That was the Imperial News Channel's general overview of the plan to reopen the Fragrant Trade Route.
Honestly, even Yu Lian, who had no shame to speak of, had to admit that the sheer shamelessness of it all was almost poetic.
But then the news actually showed the blueprints for the Fragrant Trade Route and plans to rebuild Unity Fortress. There were even scenes of a whole crowd of business representatives from across the galaxy gathered in the Imperial Capital, Heavenly Domain, getting along famously. It was hard not to let one's imagination run wild.
After all, quite a few prominent businesspeople from the Commonwealth were among those representatives. Mr. Whitaker, chairman of Blue Label Corporation, was there too.
Yu Lian remembered the night banquet he had attended in Eternal City years ago, when the former president was still in office.
Back then, he had been only a captain, and the president had still been chairman of the Defense Committee. Mr. Whitaker, then an executive director of Blue Label Corporation, had also been there. He was already an influential figure in business, so of course he hadn't stood around like an ant.
In fact, he had attended that private banquet, with its delicate atmosphere, as Mr. Nishita's close ally and the business world's greatest supporter.
At the banquet, the business magnate had acted every bit like a core member of Nishita's faction, seeming poised to compete with Chairman Edward Shona for the role of the president's trusted right-hand man.
And sure enough, it wasn't long before he became chairman of Blue Label Corporation.
...Now the president was the former president, Chairman Shona had been confirmed murdered, and the only one of the three still alive, Mr. Whitaker, had appeared in Heavenly Domain, enjoying himself with a group of business magnates