novelraw Chapter 111: Since That Is the Case, I Will Crush Your Hopes
Chapter 111: Since That Is the Case, I Will Crush Your Hopes
At this moment, Yuwen Sa felt incredibly miserable.
For a strategist, having a scheme fail was acceptable.
After all, even the most elite strategist could not guarantee that their plans would always succeed.
Seventy percent relied on human effort, and thirty percent depended on the will of heaven.
However, his meticulously laid out plot had not only failed but had actually ended up assisting the enemy.
How could Yuwen Sa possibly remain calm after that?
"This call record..."
Toran Xileng had also seen the call record sent by President Qing.
Because of their previous exchanges, Yuwen Sa had already revealed his entire plan regarding Blue Star.
After reviewing the call record, Toran Xileng also realized that Blue Star would not suffer any losses from this incident.Instead, they would profit from it.
"Brother Yuwen,"
Toran Xileng looked at Yuwen Sa.
Yuwen Sa had already closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. He scrutinized every little detail of his plot and even began to reevaluate the Blue Star civilization.
Seeing this, Toran Xileng dared not disturb him.
Half an hour later.
Yuwen Sa opened his eyes again, his gaze entirely rational.
"President Qing, do you think Blue Star's Director Zhou is truly loyal to the Empire?"
Yuwen Sa looked at President Qing.
"Loyal my ass."
President Qing shook his head and replied, "Why would a newborn civilization that has never even made contact with the Empire be loyal to it? He is faking it. That Director Zhou is definitely faking it!"
"Mhm."
Yuwen Sa fell silent for a moment.
"I was wrong."
Yuwen Sa shook his head slightly. "Originally, I assumed there were no other factions standing behind the Blue Star civilization. Otherwise, how could they allow Blue Star to be included in the Empire's management quota?"
Being included in the Empire's management quota meant that Blue Star's future development and profit distribution would all have to pass through the Empire's hands.
Therefore, if there truly were other starry sky factions backing Blue Star, they would never allow it to be managed by the Empire.
Otherwise, what were they after?
Why go through all the trouble of helping Blue Star deal with the Multieye Clan's Interstellar Colonial Ship and killing three of their Starry Sky Life forms, only to ask for nothing in return?
There were no starry sky factions backing Blue Star.
This was the premise upon which Yuwen Sa had built his scheme.
Many of his plans had unfolded based on this very assumption!
But at this moment, Yuwen Sa realized that his premise had been incorrect.
There was absolutely a faction or an individual powerhouse standing behind Blue Star.
Killing the three Starry Sky Life forms of the Multieye Clan, resolving Blue Star's crisis, and then applying for the Empire's management quota to block the Multieye Clan's retaliation...
The aforementioned methods were executed as smoothly as flowing water, yet they could still be considered a coincidence.
But this time, to silently dismantle his scheme and even use the opportunity to secure greater benefits...
Could it be a coincidence once?
Could it still be a coincidence a second time?
Even though he hadn't found any traces, Yuwen Sa immediately assumed that this was no coincidence.
If it wasn't a coincidence, then an external force was driving it.
"Such methods... is it another strategist? Is there a strategist backing Blue Star?"
Yuwen Sa suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Aside from a strategist, Yuwen Sa couldn't think of anyone who could achieve this so silently.
"I was careless."
Yuwen Sa sighed internally and looked at Toran Xileng, who was waiting nearby. "Toran Xileng, I have already made my move against Blue Star. Now, the employment relationship between us is over."
"Over?"
Toran Xileng instantly grew anxious.
He had paid ten million Azure Surge Coins! Now, not only had Blue Star suffered zero losses, but they had also profited greatly. How could this be acceptable?
"When we strategists take action, whether we succeed or fail does not affect the price of our services,"
Yuwen Sa stated flatly.
Hearing this, Toran Xileng fell silent.
Hiring a strategist came with no guarantee of success; this was an unspoken rule.
To some extent, the strategist wanted the scheme to succeed even more than the employer did. It wasn't a matter of money, but a sense of accomplishment.
"Of course, you can hire me to strike again and continue dealing with Blue Star. However, this time, the starting price will be at least one billion Azure Surge Coins."
Yuwen Sa continued. It was highly likely that another strategist was involved. Under these circumstances, even if Blue Star was just a native planet that had just made contact with the universe, the fee would increase exponentially.
One billion Azure Surge Coins was only the starting point. Yuwen Sa would also need to repeatedly probe Blue Star to gauge the methods of the mastermind strategist before determining the final price.
"One billion Azure Surge Coins? And that's just the starting price?!"
Toran Xileng remained speechless.
Spending so many Azure Surge Coins for a deceased son who held no remaining value was already his absolute limit.
"Forget it."
Toran Xileng stood up and took his leave.
Outside Blue Star.
A spaceship hovered in a stealth state.
The figure of Imperial Emissary Audis materialized inside the vessel.
"Lord Audis, how is the assessment of this planet progressing?"
An Imperial envoy who had accompanied him on the ship immediately asked.
Assessing Blue Star and eventually signing a management contract with them on behalf of the Empire was naturally not a one-man job for Emissary Audis.
Audis was only responsible for the assessment. The actual signing of the contract was handled by the Imperial envoys under his command.
"Strength assessment, average. Resource assessment, excellent. Cultural assessment, outstanding."
Emissary Audis declared, "Let the final signed contract be an A-Grade contract."
"An A-Grade contract? An outstanding cultural assessment?" The Imperial envoys exchanged glances.
Among the three assessments for a life-sustaining planet, an outstanding rating required concrete evidence.
This dictated how the Empire would allocate its resources.
"This video is the evidence for the outstanding rating. See for yourselves."
Audis projected a video.
After watching it several times, the Imperial envoys pondered for a moment and concluded that the outstanding rating was entirely justified.
Although Blue Star was not strong and the potential of its humans was not high, as long as they were loyal to the Empire, none of that was an issue.
Within the vast territory ruled by the Azure Surge Universal Human Empire, many humans born on life-sustaining planets had terrifying potential. There were even quite a few who were born as Level 1 Life forms.
But what use was that?
Without loyalty to the Empire, no amount of resources could tame an ungrateful wretch.
Half a day later.
The envoys from the Empire descended upon Blue Star and officially signed the Empire's management contract with Blue Star's high-ranking officials, including Director Zhou.
"An A-Grade contract?!"
Director Zhou and the other high-ranking officials of Blue Star were completely shocked when they saw the grade of the contract being signed.
Over the past few months, they had also accessed a great deal of universal information through the Empire's Virtual Network.
This included details about the tiers of the Empire's management contracts.
The Empire divided the contracts for life-sustaining planets applying for management into six levels.
The highest was S-Grade, and the lowest was E-Grade.
Most life-sustaining planets signed D-Grade or C-Grade contracts.
Before the Imperial envoys arrived, Director Zhou and the other Blue Star officials had estimated the contract tier they would likely receive.
Their conclusion was that it would be a C-Grade contract at best.
After all, aside from its modest mineral veins, Blue Star did not hold much value.
An A-Grade contract?
Director Zhou and the others hadn't even dared to dream of such a thing.
Under an A-Grade contract, the Empire's resource allocation for Blue Star would be unprecedented. "Congratulations," the leading Imperial envoy smiled as he looked at Director Zhou and the others. "The Empire is fully aware of your loyalty. We hope that in the time to come, you will create even greater value for the Empire."
"We thank the Empire,"
Director Zhou immediately understood upon hearing this that the key to Blue Star securing an A-Grade contract lay in their loyalty.
'Loyalty?'
Director Zhou thought back to the words he had spoken to President Qing not long ago.
Those words were exactly what Su Yuan had personally taught him a few days prior. Director Zhou had simply followed Su Yuan's precise instructions when delivering them.
'The reason Blue Star got an A-Grade contract is all thanks to the Lord's handiwork...'
Waves of shock rippled through Director Zhou's heart. What did this mean?
This meant that Su Yuan possessed the ability to influence the decisions of the Imperial envoys.
Such capabilities were simply beyond comprehension for the Blue Star civilization, which had only just made contact with the wider universe.
"Over the next period, Imperial personnel will gradually enter Blue Star. You are responsible for ensuring smooth integration with Blue Star's citizens,"
the leading Imperial envoy instructed.
With Imperial personnel entering Blue Star, they were bound to come into contact with the native human population.
Such interactions could be both a blessing and a curse.
"Understood. I will handle it strictly according to the terms of the contract," Director Zhou nodded.
The life-sustaining planets managed by the Azure Surge Universal Human Empire were as vast as the sea, giving them abundant experience. The exact details of how the two sides should interact were clearly outlined in the contract to minimize conflicts.
"Good."
The Imperial envoys stood up and returned to their spaceship.
Hundreds of kilometers underground.
Naturally, Su Yuan also learned that the Blue Star civilization had signed an A-Grade contract with the Empire.
It could be said that he had single-handedly brought this about. Without Su Yuan, under the machinations of the strategist Yuwen Sa, Blue Star's ultimate fate would have been a mere D-Grade contract.
Although a D-Grade contract was not the lowest tier, the Empire's support for Blue Star would have been minimal.
Signing an A-Grade contract, however, would elevate Blue Star's intrinsic value by a massive margin. For Su Yuan, the mastermind behind Blue Star, this was naturally a wonderful outcome.
Most importantly, any life-sustaining planet that signed an A-Grade or higher management contract with the Empire would receive protection from a stationed Imperial garrison.
In other words, for a very long time to come, Blue Star would be under the direct sanctuary of the Empire. Its security would be drastically enhanced, and this was what Su Yuan truly desired.
'It's a pity... Given Blue Star's conditions, an A-Grade management contract is its absolute limit. An S-Grade contract?'
Su Yuan shook his head slightly.
The Azure Surge Universal Human Empire's S-Grade management contract required outstanding ratings in all three categories: the strength assessment, resource assessment, and cultural assessment.
According to the Empire's evaluation standards, the threshold for an outstanding strength assessment required the planet's humans to have extraordinarily high potential, being born as Level 1 Life forms, and boasting over a hundred Starry Sky Life forms.
Producing a hundred Starry Sky Life forms before even making contact with the universe?
This wouldn't just mean that the humans on such a planet possessed terrifying potential; it would also signify that the planet possessed incredibly deep foundations. Otherwise, how could it sustain a hundred Starry Sky Life forms?
With Blue Star's current foundation, producing just a single Starry Sky Life form without external universal resources was enough to drain the entire planet dry. Let alone a hundred!
'However, this Yuwen Sa who plotted against Blue Star...'
Numerous details regarding this Wisdom Clan strategist flashed through Su Yuan's mind, all of which he had gleaned from the gray mirror.
Su Yuan had no intention of sparing the Multieye Clan.
And he equally had no intention of letting off this Yuwen Sa, who had participated in plotting against Blue Star.
"It is impolite not to return a favor."
Su Yuan's gaze was tranquil. "Since that is the case, I will crush your hopes."
Hum—
The next moment, Su Yuan logged into the Virtual Network and descended into the world of Void Shattering.
In the world of Void Shattering, within Liangzhou, one of the Nine Provinces of the Great Yong Dynasty.
Su Yuan spent the better half of the day crossing thousands of kilometers to arrive inside Liangzhou City.
As the capital of Liangzhou, the city was far more prosperous than Green Xiang City. It boasted over fifty experts in the Top Three Ranks alone, including thirteen Second Rank experts.
Experts in the Top Three Ranks were almost entirely Starry Sky Life forms, possessing a combat multiplier of at least 1500%. Even with the physical constitution of a mere Level 1 Life form, they could unleash terrifying power with every casual gesture.
Su Yuan had rushed thousands of kilometers to Liangzhou City, but naturally, it wasn't to challenge the Top Three Rank experts here.
After smoothly slipping into Liangzhou City, Su Yuan made his way to the outer district and stopped outside a modest single-story house.
Click.
The door was pushed open, and Su Yuan stepped inside.
At this moment, his facial features were already disguised. If one looked closely, his face surprisingly bore a faint resemblance to Yuwen Sa.
Inside the house lay a woman with a sallow, withered complexion.
The woman's eyes were closed; she was fast asleep.
Su Yuan stood silently by her side.
Ten minutes later.
The woman snapped her eyes open.
'Damn it! If I hadn't been ambushed at the very end, the treasures inside the Heavenly Martial Ruins would definitely be mine!' Thoughts raced through her mind.
She was also an Imperial Citizen Player, and in reality, a Starry Sky Life form. Recently introduced by a friend, she had become deeply immersed in the game Void Shattering.
The Superior-grade Martial Arts Manuals within the Void Shattering world were extremely useful, even for a Starry Sky Life form like her.
Just a few minutes ago, the woman had entered the Heavenly Martial Ruins, battling it out with other Top Three Rank experts for the treasures and martial arts manuals hidden inside.
She ended up dying to a sneak attack. Without hesitation, she paid one hundred thousand Azure Surge Coins to re-enter the Void Shattering world and start completely from scratch.
'Let's see where I've spawned this time...'
Just as the woman was about to inspect her surroundings, she suddenly noticed Su Yuan standing right next to her.
"You?"
The woman's pupils violently contracted.
Before she could even react, Su Yuan raised his right hand and swung his palm down toward her.
'Oh no!'
Her heart trembled, and she immediately tried to dodge to the side.
However, much to her despair, as she had just spawned into the game, her physical constitution was merely that of an ordinary mortal. She was nowhere near the physical level of a Level 1 Life form.
Under these circumstances, even with a 20x combat multiplier, she still stood absolutely no chance of dodging Su Yuan's descending palm.
Her base physical stats were simply too low; no amount of combat multiplier could save her.
Crack!
Without any suspense, the woman's head was smashed like a watermelon.
Right before her death, the woman shot Su Yuan a deep, searing glare, as if trying to brand his exact appearance into her soul.
Azure Surge Universal Human Empire.
The branch office of the Galaxy Corporation.
Inside the HR recruitment department, a purple-haired woman opened her eyes and stepped out of a Virtual Network gaming pod.
The purple-haired woman's expression was incredibly ugly, her mood clearly foul. Dying in Void Shattering meant that re-entering would cost her another one hundred thousand Azure Surge Coins.
One hundred thousand Azure Surge Coins was not much of a loss to the purple-haired woman.
However, dying twice in a row had completely soured her mood.
This was especially true of her most recent death. She had just respawned and hadn't even gotten a clear look at her surroundings before a powerhouse of at least the Fourth Rank ambushed and killed her.
'Was that person an NPC? Or a Citizen Player?'
The purple-haired woman decided to work for a bit to let herself cool off.
Walking over to her virtual screen, she began to scroll through her tasks.
The profiles of citizens applying for jobs at the Galaxy Corporation continuously flashed before her eyes.
"Hm?"
The purple-haired woman suddenly stopped and stared at one of the applications.
The applicant's name was Yuwen Sa, from the Wisdom Clan. He was applying for a 'Strategist' position within the corporation's branch office.
The purple-haired woman scrutinized Yuwen Sa's appearance. His facial features bore a striking resemblance to the man who had just ambushed and killed her in the game.
"Like a lingering ghost!"
The purple-haired woman's mood plummeted even further. She immediately rejected his job application, issuing a firm decision not to hire.