Yan had no means of directly getting in touch with Lu Yin, so his only course of action was to reach out to Brother Li, and through the guard’s relationship with Overseer Si Hong, reach out to Overseer Xin Jiao. Only after all of that was Yan able to contact Lu Yin.
The gadget’s display twitched, and then a youthful face appeared in front of Yan. He greeted the young man in a respectful manner, “Yan, of Shamrock Enterprise, greets Alliance Leader Lu.”
Lu Yin was still on Black Street. While Yan believed that Lu Yin had not expected the call, the truth was that Lu Yin had Yan under constant surveillance. In particular, San Liang had been keeping an eye on Yan at Lu Yin’s orders. “Yan? Secretary of Shamrock Enterprise’s Innerverse president?”
“I’m flattered to learn that Alliance Leader Lu has heard of me.” Yan smiled while demonstrating a very courteous and respectful attitude.
Lu Yin indifferently commented, “I’ve heard about all of the people in Shamrock Enterprise who are worth paying attention to. After all, know yourself and know your enemy to win a hundred battles.”
Yan was taken aback. “Your enemy? Why would Alliance Leader Lu say such a thing?”
“I don’t like to beat around the bush,” Lu Yin casually commented.
Yan’s face grew stiff. “Alliance Leader Lu, there has been some misunderstanding between our Shamrock Enterprise and you, and I hope we can resolve it.”
Lu Yin sipped his tea. “There’s no rush. Actually, there’s a question I’ve always wanted to ask.”
Yan smiled. “Please tell me.”
Lu Yin looked at Yan. “To my understanding, Shamrock Enterprise has scouted talented youths from across the entire Human Domain in order to nurture them as ‘seeds.’ With this information, what’s the difference from your ‘seeds,’ and the moles that other large organizations plant in other powers?”
Yan’s expression instantly changed. “What exactly do you mean, Alliance Leader Lu?”
“Exactly what I said. I want to know more: have any of your seeds been sent into the Great Eastern Alliance?” Lu Yin asked in a laid back manner. Given his experiences and all that he had seen in the Perennial World, he was not overly concerned with Shamrock Enterprise. He had once seen the company as a mysterious and unpredictable power that spanned the universe, but at the moment, he saw Shamrock Enterprise as just another organization on the same level as Smokecloud Sect in the Middle Realm. In fact, Shamrock Enterprise fell behind when it came to top-level powerhouses, as Smokecloud Sect had a Semi-Progenitor.
After climbing to a certain height, everything that one saw would appear to be very small. This was what provided Lu Yin with his confidence when dealing with Shamrock Enterprise.
A massive corporation? The Leaf King? So what.
Yan reluctantly smiled. “Alliance Leader Lu has been overthinking things. My Shamrock Enterprise’s seeds are different from moles. Our seeds are forthright. For example, your former classmate Darkvoid never hid his status as a seed. Another of our seeds was also studying in the Astral Combat Academy with you: Tu Bo was another of our seeds.”
Lu Yin nodded. “That’s good. If there are any of your seeds in the Great Eastern Alliance, it would be best to let me know sooner rather than later, as their presence could easily cause misunderstandings.”
Yan remained polite. “It’s fear of just such a misunderstanding that there came a need to speak with Alliance Leader Lu.”
“Tell me,” Lu Yin spoke indifferently.
Yan was not used to needing to act in such a manner. He was the secretary to Shamrock Enterprise’s Innerverse president, as well as a powerful Enlighter in his own right with a power level of more than 400,000. In the absence of an Envoy, Yan could be nearly be considered a top powerhouse, and there were not many Envoys in the entire Human Domain. There were very few people who would dare speak to Yan in the same manner as Lu Yin was doing, and it was starting to upset the secretary.
However, Yan suppressed his discontent. Lu Yin had a status in the Hall of Honor and on Mt. Microcosms that not even Shamrock Enterprise as a whole could compare to. This was also the same youth who had trashed Daynight Flowzone. He was a madman, and it was best not to become enemies with such a person.
“We are aware that Yu Mu has caused Alliance Leader Lu and the Great Eastern Alliance to suffer some losses, and because of this, Shamrock Enterprise has decided to punish Yu Mu internally. He is losing his status as chairman of our Outerverse holdings, and we are also offering the Great Eastern Alliance compensation. We are doubling the resources you were previously promised, and if you would like, Alliance Leader Lu, you can make use of Shamrock Enterprise’s resources at will, so long as doing so does not affect our normal operations.” This was a very enticing offer.
In fact, this offer was one that even the leaders of the Innerverse’s eight great flowzones would get excited about. Shamrock Enterprise had made arrangements to move their headquarters within a hidden world over to Mt. Microcosms for less expense than they were offering Lu Yin. This was a price that they could only pay with Leaf King’s personal approval.
Shamrock Enterprise had never before offered up such a steep price as a form of reconciliation, and it demonstrated their sincerity.
And yet, Lu Yin refused. He was genuinely tempted by the offer to make use of the company’s resources as he wished, but with the condition that he could not affect their regular operations, it meant that the amount of resources available would be quite limited. Also, Lu Yin did not believe that Shamrock Enterprise would truly allow him to make use of such resources however he wished. Still, conditions had been offered, so a response was needed. “Do you truly realize just how much trouble Yu Mu has caused for Continental Shipping? An overseer is currently targeting my Great Eastern Alliance, and the damage that’s been caused already is irreparable.”
Yan sighed. “That is true; Yu Mu has caused the Great Eastern Alliance to suffer terrible losses. My Shamrock Enterprise will do our best to make up for this matter, and I ask Alliance Leader Lu to be magnanimous and not be concerned about such a minor person.”
There had once been a time when Yu Mu had condescendingly thrown a cosmic ring to the ground in front of Lu Yin as compensation for a misunderstanding. At that time, the Outerverse chairman had been arrogant, and had even dragged En Ya through the void. This had been a terrible insult to Lu Yin at the time, and yet, already, Yu Mu was just a minor individual.
“The conditions you’ve offered will remain the same, and if you manage to find a way to have Overseer Cong Ying stop targeting Continental Shipping, all misunderstandings between me and your Shamrock Enterprise will be completely resolved,” Lu Yin stated.
Yan grew embarrassed. If such a thing were possible, he would have already done it long ago. Overseer Cong Ying was a stubborn man, and not even Shamrock Enterprise could change his mind. Yan had already investigated this matter. “Alliance Leader Lu, you are also familiar with the overseer’s personality, and if not even you can change his mind, you must understand that it’s even more difficult for us to do so.”
Lu Yin laughed. “You’re merely demoting Yu Mu, and you claim that Cong Ying is too difficult to deal with. Is this how your Shamrock Enterprise shows its sincerity? With an offer of just some mere resources?”
“Alliance Leader Lu, I have already offered you the best conditions that my Shamrock Enterprise has ever given anyone! Please consider this matter,” Yan solemnly requested.
Lu Yin just shook his head. “It’s better for you to consider this matter.”
With that, Lu Yin ended the call.
Ming Yan stepped out from behind him. “Do you really want to become enemies with Shamrock Enterprise?”
“That all depends on the situation. How much do you think I could gain from the situation if I’m able to swallow all of Shamrock Enterprise?”
Ming Yan considered the question. “I don’t know. Shamrock Enterprise has businesses that cover the entire Human Domain, and the amount of resources they dump into any one of their seeds is enough for a regular cultivator to become an Explorer. That’s also not considering the fact that most of their seeds require excessive resources compared to ordinary cultivators. The resources needed for any one of them must be unfathomable.
“The more accurate that is, the more difficult they’ll be to deal with. I’ve also heard that Leaf King is very mysterious.”
Lu Yin nodded. Leaf King was the only person from Shamrock Enterprise who Lu Yin was still wary of. If Leaf King became Lu Yin’s enemy, his only option would be to leave the matter to his senior brother, the Chief Justice.
“By the way, I want to give you something,” Ming Yan said as though just remembering something. She became excited and pulled Lu Yin out of the room.
“What gift?”
“Your favorite!” Ming Yan tried to act mysterious.
Lu Yin blinked; his favorite?
Black Street was massive, and with Ming Yan controlling Bu Laoweng, it essentially meant that she directly controlled the old man’s wealth that he had accumulated over many, many years.
The darker and more violent the place, the more exaggerated the speed at which wealth could be accumulated. Black Street was nothing but quick money.
As he stared at a veritable mountain of star essence that had been stacked up, Lu Yin was absolutely stunned. There had to be more than a billion star essence gathered!
“What’s this?” Lu Yin was truly surprised.
Ming Yan smiled proudly. “How is it? Do you like it?”
Lu Yin subconsciously nodded a response, which made Ming Yan even happier. “This is what Bu Laoweng’s managed to save up over the years. This not only comes from Black Street, but also from his position as an overseer. Unfortunately, that old man’s plans were rather grand, and so a lot of his wealth was spent on Azure Mansion to improve his networking resources. Otherwise, the total amount will be much more than this.”
Lu Yin understood her explanation. This was just like the Blaze Realm. Even though it had controlled a third of Blazing Mist Flowzone, their treasury had only held a relatively small amount of star essence. This was mostly because the funds were constantly being used. Bu Laoweng had created Azure Mansion and was the person who controlled Black Street, but that also meant that his operating costs were similarly higher. It was not bad at all for him to have been able to save up so much star essence.
“There’s a total of 1.36 billion,” Ming Yan reported, which made Lu Yin kiss her. He was enjoying a sudden windfall of an incredible amount of wealth, and it was even enough money to Enhance many items.
With this sudden influx, Lu Yin’s liquid assets amounted to a staggering 2.4 billion star essence stored in his cosmic ring.
“Brother Lu, actually, if you need more money, Yan’er can sell off a bunch of Bu Laoweng’s properties, and Azure Mansion’s costs can be reduced, which would allow for a large amount of money to be gathered very quickly,” Ming Yan said.
Lu Yin hugged Ming Yan and told her, “There’s no need for that for now. Yan’er, thank you!”
Ming Yan hung her head as she smiled.
Suddenly, her hair turned white.
Lu Yin pursed his lips, and the long-absent white-haired Ming Yan was showering herself.
She stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes. “Remove your hand.”
Lu Yin coughed and released her. “Um, why are you here?”
White-haired Ming Yan snorted derisively. “Can I not? This is my place.”
Lu Yin fell silent and simply gathered up the star essence into his cosmic ring.
Bu Laoweng had also gathered up a great number of treasures in addition to simple star essence. There were power vessels and many other treasures, but all of the items were rather weak, and given their materials, none of them would serve Lu Yin’s needs even after upgrading them.
White-haired Ming Yan then led Lu Yin to a different area. “This place holds some materials that no one knows what they are for. Some were picked up from the trash, while Bu Laoweng collected other bits. However, not even he knew what this stuff can be used for, so you’ll have to just see if there’s anything useful for you here.”
Lu Yin looked over the gathered materials. He actually did not recognize any of them himself. If the Ghost Monkey were present, he might have been able to help Lu Yin.
Still, it did not matter if Lu Yin recognized the materials or not. He needed to get a new universal armor, and that would need many different materials, and the more precious the materials, but better the quality. After considering what he had needed to go through the last time to get his armor made, Lu Yin decided to Disassemble all of the gathered materials.
“Resources are never enough,” Lu Yin said.
White-haired Ming Yan merely glanced over at him. “Then I’ll return to Black Street to find some more for you.”
Lu Yin was about to refuse, but Ming Yan continued, “We are in the Neoverse’s trash heap, so it’s possible to occasionally find some ancient materials.”
“Oh, that would be good,” Lu Yin replied before watching as Ming Yan left.
There were very few people in the entire universe who Lu Yin was comfortable enough with to use his die, but Ming Yan was certainly one of them. However, he did not stop her from leaving. He really did need more materials, and ancient materials would be much better.
Occasionally ancient items would appear that could not be processed or recycled given contemporary abilities, but Lu Yin could still do so.
He raised a hand and brought out his die. He tapped it, and it slowly spun before stopping on six pips.
Lu Yin had not removed his cosmic ring this time, and he had no complaints when he saw that he had rolled a six. He acknowledged that there was no better means of gathering information or experience than his die’s Possession. He had thought about rolling the die while in the the Lockbreakers World in hopes of being able to Possess a powerful Lockbreaker and gain lockbreaking experience, but he was afraid of being found out, given the size of the Lockbreakers World.
OMA’s Thoughts
Translated By: OMA
Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox
TLC’ed By: OMA
