Chapter 338
"I don't think the risks of this negotiation are that great," Topaz said, flipping through the documents in his hand with a slight smile. "After all, the fact that the company is willing to give us this opportunity to negotiate already shows the board's attitude, doesn't it?"
"That's certainly true." Aventurine shrugged and said casually, "To entrust matters concerning the life of the head of the Market Development Department to our Strategic Investment Department, especially the 'Ten Stone Hearts,' is no different from using someone else to do the dirty work."
The Market Development Department and the Strategic Investment Department have a long-standing feud, and Oswald and "Diamond," the head of the Strategic Investment Department, are rivals for a seat on the board. Under these circumstances, handing this matter over to the Strategic Investment Department to handle basically indicates that the company intends to give up on Oswald.
Or rather, Oswald is no longer capable of being saved.
Whenever he thought of such a possibility, a complex expression would appear on Aventurine's face, a mixture of relief, reassurance, and a touch of bewilderment and emptiness. Topaz could clearly perceive these feelings, but he did not intend to use them to start a conversation.
These are emotions he'll probably have to process on his own.
Just then, an elegant female voice interrupted their conversation.
"You can't say that. Our Interastral Peace Corporation is a harmonious and loving family, isn't it?"
Along with the voice, a tall figure entered the room. She was dressed mainly in purple and wore a large sun hat. Upon seeing her, Topaz and Aventurine immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to her. "Lady Jade."
"Alright, there are no outsiders here, so there's no need to be so reserved." The woman called Jade calmly walked to the window, gazing at the scenery outside. "What are your thoughts on this negotiation?"
"It's hard to call it a negotiation; it feels more like being offered up as a sacrifice." Aventurine sat down again, but didn't go back to playing on his phone. "Honestly, I have a feeling this is a way for the board to balance things out between departments."
In Aventurine's view, this was a trap set for Oswald, who now held the moral high ground and possessed extraordinary strength, making him an opponent they couldn't easily engage in combat. Under these circumstances, how to appease him became the problem they needed to solve.
Therefore, this can be considered a mission with little reward but great risk. If things go wrong, even if the Solar System civilization doesn't attack them, it will be difficult to explain when they return.
That's why Aventurine made this inference. After all, with Oswald's death, the Market Development Department would inevitably be severely weakened, and without the restraint of competitors, their strategic investment department would obviously grow stronger, which is not a good thing for the board of directors.
"I also think it's hard to call this a negotiation," Topaz shook his head, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "Negotiation requires both sides to communicate on the same issue, but we are completely clueless about our negotiating partner right now. How can we even begin?"
Compared to companies with relatively open and transparent information, the civilization that sanctioned Oswald appears incredibly mysterious. Despite collecting information for so long, the company knows absolutely nothing about the other party except that they do indeed possess Envoy-level combat power.
What kind of civilization is this? What is their attitude towards the outside world? How much harm has Oswald caused them? What image does the company have in their eyes? What demands do they have of the company now?
I know nothing.
Negotiating with the other party under these circumstances would undoubtedly put the company in a completely passive position. Even if the other party were satisfied, it wouldn't necessarily be a result the company would want to see.
After all, Topaz knew very well that they not only needed to appease the Solar System civilization, but also needed to obtain results that would satisfy the board of directors. If they focused solely on appeasing the Solar System civilization, resulting in more effort than reward or no reward at all, they would obviously not get a good response when they went back to report.
Perhaps that's why this task ultimately fell to the strategic investment department.
"This is indeed a very difficult task, but I just received some good news that might ease some of your worries?" Jade smiled elegantly. "According to the board of directors, they have just conducted a 'divination' on the Solar System civilization using special methods and confirmed that there is indeed an existence above the level of an Envoy hidden within it."
Topaz and Aventurine were both taken aback, then breathed a sigh of relief in unison, "That's wonderful!"
The negotiating partner's overall strength is even more exaggerated than previously assessed, which doesn't sound like good news, but it's good news for the company.
For Topaz and his fellow employees, the opponent's strength had reached a level that could truly rival the company, so it was normal to fail when facing such an opponent.
In other words, under these circumstances, even if they don't perform well, the company has no reason to blame them—after all, if the other party really has a Star God, then why don't you do it yourself?
"So, they really have star gods?" After a moment of relaxation, Aventurine quickly expressed some speechlessness at this information. "Is this really just a civilization within a star system?"
"The vast cosmos is full of wonders," Jade didn't directly answer the question, but instead looked out the window. "Whether it's true or not, we'll soon be able to confirm it for ourselves."
Outside the window was a scene of both desolation and bustle. The desolation meant that no civilization had been born in this star field, while the bustle meant that countless people were gathering here, forming a small settlement.
The Imaginary Energy tidal zone that isolates the Solar System has appeared before Jade.
"There's another problem," Topaz said from the side, "How do we enter the Solar System without establishing Silver Rail?"
"That depends on their methods. They should have a way, right?" Jade was also slightly uncertain. "Anyway, let's send them a heads-up first..."
Before she could finish speaking, she felt the spaceship vibrate slightly, as if a powerful force had captured them.
"We've been locked on!" Topaz exclaimed immediately, connected to the ship's control system. "An unknown energy is enveloping our fleet!"
"What's going on?" Aventurine stood up alertly. "Could it be that they're not planning to negotiate and are going to attack right away?"
"No, I don't think things are that bad yet." Jade squinted at the scenery outside the window, seemingly noticing something. She shook her head slightly, revealing a meaningful smile. "It seems this is their plan."
Topaz and Aventurine didn't understand the meaning of Jade at first, but seeing that the person in charge of the project wasn't in a hurry, they calmed down.
Immediately afterwards, they noticed that the view outside the window began to blur, as if some unknown energy was isolating them from the outside world.
Once everything outside the window had turned completely white, the slight vibration finally intensified.
"Our positioning system has malfunctioned," Topaz reported calmly, then realized something was amiss. "Is this some kind of...leap?"
"Yes, a completely new way of leaping, different from the pioneering Silver Rail." Jade nodded slightly. "It seems this is both a greeting and a show of force."
In this way, the company's fleet was able to enter the Solar System, which can naturally be seen as a "welcome ceremony" for the Solar System civilization. However, at the same time, being able to launch a jump of this scale while separated by an Imaginary Energy tidal zone is clearly not a method that an ordinary nameless guest could use.
Most importantly, I've never heard of any pioneers among the Solar System civilization.
"But if that's the case, it at least means our lives are temporarily safe." Aventurine's brows relaxed. "Next, we'll see just how strong our opponent really is... Lady Jade, this time you should be...?"
He looked at the Jade, a questioning look in his eyes.
In theory, such an important task should have been handled by Diamond himself, but Diamond was indeed unavailable at the moment, so he entrusted the task entirely to Jade.
Based on the Aventurine's understanding of Diamond, what was delivered to the Jade this time should also be the power of Diamond —the full power of an envoy.
"Hmm." Jade nodded gently. "No matter what, we represent the company's image after all, we can't..."
Her words were cut short as the elegant woman stared straight ahead, her composure crumbling at that moment, revealing a look of astonishment.
As they spoke, they had quietly entered the Solar System. At the same time, from the direction of a distant star, a dazzling light suddenly shot towards them like a meteor.
There was more than one, and it wasn't just a shooting star.
Without a doubt, they are all at the Envoy level!
Chapter Seven: The Solar System is truly brimming with martial spirit!
What would it feel like to see more than ten Envoy-level energy reactions flying towards you simultaneously?
Even someone as knowledgeable as Jade has never witnessed such an absurd scene.
Upon realizing that all the lights before her were genuine Envoy-level lights, Jade's mind went blank, as if the folds in her brain had been smoothed out in an instant, leaving her feeling as if she were strolling on...
Okay, that description is a bit of an exaggeration, but the impact of what I just witnessed is truly indescribable.
Therefore, Jade's thoughts did indeed fall into a brief blank.
She wasn't unfamiliar with the Envoys; she had even had the honor of seeing the Star God's face. But the exaggerated scene of the Envoys huddled together before her was truly beyond Jade's imagination.
What is the concept of a Commander? Even the existence of just one Commander is enough to cause turmoil in a star system. If two Commanders were to engage in battle, the aftershocks of their fight alone would be enough to completely destroy the ecosystem of the entire star system.
The starry sky is a mysterious world that is difficult for mortals to reach, but for them, it is nothing more than a toy in their hands.
Jade had not experienced the war of the gods triggered by the birth of "breeding," and could not imagine the shocking scene of the star gods fighting each other. The most chaotic situation she had ever seen involved only two messengers.
However, right before her eyes were at least ten envoys—most surprisingly, they were almost certainly from the same faction.
For a fleeting moment, Jade heard something within her shatter.
Is it about values? Probably values.
"Ms. Jade, what's wrong?"
Compared to Jade, who currently holds the power of the Commander, Topaz and Aventurine were clearly unaware of the implications of what they were witnessing. However, the observant Topaz quickly noticed something from Jade's expression and a subtle look appeared on his face as well. "These flowing lights, could they be..."
She didn't get an explanation from Jade, because Jade was still in a state of mental overload and hadn't recovered. However, she didn't need an explanation anymore, because what happened next said it all—
Under the watchful eyes of the three, the wandering lights quickly split into two groups and then began to fight each other.
Aventurine's pupils constricted sharply, and he immediately issued an order through the command system: "All ships, increase the power of your defense systems to maximum!"
As the streaks of light collided, intense energy fluctuations spread in all directions. Even though Jade and the others were still quite far from the battlefield, they were quickly affected. The energy shields erected on the surface of the ships shattered almost instantly, clearly indicating that such an attack had already exceeded the limits of the defense system.
Fortunately, Jade finally came to her senses. She slightly raised her hand, and a faint emerald green light spread out, coating all the ships in the fleet with a layer of emerald light, thus saving them from harm.
But the planets that were close enough to the light were not so lucky—at the very first moment this "civil war" began, the closest planets exploded with a deafening roar, and even more than half of the debris was completely pulverized by the energy fluctuations, turning into fine powder that floated in space.
But compared to those meteorites that were evaporated so completely that they left no trace, this is already a pretty good result.
The room fell into a deathly silence as people witnessed this scene.
Before heading to the Solar System, the company conducted a preliminary assessment of this new civilization. Based on the highest expectations in the assessment, the company believed that this civilization might have four to five Commanders and a newly born Star God.
But the current outcome is clearly more than twice as terrible as the company's worst-case scenario.
Topaz and Aventurine appeared to remain silent, but in reality, they were already showing signs of impending doom.
Are you kidding me? If we really anger this civilization, even if the company doesn't collapse, it'll probably be barely clinging to life.
And ultimately, what merit does this tiny star system possess to nurture so many messengers?
Is this scientific?
"What's this?" After a brief silence, Topaz finally couldn't help but comment on what was happening before him. "Even if it's a show of force, isn't this a bit too exaggerated? Was it really necessary to go to this extent?"
Topaz looked at the shattered planets with a pang of heartache. After all, she was a child who grew up in a poor and desolate place, and she simply couldn't accept that these precious assets were being destroyed so carelessly. This frugality in her bones made her even forget the shock brought by the dozen or so envoys for a moment.
It's important to understand that the resources contained in these planets are the property of the Solar System civilization itself. Their actions are akin to waging war in a vault and then blowing up a third of their gold reserves with a single shot – an incredibly extravagant act!
Even if it's to demonstrate one's martial virtue to the company, there's absolutely no need to go to such lengths!
"That's quite an extravagant approach, isn't it?" Compared to her, another woman of humble origins, Aventurine, revealed an appreciative smile. "With such power at hand, what kind of wealth couldn't she obtain? There's really no need to care about this little bit right now."
Clearly, Aventurine's attitude was completely opposite to Topaz's. He clearly understood the importance of strength and therefore believed that in order to fully demonstrate his own strength, it was perfectly acceptable to be extravagant and wasteful.
After all, as long as you have enough power, you can easily earn it back even if you spend a fortune.
Don't jump to conclusions.
Compared to the two of them, Jade was able to observe far more. She narrowed her eyes, trying her best to control herself from losing her composure. "What they really want to show is yet to come."
Upon hearing this, Topaz and Aventurine fell silent, instead carefully observing the battlefield before them, both trying to figure out what Jade was referring to.
Reality didn't keep them waiting long. After the dozen or so streaks of light flew away into the distance as the battle intensified, the chaotic mess before them suddenly changed.
As if drawn by some force, the fragmented planetary debris began to converge toward a certain "point," as if time had reversed, restoring the planet to its original form, as if it had never been destroyed.
"This, this is... the planet has been repaired?" Topaz stared at the scene, speechless for a moment. "Can the Envoy really do something like this?"
The answer is, of course, no. Even the messenger of the Star God of Abundance would probably be unable to restore a planet, which is an inorganic matter, from a completely broken state. After all, if we were to use humans as an analogy, the difficulty of repairing these planets would be as absurd as piecing together a lump of dumpling filling into a complete human shape.
"Not only the planets, but even those floating objects in space were restored. They were just evaporated by the energy fluctuations." Aventurine's observation skills were slightly better than Topaz's, and therefore he noticed more details. "Rather than repairing the planets, it's more like restoring the entire galaxy to its perfect state."
"No wonder they fought with such confidence," Topaz suddenly realized. "So they had this kind of backup plan... But this definitely couldn't be a power at the Envoy level."
Repairing a planet might be something that a certain destined messenger could accomplish, but restoring an entire star system to its current state, and so easily and quickly at that, is clearly beyond the capabilities of a messenger of that level.
"This galaxy has been shrouded in an unknown force from the very beginning; otherwise, the battle between the envoys would not have caused such destruction," Jade revealed at this moment. "From the moment we entered this galaxy, we have already been lying in the palm of some great being."
Jade forced herself to speak calmly, then smiled and said, "Oswald... his defeat was not unjust."
Now that things have come to this, she has naturally realized the truth of that information—that a star god-like being truly is hidden in this small star system.
"Rather than saying that being tricked by such a great being is already a kind of honor," Aventurine shook his head, a smile appearing on his face. "This makes me increasingly curious—what kind of being is the one who triggered this series of events?"
Despite possessing such immense power, he stooped down to scheme against a junior whose strength was far inferior to his own. This shameless style of behavior truly earned the "respect" of the ruthless gambler, Aventurine.
Working under someone like that must be quite an interesting experience, right?
Unfortunately, he is now one of the Ten Stone Hearts, and it is impossible for him to switch to another sect.
"What do we do next?" Topaz gazed at the direction where the numerous messengers had fought their way off, and couldn't help but wonder, "Should we wait here for their next instructions? Or should we tentatively move forward?"
Instead of Jade or Aventurine, she was answered by a strange, synthesized female voice. "You are allowed to proceed, but only you are allowed to proceed."
The next second, a virtual display screen popped up in front of the three people, showing the figure of a woman. The joints on her body showed a doll-like structure, indicating that she was not a living person, but a kind of intelligent machine.
"My name is Ai, and I have now taken command of your fleet." The moment she revealed herself, the android girl, who identified herself as Ai, stated without any politeness, "Next, please clear out any irrelevant personnel from the lead ship, and then proceed to the following coordinates."
"The spaceship's control system is really locked," Aventurine said, still verifying the other party's words. Upon discovering that the spaceship's systems were completely unusable, he looked astonished. "When did this happen? Why didn't the firewall sound an alarm?"
The Interastral Peace Corporation's spaceships were designed by the Intelligentsia Academy. Although the members of the Intelligentsia Academy are indeed less talented than the members of the Genius Club, they can still be said to be a collection of elite talents from the entire universe. The systems they develop are not something that can be easily broken.
Even those cyber hackers who play with "ether editing" couldn't so easily hack into the spaceship's control system. I never imagined that I would be completely manipulated today.
It's important to understand that an intrusion that could prevent the firewall from even issuing an alarm is enough to prove that the Intelligentsia Academy has a huge gap in electronic technology compared to the android girl in front of them.
"Your system has a firewall? I don't see it." Hearing Aventurine's question, Ai Yi showed a surprised expression instead. "Never mind, that's not important. Can you accept this condition?"
"Of course." Jade had already recognized the reality of being at the mercy of others, knowing that they had no room for negotiation, so she readily agreed. "However, I need your guarantee of the personal safety of our personnel staying here."
"Don't worry, if the Doctor harbored any ill intentions towards you, he could simply drown you in the Imaginary Energy Tidal Zone," Ai said casually. "Therefore, apart from not being able to leave the spaceship, your personnel will not be subject to any restrictions. If there are any resupply needs, we will arrange accordingly."
"In that case, I have no further questions." Jade nodded and quickly arranged for the other crew members to board the shuttle and leave the spaceship. "Now we can depart, Miss Ai."
Ai didn't speak, but the spaceship carrying Jade and the other two started moving on its own and headed towards the sun.
Just then, Topaz suddenly whispered, "Ms. Jade, look here."
Following Topaz's directions, Jade and Aventurine simultaneously looked at a corner of the monitoring screen—through the camera mounted at the tail of the spaceship, they saw other spaceships slowly flying towards the planet at the edge of the Solar System.