"The phone is turned off..."

Looking at Yuanbao's increasingly dark profile picture, Yun You couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.

In her mind, this was almost impossible to happen.

In previous chats, Yuanbao inadvertently revealed her identity—an extreme homebody who wouldn't even step out of her house daily, relying entirely on deliveries for food, clothing, and essentials. She even designed a fully automated trash disposal system at home to avoid going out, epitomizing the extreme homemaker.

Such a person would almost never have her phone off; it's practically always online.

Unless... she was in trouble.

Thinking of this, Yun You couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

Yuanbao is a Tier Two Apprentice Death God, with considerable power.

If even she can't solve the problem, then it really must be a significant one.

"Frost Moon, check Yuanbao's information on the Ethernet, see if you can find any clues."

After a brief thought, Yun You instructed, "I've sent you Yuanbao's Ethernet sequence number. She's the chip's manufacturer, but she's anonymous in the real world, so we can only look for clues on the Ethernet."

Having said that, she picked up the chip and scrutinized it, her mind forming another idea...

If she truly couldn't find Yuanbao, she had another option—using Old Jin's connections to find another high-tier Apprentice Death God with forging abilities to "reverse-engineer" this Information Reconnaissance Chip and decipher its technology and production methods.

For an Apprentice Death God, this sort of thing probably isn't difficult.

Moreover, if successful, she could own 100% of the chip's profits without having to share a significant "technical dividend" with Yuanbao.

The majority of large corporations do this, heavily valuing technical talent during their initial stages, but once they successfully go public, the first to be ousted are the technical personnel... pushing them out.

Yun You certainly wants her company to grow into a giant corporation, but after thinking it over, she doesn't quite want to do that...

Yuanbao can be considered her "friend," or at the very least a "partner." To just take over a partner's research achievements so ambiguously isn't something Yun You can bring herself to do.

"Let's not consider this for now."

The young girl silently shook her head.

"I've found it, Boss Sis."

Just then, Frost Moon suddenly spoke up, cautiously saying, "Ethernet user Yuanbao was approached by a group claiming to be [tax bureau staff] a week ago while setting up a stall."

"They said Yuanbao was suspected of tax evasion and wanted to open a case for investigation... and ever since they appeared, Yuanbao hasn't logged onto the Ethernet."

"Uh..."

Hearing this, Yun You scratched her head awkwardly.

She imagined Yuanbao was in some life-threatening trouble, but it turned out the tax bureau was after her...

Indeed, in Nest City, even if you're operating on the Ethernet, you still have to pay various taxes to the tax authorities.

Sales tax, stall tax, research tax, Ethernet depreciation tax, drone maintenance tax...

These aren't considered part of the Ethernet's own fees.

"The total fees are almost 20% of the product price; isn't that too high?"

Looking at the tax bureau's tax standards, Frost Moon complained, puzzled, "Why do Apprentice Death Gods have to bear such heavy taxes?"

"Because the tax collectors are also Death Gods."

Yun You shrugged, helpless, "And they're stronger Apprentice Death Gods, part of a larger Death God faction."

"For a company like ours operating offline, as long as we handle things properly, we can avoid taxes through legitimate means. But Yuanbao is probably a sole proprietor, having no support. She simply can't escape the taxes she owes."

"I guess she also thinks the taxes are too high. If she honestly paid, she probably wouldn't earn much per transaction, so she wanted to evade taxes... but as someone who operates long-term on the Ethernet, how could she avoid the tax bureau's pursuit?"

"The Ethernet can be completely anonymous, but she's a merchant, needing to receive and send goods in reality. Once it ties to the real world, the tax bureau surely has its ways to find her."

"She's probably been taken away now, needing to cooperate with the tax bureau's investigation, so she's lost contact temporarily... but this likely isn't a big problem, just evading a bit of harsh taxes. After all, she's an Apprentice Death God, so even if the Nest Capital Tax Bureau wants to deal with her, it can't be too severe."

"Let's wait for her for a while. This matter isn't pressing for now."

Putting down the chip, Yun You tapped the company briefing of Tiger Head Heavy Industries with her hand, actually presenting the imposing demeanor of a "CEO."

"Let's resume normal mine production during this time, slowly bringing Yang Lie's previous orders to our own hands. Recruit workers where needed, and Aurora will take charge."

"Though we'll later engage in high-tech industries, for now, it seems the mining business will still be our primary source of revenue."

"Oh, one more thing..."

The young girl paused slightly, then asserted in an unchallengeable tone, "Starting today, frontline workers' maximum working hours are limited to 12 hours, with four days off a month, giving them time to be with their families."

"What's the current minimum wage? 3 bucks an hour, right? Raise it to 5 bucks, and provide insurance; everyone going down the mine needs to have it."

"..."

Hearing this, both Aurora and Frost Moon were stunned.

They hadn't expected, after Yun You assumed the chairman position, that her first action wasn't to eliminate dissenters or consolidate power but to improve workers' treatment.

Moreover, the extent she mentioned was quite astonishing.

Though she only raised the minimum wage to 5 bucks, understand that in Nest City Lower City, the purchasing power of Silver Cannon is quite high, and a 5-dollar hourly wage is enough for a miner to support a family of three, possibly even save some money.

As for four days off a month, that's a privilege even Nest City civil servants wouldn't dare expect... Even in the most leisurely departments, there's at most one day off a month, sometimes often taken by unexpected overtime.

From a miner's perspective, this is a great decision, but now that Yun You is chairman, she's undermining the interests of Tiger Head Heavy Industries by doing so.

"Boss Sis, I understand your intention, but isn't this a bit too much?"

Frost Moon lowered her voice, tentatively advising, "It might influence the company's revenue..."

"It will have an impact, but how much can it influence?"

Yun You leaned back in the boss's chair, calmly answering, "Last year, the labor costs of Tiger Head Heavy Industries only accounted for 10% of the company's entire expenditure, while the revenue was three times higher than all costs combined, meaning a 200% profit."

"Even if we double the miners' treatment, it wouldn't cost much."

"Yang Lie and the others wanted the conditions to be so low because they wanted to seize every possible gain. I want to make money too, but I'm different from them."

"Rather than extracting those few coins from miners' pockets, I'd prefer that ordinary people, like my parents' age, have more time to spend with their families, have enough money to buy some sweet popcorn for their kids."

"This matter isn't open for discussion; I've already decided."

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