The Legendary Mechanic, page 619
Han Xiao required the Black Spirit Race to develop itself during the decades when the version was undergoing an update, so he could only intervene in the Black Spirit Race’s civilization process. The spaceships that transported the Black Spirit Race were outfitted with many engineering devices and stayed to help them construct their new homes.
Under the gazes of the Black Spirit Race, an army member handed a communicator to the Germinal Tribe leader.
“This contains Knowledge that the Black Star God is gifting you. You can learn it and use it to transform your race.”
The Germinal Tribe leader carefully switched it on, and a list popped up. Within it was all sorts of information compiled by Han Xiao. It was a technological tree tailored to the racial characteristics of the Black Spirit Race, ranging from basic to advanced Knowledges.
Planning out a technology tree for the entire race would ensure that their development direction would not deviate.
Thanks to their mind network, the Black Spirit Race quickly found out about the contents and started worshipping the statue.
“Many thanks to Black Star God for this generous bestowal!”
The Germinal Tribe leader was very moved. This emotion spread to everyone else, turning their faith even more fanatical.
Their Black Star God had passed down divine knowledge to them, which had historical significance for the entire race. This scene would forever be inscribed in the inheritance memory of the Black Spirit Race.
While there were varied differences between the mechanical lives and the Black Spirit Race, they shared similarities in the fact that they had a hive mentality. One utilized a mind network, while the other accessed the quantum network, which could highly condense the productivity of their race. Thus, all races with such characteristics typically had unparalleled development potential.
The Black Spirit Race was akin to the Bug Tribe. So long as they were placed on the right track, they would enter the fast lane of civilization development. As for the mechanical lives, they were even more overpowered, starting with a high technological level. All they lacked was land and population, which were easily expanded. Han Xiao had high hopes for these two races, so he had specifically placed them in different Star Systems, hoping to give them ample room for development.
Speaking of which, if both of them developed, they could be treated as Calamities that could shake the balance of the world. If one added in the players that were supposed to be the fourth Calamity…
Han Xiao himself occupied three of the four Calamities!
In the past month, countless people were paying attention to the construction of the Flickering World by the Crimson Dynasty and its allies. This was the most eye-catching event in the Universe.
Like the others, the Black Star Army also poured all its effort into development, investing a lot of manpower and resources within.
Taking advantage of this time, the Limitless Financial Group finally started to manipulate the network of interests that the Black Star Army had within the Shattered Star Ring.
Chapter 931. Trouble Surfaces |
The Colin Group was one of the local financial groups within the Shattered Star Ring. It was well-known for its large business scope that encompassed areas such as resource mining, logistics, and transportation, as well as the production of processed materials. While it was not a galactic-level financial group, it was still a sizable company in cooperation with many planetary and Star System level civilizations. At the same time, this group was also partnered with the Black Star Army and provided business channels for the army.
Many similar organizations cooperated with the Black Star Army, partly for the Evolution Cube, and partly because they were attracted to the influence of the Black Star Army in the area. Their identities as Black Star Army collaborators could bring a lot of convenience to their businesses.
The Colin Group, as one of the first companies to cooperate with the Black Star Army, had experienced a booming performance in the past few years, and their prospects were broad, but at this moment, all the corporate executives and shareholders were gathered together in the conference room of the Colin Group with frowning faces.
The current head of the group, Colin Duller, sat at the head seat. His expression was terrible, and he was suppressing his fury.
"The Hebrew and Sayde Civilizations have terminated their cooperation with us. They not only withdrew the planetary mining rights that we purchased but also cancelled the long-term contract for the supply of materials. Furthermore, I was negotiating with the Wiese members before, which would have allowed us to obtain a new business area. The negotiation had already come to an end, but the Wiese actually went back on the previous terms and chose to cooperate with others. Our situation now is very bad."
One of the upper echelons sighed. "That's right. Many of the heads for the civilization departments that had cooperated happily with us have now cut off all contact. This is not normal and should be our competitors pulling some underhanded moves…"
"Humph, I know who they are." Colin snorted coldly. "A while ago, the Limitless Financial Group sought me out, wanting to purchase the Colin Group, but I rejected them. The recent movements were most likely made by them."
"What, there was such a thing‽"
"Why didn't we know that the Limitless Financial Group had contacted us?"
A few of them displayed expressions of shock while some of them remained silent. Obviously, they had found out about this matter.
Colin's tone was furious. "I've already inquired about it. The Limitless Financial Group has been acquiring companies in the Shattered Star Ring recently, and those businesses that did not agree were more or less suppressed. I heard that the Limitless Financial Group has decided to enter Shattered Star Ring due to the development of the Flickering World, and they are preparing to invest in the large scale construction of a factory in the Hebrew and Sayde civilizations. They should have made a deal behind our back, so both of them terminated the cooperation with us."
At this moment, the second largest shareholder of the company, who had always been dissatisfied with Colin, suddenly sneered.
"It's not only that. There are also several important cooperative businesses that have stopped businesses with us. Several civilizations no longer approve our loans, and our management level employees were also poached, leaving a significant gap… Now our business has shrunk by more than thirty percent, and our price on the stock market has plummeted. As I said earlier, you should not have rejected the Limitless Financial Group, one of the largest financial groups in the universe. There's no disadvantage to turning them against us."
Hearing this, Colin's face was pale.
He also knew that they could not compare to the brand or financial power of the Limitless Financial Group. If there was an opportunity, many would cooperate with them, even abandoning their previous partners, as the Limitless Financial Group would bring immense benefits.
The more Colin thought about it, the angrier he got, and he heavily thumped on the table, leaving behind an indentation. He gritted his teeth.
"Don't even think about it. The Colin Group is my hard work, and I will not agree to the acquisition requirements of the Limitless Financial Group!"
The second largest shareholder sneered. "How are you going to solve the current problems? If there is no way, the group will collapse sooner or later. Everyone here is a shareholder. If you want to gamble, you have to go through us first."
Colin fell silent for a while before shaking his head. "I have no method at the moment…"
A document was thrown out by the shareholder, landing on the table. He coldly laughed. "Since you have no methods, just sign this shareholder acquisition document."
Colin's expression changed. He stared at the shareholder. "You've been bought over by them‽"
"Bought over? I was just acting in the interests of our group."
The second largest shareholder laughed and surveyed the shocked or calm faces of the upper echelons.
Another large shareholder understood the idea and said, "Colin, just agree. We will have a hard time contending with such a large financial group at that level. Besides, their purchase price is very reasonable, and after joining the Limitless Financial Group, our businesses can be further developed with their support."
This seemed to be the signal to get many of the upper echelons to open their mouths.
"You, all of you…" Colin's eyes widened. How could he not understand that all of them had been bought over? The sum of all these people's shares was enough to overrule his decisions.
To think that the board had been infiltrated like this!
Even those hesitating shareholders were also staring at Colin with hopeful eyes now.
Colin's eyes were unreadable. "If I don't agree, are you all planning to overthrow me?"
The second largest shareholder indifferently replied, "That will depend on the strategy you can come up with. If you want to drag this whole group into the abyss, don't blame us for saving ourselves."
Colin stared at the acquisition book on the table, and hesitated. Without a word, he grabbed the book and read it carefully before signing the agreement with a heavy expression.
Pa pa pa…
A sudden applause could be heard outside the door, and the room opened, showing a man clapping as he walked in, a confident smile on his face.
"A wise choice."
Colin looked over frowning, but before he could ask, the second largest shareholder beat him to it.
"This is one of the upper echelons of the Limitless Financial Group, Mr. Madick."
"Oh, turns out you're the guy who bought us out." Colin's words were sarcastic.
"Hehe, there's no need to look at me like that. In the future, the Colin Group will be an arm of the Limitless, and we'll all be colleagues." Madick waved his hands while lightly smiling. "I'm here to tell everyone that there will be no major changes to the original decision-making structure of the group. You all will still remain as the backbone."
Madick eyed everyone before continuing. "However, there needs to be an adjustment in business direction. We need to immediately terminate the cooperation with the Black Star Army."
"Why?" Colin could not understand.
Acquisition was one thing. What did it have to do with their business partner?
"Oh, our Limitless Financial Group has signed an agreement to cooperate and develop the Bloodshed Land. The Bloodshed Land is prepared to emulate the Black Star Army and build its own interest union, so it requires many organizations to join. Every business we buy must be converted to a partner of the Bloodshed Land, to provide them with channels to expand their business."
Madick smiled indifferently.
Colin frowned before a look of understanding flashed past his eyes.
He had also attended the previous Black Star Party, and Sorokin had been there, but the latter had chosen to invest in Bloodshed Land and was now using it to attack the partners of the Black Star Army. As someone local to the Shattered Star Ring, a bold conjecture appeared in Colin's mind…
The Limitless Financial Group did not just wish to enter the Shattered Star Ring; it wanted to attack the Black Star Army!
All of them were just pawns that had been caught up in the storm!
…
The Colin Group was just one of many examples. During this period, many of the local businesses within the Shattered Star Ring were acquired or controlled, either defeated directly by sheer banknotes or simply willing to go under the banner of the Limitless Financial Group.
For those that did not agree, there were many methods that the Limitless Financial Group could use.
For example, in response to conflicts, they could rally the smaller shareholders to overthrow the larger shareholders. They could also buy out some key personnel or invest in building factories to attract the civilizations to hinder the businesses of some companies. The Limitless Financial Group was well experienced in this.
If someone would not compromise, they would be suppressed to death sooner or later, and they would lose more than what they would have originally obtained.
The Limitless Financial Group had no way to directly shake the businesses of a hegemon like the Black Star Army, so they could only erode them bit by bit. To the local enterprises, this universe level top financial group was like a giant crocodile that they could not compete with.
You might be rich, but the Limitless Financial Group… is especially wealthy!
Under such operations, the Limitless Financial Group, having worked behind the scenes for several months, acquired many of the local businesses, forming a large number of business channels. They strongly inserted themselves into the Shattered Star Ring market with a stable footing.
At the same time, the Bloodshed Land released a joint announcement with the Limitless Financial Group to publicly announce their cooperation. The Bloodshed Land also mentioned that they would expand their business and carry out a transformation of their organization. While it was not specifically stated, everyone in Shattered Star Ring knew that their target was the Black Star Army.
"The Limitless Financial Group is working in depth with Bloodshed Land‽"
In the headquarters of the Army, Sylvia looked at the report on her hand, her face revealing a troubled expression.
"The Bloodshed Land plans to steal our businesses. There has been a conflict of interest on both sides, so those organizations that have been acquired by the Limitless Financial Group have terminated their cooperation and turned to the Bloodshed Land." The secretary next to Sylvia shook his head, his tone worried.
"They don't want the quota for the Evolution Cube anymore?" Sylvia frowned.
"This… I'm not too sure, but most of the acquired organizations are private, and their demand for the Evolution Cube is not great."
Hearing this, Sylvia nodded.
That was the case, as private organizations were different from civilizations. Even if they required evolutions, they would probably have purchased slots for all their members in the past few years. The main reason they cooperated was to maintain the influence created by the network of interests. Now that they had been acquired, they could only be swayed to the intentions of the Limitless Financial Group.
What businesses relied on to compete was their power, wealth, and influence, and force could not be applied to them. Furthermore, with the Bloodshed Land as a Beyond Grade A organization and an ally of the dynasty, this provided a suitable shield for the Limitless Financial Group to act.
Teacher was right. The Limitless Financial Group did not have any good intentions at all.
Sylvia secretly huffed and looked at the detailed report.
While the Limitless Financial Group was huge, it would be impossible to fight against all the businesses in the entire Star Field. That was especially so for the civilizations; it was impossible for them to give up on cooperating for the Evolution Cube. The Limitless Financial Group could only target the private organizations, and because each acquisition also required a lot of money, the larger organizations had not been targeted for the time being.
Thus, so far, the Black Star Army had only lost a few business channels, but it was far from the level of hemorrhaging. Only their peripheral businesses were affected. Their core businesses like the Evolution Cube, Flickering World development, and planet mining were still stable.
But… they had to guard against any further upsets.
As she thought of this, Sylvia had a severe expression as she took out her communicator.
"I have to inform my teacher immediately!"
Chapter 932. The Capacity of a Beyond Grade A |
At the same time, in the dynasty’s central territory, a small unmarked fleet was docked above a huge blue planet. The planet hosted one of the most famous interstellar cities in the Crimson Dynasty, with a prosperous economy and a huge population.
This fleet came from the branch of the Black Star Army in Constellation Corridor. Because of his long stay in the dynasty this time, Han Xiao immediately dispatched the local army fleet the moment he arrived in order to utilize the fleet’s machinery factory to produce machinery to while away the time on the way.
The Crimson Dynasty knew that Han Xiao had come over to the Central Galaxy with the purpose of avoiding any danger, so he did not need to proceed to Planet Crimson Ring to report. Except for the secret military areas, he was free to roam about the territory of the dynasty, and the upper echelons of the dynasty would not restrict him.
Han Xiao was practicing his Energy Training Techniques whilst searching for the famous people of the dynasty in the future. He had arrived in this interstellar city to visit just one person. The No.16 Comprehensive Superpower Academy of the dynasty was a first-class university and a famous facility on this planet. The goal of Han Xiao’s trip was precisely this academy. In his memories, a future Beyond Grade A Dynasty member had graduated from this college.
According to the data from his past life, this Beyond Grade A was recruited into the academy between the years 709 and 712 on the Galaxy Calendar. This was the early stage of the update from Version 3.0 to Version 4.0, this exact period.
Because his fleet was unmarked, the arrival of Han Xiao did not cause a sensation on the planet. Only the upper echelons of the academy were notified, and the principal immediately dropped all his affairs to personally greet them. At this moment, in one of the campuses of the dynasty’s No.16 Comprehensive Superpower Academy, Han Xiao took Aurora with him as they walked down the tree-lined road. Their faces were concealed by a virtual disguise, and their real identities could not be seen.
The artificially planted trees helped to ward off the shine from the artificial sun in the sky, and the sunlight passing through their canopies was cut into slivers of golden specks. The was also a sparkling river beside the road, where several students were frolicking in the water. Further ahead, there was a patch of grass where students of difference races mingled with each other in discussion, and occasionally, a few students flew past in midair holding books to rush to class. Everywhere was full of youthfulness.
