The warehouse was really huge. They took the elevator to the 31st floor. Once they entered the doorway, Hong Dali started smiling widely.
Half the level was filled with a variety of materials—this was a level that was more than ten thousand square meters of floor. If half of it was filled, can you imagine how many things there were?
There were instruments of all kinds, big and small. Hong Dali had never seen any of them before. There were also a lot of raw materials and other things. Based on the looks of them, Hong Dali knew they were all good stuff.
“This level stores mostly manufactured products and some ordinary materials.” Fang Han introduced. “They are not very valuable. Dali, you may look around, they are not worth much anyway.”
“Yes, okay, no problem.” Hong Dali nodded vigorously.
The thirty-second floor was similar to the thirty-first floor, but there were fewer things there. They took up a smaller part of the level.
On the thirty-third floor, there were even fewer things.
By the time they got to the thirty-fifth floor, it was just an empty warehouse. Fang Han smiled and said, “At present, because there’s no warehouse manager here, there aren’t many things in this warehouse. Brother Dali is more laidback, so I will have them make sure things are placed downstairs instead. You can do whatever you wish with this space. Oh yes, try not to be too loud. If you are bored, you can go into the virtual world for a spin.”
The way he put it was akin to letting Hong Dali use the space without collecting any rent. Starting from the thirty-fifth floor, the warehouse was completely empty. It was big enough for Hong Dali to mess around.
Hong Dali took a look at the next few floors and saw nothing noteworthy. He immediately smiled and said, “Big Brother Fang Han, you really take good care of me, haha.”
“Haha, it’s just a warehouse. It cannot be compared to the gift you gave me.” Fang Han laughed and patted Hong Dali’s shoulder. “This will be your territory from now on. You will start work officially tomorrow. Today, I need to bring you around Shenluo City to familiarize you with the environment here. This is very important.”
“Well, okay. Let’s go.” Hong Dali grinned. “Shopping is the best!”
Tang Muxin gritted her teeth as she listened to him. “I thought you hated shopping?!”
There was really nothing much to say about the warehouse. The main reason Fang Han brought Hong Dali out today was to show him a couple of important things he needed to take note of in the Galaxy Alliance.
“Brother Dali.” On the spaceship, Fang Han started explaining to Hong Dali. “Do you see the building over there? That is the most powerful institution in the entire Shenluo and even the entire Galaxy Alliance.” The building Fang Han was pointing to was about ten thousand meters high. The building rose into the clouds and was very big. It looked like a huge tower.
On the tower, there were written several big characters: “Galaxy Virtual Universe Company.”
“Is this the Galaxy Virtual Universe Company?” Hong Dali said with amazement, “Do the Galaxy aristocrats work inside?”
“Oh? Brother Dali knows about the Galaxy aristocrats?” Fang Han smiled. “This makes it easier for me to explain.”
“The virtual universe covers the entire Galaxy. In the entire Galaxy Alliance, only the Galaxy aristocrats from the Beta Star have such a technology. There’s a branch office of the Galaxy Virtual Universe Company in every main city in the Galaxy Alliance Center on this Silver Blue Super Planet. The people you should never mess with in the Galaxy Alliance are the galaxy aristocrats who control the Galaxy Virtual Universe.”
Hong Dali was naturally very familiar with the Galaxy aristocrats from the Beta Star.
Speaking of which, the funds that he used to develop here were left by Invincible East. Now that he actually saw people from the Beta Star, there were some feelings of closeness.
“In the Galaxy Alliance,” As the spacecraft slowly flew over the towers of the Galaxy Virtual Universe Company, Fang Han said slowly, “Although the technology and battle ability of many planets are relatively high, the ones who are really powerful in the Galaxy is not a planet, but a powerful, relentless force.”
“Oh?” Hong Dali said, awed, “What are the forces? Big Brother Fang Han, tell me about them quickly!”
“The Galaxy Bank, Galaxy Peace Insurance Company, Thunder Battle Arena, Galaxy Mercenary Alliance, and Virtual Universe Company are the five most powerful forces in the entire Galaxy Alliance!” With the mention of these five forces, a glimmer of longing appeared in Fang Han’s eyes. “They have an absolute monopoly. Anyone who does business in the Galaxy Alliance will fall under the scope of these five forces.
“The Galaxy Bank is the largest bank in the Galaxy. Most people with any economic standing will choose to deposit money in this bank.” Fang Han said, “Even the Galaxy aristocrats from Beta Star are at the same level as officials of the Galaxy Bank.”
It was a bank. Hong Dali understood how they worked—on Earth, being an officer in a bank was a lucrative post. The presidents of many big banks in the Heavenly State usually got up close with the most powerful businessmen in the country. Things were probably the same in the largest bank in the Galaxy.
“The Galaxy Peace Insurance Company offers only one kind of insurance—interstellar travel insurance.” Fang Han continued his explanation to Hong Dali. “In the universe, powerful fighters will leave their star system to travel. It’s inevitable that they may get into accidents. When that happens, insurance is very important. After all, no one can guarantee that they will not get into accidents their entire lives. Therefore, the benefits of selling this type of insurance for this type of people are very obvious.”
Well, this meant that all the travel insurance and personal safety insurance in the galaxy were covered by this one company. There was nothing more to say about it.
“Thunder Battle Arena is an organization that caters especially to warriors. Any warrior can choose to compete there. There are all kinds of battles. Win/lose battles, life and death duels, even mecha battles and many others. The very popular Galaxy Mecha Competition is organized by this company—this company is also one of those controlled by the Galaxy aristocrats from Beta Star.
“The Galaxy Mercenary Alliance is relatively straightforward. Their company only accepts one type of mission—to protect planets. In the universe, Zerg is the greatest threat to humans. After all, no one knows where these evil bugs come from, or when they will appear. Any planet registered in the Galaxy Alliance may encounter them. If they really encounter the Zerg, they will not be able to deal with the attack with just their own power. All they can do is request help from the Mercenary Alliance—that will cost money.
“Last but not least is the Galaxy Virtual Universe Company. I guess I don’t have to elaborate on them.”
After listening to the explanations, Hong Dali finally understood.
In the Galaxy Alliance, every planet had its own government. The concept of individual states did not apply in the universe.
Right now, the really powerful companies were those that operated in space on many planets.
They had in their control a lot of wealth, power, and people. It would be really easy for a large company to destroy a planet if they wanted to.
“Other than these five superpowers, the others are simple companies.” Fang Han said, “Of course, as long as you do not bring trouble to them, these five superpowers are relatively easy to work with. After all, we are all businessmen, amiability is good for business.”
Hong Dali nodded.
He was just a prodigal. He would have no business with these superpowers. There was no need to be afraid of them!
“Well, okay, we’re here.” Fang Han looked at the building below the spaceship. “Thunder Battle Arena. I just wanted to show you this, Brother Dali. Actually, it is quite fun to watch the battles in the Thunder Battle Arena.”
“Oh, okay.” Hong Dali nodded enthusiastically. “Fights are exciting!”
The spacecraft descended slowly.
Soon, Fang Han had bought the tickets and he led Hong Dali and the others into the Thunder Battle Arena.
This was one of the arenas that belonged to the Thunder Battle Arena. It covered an area of more than thirty million square meters. It was massive. Inside this arena were one hundred and twenty-eight competition areas. It was obvious that Fang Han was also a fighting enthusiast. He himself might have practiced some martial arts, which was why when he realized that Hong Dali seemed to get along well with him, he immediately brought Hong Dali here.
This was like a geek who loved the internet and gaming. If he met up with his friends, they would probably go to an internet cafe for a game or two.
The tickets which Fang Han purchased were for the 65th match. Everyone snaked in. There were two warriors fighting there, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
The fights at such a place were definitely more entertaining than a fight than, say, the UFC on Earth—at least the momentum of fights here were different than that of fights on Earth.
At this time, the fight was in full swing. About 80% of the audience, more than one hundred thousand people, were seated. Fang Han brought Hong Dali and the others on the special flight modules in the arena to their ticketed seats. Afterward, Fang Han pointed to the two people on the arena and said, “The two people who are fighting today are both First Order Planet Warriors. The tall one is called Hell Cat, the short one is Three-inch Nail. Both are very powerful and skilled fighters.”
At that time, there were two people standing in the ring, one tall and one short. The tall one was nearly 2.5 meters tall with a shiny and bald head. His muscles were impossibly massive. He had huge pectorals, major and bulging biceps. The blood vessels were clearly visible in the deltoid muscles near his shoulders. However, on his shoulder was a tattoo of a cute cat’s head which made him seem comical yet arrogant and malevolent.
The short man was relatively thin. At 1.9 meters tall, he looked like a child standing in front of the much taller Hell Cat. He had a crew cut that was about one inch long, eyes that were like a falcon, and he moved agilely. He was fighting with Hell Cat in the ring.
Just then, a mechanical arm extended from above the seat. It projected a small screen. Fang Han smiled and said, “Everyone who comes here to watch the battle can choose to bet on either side. Hell Cat’s payout is currently 1:1.6, Three-inch Nail’s payout is 1:2.2. The payout for a draw is 1:1.8. Little Brother Dali, who do you think will win?”
