Becoming an Emperor Starting from the World of The Wandering Earth

Seeing the public outrage, Alan Mitchell took a step back, his composure finally crumbling.

Just as he was about to struggle again, suddenly, BOOM!!!

A loud bang came from the southeast.

The crowd fell silent for a second, and everyone turned to look in that direction at the same time.

On the distant horizon, a black and red fireball was slowly rising, thick smoke billowing upwards, reaching tens of meters high in just a few seconds.

"Th-what is that?"

"Explosion! It's an explosion!"

"Oh My God!"

Screams and gasps erupted from the crowd, and the people who had been huddled together began to scatter and flee.

As the thick smoke rose into the sky in the distance, Allen dropped the megaphone in his hand. The two security guards behind him were also stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Quick! Call control center!" one of them reacted first, grabbing the walkie-talkie on his shoulder and yelling, "Explosion in the southeast! Repeat, explosion in the southeast! Requesting backup! Requesting backup!"

At the same moment, in the Southeast Industrial Zone, Gerrard looked at the towering flames before him and felt like crying.

As one of the few business owners in Houston who could absorb the rising electricity costs, he should have been a winner in this storm.

Ten minutes ago, he was still calculating in his mind how much more money he could earn this month.

There are two sides to the story regarding the electricity price increase.

This is truly a disaster for small and medium-sized enterprises with outdated equipment that were already barely surviving.

Electricity bills have doubled, orders haven't increased, and costs can't be reduced. What can we do besides closing down?

But for factories like Gerrard's, which have advanced technology, new equipment, and stable orders, it's a godsend.

The reason is very simple.

The more of your peers die, the bigger the pie will be for the survivors.

Where do the customers of those closed factories go?

We can only look for companies like his that are still operating and can keep supplying customers.

Gerald's factory has equipment that was just updated three years ago. It is highly automated, and the energy consumption per unit of product is much lower than those old-fashioned machines.

Electricity prices rose by 50%, but his costs only increased by slightly over 20%. He could manage to absorb it by squeezing it out.

More importantly, it also has official endorsement.

The UEG people held a meeting and said that the electricity price adjustment was to ensure the stability of the power grid and for the future of all mankind.

Gerald doesn't care about all of humanity.

He only cares about one thing, and this price increase gave him a legitimate reason.

The official figure of a 10% increase is just for show, meant to please the public.

Gerrard plans to raise the price by 50%.

Do not underestimate the greed of these capitalists.

Given a guaranteed profit, they are fully willing to take the risk.

Moreover, this is not just taking a risk; it's blatant looting and plundering.

He had already sent someone to tip off his old clients.

"Oh dear, the electricity price has risen too much. We have no choice but to adjust our prices because we can't keep up with the costs. Starting next month, we'll have to raise our prices. We hope you can understand."

understand?

Understand my ass.

But what can those people do?

Other factories have either gone out of business or are raising prices.

In the entire southeast industrial area of ​​Houston, how many companies are still able to provide stable supplies?

Gerrard is one of them.

As for the new customers, that's even easier.

The old customers of those closed factories are now looking for new customers.

Gerrard sent someone to contact them, and the quote was 30% higher than the original one.

Take it or leave it.

These days, being able to get the goods is a skill in itself.

As for how many people will die, what does that have to do with him?

The American government doesn't care; he's just a boss, not a savior.

The sports car I just bought a while ago needs maintenance, and the villa I live in also has fees to pay. Just the heated swimming pool alone consumes enough energy in a month for an average family to live on for half a year.

There's also the constant temperature system in the villa, which keeps running day and night. The temperature must be kept at 22 degrees Celsius; if it's even one degree higher or lower, his wife will feel uncomfortable.

Everything costs money, so he has no interest in caring about those stupid poor people.

What does it matter to him whether they live or die?

If he can hold out for a few more months until all those small factories go out of business, he can raise the price again.

When the time comes, we'll get a better car and give the driver the old one we just bought.

Let's expand the villa a bit more and build an indoor golf simulator. I've heard those things are pretty interesting.

However, who would have thought that just as he was thinking about how to make a fortune and enjoy the good life, things would turn out differently?

boom!!!

A deafening roar shattered his dream.

In the blink of an eye, the workshop where materials were stored was gone.

I want to cry without tears.

He had only seen this word in books before, but today he finally knew what it meant.

Although the explosion destroyed the warehouse where materials were stored, there were no casualties.

The workers on duty ran in time and didn't even get a scratch.

The problem is, all the materials are gone now.

What should I do with the order?

Those customers are waiting for the goods, what will he give them?

A damaged reputation is a minor issue; however, the compensation for breach of contract can be astronomical.

Even more critically, the bank loan is due next month.

He took out a loan to buy these materials, using the factory equipment and land as collateral.

The original plan was to rush to finish production and ship the goods this month, and then get the funds back next month to repay the loan.

Now that we've run out of materials, we can't ship the goods, we can't get our money back, and how are we going to repay the loan?

When the contract expires, the bank won't care whether you've been bombed or whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made one.

They only care about one thing—paying back the money.

If they can't pay it back, the factory is the bank's.

The equipment, land, and factory buildings will all be confiscated.

At that point, Gerrard will truly have nothing left.

Sports car? Villa? Heated swimming pool?

They're all from banks.

The sound of police sirens grew louder and louder in the distance.

But Gerrard could no longer hear.

He stood there, staring at the still-burning fire, with only one thought in his mind—it's over.

It's all over.

Meanwhile, in the factory's third-floor office.

Murphy stood by the window, holding a cup of coffee, his gaze fixed on the faintly visible firelight in the southeast.

The sound of Skynet came from the speakers.

"Master, the target has been detonated. Gerald Industrial Materials Warehouse, all special steel inventory has been destroyed, no casualties."

Indeed, the explosion at Gerrard's factory was orchestrated by Cheng Hongtu, whom he had sent to carry out.

A few days ago, under the cover of night, Chen Hongtu led several members of the Wolf Pack Squadron to sneak into the warehouse and planted a pile of explosives.

When the time was right, they detonated it all at once.

As for whether anyone will investigate, don't worry, he has people all around him.

Who's going to investigate? They'll investigate themselves!

And even if it's found out, so what?

Does Gerrard offend few of his peers?

The capitalists who take advantage of the situation to raise prices have enough people to circle Houston three times to kill them.

It's normal to suspect anyone, but it's impossible to suspect him.