Darkstone Code

Chapter 679 - 0676 Dynamic Change

"I have some opinions..."

After a brief discussion, Mr. Wardrick stood up.

All eyes immediately focused on him, and the discussion in the teleconference completely stopped.

Before the consortium and Soron, or rather, the Governor of Amelia cooperated, they were collaborating with Lynch on this project, and it was Mr. Wardrick who facilitated it until some in the board decided to bypass Lynch.

Actually, this idea can’t be deemed utterly reprehensible. This is precisely the essence of capital—to capture more benefits.

If they cooperate with Lynch, they remain just a peripheral link in Amelia’s commercial strategy, selling products to Lynch, who then exports them to Amelia and earns a hefty profit, a portion of which they don’t share.

How could a large consortium simply let go of potential profits that might belong to them? Soron’s arrival happened to fill their greed for profit, and this cooperation was directly with the Governor, not with Lynch or any company in the Amelia region.

The Federation citizens don’t like Gafura’s system, but they enjoy the benefits brought by Gafura’s power.

Just like many Federation people, when they first arrive in Nagariel, they use words like "decay" or "backwardness" to describe humans as animals under political oppression, full of scorn for that world.

But when they sit in a car watching police use rubber batons to drive pedestrians aside for an open road, they don’t talk about decay.

They just leave a faint smile of contentment and happily enjoy everything here.

The consortium’s thought is the same; cooperating with Lynch only yields minimal profit and doesn’t help them open the market in the Amelia region.

But directly cooperating with the Governor grants them certain privileges, and with these privileges, they can open a market, turning that area into a dumping ground for goods.

Most consortia regarded it as good news when Lynch obtained the Emperor’s permission since the Amelia region is closer to the Federation. No matter from what angle, direct purchasing from the Federation would save money, accelerate construction, and establish a more stubborn "dependency" in the future.

Added with Mr. Truman’s "ban," the Megan Consortium’s board considered it a good opportunity, a chance to break through.

We don’t compete with small and medium enterprises, but if they come to cooperate with us, we can’t refuse such opportunities.

But nobody expected this matter to be so complex.

"I believe...", Mr. Wardrick glanced at the board members, "everyone should have realized by now, that this isn’t a simple matter."

"The consortium has more than one company engaged in international trade, and every quarter, our global trade volume hits new heights, and essentially, our real operations rely heavily on overseas trade to stay healthy."

"Every day, our ships leave the port, but nothing like this has ever happened before. This isn’t normal; we’re being targeted!"

There was a murmur of voices in the meeting room, and Mr. Wardrick paused his expression while the board members exchanged whispers.

Undoubtedly, one instance of a hijacking, one submarine attack, and both seemed like the same group. They had such thoughts before, and only after Wardrick pointed it out did they start taking it seriously.

"Continue...", the chairman lightly tapped the table, and the sound in the meeting room and the teleconference instantly ceased.

Mr. Wardrick nodded slightly as a gesture, "Someone doesn’t want us to sell goods to the Amelia region, that’s how I see it."

"Who would do such a thing?" His tone was filled with a sense of guidance, although it was a question, it was more like leading people to broaden their thinking.

Immediately, he offered his own answer, "Gafura!"

"The capital within Gafura has always been dissatisfied with Emperor Gafura focusing national development on Amelia. I believe everyone has some understanding of this..." The people nodded after hearing this.

Behind Gafura’s capital, the nobles mainly force, and they surely know the profits that "colonies" bring, with Nagariel being the best example.

But here’s the problem: Governor Sedel himself is a major noble, both in public and in private, numerous businesses have already entered the Amelia region, and that place is essentially his private territory.

The Governor controls military and political power, and surely he would leave the best for himself, but what can others gain?

Nothing at all!

The nobles don’t show up, letting proxy capitalists to fight for business, and those individuals can’t compete with "local" capitalists.

If the nobles stand out, it could easily turn into tearing faces with Governor Sedel; after all, when you’re reaching into someone else’s pocket to take money, how can you expect them to smile and greet you, and ask, "Not gonna take more?"

Inequitable distribution is the real reason for Gafura’s discontent with Amelia.

If Emperor Gafura and Governor Sedel agreed to completely lift the restrictions on capital, then Gafura domestically wouldn’t have so much discontent.

The matter is both complex and simple, Mr. Wardrick continued to express his thoughts to the people, "Gentlemen, please note the nature of this business, once we successfully establish a foothold in the Amelia region, it means, from a certain standpoint, we control this region’s power supply capabilities."

"Electric power resources aren’t merely about supplying electricity for any country, it also signifies national defense capabilities, modern society depends on electricity for so many things, so much so that people don’t allow any issues in this area."

"This is precisely the major conflict between us, if we fulfill the contract, it means the power control of Amelia region, the future core development area of the Gafura Empire, is in our hands."

"At the same time, this threatens the security and market of Gafura’s domestic power generation enterprises, they have reasons, and I believe they won’t allow us to easily achieve this."

"I can place a bet with you here, just a dollar...", he took a one-dollar coin from his pocket, showed it to everyone, and flipped it to the middle of the conference table.

The coin didn’t stop immediately, spinning a few times before settling down.

"Next time we go for shipment, the cargo ship still won’t reach Amelia!"

The value of a dollar is different in every person’s eyes, for the board members, a dollar means a loss of 10 to 20 million if Mr. Wardrick wins the bet.

They stand to lose not just millions but a billion!

For other board members, their burden is not so heavy. After all, they usually just play supporting roles, occasionally expressing their own views.

If this incident could reorder the board, it might be beneficial for quite a few of them.

The consortium hasn’t been without internal competition; mutual acquisition to expand industrial structure is something everyone hopes to encounter.

"This matter... we still need further consideration.", the board chairman ultimately couldn’t make a decision, and indeed this decision was not easy to make.

The Federation Government had privately contacted these people; this business is of great value to national security, so given many factors, abandoning it won’t be easy.

Moreover, Mr. Wardrick’s guess remains just that—a guess, which may not necessarily be true, or perhaps the two groups of people are not the same as imagined.

It’s just that the first group left quickly, the military simply didn’t find them.

Furthermore, there is a very effective solution, which is to request naval escort.

This business is significant; there’s no doubt about it, as long as the locations of all power plants in the Amelia region are recorded, once a military conflict breaks out between the Federation and Gafura, the Federation can shut down Amelia’s power supply right from the start.

So, requesting naval escort, whether it’s the Ministry of Defense or the Federation Government, shouldn’t refuse.

"I will talk with the Minister of Defense about these matters and request the military to give us certain privileges and protection, even if those submarines are indeed from Gafura, as long as they have no intention of provoking a new war, they should know what to do."

The board chairman glances subtly at Wardrick. If they abandon the contract with Soron, it means they failed in decision-making.

Some among them would have to offer some shares to appease Mr. Wardrick’s anger, maybe only a thousandth or ten-thousandth, but even such seemingly trivial shares are significant to the entire consortium.

If Mr. Wardrick’s hold of stocks exceeds a certain amount, he could launch an attack on the board chairman, and his entry into the board triumvirate would be undesirable.

On one hand, he is the group president, already wielding great power, and if he becomes one of the chairmen, controlling both inside and outside power, his power will terrifyingly increase.

As if sensing a certain chairman’s gaze, Mr. Wardrick keenly found its origin, smiling as he nodded respectfully, their eyes brushing past each other.

This meeting isn’t over, it has just begun because there still needs to be a discussion on whether to send another batch of goods to Amelia, and whether to launch this plan depends on the Ministry of Defense’s active response.

Late at night, returning home, Mr. Wardrick didn’t immediately sleep; he took another shower, then sat in the dim study room with a cup of wine.

He pondered a question, thinking about how Lynch would break through next.