Chapter 160 – The Three Major Tycoon Families
Tu Ran had limited knowledge about the Xie family. From the original owner’s memories, she only knew that Xie Zhao and Xie Xu were brothers, and nothing else. The original owner was infatuated and obedient to Xie Xu, never prying into his privacy.
After arriving in this world, Tu Ran had learned from some old paper publications on the original owner’s bookshelf that the entire Federation had been divided among three major families.
These three families were the Pang family, the Xie family, and the Wells family.
The Pang family held the leading position in the Federation’s mechanical prosthesis manufacturing industry, dominating for decades. According to statistics, their prosthesis company’s sales since its establishment could provide two pieces of mechanical prostheses for every person in the Federation’s ten billion population.
The profits from this were unimaginable.
Additionally, the Pang family held a significant position in the gene cultivation pet manufacturing industry and the artificial plant cultivation industry.
For example, the Natural Source Company, which belonged to the Pang family, was renowned throughout the Federation for producing green, all-natural food. It had also become a dividing line between ordinary citizens and the Federation’s elite.
Ordinary people had to spend a year’s salary just to buy a single chicken for a taste, while the wealthy in the Federation enjoyed all-natural green food at every meal.
The Wells family, on the other hand, dominated the pharmaceutical industry, with thousands of hospitals spread across all forty-two states of the Federation. They had a very close cooperation with the Pang family’s mechanical prosthesis company.
The Pang family provided the mechanical prostheses, while the hospitals under the Wells family sold these prostheses to their customers, helping them replace their old limbs with new and durable ones.
Furthermore, the Wells family almost monopolized the Federation’s entertainment industry. The dazzling stars on the bright advertisements between the skyscrapers all came from Wells Entertainment Company.
Each time the Pang family invented a new high-tech prosthesis, it was handed over to the Wells family for extensive promotion. Entertainment stars would drive the campaign, stirring up the consumer desires of ordinary people. As a result, a large number of people would flock to hospitals under the Wells family to acquire the latest prostheses, and both the Pang and Wells families would profit.
In comparison, the Xie family was much more low-key, but their presence was significant.
The Xie family’s main battlefield was in the political arena.
The Federal Government managed over ten billion people across forty-two states, with a massive administrative framework. Consequently, there were numerous government officials within this framework.
The Xie family occupied one-tenth of all government officials, with the vast majority holding high-level management positions.
High-level management was different from the mid-level officials who relayed messages or the lower-level officials engaged in combat.
High-level officials included senior members of the Research Institute like Xie Xu, commanders of Pioneer Teams like Xie Zhao, and deputy commanders like Li Wenchuan.
In contrast, pioneers like Tu Ran, who dealt with alien species daily, and lower-level security personnel engaged in gunfights, were considered part of the lower ranks.
What did it mean to have one-tenth?
The top management of the Federation constituted only one-fifth of all government personnel. If the Xie family held one-tenth, it meant that half of the Federation’s top officials came from the Xie family.
The remaining one-tenth was divided into three parts: one portion for the Pang family, another for the Wells amily, and the smallest portion for ordinary citizens who had fought their way up from the bottom.
Thus, it could be said that the Xie family nearly controlled the Federal Government, making them the leader of the three major tycoon families.
Of course, if the Xie family did not have compelling strengths in other areas, the Pang and Wells families would never allow them to be the top family.
The Xie family’s solid position was supported by their industries in weapon manufacturing and artificial intelligence.
Weapon manufacturing was crucial in a world where firearms were freely owned and frequent riots occurred. The demand for weapons was enormous. Various private and black market research institutes were constantly developing new types of weapons, and innovations were emerging rapidly. With the Xie family backing the weapon manufacturing industry, they faced little challenge.
In the field of artificial intelligence:
“Zero”, an AI capable of processing information from all forty-two states simultaneously and performing forty billion operations per second, was invested in and created by the Xie family. Its main server was deeply hidden in one of the Xie family’s estates.
Zero permeated every corner of the Federation, with no one able to escape its surveillance. By owning Zero, the Xie family essentially controlled the movements and trends within the entire Federation.
The Xie family, Pang family, and Wells family were the actual manipulators of the Federal Government, undeniably the tycoons who were above ordinary people and could even surpass the law.
Tu Ran stared at Xie Zhao’s flawless face, narrowing her eyes. He was almost certainly a member of the Xie family, and Xie Xu was likely a member as well.
Since Xie Xu had the backing of the Xie family, why did he establish a private research institute?
As a senior member of the Research Institute with access to its primary data, what could he be researching in a private and rudimentary research facility?
She couldn’t figure it out; there was too little information.
Perhaps she had been staring at Xie Zhao for too long and too intently. Eventually, Xie Zhao’s gaze fell upon her, revealing a mixture of confusion and curiosity in his dark green eyes.
He had a vague recollection of Tu Ran. He remembered her outstanding performance during the intense five-year training period at the beginning of the Pioneer Team’s formation, but she had since faded into obscurity.
Some pioneers who were at her level back then had already been promoted to mid-level or senior pioneers.
Tu Ran snapped back to reality, withdrawing her gaze from Xie Zhao and looking at the black table in front of her.
Xie Zhao was still watching her.
She sensed his gaze but pretended not to notice. She raised her arm and checked the time on her communicator.
It was 9:55.
In five minutes, the meeting would begin. She looked around and saw that more than half the seats around the table were already occupied.
Had she been daydreaming for that long? She couldn’t believe it.
The meeting room was quiet. Despite the number of people, no one was speaking. Everyone looked exhausted, as if they would fall asleep at any moment.
Indeed, after being constantly on alert in the Threshold for more than half a month, barely eating or sleeping, they deserved a good rest before starting the meeting.
Tu Ran thought this, but unfortunately, she was not a commander. Her opinions had no weight and could only be considered privately.
With five minutes remaining before the meeting started, more pioneers continued to enter.
Tu Ran glanced inadvertently towards the door and suddenly saw a light screen.
A light screen? Superpower?
Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked towards the source of the green light screen.
It was Zhao Yan.
The man who had guarded the fourth floor of Building B in the hospital with her.
He had praised her for being brave.
They had once rested together in a crowded lounge.
Zhao Yan didn’t notice her gaze and took a seat in the empty space across from her, towards the back.
So basically… nepotism?