The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

It wasn't that he was used to this kind of life, but rather that he really enjoyed collecting amulets—

If some clueless assassin were to rush in front of him, he would be horrified to see a disabled person stand up from his wheelchair, grab his head, and shake him from side to side.

"Many chambers of commerce have sent you invitations; these are all—"

Kashiena handed a stack of invitations to Qiao Yelan.

“Let me see… they’re all unimportant guys—well, [Rose News United Press], go to the place this invitation says.”

Is there anything special about it?

"What's special about it? The special thing is that this company controls more than 80% of the news media in all of Kasimir—and that's because the other 20% is the propaganda arm of the Kasimir military."

The man smiled and threw the other invitations into the trash can.

“Those who sit at the forefront of public opinion are either extremely conservative or extremely open-minded. In Kazimierz, where businessmen and the military are at odds, conservatives cannot hold onto their power.”

"Please give me that brown paper bag."

Qiao Yelan took the bag, put it in her briefcase, and leisurely got into her car, heading to the address on the invitation.

It was a magnificent manor.

"Welcome, Doctor. It's been a long time since you've been back to Kazimierz."

"That's because they never need me here. Everyone else is making money happily, so I can just lie comfortably at home. Why should I bother running around?"

Qiao Yelan smiled and shook hands with the chairman.

"Yeah, we're past the age of striving—Kane! Come here!"

A young man walked over, exuding the youthful energy typical of his age, with a camera hanging around his neck.

"This is my good-for-nothing son. He's driving me crazy. He refuses to learn any of my business skills and just runs around with this camera, saying he wants to become the best journalist in Casimir."

The chairman of Bain sighed.

"Hello, sir, I don't recall ever seeing you at my father's banquet before."

“Yes, I just returned to Kazimir from the capital of Vedunia—oh no, it should now be called Trilintelme.”

Qiao Yelan's words made Kane's eyes light up.

"Sir! You've just returned from Letania? That's wonderful! I've been wanting to visit the lands that have just been liberated from the rule of Herhunzoren, but my father has always been against it—would you be willing to grant me an interview?"

"Kane! Where has your manners gone?!"

Bain scolded angrily.

“It’s alright, Chairman Bain. I’ve always had a soft spot for young people with a thirst for knowledge. If you’re only entertaining me, I’d be overwhelmed. How about having your son keep me company for a while?”

Bain paused for a moment. He knew very well what kind of person the Doctor was. Perhaps letting his son come into contact with him wouldn't be a bad thing.

“Well—alright, Kane, you must treat this gentleman well. He is a distinguished guest from the Tower of Babel. You should address him as ‘Doctor.’”

“Okay—Doctor, would you mind if I take you to a quieter place?”

Kane was half-heartedly trying to fool his father; he was now only focused on getting some big news from Qiao Yelan.

"Of course I don't mind. Just call me Qiao Yelan—Kashena, you can wander around here for a while."

The woman nodded and walked into the hall, where the young man took over her work.

Bain watched his son push the man and disappear around the corner of the corridor, and sighed.

He really wanted Kane to take over his position, but seeing Kane's current situation, he only wanted to be a reporter, never caring about danger or the situation, only wanting to see the most authentic version of things.

How could someone like that be suitable to take my place?

"I'm afraid that when the time comes... we'll have to arrange a way out for him."

Bain thought to himself, shook his head, put on a smile again, and began chatting with the other guests.

Kane pushed Qiao Yelan into a room. He brought over a small table and a chair, sat down opposite Qiao Yelan, and took out a pen and a small notebook from his pocket, clearly familiar with the place.

"Then I'll get straight to the point—Mr. Qiao Yelan, have you been living in Vidonia, or rather, in the capital of Letania under the rule of Herhunzoren?"

"I only lived there for a period of time. This time, I wanted to go and see him because I heard that His Majesty the Witch King had been assassinated and a new Elector had ascended the throne."

"You mentioned a new name, [Triumntelme], is that the name of the future city?"

"Yes, those twin empresses chose this name."

Qiao Yelan placed the cup in his hand on the table, remembering to bring himself a glass of water.

"What do you think the future of Trinityl will be like compared to the Witch King's rule? Will it be better or worse?"

"Unfortunately, this is a question that only time can answer. If I had to say, I could only say that for me, change is good."

Kane perked up and listened intently to Qiao Yelan's words.

"His Majesty the Witch King is very strong, perhaps even the most powerful sorcerer on this land—but it is also for this reason that Vidonia under his rule is always like a stagnant pool of water, unable to stir up any waves, because no one can resist this violence."

"And now, although I don't know exactly what the Gemini Empresses' personalities are like, there is no doubt that they have brought a wind of change to this city, and for me, change means opportunity."

"You're a businessman too?"

"Of course, just like your father."

Kane visibly frowned when the topic came up.

"...Could you answer a personal question for me?"

He put down his pen and looked intently at Qiao Yelan's helmet...

"of course can."

"A businessman, who possesses such vast wealth that he and his family could not possibly spend it all even in ten lifetimes, yet he still tirelessly makes money—what is his motivation?"

It seems that a young man has fallen into contemplation about his social class.

"I think you probably don't want to hear any vague philosophical discussions about desire or human nature—so how about we start with a practical example?"

Qiao Yelan laughed.

He most enjoys talking to these confused second-generation kids.

He will present them with a dream they cannot refuse, and they will believe that this is their own dream—

As for the fact that this dream "coincidentally" overlapped with a certain stage of Qiao Yelan's plan, people who want to realize their dreams won't care about such details.

Chapter Sixty-Seven: A Twist of Fate

"In your previous statement, you mentioned that the purpose of making money is to 'squander' it. So why do you have such a biased view? Is it because everyone you see is squandering, or is squandering the only thing you can see?"

Qiao Yelan chatted gently with the other person.

“I am currently the CEO of Babel Tower, which is why I was invited by your father to attend the banquet—but do you know what Babel Tower’s main business is right now?”

The young man hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

He always kept his distance from his father's social circle and paid no attention to those large corporations that were on par with Rose Newspapers.

"It is [Suppressing Oripathy]."

"Suppress Oripathy?"

His voice carried obvious surprise.

Kane had interviewed infected people, of course. He knew very well that these people were no different from others. They loved life and had their own dreams, but just because they were infected with this incurable disease, they were labeled as ostracized.

Most countries turn a blind eye to those infected, and rejection and suppression are usually spontaneous behaviors of ordinary people. However, Kasimir is one of the few countries that is extremely resistant to those infected, and they have even elevated it to the level of government administration.

"You might find it strange that I, a businessman, would conduct such research—but the truth is, I need to become a very famous businessman, a guest of your father's, in order to have enough resources and leverage to invest in this research."

Qiao Yelan patiently taught the other party.

"Oripathy is incurable, and Oripathy inhibitors can only reduce the concentration of Oripathy in the blood, but cannot cure it. Furthermore, the production of inhibitors is very expensive and the output is very limited. Even if I provide them at cost price, ordinary people simply cannot afford to continuously purchase these inhibitors—unless I distribute them to them for free."

"I can tell you without any shame that currently, the [Originium Disease Suppressant] of Babel is only affordable to the high-ranking officials and nobles of various countries, and the vast majority of its production is sold to them. It is through such transactions that Babel has been able to grow to its current scale."

He picked up his cup and swirled the water inside.

"Now, tell me, Mr. Kane, what would you do if you were in his shoes? Would you distribute these inhibitors to the common people for free to earn a good reputation for yourself, or would you, like me, sell these things to the powerful and wealthy, and reap huge profits to develop your own company?"

Kane stared at the cup, opened his mouth, but couldn't give an answer.

As a righteous young man who sympathizes with ordinary people and those infected, his heart told him that he should of course choose to distribute the supplies to the infected for free.

However, as the son of the chairman of Rose Newspaper Group, he knew very well from years of exposure to business rules that distributing inhibitors for free would only extinguish the faint hope of those infected.

"It seems you know the answer very well—this has never been a multiple-choice question."

Qiao Yelan poured all the water from the cup onto the ground.

"Kindness and charity can only give them a cup of water, but if I exchange it for a bucket of water, I can have more and give them more."

"...But you can't guarantee that once you have a bucket of water, you'll think about sharing it instead of exchanging it for two buckets."

Kane's voice was deep, but exceptionally incisive.

“You’re right, human desires are insatiable—what I’m saying sounds like something out of a politician who makes promises to the people with sweet words but then turns his back on them once he’s in power. But if you’re willing to investigate, you’ll find that Babel is indeed secretly circulating these inhibitors.”

The man smiled and put down his cup.

"Of course, these inhibitors are diluted, and their performance is not as good as the original. However, after being diluted to a 15-fold amount, their efficacy only decreases by 40% - this is the kind of product that can truly be mass-produced and promoted."