I Have an All-Knowing Mirror

Chapter 169: The Struggle for the Grand Position Has Always Been Thus

"Right, I can go beg Mr. Jing!"

Aofeng suddenly realized.

Previously, the Hometown Exploration Team had also been blacklisted by Yalin Luoxing.

But didn't Mr. Jing still fund them anyway?

And under Mr. Jing's funding, how glorious was the Hometown Exploration Team now?

As for Yalin Luoxing's blacklist against the Hometown Exploration Team? It had long become a complete joke.

Investors ultimately prioritized profits. As long as the Hometown Exploration Team could guarantee returns for their investors...

What did Yalin Luoxing count for? A massive number of investors would actively take the initiative to fund the Hometown Exploration Team.

Yalin Luoxing's blacklist was built entirely on the premise that the blacklisted exploration team could not bring sufficient returns to investors.

"Mr. Jing! Mr. Jing!"Aofeng seemed to see hope, catching sight of his final lifeline.

'The way I acted toward Mr. Jing last time makes it inappropriate to meet him directly. I'll have Hu Ta put in a good word for me...' Aofeng still had some self-awareness. After a moment of hesitation, he immediately contacted Hu Ta of the Hometown Exploration Team.

'As long as I can obtain Mr. Jing's funding, I will sign any profit-sharing Contract, no matter how much I have to give up,' Aofeng thought to himself.

At the Hometown Exploration Team's station.

Su Yuan smoothly signed the profit-sharing Contract with Hu Ta for their next exploration.

Hu Ta looked delighted and was just about to speak.

Suddenly, his expression shifted slightly; he had received a message from Aofeng, the captain of the Voyagers Exploration Team.

"Mr. Jing..."

Hu Ta hesitated for a moment before carefully saying, "Aofeng from the Voyagers Exploration Team hopes to receive your funding. To achieve this, he is willing to sign any profit-sharing Contract."

Hu Ta and Aofeng were actually not very close, but the conditions Aofeng offered were truly lucrative, almost tantamount to selling himself to Su Yuan. Thus, Hu Ta did not dare to conceal the matter and reported it truthfully.

"Aofeng?" Su Yuan smiled faintly. "He actually dared to ask you to find me?"

Su Yuan did not really care about Aofeng; he had foreseen the man's fate long ago.

Thinking back to Aofeng's arrogant posture back then, believing he was going to soar into the heavens, Su Yuan only found it amusing.

"Yes, he just reached out to me," Hu Ta immediately replied. "I received news that Aofeng suffered catastrophic losses on his recent exploration and has been blacklisted by Yalin Luoxing."

"There is no need to pay him any mind." Su Yuan could not be bothered to continue discussing Aofeng.

From the gray mirror, he had already seen Aofeng's many possible endings. If he chose to continue funding him, the man would just develop the delusion that his success relied entirely on his own strength after a few more explorations.

A person like that, possessing overly massive ambitions yet pitifully low capabilities, did not even hold any exploitation value for Su Yuan.

"Understood." Hu Ta immediately grasped Su Yuan's stance.

Meanwhile.

Aofeng was anxiously waiting for Hu Ta's reply.

Mr. Jing was currently his greatest hope. Under Yalin Luoxing's blacklist, numerous investors could barely be bothered to spare him a glance. Only Mr. Jing, who had previously funded the Hometown Exploration Team despite similar circumstances, offered a glimmer of light.

He was his sole chance to turn things around.

"Mr. Jing refused?"

It did not take long for Aofeng to receive Hu Ta's response.

"How is that possible..."

Aofeng's face was filled with utter despair. "I have already made such massive concessions; why won't Mr. Jing fund me?"

"If I had known this would happen, I should never have treated Mr. Jing with such an attitude back then..."

Aofeng's face was ashen. With even Mr. Jing rejecting him, he could not think of a single investor who would be willing to continue funding him.

Investors were willing to offend the Luoxing Family for the sake of profit, but right now, Aofeng had not displayed any value whatsoever. He had just experienced a disastrous loss, entirely throwing Young Master Yalin's investment down the drain.

Currently, in the Explorers World, Aofeng was an entity that countless investors actively shunned.

"That Jing..."

After driving Aofeng away, Yalin Luoxing sank into deep thought.

In truth, he had anticipated the result of Aofeng's exploration early on. Seeing the Hometown Exploration Team, funded by Mr. Jing, return fully loaded with riches, he had faintly realized that something was amiss.

It was not until the Voyagers Exploration Team truly returned with catastrophic losses that Yalin Luoxing finally confirmed it. That Mr. Jing definitely possessed an unknown channel to understand the uncharted Barren Star Sector.

Otherwise, how could he have provided funding three consecutive times, and every single time, the funded exploration team returned with a bountiful haul?

'Just what kind of methods is he using... to obtain intelligence regarding the uncharted Barren Star Sector?'

Yalin Luoxing pondered inwardly.

In fact, people like Su Yuan were not considered rare in the Explorers World. Some investors and exploration teams had mapped out a certain Barren Star Sector, allowing them to reap rewards from that desolate region on every expedition.

For instance, they might have obtained a detailed Star Map of a specific Barren Star Sector. Or perhaps they possessed some unique treasure-hunting method.

'I should still go meet this Jing.'

Yalin Luoxing made a decision in his heart.

Having finished signing the Contract with the Hometown Exploration Team, Su Yuan had just left the station.

He then saw Yalin Luoxing walking over.

"Mr. Jing."

Compared to his posture during their first meeting, Yalin Luoxing was much more earnest this time.

"I wish to purchase that detailed Star Map you hold in your hands, Mr. Jing."

Yalin Luoxing stated directly. He deduced that the reason Su Yuan could gain rewards every single time was because he had accidentally acquired a detailed Star Map of an uncharted Barren Star Sector.

This Star Map might have come from some ancient exploration team.

"Detailed Star Map?"

Su Yuan looked at Yalin Luoxing. Deep within his sea of consciousness, he was using the gray mirror to observe the detailed future of this Luoxing Family second-generation heir.

"I don't have one."

Su Yuan shook his head. "You don't?"

Naturally, Yalin Luoxing did not believe him, assuming that the chips he offered were simply insufficient. "I am willing to offer five hundred billion Azure Surge Coins to purchase it."

"Five hundred billion Azure Surge Coins is already a massive sum."

Yalin Luoxing stared at Su Yuan.

"No need."

From deep within his sea of consciousness, Su Yuan determined that Yalin Luoxing was not a suitable cooperative partner that met his requirements. Thus, he rejected him directly without a second thought.

"Even five hundred billion isn't enough?" Yalin Luoxing's expression turned ugly, feeling that Su Yuan's appetite was far too greedy. Five hundred billion Azure Surge Coins? That was enough to hire a Stellar Life Form for a very long time!

"Eight hundred billion Azure Surge Coins." Yalin Luoxing spoke up once more. "Mr. Jing, you should know that the resources in an uncharted Barren Star Sector are finite. It is impossible to continuously mine them forever. Selling that detailed Star Map to me right now is your best choice."

"Eight hundred billion Azure Surge Coins? With your status in the Luoxing Family, can you even produce that much?" Su Yuan laughed.

Through the gray mirror, Su Yuan had seen right through Yalin Luoxing's bottom line.

"I have my ways," Yalin Luoxing said, panicking inwardly. He truly could not produce eight hundred billion Azure Surge Coins upfront, but he could borrow the lacking portion or pay it off in installments.

"There's no need."

Su Yuan shook his head.

Eight hundred billion Azure Surge Coins was indeed tempting, but cooperating with Yalin Luoxing would bring countless future troubles.

This was exactly what Su Yuan did not wish to see. With the gray mirror in his possession, Su Yuan lacked no money. Moreover, his purpose in earning wealth was for cultivation, and before reaching the Stellar Life Form stage, his current funds were already more than sufficient.

There was no need to take on unnecessary risks by trading with Yalin Luoxing.

Hum— Su Yuan could not be bothered to waste his breath on Yalin Luoxing. He directly chose to leave the Tavern, logging out of the Explorers World.

"Huh?" Watching Su Yuan vanish right before his eyes, Yalin Luoxing's mouth twitched slightly, but there was absolutely nothing he could do.

He knew nothing about Su Yuan, bringing about an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

Within the Virtual Network.

Inside his Personal Space.

Su Yuan sat back in his recliner.

Swoosh— A figure condensed not too far away.

It was exactly Tega Chiyun.

Ever since Su Yuan planned to elevate Tega Chiyun to the position of the Chiyun Family's Patriarch, he would frequently summon the other party, having him act and direct affairs according to his instructions.

"Mr. Ming."

Tega Chiyun's expression was exceptionally solemn, even carrying a hint of disbelief.

"Have you gathered all the intelligence I asked you to collect?" Su Yuan cast a glance at Tega Chiyun and asked casually.

"I have gathered it." Tega Chiyun's face was grim. "I never imagined that Eldest Brother Tengxing... that Eldest Brother Tengxing would actually dare to collude with Alien Races."

The Eldest Brother Tengxing that Tega Chiyun spoke of was currently the most promising candidate to become the Patriarch of the Chiyun Family.

He was also the eldest son of the current Chiyun Family Patriarch, meaning he was Tega Chiyun's eldest brother.

"For major families and great factions, cooperating privately with Alien Races is perfectly normal," Su Yuan stated without a care.

It was precisely under his instructions that Tega Chiyun had found the evidence of Tengxing Chiyun colluding with Alien Races.

"Perfectly normal?" Tega Chiyun fell into silence.

Su Yuan was not wrong. Of course, such matters could never be brought out into the open, and Tega Chiyun had never expected that someone with Eldest Brother Tengxing's lofty status in the family would also collude with Alien Races.

"What should I do now?"

Tega Chiyun could not help but ask.

"Submit this evidence to the Imperial Law Enforcement Department," Su Yuan declared.

"Submit it to the Imperial Law Enforcement Department?" Tega Chiyun's expression changed slightly.

Again, the matter of cooperating with Alien Races was merely something the major families did in the dark; it absolutely could not be dragged into the light.

Otherwise, the consequences would be exceptionally miserable.

Submitting the evidence of Tengxing Chiyun colluding with Alien Races to the empire was equivalent to flipping the table entirely. It was no different from condemning Tengxing Chiyun to death.

"Only by doing so will that eldest brother of yours completely lose any chance at the Patriarch position, allowing you to take another step closer to it yourself," Su Yuan stated.

"But... there's no need to hand the evidence over to the empire, right? Can't I submit it to the family and let them handle it?" Tega Chiyun said softly.

In his eyes, submitting the evidence to the family would be enough. The family would naturally punish Tengxing Chiyun, and since it was an internal family affair, the penalty Tengxing Chiyun faced would be much lighter.

"Submit it to the family?" Su Yuan smiled faintly. "Do you truly think your Eldest Brother Tengxing would lose the opportunity to compete for the Patriarch position over this?"

"Would he not?"

Tega Chiyun was confused.

"Naturally not." Su Yuan shook his head. "If you hand this evidence over to the family, they will simply reduce major issues into minor ones, and minor ones into nothing. Your father will do everything in his power to protect Tengxing Chiyun."

"Father would protect Eldest Brother Tengxing?"

Tega Chiyun stared blankly for a moment.

He quickly figured out the reasoning behind this.

Tengxing Chiyun was the successor that the current Chiyun Family Patriarch had expended tremendous effort and resources to groom.

He was also his own biological son. If he did not protect his own son, would he just let the descendants of other main branches inherit the Patriarch position instead?

"Colluding with Alien Races is a capital offense. Once it is reported to the empire, the empire will inevitably intervene personally. By then, the absolute lightest outcome for Eldest Brother Tengxing would be banishment to the Peripheral Starfield, doomed to never return to the family for the rest of his life. Isn't that..."

Tega Chiyun could not bear it in his heart.

When he was young, Eldest Brother Tengxing had frequently visited and kept him company.

The two had a very good relationship.

Su Yuan cast a side-glance at Tega Chiyun, his tone entirely flat without the slightest fluctuation. "The Struggle for the Grand Position has always been thus!"