I Don't Agree to the Terms

"Sir, the public opinion has been growing recently, and there seem to be quite a few grievances among the senior members of Jile Technology," the butler said worriedly.

"Ah? Do you still believe the stuff online?" Gu Shanhai had a somewhat odd expression, knowing well how severe the divide was between the council and the lower levels, and with the price of basic commodities nearly doubling, the council was still thriving.

"As for the senior members having grievances, let them pack their bags and get out."

Gu Shanhai didn't indulge these so-called senior officials, who were mixed up with council members, and he turned a blind eye on such matters as long as they didn't involve core interests. After all, this was part of human relations.

It also allowed Gu Shanhai to influence the council members indirectly through these officials.

But their audacity to express grievances was despicable when Gu Shanhai was extremely generous in compensation. If they were dissatisfied, then he would just have to replace them.

With Jile Technology's power within the Navia Empire, he knew countless people would be eager to join.

It was just a matter of vacancies being hard to fill; now that some were foolishly giving up their positions, he was aware that many were sharpening their heads to squeeze in.

"This... wouldn't that be bad? It's just some complaints, and if we fire them now, could it stir discontent among other employees?" The butler hesitated, finding Gu Shanhai too capricious.

"Those who dare to complain today may betray the company tomorrow. Is it because the benefits or the work environment of Jile Company are inadequate?" Gu Shanhai scoffed.

"No, neither," the butler stuttered before adding, "But they haven't done anything wrong, we can't just fire them without reason."

"So what? Do you really think I'm unaware of what they've been up to?" Gu Shanhai looked at the butler.

His words were not only a dismissal notice for the senior officials who felt Jile Technology was not good enough due to collusion with the council but also a warning to the butler.

He knew what those Jile Technology executives were thinking, just aiming for shares, feeling that their hard work deserved a stake, and aspiring to rise from employees to shareholders.

The butler was simply getting conceited because he was in contact with many people and received various favours, so he occasionally thought of persuading Gu Shanhai to change his policies.

Now, Gu Shanhai was considering replacing the butler or perhaps, more straightforwardly, not using a butler at all and remotely controlling things with the Four Sacred Beasts System instead.

Killing the butler wasn't necessary, letting him remain as a powerless butler responsible only for miscellaneous tasks around the estate would suffice.

The butler clearly did not understand Gu Shanhai's instructions and continued, "This way, the profits of Jile Technology keep deteriorating."

"As long as the stock price rises, that's all that matters." Gu Shanhai was utterly indifferent, not a fool as some might think.

Jile Technology's reach had extended into various fields, forming multiple monopolies, and the recent price hikes were due to Jile Technology's monopolies within various industry chains.

The council knew of these matters, but now most of the councillors were preoccupied with the virtual universe and barely paid attention to these issues. Even if some councillors noticed, they wouldn't intervene to regulate, but rather collude with Jile Technology to make money together.

Of course, Jile Technology's monopoly was not primarily for profit-making but to further solidify the foundation of "LIFE," the virtual reality technology. He knew the exchange from game currency to real currency inherently didn't create value. Even if it did lead to a Ponzi scheme-like situation, it wasn't sustainable.

The butler seemed reluctant but noticed Gu Shanhai's impatience and didn't dare continue.

He wouldn't oppose Gu Shanhai over some 'small gifts' he received, knowing his place well, aware that everything he had came from Gu Shanhai, not merely because of his position as a butler.

Even if it didn't work out, he still kept the gifts. Once the butler left, Gu Shanhai stripped him of his powers and transferred all the tasks to the Four Sacred Beasts System, leaving the butler to honestly manage his collection of antiques and relics. If any issues arose later, he would make him the scapegoat.

Gu Shanhai could tolerate the butler taking little things on the side as long as he remained loyal and effective. Such minor issues were of no concern to Gu Shanhai.

Sadly, taking his salary while attempting to harm his interests was unacceptable, and Gu Shanhai could not employ him any longer, possibly leading to a betrayal someday.

As for potentially harboring resentment, that was irrelevant; treating someone as a scapegoat naturally involved a change in their emotional state, it wasn't possible to expect them to be grateful while plotting their demise.

"Recently, there has indeed been some good news," Gu Shanhai looked at a new type of energy in his hand.

This energy was derived from the concept of life, which he named Spiritual Energy, a relative energy to Ghost Energy.

The Spiritual Energy in his hand was pure, original Spiritual Energy, similar to the original Ghost Energy within him.

Indeed, the two Secondary Ghost Energy Seeds had been transformed back into their original form through processes like fusion, inversion, and purification.