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

Chapter 285 A Huge Hole

Jean-Jacques believed he had dropped a bombshell.

Sure enough, the atmosphere in the secret room changed after he said those words.

The Snake Princess, who had always controlled the pace of the conversation, remained silent for an unusually long time before letting out a soft laugh.

"So, the Belad family is incredibly clever, keeping even our Black Dream organization in the dark."

Snake Princess said, "The Black Dream Organization's intelligence network only knows that Dawn City's resources are about to run out, the city is in a state of panic, and many powerful people are thinking about their future. As for those ordinary people who are unemployed and bankrupt and have no hope, they are becoming more and more vicious, causing social order to collapse and large-scale riots to break out at any time. It is just right for our Black Dream Organization to carry out a world-shaking event here."

"I never imagined that everything was orchestrated by the BlackRock family, and that we had all become their pawns?"
"Heh, do you think I'd believe that?"

Jean-Jacques slowly shook his head and said calmly, "I know this is too sensational, and I don't have any solid evidence, so it's hard to believe. But that's the truth. You can use all means to investigate."

"Of course I will conduct the most comprehensive investigation."

Snake Queen snorted, "However, there is one thing that doesn't make sense—releasing negative news about resource depletion may drive Dawn Heavy Industry's stock price to its lowest point, but doing so will cause great damage to Dawn Heavy Industry and even the entire Dawn City."

"I believe you have also learned through various intelligence networks that the highest decision-making level of the Heroic Spirit Alliance is considering abandoning the resource-depleted border areas, including Dawn City."

"If the strategy of 'total contraction' truly becomes the highest strategy of the Heroic Spirit Alliance for the next few years, no matter how many new mineral veins you discover in Dawn City, it will be impossible to reverse the overall situation—moreover, these so-called new mineral veins certainly cannot withstand the investigation of the real expert group in the core area of ​​the Alliance."

"On the other hand, the BlackRock family is so confident that they can perfectly control the pace of events, letting the raging flames burn away all their competitors without burning themselves."

"As far as I know, the crime rate in Dawn City has been high recently, and it is only a step away from being completely out of control. The expectation of the collapse of order will attract the covetousness of various forces, including all kinds of gangs with ulterior motives, as well as opposition factions such as our Black Dream organization."

"What makes the BlackRock family so confident that they can handle all the troubles, including ours?"
"Even for the sake of extremely high returns, taking such a huge risk is far too reckless—if such a reckless decision came from some ambitious fool, it would be understandable, but to say that it is the collective will of the BlackRock family makes it seem like an exaggeration, or there is some hidden reason that you have not mentioned."

"Lady Snake Princess's wisdom is truly admirable. She is indeed an outstanding figure among the new generation of commanders of the Black Dream Organization."

Jean-Jacques said sincerely, "Indeed, while the potential gains from this massive plan are high, the risks are also outrageously high. There is a high possibility that other forces, including the Black Dream Organization, could reap the ultimate rewards for free, or even lead to the annihilation of the entire Belad family. It's like dancing on a knife's edge."

"If Dawn Heavy Industries could truly operate stably and continuously, the BlackRock family wouldn't have resorted to such a desperate measure, gambling with everyone's future and destiny."

"Unfortunately, they have no choice but to gamble."

“Dawn Heavy Industries is facing serious internal problems. Even if they don’t choose this desperate approach, the Belad family won’t last long. As the Black Dream organization likes to say, ‘Trying anything is better than nothing.’ For the Belad family, a steady approach will only lead to destruction, so why not take a gamble?”

"A serious problem?" Snake Princess pondered for a moment. "You mean, Hess Belad deliberately caused a mining accident to seize mines belonging to the company, and similar scandals are about to be exposed?"

"No, this level of scandal is nothing to the BlackRock family. Even if it were ten times worse, they could still cover it up tightly."

Jean-Jacques calmly stated, "I mean the 'Dawn Fund' has been misappropriated for ten years. Funds that should have been used for prudent investments have been diverted to the most aggressive projects, and the losses are so great that they can hardly be covered up."

Jean-Jacques told Snake Queen that Dawn Heavy Industry's shares were roughly divided into three parts.

The BlackRock family, as the major shareholder, owns one-third of the shares, the remaining small and medium-sized shareholders own one-third, and the remaining one-third, theoretically, belongs to all the miners.

The reason for such "generosity" is not due to the benevolence of the BlackRock family, but rather the unique nature of mining raw crystals in a dangerous area adjacent to the wilderness, where natural disasters used to frequently occur.

Just like on ancient pirate ships, those ruthless and evil-doing pirates were quite particular about "equality" and "democracy" when distributing their loot. Everyone, from the famous pirate captain to the ordinary sailor who only cleaned the deck, got their share.

Everyone is risking their lives, living on the edge, and you can't expect people to work so hard without real financial incentives.

In terms of the danger, specialization, and arduousness of their work, the miners of crystal veins were in no way inferior to the pirate sailors of the Age of Sail.

Especially before the complete three-dimensional defense system around Dawn City was completed, ordinary miners had to drill hundreds of meters underground into the depths of the mine, where high temperatures and pressures were accompanied by various remnant souls, risking collapses and spiritual corruption at any time, to activate the corresponding sealing cards, operate specialized tools, and work day and night.

When encountering bandit raids or rampages by ancient monsters, you must take up arms and fight alongside the mine protection team, risking your life and shedding blood.

Half a century ago, the core area of ​​the alliance was also in dire need of development, with plenty of job opportunities.

Without offering a high premium, it would be difficult to attract experienced miners with professional skills and powerful bull-horse guardian spirits to travel thousands of miles to the border to pan for gold.

Therefore, the mining teams at that time had a similar organizational structure to the pirate groups of the Age of Sail.

When working, one must obey orders and strictly follow the leader's arrangements.

However, when distributing profits, most miners, in addition to their agreed-upon fixed wages, can also receive a certain percentage of bonuses from the raw crystal ore they mine each day, thereby motivating them to work harder.

At the same time, due to the frequent occurrence of ancient invasions, spiritual erosion is also a common occupational disease among miners.

This meant that each mining team had to offer high disability allowances and death benefits in order to recruit enough qualified personnel.

(End of this chapter)