Translator: AnubisTL
The music was jarring, deafening.
There was almost no aesthetic value to it—just a relentless assault on the ears with heavy drum beats and frenetic electronic rhythms.
But as you gradually adjusted, you began to sense a strange kind of romance in the chaos.
Beauty?
No, this music had nothing to do with beauty.
No one would go to the Vienna Concert Hall to explore the depths of human nature.
Yet here, you could not only explore human nature but also measure its dimensions and fathom its depths.
Amid the deafening music, X strode purposefully toward Chen Jiang, a glass of wine in hand. He sat down on the sofa opposite Chen Jiang and said with a serious expression, "Three hundred million star coins have been transferred to your account."
"I need to see Eugenia Star completely barren within 24 hours."
"Whether it's lifeforms or buildings, I want a desolate planet with no commercial value whatsoever."
"Can you do it?"
Chen Jiang leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and gazed at X. After slowly draining his wine glass, he casually tossed it onto the table. "Next time, try not to use such a commanding tone with me."
"You know, a gentleman's temper isn't always... pleasant."
"..."
X narrowed his eyes, staring at the shattered wine glass on the table. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, "This hardly seems like the behavior of a gentleman."
"Just as a tiger has its fangs, a gentleman has his own temper."
"But since this is our first collaboration, I'll forgive your unintentional offense this time."
Chen Jiang rose, placed the tablet on the table, and pushed it toward X. Leaning forward slightly, he gazed at X, paused, and then chuckled softly. "If there's a next time, I'll ensure the name 'X' never passes down through generations again."
"Very well."
He slowly straightened up, yawning lazily. His white silk-gloved hands swung his cane in a half-circle through the air as he glanced at Scar Dog, who was reveling wildly in the center of the dance floor. "If there's nothing else, let's transfer the funds."
"I hope our collaboration proves fruitful."
X's expression remained impassive. Without looking up at Chen Jiang, he stared at the tablet for a moment before transferring the 300 million star coins without further comment.
"The funds have been received. I'll await your good news. May our collaboration be mutually beneficial."
"Naturally."
Chen Jiang nodded in satisfaction, tucked the tablet into his pocket, glanced around, and strode toward Scar Dog in the center of the dance floor.
X remained on the sofa, pouring himself a drink. He swirled the glass, watching the liquor shimmer under the flashing lights, its hues shifting endlessly. For a long moment, he said nothing.
After a while, he drained the glass in one gulp and gently set it down on the table.
As Chen Jiang had suspected, X had indeed been testing him.
He had used subtle linguistic techniques to probe Jiang Cheng's motives.
If Jiang Cheng had shown little reaction, X would have concluded that he was motivated solely by money—a mercenary who acted only for pay. Such a man, even with formidable skills, posed no real threat.
Money was his weakness.
Once you exploited a person's weakness, controlling them became effortless.
But Chen Jiang's reaction had defied X's expectations. This man wasn't driven by money; he acted purely on whim.
And a man who acted purely on whim was far more dangerous than one motivated by greed.
A typical kidnapper, faced with a 300 million star coin deal, wouldn't care if the client used a slightly demanding tone. But Jiang Cheng was different—this was far from the mindset of a normal kidnapper.
This man exuded confidence and self-assurance.
Yes, Jiang Cheng—that was the name he had given X.
Jiang Cheng Company.
X paused for a moment, then picked up the wine bottle. Instead of pouring for himself, he filled Wang Jili's glass, who sat beside him, and said softly, "Wang Jili, chairman of Shark Company."
"He benefited from his father-in-law's connections when he first started, but after that, he built his empire from scratch. He's capable and has been quite lucky."
"A few days ago, his attempt to sabotage Black Europe Company failed. Not only did it elevate Black Europe Company to new heights, but it also cost him dearly."
"What are you implying?" Wang Jili's expression flickered between anger and unease. He didn't look at his wine glass but turned to face X.
"Keep going."
X said nothing more. He rose slowly, casually patted Wang Jili's shoulder, and strode out of the booth. He pulled a mask from his pocket, put it on, and headed toward the dance floor, spreading his arms wide and shouting with barely suppressed excitement, "Ladies and gentlemen!"
"Let's turn up the music!"
"Get wild!!!"
Wang Jili watched X's retreating figure, his face a mask of conflicting emotions. He understood perfectly what X meant.
It was simple.
X was telling him that he could completely control him, that he should know what to say and what not to say after leaving.
Jiang Cheng.
After a moment of silence, he picked up the wine glass in front of him, poured the contents onto the floor, refilled it, and drained it in one gulp. He watched Jiang Cheng's receding figure disappear into the crowd.
Earlier, Jiang Cheng had said that if there was a next time, he would ensure the name "X" never passed on in this world.
No wonder Wu Jinshen had been so confident—he had this man's backing.
If he could also gain this man's support, then he...
Huff!
He exhaled softly, tossed the empty glass onto the sofa, grabbed his coat from behind him, and strode out of the venue.
Just a large batch of defective one-star items.
If he could get his hands on them, he could also earn Jiang Cheng's friendship.
"Finally leaving?"
The badge on Wang Jili's chest spoke, its voice trembling slightly. "Damn, I was scared shitless just now! You have no idea how many three-star items those two were carrying!"
"I'm starting to regret bringing you to the Rose Club."
"We should get out of here right away. Don't hang around with these guys—they're way out of your league. If you keep playing with them, they'll get you killed. I was terrified they'd make a move on you earlier."
"If they attacked you, you'd definitely activate me to defend yourself."
"But activating me means I'd die."
"And I fucking don't want to die!"
"Do they have a lot of three-star items?"
Wang Jili, already outside the venue and striding down a dark alley under the night sky, murmured, "You can sense three-star items on them?"
"Duh. Think of it as a resonance between three-star items."
"How come I never knew you had this ability before?"
"I didn't either. Maybe it's because I was so scared this time that it suddenly triggered."
"Can you tell what abilities their three-star items have?"
"No way."
"Who has more three-star items—Jiang Cheng or X?"
"Jiang Cheng!"
The badge pinned to Wang Jili's chest declared firmly, "Not just Jiang Cheng! His two henchmen also have three-star items. As for four-star items, I can't detect those."
"I can only sense the presence of three-star items. One-star, two-star, and four-star items are beyond my detection."
"Do you know how terrified I was just now, seeing you sandwiched between those two guys and unable to speak?"
"Terrified of what? It's not like I don't have a three-star item."
"Where did you get a three-star item?"
"From you, of course. Aren't you a three-star item?"
"Me? No way! I'm a one-use three-star item. If you use me, I'll fucking die! You can't use me! I don't want to die!"
"These days, even items are afraid of death."
Wang Jili stepped out of the alley and stood before the bustling nighttime street. He gazed up at the scene for a moment before saying, "Let's go. You won't die for now. If you die, who will keep me company?"
"Actually, you could make some friends."
"Friends can't be trusted."
"Hmm, fair point. But speaking of which, you've sold quite a few three-star items. You can't just sell them all off! At least keep a few for self-defense."
"Only by selling them can we make money work for us and keep the capital flowing. Are you, an item, trying to teach me how to do business?"
"No, I just mean you shouldn't be so reckless. What if you run into something dangerous? Not every situation can be handled with an all-or-nothing gamble."
"Quiet."
Wang Jili calmly tossed his coat into a trash bin on the side of the street and put on a new one. "I don't need your advice on how to do things. My style has always been all-in. If I lose, it just proves I'm worthless."
"And a worthless life isn't worth anything. If I die, I die."
"But if I win, everything will be mine."
"Let's go. Xu Fen's death has a lot of loose ends to tie up. Liu Deping needs to be swallowed whole, and my father-in-law's company—the three-year plan is finally ready to be executed."
"Living under someone else's roof?"
"Wang Jili never lives under anyone's roof. I only know that an unclaimed house belongs to the first person who sees it."
"But houses are built by people. They can't be unclaimed."
"Exactly. That's what we're going to do next."
On the rooftop of the tallest skyscraper in North Creek City, Scar Dog sat leaning against a low wall, gazing at the bustling cityscape below. He shook his slightly dizzy head and couldn't help but sigh, "This kind of peace... it's truly something to yearn for."
"It's been a long time since we've seen such peace."
"Peace?" Li Hao asked, his expression complex as he pointed to a massive display screen on a nearby skyscraper. "Do you want to see what that is?"
On the hundred-story building across the way, a giant screen displayed a woman in professional attire against a deep blue background, solemnly reading a news report.
[On the evening of September 13, 2022, cosmic era, a horrifying terrorist attack occurred in North Creek City, the largest commercial hub on the Orange Red Star.]
[An unidentified group smuggled heavy weaponry onto the Orange Red Star and launched a devastating bombing attack on the headquarters of the North Star Corporation.]
[The exact number of casualties is still being tallied.]
[According to Minister Li of the Orange Red Star Ground Enforcement Forces, the North Star Corporation's rival, Qunli Corporation, is the prime suspect. Warrants have been issued for the arrest of several key figures within Qunli Corporation.]
[Wang Lihui (Fugitive Serial Number: T02019100001), aliases: Master Hui, CEO Hui.]
"This one," Scar Dog said, momentarily speechless. After a moment, he spoke with earnest sincerity: "The warmth of light is only appreciated because of the biting cold of darkness, and the longing for peace stems from the terror of war."
"Without contrast, there can be no happiness."
"We may appear to have shattered the peace of this city, but in reality, we've merely used a unique method to make its people cherish their current peace even more."
"We haven't brought them war, but rather a more precious peace."
"But speaking of which, what's this 'Qunli Corporation's major suspect' nonsense? Did the suspect target the wrong person?"
"Looks like it."
Li Hao shook his head. "Minister Li of the Orange Red Star Ground Enforcement Forces doesn't seem very bright. He issued an arrest warrant before even confirming the facts. Can even fools rise to high positions these days?"
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang sat nearby, searching for information about X on the forum.
But there wasn't much to find.
Whenever X was mentioned, everyone tacitly fell silent. From the few fragmented clues, all they could glean was that X owned a relatively well-known cleaning company.
Within the industry, the company had an excellent reputation for its clean and efficient work.
A cleaning company, as the name suggests, specializes in trash removal.
The Galactic Federation was constantly expanding its reach, and along its path of expansion, it encountered feather-like planets. Some were mineral-rich worlds, others were resource planets, some were abandoned worlds, and others were inhabited planets.
In short, they encountered a wide variety of planets.
When they discovered a habitable planet, the procedure was usually quite simple:
There were only two options.
The first was to record its coordinates for use in opening the Ten Thousand Races Arena.
Opening the Ten Thousand Races Arena typically required a hundred inhabited planets located beyond the federation's borders.
The cost of acquiring these planets was far beyond what a few hundred million star coins could cover.
Therefore, almost all planets used for the Ten Thousand Races Arena were purchased from the Galactic Federation at extremely low prices. The price for this bargain was that after the Ten Thousand Races Arena ended, federation personnel would arrive to claim high-value items and personal innate abilities.
As a result, three-star items freely circulating on the market were actually quite rare.
This was unavoidable. Apart from the Galactic Federation, virtually no other faction possessed the power to expand outward. The idea of independently finding a hundred inhabited planets beyond the federation's borders was practically a fantasy.
This was the first method of handling habitable planets: using them to open the Ten Thousand Races Arena.
(End of the Chapter)
🔓 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦 — 13 Series (7 Ongoing) | 14+ New Chapters Daily | 6,100+ FREE