by <unknown>
"Why, sister, do you think I was too reckless?"
Qi Yuanbao's eyebrows and lips were rising at the same time as he looked at Wuying Qinxin with a feigned smile. "Or did your heart soften at the critical moment, and you had true feelings for Jin Yuyan?"
Wuying Qinxin responded with silence. Sighing gloomily, she said, "I just feel that such risks were unnecessary. We could've taken care of him after the battle of Seven Seas."
"Such risks were unnecessary?"
Qi Yuanbao's eyes popped out, and he grinned in a way even more hideous than ghosts. "With everything coming to this point, have you still not recognized the situation or who you are,?
"A hundred and fifty years ago, our father 'Wuying Yuanshan' was a dog domesticated by the four families and a chess piece who could not control himself. When he was needed, he was praised to be the business leader of the 'Wuying group'. By the time his value was fully exploited, and he showed the slightest ambitions, those people changed their attitude without any hesitation and massacred his entire family! That's exactly the ending for a dog and a chess piece!
"In the hundred years that followed, you and I had been struggling in the dark, bloody sea of stars for a slim chance of survival. After the hard work, we seem to boast minor positions and power today, but we are never the masters of our fate. Those things are just candles in the wind and towers on the sand, and they can be obliterated instantly!
"You should be very clear that Jin Yuyan married you because of the hidden connections behind you. He wanted to make use of or even absorb the wealth of the 'Wuying group' through you. The only reason why he supported me was that he hoped that I could help him suppress the other three assassin groups and swallow the entire Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.
"In other words, we are still chess pieces and dogs that will be cooked when there are no more hares to hunt. Nothing has changed after a hundred years!
"Even if Blackstar the Great has been reborn and promises us high positions and hereditary titles, so what? Do you think that our ancestor really cares for his descendants? Hehe. Don't be silly. We are still just chess pieces and dogs in his eyes!
"To be the real masters of our own fate, we have to boast irreplaceable value and unparalleled strength! If we wait until the battle of Seven Seas is over like you said, there will be too many unexpected factors. Who knows whether or not Jin Yuyan would suddenly change his mind and surrender to the Blackstar the Great? In that case, will there be anything that the two of us can do?
"Even if Jin Yuyan is determined not to surrender, who knows whether or not Blackstar the Great will send someone from the capital to regroup the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors in our place? Don't forget that countless members of the royal family are still lingering in the capital. They belong to the system of the Imperial Guards and have always been incompatible with the Wuying descendants at the edge of the Imperium who focus on business!"
Wuying Qi was rather surprised. She asked subconsciously, "It's… It's impossible. Why would His Majesty do that?"
"Don't forget who he is. That is Blackstar the Great! Who knows what's on his mind exactly?"
Qi Yuanbao sneered, "After all, you and I have been working in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors for a hundred years. What if we have been too corrupted by the air of 'freedom' to be controlled easily in his eyes? If I were him, chances are that I would play a few tricks so that the two of us would die with Jin Yuyan, before I pick a few trusted subordinates from the capital to take over the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors that is in a mess. Is that what you want?"
Wuying Qinxin was stunned for a long time, and her face gradually turned pale.
"The struggles in the past hundred years have taught me the most important lesson. When an opportunity comes, seize it. When it's time to take risks, do it without hesitation!"
Qi Yuanbao said, "As long as we seize the supreme power of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors thunderously and win the battle of Seven Seas, allowing the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors to expand into the unquestionable dominator at the edge of the Imperium, then, even 'His Majesty' at the capital will have no reason to extend his hands to our place. By then, we will be able to play the game of balance between the capital and the four families, rising from chess pieces and dogs into players!"
Wuying Qinxin narrowed her eyes, which were turning cold.
"It seems that my sister has thought it through."
Qi Yuanbao smiled and held Wuying Qinxin's hand. Drawing circles in his sister's hand, he said in a low voice, "He is just a random man, right? After we seize the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, you can have however many men you want. Why do you care about a Jin Yuyan? In the past hundred years, he had plenty of affairs outside, and you were certainly not idle when you were lonely either. Why are you acting like you are a chaste woman now?
"Remember, after our cause succeeds, you can have however many men like Jin Yuyan you want, but you only have one twin brother. The universe is a vast place, but we only have each other now, don't we?"
"You… are right."
Wuying Qinxin finally made up her mind and said, "However, you still need to track Jin Yuyan and the guy, who is likely to be 'Vulture Li Yao', who rescued him. You've seen the results of the guy's battles in the past too. He is certainly not easy to deal with and may cause serious trouble to our plan."
"Rest assured. 'Vulture Li Yao' is indeed tough, but why do I have to fight him the hard way?"
With weird brilliance beaming out of his eyes, Qi Yuanbao said casually, "As a matter of fact, I've already guessed where he is right now."
…
Deep inside the complicated tubes between the internal district and external district of the Seven Seas Grand Market, a dark shadow that was covered in a special stealth suit was wriggling inside the tubes.
The suit was very characteristic and looked like a cluster of clear jelly, helping the guy squeeze into all kinds of gaps without alarming anything. Also, it could secrete grease that looked like a shell on the surface, blocking the dispersion of temperature, breath, heartbeat, or smell.
Suddenly—
Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi!
Dozens of green scanning rays darted from the depths of the tubes and pierced at the cluster of black jelly precisely.
An amazing thing happened. Right before the mystic rays hit the target, the jelly turned from black into transparency. Even the shape of the human covered inside was entirely gone.
The mystic rays passed through the jelly and shot out from the back after complicated computations without being affected or deviated at all. The guy lurking inside the jelly was not detected either.
The green mystic rays crossed and scanned for a long time, only to discover no anomalies. They gradually dimmed.
The jelly turned from transparency into black again. The invader inside was more or less relieved and continued slithering forward, crawling into the tubes skillfully.
None of the more than ten traps and defense lines behind could stop the invader. He snuck into the internal district of the Seven Seas Grand Market despite all the dangers. Taking a brief rest, he continued crawling toward Jin Yuyan's office.
…
Inside Qi Yuanbao's office, a hundred 3D light beams were displaying every corner in the internal district of the Seven Seas Grand Market, particularly the route through which the invader broke in.
The ventilation tube in which the invader was wriggling forward vigorously was closely monitored too.
The keenest sensors hidden on the internal wall of the ventilation tubes were recording the slightest shiver of the ventilation tubes. When all the data of shivers were analyzed comprehensively, even the most brilliant invader would be immediately exposed.
The defense system was designed by Qi Yuanbao, the head of security, in person.
As a super assassin for more than a hundred years, he naturally knew how to deal with the stealthy invade
rs best.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
From another dozens of 3D light beams, it could be seen that countless Exos who had been armed to their teeth were quickly surrounding the tube that the enemy was sneaking inside.
As long as the invader was beleaguered and caught, it would be another proof that he had malicious plans. There would be no way that he could prove his innocence at all.
"Hehehehe. So much for 'Vulture Li Yao'. He's just a pig that has walked into the trap on his own!"
Qi Yuanbao crossed his fingers, truly like a player who was sure about his victory. "Getting to the bottom of it, he is just another simple-headed warrior with more brawn than brain, and he will be killed by me more than easily!"
Chapter 2540: A Good Show! |
Qi Yuanbao rose abruptly and put on the snow-white leather coat again. Not bothering to look at the invader on the light beam who had been entirely surrounded, he strode out of his office.
At the door of his office, the floor slightly rose, separating a round floating disc, which had arc-shaped ribbons shining at the edge and was revolving slowly.
Stepping on the floating disc, Qi Yuanbao moved quickly in the headquarters of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and soon reached the lift that was specifically reserved for the senior managers.
After inputting his fingerprint, voiceprint, and iris data, Qi Yuanbao gained the permissions of the lift and descended from the 97th floor to the 33rd floor.
It was the largest conference room of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors with the most advanced facilities, and it had never been used easily.
At this moment, it was also a battlefield where his fate would be decided!
Taking a deep breath, Qi Yuanbao opened the door of the lift and flew out on the floating disc.
The vast conference room took up more than ten floors up and down. It was a gigantic room that was as magnificent as a palace and as deep as a cave, enough to accommodate ten thousand people simultaneously for a meeting.
The state-of-the-art remote projection system also allowed for the managers or shareholders in different Sectors a hundred thousand lightyears away to present their encrypted and disguised holograms in the place so that the spokespersons of the interests of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors in a hundred Sectors could be gathered.
At this moment, a thousand managers and shareholders had been gathered in the conference room. In order to stabilize the market, a thousand business partners who were in deep cooperation with the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors were invited to join the meeting too.
The participants who joined the meeting via remote projections were three times more than the actual participants.
Qi Yuanbao narrowed his eyes and looked around with his cold and gloomy eyes.
As he expected, besides the managers and shareholders of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors itself, the influential warlords and Sector Masters at the edge of the Imperium had all sent their spokespersons to investigate the situation. Even many of the middle class in the four families were hiding amid the holograms.
Their real bodies were perhaps marching toward the Seven Seas Space Zone on starships, but their projections or spokespersons were still eager to learn how to preserve their interests.
If Qi Yuanbao could show them his strength and convince them of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors' inevitable victory, it was possible that they would change their attitudes in the upcoming battle of the Seven Seas.
It was exactly Qi Yuanbao's purpose.
By the time Qi Yuanbao reached the conference room, the conference room was already as obstreperous as a grocery market.
Many people had learned the death of Jin Yuyan from Qi Yuanbao and Wuying Qinxin. With a great war coming near, such news was no different than an earthquake.
The middle class of the four families who had been secretly working with the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors were all as anxious as ants on a burning pan, scratching their heads and not knowing what to do.
They wanted to get away from the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, but they were reluctant to abandon the resources that they had invested in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Furthermore, they were worried that the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors would expose all of them when it was about to fail, dragging them to hell together.
As for the warlords and Sector Masters who had devoted their everything to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and made up their minds to follow the reformists, they had fewer concerns but simply shouted, asking the leadership of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors to come up with a plan to clean up the mess now that Jin Yuyan had died.
Qi Yuanbao intentionally kept those people waiting for another five minutes. The moment he showed up, everybody's scorching eyes fell on him, making him vaguely the new center of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.
Qi Yuanbao faced everybody's eyes confidently and casually, as if he had everything under control, but secretly, he looked at Wuying Qinxin and received an affirmative reply—the "Wuying group", which was quite influential in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, would support him.
That was enough.
Qi Yuanbao smiled and slowly flew to the center of the grand conference room. Pressing his hands together, he declared, "Please don't be anxious, everyone. The sky has not collapsed yet, and as long as we work together, it will never collapse!"
The crowd was silent for ten seconds before noises got the better of it again. All the investors and people whose interests were concerned had too many questions they wanted to ask.
"Quiet, everyone. If you could just be slightly more patient and listen to me for three minutes!"
Qi Yuanbao filled his voice with spiritual energy, making the whole conference room shiver under his voice. Suppressing everyone's suspicion and exclamation for now, he said unhurriedly, "I don't want to lie to you. Half a day ago, a tragedy happened outside of the Commodity Market. Director Jin of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors was assassinated by the assassins of the shameless four families. He is now unfortunately dead.
"Yes, an accident at such a critical moment when a final battle is about to begin is a huge blow for the market and the morale of our armed forces. However, the situation is not so terrible that it is beyond rescue. Or rather, we already have the situation under control. Everything is in our hands.
"The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is an organization made of the people who worship freedom more than anything else in the first place. We have the most advanced and steady architecture. What pushes us forward is the torrent of capitalism, which will not dry out because of the fall of one leader. With that in mind, what's there to be worried about?
"I believe that if Director Jin were still alive, he would've wished to see us continue believing in free capitals and fighting against the brutal, ravenous aristocrats!
"Everybody, everybody, we have preliminarily found the truth of Director Jin's death. The four Kurfürst families bought over 'Bloody Skull', and it was done by 'Red Lady', the leader of 'Bloody Skull', in person. The relevant files will be sent to your terminals immediately. You will be able to tell if it is true after examining it."
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
Tremendous data was sent to everyone's crystal processor. All the proofs corroborated with each other. They couldn't have been more convincing.
The managers, shareholders, and investors nodded their heads, unable to find any loophole.
"After the assassination, most of the members in Bloody Skull were already suppressed by us, and only part of the most ferocious members fled with 'Red Lady'. They are still resisting, but there is no need to worry. Almost a third of the armed forces in the entire Seven Seas Grand Market is involved in the hunting. It is impossible for the Red Lady to escape."
Qi Yuanbao suddenly changed the topic. "You must be very curious. If we
have only sent one-third of the armed forces to hunt Director Jin's killer, where are the remaining two thirds?
"It's very simple. 'Red Lady' is not the mastermind behind the whole scheme. We even have reason to believe that even Director Jin's assassination was just a disguise for an even greater plot.
"An enemy who is ten times more dreadful than 'Red Lady' has snuck into the internal district of the Seven Seas Grand Market, trying to cause greater damage and mayhem before the arrival of the four families' coalition fleet and make us fail!
"The enemy is exactly—Vulture Li Yao!"
Shua!
Hardly had Qi Yuanbao's desperate voice died down when the light beam around him displayed the gigantic picture of a grimacing Li Yao.
It was shot in public when Li Yao was still the "No. 1 warrior" of the reformists.
The gigantic picture made everybody gasp hard in disbelief.
"There's no need to feel surprised, everyone. The news that Vulture Li Yao betrayed the reformists and joined the four Kurfürsten's side came from the capital. I believe that you all have your own sources of intelligence, and they have reported the same, haven't they?"
Qi Yuanbao smiled with his hands on his back. "Vulture Li Yao has only defected recently. Naturally, he is anxious to make a great accomplishment in order to consolidate his position and win the approval of his new masters.
"Assassinating Director Jin alone is not necessarily enough to shake the foundation of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, because any of the five senior managers, after being authorized in this meeting, can replace Director Jin and take over his responsibilities.
"However, if most of our defense is distracted by the riot after Director Jin's death, and he takes the chance to sneak into our most central database, destroying all the trade data, just think about it, what consequences will be caused?
"Of course, our trade data have backups, and we have more than one center of super crystal processors. However, the destruction of the central data will disrupt our trades for three to five days. All the information about capitals, logistics, shares, options, and bonds will be messed up and paralyzed!
