The main building of the Silver Candle Club is located in the Cruze neighborhood, which is also the headquarters of the Silver Candle Society on the entire plain of herding horses.

The marble façade has an ancient, intelligent carved style, and at the top of the door number is an open book, with the blessing of magic, the translucent stone pages are turned from time to time, and the magical light escaping from it reflects the rainbow light during the day, and is more dazzling than the golden moon at night.

The predecessor of the Silver Candle Society can be traced back to the period of the city-state, when the "Silver Candle City", which upheld absolute neutrality, already existed, and 1/5 of the city's population was scholars.

Also known as the City of Wisdom, the City of Prophets, and more, the city has been taught by successive kings who have unified the plains of the horses, and Leoric is no exception. From that time on, the sound of carols and reading was heard every day in the city, even more majestic than the choir of the church.

It is said that there is a group of madmen living in the city, but when they say this, they always speak with respect.

To this day, the Silver Candlestick has not changed substantially. At that hearing, Mu Yan questioned the students what aristocracy was, and in fact, only this group of madmen still maintained their original aristocratic integrity.

The "stone book" that had been opened seemed to be just a decoration, but in fact it opened a soundproof barrier to isolate the scholars' reading and discussion, and the reason for this was because of the complaints of the nobles of the Cruze neighborhood today, who said that the group was too noisy.

So this group of people has never changed, what has changed is the environment.

Today, however, the book is isolated from quarrels rather than arguments.

……

Robert Noyce, the shrewdest of the four second-in-command of the Horn of Kane, is also the most loyal lackey of William Shockley, the head of the Chamber of Commerce.

Because of this loyalty, he was given the opportunity to negotiate with the Silver Candle Society, and it was he who ordered Gawain to start researching the headband, and did not hesitate to fire the latter after the accident.

Robert was a discerning man, and he could tell at a glance that the maker of the headband was a guy with brains, completely different from other naïve students.

Others don't know why the headband explodes, but he knows it all too well, it's nothing more than an "anti-cracking" device added in advance. The senior advisors in charge of cracking the magic pattern in the horn of Kane are all at least master-level, and they have never missed a beat for so many years, how can they be planted on a young man in his early twenties? The only explanation is that he did it on purpose.

After all, he has done too much similar work, just like pickpockets have a strong sense of anti-theft, he thought of this for the first time.

It also reminded him of his predecessors, an old gentleman who had now climbed to the top and became one of the board members. It was he who saw the potential of Ian Gertel's research and designed to easily take the mana refining technique from his hand, bringing more gold coins to the Horn of Kane than to be measured by numbers......

And because of this technology, they have also achieved the feat of going abroad and expanding their business to neighboring countries!

Whether it is Morning Star or Turing, there is also a large amount of magical transportation, although it is not as dependent as a country with highly developed magic technology such as Jialan, but it is also an indispensable part of the energy supply. Therefore, as long as the service fee offered by the horn of Kane does not exceed half of the cost of transportation, there is no reason for Morningstar and Turing to refuse.

Robert saw the same opportunity from this failed deal, and he also wanted to replicate that feat, get Mu Yan's technology without much effort, and then set off a new industrial revolution to raise the strength of Kane's Horn to another level. The contract that Ian hastily wrote was approved by him, the purpose of which was to probe Mu Yan's tone, and use William Shockley's mouth to belittle this technology, and take the opportunity to lower the price.

If he succeeds, he will be able to buy out the technology at a bargain price. If you fail, you can know what the other person wants...... In any case, he has a back hand.

However, he never expected that the young man would cleverly bypass the contract and choose to contact the scholars of the Silver Candle Society directly, and also obtained the only "magic refining" technique he wanted from his own hands, and then even rebelled, almost making Kane's Horn unable to mix in the Demon Nexus District!

Upon hearing the news, Robert angrily broke his beloved pipe.

On the one hand, his plan went bankrupt, and on the other hand, and more importantly, this group of hens who usually only lay eggs will fight back?

Don't they understand their situation?

It seems that yes, the horn of Kane was too kind to them, which led them to think like this, which in Robert's eyes was a naked betrayal.

So he decided to wear out this insignificant will to resist and make them more obedient.

At the same time, also in order to continue their own plans.

……

"The material expenditure part, including potions, demonic beast organs, and energy supply, a total of three major items and seventeen small items, will be reduced by 15%......

"The service provision part, including new scholars' workshop visits, technical training, and magic instrument maintenance, will be reduced by 20% in three major and eleven sub-items......"

As he spoke, he glanced at all the scholars, and all the scholars dared to be angry but did not dare to speak, so he scolded in his heart, and continued:

"In addition, the free workshop tour will be available for a fee, and from next month, you will have to apply for it three days in advance......

"Why?" Finally someone couldn't help it.

Robert licked his lips, his mouth was a little dry after reading for so long, and finally a strap stood up......

"Because every time you visit, we have to slow down the magic device, or even stop working, and that's a loss. In addition, there are additional costs for the consultant who will be responsible for the presentation, which adds up to more than we budget. ”

"You are naked exploitation!!"

"How can this be called exploitation? Mr. Barria, didn't the last accident caused by the restlessness of an apprentice take place while you were leading the tour? ”

"Well, that's not the same thing!" Barria blushed, "The cadet, he, he just wanted to remind you that a worker looks too sleepy, and he needs to rest or his life will be in danger!" ”

"So he stopped the assembly line without permission?" Robert smiled: "We have a robust employee health protection system that has been praised by the royal family, and you don't need to worry about that. And from an objective point of view, he did cause us a loss. You can't argue with that, can you? ”

After a pause, he continued, "There's a lot more to it like that. Ladies and gentlemen, you are scholars, and I understand that you have contributed knowledge to the Cape of Kane, and I am grateful...... However, while I understand you, I also ask you to understand us with a rational mind.

"All you need to do is sit in the lab and use your pen and brain, and enjoy the thermostat circle and incense. And so many of us in the Cape of Kane have to go back and forth, in the scorching sun or cold wind, to negotiate and confer with people, and to fight for a small profit. What is all this for? Isn't it still to earn more money to provide you with a comfortable and comfortable environment, so that you can play better, so that the people of Jialan can live a more convenient and happy life?

The crowd was silent.

As mentioned above, this is a pure scholarly atmosphere, so they don't know much about this, and there are so many scholars in the Silver Candle Society, but they don't study economics such as supply and demand from the perspective of the market, or the people who study these eventually become part of Kane's Horn.

This group of people had no idea how valuable their ideas were.

They did understand that this could be converted into money, but they didn't know exactly how much, or how much the Horn of Kane would spend and earn. Many scholars came here with the intention of benefiting Jialan, so they were extremely pure and religious, and now, this piety and purity have become their cage.

It has to be said that Kane's Horn is very clever in its treatment of these scholars, rarely leading them to visit the links involving intuitive money, but more so that the young scholars can see the nobles whose lives have been significantly improved, so that they can realize that they are indeed making the life of the Jialan people more convenient. Subtly, young scholars will even blush for their "insatiable" greed because of Robert's "bitter words" just now......

"So, the understanding is mutual, folks. Never speculate about what you don't know, and the more you know, the more you feel, and you know that better than I do. ”

Robert concluded.

"But it's you guys who are pressing hard!" Another scholar stepped forward. "This is the third reduction in 10 years, a total of 40% less than before, but your business is ......"

"Hasn't our business been affected? This gentleman, whom I can't name. Do you really know what you're talking about? Anyone with a discerning eye knows that Kane's Horn is nothing more than a money-making machine for the Silver Candle Society, just like your hands, the Silver Candle Society is the brain that controls it! Now that these hands are becoming more and more stiff and less flexible, shouldn't you reflect on the root of the problem?

"And do you think that there is so much gold in Kane's Horn that there is nowhere to store it, so much so that it fills the trading floor, and everyone lies asleep on it like a dragon?" Robert scoffed, "It's naïve for you to think that gold coins can only buy things that are visible to the naked eye!" Ladies and gentlemen, there are more ways to spend money in this world!

"The team that visited Morningstar a year ago was devastated, and the Cape of Kane provided them with free teleportation and medical supplies, as did the trip to the White Rock Mine six months ago. In addition, we donate large sums of money to the Elemental Tower to ask the goddess to bless your health, and sometimes we have to offer to fill the void in the treasury to get a lower tax rate...... Can you think of these expenses? ”

The scholars were silent, and several young people bowed their heads in shame.

Oh, what a fool to deceive. Robert said in his heart, even more indignant on the surface.

"We've given so much, but what about the Silver Candle?

"This time the Horn of Kane has suffered an unprecedented crisis of confidence, and the Jialan Academy is even planning to unilaterally sever the cooperative relationship with us, while Professor Ian of your organization has fallen into the trap and colluded with our enemies......"

"How is this possible? Principal William is not such a person, and neither is Professor Ian! A scholar stood up and said angrily: "You are slandering! It's a distraction! I won't fall for you! ”

"How is it impossible," Robert smiled, "he has admitted it himself, so why do you bother to protect him like this?" Ladies and gentlemen, you should probably ask Wendell about this, and ask him if it is what your elders declared...... After all, he was the one who knew Mr. Ian best. ”

"Wendell?"

Scholars looked around and found no sign of him.

Similarly, Professor Ian is not there......

Suddenly someone realized, "Mr. Robert, shouldn't you talk to the president about this?" Why say it to us? ”

Robert smiled.

"Me? I'm not qualified enough ......"

……

At the top of the Silver Candle Castle, in the red-carpeted president's office, Professor Ian, Wendell, William Shockley, and the president of the Silver Candle Society were all there.

“…… That's all for the specific reductions, and other losses are still being calculated. William lifted his glasses, and the chip reflected an emotionless divine light.

Ian sighed, his eyes not even looking to Wendell's side.

His apprentice was cowering behind William, not daring to look up.

The so-called drunken gaffe is just a cover-up. Drinking is wrong, so academics rarely drink alcohol - at least that's how Ian asks for an apprentice.

As for why Wendell did this, what's the point of asking that now? Young people always have 10,000 reasons to hide their impulses, but the results are always similar.

"Is this your ultimatum?" Ian smiled self-deprecatingly, and the old man looked extremely tired.

"You joked, cooperation is based on mutual trust between the two sides, we have shown goodwill, where did the 'ultimatum' come from?" William smiled, showing his neat teeth, but with a cold glow.

Ian stared at him and asked rhetorically, "Is it that as long as I leave the Silver Candle Society, this cut will be canceled?" ”

"Mr. Ian, you-"

"Shut up!" Ian glared at the president.

The latter consciously shut up. The other party is a person who worked with his father, and after his father passed away, he helped him for a long time, so it can be said that he is also a brother and a father.

And he could do nothing but clench his fists and feel a deep sense of powerlessness at this time.

"Oh...... There is no causal relationship. William smiled: "However, according to the regulations, when there is a change in your personnel, we will reconsider the cooperation between the two sides, and there may be a turnaround ...... at that time."

"Okay, I'll leave."

Ian ripped off the badge on his chest and slapped it on the table.

"Please leave now, Your Excellency."

"That's unfortunate, Professor Ian." William feigned grief: "I witnessed such a scene, and one of the senators left the Silver Candle Society......"

"Put away your cowdness, William, it's disgusting."

"As you wish." William instantly changed his face and said with a smile: "Tomorrow will bring the result of the renegotiation, I hope it will be ...... at that time."

"I was out of the house then, and you couldn't see me."

"Good. Goodbye, then, Lord Ian. ”

William left, without looking at Wendell, who was like a dog wagging his tail and begging for mercy, and looked extremely flustered after his master left.

The president was silent for a long time, and only a sigh remained.

"Why are you bothered......

"We can't change the environment, we can only adapt, and do everything we can to slow down the pace of perdition." Ian sighed, "That's what your father told me back then. Somebody is going to change that, I believe that, and have done so. ”