Enforcer Manual
Chapter 522: Collective Interests_1

Chapter 522: Chapter 522: Collective Interests_1

Early the next morning, Lu Xiang and Song Lan kept their appointment and went to the location agreed upon with Qi He.

Qi He and the Ragus Foundation were undoubtedly action-oriented. After meeting in the Seventh District, they had already begun construction work in District 17. Before today, Qi He had privately met with Mayor Aureliano to discuss the foundation’s investment and construction plans for the next ten years.

The Ragus Foundation’s branch building could also be considered an iconic structure in the bustling district.

Once, this skyscraper was seen as a symbol of corporate extravagance—the Ragus Foundation had no business dealings in District 17 before, and they were simply in the habit of establishing branches in every city. After the building was completed, the foundation did not assign any staff to work there, and aside from security and cleaning staff who performed routine maintenance, the building was always empty.

But now, years after the building was completed, it was finally hosting its first significant meeting.

Early in the morning, Qi He was already waiting in the conference room of the building.

She greeted Lu Xiang and Song Lan with a smile. By her side was a literary girl they had never seen before, with black hair, somewhat rigid glasses, and just tall enough to reach Qi He’s waist. Moreover, the most notable thing about her was the thick notebook she held in her arms.

In the year 2166, this was certainly a rare sight.

At the very least, notebooks had long been outmoded by the times, with electronic memos being far more efficient and accurate. Song Lan had recently even seen an electronic memo with built-in artificial intelligence online; it didn’t even require user input. Just by turning on the "meeting record" function before the meeting, the built-in AI would automatically record the important content during the meeting.

Despite the company’s competitors always slandering them online, claiming that the AI would upload your company’s secrets to their network while recording the meeting, Song Lan had to admit that he was tempted by this high-tech electronic memo.

Furthermore, this young girl seemed much too young for her age, she looked to be in the same age group as Elmon and Anfiya, seemingly the type who could go directly to Newster School after the meeting was over.

Working at such a young age seemed a bit too early.

The literary girl appeared to be very introverted, sitting silently by Qi He’s side throughout the meeting. The notebook was not even opened, making it seem more like a decoration.

Her eyes occasionally stole glances at Song Lan, quickly averting her gaze whenever Song Lan responded.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Qi He also brought up official business.

"Regarding the issue of Dream Manufacture, the Review Meeting simply hopes you will cease your investigation," she stated.

This was the primary issue the Review Meeting wanted him to resolve, taking priority even over investment and construction.

Instead of answering, Lu Xiang countered, "What about you?"

"According to the foundation’s interests, we naturally hope that you will stop your investigation as well," Qi He said.

There was no lie in this matter; there were many companies of the same type as Dream Manufacture, and they weren’t all owned by the Conservative Faction.

In the end, the Ragus Foundation was a community of corporate interests, and for the company, wherever there was profit, that’s where they would appear, whether it was in biopharmaceuticals or military production.

"Of course, I know such explanations won’t convince you," Qi He acknowledged.

If Lu Xiang truly understood this "for the greater good," then the matter wouldn’t have escalated to the Review Meeting, becoming an important issue in recent sessions, "In fact, during the last meeting, there was a proposal to use satellite weapons to strike against District 17."

Lu Xiang was startled by this sudden bombshell, not just because it involved the use of satellite weapons but also because she was surprised that Qi He would divulge internal secrets of the Review Meeting to them.

Logically, the contents of the Review Meeting should be absolutely confidential to the outside.

"In the end, the issue was rejected with a 61% opposition rate, but the result of the vote does illustrate a certain problem," Qi He explained.

61% represents the number of the Innovator Faction and the Centralists, and it also indicates that within the Review Meeting, 39% of the members agree to cleanse the "problematic city" of the Seventeenth District with satellite weapons.

This means that for the Conservative Faction, it is no longer a matter of personal enmity but has become a contradiction of collective interest.

They believe that the existence of the Void has indeed threatened the core areas of the United Government, and their attitude is to use satellite weapons to sweep away all their troubles.

This has always been the United Government’s ultimate method of solving problems.

Whether it’s against the rebellions of the Rebel Army or the "external" prevailing infections, striking regions with satellite weapons always erases all troubles.

"I’m not threatening you, but if this problem continues, the next time we vote, the vote of the Centralists and some from the Innovator Faction might lean towards the other side,"

Qi He felt somewhat helpless.

As a representative of the Ragus Foundation, he had to prioritize the collective interests of the company, where individual will often matters little in the face of the collective.

In the past, faced with such situations, the company usually adopted two means.

One was to provide the other party with sufficient benefits, by delivering interests that would create a community of interest on some issues. In the eyes of the company, there is no relationship more stable than a community of interest.

When this method lost its effect, they would also adopt measures to make those few stubbornly resistant individuals completely disappear from this world.

But clearly, neither of these situations applies to Lu Xiang and the Seventeenth District.

On the issue of the Void, he has always held a view contrary to the mainstream thinking of the Review Meeting. His intuition told him that rashly using satellite weapons would not solve their Void troubles but might instead release some enemies they hadn’t anticipated.

His intuition was always accurate.

So, this time, he took a third approach to negotiation.

"If you insist, this is the material I’ve prepared for you in my personal capacity,"

Qi He handed over an electronic memorandum to the person opposite him.

The moment Lu Xiang took the electronic memorandum, her expression changed from confusion to shock. She had thought it contained the company’s offers for a benefit exchange or perhaps a direct threat or warning, but the contents were totally unrelated to her guesses and the company’s usual tactics.

The memorandum highlighted various companies, clearly indicating their future direction of investigation.

That is to say, Qi He hadn’t threatened them and had actually helped them complete the investigation, delivering the results into their hands?

Lu Xiang looked deeply at him. In fact, from the first time she met Qi He, she felt that there was something unusual about him.

He seemed very different from the stereotypical image of a company representative in her mind, even though he always claimed to put the company’s interests first. But Lu Xiang always felt that there was more to Qi He’s actions than met the eye.

That was also an intuition, without any direct evidence.

"With this, you should be able to understand now, right?"

After Lu Xiang had briefly reviewed it, Qi He spoke, "What the Review Meeting truly worries about is not the industry itself, but the various sectors implicated by this gas... Political and military actions inside and outside the United Government, as well as the life pharmaceuticals and research on Psychic Abilities, all make use of them."