As Ethan finished, the executives below wore expressions of anger. A few had veins standing out on their foreheads.
This Ethan Mercer was arrogant past all measure. They knew he was a top-tier figure in the research world, but when it came to business, what right did he have to give them orders?
Yet for all their displeasure, not a single one dared speak up first, as though wary of something.
Ethan gave a cold smile.
"Everyone. Whatever we say in this room today stays behind closed doors. Forget the media. There isn't even anyone from the government here. If there's something you want to say, don't hold back. Lay it out on the table, right here."
The assurance left them still somewhat suspicious. Finally, an executive in the second row spoke first.
"Since President Mercer puts it that way, we old-timers won't stand on ceremony. None of us will block New Future's rise. It's a project that serves the country and its people. We're businessmen, but we know when to advance and when to retreat before the national interest. But I'll also offer President Mercer a word of advice. Do not mistake our concessions for weakness. Otherwise the outcome won't be pleasant."
The words weren't heavy, but the threat underneath them was plain enough.
Feeling the tension, Reyes, standing to the side, broke into a cold sweat. He'd known today wouldn't be peaceful, but this was fast. Things had barely started, and someone was already directly threatening their Chairman.
Ethan's expression didn't shift in the slightest. He toyed with the teacup on the table and spoke with indifference.
"I'd be curious what kind of unpleasant outcome. Something along the lines of Sterling Energy?"
The instant the words landed, the room dropped to freezing, and the face of the man who'd spoken flushed red.
It was true. Even Sterling, the former leader of the Republic's energy sector, had been dragged down by the fierce man in front of them. He sat in the front row, but where did he find the nerve or the capital to threaten New Future?
Seeing their side's momentum suppressed, an old man in the front row spoke up.
"Ha. President Mercer, a single Sterling is nothing special. Without Maha's backing, who among us seated in the front row today would have given Liam Rouse a second glance?"
The front-row executives all flashed a look of disdain. If not for their wariness of that foreign giant, Rouse alone wouldn't have rated as their enemy.
After a slight pause, the old man went on.
"Since we've come, we've come with sincerity. When the invitations reached us two days ago, we met privately and worked out a proposal. President Mercer might as well hear it and judge whether it suits."
At that, the secretary behind the old man stepped forward and distributed documents to the New Future side, Ethan included.
It took a few minutes for the group to read the proposal through. The contents came down to three points.
One. The Hidden Dragon program's energy conversion could only be carried out in the eastern Republic. As for the west, New Future was to have no involvement.
Two. Apart from nuclear power, New Future would not step into other energy-related industries, such as storage equipment and pipelines.
Three. Annual maintenance, replacement, and other outsourced work must be handled by other firms. New Future could not resolve these internally. In exchange, New Future was to pay one-quarter of the Hidden Dragon program's profits.
Looking at the predatory terms on the page, Ethan laughed out of sheer anger.
"You people. Are you still living in some feudal century? You've gotten a little too comfortable playing landlord, haven't you? This is a new era. And as for this garbage proposal, what if I simply don't accept it?"
Ethan's raised voice carried through the venue. No one had expected that on an occasion like today, this man would toss decorum aside entirely and curse them in public.
In his corner seat, Colby's jaw nearly hit the floor. The man was playing completely off-script. With a single sentence he'd insulted every executive in the room. How was the negotiation supposed to proceed from here?
And just as Colby thought, these executives, accustomed to high positions and to being fawned over, could hardly stomach an insult from a young upstart. The room ignited on the spot. One hot-tempered billionaire slammed the table, shot to his feet, and jabbed a finger at Ethan.
"You uneducated brat. You will agree to this proposal today whether you want to or not, you..."
Ethan's face went dark in an instant.
Those who knew him knew there was no phrase he hated more in his life.
Seeing the man about to continue, Ethan's eyes flared, and he let out a roar.
"SHUT UP."
That single shout left the man who'd been speaking standing frozen, as though his soul had been snatched out of him. The noisy room cooled rapidly under the sharp reprimand.
That wasn't all. Under everyone's horrified eyes, the teacup Ethan had been toying with was crushed to fragments in his grip as his anger flared. And more incredible still, under that kind of force, Ethan's palm showed no sign of a single cut.
The room reeled. Was that even a human hand?
The executive who'd spoken so rudely snapped back to himself at the impossible sight, and wished he could slap himself twice. Why had he let his temper make him the one nail sticking up? Setting aside his identity as the Chairman of New Future, the young man in front of them held the title of the strongest living creature on Earth. Did the man have nine lives, or simply no wish to keep the one he had, to go provoking someone like that?
Sweeping a cold glance across the man, Ethan returned to the point.
"There is absolutely no chance I accept this so-called proposal. Now. Let me lay out New Future's proposal, and we'll look at it together."
"First. New Future will not involve itself in other energy-related industries. On this point we agree with what you proposed. I've never been one to hoard everything for myself. We're all citizens of the same country. I'll certainly leave some crumbs on the table."
"Second. Emerging industries."
That caught the room's interest.
"Once energy is abundant, it inevitably drives the rise of a whole batch of new industries. When that happens, I'll speak with the state personally to give the companies present here priority for the transformation opportunities."
"Third. New Future's dividends."
"I won't hide it from you. At the latest, once the Hidden Dragon program covers the whole eastern Republic, I move into the foreign market. As New Future's focus shifts abroad, vacancies open up in the domestic market. Whether you can step into them will come down to your own ability. And with us out front breaking the blockade those foreign predators have thrown up around you, the benefits, I trust, go without saying."