High-Level Meeting
On a beach in Frie Star, Gu Ding, wearing beach shorts, sits on the golden sand, holding a cup of Mirka.
Liliath and the others also changed into swimsuits. In fact, she and Elsa had accumulated countless swimsuits in their Storage Space, and this was the first time they were finally put to use.
Among the team, the most eye-catching was undoubtedly Robert, a stunning beauty. Her enviable figure and perfect face, coupled with her black bikini, made her a head-turner. Both men and women alike couldn't help but glance at her when they passed by.
The second most popular wasn't the handsome Gu Ding, but Miko. Wearing blue printed shorts, his slender upper body was exposed, and his expression was slightly shy. Many beautiful women, seeing him like this, deliberately came over to take photos with him, and some even kissed him a couple of times.
This scene drew envious glances from Dokter was standing not far away.
"It's strange. Every time we go somewhere, someone always comes looking for trouble. We've been on Frie Star for two days now, and not a single problem has arisen." Gu Ding downed his cup of Mirka in one gulp, leaving half empty. These past two days had been the most leisurely he'd had since leaving Deep Sea Star. "Yeah, before, we were either being hunted by the Federal Government or provoked by Interstellar Pirate, and occasionally Interstellar Hunter would come knocking on our door." Bigge, dragging a giant sea fish hundreds of meters long, emerged from the water and overheard Gu Ding's words, chimed in.
"Logically, after you increased the bounty, the Federal Government should have taken some action. But this time, they didn't react at all, which makes it very likely that a rumor on SkyNet is true."
"What rumors?" Gu Ding was intrigued by the Sea Emperor's words and couldn't help but ask.
"Something has happened in the outer realms. The Federal Government and several other major human powers are negotiating. It's said that they've been negotiating for more than half a month, so the Federal Government hasn't bothered us during this time."
"No wonder things have been so calm lately," Gu Ding said, realizing the significance of the news from the Sea Emperor. "Do you know the specifics?"
"Someone leaked information that a new ruin has appeared in an area very close to the Dark Race, arousing Dark Race covetousness. They want to invade that area and occupy the ruin. But the human leadership discovered the existence of the ruin in time and learned of their plan." "For it to attract the covetousness of other races, and for so many high-ranking members to be involved, that ruin must be of considerable quality." Gu Ding narrowed his eyes slightly. He was quite interested in this ruin, but areas very close to the Alien Race were all near the outer realms. Gu Ding and his group were currently still in the Shallow Sea Zone. Even if they did nothing and kept their spaceship constantly Space Shuttle long distances without stopping for a second, it would still take at least several years to arrive.
"Although we don't know the exact rank, judging from the huge commotion caused at this site, only those with cultivation at least at the level of Peak-rank God are qualified to enter." The Sea Emperor wasn't underestimating Gu Ding's strength, but rather making this conjecture based on facts.
While Gu Ding and his companions were enjoying their time on Frie Star, the video conference continued on the Federal Government's side.
In the conference room, Marshal Balin and the others were all present, but several marshals, including Balin, were sitting at the end of the table, remaining silent.
"Night God, that ruin has appeared in our human territory. Your Darkness Clan wants to claim it for yourselves, isn't that a bit against the rules?" Sitting in the head seat was an old man with white hair and beard, whose aura gave the impression of being no different from that of an ordinary person.
But the twenty-odd people in the conference room were clearly very respectful to him, all quietly watching the projection screen without interrupting. Even Balin, who usually liked to put his feet up on the conference table, sat upright with his back straight, like a primary school student.
"Abel, are you suggesting that I conquer that area?"
The Night God in the video projection was a young man who looked to be only in his early twenties. His long, blood-red hair flowed without wind, and his black eyes were like a bottomless, terrifying darkness. He licked his lips and smiled with a hint of amusement.
"If you launch an attack, then we will have no choice but to respond with a real war, mobilizing all our forces to kill all invaders." The old man raised an eyebrow, his words clearly carrying a warning.
"Abel, are you getting senile?" Night God seemed unfazed by Abel's threat and continued, "My Darkness Clan is now among the top-tier races, ranking in the top five in overall strength. You humans, on the other hand, are almost out of the top tier. Moreover, the Zerg are relentlessly suppressing you humans in the Great Universe Sea. Do you really have the resources to fight me? Or, to put it another way, after a battle with our Darkness Clan, will your human race still have the strength to fight the Zerg?"
"Fighting the Zerg is indeed beyond our current capabilities, but I am confident that I can wage war against your Darkness Clan and slay you." Abel's gaze fell on Night God's face, clearly indicating that he was not joking.
A flicker of apprehension crossed Night God's previously languid face, but he quickly snorted coldly, "Want to kill me? I admit that in your prime, I was no match for you. But now, your lifespan is nearing its end, and your strength is declining, while I have been constantly growing stronger. If our Dark Race doesn't get a share of this ruin, I don't mind letting the Insect Clan or other races know the value of this ruin."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the conference room frowned. They knew what the consequences would be if the news leaked out.
After a moment's hesitation, Abel spoke again, "Alright, you can have a share of the spoils from this site. But you absolutely cannot reveal this information to any third race."
"Don't worry, since you're willing to share the spoils, I naturally won't reveal it to outsiders. Competition between two races is much easier than competition between dozens of races. Besides, if the Zerg find out about this, given their nature, they'll definitely plunder on a massive scale. At that point, we won't even get a drop of soup, let alone meat. I won't do something that harms others and doesn't benefit myself." Night God leaned back in his chair, seemingly much more relaxed. "However, I have one request: I want half of the spots to enter the ruins. I can make some concessions on the others. But this is my bottom line."
"Why should you take half?!" a burly man in a red robe couldn't help but shout.
"Oh, it's the Fire Control Hall Master. Long time no see. You're still as hot-tempered as ever." Beside the Night God, a woman in purple finally spoke up. "But I just like men like you. Let's set a time, find a secluded spot, and have some fun together, how about it?"
"Sister, humans are different from my Darkness Clan. He'll be embarrassed if you ask him out in public like that. After the meeting, I'll ask Abel for Fire Control's contact number, then you can ask him out privately, wouldn't that be better?" Night God said, glancing at the Fire Control Hall Master. Seeing the discomfiture on his face, he was quite smug.
"Let's not waste any more time and get down to business," Abel changed the subject. "Although the ruins haven't been opened yet, you must have already received some information, otherwise you wouldn't have gone to such lengths to negotiate with us."
"Of course!" Night God's expression also turned slightly serious. "If I'm not mistaken, this ruin is a fragment of Ancient Battlefield, drifting through spacetime. It accidentally encountered a weak point in spacetime and tore through to appear. Forcibly breaking through spacetime to enter would likely cause the fragment to vibrate, detaching it from its current spacetime embedding point and trapping it in spacetime turbulence. Therefore, the only way to open it is to create a small-scale spatial tunnel and send juniors with low cultivation levels inside to explore. Ideally, these should be juniors whose cultivation level isn't even at the level of a god, thus minimizing the chance of causing spacetime tremors."...
"It seems you know quite a bit. Your idea is the same as mine: send some junior demigods in. This will maintain the stability of the ruins at its highest level and allow for the longest exploration time. Besides, some prodigies, even if they are only demigods, are quite Combat Strength. As long as we are careful, we may still be able to gain something." Abel actually had the same idea. For such unstable ruins, the safest way is to build a small spatial passage and send demigods in to explore.
"To avoid too much impact, let's limit the number of people entering. Each side will select one thousand to enter. Once inside, they are responsible for their own lives and deaths. No matter what happens inside, neither side's clan shall pursue the matter." Night God seemed to have a lot of confidence in his juniors.
Abel glanced at the Night God, and after a moment of silence, nodded. "Alright, we will build the spatial passage. All the younger members of the Dark Race must enter through the passage we build. You are not allowed to open any other passages on your own."
Night God spread his hands, "I have no interest in taking on such a trivial task as establishing a time-space passage. I will bring my clan's children to the scene."
"Then it's settled. But I'd like to warn you beforehand: don't try anything underhanded." Abel said with a hint of threat in his eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm also very interested in this Ancient Battlefield. I won't do anything that would cause spacetime tremors." Night God licked his lips. "It should only take you about a month to establish the spacetime passage. I'll use this time to carefully select the participants."
This meeting finally yielded results, and the day after the meeting ended, the Federal Government issued a notice to the entire Universe Sea.
"Attention all demigod-level powerhouses of the Human Race! Our Federal Government will be hosting a hunting game on the virtual network. All demigod-level powerhouses who wish to participate can register on the Federal Government's official website homepage within three days. Members of any faction are welcome to participate. The top 1,000 will receive a mysterious reward!"
This news immediately attracted the attention of many demigods in the Universe Sea.
~~~
I initially thought the new plot would flow more smoothly, but after working on the outline, I realized that while the idea for this new plot was wonderful, there were still many areas that needed improvement. Yesterday, I spent an hour and a half just on the new character's name, and another afternoon working on the detailed character settings. The two chapters I missed yesterday will be made up in the next couple of days.