225: Chapter 225 Trying to Counterattack

There was silence on the other end of the line for two seconds.

Then, that aged voice spoke slowly:

"What kind of matter could force you into such a state?"

Zhou Chengyue was sitting in his office in Jiangbei Province, facing a floor-to-ceiling window, with the sprawling factories and warehouses of his own industrial park visible outside.

He was fifty-eight this year, his hair already somewhat gray, but his brow bone was prominent and his eye sockets deeply set; when his eyes darkened, he still possessed an imposing aura that made people afraid to meet his gaze.

His company, Chengyue Industrial, had been built up bit by bit in its early years by relying on labor-intensive industries.

Textiles, contract manufacturing, sorting, food processing, logistics support for supermarkets... whatever was profitable, he did.

Whatever could cut costs, that was where he pushed.

With over a hundred thousand employees, seventy percent were labor dispatches.

Wages were low, turnover was high, and replaceability was strong.

To put it plainly, the reason his business model could be so lucrative was by relying on massive amounts of cheap labor, wringing profits drop by drop from those most ordinary people, just like wringing out a towel.

And now, with Robot replacement starting to spread, he had been preparing to take advantage of the trend to slash costs even further.

As a result, when Han Shaoting called, before he had even finished speaking, his expression had already darkened.

"smart city payback?"

"Resident basic security account?"

Zhou Chengyue repeated these words, his voice growing colder.

"Are you saying that brat Lu Li wants to pilot handing out money in the North City?"

Han Shaoting stood in the conference room, lowering his voice as he roughly recounted what had been discussed today.

He didn't go into much detail.

But for someone like Zhou Chengyue, there was no need to listen to such details.

For many things, grasping the core in one sentence was enough.

After Han Shaoting finished speaking, there was no sound from the other end of the line for a long time.

When he finally spoke again, Zhou Chengyue couldn't even manage a smile.

"He is demanding our lives."

This sentence was not an exaggeration.

It was truly demanding their lives.

Because everyone knew where the money would come from.

Lu Li would contribute a portion.

The state would contribute a portion.

But once this mechanism was established, it would inevitably be pushed step by step onto those companies using Robots and reaping the dividends of intelligence.

Whoever benefits, pays.

This logic was too smooth.

So smooth that there was no need to think further to know where the knife would fall.

Han Shaoting didn't speak.

But Zhou Chengyue had already continued on his own.

"If he pilots this in the North City today, will he want all companies using Robots to share the costs tomorrow?"

"He uses Robots to replace human labor, then turns around and wants companies to provide a safety net for those who were replaced."

"Then who will still be willing to honestly work in the factory in the future?"

"Who will still go to do our three-thousand-yuan-a-month jobs?"

By the time he finished speaking, his voice had become a bit fierce.

It wasn't because he simply disliked "handing out money."

It was because he understood better than anyone where this matter truly touched.

It didn't just touch a corner of corporate profits.

It was the foundation of the entire low-wage system.

Why could many companies survive?

To put it bluntly, wasn't it just by relying on low wages and high replaceability to keep people tied down?

If you gave those people a way out today, even if the way out wasn't wide, their bargaining power would move up a notch.

And once people were no longer "forced to work," the profit model originally built on exploitation would begin to loosen.

Han Shaoting stood by the window and said in a low voice:

"He doesn't just want to hand out money."

"He wants to turn this matter into a model."

"And then let everyone see that technological dividends can go directly back into the hands of ordinary people."

Zhou Chengyue sneered.

"He certainly has a nice thought."

"But who will pay for it for him?"

Han Shaoting's eyes darkened.

"This is also the reason I called you."

"If this matter really succeeds, it won't just be you and me."

"It's many people who won't be able to sleep."

On the other end of the line, Zhou Chengyue took the phone away from his ear, looked at the lit-up sand table and reports in his office, his expression becoming increasingly ugly.

After a few seconds, he pressed the phone back to his ear.

"This matter cannot be allowed to proceed smoothly for him."

Han Shaoting didn't respond.

But Zhou Chengyue had already started thinking ahead.

"I'll find a few people to talk to first."

"This isn't a matter for one or two companies."

"It is the entire old employment system that he wants to overturn."

Having said that, the call ended.

Zhou Chengyue threw the phone on the table, leaned back into his chair, his face as dark as the sky outside.

Soon, he picked up another phone and started dialing.

The first to connect was Xu Zhaofeng of Huadong Logistics.

The second was Feng Shikang of Yuancheng Manufacturing.

The third was Deng Wenbo of Fenghe Food.

Beyond that, there were several other supermarket chains, contract manufacturing groups, and local industry leaders.

These people were usually scattered across different provinces, with competition, cooperation, and unclear, complex interest entanglements between them.

But at this moment, their stance was surprisingly consistent.

Because this knife from Lu Li was meant to cut their common lifeline.

Calls connected one after another.

At first, some people didn't quite understand, but once Zhou Chengyue explained the matter clearly, almost everyone's reaction was similar.

Some cursed directly.

"Is he crazy?"

"Handing out money? And setting up security accounts? Who does he think he is?"

Others had colder tones.

"These workers are already hard to manage as it is."

"If you provide them with a safety net, who will still be willing to endure this hardship in the future?"

Another boss in food contract manufacturing was more direct, cursing without any politeness.

"Our employees, even with three thousand in wages, fight to do the work, and seventy percent are labor dispatches; we rely on this employment model to save costs."

"If Lu Li does this, will these people still come to work in the future?"

"He is stabbing the knife directly into our stomachs."

"I really don't know whose side he is on, why does he have to think about those workers?"

Listening to these voices, Zhou Chengyue's expression slowly calmed down.

What he feared most was never that others weren't anxious.

As long as everyone was anxious, this matter would be easy to handle.

After the last round of calls, opinions were quickly unified.

Cannot confront head-on.

And certainly cannot openly say that they oppose "providing security for ordinary people."

That would look too bad.

And it wouldn't hold water.

What they wanted to attack was not "welfare" itself.

But its consequences.

Fiscal pressure.

Social inertia.

A wave of small and micro enterprise closures.

No one willing to do low-end jobs.

Expansion of local deficits.

The trend of young people "lying flat."

These words, when placed on the table, were more lethal than any curse.

Because they sounded good.

And were useful.

A boss on the other end of the line said coldly:

"Doesn't Lu Li like to stand on the moral high ground?"

"Then let everyone come and see just how many corporate corpses he has to step on to build his moral high ground."

Another person chimed in:

"First, let the word out."

"Then find a few media outlets, a few scholars, and a few research reports to frame this as a 'radical experiment'."

"Doesn't he want to be a hero?"

"Then let him take the blame first."

After listening, Zhou Chengyue narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly.

"Drag it to death."

"Or, turn it into a joke."

When he hung up the last call, the sky outside was already completely dark.

The lights in the factory area lit up row by row, casting even deeper shadows on his face.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lu Li's car had already driven onto the highway back to Mingzhu.

Number 18 tilted her head to look at the snowy night retreating outside the window and suddenly said indifferently:

"It won't be too quiet from now on."

Lu Li gave an affirmative grunt.

"I never expected it to be quiet anyway."

Number 18 turned her head to look at him.

"Do you think someone will try to stop it?"

"It's not a matter of thinking," Lu Li looked at the string of streetlights outside, slightly blurred by the snow, his tone very relaxed, "It's that for this kind of thing, the bigger the commotion, the more people it steps on."

"There will always be people who are unhappy."

"Blocking someone's path to wealth invites more hatred than digging up their ancestral graves."

The Guard driving in front felt his back tense up, but he didn't dare to interject a single word.

Number 18 the Robot didn't speak again.

She just lowered her eyes, her fingers resting lightly on her knees.

As if silently drawing a line in her heart.

She only needed to ensure that if anyone really dared to cross the red line and make a move against Lu Li or those around him, she would eliminate those people before they could act.

At the same time, her internal system had long been connected to the surveillance around the villa, so guarding against these things was quite easy.

Meanwhile, Lu Li leaned back in the rear seat, his expression remaining calm throughout.

He didn't know exactly who would jump out first.

And he couldn't be bothered to guess.

But he knew too well that once some things were placed on the table, there would definitely be people who couldn't sit still.

But he knew even better—

Some things, once they start turning, cannot stop in place again.

The snow fell heavier and heavier.

On the highway ahead, the car headlights were like a silent river moving forward.

The wheels of history sometimes do not roar.

They just move forward.

But once they roll over, they will not turn back.