Translator: Sean88888 Editor: Elkassar1
Although it was depressing to see the 1000 achievement points requirement to promote to the next rank, but Sheyan was still happy that he had successfully promoted to the post of Colonel. After all, it was something that he achieved after risking his life to land on Uplos, then overcoming numerous difficulties and dangers to discover the existence of rich Pi veins on the planet and bringing back proof via Cyborg No. 1’s video recording function.
However, Sheyan still carried a large amount of Pi element ingots in his personal storage! These were the real treasure!
Sheyan believed the Empire would definitely understand the fact that a bird in hand was worth two in the bush. Uplos may be exceptionally rich in Pi mineral content, but that did not mean the humans could quickly turn them into usable high-purity Pi element. It was a similar situation with that of petroleum on Old Earth. Everyone knew that the bottom of the ocean was exceptionally rich in oil, but the whole world still had their eyes on the oil in the Middle East.
Planet Uplos contained an extremely harsh environment even disregarding the existence of the Predators. The two damnable asteroid belts alone made it unbelievably hard to transport various exploration and mining machineries over, let alone going into production and ensuring a steady supply.
Okay, let’s say that the humans actually succeeded in going into production. Who could guarantee that the Predators would not cause trouble for them? It would take decades or even longer to build the production lines, but it would only take seconds to destroy them.
So, in reality, the contestants had indeed shown the Empire a delicious cake by bringing back proof of the rich Pi veins on Uplos, but it did not mean the hungry Empire could dig in right away. They still coveted the Pi element ingots the contestants brought back for their needs in the immediate future.
Sheyan walked into Major General Mungo’s office fully aware of this fact. Oh, he’s not Major General Mungo anymore. Going by the insignia on his shoulders, it seemed that he had successfully promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.
When Sheyan walked into the office, the Lieutenant General was holding the stubble under his chin. He was carefully watching the replay of a battle and a report of the battle damage on the screen. With one glance, Sheyan could tell that it was the scene when Mungo had mobilised nearly half of the mobile forces on the fortress to fly into the asteroid belts zone to escort Sheyan back.
The bastard was obviously doing this to put Sheyan under pressure right from the very beginning.
However, although Sheyan clearly knew this, he could not help being slightly affected emotionally. Sheyan had never had an experience where he had to leave everything to fate like the time he dashed out of the asteroid belts zone. He had to admit that he was moved when he saw a large number of ally battleships rushing to greet him regardless of the casualties they had to sustain.
When Mungo saw Sheyan, he paused the video and sighed.
“I need your help, Colonel.”
Sheyan could not refuse straight away but he did not want to suffer losses either, so he only had one choice – to remain silent.
Silence is golden! Any word Sheyan uttered in this moment may very well cost him millions of utility points’ worth of benefits!
Mungo talked for a long time. The gist of his speech was how he overstepped his authority to mobilise the fleet to bring Sheyan back safely, and as a result the fleet had sustained heavy casualties and was now in a terrible mess, and the higher ups were now holding him responsible etc., etc.
But Sheyan had just learned most of the truth from Archer. He knew that this man had established a connection with someone really important. After that, he completely became the boss in the base and had performed more violations than anyone! Mobilising the troops without authorisation was nothing to him at all!
Therefore, Sheyan resolutely remained silent. Seeing how impenetrable Sheyan was, Mungo could only sigh helplessly. What could he do? He could not directly impose military sanctions on Sheyan. He still needed Sheyan’s help after all. Doing so would only have a negative effect.
The two were locked in a stalemate for nearly two hours in the office. Mungo talked so much that his mouth was foaming, while Sheyan’s ears were so tired that he could almost feel blisters forming in them. Sheyan yawned constantly. He knew there was no way Mungo would be the only person interested in the Pi element ingots. Sheyan would absolutely not make a deal before comparing prices first.
Mungo smiled bitterly. What else could he do in this situation? Right as he was about to show his hands, they suddenly heard someone knocking at the door. Without waiting for Mungo’s reply, the door slid quietly to both sides!
A row of burly soldiers wearing dark-red armour went straight in, all with the rank of Major. Sheyan felt an indescribable aura of death from these men, as if their lives had been forcefully compressed, condensing the life span of 60 years into 6 years, which ensured that they were in peak condition all the time and could erupt with great force.
The soldiers in dark-red armour lined up in two neat rows, completely ignoring Mungo. One of the Majors turned on the holographic projector. Then, a man who was no stranger to Sheyan walked in from the door. He was Major General Fiji, the one who previously had some conflict with Sheyan. Fiji licked his lips and stared at Mungo with great enthusiasm.
“Surprised, old friend? You must be wondering why I’m not in military court right now, right?
Mungo snorted in disdain. “Blood Guards….You’re with the old man? That’s strange, what value does a beaten dog like you have left to be used by him?”
Major General Fiji laughed hysterically. “You’re right, I didn’t have any value left, but never in my wildest dream could I have imagined that my accidental move of selflessly providing FJ01 could become my life-saving straw. My insider actually came back alive carrying 166 Pi element ingots of 99.999% purity! That naturally became my greatest value!”
Sheyan knew that Ronnie was on Major General Fiji’s side. And Fiji had indeed done a lot of things for Ronnie, so after Ronnie returned alive, he naturally gave Fiji priority to purchase his Pi element ingots.
Aldaris’ brain was damaged so he could only be healed after returning to the Nightmare Realm, while Sheyan had not made his stance clear. Such circumstances were indeed a great chance for Fiji.
The holographic device flickered and the 3D hologram of the “old man” they referred to appeared on it. Contrary to his usual attitude, the old man was exceptionally courteous this time. He first thanked Sheyan for Sheyan’s contribution to the Empire, then started to probe to try and figure out how many Pi element ingots Sheyan had.
Sheyan not only had to store a Wasp in his storage, he also carried other rare items such as the Royal Jelly of the One-Horned Flying Ants (Ant Nectar) which could increase all attributes by 1 permanently, and the fluid of Xenomorph eggs which could be applied on the body to absorb 33% of corrosive damage… Carrying these things took up a lot of space, so he only brought back two hundred and twenty-one Pi element ingots.
Of course, Sheyan would not sell all 221. He merely reported a round figure of 200, but that was already shocking enough a number. When the old man heard this, he continued to persuade Sheyan to cooperate with him. Sheyan only smiled and did not say anything. He would not let loose the falcon until he saw the hare. That truly gave the old man a headache.
However, he would not give up so easily. He simply called Ronnie over to dispel Sheyan’s concerns.
The Nightmare Realms were in a cooperative relationship with the human Empire. Since it was a cooperation, they would naturally have things they needed from one another, and so, the Empire would naturally be able to influence the Realms to some extent. Bringing the Pi element ingots back to the Realms would be completely useless for the contestants, like bringing RON97 petrol back to ancient times. Trading them with the Empire was thus the best choice.
Ronnie had traded 150 Pi element ingots for the following price:
1) The achievement points needed for the next promotion would be reduced by 50%.
2) Three chances to make a choice on future missions within the Empire. He could choose not to accept a mission if he felt it was too dangerous and would have priority on those with high reward-risk ratio.
3) He would be awarded with an Imperial Purple Star Medal. With it, he could gain additional privileges, discounts and the right to buy a new type of honorary dosage based on his rank. Among the privileges, the most important one Sheyan saw was that when he attacked a contestant with a lower rank than himself, damage would increase by 20%.
The new type of honorary dosage was a very powerful medicine with an independent cooldown period. It could increase the user’s maximum HP by 1500 for 24 hours, and this medicine could be sold!
Last but not least, the most important reward:
4) In order to thank Ronnie for his contribution to the Empire, he would be provided with a set of raw materials for a Blood Weapon. With these materials, Ronnie could ask the Realm to custom make a Blood Weapon for him! Ronnie could even choose what kind of weapon he wanted!
***
Seeing these conditions, especially the last one, Sheyan’s heart could not help but beat faster. He almost agreed to the deal immediately! However, at that moment, the holographic device flickered again and the projection of another man appeared.
He was a very casual, unkempt and gentle-looking young man. The young man looked lazy and impetuous at first sight, like a typical shabby rich kid, but his eyes would occasionally show traces of arrogance and sharpness.
With the old man here, Mungo obviously could not compete with him, so he naturally asked for help from the person above him.
Prince Pombaru was a core member of the Big Ben Research Institute. Even though the institute had the resources of the entire empire at their disposal, their consumption of resources was also staggering. They were severely lacking in Pi element too! After hearing Mungo’s report that half the Pi element ingots had been snatched by the old man, how could he not be furious?
The moment Prince Pombaru appeared, he immediately took over the defensive system of the base without a word and opened fire with all kinds of guns and artillery. The twenty Blood Guards were instantly killed!
