Life Dungeon Game

Krot was taken aback for a moment, then he smiled and asked, "If I give you this permission, I'll be responsible if any strange beasts or wilderness wanderers are let in."

He paused, then continued, "Do you think I should believe you? I was the one who drove your former boss to his death. How am I supposed to know you're not just using mercenaries to bluff me and create chaos to oust me?"

The mercenaries of the Kegete Group are all functioning normally so far; the so-called chaos is nothing more than an unfounded worry.

Well, maybe these mercenaries are just using it as a weapon to threaten Krot and make him behave.

Before anything happens, all speculation is just speculation.

In response to Krot's question, Sinzi simply straightened up and said calmly, "Besides me, who else can you trust?"

Krot's smile faded, and he gave his 'old friend' a deep look. "It seems you have indeed grown."

He picked up a bowler hat from the side and put it on his head. "That's all for today. We'll keep in touch later."

After saying that, he opened the door and walked out of the private room. The burly man outside stepped aside to make way for him and then followed him out, closing the door behind him.

Did the chaotic light spill into the room? Sienzi raised his hand and dialed a phone.

"He agreed?"

Ishia's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"No,"

Sienji shook his head. "If he could be persuaded by me in a few words, he wouldn't be himself. But our purpose today is to plant a seed in his mind. When there are signs, he will naturally come to us."

He reached out, picked up the exquisite glasses case, and slowly opened it.

Inside the glasses case were not only the glasses he had left behind, but also the flyer he had left behind. The flyer was now folded and tucked inside the lid of the glasses case, with a string of red numbers written on it.

That was a private phone number.

I've been experiencing some writer's block these past couple of days.

Regarding the update time, I will try to update at midnight. If I don't update at midnight, I will update at noon.

The next chapter should be tonight.

Chapter 697 The Conglomerate (Mega Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Top floor of Nolanca Building, Kaya City

"I've already said, you can make these decisions yourself. I sent you there because I value your fearless and determined spirit. Don't hesitate, just go for it!"

Lina, with her hair styled in wavy curls and still wearing a crisp white shirt and pencil skirt, rubbed her temples. Then, with one hand on the office doorknob, she continued speaking.

"If they won't let us in, we'll bypass them and go through the districts south of Witland first. It's impossible for the Kegete Group to have all the supermarkets and convenience stores under their control. We need to focus on doing our job properly."

"Let's get those small supermarkets on board first, then figure out how to open up online channels. We'll do it step by step, according to what we've already discussed. If it doesn't work out, we'll come back and discuss it again. That's all for now."

After saying that, she hung up the phone, rubbed her temples again, took a deep breath, turned the doorknob, pushed open the office door, and looked inside. "Secretary Danilo, I just got off the airship, I'm a little late..."

Because of security reasons, she and old Danny had a good relationship, but their private relationship was private, while in formal occasions, she addressed him in a very formal way.

However, she didn't finish her slightly apologetic words before she froze on the spot.

At this moment, in the board secretary's office, board secretary Danny was in front of the coffee machine against the wall, with his back to her, seemingly making coffee, while a tall and handsome young man was sitting on the sofa next to him.

The other person was holding a steaming cup of coffee and looked up at Lina as she pushed open the door and entered.

A gentle smile touched his resolute face. "Long time no see."

Lina stared at the familiar yet slightly different profile, momentarily lost in thought. For some reason, her heart gradually calmed down.

The frustration and helplessness that had been building up in her heart gradually dissipated like clouds blown away by a spring breeze after hearing the words "long time no see."

This man always possesses this silent, comforting power.

A faint smile appeared on her face as she slowly walked into the office, replying, "Long time no see."

Would you like a cup of coffee?

At that moment, old Danny turned around, smiling as he handed the prepared coffee to Lina.

"Thank you."

Lina hesitated for a moment, then took the coffee.

He Ao was sitting on the sofa. He took a sip of coffee, glanced at Danny, and then at Lina. "Sit down. We were just talking about you."

"what?"

Lina sat down on one side of the sofa and was taken aback when she heard He Ao's words.

"Danny said you were also involved in grain exploration. How's it going there?"

He placed the coffee on the table and asked softly.

"Not very good,"

Upon hearing this, Lina snapped out of her daze and explained slowly, "To be precise, it's terrible."

With this question in mind, those troubling thoughts surged into her mind once again.

But looking into He Ao's calm gaze, her anxiety gradually subsided. She took a sip of coffee, gathered her thoughts, and continued...

"During your 'sleep' period, we..."

Breakthroughs have been achieved in some grain processing technologies, leading to the development of products such as reconstituted steaks with improved taste. These products are sold not only in Kaya City but also in other cities.

"Because of our relatively low prices and the high cost-performance ratio, these products have made breakthrough progress in some cities and captured a portion of the market share."

"but,"

She paused for a moment, "These products were resisted by the grain monopoly alliance. Although we joined the alliance as soon as we started grain production, our voice was far less powerful than that of the alliance's two giants, Moshanto and Kejette."

"Especially the Kegete Group, they are an emerging grain industry giant, and they are very domineering. After discovering that we were trying to enter the grain industry, they immediately 'ambushed' us."

"First, they contacted all the supermarkets and convenience stores under their umbrella that they supplied goods to, and through coercion and inducement, they prohibited these supermarkets and convenience stores from listing our products."

"Then, they launched several competing products targeting some of our best-selling items and started a price war with us. The prices of some of their products were even lower than the cost of raw materials. Even if the raw materials came from their own farms and factories, it would be impossible to reduce the cost to such a low level."

"So they're throwing money at us to wage a price war, trying to squeeze us out of the market?"

He Ao took a sip of coffee and continued to ask.

"Yes,"

Lina nodded. "This is a tactic that Keget often uses. Over the years, they have squeezed out their competitors by basically throwing money at subsidies and price wars, spending heavily on advertising, and then squeezing out all their competitors before raising prices far above the original level, relying on their technological advantages and monopoly position to make huge profits."

This kind of competitive maneuvering is actually quite common in the federal government, especially when large corporations suppress emerging small businesses.

Large conglomerates will lower the prices of specific competing products, relying on their economies of scale to test the price to a lower baseline. If this is not enough to kill off the competitors, the conglomerate headquarters will launch a price war with subsidies to bring the price below the cost line.

Strictly speaking, this is actually a financial operation.

Besides technological advantages, the price war based on subsidies is more about who has more capital. This gives large conglomerates with substantial capital an advantage.

Unless another large conglomerate takes over, small businesses with any potential will basically be wiped out by this scheme.

To put it bluntly, this has moved beyond the quality of the product itself; it's now a battle of capital.

Of course, this kind of battle is still effective against large conglomerates like the Nolanca Group that span multiple industries.

Typically, a newly established conglomerate from outside the industry will receive a rude awakening from the established conglomerates within the industry, and will be engaged in a potentially devastating battle.

This war will continue until both sides are severely weakened, and one side can no longer withstand the pressure and is forced to negotiate peace.

Either the new company survives, or the old alliance chooses to retreat and form a new monopoly alliance with the new company.

Either new businesses are driven out of the industry altogether.

Of course, regardless of the outcome of this battle, the monopoly alliance will ultimately prevail.

The significant price increase aims to not only cover previous losses but also ensure a certain level of profitability.

However, such devastating price wars usually only begin when new companies pose a slight threat, since once such a battle starts, it results in massive losses and excessively high costs.

Given Nolanca Group's current market share, it should not have crossed the industry's red line yet.

The fact that the Kegete Group is now launching a price war and targeting other companies is actually a bit too aggressive.

"After all, the Kejet Group is a young conglomerate. It acts domineeringly and aggressively, like a mad dog, to make itself seem unapproachable and avoid being attacked by other conglomerates. Although its behavior in the market is indeed too mad dog-like, it has made too many enemies."

He calmly summarized the current situation, "However, such obstacles are inevitable in our development. The Kejet Group is just the beginning."

"Yes,"

Lina nodded in agreement. She looked at He Ao and said softly, "It's not just the Kegete Group. As we further expand into the food industry, Moshanto and the original large food industry conglomerates will definitely join in. With our current cash flow, we probably can't withstand this kind of battle."

"Danny, what is the current food self-sufficiency rate in Kaya City?"

He looked at Danny beside him.

“Master Wei’an, after two years of development, we are now almost 80% self-sufficient in food.”

Danny answered slowly.

"What if we include Rock City and Limen City?"

He Ao asked further.

"That self-sufficiency rate is less than 40%."

Danny looked at Heo and continued,

“Currently, we are not only facing attacks from the Kegete Group, but also encountering bottlenecks in grain production technology. Moreover, the three cities of Kaya, Rock, and Limen are not suitable for grain production, nor do they have enough grain processing plants. To supply so much grain, we need a dedicated grain production base.”

"I see,"

He Ao nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "How's the medical situation?"

"Qiming Medical College is running very well now."

Danny continued,

"The first batch of one-year medical school trainees have already begun their internships at the Qiming Medical Schools in Kaya City, Limen City, Rock City, and Dawn City."

"Aside from some underground doctors who were already practicing medicine, most of them were newly enrolled young people. After a year of intensive training, they couldn't perform many surgeries, but under the guidance of experienced doctors, they could still treat minor ailments like headaches and colds."

"Of course, as you mentioned before, the school also teaches them a lot of health care knowledge, and when treating patients, they also advise them on some basic health care knowledge."

What about medical prices?