Compared to the ferocious mercenaries and the indifferent black panther beside him, this passenger with messy hair looked like an ordinary person that could be seen anywhere. It was impossible to tell his age, and it was impossible to tell whether he was beautiful or ugly. If he mixed in with the crowd, his appearance would definitely not stand out. He would be forgotten in the blink of an eye.
But he had a pair of smiling eyes that were as gentle and warm as the sunlight in winter. Not only was there not the slightest evilness in them, they even comforted Huo Dongling's heart that had been frightened just now.
The little girl looked back again, only to discover that the few mercenaries had all crouched in another corner of the cabin with their heads buried in the lunchboxes, not having the courage to raise their heads and look at her at all.
When she looked back again, the passenger with the beautiful eyes raised his hands in a hilarious manner and said with a smile, "It's alright. Just sit down. My surname is Li. You may call me 'Mr. Li'."
"Mr. … Li."
Maybe because the guy's eyes were too gentle and harmless, or maybe because the cabin was so narrow that Huo Dongling had nowhere to run if the guy did mean any harm, the little girl sat down obediently in a trance.
After thinking for a while, she moved her butt closer to the cold black panther. After all, one may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature. These days, most of the bad guys were smiling. In any case, this black panther had just saved her!
The panther glanced at her and did not say anything. It sniffed and continued eating.
"Your name is Dongling, isn't it? I heard the crew call your name this morning. You are the owner's daughter."
The messy-haired passenger said with a smile. Then, he suddenly thought of something and took out a simple silver bracelet from his pocket and handed it over. "Dongling, here's something for you. Let's consider it … the consultation fee!"
"This is —"
Huo Dongling was even more scared. She thought anxiously, Was the guy not an Immortal Cultivator? She had never seen an Immortal Cultivator who was so nice to ordinary people and even gave them gifts.
In the past, the best Immortal Cultivators she had seen were the black panther next to her, who was as cold as ice and ignored the ordinary people.
Thinking in that way, she was even more uneasy. Huo Dongling waved her hands hard, not having the courage to accept the guy's gift.
"Take it. This bracelet can be considered a small protective magic treasure."
The passenger with messy hair said, "The hyenas just now were not wrong. The universe is so chaotic right now. It is indeed not easy for a little girl like you to travel outside. You will run into all kinds of dangers.
"Do you see the spiral rune array on the inside of the bracelet? Here, pierce your right thumb and make sure that your blood soaks into your fingerprints. Then, print your fingerprints on the spiral rune array for confirmation, and the bracelet will be activated. In the future, if a bad guy wants to violate you, the bracelet will automatically detect the bad guy's body temperature, heartbeat, and adrenaline secretion level. If it exceeds the warning range, it will automatically shoot out powerful electric arcs and release a unique soul seal. It can be released ten times.
"As long as those bad guys are Immortal Cultivators, they will definitely be able to identify the owner of this soul imprint. What cultivation level … exactly.
"Here, when the time comes, you can tell those bad guys that this bracelet was a gift from your father, no, a good friend of your grandfather when you were born. It's a gift to keep you safe. You don't have to say too much. I think 99% of the bad guys will know to back off.
"However, if you want to be with your lover, remember to take off the bracelet. Hahahaha. It will not be good if your lover is electrocuted!"
Huo Dongling lowered her head shyly. She did not have a lover at all. This Mr. Li was rather interesting.
"Did you make the food in person?"
The passenger with messy hair picked up the food box and took a deep breath. He complimented, "It smells so good. Dongling, your cooking skills are truly not bad!"
After a brief daze, Huo Dongling said in embarrassment, "No, Mr. Li. This is just common self-heating food that is mass-produced. Look, it's printed on the box."
The passenger with messy hair: "… Let's cut to the chase. Where did your starship depart from?"
Huo Dongling replied dutifully, "We are from the South Spirit Planet in the Crimson Space Zone. You probably haven't heard of it before, Mr. Li. It is an asteroid that has only been developed for more than a hundred years. A stable atmosphere has not formed yet. There are only four settlements of moderate size. I was born in one of the settlements."
"I haven't heard of the South Spirit Planet before, but I know the Crimson Space Zone. It is not close to our destination, the Seven Seas Grand Market. For a civil business starship such as yours, I'm afraid that you will have to travel for several months after dozens of space jumps. Also, the journey can be quite dangerous."
The passenger with messy hair said, "It is chaos outside. Wars are going on everywhere. I'm told that the authorities have declared the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors to be a rebel organization that is about to attack the Seven Seas Grand Market. Why are you still doing business there? Even if your father really valued money more than his life, he shouldn't have taken you with him, right? "
"We don't have a choice."
Huo Dongling said miserably, "How can the high and mighty Immortal Cultivators understand the lives of the unimportant folks like us? The South Spirit Planet has only been developed for a hundred years. We do not have any powerful backers, nor do we have any rare specialties. Right now, we cannot even be self-sufficient in our daily necessities. Without the food shipped from the outside, we will starve; without the water purification chips shipped from the outside, we will die of thirst; without the atmospheric stabilization system and the compressed oxygen shipped from the outside, we will suffocate!
"Before, the business routes of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors were well-connected, and the free markets were everywhere. The business teams would pass by our planet regularly every month to purchase the local minerals and deliver food, water, and air for us. If there was no other choice, we could always go to the nearest free market for purchases. It would only take us one week at most after two short space jumps.
"But when there was a war outside, we were caught in trouble. The four families declared that the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors was a rebellious organization, cutting off the business routes and destroying the free markets. They also recruited the space pirates to loot us, cutting off the livelihood of the common folks.
"It had been three months since any business teams passed by the South Spirit Planet. The food, water, and air we stored were running out. Also, nobody came to buy the raw minerals that were piled up like mountains in the port. Everybody could only watch the minerals that were increasing in anxiety.
"We planned to trade in the free market nearby, but what we found after we arrived was a mess. The free market was besieged by the fleets of the four families and completely destroyed. Even our tiny business ship was almost sunk by the rioters who thought that it was an 'accomplice of the rebels'.
"Later, we ran into the business ships from a few space zones nearby. It was not until then that we learned that the fleets of the four families had swept the free markets in the few Sectors nearby. Countless space pirates and mercenaries that had been recruited by the four families were cruising on the sailing routes like wolves. They would never let go of the business fleets of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.
"Even though one or two secret markets had not been destroyed, the prices there were still shockingly high. The common minerals produced on the South Spirit Planet could not be sold at a high price at all. We could not buy the necessities for survival.
"If we wanted food, water, and the stability of the thin atmosphere, we could only trade in the Seven Seas Grand Market that the four families had not conquered yet. After all, the goods here were the most complete, and the prices were lower. Also, it was safer with the protection of the garrison fleet of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.
"We knew that it was very risky, but there was no telling how long the war would last. If we did not trade, we would be trapped on the South Spirit Planet alive! My father was the most experienced captain on the South Spirit Planet. How could he be a coward for the survival of his hometown?
"As for me, I volunteered to come with my father. After all, if 'Little Bear' did not return with the necessary assets, the South Spirit Planet would certainly not survive in a year and a half at most. The outcome would not be any better, either!"
Perhaps because of the warmth in the stranger's eyes, Huo Dongling vented all her grievances. While she was talking, she shed tears in silence and mumbled, "Why are the Immortal Cultivators fighting a war exactly? Why can't you leave a way out for the ordinary folks like us? We want to trade, we want to eat, and we want to live! "
After a brief silence, the messy-haired passenger sighed softly and said, "Are there many cases like the South Spirit Planet in the peripheral worlds of the Imperium?"
"There are many. How can there not be many?"
Huo Dongling gnashed her teeth and said, "In the Crimson Space Zone alone, there are almost ten asteroids that cannot be self-sufficient and need the 'blood transfusions' of the business teams to survive. Since a hundred years ago, the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors has been selling the planets to the ordinary people at a very low price under the pretext of developing the asteroids. The payment could also be made in installments with almost zero down payment and zero interest. It was almost a half-sale.
"At that time, many ordinary people did not know that it was a trap and were all fooled. They bought a lot of asteroids from the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and migrated there, tasting the feeling of freedom and being the master of their own life.
"But they did not know that it was not so simple to develop an asteroid and settle it for a long time. It was true that the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors set the price of the asteroids very low. Considering the cost of the preliminary development, it was almost a huge loss. However, the subsequent consumables such as the food, the water purification system, and the units to stabilize the atmosphere had to be replenished every month or every quarter.
"Taking advantage of our weakness, the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors kept raising the price of the consumables. They also controlled the largest business fleet and completely monopolized our export channels, lowering the price of our products to a very low level. After a hundred years of hard work, the residents of the asteroids had been working for the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.
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