Blackstone Code-Chapter 676: Dynamic Shifts

“I have a few thoughts…”

After a brief discussion, Mr. Wadrick stepped forward.

Everyone’s attention instantly focused on him, and the discussions on the conference call came to a halt.

Before the consortium and Soren—or rather, the Governor of Amellia—began their cooperation, they were working on this project with Lynch, and it was Mr. Wadrick who facilitated that. It wasn’t until some board members suggested bypassing Lynch that things changed.

This idea wasn’t inherently evil—it was, in fact, the nature of capital: to pursue greater profits.

By working with Lynch, they were relegated to a peripheral role in Amellia’s commercial strategy. They sold goods to Lynch, who then exported them to Amellia and reaped massive profits—profits that had nothing to do with them.

As a major consortium, how could they simply give up on what could potentially be theirs? Soren’s arrival happened to feed their greed, and this time, the cooperation wasn’t with Lynch or any single company in Amellia—it was directly with the Governor.

Federals might not like the Gephran system, but they certainly enjoyed the perks of Gephran power.

Just like many Federals, upon first arriving in Nagaryll, described the place with words like decadent or backward, as if the people were enslaved by their regime. They looked down on that world.

But when they sat in cars, watching police use rubber batons to beat back pedestrians and clear the road for them, they stopped calling it decadent.

Instead, a satisfied smile would appear on their lips as they enjoyed every bit of it.

The consortium felt the same way. Working with Lynch meant minimal profits and no real help in expanding into Amellia. But working directly with the Governor meant special privileges. With those privileges, they could open markets, and that region would become a dumping ground for their goods.

In fact, ever since Lynch got the emperor’s approval, most consortia saw it as good news. Amellia was closer to the Federation, and from every angle, it was cheaper and faster to buy goods from the Federation. It would also create a deep dependency.

Adding in Mr. Truman’s ban, the Merrick Consortium’s board saw this as a great opportunity—an opening move to break the deadlock.

They didn’t compete with small and medium businesses for market share, but if others came to them for cooperation, they wouldn’t turn it down either.

What no one expected was that things weren’t so simple.

“I believe…” Mr. Wadrick glanced at the board leadership, “everyone should have realized by now—this isn’t something simple.”

“The consortium has more than one company engaged in international trade. Every quarter, our trade volume sets new records. In some ways, our real economy relies heavily on overseas trade to stay healthy.”

“Every day, ships leave our ports. But until now, nothing like this has ever happened. This isn’t normal—we’re being targeted!”

The room erupted in murmurs, and Mr. Wadrick paused. Even the board leadership began whispering to each other.

There had already been suspicions—one hijacking, one submarine attack—and both seemed to be the work of the same group. But it wasn’t until Wadrick called it out that everyone started taking it seriously.

“Go on,” the board chairman tapped the table lightly, and the room—and the phone line—fell silent.

Mr. Wadrick nodded slightly. “Someone doesn’t want us selling to Amellia. That’s my belief.”

“Now, who would do this?” His tone was more leading than questioning, nudging the others to think.

Then he gave his answer. “Gephra.”

“Gephra’s domestic capital has always been unhappy about the emperor shifting the national development focus to Amellia. I think most of you are at least somewhat aware of this…” Heads nodded in agreement.

Gephra’s capital is largely backed by nobles. They know exactly how profitable colonies can be—Nagaryll was the best example.

But there’s a problem. Governor Sedel himself is a high-ranking noble, and many businesses tied to him have already moved into Amellia. The region is essentially his private domain.

As the governor, he controls both military and political power. Of course, he’d reserve the best opportunities for himself. So what can the others get?

Nothing.

If the nobles stay behind the scenes and let their capitalist proxies fight for business, those proxies can’t compete with the local capitalists.

If the nobles show up in person, it’ll inevitably cause a rupture with Governor Sedel. After all, when you’re reaching into someone’s pocket, you can’t expect them to smile and say, “Why not grab a little more?”

Unequal profit-sharing—that’s the real reason Gephra’s domestic forces are dissatisfied with Amellia.

If the Emperor of Gephra and Governor Sedel agreed to fully lift restrictions on capital, much of the discontent would disappear.

The situation is both complex and simple. Mr. Wadrick continued sharing his thoughts. “Gentlemen, please consider the nature of this deal. If we succeed in establishing ourselves in Amellia, it essentially means we control the region’s power supply.”

“Electricity isn’t just about power for any country—it’s tied to national defense. A modern society relies on electricity for too many things—so much that any problems with it are intolerable.”

“That’s the core of our conflict. If we fulfill the contract, we’ll hold the power lifeline of Amellia—Gephra’s future development center.”

“And this also threatens the domestic power companies in Gephra. They have every reason, and I believe every intention, to stop us.”

“I’ll make a bet with everyone here—just for a Sol…” He pulled a one-Sol coin from his pocket, showed it, then flicked it onto the table.

The coin spun a few times before coming to a stop.

“The next time we ship out, the cargo still won’t reach Amellia!”

Everyone saw something different in that Sol. For board members, it meant a loss of over ten to twenty million if Mr. Wadrick was right.

And if he was, they wouldn’t just lose millions—it could be a billion.

For the rest of the board, the pressure wasn’t so heavy. They were mostly filler, occasionally offering opinions.

If this incident led to a reshuffle in board rankings, many of them would actually benefit.

The consortium wasn’t free of internal competition either—mergers, acquisitions, restructuring industries—everyone wanted a chance at it.

“We’ll need to think this over further,” the board chairman said at last, unable to make a final decision.

After all, the federal government had privately reached out. This deal had national security value, making it even harder to walk away.

And Mr. Wadrick’s theory was still just a theory. It might not be true. The two attacks might not even have been carried out by the same group.

Maybe the first group simply left too fast for the military to catch them.They also had an effective solution: requesting naval escort.

These business dealings were of great significance. Without exaggeration, if the locations of all power plants in Amellia were recorded, then in the event of a military conflict between the Federation and Gephra, the Federation could cut power to Amellia—the staging ground for troops—immediately.

Therefore, requesting naval escort was something neither the Department of Defense nor the federal government would likely refuse.

“I’ll speak with the Secretary of Defense later to request that the military grant us certain privileges and protection. Even if those submarines really came from Gephra, unless they intend to start a new war, they should know where the line is.”

The chairman of the board glanced at Wadrick without showing any emotion. He knew that abandoning the contract with Soren would mean a failure in decision-making.

Some of them would have to give up a portion of their shares to appease Wadrick—perhaps just one-thousandth or even ten-thousandth of a percent—but even these seemingly insignificant shares were not to be underestimated in a consortium of this size.

If Wadrick’s holdings crossed a certain threshold, he could launch a challenge against the board leadership. And if he made it into the leadership himself, it would be a serious problem.

He was already the group’s CEO, holding significant power. If he also became one of the chairmen, with both internal and external authority concentrated in his hands, his influence would grow to a terrifying degree.

Sensing a glance from one of the chairmen, Wadrick quickly identified its source. He smiled and nodded in acknowledgment. Their eyes met for a moment—then parted.

The meeting wasn’t really over—it was just beginning. They still needed to discuss whether to send another shipment to Amellia, and whether to proceed depended on the Defense Department’s response.

Late at night, after returning home, Wadrick didn’t go to sleep right away. He took another shower, then sat alone in his dimly lit study, holding a glass of wine.

He was thinking about one thing—how Lynch would break the deadlock.