In the spacious circular conference hall, everyone waited for the person at the center of the stage to deliver today's speech.
The conference would last five days, but no speech was more important than this one, surpassing even the Japanese Prime Minister's address. Everyone was waiting for the Osborn Group's presentation.
The influential figures below the stage did not make Harry feel the slightest bit nervous. On the contrary, their quiet anticipation filled him with excitement.
Under the gaze of the entire world, Harry Osborn checked the time. It was time. He lightly tapped the Personal Terminal on his arm.
A Holographic Projection appeared beside Harry, displaying a thick, dark brown liquid. Everyone present was quite familiar with this substance.
"This is crude oil, something everyone knows well. It was once the pillar of industrial civilization and society's primary source of energy.
In 1859, Mr. Edwin Drake first used mechanized methods to extract oil on a large scale, ushering in the modern petroleum industry. The tremendous value it contained transformed the entire world."
After the Second Industrial Revolution, humanity moved from the age of steam into electrification, and fuel gradually shifted from coal to oil. New fuel and more powerful energy sources pushed human civilization to greater heights.
But its scarcity and uneven distribution also brought many problems. Everyone wanted more of it. Throughout humanity's past wars, this resource played an important role. People waged wars for it, used it to establish new orders and gain advantages, and conflicts constantly erupted because of it.
"Unfortunately, oil is not merely a gift from heaven. It is also a curse. It drives us mad—all of us. It is fuel that sustains civilization, but it can also become fuel that destroys civilization.
To control this precious resource, we have fought and killed. The