And when the word was spread that Erickson Steel was given a foreignÆ designation there have been some retaliation against us Not by the government But by regular people Being considered foreign are workers are classified so they arenÆt able to obtain any citizenship other than probationary Often Erickson Steel workers are refused service at restaurants and stores Which is why we built up more infrastructure here so most people can just live in our facilities without worry
RandidlyÆs expression darkened It took an effort of will to keep his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom from making an appearance at that moment After all Erickson Steel was ultimately his These were his people To hear that they were being discriminated against immediately set his teeth on edge Especially after his own drawn out experiences trying to gain citizenship in Zone 1
They classify our employees Randidly said softly
Tatiana grimaced Honestly itÆs a good thing for us If the effect wasnÆt permanent more people would be tempted to switch over But mostly its a recent law passed to keep us from expanding any further
While thinking about the callous actions of the Zone 1 government Randidly rapidly composed a message and sent it to Naffur requesting that he pack up and head South to assist in the Erickson Steel as soon as possible In addition Randidly added that he planned on establishing an official base for the Order Ducis
Then as an afterthought Randidly recalled that Naffur came up out of the Orchard In a second message Randidly requested Naffur arrange for a new batch of recruits be picked from the OrchardÆs lottery system with the possibility of entering the Order Ducis as a reward
Those recruits of course would come and work for Erickson Steel in the meantime
When RandidlyÆs gaze refocused on Tatiana she noticed his attention and continued to speak In terms of number there are about 600 people living and working on the Erickson Steel campus About as many again that work in our delivery side taking our materials and transporting them to different locations Plus we have branch members working in most major cities
Well pull them all back Randidly said offhandedly They needed to reestablish their relationship with the world if they wanted to quickly shake off these annoyances from bothering Erickson Steel Best to do that from a consolidated state
As Randidly watched Tatiana slowly turn increasingly pale as she considered the implications of what he just said Randidly finally took a drink of the liquor that she had given to him Immediately a tingling sense of numbness spread across his mouth Randidly grinned in pleasure
Not only was the alcohol strong enough to affect his powerful physical body but he could also immediately feel the tyrannical possessiveness in his heart that demanded retribution against these bugs slowly ease and relax The anger and vindictive emotions became foggy and drifted away no longer urging his images to mobilize
Randidly finished the rest of the glass enjoying the tingling numbness that spread down to his throat Honestly the feeling was quite a lot like having his face touched by the Tinglesilk Gloves
Even though she was still gritting her teeth Tatiana recovered enough to speak I can see why you would want to lessen the avenues the Zone 1 government can use to strike back but if we recall our people we will not sell metal Without sales we have no money Without money we cannot pay our workers or the bank We will starve ourselves without those branches in operation
How much better is Erickson Steel than its competitors Randidly asked with a small smile
Tatiana bristled at the question Of course as much as 20% better in turns of strength or reliability at the top end Less so in the middling products But
Then wonÆt people come here on their own accord Unless they want to use inferior metals Randidly said casually He too was unsure if it would work out perfectly but there were some things that you could only learn by acting Worrying about it would help not at all
Besides He lifted his gaze and peered out a nearby window toward the horizon Although he looked what Randidly was really doing was expanding the scope of his Aether scans to scan the nearby train tracks The tools are all there All it takes is a Crown and the will to bear its weight
Very quickly he found what he was looking for and turned back to Tatiana Also look into getting a working train car for our track As soon as possible Customers will need an easy way to get here for as long as we are going to remain at this location actually no never mind IÆll take care of it personally
There is another problem Tatiana was shaking her head rapidly now her soft brown hair bouncing wildly All trail lines are technically the property of the Zone One government Possessing a train car is not illegal but selling or buying one is We cannot
Tatiana I wonÆt be buying a train car Randidly sighed I get it You have guided Erickson Steel well even while targeted on all sides I can see how difficult it has been While you were doing that you could only rely on your wits Erickson Steel would cease to be if you did not take all the right steps You played by the rules But now we donÆt need to play by the rules any longer I can deal with the consequences
It would be much easier to just produce one himself
Tatiana was quiet for several seconds looking at Randidly with a confused gaze what does that even mean
Tykes hands flexed as though he was imagining squeezing his huge iron ball It means it’s time to run wild
Chapter 960
Several hours later as he was preparing to eat an extremely early lunch Evan Crane tapped his newly acquired cigar against the side of his desk
Tap
But he only tapped it once After that first tap the man paused as he tried to slowly unpack the statement that his subordinate had just reported to him For several seconds it was difficult to believe his ears were working properly Evan set down his cigar Slowly he pivoted away from his salmon topped salad to stare at the man What did you say
Erickson Steel has packed up its branches and brought all personnel back to its headquarters The man repeated This didnÆt just happen in Zone 1 apparently it happened across every Zone The Erickson Steel representatives told customers that all previously made contracts can still be redeemed but only by proceeding directly to Erickson Steel Headquarters to obtain the metals
They Evan sat upward frowning down at his chilled salmon like it could provide him answers Yet it only sat there Perhaps it slowly decomposed as the warm room buzzed against its chilled body Do they really think people will take the time to traipse over to their headquarters to obtain their metal
Most people already are The subordinate dutifully reported Although most people are complaining there is already a train line in place that
They have a train line Evan hissed He was aware that they had some handcarts operating out of convenience but if they actually established a train line
But wait the cornerÆs of EvanÆs mouth curled slowly upward into a sinister smile If you have a train line doesnÆt that mean it falls under the sway of the Zone Transportation Board Heh youÆve dug your own grave with this
Feeling very satisfied Evan picked up the tobacco and took another long drag from his cigar The subordinateÆs expression turned aggrieved as seconds continued to tick past while Evan inhaled Then after almost fifteen seconds Evan opened his mouth and released a stream of industrial waste directly toward the face of the subordinate
Alright hereÆs what we do Evan said Even if customers still want their metal get the bank to send a representative to Erickson Steel Use the pulling of the branches as an excuse no matter what I want to know if thereÆs something special going on in there Hehe I refuse to believe they wonÆt lose a bunch of business from this idiotic move