Life Game In Other World
Chapter 578: Charitable Business (Extra Long - , Requesting Monthly Pass)

Chapter 578: Chapter 578: Charitable Business (Extra Long Chapter, Requesting Monthly Pass)

The quiet night was torn open by a faint glow, and the edge of the sky began to show the first light of dawn.

In the meeting room of Zarote Area, He Ao, clad in an overcoat, Heish, whose body was bandaged, and Dasanc, with a frown etched on his face, were gathered around the conference table, focused on various documents projected onto the smart table.

The underground doctor Heish had found has already left.

After returning to Zarote Area in the early hours, the underground doctor first performed a physical examination on all three of them, then treated each individually.

Of the three, Heish’s injuries were the most severe. Despite her chatting and laughing with He Ao the night before, several of her wounds were nearly fatal and she was only sustaining herself through sheer physical resilience.

The doctor performed a major surgery on her, which went on until about one or two hours ago. Although He Ao wanted her to rest, she stubbornly took her place at the conference table.

Dasanc’s injuries were much less severe than Heish’s; he underwent some simple stitching and was able to persevere. However, since he wasn’t a Transcendent, his body felt relatively weaker.

As for He Ao, the doctor didn’t prescribe any medication because He Ao had consciously controlled the extent of his physical injuries, which were not severe. It was more about soul weakness and physical fatigue.

Instead, Heish took out some medicinal soup she had prepared using Transcendent plants and gave it to He Ao.

Heish’s Talent Sequence was ’Pharmacologist’. Although she wasn’t as skilled as the underground doctor in surgery and treating external injuries, her expertise lay in medicinal concoction, and the care and recovery of patients.

He Ao could clearly feel that the medicinal soup contained ingredients that healed the soul; he wondered if Corpse Flower had been added.

Originally, He Ao had estimated that it might take about two days of rest for his body to recover, but with the aid of Heish’s medicinal soup, by this time he was nearly fully restored.

At this moment, the three of them were looking at the documents on the table, the atmosphere somewhat silent.

These documents were primarily the negative materials concerning Ned.

"These materials were ’sold’ to me by an insider from the Welme Charity Foundation,"

Heish said softly from her chair, "She is one of Ned’s mistresses. She originally tried to replace Ned’s current wife to ascend to that position herself, but as Ned always strung her along without giving her hope, she decided to sell this information and to make a quick buck and leave.

"Of course, she is no good person. Leveraging her status as Ned’s mistress, she became one of the supervisors of the Welme Charity Foundation. She then embezzled the charity’s funds for illegal high-interest loans, hiring gangs in the West District to collect the debts and driving many to death.

"In addition to that, many of Ned’s deeds went through her hands,"

Heish paused here, "For instance, under the guise of the Welme Charity Foundation, they distribute food to the street children in the West District and then ’take away’ some of the healthier, younger children.

"Of course, this practice might not have originated with them; the Welme Charity Foundation might have been doing this for a long time."

Hearing this, He Ao looked up at Heish.

He vaguely remembered that at the charity banquet, Heish had mentioned that when she was homeless, she had also lined up for food from the Welme Charity Foundation. Indeed, there had been children who received delicious food, but after that, they were never seen again.

The whereabouts of these ’taken away’ children were not recorded in the information, but from He Ao’s previous experience, most of these children would end up in ’orphanages’ under the Welme Charity Foundation, to be adopted by middle-class families who had paid a high ’adoption donation fee.’

In Kaye City, the Nolanka Group had orphanages that engaged in such ’business’. He Ao reformed it by reporting to the Kaye City Police Department, which arrested a bunch of directors and managers. Now they are gone.

Families with the need for adoption and the ability to pay the hefty ’adoption donation fee’ are in the minority, and so are the children who meet the criteria, which means these children needed to be carefully selected.

The selected children, if lucky, might have a chance to alter their fate.

But the Welme Charity Foundation would inevitably make a hefty ’profit’ from it.

"Was that mistress the host of the previous charity dinner?"

He Ao asked slowly, "Is she still alive?"

"My people haven’t received any news of her," Heish shook her head, "There’s a high chance she has been silenced. She was quite greedy and took quite a bit of money from me."

Actually, it was evident from the previous situation where Heish was ambushed in the Welme Medical Building that the mistress had long been exposed. However, the leader of the ambush played a long game, biding their time to net a bigger catch, with the plan to trap Heish in as well and settle everything at once.

So, they confidently allowed Heish to communicate and deal with the mistress because, in their eyes, both Heish and the mistress were already as good as dead.

Their plan was indeed perfect, assuming He Ao hadn’t gotten involved.

"Looking at these materials,"

Dasanc scrolled through several documents, his voice somewhat subdued, "The ’income’ of the Welme Charity Foundation is very high."

He paused, "’Charity’ seems to be a ’good business’ indeed."

In the internal financial reports of the Welme Charity Foundation provided by that mistress, the largest source of income was ’charitable donations’, accounting for fifty to sixty percent.

Besides soliciting donations and pledges from celebrities at charity dinners, they would also advertise on various video or information platforms, stirring people’s sympathy with pieced-together or even fabricated facts to attract small donations, then ’cook the books’ to turn these donations into ’income’.

There were numerous manipulations involved.

For instance, they could raise the management fee to the highest proportion allowed by Vitland laws and create various fictitious expenses beyond the management fees, directly ’consuming’ most of the donations received.

Another trick was claiming to distribute clothing to homeless children and marking up bulk purchased low-quality cotton clothes worth 15 federal coins to 150 federal coins each.

There was also room for manipulation in the distribution of food.

Heish once said that when she was a homeless child, the Welme Charity Foundation claimed to provide each person with milk, meat, and large bread, but what they actually received was just a small piece of expired, sour black bread.

Of course, apart from charitable donations, the ’orphanage operation’ He Ao previously guessed and the illegal high-interest loans issued using the charity fund, as mentioned by Heish before, were also major sources of income for the charity foundation.

The lending wasn’t just something Ned’s mistress engaged in; the officials of the Welme Charity Foundation did it as well.

All these various incomes added up, and the profits of the Welme Charity Foundation could sometimes even reach tens of millions of federal coins a year.

They were already stronger than many of the Federation’s listed companies.

Compared to Dasanc’s surprise, Heish was very calm because she truly had been a homeless orphan with nothing, and she could feel the ’hypocrisy’ of the Welme Charity Foundation more personally.

She placed her hand on the table, "Some of these ’earnings’ were laundered into Ned’s own election support group, some went into the Welme Consortium, becoming part of the consortium’s profits, and the rest became Ned’s personal treasury."

She opened a file and said softly,

"Ned has many private villas and luxury cars, all paid for by the Welme Charity Foundation and held by his relatives or related companies.

"Apart from these fixed assets, many of Ned’s recreational expenses also come from charity funds,

"He has a fondness for beautiful women and often travels to Dawn City and Rock City under the guise of business trips; these two places hold the Federation’s top ’entertainment’ spots, Alisel in Dawn City and Milani in Rock City.

"He is the highest-ranking member in these places, often spending lavishly, and his expenses are all charged to the Welme Charity Foundation’s accounts.

"There are also some ’unexpected’ ’expenses’ that go through the Welme Charity Foundation’s books, such as an incident three years ago, when he was involved in multiple cases related to underage girls, and it was eventually settled with the power and money of the Welme Consortium and Charity Foundation.

"After divorcing his ex-wife, the alimony given to his ex-wife and children also came from the charity fund."

Saying this, Heish paused, her voice growing softer, "In the beginning, Ned tried to cover up his misuse of the Welme Charity Foundation’s funds, trying his best to avoid detection, but in the last seven or eight years, he has scarcely bothered to hide it, drawing money directly from the foundation’s accounts under various names."

"When a bad deed goes on for a long time without punishment,"

He Ao shrugged, "The person doing it will gradually relax their tense nerves and start to feel that what they are doing is normal, utterly justified."

"This guy..."

While Heish outlined the documents, Dasanc was also looking through each one carefully. He hadn’t had time to examine these files in detail when he received them from Heish the night before, as he was chased by Ved and narrowly escaped.

At this moment, his face turned red, his fists clenched, and veins stood out on the backs of his hands.

Because of his recklessness, and because that mistress who provided the documents had also handled many matters for Ned, a lot of Ned’s illegal and criminal acts were clearly recorded in these documents.

For example, Ned used his affiliation with his own consortium to force ’low-cost’ acquisitions of properties near his villa from the residents, then demolished those houses to provide better lighting for his private villa.

Those who lost their homes couldn’t afford new ones, and many became homeless, freezing to death on the streets.

Eventually, someone ran to the doorstep of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, causing a near commotion; it was ultimately the mistress who ’cleaned up’ the situation, suppressed the media, and that person who forced their way into the FBI disappeared from the world forever.

And the list goes on.

Finally, Dasanc stopped his actions and took a long sigh, "I’m only now realizing how great a Senator’s power can be."

"In some small cities, Senators’ families can use their own power to monopolize certain highly profitable industries for a long time, forming interest groups,"

He Ao said calmly, "Although Senators don’t have direct power, they can influence the passage and implementation of legislation, and can introduce bills that favor certain consortia. Seasoned Senators can even influence new ones.

"Large consortia often ’invest’ in multiple Senators or Congressmen, cultivating their influence in the Federal Assembly and affecting the Federation’s decisions, even using the Federal Assembly to check the federal government. However,"

he lifted his head to look at Dasanc, "a single Congressman, without any support, still finds it very difficult to accomplish anything in the Federal Assembly."

"But as long as there is a first, there will always be a second and a third."

Dasanc returned He Ao’s resolute gaze, "Even if there’s only one person, something can always be changed."

He Ao gazed into his eyes, nodded slightly, then asked softly, "What do you plan to do with this information?"

"I have some channels that can distribute this material to my supporters, who can then spread the information."

Dasanc replied.

"I know some tabloid media bosses who might be willing to publish this material."

Heish spoke calmly, well aware that the resources at their disposal were too limited.

The material involved too much of Ned’s dirty business and was bound to be met with the strongest backlash from the Welme Consortium.

Although they hadn’t physically dealt with the two, the Welme Medical Consortium could still counter the effect of these materials by throwing money at it.

Major media outlets were unlikely to offend the Welme Medical Consortium by publishing these materials, so Heish was only talking about publication in smaller media.

And Dasanc’s channels could only influence his supporters, but the goal of spreading this negative material was to affect Ned’s supporters and the centrist faction.

By then, all the Welme Medical Consortium needed to do was to run massive ad campaigns, guide public opinion, interfere with audiovisual media, portray the materials as slander, and discourage the neutrals from believing them, neutralizing the incident and prolonging it into a drawn-out war of words.

During this process, Ned would have already succeeded in his re-election.

The scene fell into a silent hush.

"Can the Federal Bureau of Investigation get involved?"

Heish broke the silence.

Some of the material in the documents had already involved illegal activities. In a big city like Vitland, even the Welme Medical Consortium couldn’t completely control the Federal Bureau of Investigation, so the FBI could be considered a semi-neutral agency.

Of course, it could be influenced.

"No," Dasanc shook his head, "Ned is still a Senator, and Senators are not subject to arrest while in office. Without definitive proof, the FBI typically won’t easily investigate a Senator, and the FBI in Vitland will most likely still be influenced and not investigate Ned.

"Unless we can somehow get in touch with the FBI headquarters in Ains, but even if the FBI headquarters gets involved, they will take a long time to investigate and won’t openly intervene easily."

When it came to congressional power, Dasanc was still more knowledgeable than Heish.

The situation fell silent once more.

They had the material, but they lacked the resources to spread it.

The methods they could think of were insignificant to the Welme Medical Consortium.

At this moment, Heish turned her gaze to He Ao.

"Can you still get in touch with Stars Pharma?"

He Ao looked at Dasanc.

"I can,"

Dasanc nodded, then he quickly added, "But if I want their support, I would need to accept their terms and secure interests for them, which I cannot do."

"You don’t need to accept their conditions,"

He Ao shook his head, "The fundamental reason they’re helping you is that they’ve felt the pressure from the Welme Medical Consortium. They don’t want to see you become a Senator, but they’re even less willing to let the Consortium challenge their status."

He Ao pondered for a moment, then continued to ask, "Does Stars Pharma have its own candidate for Senator?"

"Yes, they support the candidate ranked third. His support rate is 8.3, slightly lower than mine."

Dasanc nodded, his gaze on He Ao thoughtful.

"Then, in this event, they’re not entirely without hope," He Ao said softly, "What they need now is simply pressure, pressure from the Welme Medical Consortium, forcing them to get involved in this matter."

Although the Welme Medical Consortium had already threatened the position of Stars Pharma, the degree of threat was not enough. Hence, Stars Pharma only made a symbolic move, offering some support to Dasanc, annoying the Welme Medical Consortium, and conveniently flaunting their own muscle.

In the end, Stars Pharma didn’t yet regard the Welme Medical Consortium as a complete Challenger.

"Heish, do you have any blank Encrypted Storage Chips?"

He Ao turned to look at Heish.

"I do."

Heish reached out, fumbled in a box under the table, and handed an Encrypted Storage Chip to He Ao.

He Ao connected the chip to his own wristband, copied the data about the Mysterious Person’s laboratory that Jess had prepared to disclose, and added some descriptions about people who had successfully taken the Gene Potion and achieved a boost in power.

Then he handed the chip to Dasanc, "Find a way to give this to the liaison for Stars Pharma."

"What is this?"

Dasanc took the chip, looking at He Ao with a hint of confusion.

"Something that can spur Stars Pharma to open fire on the Welme Medical Consortium."

He Ao said with a smile.

He was now fairly certain that the Mysterious Person and the Welme Medical Consortium were inextricably linked, and it was highly probable that the Consortium was the Mysterious Person’s supporter from behind the scenes.

The advent of Gene Potion meant that the Welme Medical Consortium had the capability to mass-produce powerful Transcendents.

This potion could even be sold directly as a bioweapon in the market. Once the mass production of Gene Potion was completed, even if only the news of successful development was announced, Welme Medical Consortium’s stock prices would soar, and they would quickly attract ’new allies’ coveting the Gene Potion.

The Welme Medical Consortium could then truly challenge the position of Stars Pharma.

At that point, Stars Pharma could no longer afford to be complacent.

The Welme Medical Consortium had always kept the Mysterious Person’s project separate from themselves, probably to avoid the scrutiny of Stars Pharma, especially since they themselves liked to plant corporate spies in Stars Pharma’s projects.

In fact, they had been successful. Although the Mysterious Person was spending money recklessly and uncontrolled, the work was done cleanly and efficiently. The current complacency of Stars Pharma likely meant they had no idea about the Gene Potion project.

The Welme Medical Consortium had not announced the news of the Gene Potion, probably because they were biding their time, preparing to deliver a major blow to Stars Pharma.

Under such circumstances, any leak would not be permitted.

That was also the reason why Jess’s parents and Jess ’had to’ die.

However, even though the Mysterious Person was receiving ’support’ from the Welme Medical Consortium, he clearly had a strong sense of independence. His interests and the Consortium’s might not align.

"You tell them," He Ao continued, "that this is information submitted to you by an anonymous whistleblower, and then leak a bit of negative material about Ned. Be careful not, to reveal it all at once, hold off for a while, I still have some things to figure out, wait for my message."

He looked at the surprised look on Dasanc’s face, his own expression calm, "This should be enough to make Stars Pharma go all out against Ned, and to try to find out the source of this information from you, I need you to keep it a secret for me in the meantime."

Dasanc looked at the Storage Chip in his hand, gripped it tightly, and nodded forcefully, "Okay!"

The dawn sunlight rose from the eastern horizon, shining through the bright window and casting its light on He Ao’s calm profile.

He glanced down at his palm, where another Storage Chip rested, recording the flow of raw materials for the Gene Potion, a flow that was very likely to indicate the location of the Second Laboratory established by the Mysterious Person.

He was close, just a little more, and he would figure out what the Mysterious Person was really up to.