Becoming an Emperor Starting from the World of The Wandering Earth

Murphy didn't answer, he just raised his right hand.

The next second, Wilson and four teammates stepped forward at the same time.

Irving instinctively tried to dodge, but as soon as he moved, a hand encased in an exoskeleton grabbed his shoulder and slammed him against the wall.

"Let me go!!"

Upon seeing this, Thomas immediately tried to rush towards the exit, but he was immediately restrained as soon as he moved.

The same applies to Sofia and Mia.

All five people were pinned against the wall, unable to move.

Murphy walked up to Owen and looked at his face, which was flushed with anger.

"Uncle Owen, please don't blame me. It's just that I need to make sure everything goes perfectly from here on out."

Irving stared intently at him, his eyes burning with rage.

"Murphy, do you know what you're doing? This is against the rules, this is illegal! Are you going to imprison us? This is against the rules, this is illegal..."

However, Murphy ignored Owen's continued rambling and instead gave Wilson a wink.

Wilson immediately took a look, pulled out several small needles from his medical kit at his waist, and injected each of them into the neck.

The next second, several people's eyes widened instantly, their veins bulged, and they kept making "hehehe" sounds.

The substance in the tube was none other than an extract of bullet ant venom.

This substance, a mixture of formic acid and neurotoxins, can cause intense pain once it enters the human body, even to the point of shock and convulsions.

Wilson used a purified version, which reduced the duration of the pain, but amplified it several times over.

If they hadn't been pinned against the wall, that tiny bit of pressure would probably have caused them to collapse to the ground, convulsing violently.

Seeing this, Murphy curled his lip.

Since he had successfully used coercion and enticement to break Betty and Linda's minds before he could use mind control, Murphy wondered if there was a more convenient and faster way.

Finally, they figured out this trick.

And you know what? The results were surprisingly good.

Seeing the others roll their eyes back in pain, Murphy decisively stepped forward, raised his right hand, and a sliver of white light flashed from his fingertip, gently touching Sophia's forehead, followed by Thomas, Owen, and the others.

As the mind suggestion spell was completed, Murphy was drenched in sweat and could barely stand.

Upon seeing this, Wilson quickly stepped forward and helped him up.

After taking several deep breaths, Murphy forced himself to speak: "From this moment on, everyone must absolutely trust me and obey me. I am your most trustworthy partner. Betraying me or hurting me is tantamount to betraying yourselves."

"But you will inform me immediately of any developments that involve me or may affect me or my companies, and you will make choices that are favorable to me."

"Also, after a while, contact Betty at the Department of Energy and try to adjust electricity prices in Houston and the surrounding area, understand?"

As soon as they finished speaking, despite the toxins still taking effect, the five of them spoke in unison with vacant eyes.

"clear."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Murphy nodded weakly. Wilson immediately understood, took out the antidote from his pocket, and gave each of them an injection.

"Wilson, wait until they recover before you send them back. I'm leaving now."

After saying that, Murphy slowly left the room with the help of a teammate.

........................

One week later, in Austin, at the UEG Texas branch building.

Betty Warren sat to the left of the head of the oval conference table, holding a freshly printed document in her hand, her gaze sweeping over the dozen or so faces present.

Sofia and Mia stood side by side, while Thomas and Owen were absent due to their status.

"Everyone," Betty finally spoke, "I've gathered you all here today because of something."

She pushed the document forward, and Linda, who was next to her, immediately stood up and distributed copies to everyone.

"Energy supply prices in Houston and Austin need to be adjusted."

The meeting room was silent for a second, then the rustling sound of papers being turned could be heard.

A middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses frowned and looked up: "Ms. Betty, adjusting electricity prices now? You know the situation outside. If prices rise again, those small factory owners will skin us alive."

Betty glanced at him and gave him a smile.

"Mr. Douglas, it's precisely because we know what's going on outside that we need to make adjustments."

She stood up, walked to the energy distribution map on the wall, and pointed to several red markers around Houston.

"Over the past year, extreme weather has led to a 23 percent increase in grid load, planetary engine construction has taken up more than 40 percent of the power generation quota, while residential electricity prices have remained at the level of two years ago."

She turned around and glanced at the crowd.

"This is not charity, this is suicide. If this continues, in less than six months, the Texas power grid will experience regional collapse due to overload and lack of maintenance funds."

"The suggestion I made at the summit was to solve this problem, but since it was not approved, in order to save Texas and to ensure that the projects under UEG can proceed smoothly, this is the only way I can do it."

As soon as he finished speaking, a low murmur of discussion immediately filled the meeting room.

Sofia spoke up at the opportune moment: "Ms. Betty is right. I've also received news that several substations in the Southeast Industrial Zone have severely outdated equipment, but due to insufficient budget, they haven't been replaced."

She paused, then looked at the several technical department representatives sitting in the corner.

"If the power grid really collapses, not only will small factories be affected, but even UEG's own facilities will be rendered useless."

Sofia adjusted her glasses and continued, "Moreover, adjusting electricity prices shouldn't just be about raising residential rates; industrial electricity prices should also be adjusted, and perhaps even more."

She opened the document in front of her and pointed to a few lines of data.

"Those few machinery factories still operating in the Southeast Industrial Zone use more electricity than the entire community, yet they're still paying the electricity rates from five years ago. Is that reasonable?"

"Moreover, I've coordinated several subsidy applications with the Energy Affairs Office, but the amount of funding approved from above has been decreasing year by year."

"If we don't find a solution ourselves, when something really goes wrong, it will be those of us sitting here who will take the blame."

As the group chatted amongst themselves, the tide began to turn.

Douglas took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Betty and Sophia.

"Ms. Betty, how much would you like to adjust?"

Betty didn't answer immediately, but turned back to her seat and took another document from Linda.

"The solution is here."

She pushed the document toward Douglas.

"The basic electricity price for residential use will be increased by 20%. Electricity consumption exceeding the limit will be charged on a tiered basis, with a maximum increase of 70%."

"Industrial electricity prices will be uniformly increased by 30%, and high-energy-consuming enterprises will be subject to an additional 15% stability maintenance fee."

Douglas opened the document and read through it page by page, his expression growing increasingly complex.