Life Game In Other World
Chapter 809: A New Path (Large - Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 809: Chapter 809: A New Path (Large Chapter Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Scattered snowflakes blew onto the spacious balcony.

The elderly man with a head full of white hair looked up at the sky.

"It’s snowing again."

A blonde twin-tail young girl beside him also stretched out her hand to catch the drifting snowflakes.

"The last time we met was almost eight years ago,"

The elderly man watched the snowflake melt in the girl’s palm and then looked up at her, whispering, "In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so much."

He slowly raised his hand, as if reminiscing about something, "I remember the last time I saw you,"

He placed his hand at a point on his waist, "you were only this tall."

"Although we haven’t met for many years, we’ve always stayed in touch online, Uncle Endir."

Vili withdrew her hand and looked at the elderly man with a somewhat amused expression, "We’ve also video-called; you’ve watched me grow up bit by bit."

"Ha ha ha,"

Endir laughed, turning to glance at Vili, "With age, I’ve started to enjoy reminiscing about my youth."

He reached out to pick up a book from the table,

"Speaking of which, when I was young, I most hated it when people said things like, ’Last time I saw you, you were only this big,’ ’I held you when you were a child.’ I never thought I would become one of those people who lament others’ changes."

"Rather than lamenting others’ changes, it’s more like you are lamenting the passing of your own time."

Vili clasped her hands together, the warmth of her palms melted the freshly caught snowflake, as she gazed at Endir’s aged face, "Uncle Endir, you’ve aged a lot."

"Yes,"

Endir turned around, looking at the empty and desolate office, "Time spares no one,"

He turned his head back, glanced at Vili, and asked softly, "So, my girl, have you made your decision?"

"Yes,"

Vili nodded, "I want to run for office."

"Where will you start?"

Endir turned around, holding the book in his hand, walking toward the inside of the office.

"Let’s start with city council,"

Vili pondered, "I want to change this city."

"Change this city..."

Endir appeared slightly dazed; he raised his head, looking at the huge painting hanging in the center of the office.

The painting depicted the founding scene of United Industries, with two young people standing before the podium, spiritedly gazing beyond the painting.

"Your father once said the same thing to me."

The elderly man slowly lowered his head and walked unsteadily toward the office desk.

"Be careful."

Vili hurriedly approached, supporting the elderly man.

The elderly man turned his head and gave the blonde girl a deep look, suddenly smiling, "You’re much stronger than your father was at your age. In his youth, he was still a playboy, only knowing how to eat, drink, and be merry, until he took over the family business and slowly began to change."

He lowered his head and sighed, "If your father could see you now, I don’t know if he would be happy or sad."

"So Father back then...",

Vili’s voice lowered, "was it done by United Industries?"

"It was the work of the Eternal Secret Teachings,"

Endir gently shook his head, "Of course, back then, the Eternal Secret Teachings may have already been in touch with United Industries."

"So what was it for you at first?"

Vili supported the elderly man, her voice slightly low, pausing briefly before continuing, "With your prestige and majesty back then, you could have totally suppressed United Industries."

"Suppressed United Industries, and then what?"

The elderly man leaned against the office desk and turned back to look at the blonde, twin-tailed young girl.

"Then you might be able to control United Industries..."

Vili was caught off-guard by the elderly man’s question and instinctively responded,

"Control United Industries, and then what?"

Endir stared at Vili, continuing to ask.

"Then you could continue the reforms my father started; weren’t you always trying those reforms? Even now, many people still miss my father’s era..."

Vili stared back at the elderly man as she spoke rapidly.

"Mm,"

The elderly man nodded gently; he raised his head again to look at the huge painting in the middle of the office, "Girl, do you remember how your father ’stepped down’?"

"Vincent conducted secret alliances and held a shareholder meeting that removed my father from his position."

Vili answered softly.

"Do you know why Vincent could obtain the support of the shareholders’ meeting?"

Endir smiled as he looked at Vili, "A company holding a meeting, firing a founder with immense prestige within the company, how could such an implausible situation unfold?"

"Vincent allied with some shareholders and suddenly attacked my father..."

Vili expressed the view she had always heard.

"Removing the chairman of the board requires at least two-thirds of shareholders’ support,"

Endir leaned on the office desk, still smiling at Vili, "That was a rule your father established. Back then, more than half of the people voted to let your father step down. The ’some’ Vincent was allied with was, in fact, the majority inside United Industries."

"But,"

Vili knew this, the conversation she had with He Ao previously had clarified United Industries’ stance toward her father. After pausing under Endir’s gaze, she continued, "Didn’t they know the things my father did were beneficial for this city, for the people of the Storm Zone and Aka District?"

Endir looked slightly baffled at Vili, seemingly surprised that Vili skipped questioning the real stance of United Industries toward her father.

"Girl, you’ve grown a lot,"

He continued in a hoarse voice, "The shareholders of United Industries naturally knew that your father’s deeds were good, even most of them admired your father. But, my child, what’s most beneficial for Wint City isn’t necessarily most beneficial for United Industries."

"Ah?"

Vili was somewhat bewildered.

"As a shareholder of United Industries, what do you think shareholders want the most?"

The Elder slowly walked to the back of the desk, placed the book he was holding on the surface, and asked softly, "Is it cheap industrial products that Wint City can produce and supply for itself, or people from Aka District and Storm Zone having bright smiles?"

"No,"

Vili, being the largest individual shareholder in United Industries, shook her head unconsciously. After a brief pause, she said in a soft voice, "It’s ’money.’"

"To prevent United Industries from being controlled by Rockville Energy Group again,"

Endir said with a hoarse voice, "your father declined all proposals to go public. To rapidly develop the industry, he used almost all profits for factory construction in Novite District. But the cost was..."

"The shareholders of United Industries couldn’t receive any dividends, nor could they quickly liquify their assets through the stock market. Therefore, they were dissatisfied with your father,"

Vili continued in a low voice, hesitating briefly before adding, "But father could have distributed part of the profits to win over some shareholders, and as an industrial district, Novite District was also profitable."

"It’s useless,"

Endir shook his head, "Your father tried just that, but Rockville Energy Group offered a higher price. Financial market returns and energy mining profits far outweighed pure industrial profits. Moreover, your father significantly increased the labor costs by implementing various safeguards."

His gaze returned to the oil painting, sweeping across the bright and attractive crowd surrounding two young people,

"In many shareholders’ eyes, your father was a madman who sacrificed higher profits in pursuit of lower ones."

He slowly continued, "Now the biggest source of profit for the shareholders of United Industries is by selling energy ores to Rockville Energy Group, gaining high returns, using those returns to buy back shares to boost stock prices, while also investing in real estate and other financial industries.

"Now Rockville Energy Group holds over 30% of the shares in United Industries, making it the largest shareholder.

"When your father named the company United Industries, he hoped it could unite and break free from the control of Rockville Energy Group and develop Wint City’s own industry."

At this, the Elder laughed self-deprecatingly, "Now it’s neither united nor industrial."

Vili opened her mouth, wanting to say something but unsure what to say.

The purpose of her father establishing United Industries was to resist the control of Rockville Energy Group, to strengthen Wint City, and relieve the problems of its people.

But now, United Industries actually became a helper for Rockville Energy Group to control Wint City, leaving the city unchanged, and perhaps even worse than before.

It seemed like their years of efforts were all in vain.

"We spent decades proving that establishing a united enterprise is a dead end,"

Endir withdrew his gaze, looking down at the book under his hands,

"After your father was dismissed, he and I reconsidered countless times, envisioned numerous possibilities, all leading to the same outcome.

"As long as such a consortium exists, whether it’s called United Industries or United Mining, it will ultimately follow the path of pursuing higher profits.

"This is the inevitable path for it as a consortium,

"Unless we could create a United Industries that is completely controlled by one person, but with the external pressure from Rockville Energy Group and without any funds, we would be absorbed by Rockville Energy Group before we could merge with other mining companies."

At this moment, Vili could somewhat understand why Endir had given up resisting completely after her father’s death.

It was then that the Elder looked up, his eyes on the blonde girl,

"The City Government is not as strong as you imagine, but the taxes we receive are actually very minimal. United Industries has many ways to avoid taxes, even influencing the city council to pass laws favorable to them.

"Actually, this situation has persisted even before United Industries was established."

"The main sources of tax revenue for the City Government are consumption tax and personal income tax," he said, "but the income of the people in Wint City has been decreasing over the past few years, which has made both consumption and personal income tax very low, barely maintaining the existence of the City Defense Army.

"We don’t have the money to invest in building roads, and because of government debt, we even have to sell the public facilities we built before to United Industries to increase income,

"Ultimately all changes still depend on United Industries, but United Industries will inevitably move towards pursuing profits."

He lifted his head and sighed,

"Actually, everyone knows the current situation in Wint City, I know, your father knows.

"Even Vincent, once one of your father’s most fervent supporters, is well aware that Wint City needs changes, but his interests, his privileges, propel him towards the most effective path for United Industries.

"We are all bound by invisible strings, drawn towards the endings that Fate has decreed."

The Elderly man shifted his gaze, his cloudy eyes looking at the blond girl, "So, do you still want to run for election? Even if you sit in my position, you may not be able to accomplish anything."

Vili silently watched the old man in front of her.

She could feel that oppression and despair, as if everything had been set, steering the wheels of history towards the end.

Those hungry and wandering people from Aka District and Storm Zone, and this city of despair, seemed just to be, walking towards their final endpoint amidst hunger and wandering.

She felt this was wrong, but she could not break free from the fine threads of Fate.

She finally understood why her father often sat there alone in a daze after stepping down.

She had also finally stepped onto the path her father had once walked, ahead was the fog in the darkness, with no glimmer of hope for the way forward.

The air around her was so quiet that she could hear her own dull heartbeat.

Suddenly, she recalled the scene sitting in the funeral home lobby, the young man holding a coffee, calmly watching her, that soft question echoing again in her ears,

"Was it the poor from Storm Zone and Aka District or United Industries that supported your father’s rule?"

That invisible arrow from the past pierced through her thoughts at this moment.

When she first heard this question, she had not given an answer, she didn’t know how to give one, but now she suddenly realized, perhaps the question itself was the answer the young man had given her.

United Industries could not betray itself to seek welfare for the poor in Storm Zone and Aka District; therefore, her father relying on United Industries was bound to be dismissed.

If she wanted to change the fate of the people in Storm Zone and Aka District, to change the destiny of Wint City, she could not rely on the power of United Industries but had to depend on the power of this city.

To depend on that silent, quietly existing strength.

This might be a path no one had walked before, maybe she would encounter the end at the beginning.

But she still lifted her head, looking into the cloudy eyes of the old man in front of her and nodded firmly, "I will do my best."

"You seem to have a good companion,"

The Elderly man gazing into the girl’s eyes, seemed to realize something, his cloudy pupils clearing slightly, he handed a book to the girl, "This is a summary of my investigations of all the districts in Wint City over the years, and all my experiences, I hope it can help you and your companion,"

His voice was long and slow, "I hope you can find a new path, I hope you can change everything that we could not."

"Thank you,"

Vili took the book, nodding firmly, "We will."

—

Storm Zone

Behind the boy, Lena stood in front of the wide-open church doors.