Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“What’s the situation outside?”

Qi Yuanbao turned back and looked at Wuying Qinxin. “Are the managers and shareholders here? Also, have Red Lady and ‘that guy’ been caught?”

“Due to the emergency, all the managers and shareholders in the Seven Seas Grand Market have been gathered here. The shareholders who are not in the Sevens Seas Grand Market are also joining the meeting through representatives.’

Jin Yuyan’s “widow” Wuying Qinxin looked as perfect as if she were a statue made of marble. She was so perfect that she did not even seem real. Even the vague sorrow covering her eyes and face was like a carefully-designed mask.

Nobody could see through what the woman wanted, not even her biological brother Qi Yuanbao.

Wuying Qinxin paused for a moment and went on, “Red Lady and the assassins of Bloody Skull have been surrounded in a narrow corner in the 27th district. We have locked down all the tubes from the 27th district to the outside world and dispatched three crystal suit legions to besiege them. There are also two Colossi aiming at and suppressing them from space. Even though Red Lady is an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage, it’s impossible for her to get away.

“However… there are still no updates about ‘that guy’. He seems to have vanished into thin air.

“Ah Bao, I do not feel good. You and I are both clear that it is not important whether the Red Lady is killed or escapes. ‘That man’ is the key. Not that I’m blaming you, but your attack was indeed a bit hasty.”

“Why, sister, do you think I was too reckless?”

Qi Yuanbao’s eyebrows and lips were rising at the same time as he looked at Wuying Qinxin with a feigned smile. “Or did your heart soften at the critical moment, and you had true feelings for Jin Yuyan?”

Wuying Qinxin responded with silence. Sighing gloomily, she said, “I just feel that such risks were unnecessary. We could’ve taken care of him after the battle of Seven Seas.”

“Such risks were unnecessary?”

Qi Yuanbao’s eyes popped out, and he grinned in a way even more hideous than ghosts. “With everything coming to this point, have you still not recognized the situation or who you are,?

“A hundred and fifty years ago, our father ‘Wuying Yuanshan’ was a dog domesticated by the four families and a chess piece who could not control himself. When he was needed, he was praised to be the business leader of the ‘Wuying group’. By the time his value was fully exploited, and he showed the slightest ambitions, those people changed their attitude without any hesitation and massacred his entire family! That’s exactly the ending for a dog and a chess piece!

“In the hundred years that followed, you and I had been struggling in the dark, bloody sea of stars for a slim chance of survival. After the hard work, we seem to boast minor positions and power today, but we are never the masters of our fate. Those things are just candles in the wind and towers on the sand, and they can be obliterated instantly!

“You should be very clear that Jin Yuyan married you because of the hidden connections behind you. He wanted to make use of or even absorb the wealth of the ‘Wuying group’ through you. The only reason why he supported me was that he hoped that I could help him suppress the other three assassin groups and swallow the entire Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.

“In other words, we are still chess pieces and dogs that will be cooked when there are no more hares to hunt. Nothing has changed after a hundred years!

“Even if Blackstar the Great has been reborn and promises us high positions and hereditary titles, so what? Do you think that our ancestor really cares for his descendants? Hehe. Don’t be silly. We are still just chess pieces and dogs in his eyes!

“To be the real masters of our own fate, we have to boast irreplaceable value and unparalleled strength! If we wait until the battle of Seven Seas is over like you said, there will be too many unexpected factors. Who knows whether or not Jin Yuyan would suddenly change his mind and surrender to the Blackstar the Great? In that case, will there be anything that the two of us can do?

“Even if Jin Yuyan is determined not to surrender, who knows whether or not Blackstar the Great will send someone from the capital to regroup the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors in our place? Don’t forget that countless members of the royal family are still lingering in the capital. They belong to the system of the Imperial Guards and have always been incompatible with the Wuying descendants at the edge of the Imperium who focus on business!”

Wuying Qi was rather surprised. She asked subconsciously, “It’s… It’s impossible. Why would His Majesty do that?”

“Don’t forget who he is. That is Blackstar the Great! Who knows what’s on his mind exactly?”

Qi Yuanbao sneered, “After all, you and I have been working in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors for a hundred years. What if we have been too corrupted by the air of ‘freedom’ to be controlled easily in his eyes? If I were him, chances are that I would play a few tricks so that the two of us would die with Jin Yuyan, before I pick a few trusted subordinates from the capital to take over the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors that is in a mess. Is that what you want?”

Wuying Qinxin was stunned for a long time, and her face gradually turned pale.

“The struggles in the past hundred years have taught me the most important lesson. When an opportunity comes, seize it. When it’s time to take risks, do it without hesitation!”

Qi Yuanbao said, “As long as we seize the supreme power of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors thunderously and win the battle of Seven Seas, allowing the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors to expand into the unquestionable dominator at the edge of the Imperium, then, even ‘His Majesty’ at the capital will have no reason to extend his hands to our place. By then, we will be able to play the game of balance between the capital and the four families, rising from chess pieces and dogs into players!”

Wuying Qinxin narrowed her eyes, which were turning cold.

“It seems that my sister has thought it through.”

Qi Yuanbao smiled and held Wuying Qinxin’s hand. Drawing circles in his sister’s hand, he said in a low voice, “He is just a random man, right? After we seize the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, you can have however many men you want. Why do you care about a Jin Yuyan? In the past hundred years, he had plenty of affairs outside, and you were certainly not idle when you were lonely either. Why are you acting like you are a chaste woman now?

“Remember, after our cause succeeds, you can have however many men like Jin Yuyan you want, but you only have one twin brother. The universe is a vast place, but we only have each other now, don’t we?”

“You… are right.”

Wuying Qinxin finally made up her mind and said, “However, you still need to track Jin Yuyan and the guy, who is likely to be ‘Vulture Li Yao’, who rescued him. You’ve seen the results of the guy’s battles in the past too. He is certainly not easy to deal with and may cause serious trouble to our plan.”

“Rest assured. ‘Vulture Li Yao’ is indeed tough, but why do I have to fight him the hard way?”

With weird brilliance beaming out of his eyes, Qi Yuanbao said casually, “As a matter of fact, I’ve already guessed where he is right now.”

…

Deep inside the complicated tubes between the internal district and external district of the Seven Seas Grand Market, a dark shadow that was covered in a special stealth suit was wriggling inside the tubes.

The suit was very characteristic and looked like a cluster of clear jelly, helping the guy squeeze into all kinds of gaps without alarming anything. Also, it could secrete grease that looked like a shell on the surface, blocking the dispersion of temperature, breath, heartbeat, or smell.

Suddenly—

Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi!

Dozens of green scanning rays darted from the depths of the tubes and pierced at the cluster of black jelly precisely.

An amazing thing happened. Right before the mystic rays hit the target, the jelly turned from black into transparency. Even the shape of the human covered inside was entirely gone.

The mystic rays passed through the jelly and shot out from the back after complicated computations without being affected or deviated at all. The guy lurking inside the jelly was not detected either.

The green mystic rays crossed and scanned for a long time, only to discover no anomalies. They gradually dimmed.

The jelly turned from transparency into black again. The invader inside was more or less relieved and continued slithering forward, crawling into the tubes skillfully.

None of the more than ten traps and defense lines behind could stop the invader. He snuck into the internal district of the Seven Seas Grand Market despite all the dangers. Taking a brief rest, he continued crawling toward Jin Yuyan’s office.

…

Inside Qi Yuanbao’s office, a hundred 3D light beams were displaying every corner in the internal district of the Seven Seas Grand Market, particularly the route through which the invader broke in.

The ventilation tube in which the invader was wriggling forward vigorously was closely monitored too.

The keenest sensors hidden on the internal wall of the ventilation tubes were recording the slightest shiver of the ventilation tubes. When all the data of shivers were analyzed comprehensively, even the most brilliant invader would be immediately exposed.

The defense system was designed by Qi Yuanbao, the head of security, in person.

As a super assassin for more than a hundred years, he naturally knew how to deal with the stealthy invaders best.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

From another dozens of 3D light beams, it could be seen that countless Exos who had been armed to their teeth were quickly surrounding the tube that the enemy was sneaking inside.

As long as the invader was beleaguered and caught, it would be another proof that he had malicious plans. There would be no way that he could prove his innocence at all.

“Hehehehe. So much for ‘Vulture Li Yao’. He’s just a pig that has walked into the trap on his own!”

Qi Yuanbao crossed his fingers, truly like a player who was sure about his victory. “Getting to the bottom of it, he is just another simple-headed warrior with more brawn than brain, and he will be killed by me more than easily!”