At this moment, the image echoing in the minds of many was from 22 days ago, when Ren Zhong had just returned from the Chenhui Mine as the sole survivor of Lin Wang’s team, "on behalf of Yang Bingzhong," making a promise about the new company to the scavengers.
Before the dust settled, people were willing to hold on to hope, but inevitably felt uneasy at heart.
Now, the promise has been fulfilled.
The one fulfilling the promise, however, was not Yang Bingzhong, but Ren Zhong himself.
Some quick-witted people have already realized parts of the ins and outs of the entire matter.
The scavengers’ feelings toward Ren Zhong became somewhat complicated.
They wanted to thank Ren Zhong for removing this cancer of Yang Bingzhong, but they also vaguely worried that he would become a new tyrannical exploiter.
In the confrontation with Yang Bingzhong, Ren Zhong, the traitor, laughed last.
Only a stronger strongman can become the victor, ascending by stepping over the corpses of the defeated.
But on Source Star, especially for corporate bosses, apart from professional capabilities, "strength" often equates with traits like cruelty, cold-bloodedness, and insidiousness.
Even though Ren Zhong had somewhat built a reputation in town, who knows if that was just self-aggrandizement?
After all, even a seasoned player like Yang Bingzhong was easily manipulated by him, becoming a stepping stone in his life.
No one dared to say they truly understood his real face.
Ren Zhong stood in the office on the third floor of the company workshop, clearly seeing the anticipation, nervousness, and anxiety on the faces of the scavengers below.
He took a deep breath, stepped onto the rooftop, and appeared before everyone.
As he made his entrance, nearly three thousand people below all simultaneously raised their heads to look at him, causing a growing uproar.
If it had been before, at this special moment, Ren Zhong would have chosen to stand directly on the recycling platform, trying to keep at eye level with the scavengers, so the crowd wouldn’t have to look up to him.
He didn’t want to disguise exploitation as benevolence, nor did he want to be looked up to like an emperor.
But now, he had "changed."
Ren Zhong had to attend to the details that matched a citizen’s identity.
He pressed his hands down lightly, and the crowd fell silent again. Newest update provided by novel(ꜰ)ire.net
"Starting today, New Starfire Resources is established. I announce a few notices. First, the maximum commission rate for the purchase of Ruined Beast resources from non-professional contract scavengers by this company is set at 20%."
At Ren Zhong’s words, the crowd first fell into dead silence, then erupted in an uproar.
Many people were so excited that they trembled uncontrollably.
Even more people found their knees giving way, kneeling to the ground in gratitude, shouting praises.
This scene was like an ancient emperor summoning death row prisoners outside the midday gate and suddenly announcing a general amnesty.
This might sound exaggerated, but it was at least equivalent to a 21st-century corporate boss declaring a tenfold increase in year-end bonuses at the company annual meeting.
The boss went crazy, the employees were dumbfounded.
In fact, Ren Zhong simply lowered the previous insane 30% commission down to 20%; essentially, it was still exploitation, just slightly less severe.
Ren Zhong really wanted to say that this bit of concession wasn’t worthy of such reverence from them, but he ultimately didn’t speak.
He merely pressed his hands down again, "Second, the commission rate for non-professional scavengers will be reduced in a tiered manner. The evaluation criteria include the average value of hunting gains per person and team completeness. If your team has no deaths in a week, the commission rate will be reduced by two basis points, to 18%. If there are no deaths in a month... if your team’s average gain or your personal hunting result on the day exceeds 50 points, your total commission rate will further drop to 13%. The lowest rate can go down to 10%."
Seeing the people below becoming excited again, Ren Zhong pressed his hands down once more, "Third, as there are only three Third Level or above Professionals left in Starfire Town, there is a need for low-level Professionals to quickly rise. This company has formally reached an agreement with the Military Weapon Store, effective immediately until Pu Cha, all scavengers in Starfire Town purchasing First Level and Second Level supplies from the Military Weapon Store will enjoy a half-price subsidy. A reminder: half-price goods are forbidden to circulate outside of town; violators will have their temporary scavenger status revoked."
After announcing these, Ren Zhong returned straight to the office.
He did not want to stand there to enjoy the cheers.
However, after he went down, the square was still noisy for a long time until, a few minutes later, someone started a countdown.
"We can start selling now!"
"Finally, I can renovate my house tomorrow!"
"I’m going to have a good meal tomorrow morning!"
"My little sister in Nightsleep has been waiting for me for so long!"
"Everyone, stand in your positions! Maintain order! No rushing!"