Regarding Zhang Bo's statement, neither the representative from the senior managers nor the leader of the middle-level managers expressed any objection.
Apparently, they both agreed with his statement.
"If it weren't for your invitation, Zhang Bo, I would never have come to negotiate with these remnants of the Diesel Company, these guys who have blended in with them." The representative from the senior managers snorted coldly, glancing sideways at the leader of the middle-level managers, a look of disdain and contempt on his face.
"It's as if we're willing to negotiate with you lackeys; this is all for Bo Ge's sake." Of course, the leader of the middle-level managers also had cold eyes, glaring at the representative of the senior managers, rolling his eyes fiercely.
The verbal conflict between the two sides was already fully exposed.
Zhang Bo saw this, gently pinching his chair, his face showing no expression, only the fatigue in his eyes; if one looked closely at his eyes, one would find a hint of schadenfreude deep within them.
After all, this was the scene he wanted.
"Alright, alright, I know you're all very angry, but now is not the time for anger. You should also understand that Deherim still needs to maintain a peaceful state. This is an expectation from Lord Shen Mu for us, and also a requirement from Director Zhang Caidong." Zhang Bo spoke, his tone earnest in his persuasion, but this kind of unhelpful persuasion only added fuel to the fire.
Without any clear reasoning, could merely speaking and persuading like this truly calm things down?
It could only escalate the conflict.
As expected, when Zhang Bo spoke, the leader of the middle-level managers was the first to get angry, especially as he looked at the representative of the senior managers who was still sneering beside him. He clenched his fists and slammed them heavily on the table in front of him: "We must speak about this first. Don't blame me for being too blunt; it's just that these lackeys of the senior managers are truly infuriating."
"Don't get agitated, don't get agitated. Let's talk things through." Zhang Bo quickly gestured for him to not slam the table in front of him, as the banging sound was inappropriate. But his tone was still very earnest: "You speak first. If we don't say anything, how can we mediate? How can we calm down peacefully? Let's talk about it first."
And when he said this, the sneer on the face of the senior manager's lackey beside him grew even more pronounced, especially as he looked at the leader of these middle-level managers. He also followed Zhang Bo's words, saying with a grin: "What is it you want to say? Let's see what the situation is. You can't possibly say that you betrayed Deherim and became remnants of the Diesel Company, and then not let others talk about it, right? What face do you traitors have to stand here and mediate with us, saying innocent things?"
These senior managers, of course, knew that these middle-level managers were entirely loyal to Deherim.
They had no involvement with the so-called Diesel Company. And to say they were remnants of the Diesel Company was simply impossible.
But why did the representative of the senior managers say this? What he wanted was to thoroughly provoke the leaders of these middle-level managers, to make them completely lose their minds and start hysterically defending themselves, falling directly into the trap of self-justification, which would then give them more ammunition to use against them.
Now, as expected, the leader of the middle-level managers immediately fell into this trap. Looking at the representative of the senior managers, he immediately slammed the table again and stood up: "Do you think saying these things can slander us as remnants of the Diesel Company? We are all loyal middle-level managers, we are Deherim's most loyal Blue Star Humans, and we are also Lord Shen Mu's most loyal subordinates. On the other hand, you guys, who were still entangled with the Diesel Company and had unclear connections, are the ones who truly look like remnants of the Diesel Company!"
"Oh, that's a very interesting statement. I have to say, that statement is truly very interesting." The representative of the senior managers immediately showed a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, after all, he used to be an executive in a small company, quick-witted, and quite eloquent. He immediately seized the loophole in the middle-level manager's words, directly pointed at Zhang Bo, and asked slowly with a sinister smile on his face: "So, you mean Mr. Zhang Bo is also a remnant of the Diesel Company? Isn't that what you mean?"
This sentence immediately caused a greater verbal conflict, directly making the face of the leader of the middle-level managers slightly stiffen. He subconsciously turned his head to look at Zhang Bo, who had a very helpless expression, and his heart suddenly thumped, beating rapidly. He quickly reached out to Zhang Bo and explained: "No, no, no, that's not what I mean, Mr. Zhang Bo. My meaning is that these senior managers are very likely to be remnants of the Diesel Company. And it has nothing to do with you, Mr. Zhang Bo. We still trust you very much, Mr. Zhang Bo."
"What about Mr. Cai Dong? Do you mean Mr. Cai Dong also has a problem?" But the representative of the senior managers beside him immediately asked this question again, while staring intently at the leader of the middle-level managers, his tone quite serious: "I see you stirring up trouble like this. Are you trying to muddy the waters? Are you trying to drag both Mr. Zhang Bo and Director Zhang Caidong down with you?"
"Wait, wait, wait." The leader of the middle-level managers immediately fell into mental confusion, subconsciously looking at Zhang Bo and then at the lackey of the senior managers in front of him. He was completely speechless, his lips trembling, his heart beating violently, his chest rising and falling rapidly, but his mind simply couldn't form a coherent conclusion to form a complete sentence.
"Bang!" Then the senior manager directly slammed his hand on the table. He also stood up, pointing directly at the nose of the leader of the middle-level managers and angrily rebuking loudly: "I see this as a plan by you, a remnant of the Diesel Company, to stir up trouble and then drag both Mr. Zhang Bo and Director Zhang Caidong down with you, so that you Diesel Company can cleanse us true loyalists of Deherim! Is that right?!"
"No, it's not like that, absolutely not like that." The leader of the middle-level managers' face showed panic, and he subconsciously retreated half a step. He turned to look at Zhang Bo, but didn't know how to speak, only mumbling incoherently in rebuttal: "Absolutely not like that, we are clearly the loyal faction! You lackeys are the remnants of the Diesel Company!"
"How interesting. Now you're saying we're remnants of the Diesel Company. Now I want to ask you, can you provide evidence that we are remnants of the Diesel Company? I demand that you provide evidence now, otherwise we will definitely not let this go." The senior manager pressed hard, giving the middle-level manager no time to react. He even took half a step forward, coming in front of the leader of the middle-level managers, and said viciously: "You have been accusing us, and even those people behind you have been accusing us. Do you really think we don't know? You fundamentally don't believe we are remnants of the Diesel Company. In reality, what you are doing now is to overthrow us! To overthrow our system of senior managers, and then take power yourselves! You want to replace us in a power struggle!"
"No, no, it's not like that, it's not like that." The middle-level manager retreated several more steps, his mind completely blank, pressured by the aura of the senior manager in front of him.
And in fact, he, or rather everyone, had thought of this idea when they gathered in the open space, when they were whispering.
That was to overthrow these senior managers and for them to become the new senior managers.
It was just that no one had explicitly stated it at the time.
Now, however, these senior managers had brought it up using this mediation opportunity, and had even exposed them in terms of their momentum. After their lie, claiming to be loyalists who were not simply trying to find the remnants of the Diesel Company but actually wanted to seize power, was revealed, they didn't know what to say because they couldn't defend themselves.
Precisely because they did have this idea, precisely because they did lie, and precisely because their hearts were indeed dark, they were then accused and pressured by the representatives of these senior managers, who had seized the moral high ground.
And in fact, the senior managers also had this idea; they also lied, they also deceived these middle-level managers, and they didn't even care who the remnants of the Diesel Company were. They just wanted all of these middle-level managers who had betrayed them, submitted lists, and wanted to replace them, to die.
If they couldn't kill them all, then they would marginalize them all, turn them all into ordinary people, make them no longer hold power or continue to possess power, and turn them into struggling, difficult-living creatures, like rats in a gutter.
This would also deter other Blue Star Humans, letting them know what fate awaited them if they offended these senior managers.
As for whether they were remnants of the Diesel Company or not.
They simply didn't care.
Anyway, right now they just wanted to implicate and eliminate these new forces that were trying to undermine them.
And now, standing on the moral high ground, the representative of the senior managers also showed a contemptuous smile at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were even more disdainful, because as an executive of a company, he had experienced such situations countless times. He knew that he had to control the other party with words and momentum, and then the other party would follow his rhythm. Now that the other party had entered his rhythm and entered the stage of needing to prove themselves, they had fallen into a trap.
"Thump, thump, thump." But at this moment, a crisp tapping sound came from the front of the table, interrupting the atmosphere of mutual confrontation between the two sides.
It was Zhang Bo's sound. At this moment, he was extending his hand, tapping the table with his knuckles, signaling the two people who were still confronting each other to look at him. At the same time, his tone was even more helpless and earnestly persuasive: "What are you two arguing about here? We came to solve problems, not to escalate conflicts. What do you two even look like? We are all Blue Star Humans, and there are Undead Monsters pressing down on us from outside. And now everyone's lives are quite good, much better than the precarious days before; it's practically like heaven now. Why must we fight amongst ourselves?"
This statement sounded very noble, but it was still meaningless. Precisely because life was getting better and better now, and would continue to get better in the future, it was necessary to quickly accumulate power so that one could eat more later. After all, when things grew big and strong, it would be time to divide the cake. Who divided the cake, who got more, and who got less, was decided by those in power. If one didn't hold power now, how could one get a large piece of cake later?
The senior managers were clearly a group with management experience, so they understood the importance of this. For these middle-level managers, most of whom were just ordinary people, their political sensitivity was quite keen.
Of course, at this moment, the representative of the senior managers also noticed that Zhang Bo was deliberately taking sides. After all, he was now standing on the moral high ground, aggressively pressuring the leader of the middle-level managers, who was losing his footing and almost at the point of a psychological breakdown from his attacks.
Wasn't mediating now just taking sides?
However, considering Zhang Bo's relationship with these middle-level managers, he could also understand the morality and reasoning behind it. Out of respect for Zhang Bo, he sighed and shook his head internally, stepping back two paces without saying anything more: "Since Mr. Zhang Bo has said so, then it is indeed true. We are all Blue Star Humans, and we should indeed unite and cooperate."
"Thank you very much." Zhang Bo understood that the other party wanted to save him face, so he smiled and nodded, accepting the other party's gesture of respect and goodwill this time.
But what he wanted was precisely this effect: to prevent the two sides from escalating their conflict.
Now that it was alleviated, the evening or night would be the time for the conflict to reach its peak.
Moreover, Zhang Bo was also clear: even if he mediated, would both sides truly listen?
Especially these senior managers who held the advantage, they would absolutely not let go of these middle-level managers who posed a direct challenge and a direct conflict of interest to them.
So Zhang Bo looked at the two again and earnestly persuaded them, first to calm their tempers, and then to let both sides find their own groups, temporarily not to go overboard like this.
Zhang Bo had more small details in this small plan. (End of this chapter)
