109: Fear stems from the unknown

Star Sea Building, top floor quiet room.

He Ming awoke from his cultivation state, raised his hand to check the time, and two hours had already passed.

"Any replies?"

Light and shadow flickered in the room, and a virtual projection appeared before He Ming's eyes.

He Ming glanced at it casually and immediately felt bored; none of the top dignitaries on the list chose to hoard the Elixir King, and only a few small families had not yet responded immediately.

"Those who haven't replied don't need to reply. Send [Kunpeng] over for a trip, appropriately intimidate them, and directly eliminate those who don't comply."

"Understood, Sir."

The virtual projection screen shifted, displaying a brand new table.

"Sir, these families want to exchange resources for mech manufacturing technology."

"Resources for finished products, technology is out of the question. You can handle the specific details. One mass-produced unit for five times the resources required to make it."

A minute later.

"Sir, they have agreed to the exchange. The first batch of orders totals 60 mass-produced mechs."

...North Atlantic.

A private island.

Waves crashed against the cliffs, and a historic castle stood atop the precipice.

Below the cliff, there was a spacious airstrip.

At this moment, many private planes were parked on both sides of the runway, and a new private jet landed every so often.

The people disembarking from the planes were in a hurry, quickly switching to vehicles and heading towards the castle on the cliff.

In the dimly lit underground secret room deep within the castle, the light illuminated every pale face behind the round table.

The twenty-five people present controlled nearly half of the Western world's resources, industries, and political discourse.

Their every word and action could determine the direction of the global economy, and even the fate of a nation, but at this moment, their faces were filled with fear, like death row inmates awaiting their final judgment.

"Everyone is here."

Duke Horn, sitting at the head of the table, was already one hundred and five years old. His skin was wrinkled, his eye sockets sunken, like a mummy, yet he still seemed full of vigor.

"How should we respond to the will of the Lord of the Star Sea? Let's all discuss it."

In the shadows, someone spoke first: "We have no choice."

No one present objected to his words.

Because they had already recognized the reality.

So-called negotiations, mediation, checks and balances, and political maneuvering were mere paper tigers in the face of absolute power.

Dragon Country loved peace, was willing to reason, and wanted to earn the world's money.

Even when suppressed by force, they did not feel threatened.

But the Lord of the Star Sea was different. He called himself the Human Emperor, possessed the authority to know everything, was a god of the digital world, and wielded absolute military power capable of sweeping across a nation.

Just now, the Lord of the Star Sea's blade was suddenly placed against all their necks.

These powerful figures who controlled the Western world gathered here, ultimately to discuss a plan, to find a glimmer of hope for a more dignified survival in this irreversible torrent.

"Let's vote."

There were no objections, not even abstentions.

"This matter will be handed over to the Roth family to execute. It is imperative to transport all the medicinal herbs into the hands of the Lord of the Star Sea in the shortest possible time."

"The first batch of resources must also be expedited and transported to Xijiang as soon as possible."

"Agreed."

"Alright."

..."Next is the issue of settling in Dragon Country."

As soon as the words fell, a representative of an ancient family stood up, his face extremely grim.

Since the day he was born, he had never felt such a degree of humiliation as he did today.

"Relocate to Dragon Country?"

"Then what do we become, hostages?"

"Hostages?"

Opposite him, a middle-aged man in a tuxedo crossed his hands under his chin, his gaze like he was looking at a dead man.

"Do you think we aren't hostages?"

An old man completely shrouded in shadows scoffed, tapping his cane lightly on the ground, emitting a crisp sound.

"Didn't you receive the shared intelligence?"

"The Lord of the Star Sea possesses the authority to know everything; he is the God of Wisdom."

"In his eyes, we don't even count as hostages."

Although the sentence was not finished, those present understood perfectly.

"The Sword of Damocles has been lifted; we don't even have the right to flip the table."

"If the Hai Star people truly descend upon Blue Star, Dragon Country will be the safest place."

The person who had stood up earlier changed his expression, suddenly realizing something.

He only felt his legs go weak, and he sat back down somewhat dejectedly, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead, his face ashen, like a dead man.

"The Lord of the Star Sea's goal is to fight against the Hai Star people. As long as we fully cooperate, he shouldn't suddenly attack us, right?"

"Perhaps, we can first test the will of the Lord of the Star Sea."

"For example, inquire in the reply if we are eligible for protection in Dragon Country?"

"You must be insane to want to test the all-knowing God of Wisdom?"

"This will definitely anger him!"

"Yes, we absolutely cannot take that risk!"

Nearly half of the people were against it, but nearly half also felt that instead of waiting for death, it was better to test the meaning of that person.

Duke Horn, at the head of the table, squinted his eyes, remaining silent.

He was like an observer, quietly watching the performers in the room accurately play their respective roles.

Ultimately, the vote passed with 13 to 12, a one-vote difference.

A terminal appeared before the person who had proposed the idea. His hands trembled slightly, carefully considering every word, spending over half an hour to compile an email of only thirty simplified Chinese characters, which he believed to be impeccable, full of humility and respect.

The moment the email was sent, the entire secret room was silent enough to hear a pin drop, and the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Everyone present held their breath, their eyes fixed on the person operating the terminal… Star Sea Building.

The humble and respectful content of that email was translated by jarvis into plain, easy-to-understand language.

"Sir, they have made a new request and are willing to add a second batch order of one hundred mass-produced mechs for it."

"What request?"

"They want to obtain residency rights in Dragon Country."

He Ming almost laughed upon hearing this.

"That's all? Let them communicate with Dragon Country themselves."

"Understood, Sir."

...With a ding, everyone in the secret room felt their hearts leap into their throats.

The reply had arrived.

[You yourselves communicate with Dragon Country about such matters]

The person sitting in front of the terminal wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and translated the original text word for word into English, then read it aloud.

There was no agreement but also no objection, and the tone was full of disdain, as if to say: Is such a small matter worth asking me about?

At this moment, all the important figures present felt an unprecedented sense of humiliation from these brief words.

What they considered a matter of life and death was, in the eyes of the Lord of the Star Sea, not even worth mentioning.

However, this sense of humiliation was quickly replaced by a feeling of relief.

Indifference meant that they had not truly entered the Lord of the Star Sea's field of vision.

This transaction was nothing more than a simple demand, perhaps with a certain element of threat.

As for what would happen if the transaction was not agreed to, perhaps only those who were not afraid of death would know.