had cash from the start, this was the best excuse they could come up with, but it was still a plausible one.

It was the answer James expected, but he pretended to consider it seriously before letting out a light sigh.

“That’s troublesome. We need to register at least two suppliers to give a sense of stability.”

“But we have quite a bit of cash. Can we somehow get involved through investment?”

“Those spots are already filled. Can you tell me the maximum amount of cash you can mobilize?”

“We currently have a maximum of 160,000… no, about 150,000 pounds.”

*They’ve been eating well, haven’t they?*

Thinking that this money was the blood and tears of the victims who had been deceived by them for the past decade, James felt disgusted, but he had to maintain his composure.

“That’s difficult. I even brought the contract documents to finalize everything today, but I’ve encountered an unexpected variable. Still, with that amount of money, maybe…”

James deliberately paused, observing Turner’s expression.

The desire to get involved in this great opportunity and make money was intensely palpable.

Judging that it was time, he presented an irresistible solution.

“Ah! Then how about this? If you can’t prepare the materials right now, another company that has a contract with us can place an order for materials under your company’s name, and you can pay them. Then, when that company needs to deliver the materials, they can pay you in return. Wouldn’t that solve the problem for now?”

“So… you’re saying that since *we* need to order materials, we should pay for them first? When and how much will we receive in return?”

“150,000 pounds should cover almost all of the first batch. So, you should receive at least 250,000, maybe even up to 300,000? The payment will be made as soon as construction starts next year.”

That meant a profit of at least 100,000, or even 150,000 if things went well.

But 150,000 meant they had to invest almost all of their money, so they couldn’t help but be cautious.

Turner opened his mouth with an undertone that clearly showed he was trying not to offend James.

“It’s definitely a great opportunity for us, but… even so, investing all 150,000 pounds and having the money tied up until next year is a bit of a burden.”

“Ah, of course, it would be. I’ve done this kind of work so much that I don’t like beating around the bush. To be blunt, you’re wondering what you can trust to entrust such a large sum of money, right?”

“Ha, haha… No, we’re just saying it’s better to be a little more cautious.”

“Didn’t I say? I originally planned to finalize the contract today. I brought the documents, so feel free to look at them.”

It was rare to thoroughly check a company’s records or financial statements, but this was a large-scale transaction involving over 100,000 pounds.

In such cases, providing accounting books was a customary way to gain the other party’s trust, and James naturally brought forged books.

“Thank you. You’re providing them even without us asking.”

“I told you, I’ve been working since the Manchester Railway [a historical railway company], so I’m not new to this. Who wouldn’t be anxious about investing such a large sum of 150,000 pounds? So, I’ll even provide collateral to ease your minds. Wouldn’t that eliminate any worries?”

“Excuse me? Collateral?”

“Yes. I’ll provide an account with the same amount of 150,000 pounds that you’re investing and a confirmation letter that allows you to withdraw the money from that account. This way, you’ll have virtually no risk.”

“That’s certainly true. But if you can freely use an account with 150,000 pounds, wouldn’t it be easier for you to handle the work yourself…?”

*He should have taken the bait with such a safety net, but he was still very suspicious until the end.*

Well, he’s been sucking money from innocent people like a flea for 10 years without getting caught, so this level of caution might be natural.

“Didn’t I say earlier? We need to show that we have at least two stable suppliers to continue succeeding in bids. Otherwise, why would I use such a cumbersome method? If we clearly record that this money came from your company, it won’t be a problem to prove it later, even if there’s a dispute, right?”

“Ah! That’s what it was. I completely understand. If that’s the case…”

“But time is of the essence in this kind of project, so we don’t have much leeway. I hope you can decide by tomorrow at the latest. You’ll need to verify some things on your end, but since I’ve given you the documents, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?”

“If the collateral part is certain, we can make a decision in just one day.”

“Really? Then I’ll confirm it right away. Send one of your employees with me. We can stop by the bank on the way back and show them that there’s 150,000 pounds in the account. There’s no need to drag it out.”

Who would be foolish enough to miss an opportunity to at least break even, no matter what, and potentially triple their wealth if things go well?

The key was to instill a firm belief that they would at least break even, and the collateral guaranteed this.

As James put on his coat and stood up, an employee quickly grabbed the hat he had taken off earlier and followed him.

James smirked, adjusting his monocle, guessing that he was the one who would go to the bank with him.

“Alright, shall we go? I’ll be back tomorrow, so I hope to hear a good answer.”

* * *

As soon as James and the employee left the office, Turner frantically rummaged through the accounting books he had been given and barked orders at his employees.

“One of you, find out when Twain Company started operating right away. Brad will be checking the collateral, and the rest of you, analyze these books with me!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then I’ll look into this Twain guy.”

“Hurry! He said he’d be back for an answer tomorrow, so we need to finish all the analysis by tomorrow morning at the latest!”

Turner didn’t trust Richard at all.

He had learned that trust was the most useless value in the world after scamming people in this industry for over 10 years.

All he trusted was money and the contracts that would bring him that money.

The important thing was whether Richard had enough money for them to suck dry.

And after working tirelessly until evening, Turner was fortunately able to get a satisfactory answer.

“Boss! That guy is no joke. He really has an account with over 150,000 pounds in the bank. And he even took out 10 pounds and gave it to us to buy something delicious for dinner.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the books either. Their assets are no joke. They’re well over hundreds of thousands, probably over a million pounds.”

“I couldn’t find out the detailed information because I was in a hurry, but Twain Company definitely started when the Manchester Railway was being built. He’s probably someone who amassed a huge fortune in a short period during the railway boom.”

The company was legitimate, the collateral was solid, and there were no suspicious points in the books, so there was no reason to hesitate any longer.

If they kept stalling here and the other party got upset and turned away, they would lose the opportunity to earn this huge sum of money.

“Alright. Let’s tell them to sign the contract tomorrow. If things go well, the money we’ve worked so hard to earn will triple in an instant. Once this is over, we can leave this country and spend a leisurely retirement in the South of France.”

“Excuse me? Boss, the money we’re supposed to receive from them is a maximum of 300,000 pounds, so wouldn’t our assets double, not triple?”

“That’s only if we complete the transaction properly.”

Scammers are the kind of people who end up stabbing their trading partners in the back until the very last moment.

Turner couldn’t stop laughing as he imagined the arrogant *nouveau riche’s* [newly rich] expression when he lost a huge sum of money and raged with anger next year.

* * *

“Everything has been handled as you instructed, Master James.”

“Well done. I don’t think I told you to take out 10 pounds at the end, but your improvisation was excellent.”

“I thought it would make them trust us more. They didn’t take their suspicious eyes off us until the end, so I don’t know if we’ll get a good answer tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry. The moment you offered that condition, the deal was as good as done.”

It goes without saying that scammers are generally suspicious.

They’ve been deceiving others and making a living their whole lives, so how could they *not* be suspicious?

However, precisely because of that, they don’t sincerely believe that they can be deceived by others.

This tendency is even more pronounced the longer their career.

*Who would dare to deceive me, who has been making money by deceiving others for so long! No way!*

This kind of confidence takes root in one corner of their minds.

Of course, that doesn’t mean anyone can easily deceive them.

Those people usually build a solid safety net to prevent themselves from being easily deceived.

However, the moment that line is crossed, there’s no turning back.

From that moment on, they let their greed consume their brains and rush in like money-crazed demons.

“How much did it cost to do this job in total?”

“Master James told me not to spare any expense, so it cost quite a bit. Forging books, information fees, operation costs, etc. I think we spent at least several thousand pounds in total.”

Still, if you calculate it, the net profit is well over 140,000 pounds.

As expected, the rate of return is incomparable to playing a few hands of cards.

That’s why there’s a saying that people should play in big waters [operate on a large scale to gain more profit].

“But Master James, that account you put up as collateral…”

“It was a perfect bait, wasn’t it? They’re probably planning to withdraw the money from that account and disappear once they receive the payment from us, right?”

It won’t be easy to time it right, but if we prepare thoroughly and aim for it, it’s not impossible.

If we do that, they can theoretically invest 150,000 pounds, receive 300,000 pounds from us, and withdraw the 150,000 pounds they have as collateral.

Who wouldn’t be tempted if they could turn 150,000 into 450,000 pounds?

“I was honestly surprised. They’ve been scamming people for over 10 years, but they can’t even imagine our intentions.”

“How can they guess if they don’t even know that this kind of method exists? They have no choice but to be deceived.”

I suddenly wondered what kind of expressions they would make when they went to the bank with that account.

No one would recognize me even if I showed my face there that day, so I should probably go and watch as a courtesy.

After all, they’re kind people who are giving us a huge sum of 150,000 pounds.

At least I should watch their last wails.