“Thermal power?” Mr. Wadrick sounded a bit surprised on the other end of the line. “I didn’t know you were interested in infrastructure projects like that. Where are you planning to build it?”
Mr. Wadrick’s consortium was involved in many ventures. Compared to the first-generation Federal consortia, the mid-generation ones had a different structure.
Consortia like the one behind Mr. Patric focused heavily on real estate, mineral resources, tallurgy, and transportation. They had a natural advantage in those areas—back then, such assets were dirt cheap. One could buy vast stretches of mountainous land for next to nothing, not knowing what lay beneath in terms of untapped resources.
By the ti the mid-generation consortia like Wadrick’s erged, society and technology had entered a new phase. Fresh industries were entering the market, and these new areas—such as industrial manufacturing, chemical engineering, and new energy—beca the keys to wealth.
These sectors had not yet been monopolized by the first-generation consortia, offering a path for the rise of mid-generation players.
As for the newest generation of consortia, they built their fortunes mainly on real estate and manufacturing, constantly challenging both earlier generations in hopes of gaining more influence.
Wadrick’s portfolio included energy projects—sothing not easily done. Even those with money and power struggled in this field within the Federation because of one major factor: the power grid.
In the Federation, both power plants and power grids were privately owned. After a period of unchecked expansion and rampant consolidation, the grid had beco fully integrated and the industry stabilized.
Anyone wanting to enter the sector had to first deal with grid infrastructure, and that wasn’t sothing a few million could cover—not even enough for a small city’s grid, let alone a national one.
That’s why Wadrick was so curious. If Lynch built a power plant and started generating electricity, how would he sell it?
The grid wouldn’t buy his electricity. Even with Wadrick’s connections, that wouldn’t help—unless Lynch bought usage rights to the grid and handed over pricing control for the end-user electricity, his power would have no market.
And to be clear, this wasn’t a monopoly. Since the implentation of the Antitrust Act, the Federal grid had been split into more than a dozen regional companies. Although the shareholders hadn’t really changed, the law no longer applied to this sector.
“In Zhuris… yes, the current capital of Allia. They need a mid-to-large-scale thermal power project. When I heard about it, you were the first person I thought of.”
Wadrick didn’t respond imdiately. After a short pause, he said with a calm and faintly amused tone, “I’m not very interested in the business you’re describing. The Gephrans will make things difficult. This industry is far more complicated than you imagine.”
“If you’re just building the plant, that’s one thing. But I’ll give you a piece of advice: don’t try to run it yourself. That’s Gephraan turf—you’ll have no advantage there.”
“I’ve got advanced generators. If you need them, I can give you a discount. If you need designers, I can make so introductions.”
“But operate it? No.”
He made himself clear—he wasn’t going to get involved. Gephra and the Federation would not continue peacefully forever. Eventually, ideological conflicts could arise. After all, there’s only one emperor, and only one power can rule the world.
If such a rivalry did materialize, long-term investnts on Gephraan soil would beco deeply problematic. Just look at how the Federation had cracked down on multinational corporations before the last economic downturn—minor issues were enough to bring down billion-Sol companies.
Targeting a thermal power project would be even easier. The excuses were ready—pollution, for example.
All the chimneys the Federals built in Nagaryll pumped out dust, yet environntal inspections always declared them compliant—because the inspections were done by Federal agencies. If they said it was green, then it was green.
But on Gephraan territory, it’s the Gephrans who conduct inspections. Even if everything t Federal standards, the mont they introduced a Gephraan standard, no one could argue.
And infrastructure as vital as power plants and power grids? Those would never be allowed in foreign hands. Wadrick never even considered it.
Lynch wasn’t discouraged after hearing Wadrick’s response. He hadn’t expected success—if Wadrick had suddenly agreed, that would’ve been a pleasant surprise. His refusal didn’t disappoint.
But the call wasn’t over yet. “How familiar are you with Gephra’s current thermal power generator technology?”
There was a pause on the other end. Then Wadrick replied, “Give a few minutes. I’ll start a conference call. I’m not too familiar with those details myself.”
The Federation’s telecommunications departnt still used a lot of manual routing. Partly because so lines needed human confirmation, and partly to support conference calls.
Current switchboards couldn’t fully automate multi-line etings, so it was all done manually—plug and unplug.
After about two minutes of light static, soone else joined.
“…he’s our best engineer. He’ll be able to answer your questions…”
Lynch and the engineer talked for quite a while. He jotted things down constantly, and after hanging up, sat in deep thought. The study light stayed on until just before dawn.
News about the power plant soon began to circulate. It wasn’t a secret. The Governor’s Office even subtly hinted that the Gephrans must secure this key project, offering them small incentives.
Preferential policies, tax breaks, even direct financial subsidies were on the table. If they couldn’t win the bid with all those advantages, the local Gephraan businessn would be a huge disappointnt.
Compared to the excitent among chamber rchants, Lynch seed sidelined. There were barely any rumors linking him to the power plant.
So saw this as normal. With the deck stacked against him and a biased referee in play, even if Lynch had great talent—even if the Gephraan Emperor praised him—there was no way he could pull off anything significant here.
Seeing that the stage was set, the Governor’s Office began the formal bidding process. Around that sa ti, a piece in a Federal newspaper caused a stir worldwide.
Thermal Generator Technology 20 Years Ahead of the World!
The Governor stared at a copy of the Federal Daily, dated two days prior, without looking up. He wore reading glasses, carefully reading the article.
It reported that a Federal industrial research institute had filed a patent for a unique technology that reduced energy loss in thermal power generation and improved efficiency. Under identical fuel, ti, and environntal conditions, the new tech generated 5% to 15% more electricity than current global standards.
A staggering figure. With the advance of society and technology, humanity had beco more reliant than ever on electricity.
Twenty years ago, a small 30,000 kWh power station could supply a city of 200,000.
Now, the demand had increased tenfold or more, and still there were shortages.
People replaced candles with electric lights—they needed power.
Household appliances entered hos—they needed power.
Factories, especially light manufacturing, beca major electricity consurs. Electric-driven machinery was the future.
There was a power shortage everywhere—from Gephra to the Federation. New power projects were launched every year.
Now, the Federals had developed a technology that increased output under the sa conditions. The value of that was obvious.
After the news broke, Gephra imdiately initiated diplomatic negotiations, hoping to acquire the new power generation technology through a technology exchange. The Federation flatly rejected the request.
The reason given was that such cutting-edge technology was not listed for exchange or transfer. If it involved non-patented goods, discussions could be held directly with the research institutions.
This technology was highly coveted—especially for resource-scarce Gephra. With limited territory, scarce resources, and a persistent energy gap, acquiring such technology would be a dream co true.
But the Governor didn’t look pleased. Instead, he frowned.
After a while, he set down the newspaper and tapped it twice with his fingers. The dull thud thud echoed through the table.
“This technology ca out at a very convenient ti. It’s hard not to associate it with Lynch,” Governor Sedel said, glancing at his son.
His son nodded. “Things have gotten a bit complicated. It’s not in our favor.”
Whether it was the Privy Council or the nobles, their stance had suddenly shifted. They now wanted Lynch to win the bid for the new power plant in Zhuris—but only on the condition that he use generator units equipped with the new technology.
Once those units were in hand, it would be easy to find an excuse to decommission one, dismantle it in secret, and gain full access to the patented tech—without spending a cent more.
But that put the Governor in a difficult position.
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