Li Jialing frowned and said, "Since Brother Yao knows that Jin Yuyan is determined and the free coin is so dangerous, why are you not worried about cooperating with the unscrupulous merchants of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors?"
"Like I said, it's the lesser of two evils!"
Li Yao opened his hands and said, "I also want to turn all the Immortal Cultivators at the center of the cosmos into kindhearted, chivalrous, selfless, and selfless Cultivators like me overnight so that we can work together to create a brilliant and beautiful tomorrow. But how is that possible? We can only strike the unpardonable Immortal Cultivators with the better Immortal Cultivators first before we figure out a way to transform the better Immortal Cultivators into Cultivators.
"A real Cultivator is definitely a realist who is practical, not an idealist who only knows how to sing. Even if they want to change the entire universe, they can only do it one star at a time.
"Besides, I don't think that the free coin is really so untraceable and unmonitored. It still leaves a lot of clear information during the transactions that everybody knows. It's just that the transactions are mostly conducted in the dynamic 'dark net', and the parties involved in the transactions are anonymous.
"However, the so-called 'dark net' is not really untraceable. Even if it is impossible to completely tear apart the veil of the free coin right now, I believe that there will be ways to resolve its problem as technology advances."
Li Jialing was still frowning. After a long silence, he suddenly said, "The universe is too big, and there are too many problems. I suddenly understand Blackstar the Great's anxiety and stubbornness. If I were Wuying Qi, faced with the Holy League, the reformists, the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, the Cultivators, the local warlords, the free coin … I'm afraid that I would've gone crazy in less than three days."
Li Yao said, "Are you serious? Are you sympathizing with Wuying Qi right now?"
Li Jialing sniffed and said, "Wuying Qi has occupied the queen's body and is trying to steal my body. Naturally, I will not stop until he is dead. I can't wait to kill him in person!
"However, even if Wuying Qi is killed, so what? Will the chaotic universe be peaceful again? Will the vast universe be better? Who can rule the Imperium in place of Wuying Qi and maintain the situation in the post-Imperial era? Can it be the profiteers who advocate 'absolute freedom' such as Jin Yuyan or the Cultivators such as Brother Yao? Brother Yao, can you do it?"
"Huh …"
Li Yao thought carefully for a moment and said, "In terms of strength, Blackstar the Great is certainly no match for me, but I'm better at governing a country. I'm afraid that I'm not as good as him. Maybe, maybe, maybe I can't replace him."
"That's right. What will the future of the Imperium?"
The young, The Great Is, The Great Is The Is The Is The Is Is Great, The Great Is The Great Is The Great The Great Is The Great Li Yao.
At this moment, Little Bear trembled slightly and slowed down.
They had passed the inspection and been led to the port at the edge of the Seven Seas Grand Market by the magnetic field of the towing starship.
"That's enough. Don't think too much at such a young age, alright?"
Li Yao patted the back of Li Jialing's head softly. "After all, the tall guys will hold the sky even if it collapses. You don't have to manage the entire Imperium. Why are you worrying about national affairs? It has occurred to me that you've become more and more mature recently. I don't know what to say anymore. You're not cute at all!"
"I've always been like this."
Li Jialing snorted and said, "Li Lingfeng has been raising me as his successor and the 'future Kurfürst' in the first place. In the past few years, he had inculcated the messy national affairs into my head, except that I intentionally sealed them up in the past and did not want to remember them.
"But no matter how I sealed them, those things kept popping up in my head. After absorbing the power of the 'Imperial Fire Pearl', those things popped up faster and faster. Every time I ran into a problem, I couldn't help but analyze it. What can I do?"
While the two of them were talking, Little Bear docked in a dock at the port at the edge of the Seven Seas Grand Market steadily.
Ripples of spiritual energy flowed into the cabin like waves, connecting Little Bear to the dynamic Spiritual Nexus of the Seven Seas Grand Market. More and more 3D light beams popped up around them, as if the entire starship was gradually melting, exposing them to the vacuum of space and floating before the colorful, brilliant Seven Seas Grand Market.
Both Li Yao and Li Jialing were shocked by the scale and magnificence of the Seven Seas Grand Market.
The core of the Seven Seas Grand Market was an asteroid that had been hollowed out. Because the entire Seven Seas Space Zone was riddled with space cracks, it was one of the most suitable locations for space jumps at the edge of the Imperium. Therefore, as early as in the age of the Star Ocean Imperium, the place had been built into an enormous transit base for military assets. The asteroid was an enormous arsenal.
After ten thousand years of development, the original appearance of the asteroid was already beyond recognition. Not only had the interior of the asteroid been hollowed out and built into the appearance of a beehive or an ant's nest, countless circular rails had also been established on the surface of the asteroid. The rails overlapped each other and grew outward barbarically, extending out into intersecting vacuum channels. The two sides of the channels were full of spherical living cabins, and around the living cabins were new vacuum channels that were connected to the permanent living areas modified from the abandoned starships. Then, they were connected by all kinds of circular rails to more vacuum channels, abandoned starships, and spherical living cabins … To this day, nobody could tell how many floors the Seven Seas Grand Market was divided into, how many areas there were, and how many people lived there.
This place was a haven for space pirates, a resort for wanted criminals, an arena where the Unknowns fought for their success with their lives, a paradise for adventurers, a graveyard for cowards, a black market among black markets, a slaughterhouse among slaughterhouses, and a paradise among paradises. This was the freest place in the entire universe!
Li Yao and Li Jialing looked far away, only to discover that countless overwhelming torrents of light were dispersing and landing on the glittering branches at the periphery of the Seven Seas Grand Market.
It was the landing of countless commercial starships that melted themselves into the enormous life forms of the Seven Seas Grand Market just like Little Bear did.
The scene reminded the two of the colorful giant corals at the bottom of the ocean. Every starship was like a plankton that had fallen into the corals. Shua! Shua!
Shua! Shua! Shua!
At this moment, the latest catalog of goods and services in the Seven Seas Grand Market, as well as the display system of the Grand Illusionary Land, had been synchronized and matched with the mainframe crystal processor of Little Bear, allowing them to be displayed directly.
Through the trade system of the Grand Illusionary Land, the merchants could browse the commodities themselves. After the transactions were made on the dark net with the free coin, the fully-automatic barges would directly load the commodities onto the starships. The merchants did not even need to leave their starships during the whole process. It could not have been more convenient.
Of course, for the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that needed to be inspected on the spot, or for the human resources such as mercenaries, killers, assassins, and general labor, the merchants still had to go deep into the Seven Seas Grand Market to complete the transactions.
Li Yao was going to get in touch with Jin Yuyan in secret. Naturally, he had to get off the starship, too.
However, before he left Little Bear, he might as well take a look at the virtual market first.
The two of them were both experts with highly developed synapses and computational ability. With a telepathic thought, they immediately completed the interaction with the display system of the Grand Illusionary Land. Tremendous catalogs of commodities were spurted out of the 3D light beam like a waterfall.
From the most fundamental water-purifying tablets, air circulation chips, and synthetic canned food, to the refined minerals necessary for industry, to the strengthening drugs and high-energy nutrition drugs for the training of the experts, to the more sensitive space shuttles, crystal suits, battle puppets, and even the half-armed smugglers that had been modified, there were so many dazzling items that the two of them felt that it was too much for their eyes to take in.
Li Jialing clicked on the detailed introduction of a random refined mineral, which was a necessary material for the production of cannons. He discovered that even such an important strategic asset could be purchased in a huge quantity. Basically, as long as one had enough free coin, they could buy as many as they wanted.
Then, he clicked on the introduction of a half-armed starship of the latest model, only to discover that it was modified from a new patrol starship co-developed by the four families. The question was, where did the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors get so many new patrol starships of the four families, and where did they get the most confidential technical manuals about the patrol starships in order to complete the modification?
Looking at the description of the goods that said "Original product of a certain magical equipment base of the four families", Li Jialing had an indescribable sense of absurdity.
"The goods provided in the Seven Seas Grand Market are truly abundant."
Li Jialing could not figure it out at all. "The coalition fleet of the four families has blocked most of the sailing routes and trapped the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors in the Seven Seas Space Zone, their nest. Yet, so many goods are still freely available here, and so many business teams have reached this place through the blockage of the coalition fleet of the four families. That … That doesn't make sense!"
Li Yao told Li Jialing that he only knew part of the story. The so-called Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors did not produce any goods per se. It even gradually opened the shares of many transportation groups, welcoming the heroes of other places to join the great cause. They were merely providing a platform for free trade and anonymous transactions.
The individuals who made a fortune on the platform established by the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors were still countless businesses large and small.
Who was the one who established these businesses, or whose shares were secretly owned by them? Yes, of course, it was the countless Immortal Cultivators including the four families!
An Immortal Cultivator from a secondary branch of the four families might have a minor position in the government or an insignificant official such as an advisor in a fleet. With his salary and the annual dividends of his family, he would not starve or have enough to eat. When he was about to spend the rest of his life in ignorance, a business under the banner of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors offered him shares in secret. Who wouldn't be happy if they did nothing but "made friends" with him?
Such things did not happen in a day or two but had already happened decades ago before the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors revealed its hideous face. It was completely legal at that time.
After decades of operation, the shares could be converted into a considerable amount of free coins.
From the four families to other conglomerates, from the minor officials in the core worlds to the warlords in the peripheral worlds, who did not have shares in the businesses under the banner of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors? Who did not have free coins in their accounts that were dozens of times more than their legal income? Who did not receive gifts from the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors every year? It was a great deal of "good karma"!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
