"Alright, now tell me, what does your Chairman Jian want me to do to help him clear his ranks? He must have already told you, right?"
Lin Lan sat calmly on the sofa in the ship's cabin with Sun Dewang. He looked at Sun Dewang and spoke in a neutral tone.
"Uh, my lord, this is quite a long story..."
"Then make it short. Organize your words before speaking," Lin Lan said, giving Sun Dewang a stern look.
He wasn't interested in the internal power struggles or factional competition within the Tian'ou Group.
He just needed to eliminate the enemies and establish his authority.
Originally, when Jian Qian'ou suddenly decided to submit the Tian'ou Group to him, Lin Lan already sensed that not all the senior executives of the Tian'ou Group would accept this decision.
Tian'ou Group had, on the surface, always been under the control of the Zhu Hai Commercial Association.
Now that the Battleaxe Military Corporation was about to go to war with Tian'ou Group, the visible strength of Tian'ou Group certainly couldn't compare to that of Battleaxe.
The internal factions would surely be anxiously jumping out to challenge him.
Jian Qian'ou had suggested that Lin Lan personally go to the Tian'ou Group's headquarters in Yunhai City.
He must have wanted to use this opportunity to eliminate those wavering elements within the Tian'ou Group.
This was beneficial for both Lin Lan and Jian Qian'ou, as it would make future cooperation between them more convenient.
After being stared at by Lin Lan, Sun Dewang swallowed, waiting for nearly half a minute before speaking to Lin Lan about the purpose of this invitation:
"My lord, in the permanent board of directors of Tian'ou Group in Yunhai City, there are three board members: Qing, Yang, and Su."
"Chairman Jian Qian'ou, however, does not serve on the permanent board, but his decisions must be unconditionally obeyed by all the board members. He is the real power holder."
"Currently, Director Yang has secretly allied with a group of people who are unwilling to follow Chairman Jian's orders.
They intend to go against Chairman Jian's commands and grow closer to the Battleaxe Military Corporation and the Zhu Hai Commercial Association."
Hearing this, Lin Lan understood that Jian Qian'ou wanted him to eliminate Director Yang.
"My lord's existence is already known to many people inside Tian'ou.
As long as you act and kill Director Yang, others will obediently follow you and Chairman Jian without any second thoughts."
Lin Lan nodded. With this, things became much simpler.
He then reached into his pocket, took out a small axe-shaped badge, and threw it to Sun Dewang.
"My lord, this is... a Shield Generator! Isn't this Battleaxe Military Corporation's secret weapon?"
Sun Dewang caught the axe badge, studied it for a moment, then gasped, his eyes wide in astonishment.
"You're quite perceptive. This now belongs to you. As for how to charge it, I don't need to say more," Lin Lan said casually.
This axe badge was something Lin Lan had acquired during the chaos at the Battleaxe Military Corporation's banquet in Yalang City.
He had brought it along with several other Shield Generators to Yunhai City for the upcoming trade conference.
After all, it was of no use to him, so he planned to exchange them for oil at the conference.
"Th-thank you, my lord!" Sun Dewang said excitedly, standing up from the sofa, holding the Shield Generator tightly.
He was about to kneel, but Lin Lan's displeased look made him obediently sit back down.
This was a highly controlled technological product from Battleaxe Military Corporation. Even Tian'ou Group only had a few of them, tightly controlled by the board of directors.
"Now, tell me about Yunhai City.
I want to know more about the Western Mainland Science Institute and the church built by the Holy Teaching Nation in Yunhai City," Lin Lan said as he looked out the window, where Z23 and the little merchant Akashi were watching Sui Qiong fly into the sky.
Upon hearing Lin Lan's question, Sun Dewang, a native of Yunhai City, immediately replied:
"To answer your lordship, the East and West Mainland Science Institutes were formerly official scientific organizations of the Orlan United States, which were acquired by the Zhu Hai Commercial Association. They then established a science and technology company."
"The West Mainland Science Institute was originally jointly managed by Battleaxe Military Corporation and Tian'ou Group."
"Later, Battleaxe Military Corporation chose to go independent and established its own military-industrial research institute, cutting off funding for the West Mainland Science Institute.
So, now the West Mainland Science Institute is under the control of Tian'ou."
Lin Lan understood now.
No wonder Jian Qian'ou had been so quick to elevate Lin Lan to the position of acting president of the Tian'ou Group in Yunhai City.
The West Mainland Science Institute had essentially become the research and development department of Tian'ou Group, or a subsidiary specifically focused on naval research, earning money for the Ministry of the Navy.
Lin Lan could directly go to the West Mainland Science Institute and acquire the oil exploration technology there—this would be his own property.
"As for the church of the Educator Nation... I haven't really visited it.
Currently, it's mostly managed and operated by some followers of the Educator Nation, and very few Orlan people go there."
Sun Dewang continued explaining the current situation of the church in Yunhai City.
Lin Lan understood this situation. After all, the people of the Orlan United States had never believed in God, only in mechas and weapons.
As long as the church was still intact and operating, that was enough.
He planned to buy the church and use it to hold a grand oath ceremony for Sui Qiong.
After chatting with Sun Dewang for a while longer, Lin Lan instructed him to stay on the mass-production destroyer during this period and left the cabin.
On the deck, both Akashi and Z23, the two little girls, happily came up to him and took his hand.
"Commander, are you going back to the front mass-production destroyer?" asked Z23, the little secretary ship, in her brown coat, looking up at Lin Lan seriously.
"Not yet. Let's wait until Sui Qiong comes down, then we'll go together," Lin Lan said with a gentle smile, adjusting the beret on Nimi's head, which had been blown crooked by the cold sea breeze.
"Akashi, did you finish the lottery mobile app I asked you to make?"
Lin Lan turned to the green-haired little merchant, who was dressed in a cute winter outfit and holding his other hand.
"Meow, it's already done. Commander, do you want to try it?" Akashi mischievously smiled and pulled out a phone from her oversized sleeve, placing it in Lin Lan's hand.
Tian'ou Group had sent a lot of supplies to the port recently, including communication devices like phones.
Since Akashi managed most of these supplies, it was no surprise that she had a phone.
Lin Lan stroked Nimi's head with one hand and swiped the phone screen with the other.
The first thing that caught his eye was a colorful wheel, surrounded by promotional images like warships and carrier aircraft.
At the top of the wheel was a counter showing "0" and a rendered purple piece of equipment, looking like a premium item.
Lin Lan had spent some time deciding on the final prize, and it was the purple-quality fuel filter.
Don't ask why—he had once seen that this piece of equipment added durability and mobility, so he treated it as a treasure, resulting in a few stocked in the Ironblood warehouse.
But in reality, it was just a piece of junk, inferior even to repair tools.
Looking at the counter and fuel filter, Lin Lan smiled slightly. He could already imagine the pain this counter would bring to the naval department officials at the upcoming trade conference.
The wheel had many segments, each with a corresponding prize.
There were white and blue equipment boxes (Akashi and Shiranui painted versions, with probabilities based on the game), exquisite gems, and some unknown cute cat faces.
As for these prizes, Lin Lan had already asked Akashi to go to Bismarck to get them, and they were all prepared and stored in Akashi's ship equipment storage.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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