Li Jialing listened attentively for a while. Pulling Li Yao's sleeve, he said in excitement, "Brother Yao, did you hear that? The situation seems to be in favor of the reformists. A lot of forces in the expedition army and the peripheral worlds of the Imperium have joined the reformists again!"
"Don't take this kind of fake news seriously. Don't take it seriously."
Li Yao sniffed. "The so-called businessmen are best at bluffing. They are bold enough to pretend that they are a main-force warship. If you believe half of what they say, you may be sold out by them!"
Slightly dazed, Li Jialing asked, "Is it … false?"
"Of course it's not true. It's just a way to stabilize the market and boost the morale of the soldiers."
Li Yao said, "I've heard a thing or two about the nine Southern Sky Sectors. I know that they are nine worlds at the edge of the Imperium that are yet to be developed. In terms of military power, resources, and experts, how can they be enough for the four families?
"Even if the nine Southern Sky Sectors are truly determined to maintain their neutrality, the best they can do is to pretend to be obedient but not actually do anything. How can they be bold enough to confront the four Kurfürst families? If they say something like 'this is a random order and we will not follow your order', wouldn't they be slapping the four Kurfürst families in the face in front of all the Immortal Cultivators? The nine Sector Masters wouldn't have the courage to do that even if they were a hundred times bolder.
"One more thing. All the fleets in the Fourth Battle Area of the expedition army are loyal to Lei Chenghu, Marquis Liaohai? Well, in terms of prestige, connections, and the combat ability of the fleet, Lei Chenghu is indeed the best general of the expedition army. He deserves the title of 'God of War' and is qualified to be the highest commander of the entire expedition army.
"Also, the stance of the expedition army right now is very ambiguous. Most of the expedition army is made of the soldiers from the peripheral worlds of the Imperium, but they are under the command of the 'command department of the expedition army' of the four families. But right now, the expedition army is truly 'strictly neutral'. They are neither helping the peripheral worlds nor the four families. Their attitude of taking advantage of the situation is obvious.
"However, I don't believe that the Fourth Battle Area of the expedition army has taken Lei Chenghu's side so openly. The most critical issue here is resources. The reformists have only occupied the Empyreal Terminus Sector. It is impossible to supply the expedition army with the resources in the capital. Also, the peripheral worlds of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors are too far away from the newly-recovered area. However abundant the assets in the Seven Seas Grand Market are, they can barely be delivered to the frontline to meet the astronomical consumption of the expedition army every day.
"The result is that the various battle areas of the expedition army still count on the resources provided by the four families. Their necks are tied by the supply lines. How can they have the courage to turn on the four families easily?"
Tilting his head and thinking for a moment, Li Jialing said in disappointment, "It does make sense. The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is too shameless to make up such nonsense!"
"It's not entirely nonsense. As the saying goes, 'Wind from an empty cave may not be without cause'!"
Li Yao thought for a moment and said, "I believe that the peripheral warlords such as the nine Southern Sky Sectors and the high-level commanders of the few battle areas of the expedition army must have secret contacts or even agreements with the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. That's why the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is bold enough to release such 'fake news'. Whether or not it works, the four families will be shaken first and the four families will be separated from each other.
"Speaking of which, 'God of War' Lei Chenghu has been rather mysterious recently. He was embedded into the heartland of the four families as a nail. By logic, the four families should've removed the nail in the heartland before any large-scale military operation. However, I've never heard that the Thunder Fleet was involved in any great battle …
"Does Lei Chenghu know the secrets of Blackstar the Great? If he does, what is his attitude? What is the most capable veteran of the Imperium who has fought wars for two hundred years thinking?"
Li Yao was deep in thought.
He did not have a bad impression of Lei Chenghu. Although the guy was a cold and heartless standard Immortal Cultivator and an iron-blooded soldier, he was also a respectable opponent who deserved to be fought with his full strength, unlike the selfish "false Immortal Cultivators" of the four Kurfürst families who were as sticky as snot.
The former reminded Li Yao of "Iron Commander" Zhou Hengdao, the iron-blooded soldier of the Xing Yao Federation, who respected each other even though they were engaged in life-and-death battles.
As for the latter, even if he stomped them to death, Li Yao would not mind dirtying his shoes.
In Li Yao's plan, Lei Chenghu was as important as Jin Yuyan. However, the stubborn veteran of the Immortal Cultivators would certainly not be as easy to persuade as Jin Yuyan. He might even worship and support Blackstar the Great passionately. Therefore, he needed to make further plans …
Li Jialing poked him softly and said, "Brother Yao, let's put aside Lei Chenghu for now. How are we going to approach Jin Yuyan?"
Li Yao narrowed his eyes and looked around. Pointing at a splendid and busy building up ahead, he said, "Do you see it? That's the 'Commodity Market', the core of the Seven Seas Grand Market."
Li Yao told Li Jialing that the Seven Seas Grand Market was divided into an inner zone and an inner zone. The inner zone was the exclusive area for the staff of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the honorable guests. Jin Yuyan usually lived and worked in the inner zone.
With Li Yao and Li Jialing's expertise, it was not difficult for them to get a VIP card. The problem was that they would have to go through the most rigorous security checks in the inner zone. Not only were they not allowed to carry large-scale destructive magical equipment, but their Cosmos Rings would also be locked. Their identities would also have to be thoroughly investigated. It was quite troublesome.
Li Yao estimated that the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors must've been infiltrated by Blackstar the Great's spies. Wuying Qi's spies must've been lurking around Jin Yuyan, and they had received secret instructions from Wuying Qi. Should anything go wrong, they might kill Jin Yuyan in advance.
Li Yao was unwilling to place Jin Yuyan in unnecessary danger, nor did he want Wuying Qi to discover that he had come to the Seven Seas Grand Market. Therefore, he could not enter the inner zone openly and ask to meet Jin Yuyan.
Zuo Tianying, the manager of the Blue Sky Market, gave Li Yao a channel through which he could communicate with Jin Yuyan in secret. However, after much consideration, Li Yao abandoned such a way of communication. Zuo Tianying was just a common manager. It was highly questionable how "secret" the channel that he controlled could be.
One could never be too wary of Blackstar the Great's methods. Chances were that he had monitored every communication channel around Jin Yuyan. When Li Yao said the first word to Jin Yuyan, Wuying Qi, who was thousands of kilometers away, had already heard it.
The safest solution was to find an opportunity to sneak to Jin Yuyan and communicate with him face to face by blocking the soundwaves with soundproof rune arrays.
Li Yao learned from Zuo Tianying that, although Jin Yuyan worked in the inner zone most of the time, he had been visiting the "Commodity Market" in the outer zone every other day in recent months.
Commodity Market referred to the transactions that were worth more than fifty million free coins in a single transaction. It was the foundation of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Jin Yuyan showed up every other day to host part of the transactions and chat with his old friends. Even if he did nothing, it would still be a sign of stabilizing the confidence of the market and demonstrating his determination to live and die with the Seven Seas Grand Market.
With a great war coming, confidence was more precious than marrow crystals. Unless it was a particularly serious emergency, Jin Yuyan wouldn't break the routine.
After making that clear, the rest was simple. Li Yao only needed to find a way to sneak into the Commodity Market and approach Jin Yuyan without alarming anyone. Then, he would have a chance to communicate with the director of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors at a close distance!
"That explains a lot. Got it!"
Li Jialing stood on his tiptoes and searched everywhere.
Li Yao found it odd. "Hey, what are you doing? Don't act so stealthily, alright? The Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is a tight-knit organization on the outside. The inspection just now may seem lax, but there are a lot of plainclothes on the road. There are also all kinds of camouflage and stealth surveillance cameras nearby. They can even see your nose hair. What are you doing exactly?"
"Found you!"
Li Jialing said in excitement, "Brother Yao, there is an entrance of a ventilation tube a hundred and fifty meters to the east of us on the right. There is also a manhole cover of a sewer forty meters to the south behind us. There is a public toilet in the mall on the left, which is also a very valuable breakthrough point. Don't worry about it. I'll keep a lookout for you here!"
Li Yao: "… Little * sshole, what are you thinking exactly? What do you think your Brother Yao is? I'm a transcendent expert above the Divinity Transformation Stage and only one step away from the Divinity Branching Stage. I can decapitate a warship in one attack, alright? You want to crawl into a ventilation tube? Even when I encountered Blackstar the Great, I didn't crawl into a ventilation tube. You're asking me to crawl into a ventilation tube in a shabby market where a couple of battle-type Divinity Transformation Stage experts are at best? Isn't it embarrassing? "
Li Jialing coughed and lowered his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Brother Yao. I thought you liked it!"
Li Yao snorted heavily. "Even if I'm really fond of crawling through the ventilation tubes to eavesdrop and peep, you must know that your Brother Yao's level right now is much higher than before. It's not good enough for me to crawl through the ventilation tubes with my physical body. As a matter of fact, I've grasped the special technique of the Three Pure Ones in One Breath to leave my body and crawl through the ventilation tubes with my soul. Where are the entrances that you pointed at just now? Come on.
"Huh?"
Li Jialing was dumbfounded. "Are you really going to crawl into the ventilation tube?"
"Not me. Somebody else has already done it."
Li Yao sneered and said, "Trust me, all the weak links around the Commodity Market must've been infiltrated. At least a couple of teams of spies and assassins are lurking in the most inconspicuous places, ready to attack Jin Yuyan, aren't they?
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