Chapter 1456 - After the Party
Chapter 1456 After the Party
“Wreak havoc? No, no, no, my friend, you are completely mistaken. If everything goes smoothly, there won’t be any ‘wreaking havoc,’ and no one will be hurt because of it. I just want to put on a good show, a harmless good show!”
Shen Yulin widened his eyes, his face full of sincerity and innocence. “Who do you think I am? A natural-born killer who has lost all humanity? No, I’m the same as you. I am fighting for Dragon City’s interests, for our respective businesses and families’ interests, and for everyone else’s interests.
“During the Monster War, the claws and venom of the monsters left no fewer scars on my body than anyone else’s. “I swear to God that I have never thought of hurting the life of an innocent person.
“In fact, I moved most of the guards and miners to the other side of the crystal mine in order to minimize unexpected casualties.
“In the beginning, without you as an unexpected factor, the people wouldn’t have caused too much trouble.
“All they needed to do was wander around the crystal mine, set a few fires that wouldn’t expand, and collapse a few houses that had submerged in the flood and were about to collapse. Then, they would steal a few raw crystals from the warehouse. Most importantly, they would be discovered and leave traces. That would be enough. That was all I needed!”
Meng Chao was silent for a moment.
He seemed to be pondering over the credibility of Shen Yulin’s words.
“Alright.”
Meng Chao said, “If you’re not going to wreak havoc, then what’s the purpose of pretending to be orcs to sneak into the crystal mine, deliberately being discovered, and leaving traces behind?”
“The purpose is very simple. We hope that Dragon City can return to the right path, or rather, when Dragon City is hesitating on the right path and is about to make the wrong choice, we, as superhuman beings, have the responsibility and power to give Dragon City a gentle push from the back.” Shen Yulin stared at Meng Chao and said, “Did you know that the Survival Committee is going to veto the Northbound Plan proposed by the nine mega corporations?”
Meng Chao narrowed his eyes and put on a shocked expression.
“Those short-sighted members of parliament are going to miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and nail themselves to the pillar of shame in history forever!”
Shen Yulin gnashed his teeth and said, “They say that Dragon City has just ended a protracted war, and the wounds that have been flowing for decades have yet to heal. The people of Dragon City still need to rest for a long time to solve their internal problems.
“What else are they trying to say aside from ‘we are not familiar with the Other World’s geography and the human environment’? The Red Dragon Army has not completed the comprehensive renovation and change of equipment. The technology of the short-distance jump on the surface of the planet is not yet mature and stable. If we take too big a step, it will be easy for us to break all the eggs in our basket. Too many people, too much land, and resources will be swallowed at once. It will be easy for us to have an ‘indigestion,’ and so on.
“All in all, we have been using many excuses to hold back the progress of our nine mega corporation.
“Look at the north, look at the vast land in the Raging Tiger River’s basin. Who can calculate how rich and precious the resources that are hidden under this land are? Plus, these resources can help us superhumans cultivate into unparalleled super beings. They can also help our civilization evolve to unimaginable levels.
“We’ve shattered and crossed the natural moat that once stood in front of us—the wall of mist and Monster Mountain Range. Now, there are no more obstacles in front of us. Whether it’s the torrent of steel or the extraordinary will, we can press forward without any obstacles!
“Tell me, at such a critical moment, at the crossroads that determines whether Dragon City will survive or be destroyed, how can we be in a dilemma and cower in fear?”
“This…”
Meng Chao looked hesitant. “Besides, the arrow is already on the bowstring, and we have no choice but to shoot it. Right now, we’re riding a tiger, and we can’t stop at all.”
Shen Yulin changed the subject and asked, “Since you’re a member of the Lu family, you should have a large number of shares in Sky Pillar Corporation, right?”
“Of course.”
Meng Chao said, “The Lu family is the same as your Shen family. The immediate interests of all the family members are firmly tied together with Sky Pillar and the world’s two major groups.” “Then, you must have made a lot of money in the past year.”
Shen Yulin grinned and sighed. “The past year has been a golden and shining good time. Every investor of the nine mega corporations has experienced a surge in assets, freedom, and carefree life. Whether it’s Sky Pillar or Universe, the stock prices of even the most insignificant affiliated companies under their management will soar, as long as they come up with a new development plan or a new concept of cultivation. Even the descendants of the Lu family, like you and me, have earned an inexhaustible supply of cultivation resources.
“However, the good days will not last forever. The heavenly days of yesterday will be paid tomorrow.
“The valuation of the nine mega corporations has increased by so many times in the past year. Winning the war against the monsters and splitting the cake that is the Hidden Mist Domain is indeed a very important factor. “However, the Hidden Mist Domain is only so big. There are only so many monsters that we have suppressed and tamed. The war dividends that we have already received are not enough to support the nine mega corporations’ high valuation.
“The enthusiasm of the capital market for us and the confidence of all the investors are mainly pinned on the future, pinned on the words of ‘conquering the Other World.’ “Unfortunately, conquering the Other World is not such a simple thing.
“As for the distant future, nobody knows when it will come.
“The problem is that Dragon City can’t wait any longer. Our investors can’t wait any longer. Our entire financial market and economic system can’t wait any longer! “Even after decades of bloody battles and completely defeating the monster civilization…
“Even if Dragon City has ended its conflicts and turmoil, and ushered in peace and development…
“We are unable to solve a problem that has been placed in front of everyone. On top of that, everyone is deliberately pretending not to see it.
“Our population is seriously insufficient. The consumer market is too small.
“In the Earth era, we had nearly ten billion people. We could only maintain a strong civilization and a prosperous market by exporting manufactured products and infrastructure to the entire Earth. “Now, however, we only have tens of millions of people. Due to the long war, most people are used to the wartime economic system. They are used to splitting a penny in half, tightening their belts, being self-sufficient, and storing basic survival resources.
“Tell me, how can such a Dragon City successfully complete the transformation from a wartime economic system to a normal economic system, and create a prosperous scene that can be continuously developed and sustained over a long period of time?”
This time, Meng Chao really fell into deep thought.
The question Shen Yulin threw out was also the question he had been thinking about all along.
It was just that they had different answers.
“You should understand at this point, right?”
Shen Yulin sighed and said, “The so-called ‘golden era’ of the past year was just a binge after the victory of the war.
“No party goes on forever. The debauchery will eventually end. “Once the warrior, who defeated the monsters wakes up from his hangover and pulls out his sword to look around in a daze, what will he do?
“No matter how big the monster civilization is, the war dividend left to us will be emptied sooner or later. In fact, after a whole year of wanton spending, we’ve almost obliterated the monster civilization’s provisions.
“Including all the citizens of Dragon City, all the investors have pinned their hopes on whatever’s outside Monster Mountain Range.
“Before everyone figures out that the Dragon City civilization has long been mired in mud, we must find a way out of Monster Mountain Range.
“This is why the nine mega corporations are so eager to develop the mining area under our feet.
“It’s also the reason why the entire financial market has such high expectations of us, and why they’re blowing up the bubble with us.
“But have you ever thought that the mining area under our feet and the planned future development zone can really support such a high valuation and the entire financial market, which is flourishing and unstoppable?” Meng Chao recalled that the Dragon City civilization in his previous life did not carry out large-scale crystal mining and industrial development in this area.
He probed, “Are you saying that there’s a problem with… this mining area?” Shen Yulin’s eyes flickered.
“There are abundant resources under our feet, of course. The spirit energy inside the crisscrossing crystal veins flows like the surging Red Dragon River and the Raging Tiger River. If we can exploit all these resources, it won’t be a problem to build a new Dragon City.”
Shen Yulin said, “The problem is that large-scale development requires time and money. After all, this is not Earth, where the geological environment is relatively stable, but a foreign world where the planet’s magnetic field is extremely violent. It won’t be easy to fulfill our promises to the investors.
“Right now, there are already a lot of rumors in the financial market. People are questioning whether the nine mega corporations, especially Universe and Sky Pillar, are honest, prudent, and transparent enough in the development of the mining area. “The sudden rainstorm in front of us has made things worse for us.
“If we are not careful, the rainstorm will most likely become a fuse that will blow up the share prices of Universe and Sky Pillar, the valuations of the nine mega corporations, the financial markets of Dragon City, and the confidence of investors.
“Confidence is something more dazzling and precious than diamonds and gold in this unpredictable and dangerous world.
“Once the confidence of all investors is gone, the nine mega corporations may fall one after another like dominoes. The financial market and economic order of Dragon City will collapse overnight. Perhaps, we will degenerate to the bloody era before the Survival Committee was established, when order was broken, the strong preyed on the weak, and the law was broken!”