For the general public, the appearance of the Conglomerates was unexpected. Even those who were in high positions in the social circle of New Sparta only knew that five talented youths were sent by the Conglomerates for the entirety of the competition and onwards.
But this was a completely unexpected turn of events. The Conglomerates were supposed to be just mere spectators in the crowd, a fly on the wall, someone who only participated in the shallowest of senses for the purpose of awarding a Promotion.
This seemed more than that. By sending one of the actual arms of their companies, it was clear to everyone in the room that the Conglomerates were planning on competing.
For the general public, this was nothing less than a cause for celebration.
Case in point, the five Conglomerates immediately sent out some gifts for the spectators in the Colosseum.
Agents of the Conglomerates appeared alongside the stairs, giving out ribbon-tied boxes towards anyone who wanted them.
And when they opened them up, their eyes were blinded with the gift.
"WHAT?! They’re giving an entire block of gold?!"
"Look here! I was given an entire set of Damascus Steel knife sets!"
"And I got a healing pill! This could fully regenerate an arm from a stump!"
Of course, these were all stamped with the symbols and emblems of the Conglomerates, reminding them of the entity that so generously gave them a gift worthy for the heavens.
In this one short move, the Conglomerates were able to capture the hearts of the public.
The other companies from New Sparta could only groan in disgruntlement as they saw this unfold. They would have done that as well, if they had an obscene amount of resources like the Conglomerates. It was truly unfair. The rich only got richer.
Many wanted to complain to the Montgomerys.
There was a reason why Conglomerates only operated in the Upper side of the Queens region. They were way too rich for this side of the continent.
But however much Claudia wanted to reject these Conglomerates, she had no legal basis to do so.
This was technically not a part of the Lower Queens region. This was New Sparta, an entirely new territory built by the Beastfolks themselves.
In short, this place was free game. The Conglomerates could do whatever they wanted.
Of course, there was still the matter of ethics and public decorum.
Just because they can, doesn’t mean they should.
There was no honor in beating lowered tiered companies. And if they lost, which was very unlikely, then they would become the laughingstock of the business world.
However, the fact that they were ignoring this risk meant that there was truly something worthwhile to achieve in New Sparta.
And with almost everyone from the Upper Echelon joining this ’project’, they were essentially now competing against each other, making it much more fair.
However, this would leave the lower tiered companies nothing to consume. They’d be starving in their own pond, with sharks eating everything in their path.
But just like in real life, many entities evolve and adapt to their current situation.
Instead of competing with the Conglomerates, they decided to stick by them instead.
They’d be symbiotes if they had to.
And what do symbiotes do? They made sure that they were useful to its host.
With how fast and unexpected the Conglomerates moved into New Sparta, it was easy to see that they had yet to prepare anything for their move.
All of their resources, their items, and everything else was still left in New Sparta.
This meant that they’d need something... or someone else to rely on.
So, many companies decided to offer lots of services towards these Conglomerates.
If they need wood, they’d shave an entire mountain side to do it. If they need water, they’d scoop up the entire ocean by hand if they had to.
As long as they could be useful to the Conglomerates, then they would do anything.
However... they underestimated the Conglomerates.
"We are very grateful for your offer. However, the Master Vanderbilt isn’t currently looking for any help as of the moment."
"If the Master Apothecary has any needs, then we shall take your offer into consideration."
"We are not currently looking for any resources. But rest assured that the Master Oscorpe has taken your goodwill into consideration."
The Conglomerates weren’t planning on borrowing or buying resources.
This meant only one thing. They’d be bringing their own.
And only some sharp-eyed individuals were able to see that.
"Oh, you’re offering your fastest horses? The Master Vanderbilt may be interested in that. Would you like to visit him personally?"
"If you are willing to put up ten transportation Maugnetics and a hundred transportation magicians for your gift, then the Master Oscorpe will be more than happy to discuss cooperation with you."
"The Master Hephaestus will be greatly appreciative of your ability to protect and guide our caravan during our stay."
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...
Meanwhile, back in the Viewing Deck, almost everybody in the room disappeared to deal with their own problems.
Neytiri, Gabriel, Cedric, and the two other Conglomerates immediately left to talk with their superior relatives, asking them about the sudden change in plans.
This left Michael and Yuna alone, who decided that they were also going to return to the Nation of Reborn to convene with Castelle.
Once they were inside her office, Castelle immediately bowed.
Behind her were papers and graphs already stuck to the wall, with some kind of yarn connecting them.
She was very busy before they got there.
"Young Master. Miss Yuna," she greeted.
"Looks like you already know what happened," he remarked.
Castelle closed her eyes. "I could feel a sense of turmoil in New Sparta."
This surprised him. They didn’t have a lot of Rebornians in that place yet. "How?"
"Some of our customers from Metropolis are feeling uneasy, Young Master. And from them, I could feel that there was a great shift in the market. That’s how I knew something was happening."
As it turned out, Castelle’s near omniscient control of the Reborn company also extended to their customers.
She could feel when someone was feeling less connected to the Reborn Company.
That is very useful, he thought.
"As it turned out..."
He explained to her about the situation, with Yuna adding on some of her knowledge about being part of the Upper Echelon.
"Is this going to affect our plans?" Sheina asked.
As Michael’s secretary, she was privy to this meeting from the beginning.
"No," Castelle decisively answered. "Our plans are not going to change. In fact, this turn of events is going to be in our favor."
"Really?" Sheina asked with doubt.
"Yes," Castelle said again with confidence. "I can feel one of our seeds starting to bear fruit. This will undoubtedly affect even the Conglomerates, whether they like it or not."
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Meanwhile, back in Metropolis.
A few months after that decisive auction, everything had changed.
The roads, which were filled with nothing but horse droppings, mud, and other such disgusting and unsanitary things were long gone.
Instead, now the whole of Metropolis had concrete roads and was the cleanest it had ever been.
And with the newest sewage system, any water or dirt that was supposed to have littered the streets, were now being drained into a system underground, filtered and recycled back into the river.
Not only that, but the water system was now being popularized and disseminated throughout the citizens. Now, they could indulge themselves in a clean, bubbly bath of water every day if they wished to.
This increased happiness, wealth, and health for everybody.
But perhaps the most substantial change in Metropolis was none other than the cars and automobiles now running through the roads.
With a better transportation system, the efficiency of every single thing in Metropolis was upped to five times its normal value.
Now that Metropolis was connected to the wider Reborn Road System, they could easily travel from Metropolis all the way to the Kings region in less than three days!
That was a life changer! Items and crucial ingredients that would normally take months or even years to get, were now being delivered in less than a week.
Another boon was tourism. With Metropolis being the top territory in the Lower Queens region, they also found themselves to be one of the most visited places in the Reborn Road.
With more visitors, meant more income. And with more income, meant a better quality of life.
It was a cycle in which everyone was benefitting from.
This was all thanks to the concrete road system, as well as the automobiles that were used to traverse it.
And speaking of which...
Some Metropolitans, who had just purchased their vehicles, immediately wanted to test and brag about it to their friends and opponents.
And where better to show it off than in New Sparta?
The Reborn Road to New Sparta hasn’t yet been finished, but some people were already riding there with their automobiles, no matter how bumpy the journey was.
And as it turned out, this caused an even greater event than the arrival of the Conglomerates.