The Card Game

Augustus and Matt Horner walked side by side, heading south along the bustling commercial street of New Canaan. As the area became more prosperous, the aroma of spices, dried fruits, and cooked seafood filled the air.

At first, Augustus didn't say anything to Matt Horner, but simply walked along, admiring the scenery. The sky was cloudless, and looking up, one could see the brilliant stars, with the co-orbiting stars Tyrador VIII and IX serving as each other's moons.

"Ah... Mr. Augustus, you're an interstellar merchant, you must have traveled to many places, right?" After a while, Matt Horner Augustus, couldn't help but ask him. Because he was wanted by the authorities, Augustus presented himself as a middle-aged man, and his weathered appearance was quite deceptive.

"Yes, I have been to many places," Augustus replied. "My friends and I have been to Tarsonis and beyond the Koprulu Sector."

"Many planets are home to exotic plants and animals, making you feel like you're in a beautiful dream world. There are warm, thriving garden planets, barren planets with mostly desert land, jungle planets inhabited by dangerous alien creatures, and rocky planets with thin atmospheres due to the lack of oceans... The vastness of this world far exceeds your imagination," he said.

"... I really hope that one day I can be like you," Matt Horner said with longing.

"To become a merchant?" Augustus looked at him.

"No." Matt Horner shook his head. "Actually, I want to be a pilot. I hope to fly my own spaceship to different planets and explore worlds that have not yet been discovered."

"This dream is worth fighting for, Matt Horner. Which Confederacy air force university are you planning to apply to? Or will you obtain a civilian pilot's license through self-study?" Augustus, "I suggest you go to Confederacy military academy and receive formal military training."

"According to family tradition, I should attend university locally." Matt Horner's face turned even redder. "Tyrador IX doesn't have a top-tier military university. Most universities focus on training administrators, finance professionals, and management students, and few students from ordinary backgrounds can afford the high tuition fees of these universities. Universities catering to ordinary people are mainly for the sake of Taradorn's thriving tourism industry."

"If I were to go to university on a planet far away from Taradorn, my family would likely struggle to afford the expenses. Of course, I believe I am fully capable of obtaining a full scholarship to University of Tarsonis, and judging from the requirements, it shouldn't be difficult." Undoubtedly, the serious Matt Horner is a true academic genius.

"If you would like, I can write you a letter of recommendation to the principal of the Umojan Air Academy," Augustus.

"Umojan?" Matt Horner was completely taken aback by Augustus's response. A complete stranger, whom he had just met, was now recommending him to Umojan University. Either this was a classic human trafficking tactic, or Augustus considered it a trivial matter.

Many businesspeople are keen to invest, with emerging industries and talent being their preferred investment targets.

"My family and I don't know much about Umojan. It's too far away," Matt Horner said. "My parents are open-minded and wouldn't object to me going to school on another planet, but Umojan is just too far away."

"That's true, after all, you haven't even graduated from high school yet," Augustus.

"It will be soon, sir," Matt Horner said.

The topic came to an abrupt end as they gradually left New Canaan's commercial street and moved away from the city center, inevitably encountering the glittering red-light district.

At the entrance of the budget bars stood flamboyant women, the aroma of barbecue wafted from the mid-range restaurants, and the number of hotels and capsule hotels was unusually high. Spas were also one of the pillar industries of this resort. Here, Augustus could clearly see the difference between the people here and the wealthy people on the commercial street.

Like all the poor in the Terran Confederacy, the poor of Taradorn share common characteristics with all the destitute: their bodies are emaciated from a monotonous diet and arduous labor, and children suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition. The poorer they are, the less hope they see, and the more they rely on drugs to escape reality. It is not uncommon to see people with lifeless eyes or trembling bodies hiding deep in the streets, using drugs, like lost and wandering ghosts.

Even at night, they continue working tirelessly. To maintain the cleanliness of the streets and beaches, numerous sanitation workers, dressed in dark green uniforms, are diligently working, focusing on cleaning up litter on the ground.

In restaurants, spas, hotels, and other service industries, uniformed men and women serve wealthy people from all over the Confederacy, bowing and scraping like servants, doing their utmost to serve their guests. All services are designed to ensure that the customers who come to spend money are so comfortable that they don't have to lift a finger, making them feel that every penny they spend is satisfactory, and thus encouraging them to continue spending money even more happily.

In this era, cleaning robots have long been able to completely replace human labor and are far more efficient, with many tasks now being accomplished by machines instead of human workers. While cleaning companies and shop owners in New Canaan have the capability and resources to switch to cleaning robots, the harsh reality is that in Taradorn, people are cheaper than machines.

The service industry and other private sector workers in Taradorn are "contract workers" from other planets. They are forced to sign extremely unequal contracts with lending institutions in the Terran Confederacy for various reasons—including usury, bankruptcy, and debt. These contracts are almost equivalent to indentured servitude. During the economic turmoil brought about by the four-year Guild Wars, large numbers of extremely cheap laborers were forced to come to Taradorn to generate profits for their bosses in order to pay off their own debts.

Many Confederacy planets suffered immense destruction and economic collapse due to the Guild Wars, while Tyrador IX gradually prospered as a result. During the most intense years of the war, Tarsonis and the wealthy classes of several other prime planets transferred their wealth and descendants to Taradorn in preparation for the worst-case scenario of the Confederacy's possible defeat in the war.

Today, these contract workers have become the cornerstone of various industries, and their numbers exceed 40% of Taradorn's total population. Behind the prosperity of Tyrador IX resort lies the sweat and blood of these contract workers and cheap laborers who toil day and night.

UNN never reports on the plight of the lower classes in Tyrador IX, nor does it mention that they are actually slaves to the Taradorn nobles and the bloodsucking corporations of the Confederacy. These people are not protected by Confederacy law, and even the unions of the Terran Confederacy turn a deaf ear to them, since they only speak out for the rich.

Compared to these people, Matt Horner was undoubtedly lucky. His family had finally established themselves in Taradorn after generations of hard work through honest and trustworthy small businesses. The Horner Family could not be considered middle class, but at least they had property and jobs to live as citizens rather than homeless people. They could not hire servants or use robots like the middle class and upper class, but they were not forced to do heavy physical labor.

"Do you see those people?" Augustus said to Matt Horner. "Many of them are burdened with debts they can never repay. Their children are born into this fate, growing up in an environment of extreme poverty, and it's unlikely they will achieve as much as their parents."

"I'm much luckier than them." As a native of Taradorn, Matt Horner certainly understands the plight of these people, but there's nothing he can do about it.

"If it were me, I would say that I must save these unfortunate people." Augustus put his hands behind his back.

"Taradorn's prosperity is built on an unfair system. The Confederacy here is just as corrupt as on other planets within the Confederacy territory. Taradorn's government officials do everything they can to profit and curry favor with the nobles of the Tarsonis Old Families. They turn a blind eye to the deep-seated problems that have Taradorn and do nothing about them." As he spoke, he uttered words that sounded quite impressive to Matt Horner.

"The Planetary Defense Force is nothing but a hollow military organization; its entire force doesn't even amount to two companies. The Tyrador Knights, Tyrador Knights the most elite armed force in the entire galaxy, essentially only serve the wealthy and powerful; they are no more noble than the corrupt police officers in the Tarsonis Police Force."

"This is Tyrador IX, Mr. Augustus. All Taradorn know this is the backyard of the Tarsonis Old Families. The vast majority of Taradorn nobles are actually nobles from Tarsonis." Matt Horner wasn't surprised by Augustus's anti- Confederacy stance. If his homeland had been turned into a dead world full of nuclear wasteland and radioactive fallout by a nuclear bomb, he would surely have become a demon as well.

"What changes do you want to bring to all of this?" Augustus into Matt Horner's eyes. "You have the ability and the capacity to bring about a dramatic transformation to this stagnant pool of the Terran Confederacy."

In that instant, the topic suddenly became heavy. Just like before, Matt Horner hadn't expected Augustus say such a thing. Augustus's true identity was now obvious. Even if he wasn't a traitor hated by the Confederacy, he must be someone who deeply hated and resented the Confederacy.

Generally speaking, sociologists refer to this group as the traumatized group. These people have had their homes burned down, have nothing left, and have endless resentment and anger that need to be vented.

"Me? There's nothing I can do. All I can do is watch those ships rise and fall, calculating the time it takes them to disappear," Matt Horner said. "But I also believe the Confederacy is exercising its brutal rule over the Confederacy's allied planets, and both the Old Families and the government itself have become corrupt."

Matt Horner has his own perspective on the revolution unfolding on the other side of the distant Koprulu Sector. Admittedly, he doesn't believe the innocent casualties caused by the revolution are a necessary price to pay, but Matt Horner still possesses a strong sense of justice. More importantly, Matt Horner yearns for change in his monotonous life, and the allure of revolution, which sounds so righteous, is no less compelling to him.

"No, you are fully capable of doing much more. Your abilities and the contributions you can actually make to humanity in the Koprulu Sector far exceed your own imagination," Augustus said earnestly to Matt Horner. "I used to think, just like you, that the Confederacy had become too corrupt, but what can one person accomplish?"

"Before?" Matt Horner looked at Augustus, no longer so shy, forgetting he was among a group of potentially dangerous strangers. "What happened? Something must have led to this change in you."

"Korhal IV is destroyed," Augustus. "The Confederacy destroyed a beautiful planet and changed many people. The Old Families of Tarsonis changed many people; they turned good people into bad people and bad people into devils."

"Although I have many shortcomings, there is one thing that many people like about me: I am a true doer."

"So you've achieved your original ideal, you're a revolutionary!" Matt Horner's voice trailed off; he had expected to be afraid, but he wasn't.

"Are you a member of the Korhal Revolutionary Army or the Sons of Korhal?" he asked excitedly.

"Or are the Sons of Korhal the Revolutionary Army? Last time it was Ma Sara, now it's Taradorn, and you will bring salvation to Taradorn," Matt Horner said.

"Will Taradorn become the Revolutionary Army's operational base? Excellent, this will be the birthplace of a revolution. Many people are dissatisfied with the Confederacy. As long as you show yourselves here, all the patriots in Taradorn will flock to you."

"Do you know Augustus Mengsk? He even shares the same name as you. Augustus Mengsk led so many successful uprisings; he was a true hero!"

A good family education and the example set by his parents taught Matt Horner Matt Horner early on what an upright person should be like. If a revolution needed a leader, then he should be someone like Augustus— steadfast and unwavering. Only when one has unwavering faith in the cause one is undertaking will those who follow him be devoted without hesitation.

In the eyes of the young and naive Matt Horner Matt Horner, Augustus was already associated with a freedom fighter, and he was undoubtedly a Giant in thought.

Augustus had no idea that Matt Horner was actually his fan.

Then things become much simpler.

As they were talking, the headquarters of the Tyrador Knights came into view. It was a castle built of granite cubes, with arched outer walls and square towers at the corners. Brilliant colored lights hung on the pure white walls, and the interior of the castle was brightly lit.

"We've arrived." Augustus looked at the castle and said with a smile, "I like you very much, Matt Horner."

"I hope we can talk again." He pointed to an upscale restaurant across from Knight's Castle and said, "Come on, I'll pay the bill."

Matt Horner was about to refuse when the pink-haired girl behind Augustus pulled him toward the restaurant.

"What's wrong? Are you planning to refuse Augustus's invitation?" asked another tall, red-haired girl.

"No, of course not," Matt Horner quickly said.

Matt Horner had rarely been to a lavishly decorated upscale restaurant in his life, and he was somewhat stunned as he settled into the gilded chair. He felt an increased pressure sitting between two burly men, while the pink-haired girl from before was right across from him.

After Augustus went to order, he didn't return for more than ten minutes. Matt Horner realized that he and the people accompanying Augustus didn't have much to say to each other, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. For Matt Horner, every second was agonizing.

"Want to play cards?" the pink-haired girl, who seemed rather bored, suddenly asked Matt Horner.

Matt Horner was stunned. "What?"

"Playing cards." This playful pink-haired girl was clearly not on Matt Horner's wavelength.

"I can't believe there are boys who don't know how to play cards? How could that be?" she said.

"I will." Matt Horner answered every question. He was always serious, and his good upbringing taught him that ignoring someone would put both parties in a rather awkward situation—even though he couldn't understand why the other person suddenly wanted him to play cards.

"What kind of bet?"

"But I haven't agreed to it yet," Matt Horner said.

"People in the Deadman's Port always gamble something when they play cards," Mira said.

What do you have to offer?