All of us are one

Chapter 29 Group Board of Directors

"Hmm, and then?" Jiang Yanming asked calmly.

"Aren't you curious about how the professor died?" Luca's voice was inquisitive.

"I'm not curious," Jiang Yanming replied calmly.

Of course he wasn't curious, because he was the one who killed Professor Tarot, and he only left after confirming Professor Tarot's death.

"Alright, Mr. Jiang," Luca continued, "I used to be Professor Tarot's assistant, and I was someone he trusted, but I didn't know that the professor had signed that contract with you."

"So you suspect the contract is fake?" Jiang Yanming asked.

"Of course not, that contract has been notarized by a law firm," Luca said solemnly. "I wanted to inform you that our chairman would like to invite Mr. Jiang to attend the new board meeting of the Victoria Group."

"That contract hasn't taken effect yet, has it?" Jiang Yanming asked, puzzled.

"The professor is dead, and legally speaking, you are the rightful heir to the professor's shares, so you are naturally qualified to attend the board meeting," Luca explained.

Jiang Yanming was silent for a moment, then asked, "When?"

"Tomorrow morning," Luca replied.

"I can participate..." Jiang Yanming agreed, then changed the subject, "but I have something to do this afternoon, so I have to leave at noon."

"I think this board meeting won't last too long. The main purpose is for Mr. Jiang to get to know the other directors so that he can participate in the voting in the future," Luca explained.

"Heh, I understand." Jiang Yanming sneered knowingly.

The chairman of the Victoria Group invited him to the board meeting, simply for the voting rights of his 2% stake, whose votes might determine major decisions within the group.

"Then I will be at the group headquarters tomorrow morning to welcome Mr. Jiang." Luca said with a faint smile.

"Okay," Jiang Yanming replied, then hung up the phone and continued driving to the warehouse.

……

Municipal Square.

Inside an office on the top floor of the Victoria Group headquarters building.

Seeing that the call had ended, Luca stood by the window, looking down at the bustling city square below, before quickly turning and walking toward the chairman's office.

dong dong!

Luca knocked on the office door.

"Is this Luca?" A dignified old man's voice came from the loudspeaker on the door.

"Yes, Chairman," Luca replied respectfully.

"Come in," the old man's voice rang out once again.

With permission, Luca opened the door and entered, his pupils immediately contracting sharply.

Because he saw his cousin, Arthur Al, who was two years younger than him, sitting in the seat that belonged to his grandfather!

An elderly man in a formal suit sat in a chair to the side and asked Arthur, who was holding a document, "What did you glean from the report?"

"The professor and his bodyguards underwent modifications, and the modifications differ slightly from those of our Four Nations Alliance; it's likely the Holy Alliance's modification plan." Arthur frowned, looking at the report in his hand. "So it seems quite possible that the professor has connections with the Holy Alliance?"

"Take a look at this again." The old man handed Arthur another document.

Arthur took the report and read it quickly, his eyes widening in shock. He immediately looked at his grandfather and asked, "What is this?"

"The modules implanted in Taro and his bodyguards are civilian modules from the Holy Union, as well as military modules that the Holy Union has phased out, and all the information storage modules are damaged." There was a hint of sadness in the old man's eyes. "The pulse rockets that attacked the villa have been confirmed to be newly developed military products of military technology."

"So, the professor really is connected to the Holy Alliance..." Arthur said incredulously, "and it was the Alliance officials who attacked the professor?"

Arthur initially thought that his friend had attacked the professor because of a personal grudge, but he did not expect that it would involve the official forces of the Holy Alliance and the Four Nations Alliance.

"Let's assume it was an official operation; it's difficult for us to investigate from the perspective of military technology." The old man shook his head slightly.

Arthur remained silent.

The Victoria Group, though a top-twenty industrial conglomerate within the Democratic Republic of St. Petersburg, is far inferior to the military-industrial technology companies whose industries span the four-nation alliance.

"How is the contact going?" The old man turned to look at Luca, who was waiting respectfully to the side.

"Chairman, I just got in touch with Mr. Jiang Yanming," Luca said respectfully. "Mr. Jiang has agreed to attend the group's board meeting, but he explained that he has important business to attend to this afternoon and needs to leave."

"Ah, I have important business this afternoon." The old man chuckled upon hearing this, then turned to Arthur and said, "It's about having afternoon tea with Lucy and you, isn't it?"

"Yes, Grandfather," Arthur replied from the side, a complex look in his eyes.

His grandfather was beside him when he received Lucy's invitation.

More importantly, he did not expect that his good friend Jiang would inherit the professor's shares in the Victoria Group and become the largest individual shareholder of the Victoria Group.

"Young man, it's good to have more contact with others." The old man gently patted Arthur's shoulder, got up from his chair and went to the French window. "Although Tarot has passed away unfortunately, our influence in the group has not diminished, and is even greater than before."

Arthur remained silent, deep in thought.

The Al family are the founders and major shareholders of the Victoria Group, but because the group's shares are too dispersed, they need to win over many shareholders in order to control the huge Victoria Group.

Their most important ally is the Green family!

"Luca, take a look at these too, and remember to destroy them after you're done." The old man returned to his chair and handed the documents he had just shown Arthur back to Luca. "Alright, go ahead."

"Yes, Chairman." Luca respectfully took the document, glanced at Arthur subtly, and turned to leave the office.

"Continue, you still have a lot of documents to read," the old man urged Arthur.

Upon hearing this, Arthur picked up the document, examined it carefully, and then offered his own insights.

……

3 PM.

It is located in an industrial park near the south of the city.

Jiang Yanming was sitting in the driver's seat of a car in the parking lot. When he saw a pickup truck drive into the parking lot, he opened the door and got out of the car.

"Junior Brother Jiang."

Kotak got out of the parked pickup truck and greeted Jiang Yanming in a hoarse voice.

"Mr. Jiang." Liya also arrived, her gaze towards Jiang Yanming subtle, a mixture of respect and wariness.

"You used a total of 26 electron pulse rockets. Of the remaining 74, I kept 20 for myself," Jiang Yanming said bluntly.

"Mr. Jiang, you said you would only keep 10." Liya frowned.

"There are only 54, do you want them or not?" Jiang Yanming didn't explain, his attitude was very firm.

"Then let's make 54," Kotak hurriedly said, stopping Lia who was about to speak.

"Each one costs 80 Naals, and the total for 54 pieces is 4320 million Naals," Jiang Yanming said. "I've already paid a deposit of 100 million Naals. After deducting the 1900 million Naals in commission fees, you still need to pay 2420 million Naals."

"No problem." Kotak gave Lia a wink, signaling her to take out the prepared contract.

"Mr. Jiang, please." Liya took out the contract, filled in the specific amount, and then handed it to Jiang Yanming.

"The stuff is inside." Jiang Yanming tossed the warehouse key to his senior brother Kotak, and then began signing the contract.

"I'll go take a look." Kotak took the keys and walked towards the warehouse.

Not long after, Kotak came out of the warehouse and nodded to Lia.

Liya took out her laptop, did a few operations, and then casually closed it, saying, "Mr. Jiang, the money has been transferred to your martial arts school account."

"Yes, I've received it." Jiang Yanming picked up his phone and saw that 2420 million Nare had been transferred into his account.

"It's been a pleasure working with you. If Mr. Jiang needs anything in the future, please feel free to contact us again." Liya extended her hand.

"I'll contact you if needed." Jiang Yanming shook hands with the other party. "I have other things to attend to, Senior Brother. You can leave the warehouse key at the martial arts hall."

"Okay." Kotak nodded, then watched Jiang Yanming drive away.

"Aren't you going to tell him about that?" Liya asked, somewhat puzzled.

"How so?" Kotak asked in a hoarse voice. "We're looking for a partnership, not a vassal relationship."

Liya was very puzzled: "The situation in the Northern Continent is becoming increasingly chaotic. You all say you want to join a big company, so why are you so unwilling to lower your pride?"

"The discussion was that if we joined a big company, we'd only become appendages, or even disposable henchmen," Kotak said solemnly. "But we didn't want that, at least that's not what I wanted!"

"Then what do we do? Continue risking our lives in the Northern Continent?" Liya said angrily. "I definitely don't want to; the danger level is much higher than before!"

They originally planned to continue their mercenary work in the Northern Continent after their vacation, hoping to save enough money to live the life of a millionaire in the future.

However, a sudden war broke out in the Northern Continent, which almost swept across the entire continent, causing the chaos and danger levels to rise sharply. Even an elite mercenary team like theirs did not want to continue taking risks in that environment.

"Let's take it one step at a time. The team still has enough funds for now," Kotak said helplessly. "The current situation in the North Continent is precisely when our equipment is valuable. If all else fails, we can risk selling it."

"Funding is no problem, but what about module maintenance?" Liya pressed.

"There will be a way. You only implanted a small number of modules, so there shouldn't be any problems in the short term." Kotak frowned.

"Damn it! I'll replace these modules with high-end ones someday!" Liya gritted her teeth, "so I don't have to maintain them all the time."

Kotak didn't respond. He was a pure martial artist, not a cyborg, and had no modules implanted in his body.

Cyborgs have a need for maintenance modules, especially combat modules. If a problem occurs during combat, it can be fatal!

"Let's not talk about that anymore." Liya composed herself and walked towards the warehouse door. "Let's go check on the electronic pulse rockets we bought."

Kotak followed, holding the warehouse key, ready to open the door.

……

the next day.

Jiang Yanming drove to the municipal square early in the morning, where the New Moon Municipal Government and the headquarters or branches of many large companies are located.

He parked his car on the roadside not far from the Victoria Group building, and then leisurely walked into the lobby on the first floor of the building.

"Mr. Jiang, this way."

As soon as Jiang Yanming entered the hall, he heard someone greeting him.

Jiang Yanming turned his head and saw a blond, blue-eyed young man dressed in a suit who looked somewhat like Arthur waving at him.

"Mr. Jiang, you've finally arrived." Luca greeted Jiang Yanming anxiously as he strolled over. "The group's directors and representatives are all here, and they're just waiting for you."

"You didn't say a specific time." Jiang Yanming followed the other person to the elevator and stopped in front of a private elevator, attracting the attention of the surrounding staff.

Luca was furious. Did this kind of thing really need a specific time? Shouldn't he have arrived before the normal start of work hours?

"Mr. Jiang, the chairman wants to see you after the board meeting." Luca suppressed his emotions and made his tone normal.

"For the voting rights I hold?" Jiang Yanming glanced at the other person.

"The chairman is my and Arthur's grandfather," Luca solemnly reminded him.

"Alright, let's meet then," Jiang Yanming agreed.

Since the other party was Arthur's grandfather, he couldn't refuse to meet him, and he wouldn't mind supporting him when voting.

The elevator ascended, and Jiang Yanming glanced at it; their destination was the top floor.

……

Top floor, conference room.

At a large, long table, middle-aged men and women dressed in formal attire sat in comfortable chairs, waiting for the board meeting to begin.

"This new director is quite the big shot. He actually made so many of us directors and directors' representatives wait for him all by himself."

"Tch, if you were connected to the Divine Martial Kingdom and its military technology, you could have the same grand display. Anyway, I don't mind waiting."

"The Divine Martial Kingdom? Military technology? Who is this new director?"

"No matter who they are, anyone who can be associated with either of these two parties is someone you can't afford to offend."

"Tsk, no wonder the professor died yesterday and the board meeting is being held today. So that's what's going on."

"If you don't want to offend anyone, just shut up and don't say anything irrelevant."

Whispers filled the meeting room as directors and their representatives discussed the backgrounds of the new directors.

Whoosh!

Suddenly the conference room door was pushed open.

Luca entered the conference room first, and everyone's attention was focused on Jiang Yanming behind him.

"He doesn't have any mixed-race features, so he's definitely a descendant of the Shenwu Kingdom. I just don't know if he actually came from the Shenwu Kingdom."

"According to the information, he is a resident of the southern district of Tsukishima Island and a genuine citizen of the Kingdom of Shinmu."

"Hmm...isn't he Mr. Jiang's son?"

Upon seeing Jiang Yanming, everyone in the conference room, whether well-informed or not, had their own thoughts.

"Distinguished directors, board representatives," Luca introduced to everyone from the front of the conference table, "This Mr. Jiang Yanming will inherit Professor Tarot's shares on June 10th, and he will also become a new director of my Victoria Group."

The directors and their representatives applauded, unwilling to offend Director Jiang, who had a distinguished background, even though he would only inherit Professor Tarot's shares next month.

"Director Jiang, let me introduce you to the members of the board of directors of our Victoria Group."

"This is Ms. Tina, the board representative of Military Technology."

"This is Mr. Earl, the board representative of the Green Foundation."

"And this is...?"

Through the introductions, Jiang Yanming got to know all the members of the Victoria Group's board of directors.

After the introductions, the board meeting concluded. Jiang Yanming exchanged brief pleasantries with the board members before preparing to meet with the chairman of the Victoria Group, who was also Arthur's grandfather.