Marvel: The Imposter Inventor

Chapter 68 The Current State of Industry in Orange
Orange Industrial, a weapons testing ground in the suburbs.

In fact, this place is less like a weapons testing ground and more like a banquet party.

Apart from the vast, empty testing area that occupied most of the test site, and all sorts of equipment that outsiders couldn't understand at all.

Nearly a third of the venue was furnished with very ornate long tables for cold dishes.

Waiters in tailcoats bustled about, while guests of all kinds, dressed in expensive clothes, were scattered around the long table in twos and threes, raising their wine glasses and chatting amongst themselves.

The current scene, compared to the somewhat empty weapons testing ground next to it, gives people an inexplicable sense of incongruity.

These people include investor representatives, small shareholders with individual shareholdings, and senior veterans within the company. In essence, they are all considered "insiders" of Orange Industries.

However, these very same people, right here on Orange Industries' turf, were discussing Luca, the company's successor, without any restraint.

"Tsk tsk, I originally thought the Orange family kid would be more like Ms. Gina, but who knew he would insist on learning from Herman and getting some kind of energy gun?"

"He would be better off using this time to build a stronger relationship with Stark Industries; who knows, the company might start turning a profit tomorrow!"

The speaker was just a tiny shareholder of Orange Industries, with no powerful background, but that didn't stop him from looking down on Luca.

In fact, he is not the only shareholder with similar characteristics.

Don't underestimate these minority shareholders just because they hold a small number of shares, perhaps less than 20% in total. If they really team up to cause trouble, they have plenty of ways to ruin things.

Of course, nobody would turn down money. If the leaders of Orange Industries could expand the company and increase the value of their shares, they would definitely be among the first to align themselves with them.

However, even among minority shareholders, opinions differ.

A middle-aged gentleman with a few gray hairs at his temples glanced at the speaker and said softly.

"And don't underestimate this young master of the Orange family. As far as I know, the shares he holds now weren't inherited. He can kill his own uncle whenever he wants. Tsk tsk."

Upon hearing this, several people around turned to look at him.

Clearly, many people are still unaware of this news.

"Councilor Connor came here specifically because he received some information, didn't he?"

The middle-aged gentleman, when asked, wore a mysterious expression, carefully choosing his tone before sharing the information he had gathered from his 'friend'.

This Representative Connor is from Tennessee and is now a state legislator for Tennessee.

Although the Orange Industrial headquarters were located in New York, for cost reasons, the large factories were located in Tennessee, a central American state with convenient transportation and low labor costs.

Congressman Connor received a small number of company shares in his capacity as an industrial consultant for Orange.

Similarly, there was a retired Army procurement director and a retired Marine Corps special forces advisor.

These retired "veterans" who receive stock dividends or consultant salaries are actually quite common in various American arms companies. They usually only make occasional appearances to provide policy guidance or introduce connections.

However, those two did not belong to the small circle they were currently gathered together.

After hearing the news shared by Congressman Connor, the people around him either looked puzzled or lowered their heads in thought.

It's unclear who was the first to sigh.

"Sigh, if Ms. Gina hadn't fallen into a coma, things wouldn't be like this now." The man paused slightly, then shook his head helplessly.

For some reason, the others also let out a tacit sigh.

The reason these people sighed was certainly not because they were worried about Luca's current situation.

They were more concerned about the company's future than pitying a young man who had inherited a huge fortune.

In this regard, Luca's mother, Gina, enjoys a high degree of trust among these shareholders and even among the employees of Orange Industries.

This is why the initial shareholder preferred Luca to be like Gina rather than Herman.

The reason why most of these people have not yet sold their shares and why Orange Industries has not yet fallen apart is because of this.

Aside from Lucana's alleged ambiguous relationship with Stark Industries, the more important reason might be that he still hopes Gina will awaken and regain control of Orange Industries.

In fact, Orange Industries doesn't have much to offer right now.

Apart from some 'civilian home weapons' manufactured to enrich the product line, which can only get scraps from major established military industries.

Orange Industries’ core business can be roughly divided into three parts.

Firstly, it was also the main business of Orange Industries.

It is the 'smart chip kit' that was once outsourced to Stark Industries and Hammer Industries.

The 'intelligence' mentioned here is certainly not the kind of AI butler like 'Jarvis' created by Tony Stark himself.

Instead, it is a modular chip that integrates multiple intelligent components such as an 'intelligent ballistic aiming module', an 'intelligent voice recognition module', and a 'lightweight intelligent weapon control module'.

Compared to the intelligent systems of other large companies in the same industry, Orange Industries' 'intelligent system portfolio' has the advantage of modularity and low cost.

The former was Stark Industries' core requirement for secondary weapons component suppliers, while the latter is the corporate philosophy that Hammer Industries has always pursued.

However, with both orders now falling through, Orange Industries is facing a severe overcapacity in this area, and many of its customized production lines have been shut down.

This is also one of the main reasons why Orange Industries is now on the verge of bankruptcy.

Orange Industries' second signature product is the 'combat drone' that the company began developing in-house several years ago.

In fact, the development of the combat drone project has always been strongly advocated by Luca's mother, Gina.

Initially, it was because Gina had her own battlefield experience and her judgment on the development of the military industry.

The goal is to develop combat drones into Orange Industries' flagship product for the future, thereby breaking free from the situation where they can only rely on large military enterprises for parts manufacturing.

This also prevents Hammer Industries from one day abandoning its weapons division, which could plunge Orange Industries into crisis.

Furthermore, Orange Industries' existing 'intelligent combat system module' was highly compatible with 'drone warfare' itself, and the company had ample funds at the time.

The future of all this should have been very bright.

(End of this chapter)