Jade paused for a moment before leisurely answering Old Aiden's concern.
"Hehe, isn't that the clever part of the whole thing? The answer is: no one. No one can guarantee anything. Everything depends on self-awareness and respect. At the very least, the Board of Directors will still take your family heads' dignity into consideration."
"Old Aiden, you're a smart man. You went to such lengths to play this game of chess with me, wasn't it just to show off your business skills and secure more benefits for your family?"
"Knowing when to stop is good for both sides. If you feel this still isn't enough, another purpose of taking Penacony public is nothing more than to further expand the influence of the Festival Planet and attract more guests to come and spend lavishly."
"I've also given you a corresponding solution to that request."
Old Aiden stared at Jade for a while before letting out a breath. His tone became subdued. "Fine. I understand the company's sincerity. As the head of the Alfalfa Family, Old Aiden seems to have no reason to refuse.
"But as Their (Xipe the Harmony's) Emanator, I still need one final answer."
"Mm, go on. I'm listening," Jade said.
"When I was still a child, I heard the adults talk about the stories of the ancient Amber Era: Xipe the Harmony ascended, while Ena the Order fell." Old Aiden slowly began."
"In those ancient times, Order and Preservation were so closely connected. As believers in the Amber Lord, why did the company not stand on the side of Order, but instead seek cooperation with the family?"
"The answer may be simpler than you think: Credits, the thing people love most, the only recognized constant-value currency in the galaxy. The company has the ability to ensure that they never depreciate," Jade said.
"With every world that joins the Credit system, the cause of peace across the universe gains another brick and tile, until all foreign exchange, capital, and trade are brought under a unified monetary system."
"At that time, the development of every planet will be recorded in the accounts, with every item laid out clearly. Every concept can be defined, valued, exchanged, and circulated, and at its center is the Credit of the IPC."
Old Aiden narrowed his eyes. "And then, the company will be able to control everything."
"We only want to establish eternal Preservation," Jade said. "So you must also understand that one universe does not need two forms of Order."
Old Aiden fell silent. Once the company's ambition had been stated so bluntly, it was inevitably somewhat shocking. But soon, he burst out laughing again. "Hohoho, fine, fine! You've convinced me."
"Now tell me, what's the solution? Let's see if what you and I have in mind is the same thing."
"Then let's continue with what we were discussing just now." Jade chuckled, then opened the communicator. "Topaz, invite Robin to the table."
A moment later, two more people walked in. One was Topaz, and the other was... Himeko.
"Thank you for coming, Ms. Himeko," Jade said first. Then she introduced her to Old Aiden. "Mr. Aiden, allow me to introduce her. This is one of Penacony's future shareholders, Ms. Himeko of the Astral Express."
Himeko gave a slight nod to Old Aiden. "Mr. Aiden Eifervah, I've long heard of your name. It's an honor to meet you as the representative of the Astral Express."
"Hohoho, just as I thought..." The moment Himeko appeared, Old Aiden immediately understood what Jade had in mind. "So this beautiful lady is the navigator of the Astral Express? A pleasure, a pleasure."
"Everyone already has a general understanding of the proposal," Jade said. "As planned, once this round of financing is complete, the company will hold 30% of Penacony's shares."
"Afterward, the company will transfer 5% of those shares to the Astral Express and nominate Miss Himeko as an independent director. This is to honor the sacrifices and contributions made by the Nameless in the past for the land of dreams."
"Although nothing has been finalized yet, we are deeply honored that everyone here recognizes the path of the Trailblaze that the Express follows so highly." Himeko remained very composed.
"The Nameless set out on their journeys not to seek fame or profit. But if the family and the company both have this intention, we will also fulfill our duties as members of the Board of Directors."
"After a vote by all the members of the Astral Express crew, we have agreed that the Astral Express will assist in Penacony's reconstruction."
"In addition, throughout our future journeys, we will also do our best to bring the Festival Planet's beautiful dream to more worlds."
"Of course, all cooperation is based on one premise: the path of Harmony upheld by Penacony cannot be distorted again. The same tragedy must never happen a second time."
After Himeko appeared and stated her position, the negotiations quickly came to an end. Everything went smoothly.
And in the end, Old Aiden also received a surprising piece of news from Himeko.
The person in charge of that factory, the Rift Factory of Nero, which had risen rapidly during this Amber Era and swiftly swept across the universe, had stated that they were willing to fully support Penacony's reconstruction.
As a businessman, Old Aiden had paid close attention to this suddenly rising competitor at the time, so he had some understanding of the factory. What was more, Penacony had recently purchased quite a few so-called Rift Creature products from that factory.
Old Aiden had to admit that the quality of the factory's products was astonishingly high, and they were extremely convenient. But what interested him most was the technology behind them.
Products from the Rift would inevitably have an erosive effect on normal worlds and people. Yet the products produced by the Rift Factory completely avoided this problem.
Even after mobilizing the most scientifically minded people within the Alfalfa Family to study them, they still could not figure out what kind of technology was being used.
No, forget about the technology that eliminated the effects of erosion. They could not even fully understand the containers used to hold the Rift creatures.
Later, when the results of their investigation into the factory came out, he learned that the place even had a partnership with that genius, Madam Ruan Mei.
If these devices and technologies had come from the genius Madam Ruan Mei, then it made sense that his subordinates could not figure out the principles behind them.
However, after the subsequent investigation results were also relayed to him, Old Aiden was horrified to discover that the place not only had a partnership with the genius Ruan Mei. The company... the Xianzhou Alliance, and even the Tavern had all gotten involved.
And yet, despite the involvement of so many major powers, the vast majority of the factory's shares were still concentrated in the hands of that mysterious person in charge. Forget the other factions.
He had not expected that even the Interastral Peace Corporation had no intention of taking a piece of this enormous pie. Instead, they were actually helping to promote it. This was simply too unreasonable.
In short, because of all the reasons above, in Old Aiden's mind, although the Nero Rift Factory seemed to have only one extremely large site so far (referring to Belobog's area of Rift erosion that could not be removed and the remote region affected by the Eternal Freeze, which could be said to occupy almost half of the planet), it was definitely a capital force whose depths could not be fathomed.
Old Aiden was still very pleased to receive assistance from such an enterprise. Since they were here to help Penacony, that meant the Alfalfa Family would be able to get a share of the benefits.
However, the conditions Himeko conveyed afterward directly shattered his fantasy.
Before leaving, Himeko said, "Although the Nero Rift Factory is willing to help Penacony with its reconstruction, Nero... that is, the mysterious person in charge known among the major merchants throughout the universe, said that this gift is for his elder sister Robin."
"In other words, during Penacony's reconstruction, apart from Miss Robin, no one else, including the heads of the various families, has the right to mobilize even a single bit of the factory's resources. If Mr. Aiden has any ideas, it would be best to discuss them with Miss Robin beforehand."
"You know, Rift creatures are very convenient when it comes to doing work. But at the same time, the disasters they can cause when they start destroying things are also unimaginable."
After that, Old Aiden inexplicably felt an extra weight on his shoulders.
Thinking about it carefully, if the Rift Factory came to help, with so many Rift monsters coming to work... rather than helping Penacony rebuild, it felt more like they had directly stationed an army here.
So he began praying in his heart that little Robin absolutely, positively would not accept it.
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