Ming Yan nodded. “I don’t go there either.”
A bit of concern then entered her voice, “Brother Lu, you won’t hate Yan’er because of this, right?”
Lu Yin laughed. “Why would you say that?”
Ming Yan anxiously continued, saying, “This place is just so dirty, and Yan’er actually wants to clean it up. However, the filth is a defining feature of Black Street. Even though Bu Laoweng is Black Street’s master, there are many important people who are connected to this place, and many of those connections are complicated. Any small move could easily result in massive backlashes, so Yan’er can’t easily change things.”
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. “Are a lot of important people from the Neoverse connected to this place?”
Ming Yan frowned. Disgust filled her voice as she answered, “Humanity exposes its true nature in the dark. That’s where humans’ most primitive nature is found. There are some people who shine in the light, but once they enter the darkness, they’re worse than beasts.”
Lu Yin understood. “Yan’er, help me gather information on all of those people. It would really help Big Brother Lu.”
Ming Yan readily agreed.
For some reason, the white-haired Ming Yan never showed herself during this visit, which let Lu Yin be more affectionate with Ming Yan. They stayed close to each other for a long time, and he engraved the softness on his skin and the heartbeat against his own into his soul, and it washed all of his exhaustion away.
The next day, old man San Shang called Lu Yin once again. However, the overseer did not appear on Lu Yin’s display after the call connected; rather, it was a certain woman. It was actually the same arrogant woman that had run into Lu Yin when they had been leaving the Honor Zone on a cniu.
“It’s you?” Lu Yin was surprised.
The woman smiled. “Alliance Leader Lu, I will never forget seeing you at Mt. Microcosms. I’m Qing Tan, and I offer you my respects.”
As she spoke, the woman slowly bowed, causing the black silk clothing to fall. She had a provocative demeanor.
She was naturally a beautiful woman, but at this moment, she had restrained her arrogance. This made her appear like an entirely different person, though her movements and expressions were also very natural. Her snow-white skin was crystal clear, and she was wearing a slightly see-through mesh veil, which allowed Lu Yin to see her conspicuous red lips. Everything about the woman seemed both unusual and alluring.
Lu Yin had seen many women before, and while many women attempted to be seductive, few could accomplish it to the degree where even Lu Yin’s mouth would go dry. This woman was almost on the same level as Madam Nalan.
“You’re calling me with old man San Shang’s contact info. Do you have some connection to old man San Shang?” Lu Yin asked, acting both ignorant and curious.
Qing Tan showed a slight smile. “My deceased husband was old man San Shang’s son. My father-in-law is currently in poor health, so this little girl handles many of his affairs.”
Lu Yin nodded. “In that case, what matter do you have to call me?”
“My father-in-law mentioned that Alliance Leader Lu does not wish for Shamrock Enterprise to be allowed into Mt. Microcosms. This little girl can help.” Qing Tan smiled.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “Your conditions?”
Qing Tan shook her head. “This little girl has long since admired Alliance Leader Lu. As long as Alliance Leader Lu speaks his request, this little girl will not refuse.”
Lu Yin smiled. “Thank you so much, Miss Qing Tan.”
Qing Tan bowed once more. “It’s Qing Tan who would like to thank Alliance Leader Lu for giving her such an opportunity. Without it, I would have never had the opportunity to speak with Alliance Leader Lu. If time permits, Qing Tan would like to visit Alliance Leader Lu in person.”
As she spoke, she licked her lips and acted even more coquettishly.
“A time will certainly come.” Lu Yin smiled.
Lu Yin quickly ended the call. Just what was this woman’s motives? Why was she trying to show Lu Yin kindness? Had she moved of her own accord, or was it on behalf of the powers behind her that allowed her to control an overseer?
As he thought about this strange scenario, Lu Yin sent Wei Rong a message, asking him to look into who was behind Qing Tan.
However, since Qing Tan was offering her assistance, Lu Yin did not need to deal with her for now. As long as he was able to achieve his goal, he did not really care who was controlling old man San Shang.
On Mt. Microcosms, the nine overseers started a council session. They only occasionally held these sessions, as they usually met virtually unless there was a major matter that required their physical presence.
More than an hour into the meeting, Overseer Nan Yuan said, “The next issue is Shamrock Enterprise. They have officially submitted an application stating their hopes of being allowed to move their hidden world to Mt. Microcosms. Please consider the matter and vote.”
***
On Mt. Microcosms, Yan1 was smiling as he chatted with a friend. He did not even consider the possibility of something going wrong with their application to move Shamrock Enterprise’s hidden world and headquarters to Mt. Microcosms. In fact, given the company’s power and influence, their headquarters could have moved to the mountain long ago. However, Leaf King did not want to be stuck in a hidden world, as he instead dreamed of ruling over his own territory in the Neoverse, just like the Cosmic Sect or Aurora Enterprises. However, that dream was still too distant for them.
Even the mysterious Leaf King was not able to accomplish such a thing quite yet, so he could only wait longer.
“Brother Yan, you and I will only have more opportunities to meet with each other from now on.” The man accompanying Yan was an expert who guarded Mt. Microcosms, just like San Liang.
Yan smiled. “That’s only natural. When that happens, I’ll have to trouble Brother Li to show me around Mt. Microcosms a bit more. We’ll definitely visit all of the hundreds of hidden worlds on Mt. Microcosms one by one.”
“Given Shamrock Enterprise’s power, there’s no need for us to visit all of them—we’ll just go and visit a few of the more important hidden worlds. The most important thing to do right now is to maintain a good relationship with the overseers.”
“Of course. Brother Li, this is the latest pharmaceutical that our company has developed. Brother Li should be able to use it with your training, as it matches your battle technique very well.”
“Thank you, Brother Yan.”
Yan’s gadget beeped with a notification at this time, and his expression changed drastically when he saw the message. His previously happy mood turned to suffering before falling to despair.
“Brother Yan, what’s wrong?” Brother Li asked.
Yan’s face twisted. “We failed.”
Brother Li was shocked. “How is that even possible? With Shamrock Enterprise’s abilities, you absolutely qualify to enter Mt. Microcosms, and that’s not even taking into account how Brother Yan already has everything in hand.
Yan quietly said, “Overseer Xin Jiao, Mr. You, old man San Shang, Si Hong, and Bu Laoweng all voted against our move.”
Brother Li frowned. “How come? I’ll help you look into this.”
Yan nodded. “Thank you, Brother Li.”
He had built up a good relationship with Mt. Microcosms’ guards. That was because the guards were the ones who were best informed about the ins and outs of Mt. Microcosms, and all of them had connections to powerful forces.
Soon, Brother Li looked back at Xiang Yan and solemnly stated, “Shamrock Enterprise has offended someone, so half of the overseers voted against your request.”
“Who?” Yan asked eagerly. He desperately wanted to discover just who had enough influence to overwhelm Shamrock Enterprise’s efforts, as this indicated that they had a direct relationship with the nine overseers.
“Lu Yin,” Brother Li quietly stated.
Yan was first confused, but then startled. “The Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance? That Lu Yin?”
Brother Li nodded.
“Isn’t he missing?”
“He’s already returned. I was told by San Liang, who has a very good relationship with Overseer Si Hong. It was because of Lu Yin’s relationship with Overseer Xin Jiao that you were rejected. Without such a relationship, it’s impossible for the nine overseers to have refused you.”
Yan frowned. “What about Bu Laoweng? Did he also vote against us because of Lu Yin?”
Brother Li’s smile grew bitter. “Ever since Eversky Island’s Highsage Wudi kicked up such a fuss on Mt. Microcosms, Bu Laoweng has become an overseer in nothing but name, as he lost his privilege as an overseer.”
Yan’s hands were trembling. It should not have been a big deal for Shamrock Enterprise to enter Mt. Microcosms, and this was not even Leaf King’s true desire. However, their only way forward was to first enter Mt. Microcosms and then continue working towards greater goals. Their failure to enter Mt. Microcosms was completely unexpected.
After hearing that Lu Yin had been the one to cause them such trouble, Yan was instantly thought of a motive: it had to have something to do with Yu Mu, as he was the only person from Shamrock Enterprise who had ever offended Lu Yin. In particular, before Lu Yin disappeared, Yu Mu had submitted a report regarding traces of the giant’s technology resurfacing. Yu Mu must have done something behind the scenes, as there was no other reason for Lu Yin to have created such trouble for Shamrock Enterprise this soon after returning.
“Brother Li, thank you very much. I will speak with Lu Yin,” Yan solemnly expressed his gratitude.
Brother Li sighed. “Brother Yan, you and I are friends, so let me give you a bit of advice: don’t become enemies with Lu Yin. He has built up an incredible status in Mt. Microcosms, not only with the overseers, but also with the Interstellar Supreme Court, and even Arch-Elder Zen.”
Yan blinked. “Thank you.”
On a certain planet in the Outerverse, Yu Mu was quietly listening to Xiao Qin giving a report. Xiao Qin was the secretary of Shamrock Enterprise’s assets in the eastern regions of the Outerverse.
“Mr. Yu, with the Sixth Mainland occupying the western part of the Outerverse, my Shamrock Enterprise has to shift its activities to the eastern region, and our assets there have improved rapidly. President Shen…”
Yu Mu did not know why, but he felt increasingly uneasy as he quietly listened to Xiao Qin’s report, and his eye even started twitching. Unfortunately, he could not figure out what was making him so nervous.
“As for the resources that we’re supplying the Great Eastern Alliance with, I must ask Mr. Yu to give his instructions on this as well,” Xiao Qin said.
Yu Mu instantly replied, “Continue to cut it down. Sell them medicines with reduced efficacy, and tell Shen Fu to continue spreading word throughout the Great Eastern Alliance that Lu Yin is dead and that he will never return.”
Xiao Qin nodded.
At this moment, Yu Mu’s gadget rang out with a call. He glanced down and saw that Yan was calling.
Yan was the secretary for Shamrock Enterprise’s Innerverse president, which meant that Yan held extensive influence in the corporation. It was to the extent that even Yu Mu, the Outerverse chairman, could not ignore Yan.
“Secretary Yan, for what reason are you calling me?” Yu Mu asked politely.
“Yu Mu, what did you do to Lu Yin? I need to know everything.” Yan suppressed his anger as he quietly asked.
Yu Mu’s eye started to twitch worse and worse. “Lu Yin?”
“He’s back, and he’s targeting us,” Yan stated.
Yu Mu finally understood why he had been so ill at ease.
The call soon ended, and Yu Mu’s face had gone completely pale. Lu Yin had actually returned? How was that possible!? He should have disappeared forever, but he had actually come back.
Lu Yin’s return caused Yu Mu to start to panic, especially since Shamrock Enterprise had suffered such a heavy blow almost as soon as the youth reappeared.
Half of the nine overseers had refused to allow Shamrock Enterprise to enter Mt. Microcosms. This was not actually a terrible problem for Shamrock Enterprise; they had already been in the Honor Zone for many years and done quite well. The troubling part of this incident was that it gave the rest of the Human Domain the impression that the Hall of Honor’s nine overseers would not work with Shamrock Enterprise, and that would badly damage the company’s image.
Yu Mu felt confident that as soon as word of this incident spread, Shamrock Enterprise would see their reputation and status plummet for a while.
Just how had Lu Yin built up this kind of influence so soon after his return?
Back on Mt. Microcosms, Yan’s eyes danced about. Yu Mu had actually reached out to Overseer Cong Ying behind the company’s back and revealed that Lu Yin had possible connections to the ancient giants’ technology. No wonder Overseer Cong Ying had been actively targeting Continental Shipping. Everyone had assumed it was because of Cong Ying’s relationship with Bu Laoweng, but it turned out to actually be because of Yu Mu.
Yu Mu’s methods had not been bad. He had not directly intervened, and had actually done nothing more than share a bit of news. It would have been easy to learn that Cong Ying’s predecessors had strongly advocated for the destruction and annihilation of all giant technology.
After considering the matter for a long time, Yan decided to reach out to Lu Yin to evaluate the youth’s attitude.
[1] Just a reminder, Yan first appeared in chapter 960, which was quite a long while ago.
OMA’s Thoughts
Translated By: OMA
Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox
TLC’ed By: OMA
