The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

"Really?"

“I told you, you can check it yourself, Mr. Kane. I would never lie to deceive others, because lies are the easiest thing to be exposed. The ineffective inhibitors from Babel have been circulating, and these inhibitors are usually given away or delivered directly to infected people at low prices.”

Kane stopped talking. As a reporter, he naturally had his own informants, and if what Qiao Yelan said was true, he would definitely be able to find out.

"Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to eliminate middlemen, many infected individuals still choose to sell themselves at high prices in order to make money, which is something we cannot stop—because for some people, getting a large sum of money is indeed more important than having an inhibitor."

"Of course I know that. Everything will be bought and sold. As long as there is demand and it is valuable enough, there will be black markets and middlemen everywhere."

Kane isn't a naive kid; he's just passionate, not stupid.

"However, Mr. Qiao Yelan, are you trying to tell me by giving this example that entrepreneurs all have their own good intentions, and that they choose to temporarily make those who are struggling in order to compromise with the environment and reality?"

As expected of a journalist with a family background in academics, he skillfully set a trap and lured the reporter in one go.

"No, what I want to tell you is how a kind-hearted entrepreneur can hide himself among wolves and secretly provide them with help amidst their revelry."

Qiao Yelan's words stunned Kane; he never expected to hear such an answer.

"You said you're a journalist, so I imagine you must have interviewed countless ordinary people. You must have wanted to help them and believed that the actions of those entrepreneurs were sinful—tell me, Mr. Kane, how many people have you helped, and how many crimes have you judged?"

The young man remained silent.

"Do you think someone who is only kind but lacks cunning can attend your father's party and escape being skinned alive by these ruthless businessmen?"

"......cannot."

"Then, similarly, if such a person is just an ordinary citizen, can he really fight for enough benefits for ordinary people?"

"No."

"Yes, and no—so if I want to help those people, I have to climb to that level; and if I want to suppress these entrepreneurs, I have to be even more ruthless than them."

Kane stared intently at the man opposite him, who made no attempt to conceal his actions and methods. He never defended himself, nor did he ever justify his behavior.

"Think it over carefully, Mr. Kane—is it better to betray your current class and help those ordinary people as a journalist, or to join your class and help them as the heir to a giant corporation? Which one will allow you to do more?"

Beneath the mask came a question that resonated deep within Kane's soul.

"You said that many people, after acquiring more, are unable to share what they have, but instead want to acquire more—so, when this crossroads is placed in front of you, will you firmly believe that you can stay true to yourself, or will you ultimately become the kind of person you despise?"

The young man fell silent, lowering his head as he pondered deeply.

Congratulations, Dr.

'Hmm? You understood?'

Yes, in any case, this young man has taken your words to heart. Next, he will verify whether you really administered the inhibitor. After verification, his trust in you will increase infinitely, because he will believe that you are someone who shares his views.

Afterwards, he will seriously consider every question you raised, and whatever choice he makes will lead to a outcome that is most beneficial to you and to the Tower of Babel.

If he chooses to side with the people, Kane will become an excellent representative of public opinion, and his trust in you will give you the opportunity to grasp intelligence and public opinion at the grassroots level in Qazimir—and similarly, to protect his son, Mr. Bain will also seek your help, allowing you to influence public opinion in Qazimir once again.

If he chooses to inherit, Mr. Bain's favor towards you will undoubtedly increase further. At the same time, he will spare no effort in grooming his son—two consecutive chairmen of the Rose Newspaper Group have been close allies of Babel, ensuring a decades-long monopoly on public opinion and propaganda.

Qiao Yelan's lips curled up slightly. No wonder the other party said that he could act as Qiao Yelan's substitute during the vacuum period of his sleep. It turns out that he really did achieve results.

“I’m a little thirsty. Could you please push me back to the banquet, Mr. Kane?”

"Of course, Your Excellency—I'm sorry, I need to think about your question for a while before I can give you a proper answer."

"I don't need your answer, I just need to see what you've done, just like you don't need to believe the self-aggrandizement I'm making, you just need to see what I've actually done."

Qiao Yelan waved his hand.

"Not everything is worth investigating, because conspiracy theories never go away—as a journalist, I think you understand this better."

"You're right. Indeed, to understand a person, you shouldn't look at what they say, but rather what they do."

Kane's gaze hardened.

-----------------------------------------------------------

What did you talk about with that young man?

"We talked about the passion and naivety of young people."

Qiao Yelan whispered a brief account of the conversation that took place in that room to Kashiena.

"So this is the real reason you came to this banquet?"

"No, that was just a pleasant surprise—send me to see Mr. Bain; I need to get back to my business."

Kashina pushed the wheelchair to the chairman, who was chatting and laughing.

When Bain saw Qiao Yelan coming over, he exchanged a few pleasantries with her before coming over to Qiao Yelan's side.

“My son was really quite rude. I hope he didn’t say anything offensive to you.”

"No, how could that be? Mr. Kane is an intelligent man. Although he may not understand you at first, I believe he will gradually change."

Qiao Yelan vaguely guided Bain's future attitude towards her, and then took out her briefcase.

"Do you have a free moment right now?"

"Of course, just a moment, I'll arrange it right away."

A few minutes later, Kasena pushed Qiao Yelan and led Bane into a secret room.

"Tea, please."

"Thank you."

Qiao Yelan took the brown paper package out of her briefcase and handed it to Bain.

"This is a secret report that I obtained from the Ursus military at great expense—it details the major moves that Ursus is about to make."

Bain's expression changed. Ursus, the military, a major operation—these three words linked together stirred up feelings of unease in him, a sentiment that had already begun to stir within him, as a Casimirian.

Could this be the eleventh Ukrainian-Kazakh War?

He quickly opened it and carefully read the words inside.

"Is this... the policy that Ursus is about to implement regarding infected individuals?"

Bain paused for a moment at the place on the fourth page where Nikolai's order was written, and then continued to turn the page.

After he finished reading it, he took a deep breath. What was recorded in it was truly astonishing.

"I never imagined those war-crazed lunatics could be this crazy... Doctor, name your price—this is a massive scandal. If we can use this news to humiliate Ursus, my Rose Media will be able to completely suppress the military!"

The man spoke excitedly, now understanding why the other party had come to him. As the controller of public opinion in Kazimierz, such big news naturally fetched the highest price in his hands.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Bain, I’m showing you this information not because I want to sell it to you—but because I hope you can support me in this matter.”

"This matter? What matter?"

Qiao Yelan's words confused Bain. Wasn't this Ursus's business? What did Qiao Yelan have to do with this? And why should he support him?

“As a media professional, you naturally see the intelligence density in this plan, while as a businessman, I naturally see the profit in it at a glance.”

"Profits...you mean, the infected?"

"That's right, it's the infected people—we've been struggling with the infected problem for a long time, but no matter what we do or what laws we enact, these guys are like rats in the gutter, we can't get rid of them no matter what we do."

His voice turned icy cold.

"And now, the Ursus people have shown us a way out: gather all these rats and use them as unpaid slave labor to generate profits for us. This way, we can both drive these guys out of our cities and make up for the taxes we spent on expelling them."

"After all, for slaves, if they can't capture them all no matter what, then what used to be a headache becomes a happy thing."

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Selling Crutches

Bain narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze back to the documents in his hands.

Qiao Yelan's plan is undoubtedly practical, after all, Ursus has already put forward actual administrative procedures and feasible means.

But the problem is—

"Why did you come to me first to discuss this plan?"

He stared intently at Qiao Yelan.

This is what Bain finds most perplexing.

The Commercial Confederation was composed of these merchants, but competing merchants would not maintain this organization so harmoniously, and would stand on equal footing with the knights.

Therefore, each of them monopolizes an industry: media, food, medical care, construction, logistics, etc. Each person firmly guards their own territory while restraining themselves from reaching into another industry, thus maintaining the unity of the business association.

This was not because they were able to control their greed, but because when they formed the association, they agreed that anyone who was the first to reach out would be attacked by the others and their business empire would be devoured.

This rule... comes from the mysterious man in front of us.

Perhaps when they first joined the alliance, some had ill intentions, some were resentful, some wanted to wait for an opportunity to act, and some wanted to stand by and watch—but when they were pleasantly surprised to find that when they joined forces, they could really suppress those high and mighty knights, everyone began to pretend to be unwilling, but consciously abide by the rules set forth by this man.

Therefore, this alliance, which many people thought would eventually break down, has remained stable to this day and shows no signs of breaking down.

Bain was certain that, whether out of trust in Qiao Yelan or out of self-interest, this proposal would be passed by the vast majority of people if it were put to a meeting of the Business Federation, because too many people could benefit from it.

In fact, the only person who might not benefit from this bill is Bain—because the media industry doesn't need much low-quality labor, and infected slaves often lack systematic academic training, so he has no use for them at all.

However, this doesn't mean that Bane won't get any benefits at all—even the Ursus people know that you have to do this kind of thing in the dark, so if Kazimierz wants to do this kind of thing, he will naturally have to give the journalists a hefty hush money.

Bain himself will naturally get the biggest share.

That's why he was puzzled. He should have been the least important person in the proposal. No matter which company Qiao Yelan went to, he would definitely receive enthusiastic support from those people. But only with him could he not get his support.