Cooperating with the Federal Government
For a time, the entire SkyNet was filled with information about the return of the Gu Ding Pirate Crew.
I don't know who wrote that article, "The Gu Ding Pirate Crew Makes a Quiet Return," but it was analyzed very logically and wasn't far from the truth.
Meanwhile, some major powers noticed the item that Gu Ding and his group wanted to purchase.
At Federal Government working meeting, a ruler-shaped projection was displayed.
"Do you know what this is?" The person holding the meeting, the Supreme Commander of the Military, Ba Er Sa Ze, coldly swept his eyes over everyone in the meeting room, his expression clearly not good.
Most of the people he saw lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze, and it seemed that no one present recognized the object.
"Alright, I'll tell you. This thing is a Time Gauge." Seeing that no one answered the question, Ba Er Sa Ze had no choice but to give the answer himself. However, thinking that such a Time Gauge should not exist in this plane at all, he felt somewhat relieved.
After revealing the name of the item, and seeing the astonished expressions on most of the faces present, Ba Er Sa Ze explained somewhat helplessly, "The Time Gauge is a tool used to travel to another timeline. The only explanation for the Gu Ding Team purchasing this is that they have found another timeline hidden in our world."
"But can't Basic Plane only have one timeline?" someone asked in a low voice.
"The Basic Plane can indeed only have one Main Timeline. But in certain Special Space, it's possible for Subsidiary Timeline to appear." Ba Er Sa Ze said, then looked at the crowd, "Do you know what these secondary timelines mean?"
"Abundant resources!" another person in the crowd exclaimed. "The same space, under different timelines, can develop into two completely different worlds. If we can expand these subordinate Time Plane, it's equivalent to expanding the scope of our human Universe Sea."
"That's right. A space capable of generating Subsidiary Timeline must be quite large, and if it can be expanded, the amount of resources will certainly be substantial. Moreover, in the event of a large-scale war with other races, we can have a hidden habitat." Ba Er Sa Ze nodded in agreement.
"But why would the Gu Ding Team enter another timeline? They're Pirate Crew, not a resource exploration team," someone asked.
"What they're doing isn't my concern. I only care about what they know about the other timeline. Find out for me. If you don't find out, send people to arrest them and interrogate them." Ba Er Sa Ze wasn't concerned with what the Gu Ding Team was planning; he was concerned with what information Gu Ding and his team knew about the timeline.
Several other major powers shared similar ideas with the Federal Government. They all recognized what Gu Ding wanted to purchase and, through this procurement information, deduced the existence of another timeline.
Many people are also trying to find out what information the Gu Ding Pirate Crew know about that timeline.
The movements of the various forces, of course, did not escape the eyes of the Sea Emperor.
Several days have passed, and there is still no clue about the procurement of Time Gauge, but the entire Universe Sea is in a state of panic.
The Gu Ding Pirate Crew also held a meeting because of this incident, and everyone sat together.
"Gu Ding, our procurement has attracted the attention of many other major powers, including the Federal Government. Many have identified the item as Time Gauge, and now many are scrambling to find out about the other timeline." The Sea Emperor thought those major powers were incredibly shrewd. They had all immediately thought of vying for resources from that other Time Plane.
"This is not a good thing. With so many eyes watching, even if someone has this thing, it will probably be snatched away by other forces at a high price before we can even make a move," Liliath, her brows furrowed.
"It's too late to cancel the purchase information. People will just think we've already secured the purchase, which will cause even more trouble." Dokter shook his head as well.
"Actually, being noticed by them isn't necessarily a bad thing," Miko suddenly said, offering a different opinion.
"Miko, what did you think of?" Gu Ding quickly asked.
"Gu Ding, weren't we worried that the Dees Family was too powerful? We just need to release some information to those forces, including the Federal Government, that we did indeed obtain information about another timeline and that that world has massive resources. But we also suspect that a powerful force might occupy that world, and then secretly guide them to know that the Dees Family occupies that Time Plane."
"If they want resources, let them go to war with the Dees Family. We can then take advantage of the chaos and rescue Hake."
Miko's plan was undeniably brilliant.
After listening to him, Gu Ding and the others all gave him a thumbs up.
"That's definitely a two-birds-with-one-stone strategy. Miko, you're getting better and better," Fa Te couldn't help but praise.
"Actually, it was you guys who taught him, Fa Te. If it were a business battle, you might be able to come up with a better idea, Fa Te." Although Miko said this, Fa Te had seen his progress over the past three years.
"Fa Te, you and Miko draft a statement together. You're a seasoned businessman, you know how to word things. Miko to be careful about the level of detail in the information we release this time, so that it doesn't immediately give the impression that we have ulterior motives." Gu Ding entrusted this task to Fa Te and Miko. "Once it's done, send it out to everyone and see if it's acceptable."
"Okay, Miko discuss how to write it later." Fa Te nodded in agreement.
After assigning the task, Fa Te and Miko quickly got to work, spending over two hours completing the statement. The statement itself was only a few sentences long, less than a hundred words in total; most of the time was spent on revisions.
After the revisions were completed, Fa Te sent a copy of the statement to each of Gu Ding and the others.
"How about it?"
"I think it's acceptable. This statement clearly acknowledges that we know of the existence of another timeline and that we have learned through some means that it contains a large amount of resources. However, since that plane has existed for a very long time, we suspect that Time Plane has been occupied by a powerful force and hope to cooperate with other forces, asking only for a share of the spoils." Gu Ding nodded after reading it.
"I think that's fine too, because everyone knows that our Pirate Crew isn't the kind that cares a lot about money. Seeking cooperation for safety reasons makes sense," Liliath nodded in agreement.
"There will definitely be some people who remain skeptical. If other forces send people to contact us in person, we just need to tell most of the facts. Everyone should take some time to craft this story; a story that's half true and half false is the easiest to believe. If no one contacts us, we don't need to explain anything proactively; we can just wait and see." Miko then offered her follow-up strategy.
Sea Emperor quickly followed Miko's plan and published the statement on SkyNet.
Upon seeing the new term "Second Time Axis," many forces and individuals on SkyNet who were previously unaware of this matter clearly gained a new understanding. Before this, many people didn't even understand the concept of a timeline. After the Gu Ding Team's statement, countless people began explaining what the "Second Time Axis" actually was.
Upon seeing the statement from the Gu Ding Team, most major factions remained somewhat skeptical, with many instinctively sensing that something was amiss.
The Federal Government convened another meeting regarding this matter.
"What exactly is the Gu Ding Team up to? Sharing information so easily, it feels like there's a conspiracy." More than one person expressed this view at the meeting.
"Actually, what the Gu Ding Team wants isn't important; what's important is what we can get. No matter how famous their team is, they only have about ten members, and they can't amount to much. Besides, in terms of strength, we only need one Conferred King to suppress their entire Pirate Crew," Ba Er Sa Ze offered a different perspective. "However, it would be good to make contact with them and see if we can get more detailed information. I'll handle this personally; after all, lying to me isn't an easy thing."
Three days later, Ba Er Sa Ze appeared at the door of Gu Ding's spaceship and rang the doorbell.
Gu Ding opened the door and showed no discomfort upon seeing Ba Er Sa Ze. "Marshal, you are a rare guest. Please come in and have a seat."
Ba Er Sa Ze was somewhat surprised to see neither surprise nor unease on Gu Ding's face. "You knew I was coming?"
"We knew someone would come, but we didn't know who it would be. After all, you powerful forces have been watching our team for some time now, so it's impossible that you would back down after we sent out the message." Gu Ding's reply remained neither humble nor arrogant as he calmly poured Ba Er Sa Ze a cup of tea.
"You're not afraid of me at all?" Ba Er Sa Ze changed the subject, not wanting the conversation to continue being led by Gu Ding.
"There are two reasons why I'm not afraid of you. First, I just came out of the Gate of Purgatory, and I haven't done anything wrong in the past two weeks. Second, I think you should care more about the resources of the Second Time Axis than about a small Pirate Crew like ours," Gu Ding replied with a smile.
"Don't forget, you escaped from prison." Ba Er Sa Ze didn't know where Gu Ding got his confidence from.
"The warden of the Gate of Purgatory and the three Order Keeper Leader all promised me that if I could successfully escape, it would be equivalent to serving my sentence. In other words, I am now equivalent to someone who has been released after serving my full sentence." Gu Ding met Ba Er Sa Ze's gaze calmly.
"Alright, let's get down to business and talk about this collaboration." Ba Er Sa Ze wasn't going to beat around the bush any longer. (To be continued~^~)