The round-faced advisor, praised, smiled shyly and added, “Also, Mr. President, we should warn Syria to stop causing trouble. With this matter under public scrutiny, their every move will be watched for a long time.”
“Indeed,” the President nodded. “Running that broken place is just risking stealing some oil, not a profitable deal. Warn them to behave and not cause us more trouble.”
…
After Ye Chen’s family landed in Jinling late at night, they caught Bernard Arnault’s live broadcast.
Even he could not help but marvel. This old man was a business genius, finding a way to exploit the rules to the fullest.
First, Bernard Arnault’s revenue in the American market would plummet to zero, but all costs remained.
Losing profits on one hand, bearing operating costs on the other, he was accumulating experience points both ways.
More interestingly, this guy turned thousands of U.S. stores into his showrooms. With soaring fame, American demand for his products would only grow.
Such strong demand, unable to convert locally, would naturally shift to other regions.
With Canada so close to the U.S., it is imaginable that Canadian luxury consumption might see a surge, absorbing most American consumer demand, thus indirectly offsetting his losses.
Gaining experience points while recouping money from other markets, this guy had a knack.
However, if Ye Chen really wanted to target him, it would not be hard. A rigorous financial audit could recalculate his group’s revenue, reasonably excluding profits from U.S. market spillover, making his actual losses negligible, perhaps near zero.
But Ye Chen had no such plans.
Though not as shrewd in business as Bernard Arnault, his vision was far broader.
As the rule-maker, if a player finds a small loophole, he must acknowledge it, not backtrack, at least not immediately.
Changing rules overnight is a manager’s greatest taboo.
Besides, he did not care about Bernard Arnault exploiting loopholes. Even accounting for all U.S. market losses, it would amount to four or five billion dollars a year at most.
Four or five billion dollars, to reach fifty billion in experience points, would take at least ten years.
His cost was merely one Rejuvenation Pill.
So, why not give Bernard Arnault a chance to exploit the loophole? It would make him more invested in the game and extra grateful.
Moreover, why did he set these rules for him?
Was it not to make him wreak havoc in America? Now, it seems this old man was highly motivated, and this situation was enough to give America a headache. Blackwater was likely finished.
After all, if America did not sacrifice them to appease public anger, they could not pass this hurdle.
Thus, he immediately messaged Wan Pojun, instructing him to monitor Blackwater’s every move in Syria. With Blackwater likely collapsing, they would surely withdraw entirely from Syria. Given America’s style, they would find a replacement. Once Blackwater leaves, watch for new American mercenaries returning to Syria.
Ye Chen also reminded him that, though Wanlong Hall was not directly responsible for the White Horse Island incident, it exposed their intelligence shortcomings. Having invested in a permanent base in Syria, they must fully control every move there. Intelligence work is never-ending and must be thorough to prevent such incidents from recurring.
Wan Pojun, also watching Bernard Arnault’s live broadcast, realised that with the stir this old man caused in America, Blackwater was essentially doomed. Initially excited, as Blackwater’s fall would make Wanlong Hall the largest mercenary group globally, Ye Chen’s reminder made him see that Blackwater’s end would spawn new groups—Whitewater, Redwater, Bluewater, Greenwater. He could not be too optimistic or overconfident, and he was indeed responsible for intelligence failures.
He replied at once, “Mr. Ye, rest assured, I will be fully vigilant, thoroughly collecting every move in Syria and the Middle East, building a solid intelligence operation. If anything like this happens again, I am willing to face military law for dereliction of duty.”
Though Wanlong Hall was a mercenary group, it operated with strict military discipline, with its own code, military laws, and even a military tribunal.
Wan Pojun’s stance was cutting off his own retreat. Though his responsibility was minor, his accountability satisfied Ye Chen, who did not offer leniency but cautioned, “Be cautious in all matters. Remember, pride leads to defeat.”
This was both a warning and an acknowledgment of his military pledge.
