In the mansion, the fringe of the intricately patterned regal tablecloth swayed slightly. The midday sunlight was just right, casting a glow on the food laid out on the table, making it appear even more appetising. Merkel reached out and straightened the last dinner plate, as Shiller descend from upstairs.
He glanced at the clock on the wall and Merkel looked down at his watch and said, "The guest will be here shortly."
As Shiller was coming down the stairs, the doorbell rang. Merkel walked up to open the door, and Mayor Roy entered briskly with a briefcase in hand. He strode over to the sofa in the reception room, threw his briefcase onto it, placed his hands on his hips, and stood in place, sighing deeply.
"What is it?" Shiller examined Roy from top to bottom. Roy was still in his trench coat and felt hat, with un-melted snowflakes on his shoulder. His expression seemed somewhat gloomy.
Roy took a deep breath, adjusted his mood, and then said, "Nothing, I just finished a conference call, still haven't quite calmed down from it."
"A phone meeting? What was it about?"
"Do you remember the donations from the previous charity ball?" Roy vented his irritation, gesturing emphatically with one hand on his hip and the other on the back of the sofa. "Originally, the donations should have gone to the foundation, which would then conduct investigations before deciding the allocation among various cities."
"But, the people at the foundation refused to conduct investigations under the pretext of Gotham's poor security, only planning to give us the lowest tier of donations. That money is not even enough to repair a single road!"
"Moreover, it's not the first or second time this has happened. Earlier, during the budgetary allocation by the State Council, a congressman suggested that Gotham's prioritization should be lowered, and a portion of funds designated for Gotham should be diverted to Metropolis..."
Roy covered his forehead with his hand; his chest was rising and falling rapidly. Clearly, he was enraged. "Among all the major cities on the East Coast, Gotham was the most severely affected by disasters. The drop in temperature this year was harsh, aside from the snow, there was also a freeze. The farms and plantations in the suburbs have taken a severe hit..."
"In addition to that, our newly developed logistics system has also taken a massive hit. We desperately need funds for repairs, and we can't rely entirely on the mob, they want a tenfold return for every cent they put in. If we get too entangled with them, it could lead to a major mess."
"You're quite clear-headed," Shiller commented. Roy shook his head and said somewhat demoralised, "Only when I became the mayor of this damn city did I realise the degree to which it's rotten and it's not without reason."
"The foundation, the State Council, and even the Congress, they have no intentions to save this place, they even prevent us from saving ourselves!"
"I suggested lowering the amount of funds needed, just requiring more snow removal equipment and some seawater heating equipment. But they rejected all of it. It's not that they don't have this equipment, they just don't want to lend."
"They give me the impression that they're scared this place might improve," said Roy, utterly bewildered.
"They're not afraid of this place improving, but they're scared that if this place were to improve without any involvement from them, wouldn't that mean they're useless?"
Speaking, Shiller walked over to the dining table, pulled out a chair. Roy took a while but eventually joined him at the table. Shiller told him, "Wait a bit, we have two more guests arriving."
Roy raised an eyebrow but didn't speak, "You didn't mention others. Who are they?"
"Oh, they're here." Shiller looked towards the door. Merkel got up again to open the door, and outside stood Victor and Bruce.
Everyone exchanged greetings, and Bruce and Victor sat down. Looking at Roy, they were also surprised. When Shiller invited them, he didn't tell them that there would be others at this banquet.
"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's eat first." Saying this, Shiller picked up his cutlery, preparing to dine. Everyone else also began their lunch. While eating, Shiller asked, "How are the snow disaster relief efforts and city rebuilding going?"
"Not great." Roy was still somewhat depressed. He said, "Everywhere needs money, everywhere needs manpower, but hiring also requires money."
"The mob folks seem keen to rebuild quickly, but they're fragmented and unorganised, everyone's doing their own thing; it's all a mess."
"Haven't you thought of organising them?"
"Since the city government doesn't have any funds and Gotham isn't a strong-mayor city, my word carries little weight, hardly anyone listens."
"Have you considered bolstering the city's funds?"
Roy sighed deeply again, feeling that Shiller was touching on a raw nerve. While he was slicing his steak energetically, he said, "And how do we do that? Increase tax rates? The mob would go mad. We can't rely on allocations, neither can we alter tax rates..."
"How about developing new industries?"
"What new industry is there to develop in Gotham? The logistics industry was just starting to grow; then, this year's snow disaster and the previous explosion utterly ruined it. Very few companies are willing to set up factories here, and the environmental conditions aren't good enough..."
Roy was almost done with his meal when Shiller turned to Bruce and Victor and asked, "Have you made any progress on the thing I asked you to research?"
Victor first shook his head, then said, "I don't know where you got that kind of mineral, but none of our current machines can analyze its composition. I tried using some reagents to test its properties, but didn't get much results."