Life Game In Other World
Chapter 772: The Last Era (Grand - for Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 772: Chapter 772: The Last Era (Grand Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

"Save the city?"

He Ao took a sip of his milk tea, looking somewhat puzzled at Old Jeko.

United Industries was the largest employer in Wint City, controlling almost all of Wint City’s mining and industries, with the entire city under this enormous canopy.

Although the reputation of United Industries wasn’t that bad, it couldn’t be considered a savior either.

"Our generation has a unique sentiment towards United Industries,"

Old Jeko moved the stove over, placing it closer to He Ao. Holding his teacup, he gazed deeply into the cheering scene on the television, "Nowadays, many young people feel that United Industries is an oppressive behemoth, but in our days, when it had just been established, it carried the hopes of us and the entire city."

"Hopes?"

He Ao, with his teacup in hand, quietly watched Old Jeko, waiting for him to continue.

"This story is a long one,"

Old Jeko glanced at the electric kettle on the stove, "Where should I begin?"

He pushed the button on the stove, activating the kettle’s keep-warm function, then paused as if lost in memories of yore, "Do you know why United Industries was established?"

"The small mining enterprises of Wint City lacked sufficient competitive strength in the Federation market and needed a large enterprise with enough bargaining power, so these small enterprises came together to form what is now United Industries."

He Ao looked at the elderly man, softly answering.

After leaving Vili, he had also briefly searched the history of United Industries. This was the description provided on the official website of United Industries regarding its background.

But that was just a simple sentence. There was no mention of the events of that era or the people who participated in it.

"That’s from the official website of United Industries, right?"

The Elderly man looked at He Ao with surprise, then shifted his gaze back to the television, "It’s rare for people to care about these things now, but actually, I think this sentence summarizes it very well. I was beside them when they defined it that way, and all of us were very satisfied with this statement."

He paused, his voice tinged with melancholy,

"In the era I was born in, Wint City actually didn’t have a ’mega-corporation.’ Countless small mining companies were panning for gold around Storm Sea, the ’gold mine,’ and at that time, the biggest enterprises in the entire city were three,

"One was Skone Mining of the Kohen Family, another was Stormsea Mining, and the last one was Frostsnow Mining.

"Although these three enterprises were reputed to be the three largest companies in Wint City, their combined outputs didn’t even account for 20% of the total production of Wint City’s energy resources.

"There were various reasons for this,

"Wint City is one of the oldest cities in the Federation for mining energy resources, with a well-developed history of energy mining. Back then, virtually any mining company could be a ’venerable brand’ with a heritage spanning hundreds of years, and there was often resentment among the various mining companies, making cooperation difficult.

"However, the main reason for Wint City’s state of disunity wasn’t this, but a powerful external force."

Old Jeko’s gaze turned to the man in the television corner, the only one without a smile, dressed in a suit.

He Ao followed his gaze toward that man.

"That man sitting in the corner is a representative of the Rockville Energy Group."

Old Jeko began to explain slowly,

"Rockville Energy Group has always been the largest partner in Wint City’s energy mining industry.

"Wint City sold over eighty percent of its energy ore to Rockville Energy Group,

"Before, since Wint City was situated in a rather remote location and not within the core influence area of Rockville Energy Group, they didn’t try to forcibly control Wint City’s mining industry but maintained a state of disunity amongst the mining companies in Wint City through a policy of ’divide and conquer.’"

"For nearly a century due to Rockville Energy Group’s interference, the number of mining companies in Wint City increased, their operations becoming smaller and more fragmented.

"Under the guidance of Rockville Energy Group, all mining companies entered vicious competition, forced to sell the ore to Rockville Energy Group at a price far lower than the market value.

"On the other hand, due to the lack of basic industry in Wint City, with only mining, a great deal of food, industrial goods, and daily necessities had to be transported from other cities of the Federation.

"Rockville Energy Group, in alliance with several other industrial conglomerates, controlled this trade route and dominated most of Wint City’s markets and wholesale markets.

"Through control of trade routes and distribution channels, Rockville Energy Group significantly increased the prices of these items. The prices of industrial goods and food in Wint City were much higher than the average prices across the Federation.

"At the same time, Rockville Energy Group also supported government officials and the Mayor by financing them, backing a city government and city council that were in their favor, controlling public media to promote the group. For a long period, we didn’t understand what was really happening."

"But you eventually discovered the problem."

He Ao drunk a sip of his milk tea then placed his cup by the stove to warm it.

"Yes,"

Old Jeko looked at the shadows of people on the television,

"Because we gradually realized no matter how hard we mined the ores, no matter how diligently we managed and worked, we were becoming poorer, and our debt was growing."

"Because you earned less and spent more."

He Ao quietly interjected.

Old Jeko raised his head, surprised at He Ao’s acuity, he laughed, "That’s a very precise summary."

He picked up the electric kettle, glanced at He Ao’s cup, which was only half full, "Would you like some more?"

"Thank you,"

He Ao nodded lightly.

"Once this principle became clear, it was very simple,"

Old Jeko poured more milk tea into He Ao’s teacup as he went on, "But for us, who were immersed in a plethora of propagandistic rhetoric at the time, it was hard to discern."

After filling He Ao’s teacup, he poured the milk tea into his own,

"In the early days of the Federation, when information wasn’t abundant, our main difficulty in acquiring information was how to obtain it,

"Now, we’re bombarded with a deluge of information as soon as we open our eyes every day. How to find correct and useful information among this mountainous sea of information has instead become our challenge."

As soon as the teacup filled, he put down the kettle, lifted his cup, and continued,

"In the era I grew up in, the news and newspapers would only tell us that the goods in the supermarkets were priced reasonably because their cost prices were that high, and it was justified for the mining employees’ wages to be low because the mining companies themselves weren’t making money."

"The reason mining enterprises aren’t making money is because there are too many of them, and their competition is too fierce."

"It’s difficult for us to know the prices of daily necessities in other cities, as the media hardly pays any attention to such matters. Even if there are scattered reports, people just marvel at them for a moment and then laugh it off."

"The overwhelming entertainment industry occupies all of our leisure time, preventing us from thinking about these complex issues."

"We’re living beyond our means, starting to borrow, and then the debt just keeps piling up."

"Although Wint City isn’t nominally under the control of Rockville Energy Group, in reality, it’s completely dominated by them."

"All the mining companies are working for Rockville Energy Group, and everyone has to buy their goods from Rockville Energy Group and their allies."

"The whole city can’t turn a profit, but Rockville Energy Group is profiting from us."

"Of course, many have recognized this issue, but most of those who do are in even more pain than those who haven’t noticed, because they feel powerless."

"However, among everyone, Skone is of a special breed,"

Old Jeko, holding his tea cup, seemed to reflect deep memories in his profound eyes,

"He’s an excellent manager. As the heir to Skone Mining Group, he exhibited astonishing management and social skills even before he inherited the business."

"The first time I met him, he was still young. He displayed keen insight, easily uncovering deeper truths with only fragments of conversation."

At this point, he turned his head and glanced at He Ao, "Just like you."

Then he paused and continued, "Of course, he was much older than you are now at the time."

"Back then, I was the boss of a small mining company. While I was muddling through, merely feeling that business was getting tougher, he astutely pointed out the crux of the problem to me."

"He always believed that the reason Wint City, despite sitting on mines, was becoming poorer, was simple: the people of the city did not control the city’s narrative,"

"Wint City, nominally belonging to its residents, actually belongs to Rockville Energy Group. The enterprises controlled by Rockville Energy Group have taken over most of the mining industry while suppressing Wint City’s own mining and industrial enterprises."

"He thought that the key to solving Wint City’s problems lay in two points: first, to unite the mining industry to have autonomous decision-making power, and second, to establish our own industrial production lines, eliminating dependence on external supply chains."

"So he made a stand against Rockville Energy Group?"

He Ao picked up his milk tea, took a sip, and quietly asked, "Was his approach different from others?"

Even after recognizing the core of the problem, solving it proved equally challenging.

Skone’s success was inevitable due to his advantages.

"Yes,"

Old Jeko also took a sip of his milk tea. He looked at He Ao, seemingly invoking some rescue memory, and he let out a soft sigh, "You really are similar."

Then he continued,

"At that time, there were also people who tried to unite other mining industries, but each time before they could even start, they were crushed by enterprises supported by Rockville Energy Group,"

"Many felt that with such a great disparity in power, the idea of uniting the mining companies was practically a pipe dream."

"Skone was well aware of the issues, but he also offered another perspective,"

"He believed that compared to other cities controlled by Rockville Energy Group, Wint City had a certain ’independence,’ naturally having an easier time than those completely dominated,"

"He thought that cities wholly controlled by major conglomerates were almost impossible to break free from, while cities like Wint City stood a chance."

At that point, Old Jeko suddenly laughed,

"Of course, as it turned out, his initial judgment wasn’t completely accurate."

He looked at He Ao, "Do you know about Saint Joen City?"

"Hmm?"

He Ao watched Old Jeko.

"It’s quite normal not to know, it’s a city in the eastern part of the Federation, very far from Wint City,"

Old Jeko pondered as he spoke,

"I saw in the news that the large financial group controlling Saint Joen City, the Kajet Group, went bankrupt for various reasons, and Saint Joen City managed to regain a certain degree of autonomy. It seems that the people of Saint Joen City played a significant part in it."

"Vili must have told you about someone called ’K’?"

He glanced at He Ao, murmuring,

"That girl should have mentioned this person to you – the Saint Joen City affair was what Vili had previously discussed with me. She said it was orchestrated by ’K’s people,"

"This young lady is always nattering in my ear about this matter, telling me how incredible ’K’ is, spilling all sorts of unsubstantiated stories as if they were true."

The elderly man leaned back in the bamboo chair, his gaze distant,

"So I took it upon myself to research the case of Saint Joen City. Though there were many and varied reasons that led to the bankruptcy of Kajet Group, when I lined up these reasons like dominoes, I realized that all it took to topple the chain was a gentle nudge at the beginning."

"I don’t know if it was coincidence or some kind of inevitability, but it turned out that ’K’ accomplished what I and Skone once thought impossible.

"Perhaps on some fronts, he went further than both Skone and me."

"If Skone were still alive, he might have become friends with him."

"Cough,"

At this, Jeko coughed, "I’ve gone a bit off tangent,"

He spoke with a reflective tone, "Back then, we didn’t realize our judgment was off; in fact, we were becoming more convinced of our decisions because we were succeeding continuously."

"Having identified the possibility of Wint City’s independence, Skone carefully analyzed the situation. He believed that Rockville Energy Group’s continuous expansion would soon genuinely threaten Wint City, and that would be the prime opportunity for Wint City to ’stand on its own.’"

He looked at the TV where a sharply dressed man was walking up to stand beside Skone on-screen amid cheers,

"But before the right moment arrived, we had to make some preparations first."

.