When experts clash, every move is deadly.
Even betrayal will target the most painful spot, maximizing its effect.
The Warren Chamber of Commerce updated the Snake Card, implying that [Remnant Thought] was Jiang Yuanxiu.
That knife went straight into the Haori Chamber of Commerce's side.
[Remnant Thought] had earned the rank of Queen of Hearts on the Snake Card not by doing good deeds or chanting Buddhist scriptures, he had earned it with countless lives on his hands.
One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers. The wanted criminals on the Snake Card were probably like that.
Other than Lu Daoxing, this strange Snake Card figure who had suddenly risen to prominence by relentlessly killing members of the Jiang family, every wanted criminal above Snake Card 10 had countless lives from various forces on their hands.
That was also why they used aliases. Once their real identities were exposed, they would immediately be swallowed up by enemies from all sides.
Now, according to the Warren Chamber of Commerce, the identity of [Remnant Thought] had been taken on by Jiang Yuanxiu, the mayor of the City 121.
At the same time, a huge pot had firmly landed on the Haori Chamber of Commerce.
Although many members of the Jiang family were doing their best to deny it, even claiming that they would go to the Warren Chamber of Commerce to demand justice and fight those spreading rumors to the death.
Jiang Hao, the president of the Haori Chamber of Commerce and the head of the Jiang family, had not given any response.
———
Inside the Haori Chamber of Commerce headquarters in District 6, Jiang Hao sat with his brows tightly furrowed.
"Zhou Guang, that old bastard Kyle still isn't answering his phone?"
The white-haired old man, who was just as white-haired as Jiang Hao, nodded, "Yes, President. No one is answering on President Kyle's end. Not only President Kyle, we can't get in touch with anyone in the upper ranks of the entire Warren Chamber of Commerce."
"Can't we get in touch with Jerry Warren either?"
"President, ever since Vice President Jerry voted in favor of Qin Siyang at the thesis hearing, he hasn't answered any of our calls."
"I see…", There was some confusion in Jiang Hao's expression, "That old fox Kyle isn't someone who would easily turn against us. I don't know why he's doing this. I just have a bad feeling."
"President, everything will get better."
Jiang Hao's expression darkened, "Yuanxiu was killed, and Yuanrui can only hide himself away. I never thought the Jiang family would see a day like this."
As he spoke, Jiang Hao removed the cinnabar prayer beads from his wrist and gently rubbed the two largest beads, which were carved with the characters "Yuan" and "Hao" respectively.
"I hope things will get better."
Jiang Hao's real name was Jiang Yuanhao. He had always been the head of the Jiang family and the Haori Chamber of Commerce.
Before the apocalypse, and after the apocalypse as well.
Jiang Yuanhao had led the Haori Chamber of Commerce through countless storms over ten years. The four major mining families, the six major legions, and various churches had all risen, yet the Haori Chamber of Commerce remained standing and even became one of the three major chambers of commerce.
But Jiang Yuanhao was troubled by one thing.
He had discovered that many people were making fun of the name of Han Huizhi, commander of the Han Legion.
Huizhi was the courtesy name of the number-one treacherous minister in Dragon Nation's history.
At first glance, Han Huizhi's name seemed somewhat refined, but in reality, it showed a lack of cultural knowledge. It was even enough to make people feel disgusted just by looking at the name.
In theory, even if Han Huizhi's father wanted to pretend to be cultured, he should have given him a name like [Yizhi] or [Mianzhi]. Calling him [Huizhi] inevitably made people wonder whether he was the product of his mother cheating on his father.
As the truth that Han Huizhi's ancestors had done business in Eastern Nation and had rarely stayed in Dragon Nation was dug up and spread, everyone finally understood what had happened.
It really was just a joke caused by limited cultural knowledge.
Jiang Yuanhao then thought of his own name, he too shared a name with a relatively famous historical figure, and that person's fate was lamentable.
Perhaps to avoid having people associate him with that historical figure's character because of their shared name, or perhaps to avoid ending up with the same fate as that historical figure, Jiang Yuanhao removed the "Yuan" from his generation name and changed his name to Jiang Hao.
Even after changing his name, Jiang Hao remained a powerful figure who could make things happen throughout the Safe Zone.
But today, he had a lot on his mind.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Secretary Zhou Guang answered the phone, "President's office. Please go ahead."
"Mm… Mm? The information has been confirmed?"
"Okay, I'll inform the president right away."
Zhou Guang hung up and said, "President, we just received word that the United Government and the Zhao Chamber of Commerce are going to jointly issue a new currency, the Crystal Coin. The exchange rate between Crystal Coins and Gold Coins is one to one hundred."
"One to one hundred?", Jiang Hao's brows furrowed even more tightly, "What is it, something that can be worth that much more than a Gold Coin? Even if they issue it, will anyone recognize it? Everyone isn't stupid. Why would they accept a new currency that might not even have a market?"
"Apparently, Crystal Coins are specifically for transactions among high-level Sequence Ability users. That's because Crystal Coins contain Crimson Crystals."
"What?"
Jiang Hao's eyes instantly widened.
"They're using Crimson Crystals to issue currency? Where did the Zhao family get… Oh, right. The Zhao Chamber of Commerce has the largest quantity of Crimson Crystals in the entire Safe Zone."
Jiang Hao suddenly understood. He then fell into shock and deep thought, remaining silent for a long while.
Only afterward did he slowly ask, "Wasn't there supposed to be a meeting about issuing Crystal Coins?"
"There is," Zhou Guang continued, "Three days from now, the Zhao Chamber of Commerce and the United Government will announce it at the venue where the Zhao Chamber of Commerce was originally established…"
Jiang Hao leaned back against his chair and once again returned to his usual calm demeanor, like a rugged old pine tree, "No wonder Kyle was in such a hurry to stab me in the back. So he wants to hand the Zhao family a token of allegiance before the Crystal Coins are distributed."
"President, what are you planning to do? Continue contacting President Kyle?"
"There's no point," The confusion and disappointment in Jiang Hao's eyes disappeared, replaced by a steady composure, "I thought Kyle was planning to make an outrageous demand. If that were the case, there would still be room to negotiate. But he no longer cares about what our Haori Chamber of Commerce can offer."
"Then… how do we deny the matter of [Remnant Thought]? The Warren Chamber of Commerce hasn't presented any evidence at all."
"If the Warren Chamber of Commerce doesn't change the Snake Card, there's no point in us denying it ourselves. Kyle isn't a reckless person. If he dares to do this, he must have the confidence to back it up. If the matter reaches Secretary-General Gu and Kyle produces direct evidence, we'll be put in a passive position."
"President, are you planning to directly admit that Fourth Master is [Remnant Thought]?"
"I won't deny it, and of course I won't admit it either. We'll just treat it as an ordinary rumor."
"But President, what if someone comes seeking revenge?"
Jiang Hao slowly said, "If they come seeking revenge, then we can only…"
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Just as he was speaking, Jiang Hao's phone rang again. The caller ID showed Han Shuo.
"Principal Han, what is it?"
Han Shuo's voice on the other end was cold and direct, ["Three years ago, my nephew was killed by [Remnant Thought]. President Jiang, any objections?"]
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