As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 282 Everyone Shows Their Magical Powers

According to Jean-Jacques, Hess Belair used his position to embezzle large quantities of raw crystal ore.

However, rare minerals like "Gulonghui Stone," which are small in size but high in value, are ultimately very few.

Most raw crystals are not that valuable, and reselling them is a very troublesome matter.

After all, Hess Belad's identity is sensitive; everyone knows he is the chief engineer of Dawn Heavy Industry.

If a large quantity of raw crystal ore were to inexplicably flow out of his hands, even a fool would be able to see the problem.

Therefore, he used Jean-Jacques to open the Golden Iris Entertainment Center and vigorously developed remote gambling business.

Whether the Golden Iris Entertainment Center itself can make money is not important.

The key is to spread out the network and trade the illicit raw crystal ore little by little through the intricate network, turning it into legitimate income in the secret accounts of major banks headquartered in the core area of ​​the alliance.

This is why underground gambling rings don't primarily rely on local customers for their betting business. Instead, they use virtual cards to attract online customers located in the core area. The fact that online customers have money is secondary; the main goal is to transfer risk as much as possible and launder money as cleanly as possible.

Initially, this money laundering network was used only by Hess BlackRock himself.

However, as the Golden Iris Entertainment Center expanded and developed under Jean-Jacques's management, it became a money-laundering den that many people in Dawn City's high society flocked to. Jean-Jacques and Hess Belade both discovered that, in addition to them, there were many other people in Dawn City who needed to launder money.

“Hess Black is not an isolated case.”

Jean-Jacques smiled bitterly, “As the saying goes, ‘snakes have their paths, and rats have their ways.’ I’ve finally seen through those well-dressed, sanctimonious big shots who keep saying ‘for Dawn Heavy Industries, for Dawn City.’ In reality, which one of them isn’t selfish and ruthless? Which one isn’t racking their brains and using every means possible to take advantage of their position to pocket the benefits that should belong to the collective?”
"Company executives or mine managers like Hess BlackRock, the timid ones may embezzle some resources, while the bold ones may simply scrap an entire mine."

"There are also some company executives who are in charge of corporate transformation. They blindly invest the profits that countless ordinary miners have painstakingly accumulated into completely new fields they know nothing about, without even blinking an eye. They dare to burn hundreds of millions, billions, or even more money in just one and a half years."

"When the transformation fails, at most they will be punished with a few drinks and bowed down. Before long, they will appear in the company's newly opened track with a more energetic look, and burn more money."

"I never understood why the crystal resources underground in Dawn City are limited. Living off our resources is not a long-term solution, and corporate transformation is imperative."

"However, such a giant warship must be extremely cautious and deliberate when it wants to change course. It must be cautious and trembling every time it takes to move into a new territory."

"Why is it that when company executives, who should be shrewd and capable, talk about transformation, they all act like headless flies, full of fervor? One moment they're saying, 'We should replicate the technology of the Age of Wonders and forge ahead into the field of intelligent mechanical manufacturing,' and the next, 'We should leverage our proximity to the wilderness and our abundant abnormal population resources to steadfastly pursue the path of gene modulation and life sciences.' Each transformation slogan is loudly proclaimed, but the money is spent faster than a flood bursting its banks, yet it's all talk and no action. The implementation is riddled with flaws, and it soon ends in failure. And instead of learning from these lessons, they soon use the same makeshift team, with the same superficial changes, to find another wrong area and try a different, wrong approach to transformation."

"Over the past ten years, the company's main business has been resource mining and smelting. Those so-called transformation businesses have accounted for less than 5% of the company's total revenue, but have brought in more than 30% of losses!"
"I used to not understand how all of this happened."

"When the money laundering network of the Golden Iris Entertainment Center slowly linked to the secret accounts of these business leaders involved in the transformation, I realized that although the transformation had failed and caused huge losses to the group, their personal pockets had swelled up like balloons."

"Hehe, even the chief engineer, chief accountant, or even chief operating officer of Liming Heavy Industry can only receive a limited salary and bonuses each year. If you want to make a fortune, it is much easier, faster, and less effort to work hard to extract oil from the crystal mine than to make a bad investment and have the astronomical figures on the books mysteriously disappear and transfer the wealth to your private account?"
"Unfortunately, this money, like the raw crystal ore that Hess Belad obtained, cannot be used directly."

"Then we'll use the Golden Iris Entertainment Center's platform to secretly make a few bets in online arenas and remote gambling events involving the core area."

"At first glance, it seems like a high roller from a city in the core area is betting against another high roller from another city, with one losing badly and the other winning big."

"In reality, what was lost was all public funds from Dawn Heavy Industry. Company executives like Hess BlackRock will never lose; they will always be the ones laughing last!"

As Jean-Jacques spoke, not only his forehead and face, but even the veins on the back of his hands bulged out.

His face was filled with self-loathing and undisguised hatred for those truly important figures.

It seems that the mask that had been worn for a full ten years was torn off and peeled away, revealing the true personality hidden deep within.

“My father was among the first miners to come to Dawn City. Long before the city even existed, he was on this dangerous and rough land, braving the frequent appearances of wilderness bandits and the ever-present threat of ancient natural disasters. He used an overactivated Black Iron Card to swell his flesh to a deformed and twisted degree, picked up crude tools, and engaged in the most intense battles with the earth.”

Jean-Jacques said quietly, "Despite working day and night, even suffering from spiritual erosion due to dangerous and excessive work in order to support his family, and constantly maintaining a state of being like a beast of burden, he could only barely make ends meet."

"It wasn't until I graduated with excellent grades from the Mining Institute run by Liming Heavy Industry that my family's life became a little more comfortable, and we no longer had to be constantly on the verge of debt."

"I've known since I was very young how concrete, important, and sacred a dollar is."

"Back then, I never dreamed that there were people in the world—some people living in the same city as me—who, in their eyes, even a million, ten million, or even a hundred million were just numbers, numbers that they could manipulate at will!"

(End of this chapter)