Chapter 285: Stepping Forward

Twenty days later, at the Atlanta Shenghui Manor Hotel, a small conference room was playing a video. Under a sign marked with a 'rising sun', a large crowd was queuing outside the storefront. Inside the glass doors, the crowd was packed.

"Actually, there's no need to play it. I think we in the Electrical Appliance Retail Association have seen this scene countless times."

As the curtains on both sides were drawn open, the room was once again filled with light. A man smoking a cigar at the head of the long conference table said, puffing out smoke: "As the video shows, in twenty days, the Rising Sun Company's sales have risen instead of fallen. Especially seven days ago, when their two new stores in the east of the city opened, each received up to three thousand customers, with estimated sales exceeding five million gold shields. And five days from now, their seven stores in the west district will also kick off a sales frenzy; there are many people there. According to this trend, it's estimated that within a month at most, their stores will cover all of Atlanta."

"Maybe even less than a month. The store opposite mine is working overtime on renovations. Several employees from my store have been poached by them. Their base salary is very low, but the sales commission is huge."

"This is very troublesome, everyone! This company is as greedy as an ouroboros! They said it was a half-month opening celebration, but after fifteen days, they announced that to thank customers, they would extend the promotion to the end of the month—that is, another five days of sales."

"Look, they're frantically absorbing capital, doing everything they can to release pent-up demand. This way, they have more financial resources to expand their territory. It's a good idea, but they've broken the rules."

"Shit! My store didn't have a single customer yesterday. The key is, even if we offer the same discounts as them, we still can't attract people."

"I thought about continuing to lower prices to attract customers. But I know we can't beat them at this. The Rising Sun Company's ten-day sales are at least two hundred million gold shields, maybe even three hundred million. I've learned through special channels that Panasonic, Mitsubishi, and Toshiba in Japan have re-signed sales agreements with them, with rebates already reaching 5%. So Rising Sun's salespeople are heavily promoting these three brands."

"Yesterday, several TV stations ran hot news reports. Shit! That will only make their sales even more explosive. It's basically free advertising—"

"I say, everyone, we should take action. Are we just going to sit back and watch? I don't want to quit this industry, but if this continues, my seven stores will face bankruptcy within six months at most. I won't last that long; I'll probably switch careers early."

When someone said this, the entire conference room suddenly fell silent. Everyone turned their eyes to the man at the head of the table.

"Eight days ago, I had someone send a letter to the owner of Rising Sun Company, Andrew Lee Wiltonstein, inviting him to join our Electrical Appliance Retail Association, but he refused. Yet even if I invited him to join, it wouldn't do much good."

The middle-aged man spread his hands, looking helpless: "Ask him to stop the discounts and unify prices with us? But I think even so, it would be hard for us to compete with him. Their stores have a huge advantage in sales model. And if we want to open similar stores, it would take two months of preparation. By then, their stores will already be all over Atlanta. So I want to ask you all: you want to stop him, right? Even if it means using some extra, illegal means?"

When they heard the words 'extra' and 'illegal', the more than forty electrical appliance retailers present couldn't help but swallow their saliva, but no one spoke out in opposition.

"Very good!"

The middle-aged man smiled: "I must mention that I have recorded a video here. Everyone has a sufficient understanding of the situation I've described, right? If one day you report to the police or shift responsibility, this video can prove our case. Of course, I will prepare a Styx contract afterward to ensure this remains a secret among us—"

"Just tell us what to do, Selleck."

Someone interrupted the middle-aged man: "We were already prepared before we came. Just look at the scope of this Electrical Appliance Retail Association meeting. The members here all have investments of at least two million in the electrical retail industry. Others in our association can switch careers, at most quit this business, but we can't."

"Selleck, does it have to come to this? I agree we need to teach that kid a lesson, but I've also heard that Andrew Lee Wiltonstein is terrifying; Antonio of the Blood Hand Gang was killed by him."

"I know about that too, but it feels absurd. He's just a high school student."

"Then the situation is even more terrifying. Behind him is the Nathan Sports Group, and his surname is Wiltonstein."

At this point, the man named Selleck waved his hand, silencing everyone in the room.

"Everyone, I must explain to you that Antonio of the Blood Hand Gang did indeed die at Andrew's hands. However, just these past few days, three members of the Magic Tower Committee have assured me that neither the Hand of Nathan nor the Wiltonstein Group will interfere in our competition. They also guarantee that no external force can help the Rising Sun Company."

"To be honest, I'm very dissatisfied; their intentions are unclear. But ultimately, what strategy we adopt will have to be decided by a vote. Deal with him, or switch careers. If it's the first option, please raise your hands. If it's the second, if more than five people don't raise their hands, then this meeting is over."

Selleck scanned the room, then curled the corner of his mouth with satisfaction: "Very good, now let's start raising war funds. I'll put up seven hundred thousand gold shields. My personal suggestion here is that you contribute one-tenth of your assets."

...

An hour after this secret meeting ended, Li Mochen, who was tempering his physique with the 'Zhou Tian Xuan Ling Lei Qi Mantra' in a new private gym, received a phone call.

"You've raised nineteen million in war funds? That's a huge sum, enough to hire a mid-level assassin organization. Their precautions are strict? No recording? That's a pity. EMM~ Full video recording, in Selleck's hands. Thank you so much, Mr. Eric. This is crucial intelligence."

"Of course, I promised you I would buy all your assets at market price. In addition, I'll give you the promised one million in cash. But Mr. Eric, are you sure you weren't discovered?"

"You don't need to worry about that. If you used the talisman I gave you before this, then you don't need to worry about the Styx contract. You can sense it yourself, right? When you signed the contract, your soul wasn't bound by the Styx."

"Okay, I'll send two teams of magic professionals to protect you and escort you to the West Coast."

When Li Mochen put down the phone, the nearby Eliza Targaryen twitched the corner of her mouth: "Nineteen million in war funds? Wow, that's quite a scene."

But Li Mochen had spent sixteen million gold shields just to buy Isadora Weeks.

If it had been over a month ago, she would have considered this a huge sum, but after experiencing Li Mochen's war with the Dragon Witch Cult, she really didn't know how to evaluate it.