Life Dungeon Game

Vera returned the old man's gaze and spoke quickly.

"Um,"

The old man nodded gently. He looked up and gazed again at the huge oil painting in the center of the office. "Girl, do you remember how your father 'stepped down' back then?"

“Vincent, through collusion, convened a shareholders’ meeting and removed my father from his position.”

Vera answered softly.

"Do you know why Vincent was able to get the support of the shareholders' meeting?"

Endil smiled at Veri. "How did a company hold a meeting and fire its founder, who had such high prestige within the company, do something that sounds rather illogical?"

"Vincent colluded with some shareholders and suddenly launched an attack on his father..."

Vera expressed the views she had been hearing all along.

"Removing the chairman of the board requires the consent of shareholders holding at least two-thirds of the total shares,"

Endil leaned against his desk, still smiling as he looked at Vili. "These are the charters your father set up back then. More than half of the people voted to remove your father from office. The 'part' that Vincent colluded with was actually the majority within United Industries."

"But,"

Veri actually knew this. In her previous conversation with He Ao, He Ao had explicitly asked about United Industries' attitude towards her father. She had figured it out: United Industries was definitely dissatisfied with her father.

She paused, then continued under Endil's gaze, "Don't they know that what my father did was beneficial to this city, to the people of the Storm Zone and the Akka Zone?"

Endil glanced at Vili with slight surprise, seemingly astonished that Vili had skipped the part about United Industries' true attitude toward her father.

"Girl, you've grown up a lot,"

He continued in a hoarse voice, “The shareholders of United Industries naturally know that what your father did was good, and most of them even admire him. But son, what is best for Winter City is not necessarily what is best for United Industries.”

"what?"

Veri was slightly taken aback.

"As a shareholder of United Industries, what do you think shareholders want most?"

The old man slowly walked behind the desk, placed the book he was holding on the surface, and asked in a low voice, "Will Winter City be able to produce and supply its own cheap industrial goods, or will the people of Akka District and Storm Zone be all smiles?"

"no,"

Vera shook her head subconsciously. As the largest individual shareholder of United Industries, she knew very well what the shareholders of United Industries wanted. After a brief pause, she said softly, "It's 'money'."

"To prevent United Industries from falling back into Rockwell Energy's control,"

Endil said in a hoarse voice, "Your father rejected all offers to go public. In order to rapidly develop industry, he used almost all the profits to build factories in the Novite district, and the price of all this was..."

"The shareholders of United Industries are not receiving any dividends, nor can they quickly liquidate their assets through the stock market, so they are dissatisfied with my father,"

Veri replied in a low voice, and after a brief hesitation, she continued, "But Father could have easily shared some of the profits to attract a group of shareholders, and Novette District, as an industrial area, also generates revenue."

"it's useless,"

Endil shook his head. "That's what your father did back then, but Rockwell Energy Group offered a higher price. Compared to the profits from the financial market and energy mining, pure industrial profits are not enough. Moreover, your father also significantly increased the factory's labor costs through various guarantees."

His gaze returned to the painting, sweeping over the glamorous crowd surrounding the two young men in the picture.

"In the eyes of many shareholders, your father was a madman who gave up higher profits in order to pursue low profits or even losses."

He continued slowly, "Currently, the biggest source of profit for United Industries' shareholders is the sale of energy minerals to Rockwell Energy Group, which generates high profits. These profits are then used to buy back shares to drive up the stock price, while also investing in real estate and other financial industries."

Rockwell Energy Group now holds more than 30% of United Industries' shares, making it United Industries' largest shareholder.

"Your father named United Industries that hoping it could unite, break free from Rockwell Energy Group's control, and develop Winter City's own industries."

At this point, the old man chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Now it's neither united nor industrial."

Veri opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.

Her father established United Industries to resist the control of Rockwell Energy Corporation, to make Winter City stronger, and to relieve the people of Winter City from their plight.

But now, United Industries has become Rockwell Energy’s ally in controlling Winter City, and the city remains unchanged, even worse than before.

It was as if all their years of hard work had been in vain.

“We’ve spent decades proving that forming a consortium is not a viable path,”

Endil withdrew his gaze and looked down at the book his hand was pressing on.

"After your father was dismissed, your father and I reviewed the situation countless times and considered countless possibilities, but the outcome was always the same."

"As long as such a consortium exists, whether it is called United Industries or United Mining, it will eventually pursue higher profits."

"This is the path it will inevitably take as a conglomerate."

"

Unless we can create a unified industrial entity wholly owned by one person, but under the external pressure from Rockwell Energy Group, we, lacking any capital, will be swallowed up by Rockwell Energy Group before we can even acquire other mining companies.”

At this point, Veri could somewhat understand why Endil had completely given up resisting after her father's death.

Just then, the old man looked up at the blonde girl.

"Actually, the municipal government isn't as powerful as you imagine; the tax revenue we collect is actually quite small."

"The United Industries have many ways to evade taxes, even by influencing the city council to pass laws that are favorable to them. However, this situation had been in place before the United Industries were established, except that at that time the city council was influenced by the loose Winter City Mining Union."

"The situation was somewhat better during the time your father was in power, but it got worse after he stepped down."

"Currently, the city government's main sources of tax revenue are consumption tax and personal income tax, but the income of Winter citizens has been decreasing in recent years, resulting in very low consumption tax and personal income tax revenue. It is already very difficult to maintain the existence of the city's defense forces."

"We don't have the money to invest in road construction, and because of government debt, we even had to sell previously built public facilities to United Industries to increase revenue."

"Ultimately, all changes will come from United Industries, but United Industries will inevitably end up pursuing profits."

He raised his head and sighed.

"Actually, everyone knows the current situation in Winter City. I know it, and your father knows it."

“Even Vincent, who was one of your father’s most ardent supporters back then, knew very well that Winter City needed to change, but his interests and his rights led him to the path that was most beneficial to United Industries.”

"We are all bound by invisible threads, leading us toward the destiny ordained by fate."

The old man turned his gaze, his cloudy eyes looking at the blonde girl. "So you still want to run for office? Even if you sit in my seat, you might not be able to accomplish anything."

Veri looked silently at the old man in front of her.

She could feel the oppression and despair; everything seemed fixed, carrying the wheels of history toward the end.

Those hungry, homeless people from the Acre and Storm Zones, along with this desperate city, seemed destined to meet their final end in hunger and homelessness.

She felt this was wrong, but she couldn't break free from the thin thread of fate.

She finally understood why her father would often sit there lost in thought after he stepped down from his post.

She finally found herself on the path her father had once walked, but ahead lay a fog of darkness, with no hope in sight.

The air around her was so quiet that she could hear her own muffled heartbeat.

For some reason, she suddenly recalled the scene in the funeral home lobby, the boy holding the milk tea, calmly watching her, and his soft question echoing in her ears once more.

"What sustained your father's rule: the poor of the Storm Zone and the Acre Zone, or the United Industries?"

That invisible arrow shot from the past

The arrow pierced her thoughts at that moment.

When she first heard the question, she didn't have an answer. She didn't know how to answer it. But at this moment, she suddenly realized that the question itself might be the answer the boy was giving her.

United Industries would never betray itself to seek welfare for the poor in the Storm Zone and Akar Zone, so her father, who relies on United Industries, will inevitably be dismissed.

If she wants to change the fate of the people in the Storm Zone and the Akka Zone, and the fate of Winter City, she cannot rely on the power of United Industries, but must rely on the power of the city itself.

Relying on the power of those who are silent and unspoken.

This may be a path no one has ever walked before, and perhaps it will end as soon as it begins.

But she still raised her head, looked into the old man's cloudy eyes, and nodded slowly and heavily, "I will do my best."

"You seem to have a very good companion,"

The old man gazed into the girl's eyes, as if realizing something. His cloudy pupils seemed to clear slightly. He handed the book to the girl. "This is a summary of my investigations into various areas of Winter City over the years, along with all my experience. I hope it can help you and your companions."

His voice was long and slow, “I hope you can find a new path, I hope you can change everything that we cannot change.”

"Thanks,"

Vera reached out and took the book, nodding emphatically, "I will try my best."

She knew that the boy actually saw much further than she did.

-

Storm Zone

Lena, carrying the boy on her back, stood in front of the open church doors.

I'll update as early as possible tomorrow!

Chapter 811 The Lucky One in the Church? (Mega Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Before Lena stood a spacious, simple 'shack' made of brick walls and corrugated iron sheets.

Lena recognized it as a church because next to the open tin door of the shed was a thick, rusty sheet of iron with the word 'church' scrawled on it in red paint.

The falling snowflakes from the sky sprinkled onto the red paint, lying quietly among the bright red characters.

One by one, people dressed in simple clothes passed by the tin roof and entered the shed through the open tin door, which was covered with thick rust.

"Search this way, the target must have escaped from here."

Faint shouts seemed to come from behind.

Lena lowered her head and glanced at the clothes she was wearing.

Her once exquisite red dress had been shattered in the battle. On her way here, she had picked up some mud to cover her fair skin and crumpled and dirtied the tattered dress, making herself look more like a disheveled wanderer.

In fact, her current appearance is considered quite bad among homeless people.

Of the homeless in Winter, only a small percentage are completely ragged; most have a low-paying temporary job to earn a meager living.

Although this money wasn't enough for them to pay rent, it was enough to buy some basic food and daily necessities, and they could barely survive.

Therefore, they usually dress themselves neatly, as this makes them more appealing to employers.