80: Chapter 80 Offending Another Batch

Victor looked at Fu Haoran's fearless eyes and suddenly realized that the man before him wasn't just speaking out of anger, but truly dared to overturn the table of the hereditary nobility of the entire galaxy, daring to stand against the old order that had lasted for ten thousand years.

After realizing this, Victor felt that many things made sense.

Why the other party dared to raise a butcher's knife against the nobles, why the other party didn't play by the rules...

"You will pay a bloody price for your madness." Victor gritted his teeth, his last shred of reason holding him back, and after delivering this threat, he dared not stay a moment longer.

If he turned against him now, he knew he wouldn't even be able to walk out the door of the Governors Mansion.

Thus, Victor chose to leave without looking back.

...

The office fell silent instantly.

Lucifer leaned in the shadows by the window. The cola in her hand had long since lost its fizz. Her emerald eyes swept over Fu Haoran indifferently. Her voice carried no emotion, yet it bore the weight of tens of thousands of years:

"Your courage is commendable, but my experience tells me that reformers like you do not have a good ending."

Fu Haoran knew that Lucifer was right.

In the history books he had studied, such "fools" who dared to overturn the table usually did not have a good ending.

Zhang Jiao, Huang Chao...

However, he was not alone.

After all, he had a "Forge World" in the 2K World as his backing.

Fu Haoran smiled and asked in return: "Then if I lose, will you be looking for another ally?"

Lucifer did not answer, merely gently swirling the cola in her cup.

Fu Haoran stood up, walked to the window, looked at the Hive City beneath his feet, and sighed:

"I can't just do nothing because I'm afraid of losing. I just want to give this fucked-up world a glimmer of hope."

"There is a saying on Ancient Terra: Kua Fu is not celebrated because he caught the sun, Jingwei is not remembered because she filled the sea, and Yu Gong is not revered because he moved the mountains."

"What people truly celebrate is never the perfection that comes naturally, but the persistence of choosing to march forward alone, knowing that the path ahead is uncertain and the outcome is unpredictable."

"To do what one knows cannot be done is to give one's all, even if it is destined to be in vain."

"Even without a result, it is still glory; even if thousands of people stand against me, I shall go forward."

Lucifer looked at him without a word.

At that moment, the door was pushed open again.

Less than ten minutes after Victor had left, the office door was suddenly pushed open again.

The Rogue Trader Reck Vance rushed in. There was not a shred of the polite pleasantries a merchant should have on his face as he got straight to the point:

"Planetary Governor Fu, I need you to return my property."

"Your property?" Fu Haoran raised an eyebrow. "What property?"

"The moon-class cruiser docked at the spaceport! That's my ship, rented to Valerius Costa!"

"What does that have to do with me?" Fu Haoran looked at him as if he were an idiot. "I only know that I captured a war trophy from the rebels on the battlefield."

"That was rented to him! It wasn't his private property!"

"Then go ask him for it. Why are you coming to me?"

"He was blown up by you!"

"Dead?" Fu Haoran shrugged, looking innocent. "If he's dead, go look for his family."

"His family has all fled!"

"If they ran, go chase them. Are you a three-year-old child? Do I need to teach you this?" Fu Haoran looked at him with an expression of disappointment. "Besides, I'm also hunting members of his family. If you find them, remember to let me know."

Reck was choked by his rogue logic, his face turning blue.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and made a concession:

"Fine, we can discuss the ship later. What about the things in the moon-class hangar? The stormbird, the Baneblade super-heavy tank, the stasis field collection—those are my client's private property, you should at least return those to me, right?"

Fu Haoran blinked, looking blank.

"The inside of the moon-class was empty. When I went up there, there was nothing but scrap metal."

"I've never even heard of any stormbird or Baneblade."

Reck's face turned completely dark instantly: "Then what is the Baneblade parked on the main road of the Upper Nest? What is the stormbird you used to return to the Hive City yesterday?!"

Fu Haoran asked in return: "What color are your Baneblade and stormbird?"

Reck answered subconsciously: "Black."

Fu Haoran said without blushing or skipping a beat: "What a coincidence, mine are red. The colors are different, so they definitely aren't yours."

Reck's brain buzzed, and he almost lost his footing.

This business trip had not only lost his family's moon-class cruiser, but also lost all the stormbirds and Baneblades entrusted to him by the top nobles of Terra.

If he went back, let alone making money, at the very least his family would revoke all his fleets and trading privileges and exile him to a savage star system.

At worst, they would directly treat him as an apology, pack him up, and send him to the nobles of Terra; his life would be over.

After a long while, Reck said sinisterly: "Fu Haoran, don't be too naive. Do you really think that guarding a Hive City is something amazing?"

Fu Haoran raised an eyebrow.

Reck stepped forward two paces, stood in front of the desk, and looked down at him.

"If you rob me, you are robbing the entire Rogue Trader community!"

"I can tell you what will happen next."

"Within three months, your ore won't be able to be shipped out, and the price will drop to less than that of stones."

"Within half a year, your grain reserves will hit bottom, and you won't be able to buy a single grain of rice even with money."

"Within a year, your factories will completely shut down because they can't pay wages."

"Don't worry, I won't let you starve to death."

"Starved workers are not good workers, and exhausted miners are not good miners."

"I will calculate everyone's output and consumption, so you can just barely live, just barely work, and just barely reproduce the next generation."

"Just like I did on other planets."

"When the time comes, I will stand at the door of this office, waiting for you to kneel and beg me."

"You will return everything you took from me without missing a single bit, and you will compensate for all my losses, ten times, a hundred times..."

Reck's words came to an abrupt end.

Because a gun was already pressed against his forehead.

"Go on, why don't you continue? I think what you said is quite right." Fu Haoran smiled brightly, looking harmless.

"I just realized that since you colluded with traitors, I can execute you right now."

"But I am a merciful person. I only need you to give me 5 million throne coins, and I will forgive your rudeness."

Even with a Bolter pressed against his forehead, Reck couldn't help but curse: "You're crazy! 5 million throne coins is almost enough to buy a destroyer! How could I possibly have that much money!"

Fu Haoran showed a disappointed expression: "That's a pity. Guards, take Mr. Reck to the prison to cool off. When he has raised the money, then invite him out."

"If that really doesn't work, then hang Mr. Reck on the spire to atone for his sins."

The guards outside immediately came in, grabbed Reck, and were about to take him away.

"Wait, I have money, I have money..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Reck regretted it.

5 million throne coins was his entire savings; taking his money was taking his life.

But what if he didn't give the money?

He glanced at the muzzle pressed against his forehead, then at the guards outside.

Giving money meant losing wealth; not giving money meant he would really die.

Reck gritted his teeth and swallowed the rest of his words.

After signing a series of unequal treaties and compensations, Reck was finally let go.

Watching Reck sneak away, Yuri rarely showed a grave expression:

"You shouldn't have done that. Offending Reck is equivalent to offending the entire Rogue Trader community."

"They have many internal factions, but they have always been a solid block when it comes to maintaining trade privileges and dealing with those who dare to move against them."

"After Reck leaves this time, he will definitely contact other Rogue Traders, cut off all our interstellar trade, and even unite with space pirates to attack our transport lines."

"This is also the reason why no Planetary Governor dares to easily offend them. Once offended, they are either driven crazy by having their supplies cut off or overthrown by their united forces."

"Thirty years ago, a Hive City governor seized some cargo belonging to a Rogue Trader. Three months later, that Hive City couldn't even buy a single bag of grain. Half a year later, a riot broke out, and the governor was hanged on the spire by his own citizens."