Translator: AnubisTL
Chen Jiang remained silent for a moment before speaking. "This sounds rather illogical. Why would the daughter of a corporation chairman willingly become a 'pet' at some club?"
"Well..." Wu Zhending replied, his tone helpless. "I don't quite understand it myself. But according to my eldest brother, this kind of stark contrast in status brings them great pleasure."
"In any case, during one of their encounters, the girl revealed her true identity to my brother."
"The exact details are hard to explain."
Chen Jiang fell silent again, his expression unchanging. After a moment, he said, "None of this matters. What I care about is whether we can secure the miscellaneous goods from those three warehouses. My firepower resources are more than sufficient."
"But how will you transport the goods out?"
"And how will you breach Eugenia Star's Star Ring Defense?"
"My father and his team are already working on those arrangements," Wu Zhending said, draining a glass of water and wiping his mouth. "There's far too much cargo in those three warehouses for Remote Space Transmission. It would be prohibitively expensive."
"We have to use transport ships."
"But to land on the subhuman star, transport ships must stop outside the planet and wait for inspection."
"Fortunately, the Subhuman Star Federal Government isn't yet certain whether the planet will fully transform into the Ten Thousand Races Arena, so most of their personnel have already evacuated."
"The checkpoints are unmanned."
"By destroying all of the subhuman star's satellites, we can openly bring transport ships onto the planet."
"The subhuman star is a residential planet with few military satellites. All backup repositories are concentrated in one military base, while the private satellites are all located in a single city."
"This military base and city are adjacent to each other."
"If we destroy this military base and the city, we can essentially guarantee success."
"Of course, when the transport ships land, they'll inevitably be seen by many people nearby. We'll need to thoroughly cleanse the area to ensure no survivors."
"..."
Chen Jiang felt a sudden toothache, sensing something was off. He quickly realized what it was. "I thought you were merchants. This plan makes me seriously doubt your merchant credentials."
"Effective business practices are often simple and direct."
"As for the rest, Mr. Jiang Cheng, you needn't worry. We've prepared everything thoroughly. As long as your firepower is sufficient, we'll handle the rest."
"Very well."
Chen Jiang cut to the chase. "There's something I need to mention. The caliber of my turret has increased slightly—it's now 15.4 meters."
He had to disclose this in advance, remembering Wu Zhending's earlier statement that the maximum opening width for the Remote Space Transmission gate was 15 meters.
"15.4 meters?"
Wu Zhending frowned, pondering for a moment before assuring him, "That won't be a problem, Mr. Jiang Cheng. We'll resolve it. Thank you for informing us about this variable in the plan."
"Good. When does the operation commence?"
"In two hours."
"My eldest brother, Wu Lengjing, and the Chairman of Eugenia Corporation's daughter have no private communication channels. Official channels are out of the question."
"In one hour, the Rose Club's weekly Friday Eden event will begin on Orange Red Star."
"My eldest brother will find the daughter of the Chairman of Eugenia Corporation at tonight's gala and have her take him to Eugenia Star, their private planet."
"This will bypass the planet's Star Ring Defense. Once we land, we just need to destroy the central control hub of the defense system, and the Star Ring Defense will naturally become inoperable."
"Mr. Jiang Cheng, please maintain real-time communication to ensure the next phase of the plan proceeds smoothly."
"Understood."
Chen Jiang nodded and ended the call.
"Let me catch my breath first, Brother Jiang."
Scar Dog blankly pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, stuck it in his mouth, and didn't light it. "That's a lot of information. My brain can't process it all at once."
"It boils down to three things."
"The subhuman star might be assimilated into the Ten Thousand Races Arena."
"Then the Black Europe Company is planning to seize Eugenia Company's miscellaneous goods warehouse."
"And convert those goods into items."
"Exactly."
Chen Jiang nodded. "Your three sentences perfectly summarize everything Wu Zhending said."
"Wait, if the Subhuman Star Federal Government is already preparing to flee, why would the Black Europe Company still bother converting items on the planet?"
"They're merchants. Have you ever seen a merchant value their life over profit?"
"True, but this father-son trio's business practices are a bit extreme. They resort to destruction and bombing at the drop of a hat. Is that normal business behavior? Why don't they just become interstellar pirates?"
Chen Jiang didn't reply. Instead, he pulled a reclining chair from his pocket, lay back, and rested his hands behind his head. He gazed up at the moonlight filtering through the gaps in the tree canopy and murmured softly, "The sooner, the better. The variables have been increasing lately. A 15-meter caliber barrel offers me no sense of security."
"I hope these one-star items will allow me to increase the caliber further."
"Wait a minute," Scar Dog suddenly frowned. "The Black Europe Company, run by this father-son trio, went through all that trouble just to convert those miscellaneous goods into items and then give them to you, Brother Jiang?"
"What's in it for them?"
"Charity?"
"Of course not," Chen Jiang said, shaking his head with a hint of exasperation. "Their business methods are a bit... wild. The Ten Thousand Races Arena they bid on is about to open, yet instead of focusing on that, they're shorting the Eugenia Corporation."
"What does '额' mean?"
"Didn't you see the stock chart behind Wu Zhending? That's the Eugenia Company's stock price trend. I glanced at it earlier—the current price is hovering around 78.1 star coins."
"If Eugenia Company's main business is miscellaneous goods, then the theft of their three core warehouses will inevitably cause a massive stock crash once the news breaks."
"The Black Europe Company, which shorted Eugenia Company in advance, will naturally profit handsomely from this."
"I bet Black Europe Company has been eyeing Eugenia Company ever since they learned Wu Lengjing's pet is the daughter of Eugenia Corporation's chairman."
"They seized the perfect opportunity when the Ten Thousand Races Arena exploded, causing a catastrophic bug."
"Many galactic federations temporarily withdrew their forces to avoid being assimilated into the Ten Thousand Races Arena."
"This power vacuum proved too tempting for Black Europe Company to resist."
"However, such a massive inflow and outflow of capital will inevitably leave traces. Figuring out how to cover their tracks will be a real challenge for Black Europe Company."
"The Black Europe Company has been busy these past dozen hours. This father-son trio is getting increasingly audacious, even dabbling in finance now. But using direct bombing to manipulate stock prices is both logical and absurd."
"By projecting Eugenia's stock chart behind them, they're signaling that they're also getting their share. If this succeeds, we all feast together—a straightforward approach that's surprisingly appealing."
Chen Jiang couldn't help but smile, chuckling softly. "Still, these three don't strike me as softies. When they bare their fangs, they're ruthless."
"It's still a bit complicated," Scar Dog said, feigning deep thought before giving up. "So, can we simplify this conversation to mean we're teaming up with the trio for a big score? If we succeed, we all feast; if we fail, we all go down?"
"No," Chen Jiang shook his head. "Half right. If we fail, only they go down. What does it matter to us? We're just players in the Ten Thousand Races Arena. How could we possibly influence events outside?"
"True," Scar Dog nodded, pausing before lighting the cigarette he'd been chewing on. "So, how about we grill some meat? I'm getting hungry."
"Grilled meat again?"
"It's all I know how to make."
"Enough. Tomorrow, I'm going to Kindling City to kidnap a chef."
"Hey, Brother Jiang, do you think the Ten Thousand Races Arena blowing up will affect us?"
"Probably not. The situation's too complicated. Let's wait for Black Europe Company to release more information after it's over."
"The Ten Thousand Races Arena..."
Orange Red Star.
Wang Jili, chairman of Shark Company, sat calmly in his boss's chair, feet propped up on his desk, listening to his secretary's report.
The Ten Thousand Races Arena had exploded, causing a critical bug.
The escaped race players weren't much of a threat, but the fact that several planets were starting to assimilate into the arena was dangerous.
This had never happened before.
The galactic federation had no contingency plan for such an event.
The solution was simple: deploy ground forces to slaughter the fleeing race players and have his own group evacuate the assimilating planets to avoid being dragged into the Ten Thousand Races Arena.
In that place, where science held no sway and survival depended entirely on the rules, living was a matter of luck.
Naturally, he had fled Subhuman Star as well.
His company, Shark Company, had its headquarters on Subhuman Star, with a branch on Orange Red Star. He also maintained a residence here, though he rarely spent much time there.
The crisis had erupted with sudden ferocity.
Just then—
The office door burst open. Wang Jili showed no surprise, merely tilting his head to glance at the tall, elegant woman approaching him. He paused, then a seemingly cheerful smile spread across his face. "Wife, you're here?"
The woman was his wife, though today her makeup seemed particularly striking.
"Mm-hmm."
She entered, settling wearily onto the sofa and tossing her handbag aside. She glanced at Wang Jili casually. "How's the situation on Subhuman Star? Nothing too serious, I hope?"
"It's nothing," Wang Jili said, rising to walk over to the woman. He sat beside her and shook his head. "Just minor issues. They should be resolved quickly."
"Good. By the way, why haven't you transferred the money yet? How am I supposed to buy property on Mu Zi Star without it?"
Hearing this, Wang Jili instinctively gripped the sofa, gritting his teeth slightly. His emotions threatened to overwhelm him, and he nearly blurted out, Are you in such a hurry to throw yourself into Liu Deping's arms?!
He knew Liu Deping was on Mu Zi Star. He also knew his wife was buying property there to find him. But seeing her so impatient disgusted him.
Huff.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his inner turmoil. Forcing a smile, he turned to the familiar woman beside him, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and leaned closer. "Let's not talk about that right now. It's been so long since we've..."
Before he could finish, she shoved him away.
Her face flushed with anger, she stood up at the edge of the sofa, pointing at Wang Jili and shouting, "Aren't you disgusted with yourself? Are you controlled by your lower half? Is that all you think about when you see me?"
"You're a human being, not an animal!"
"Is there a single serious thought in your head?"
"You can't possibly think that becoming the boss of a company makes you capable, can you? You know better than anyone how much my father's influence helped you start this company!"
"Let me tell you, Wang Jili, don't think you can control me by withholding this property."
"..."
Wang Jili's outstretched hand froze mid-air. After a long silence, he slowly straightened up, rested his hands on the back of the sofa, crossed his legs, and gazed at the woman before him, her once-stunning face twisted with rage. He spoke softly,
"Xu Fen."
"We're husband and wife. You shouldn't speak to me like this."
"If you continue, you'll erase the last trace of tenderness I have for you."
"Tenderness?"
"Hah."
Xu Fen scoffed, crossing her arms and leaning against the desk, her eyes fixed on the man lounging on the sofa. "Who would ever accuse you of tenderness? You? How many times have you even seen your son since he was born?"
"Did you ever care about his food, drink, or basic needs? Did you ever care about his life?"
"Do you even look like a father?!"
"Do you know what our child says behind your back? He asks if he can have a different father. Let me be honest with you—I despise you!"
"If you really wanted me, even if you forced yourself on me right now, I'd respect you as a man!"
"Come on! If you have the guts, come and get me!"
The woman, her chest thrust forward in defiance, glared at Wang Jili, who sat motionless on the sofa. Her voice rose with each furious shout.
Wang Jili remained motionless, his head bowed, his fists clenching tighter and tighter. He could feel his fingernails digging into his palms. Son? Was that really his son?
An eternity seemed to pass.
The woman sneered, grabbed her purse from the sofa, smoothed her voluminous blonde waves behind her ears, touched up her makeup, and strode out of the office.
"Worthless coward, pretending to be a gentleman, always cowering and groveling. Disgusting."
Bang!
The office door slammed shut.
(End of the Chapter)
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