Becoming an Emperor Starting from the World of The Wandering Earth

As the saying goes, "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, frozen corpses lie."

Outside, it was raining heavily, the city was in ruins, and gunshots could be heard every now and then.

However, the interior of the parliament was brightly lit, and although the decoration was simple, the floor was covered with luxurious carpets and the air was filled with a faint fragrance.

Members of parliament or representatives from certain regions, dressed in formal attire or uniforms, were talking in hushed tones in small groups.

Murphy straightened his bespoke suit, making sure there was nothing wrong with it, before walking into the hall with a smile on his face.

It must be said that the family fortune left by the father of the predecessor was indeed substantial.

If we consider the company's size within the entire United States, it certainly wouldn't be considered top-tier.

However, since its main business is energy repair and manufacturing, and energy is also a core pillar industry in Texas.

Furthermore, his company is a real business, not one of those collapsed financial institutions, making it an absolute standout in the current chaotic situation.

Almost everyone present recognized him, and as soon as he passed by, they all raised their glasses in greeting.

As Murphy was holding a drink handed to him by a staff member and dealing with a representative from the San Antonio industrial area, he suddenly caught a glimpse of several familiar figures gathered by a window not far away.

Murphy's heart skipped a beat. He apologized to the representative in front of him and walked towards the group of people.

There were three men and one woman.

The leader was an elderly man with silver hair and a ruddy complexion, named Irving Walker.

Although he was not conspicuous in the council chamber at the time, he was in fact the director of the Texas Public Service Commission, a powerful figure who held the power to approve civilian energy rationing.

Next to Irving was a middle-aged woman with black-rimmed glasses and a capable expression.

Murphy also knew this person; she was Sofia Rodriguez, the director of the Electricity Transmission Authority.

Another burly, bald man with a shallow scar on his cheek is Thomas Christian, the deputy director of law enforcement operations for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Murphy did not recognize the Black woman who was surrounded by them.

"Uncle Owen, Aunt Sophia, Uncle Thomas," Murphy greeted them with a smile.

These were all old friends whom the original owner's father had made during his early years of hard work. They had all appeared at the original owner's father's funeral. In the past year, Murphy had also interacted with them several times under the guise of his father's name and holidays.

"Oh, it's Murphy."

Irving turned around at the sound of his voice, a smile spreading across his face. He patted Murphy on the shoulder. "You're here too. Good. Young people should broaden their horizons. Your father would be very happy to see you running the company now."

Upon seeing Murphy arrive, Sophia and Thomas nodded to him.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is Mia Washington," Irving said, turning to Murphy to introduce the Black woman. "She's the new coordinator of the Special Task Force of the Office of Energy Affairs, responsible for assessing and optimizing the efficiency of energy production and distribution within the region."

As soon as Irving finished speaking, Murphy immediately understood and raised his glass to Mia Washington: "Ms. Washington, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Murphy, the head of Murphy Energy."

Mia Washington glanced at Murphy and returned a polite smile: "Mr. Murphy, I've heard a lot about you. I've heard about your company's efforts in community stability; America needs people like you right now."

"Thank you. In these extraordinary times, someone has to do something."

After saying that, Murphy immediately turned to Owen, leaned closer under the guise of offering a toast, and whispered, "Uncle Owen, the direction of this proposal seems to be less than friendly to small companies like ours. I know you have always upheld fairness and supported an efficient and diversified energy supply system."

"We at Mo's Energy have always operated in compliance with regulations, maintained stable employment, and are willing to make more substantial contributions to ensuring local energy security within our capabilities. For example, by supporting beneficial public policy research or community energy security projects."

Murphy's words weren't explicitly stated, but Irving immediately understood that the so-called support was actually a bribe.

Of course, this shouldn't be called bribery, but rather a political donation. After all, if you don't take it, and I don't take it, how will Commissioner Smith get it?

As a Texas energy business owner, Murphy may be young, but his performance this year has been remarkable.

Not only are they highly capable and excellent at management, but they also understand the importance of mutual benefit.

Irving often receives "gifts" from Murphy.

However, given the gravity of the situation at this conference, Irving didn't explicitly express his opinion. He simply raised his glass, his gaze sweeping over Murphy's face without revealing anything, then glanced at the other congressmen conversing nearby, and remained silent for two seconds.

He then raised his other hand to straighten his tie knot, while giving a barely perceptible nod.

"Murphy, the discussion of proposals should be objective. The key is to look at the data and actual benefits. Prepare your presentation well. I support you."

After saying that, Irving patted Murphy's arm and said, "Go on, talk to the other representatives."

Upon receiving Irving's response, Murphy felt reassured. He raised his glass to the others again before blending into the crowd and looking for the other representatives.

An hour later, a crisp bell rang throughout the hall, and staff began guiding attendees into the main conference room.

Once all attendees were seated, the meeting officially began.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this energy summit. Now, please welcome Ms. Betty Warren to the stage to speak."

After a brief opening, the host stepped aside, and an Asian woman, about fifty years old and wearing a dark suit, walked onto the stage.

"Distinguished committee members and representatives, as you all know, at this meeting, as the Mountain Moving Project enters a critical implementation phase, efficiency and resource concentration are our only principles for survival."

Betty spoke very bluntly, immediately emphasizing efficiency and resource concentration, clearly portraying herself as someone who cared for the country and its people.

"However, the energy production and distribution structure in our southwest region still suffers from fragmentation and inconsistent standardization. In particular, some small and medium-sized private energy enterprises are slow to iterate their technologies and have uneven capacity utilization rates, often becoming a bottleneck in the overall energy dispatch."

As Betty spoke, charts and graphs appeared on the large screen behind her, displaying various comparative data and trend lines.

"More noteworthy is that, against the backdrop of the current global resource restructuring, certain external entities are expanding their energy resources within their spheres of influence with extraordinary speed, almost forming a monopoly. This poses a potential challenge to our efforts to maintain energy independence and strategic security..."

Murphy listened quietly from below the stage, secretly sneering to himself.

Although Betty Warren's name sounds like a foreign transliteration, it is actually a very elegant and sophisticated name.

Moreover, it was the kind of high-end brand that had been around for decades.