Chapter 444 Alliance~~

prise welled up inside him.Seeing how smoothly He Ren threw out the basketball and how accurate his shots were made Zhao Jiayin’s sense of wonder turn to shock!How… did he do thatSeeing He Ren hit sho...Chapter 444: Alliance~~

The four members of the Hao Ren family, the three members of the Zhao Yanzi family, plus Lu sisters, Xie Yujia, Su Han, Zhen Cunming, and Little White made this platform, which was originally not crowded, somewhat narrow.

Huang Xujie, who was with his father, widened his eyes in surprise to see Su Han here as well. After all, the Su Han at school never participated in any public activities.

Of course, what surprised him even more was that not only did Su Han appear in this sea of people but also walked up onto the platform side by side with Hao Ren and his parents!

Rumors had been circulating at school that Su Han was a distant cousin of Hao Ren. Now it seemed their relationship was closer than previously thought!

In the past, Su Han wouldn't even let boys come within half a meter of her, but now, she and Hao Ren were practically shoulder to shoulder!

A strong sense of jealousy burned in Huang Xujie's heart.

How could he know that today was also the first time Hao Ren's parents met Su Han. And indeed, Hao Ren and Su Han’s relationship had become closer because they were both Level Three Reviewers and jointly responsible for Donghai City!

"Young Master!" The Lu sisters stood behind Hao Ren, their chests almost touching his back.

"It's a bit crowded," Xie Yujia gently pulled at Hao Ren’s sleeve and said.

Xie Yujia had become even more beautiful and elegant after reaching the Foundation Establishment realm. The Lu sisters were like two lively firecrackers, but they didn’t give Huang Xujie so much as a glance.

The Lu sisters had high standards and naturally looked down on Huang Xujie, while Xie Yujia disliked him due to his past actions against Hao Ren.

Mayor Wu also felt that it was too crowded in the corner of the platform where he stood. He hadn’t expected Hao Zhonghua and Zhao Guang to bring so many people up here, but he couldn't ask these children to leave either. So he turned to look at Mayor Huang beside him and said, "Um..."

Deputy Mayor Huang understood Mayor Wu's meaning immediately and said, "Xujie, you wanted to go see the bridgehead, right Let’s go take a look."

Huang Xujie couldn’t argue. He didn't even have a chance to speak before his father dragged him towards the stairs.

Today he had followed his Deputy Mayor father to watch the dragon boat race and was delighted with his privilege of standing on Xu Chuan Bridge's platform for the best view. Yet now Hao Ren and the others arrived, pushing them away.

But there was no choice; the vice mayor in charge of the economy could run again, but internationally renowned scientist Hao Zhonghua only had one chance! The gathering effect brought by Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang is making the Donghai City region consisting of several cities around it form a large-scale high-tech industrial chain!

Not only did national research grants keep pouring in, some well-known international companies were willing to invest in the Donghai Region.

The economic linkage effect and city brand image brought by Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang to Donghai City far outweighed that of a vice mayor in charge of the economy!

"Mayor Wu, I'll go check on the situation over there..."

"Morning Express reporters are looking for me..."

"There's also an afternoon meeting at the Land Bureau; I should get there early..."

The vice mayors in charge of transportation, culture, planning and so on all found excuses to retreat towards the stairway.

"Haha," Mayor Wu laughed heartily. "Let me introduce you: This is Mr. Qin Shaoyang, a famous painter; this is Mr. Zeng Xin, chairman of the Tyrant Group; and this is Mr. Zeng's grandson."

He then turned slightly to say, "These two are the renowned Academicians Hao and Yue; this is Zhao Guang, chairman of Tomorrow Group, and his wife, famous architect Zhao Hongyu. I believe you all know each other."

"Hello...

Hello..."

They exchanged pleasantries.

Hao Ren kept a close watch on Zeng Xin for any signs of movement. Zeng Yitao glared at Hao Ren with resentment but obediently remained beside his grandfather.

A few days ago in the Dragon God Temple, Hao Ren hadn't paid much attention. Now, holding an Inspector's token, he could clearly see that Zeng Yitao was emitting faint Level Separation cultivation energy.

He recalled that Zeng Yitao had already been completely crippled in his cultivation abilities; now, the fact that he could start cultivating again must have been a result of Zeng Xin taking him to the Dragon God Temple and trading for resources.

To allow a cultivator who was totally disabled to cultivate once more, the Dragon God Temple truly had its ways.

However, since Hao Ren had already reached Level Gèn while Zeng Yitao was only at Level Lí, he didn't care about him. Old Zeng spared no expense in giving Zeng Yitao the opportunity to cultivate again just so that he could inherit the Dao lineage of the Western Sea Dragon Palace.

"Haha, Mr. Zeng is planning to invest in a large automotive base in our Donghai city; we were just discussing it halfway through," Mayor Wu said with a smile.

"Oh, an automotive base" Zhao Guang seemed quite interested.

Zhao Guang was the Dragon King in Long Palace and a shrewd businessman on land. He could tell that this informal meeting between the mayor and Mr. Zeng had been introduced by Qin Shaoyang.

"Yes, Mr. Zeng is planning to invest 5 billion yuan to build a modern automotive manufacturing base in the suburbs of Donghai city," Mayor Wu said.

Hao Ren's ears perked up immediately. The West Sea Dragon Palace's Mr. Zeng was preparing to construct a large automotive base in the suburbs of Donghai city; this topic seemed rather sensitive.

Draconic cultivators were not allowed to interfere with human lives, but playing the role of humans on land and doing some business was acceptable.

If Mr. Zeng built the automotive base right next to Donghai Dragon Palace in the suburbs of Donghai city, it would be a clear violation of the rules—should Mayor Wu approve this plan, then Donghai Dragon Palace could only use commercial means to force back the automotive base and couldn't resort to power as cultivators.

"Does Mr. Zhao have any interest in this project" Mayor Wu asked Zhao Guang next.

The friction between Tomorrow Group and Tyrant Group had recently been reported, but as a mayor, he was also aware of it. However, business always put profit first; there were no eternal enemies in the business world, especially when both groups had cooperated before. Mayor Wu thought that similarly powerful Tomorrow Group might want to join too.

If the automotive base were doubled in size, then this would indeed be a massive investment, enough to form an automotive industry centered on Donghai city and radiating across the country.

This would undoubtedly boost Donghai's economy and was also part of his mayoral achievements.

"I think Donghai city should not build such a base," Zhao Guang said calmly.

"Oh" Mayor Wu found Zhao Guang’s response somewhat unexpected.

"Donghai city is nestled among mountains and waters, with beautiful scenery. It's a leisure city and a tourist destination; it is not a city known for heavy industry. If you introduce an automotive base to Donghai city, that would be a major mistake," Zhao Guang said.

His tone was calm but showed no leniency towards Mr. Zeng.

Tomorrow Group was one of the largest taxpayers in Donghai city and the biggest comprehensive company there, also renowned as an international group.

The mayor of Donghai City might change every few years, but Zhao Guang's position as a business leader in the Donghai region is rock-solid.

Mayor Wu was eager to attract investments from the Overlord Group but didn't want to offend Tomorrow Group. After all, Tomorrow Group enjoyed far better reputation and assets compared to the Overlord Group.

"What does Academician Hao think" Mayor Wu turned to ask Hao Zhonghua.

Hao Zhonghua was a low-key person, but he was also a super heavyweight in Donghai City, the leader of scientists not just within the region but across the country. By asking Hao Zhonghua's opinion, Mayor Wu was essentially giving himself an out.

"I think Mr. Zhao is right. Donghai City isn't primarily focused on heavy industry development. Although Tomorrow Group does have its own heavy machinery, none of these facilities are located nearby in Donghai; they're all situated elsewhere across the nation," Hao Zhonghua said confidently.

Mayor Wu hadn't expected Hao Zhonghua's stance to be so clear-cut and could only turn to Yue Yang again, "What do you think"

"Mayor Wu, an investment of 5 billion is indeed significant. However, the living environment for Donghai City's millions of residents is even more valuable as intangible assets. Look at the Yellow Dragon River: it flows through our city and into the sea with remarkable clarity. It’s precisely because of this that we can still hold such lively dragon boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival. Our vision for Donghai City is to become China's premier high-tech hub, eventually rivaling Silicon Valley worldwide. In nurturing talent and developing a city, one cannot be all things to everyone; having our own direction means highlighting unique strengths."

Yue Yang spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.

Hearing Yue Yang’s words, Mayor Wu had no further hesitation. He smiled apologetically at Zeng Xin, "Sorry, Mr. Zeng, I believe Academician Yue is right. Developing a city requires focus; our primary characteristic in Donghai City lies in high-tech industries. If you're interested, you could invest in some of our new research projects or support education here as Mr. Zhao does."

Zeng Xin's expression briefly showed displeasure but he remained silent.

Donghai was Zhao Guang’s turf; if the Overlord Group couldn't establish their own base, what would be the point of investing in Donghai companies

As an immortal who had operated across West Sea for centuries, his plans were being thwarted by some reckless mortals.

Zhao Hongyu turned to look at Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang with a grateful expression.

Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang held positions even higher than the mayor in Donghai City. Their opinions carried significant weight, analyzing from Donghai's positioning and development but also implicitly supporting Zhao Guang.

The enmity between Tomorrow Group and Overlord Group had been fierce recently; how could Tomorrow allow Overlord to enter Donghai

"Well spoken about developing high-tech industries in Donghai City," one of the scientists accompanying Zeng Xin suddenly interjected, "Didn't Academician Hao recently launch a project studying 'dragons'" sword light that Hao Ren shot through pierced this layer of ripple light, striking the small bottle inside. This small bottle swayed precariously and fell out of the small box.When Zhao Yanzi saw thi...