Sam was anxious about the possibility of some top-level technicians defecting to Salt City’s new chip company. This concern also crossed Eric’s mind. The situation was straightforward. Frontier Digital, backed by the well-funded Innova Group, offered excellent benefits and housing for its employees. Even if the company-provided accommodation wasn’t ideal, the salaries were high enough for employees to afford homes outright in Salt City.Why would they leave, then? The reason was simple: higher salaries elsewhere.From this perspective, it appeared that only the newly emerged Frontier Tech could provide such enticing compensation. The departure of a few key technicians didn’t significantly impact Frontier Digital, provided they didn’t take the company’s latest technology with them.Ruth soon identified the financial backers behind the scenes.Eric had no doubt there was significant investment involved in this new company. The field required enormous investment, often running into

With wealth and youthful energy on his side, things became much easier to accomplish. Sam began laying out his plans. This step had been in his strategy for some time. Now, it was just a matter of calculating the costs. Free from financial worries, he had nothing else to be concerned about.Eric had just seen Sam off when the phone rang. Seeing it was Jacob calling, Eric answered. "What now?"He assumed it was someone Jacob had detained and beaten up, leading to the call. Jacob had become quite an admirer of Eric lately."Eric!" Jacob swallowed nervously. "You’ve got a letter here. Seems like some kind of... summons! They insisted it be handed to you directly. You should come check it out!"Eric was puzzled. 'A summons? What kind of summons could be for me?'When he arrived at Jacob’s guard station and opened the envelope, he found it was indeed a court summons, notifying him of a hearing date."Wow!" Jacob glanced at it and was immediately shocked. "Eric, even someone like you c

The issue of voluntary organ donations was still being pushed forward, despite the predictable chorus of complaints.Donald had his ways of suppressing the dissenting voices. To him, opposition was merely a nuisance, not a real problem.The court date was yet to come, and Eric wasn’t particularly concerned. He would deal with it when the time came. However, it was only a few days away.To his surprise, Lora, whom he hadn’t seen for several days, appeared unexpectedly. The last time he saw her in person was on the hospital rooftop when Ruth had attempted to jump. That was nearly half a month ago.Eric had assumed Lora was just busy with work, but why did she have time to visit the Innova Group?Lora seemed quite familiar with Eric’s office. She entered, tossed her bag onto the sofa, and sighed. "I'm not a teacher anymore, and now I’m truly free!"She looked relieved, yet there was an unmistakable trace of regret in her eyes.Eric noticed this contradiction. He had heard from Tobi

The judge, Adam Perkins, was in a quandary. On one side, he had the mayor of the city, and on the other, the founder of Innova Group. Both were crucial figures in Salt City. He had considered mediating between them, but Donald was adamant about making Eric pay for his actions. At that time, Adam couldn't reach Eric, so there was little to be done. Now that Eric was present, Adam saw an opportunity to mediate. Avoiding a full-blown court battle would be ideal. He intended to play the peacemaker.Addressing the two men, he began, "Gentlemen, one of you is the mayor of Salt City, and the other is one of our city's most outstanding young talents."Adam was trying to smooth things over. There were many notable youths in Salt City, but he had not used any qualifiers there, subtly conveying a message to Eric. He was already familiar with the situation. While he felt that Donald had gone too far, Eric shouldn't have resorted to violence.Adam wanted to show some favoritism but knew that D

Eric found the whole situation amusing—even Adam was visibly embarrassed. Eric didn't even want to engage further.Adam forced a smile and asked, "M-Mr. Ford, are you serious about this?""Absolutely," replied Donald with a stern expression. "What, you think I'm joking? This is the only solution. If you don't agree, well—"Hmph! This won't end here! If Salt City can't handle it, we'll take it to King City! Do you think I'm afraid of you, Eric? You hit someone, you'll pay the price!"Adam felt overwhelmed by the predicament. He had initially thought a settlement of a couple of million would resolve the issue if Eric was willing to pay. He hadn't anticipated that Donald's real target wasn't just a couple of million but the entire Innova Group! His appetite was far too large.Eric glanced at his watch and decided not to argue further with Donald. "It's getting late, and I have other matters to attend to. Judge Perkins, I'll have my lawyer coordinate with you on this matter. If there'