『 Jade and Topaz glance at each other, then sit down opposite Old Oti one after the other.
[ Ohohohoho! ]
[ Welcome, welcome aboard, ladies! ]
[ Forgive my poor hospitality for keeping you waiting outside for so long. ]
After Topaz and Jade sit down, Old Oti begins with the pleasantries.
[ Not at all, Mr. Alfalfa. ]
[ It is our honor to meet you. ]
[ You may not know this, but Oti Alfalfa: The Biograph is mandatory reading for all new employees of the Strategic Investment Department. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Mandatory reading for company employees?"
Stelle: "March, find some time to buy me a copy. I want to appreciate it."
March 7th: "Appreciate this?"
March 7th: "You don't even run a business, what's the point of reading this?"
Stelle: "Naturally, to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances!"
Aventurine: "Heh, books are dead, but people are alive."
Aventurine: "If you're going to read this, you'd be better off learning a trick or two from Topaz."
Stelle: "That's true!"
Stelle: "Topaz, spare me two of your secret business tips!"
Stelle: "That way, I won't get scammed in the future!"
Topaz: "Sure, that's no problem."
Furina de Fontaine: "It seems this Old Oti really is a legendary tycoon."
Furina de Fontaine: "Even Madam Jade is so polite to him."
Qingque: "Tsk tsk tsk, there's a saying: courtesy first, then strike!"
Qingque: "I bet Madam Jade is using that strategy right now, isn't she?"
Li Sushang: "I get it!"
Li Sushang: "Madam Jade must be thinking: 'This old guy is fine if he's sensible, but if he isn't, don't blame me for being ruthless, hehehe!'"
Guinaifen: "Shangshang, did you stay up late reading web novels again?"
Guinaifen: "That sounds like something only a villain would say, right?"
Jade: "Hehehe… although it's not very elegant."
Jade: "It does align with my mindset, though."
Topaz: "Don't be fooled by Old Oti's smiling face; he's no pushover."
Topaz: "Following Madam Jade's three-step negotiation method, we'll play along with him for now and see what he has to say."
Boothill: "Son of a nice lady, negotiations are such a pain!"
Boothill: "I knew it, the negotiation method of holding a gun to someone's head suits me better!"
Stelle: "Looks like you and I are cut from the same cloth!"
....
『 [ After all, in many people's eyes, you are the legendary figure who single-handedly supported Penacony's economic system. ]
After Jade finishes speaking, Topaz adds a compliment as well.
[ Ohohoho! As expected of the Ten Stonehearts of the Strategic Investment Department, you two truly understand the way of conversation. ]
[ Old Oti likes chatting with smart people; it saves us from all the routines and surface-level pleasantries, so we can get straight to the point! ]
[ Since I've invited the company representatives aboard this time, you two can probably guess the topic I want to discuss, right? ]
Old Oti says with a smile.
[ The future of Penacony—if I'm not mistaken, that's what you want to talk about. ]
Jade answers with a smile as well.
[ Ohohoho! Exactly, hit the nail on the head! ]
[ A few simple words, but the interests involved are intertwined and incredibly complex! ]
[ Let's take that golden-haired guy who's not showing up, for example. He put in great effort and almost got himself killed, but what was it all for? ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Hu Tao: "Blond… blond kid??"
Hu Tao: "Pfft, Mr. Aventurine has gained another nickname for no reason!"
Aventurine: "I am a member of the Ten Stonehearts, at least."
Aventurine: "Why does this Old Oti have no respect for me?"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Hilarious. Do you not have any self-awareness?"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "You have the leverage over Penacony in your hands."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Do you think he could possibly look at you favorably?"
Stelle: "How bold, to dare to be disrespectful to the mysterious Aventurine!"
Stelle: "This Old Oti is courting death!"
March 7th: "Hey, Stelle, you've been reading too many Xianzhou novels, too, haven't you?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Speaking of which, isn't the person who truly supported Penacony's economic system the Watchmaker, Mikhail?"
Hu Tao: "Mikhail should be the founder, right?"
Hu Tao: "Without the story of the Watchmaker he fabricated, Penacony's economy would have had no chance of rising."
Xiangling: "This Old Oti must have made his fortune by standing in the right place at the right time back then."
Xiangling: "Come to think of it, he's standing on the shoulders of giants."
Stelle: "With his small stature, isn't standing on the shoulders of giants the only way he could succeed? (Smirk.jpg)"
....
『 [ In the end, wasn't it just to create an opportunity for the company, giving you a reason to retake the piece of fat that is Asdana? ]
[ Hoh ho ho... ]
After Old Oti finishes speaking, he chuckles coldly.
[ The experience and wisdom gained from ten Amber Eras in the business world are truly well-deserved. ]
[ Assuming your conjecture is true, Mr. Alfalfa—how do you plan to respond to this move by the company? ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Paimon: "Ten… ten Amber Eras in the business world?!"
Paimon: "So we underestimated him before?"
Lumine: "Calculating it like that… this Old Oti is at least thousands of years old."
Lumine: "Hmm… he's definitely not easy to deal with."
Stelle: "The company has leverage now, so I think no matter how shrewd this Old Oti is, he can't turn things around."
March 7th: "Although I think so too, can someone who has dominated the business world for ten Amber Eras really have no way to break the deadlock?"
....
『 [ I admire your composure, Miss Jade! ]
[ You must have seen a lot in your time. ]
[ But your understanding of Penacony is not deep enough…..Hoh ho ho….. Faced with a greedy wolf salivating at the door, I, Old Oti, don't plan to sit here and wait for death. ]
After Old Oti says this, the scene falls into a brief silence.
[ Hmm, I have no intention of interrupting….. Please, continue. ]
Jade says with a calm expression.
[ Hoh ho ho….. Then I'll be blunt. ]
[ Meeting you two before the official talks is to persuade the Strategic Investment Department to completely give up on its designs on Penacony. ]
[ If you retreat now, you can leave with more dignity….. ]
[ And save the company from losing face at the grand negotiation table. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Good grief, what is he so confident about?"
Stelle: "He's actually threatening the company directly?"
March 7th: "Feels like he's just bluffing and posturing."
March 7th: "The leverage is already in someone else's hands, and he's still this arrogant. Is he in such a rush to die?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Looks like he's deliberately putting on a tough act, trying to scare off Topaz and Madam Jade, the two company representatives?"
Topaz: "Then he's looking down on us way too much."
Jade: "Hmm, he understands negotiation."
Jade: "When he is at a disadvantage, he has instead created an atmosphere where we are the ones at a disadvantage."
Jade: "It's just a pity that this tactic might work on ordinary company employees, but on us…"
Jade: "I can only say, he's out of options."
Aventurine: "Trying to scare us away with a few words?"
Aventurine: "Then who's going to compensate me for the stabbing I took?"
Aventurine: "He's really being delusional."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "He should be thankful that it's the Strategic Investment Department negotiating with him."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "If it were that group from the Marketing Development Department."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "It's not guaranteed he wouldn't already be locked up in the company's starship as a prisoner."
Paimon: "Uh…. are the people from the Marketing Development Department that ruthless?"
Paimon: "They act just like villains."
Boothill: "Hey, little one, I think you can drop the 'just like'."
Boothill: "They're a bunch of people who will do anything for profit; calling them villains is not an exaggeration at all."
Boothill: "I have no doubt that if the people from the Marketing Development Department came, Penacony would have already been blasted into ruins by starships by now."
Boothill: "At that time, that bastard Oswaldo would probably say, 'In order to eliminate the remnants of Order, we had no choice but to use force.'"
Boothill: "And then, oops, it accidentally… affected all of Penacony, and he, son of a biscuit, is so heartbroken too!"
Aventurine: "Heh, you really understand that bastard."
Aventurine: "That is indeed something he would do."
March 7th: "Phew…. we really should be thankful that the Strategic Investment Department came."
March 7th: "Otherwise, we might be in grave danger."
Stelle: "What are you afraid of?"
Stelle: "If the Marketing Development Department came, I'd team up with Sunday on the spot and beat them to death first!"
Stelle: "I don't believe that with two Emanators on our side, we couldn't beat the Marketing Development Department?"
Qingque: "The Marketing Development Department…. feels less effective than…. one slash from Ms. Acheron."
Acheron: "No, perhaps… I might have to use two slashes."
....
『 [ A P45-level executive was attacked in the dreamscape and nearly lost their life; the company cannot sit idly by. ]
[ Plus the chaos during the Charmony Festival….. Penacony's credibility in the public eye has already dropped to a new low. ]
[ Even if your attitude is firm, the reality of the predicament still exists, doesn't it? ]
Topaz is not affected by Old Oti's attitude in the slightest.
She smiles slightly and begins to refute.
[ Ms. Topaz, you just used a term—the reality of the predicament. ]
[ But don't forget, this is the world of dreams! ]
[ To succeed here, your ideas have to be big enough, wild enough! ]
[ Want to know how I'll deal with the crisis? ]
[ I don't mind telling you: through my operations, Penacony will take a great step forward and independently list on the universal stock market! ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Himeko: "Independently list on the universal stock market?"
Himeko: "Is this the solution the Alfalfa Family Head came up with?"
Dan Heng: "Heh, that's a crazy and bold idea."
March 7th: "This old man…. is he that gutsy?"
March 7th: "He'd rather let everyone in the universe take a piece of the pie in Penacony than let the company get any benefits?"
Aventurine: "Hahaha, interesting."
Aventurine: "Breaking the pot to sink the ship, wanting to go down with the company in a mutual destruction?"
Aventurine: "I'm just afraid you don't have the strength for that!"
Furina de Fontaine: "Uh…. although I don't really understand what 'independently listing' means…"
Furina de Fontaine: "But based on what you guys are saying…. Old Oti wants to share the benefits of Penacony with the whole universe?"
Welt Yang: "Yes, you can understand it that way."
Welt Yang: "But in my opinion, it's almost impossible for Penacony to bypass the company and independently list."
Jade: "That's right, Mr. Welt saw the key point at a glance."
Jade: "Want to bypass the company to list?"
Jade: "Heh, this Old Oti really dares to talk nonsense..."
....
『 [ ….Independently list? ]
Topaz frowns slightly.
[ From what you're saying….. You want to bypass the company and publicly offer shares to the entire universe? ]
Jade understands Old Oti's plan.
[ Exactly! Rather than sitting here waiting for death and watching you eat away at Penacony step by step, I would rather open the gates of the sweet dream to the entire universe. ]
[ From today on, anyone in the galaxy with ambition can become a shareholder of the Land of Dreams! ]
[ This is the path of Harmony I'll choose! Ohohohoho! ]
[ This reform should have come sooner, but the Oak Family is a bunch of blockheads whose brains were washed by Order….. ]
[ True to their name, their flexibility of thought doesn't even keep up with an old man like me. ]
[ Thanks to the little "reverberation" earlier, the biggest obstacle between me and my reforms has been eliminated! Ohohohoho! ]
[ The Alfalfa Family will publish the financial reports of the Dreamscape, letting the whole universe see: even after experiencing disaster, Penacony is still full of potential and opportunity, and the Family is still full of confidence in the future. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Tsk tsk tsk, finally speaking your true intentions, aren't you?"
Stelle: "I was wondering why this old guy was being so kind."
Stelle: "It turns out it was still for his own benefit."
March 7th: "Publicly offering shares to the entire universe, it sounds good, but in the end, isn't he still trying to turn Penacony into his own company?"
March 7th: "At that point, Penacony would completely become his tool for amassing wealth."
Furina de Fontaine: "The Watchmaker Mikhail and the others put in so much effort, not so that Penacony could become a tool for amassing wealth!"
Furina de Fontaine: "This Old Oti's actions must absolutely not be agreed to!"
Himeko: "Don't worry, he can't do it."
Himeko: "The largest economic system in the universe is destined not to let him do that."
Hu Tao: "This Old Oti speaks too high-mindedly."
Hu Tao: "It's clearly for himself, yet he says this is practicing Harmony."
Hu Tao: "He really is shameless!"
Robin: "The concept of Harmony ultimately cannot defeat personal desire…"
Robin: "Although I expected it, seeing Mr. Oti do this still inevitably makes one disappointed."
Sunday: "This is his long-hidden ambition; now that he has the opportunity to implement it, naturally, he won't let this chance go."
Sunday: "But at the same time, he is also testing the company's attitude."
Zhongli: "As a tycoon who once dominated the business world, he should understand the weight of the company."
Zhongli: "In my opinion, this move of his is still highlighting his own tough stance."
Zhongli: "If he can make the company retreat through this, the breath he's holding on to might finally be released."
....
『 [ Hmm…. ]
[ Crisis is also an opportunity. ]
[ You have actually been waiting for the right moment, waiting for Penacony to once again become the focus of everyone's attention. ]
[ If Penacony succeeds in overcoming the difficulties by taking this opportunity… then if the company wants to get involved again, our every move will be exposed to the eyes of trillions of the public. ] 』
『 ....』