Hearty laughter from various races echoed in the cabin, even seeming to pierce the confines of space and drift onto the blazing red giant star in the distance.
The more joyful, the more unrestrained, the more laughter reverberated in this oppressive space, the more bizarre it became.
The Minlan felt as if he were in the legendary hell, surrounded by the laughter of demons. Although his racial culture inherently lacked such legends, it didn't stop him from being fascinated by human culture!
His cheeks twitched, and even his smooth, eel-like skin broke out in nervous goosebumps. The Minlan suppressed his discomfort, then suddenly realized something and exclaimed, “Wait, this wasn’t your intention all along, was it?”
“...Little Flores Wanda is indeed a responsible child! He just overthinks things a bit,” a voice said with a laugh.
“Young people who overthink things always like to let their imaginations run wild, so it’s necessary to test his tolerance. He’s usually a very cautious child, so if he’s provoked by you and still willing to stop, then the organization’s support for him will increase,” another effeminate voice said.
“But he still decided to do it,” the Minlan said.
“Yes! Then let’s wait and see. Let’s see how far he can go. Count Salwen left many legacies; we have already obtained the greatest part, and for the rest, what we gain is our fortune, what we lose is our fate.”
“Yes, left and right, Past, Future, and Present are all a circle, and body, spirit, soul, and will are all a circle. This is the will of the snake! Little Flores Wanda just can’t grasp this principle, which is why we can’t give him greater trust!”
“So, our lawyer, little Ai Ru…”
Hearing his name, the Minlan rubbed his smooth forehead, feeling an even worse headache. He took out a bottle of potion from under the table and drank it, and only then did his breathing become a little smoother.
“Why are you making such a face, as if we’re forcing you to be cannon fodder or step on landmines?”
“That’s right, you understand the organization’s principles. It’s all voluntary!”
“The free things are the most expensive, and voluntary things are the most compulsory. I am a Minlan; I understood this principle when I was a child.” The Minlan named Ai Ru said with an accepting attitude, “Tell me, what exactly do you want me to do?”
“Observe until the end, and see the outcome of this major undertaking by little Flores Wanda. Whether it succeeds or fails, you understand…”
The Minlan sighed inwardly. He knew that ten minutes ago, when Flores Wanda rejected his request in front of everyone, his fate had already been decided.
His relationship with this junior member of the organization was certainly not good; in fact, they found each other mutually repulsive.
“Conceal yourself well. We are not the only ones interested in this incident.”
Ai Ru heard the notification sound of data being received on his terminal. He opened it and immediately saw a holographic projection of a star system. The Minlan knew at a glance that this star system, designated D428, was a dwarf star system with only three uninhabited planets, part of the Far Shore Nebula.
This Minlan, known as the “lawyer” in the organization, was extremely familiar with this nebula. Civilized polities regarded this nebula as an uninhabited zone, but countless outlaws and forces feasting and drinking freely were hidden within the light and shadow of variable stars and giant stars. As a “lawyer,” he often needed to mediate for everyone, and through repeated visits, he became quite familiar with the area.
This was probably one of the reasons why the organization tasked him with this mission.
Furthermore, forces composed of outlaws actually cherished their lives more; in a sense, they were even more cautious than official state polities. In such circumstances, the need for mediators like “lawyers” was also very reasonable.
“Lawyer” Ai Ru looked at the star system projection and zoomed in on a location. What appeared before his eyes was a beautiful winged warship. Its smooth, rounded body and overly ornate decorations immediately identified it as an Empire creation.
“An Empire cruiser? Is this a Clear Sky-class that just launched?”
“Yes, but theoretically it belongs to the Bakerville Republic. At least, that’s what the registration shows.”
The Minlan thought, ‘This wouldn’t even fool my Auntie Masha’s seventeenth grandson back home.’
The Clear Sky-class, a perfect high-speed cruiser, had only been in official service for less than three years. The Empire Royal Fleet and various Lords were still queuing up for the shipyards to supply them. They didn’t even have enough for their own direct lines, so how could they sell them to the Buckwheat Birdmen?
This was an Empire warship! Perhaps there would be a few Bakerville officers and a batch of sailors on board as a facade, but it was almost certain that all key positions would be held by Empire.
“From their cruising direction, they are also heading towards the Commonwealth border. Nine times out of ten, they are also interested in this incident.”
“Do you want me to find out their purpose as well?” the Minlan asked.
“That would certainly be best. In any case, no matter what they want to do, don’t let them succeed. Of course, this is on the premise of protecting yourself.”
The Minlan couldn't help but chuckle, “I thought we had a close cooperative relationship with the Empire’s upper echelons.”
“Yes! So, perhaps at this very moment, someone on the Empire side is saying the exact same thing.”
The “lawyer” felt that this possibility was quite high, and just thinking about that scene made him want to laugh even more.
“Oh, and if possible, also investigate that rising star, Captain Yu Lian of the Commonwealth.”
“Investigate?” The Minlan found the word choice a bit subtle.
“Yes. Investigate.” The other party pondered the wording, then said, “He’s a talented young man. Of course, he was very outstanding before, but not outstanding enough to catch our attention… If possible, check his background.”
“I understand.” This time, the Minlan wasn’t averse at all. Compared to fighting and killing, he actually preferred interacting with these young people.
“Then, we await your good news.”
“All things have spirits! All things are divine! All of them are…”
“Shut up! You are absolutely forbidden to say that slogan!”
In short, after ending the communication in a not-so-harmonious manner, the Minlan took out Yu Lian’s data from the terminal and began to read it carefully.
“Hmm, he looks like a very energetic young man,” the Minlan sighed contentedly.
Hundreds of light-years away, several star systems from here, on Lumina Star, in Maple City, a certain energetic young man inexplicably shivered and trembled. He quickly turned his head to observe his surroundings, confirming that he was indeed in the Red Maple Factory conference room, and only then did he feel a little relieved.
Although some people said that all unnatural physical reactions of a spiritual energy user had a reason and needed attention, this theory was simply too metaphysical and lacked credibility.
Perhaps it was just a cold. After all, the seasons were about to change, and the temperature in Maple City was noticeably dropping every day.
Thankfully, Feifei said she had a big class for the children today and wasn't attending, otherwise she would definitely tell him to add more clothes again, and very likely pull out a very warm but truly unappealing wool sweater.
A young man in his early twenties, and a dignified spiritual energy user at that, having to wear a wool sweater before autumn even fully arrived—if word got out, he’d be laughed to death.
By the way, it was now December of common era 830, but this month was based on the rotation period of “Yashan Star,” the planet of the permanently neutral nation where the Galactic Civilization Council was located. Winter had naturally arrived there, but autumn had just begun on Lumina Star.
Seeing everyone looking at him with concern, Yu Lian clapped his hands and said loudly, “Let’s continue the meeting! Oh, where were we just now?”
“This beast tide has been confirmed to be completely dispersed, and the factory and city suffered no losses. Everyone has already mobilized; those not on the production line have gone out of the city to collect corpses. It’s estimated that every family will be able to collect ten to twenty catties of meat,” Babalu said gleefully. He looked as if he was preparing to stock up for the New Year.
“Still, be careful. Who knows if there are other carnivorous beasts still roaming outside. Mr. Xia Xiake, I’ll leave this to your self-defense corps,” Yu Lian instructed.
“Also, quarantine must keep up; this is wild game after all! Who knows what it might carry…”
“Eh, is that necessary? Not long ago, we all relied on wild game to supplement our nutrition!”
“That’s because you were lucky! And is ordinary wild game the same as a herd of hundreds of thousands of beasts rubbing shoulders? Don’t you know what cross-infection is?” Yu Lian said loudly.
Given Captain Yu Lian’s current prestige at Red Maple Factory, basically whatever he said, went.
“Listen to the Captain,” Old Beikai said.
The old man’s words settled the matter.
Yu Lian gave the old man a grateful look, then continued, “In short, modify the spectrometer a bit. I’ve checked; the factory only has this equipment, which was previously used to inspect ore. With a slight adjustment, it can still be used to inspect food. I’ll make the adjustments…”
“I’ll do it. I can handle this much,” Buska said, patting his chest.
Yu Lian nodded and added, “Also, we need to get power to the cold storage first! It would be a shame for so much fresh meat to spoil.”
“Our power supply is very tight; it’s already at its limit just being used in a few workshops!” Buska said, scratching his scalp, which had few hairs left, in distress.
“Didn’t I just have you set up the new generator? It’s for heating, the cold storage, and that dome farm, to improve everyone’s lives!”
That set of generators was still dismantled from the ship, using equipment from the life support and anti-gravity systems. Anyway, the engines of those few ships had even been dismantled to be used as magnetic field generators, and it would probably be difficult to restore them to their Past state, so they might as well be directly repurposed.
“…The new generator, besides providing a little heating to the school, nursing home, and infirmary, all the rest was used to restore Factory No. 14 yesterday,” Stoker said.
“Which is the refining workshop. This way, we can produce at least 1,000 more tons of Taishi Alloy every week! In the future, the quality of other metallurgical products will also improve greatly through the processes in this workshop,” Buska added.
Yu Lian fell silent.
According to his original plan, Factory No. 14, also known as the refining workshop, was only to be considered for construction next month. Before that, power, heating, and ventilation for the residential areas should have been restored. If power supply to the cold storage and dome farm could be restored, he could even manage to make some simple fruit shaved ice for everyone every now and then.
Everyone at Red Maple Factory had been working very hard recently. But even with all that hard work, they always managed to find a way to squeeze out some good food and drink to give to him and Feifei.
Yu Lian really couldn't refuse everyone’s kindness.
But clearly, the workers felt that restoring the factory as quickly as possible was far more important than improving their lives.
“Tsk… you guys!”
“Sorry, Captain, we did it without your permission.” Babalu quickly took the blame, “These were all my decisions. At the time, I thought you were constantly monitoring the retreat of the beast tide outside the city, in a dangerous situation, so I didn’t disturb you.”
“Hey, you’re the chairman of the workers’ committee; this is within your purview. I just feel that if you guys are too conscientious, I’ll feel like I have no presence and be very disappointed,” Yu Lian said half-jokingly.
Everyone looked at each other, completely unsure if he was praising them or criticizing them.
“Forget it, when the time comes, organize everyone to try and turn the fresh meat into preserved dried meat and cured products,” Yu Lian said.
Babalu indicated that he was very familiar with this task and that Yu Lian could rest assured.
“…How was the handover with New Seville yesterday?” Yu Lian asked again.
“Very smooth! They have seen the finished products and decided to send a ship over in three days. They are preparing to transport a batch of finished products back for testing. In addition, they also sent us a batch of agricultural products and daily necessities, which are considered part of the deposit,” Stoker said, also beaming with joy, “I’ve already made a list, so we can arrange for direct storage when they arrive. Don’t worry, the warehouse has also been cleaned.”
A warehouse for minerals and metallurgical products is, of course, completely different from one for food and daily necessities.
Maple City originally had such warehouses, but they had been in a semi-abandoned state for a long time in recent years, so it naturally took a lot of effort to restore them for use.
One of the purposes of today’s meeting was to discuss tidying up the warehouses, but unexpectedly, everyone had already done it again.
These are my partners! These are the laborers!
Yu Lian was very proud.
However, he was also a little sad.
Just as he had said before, his partners’ initiative was too strong, which made him, the protagonist, feel very lacking in presence.
“Student Stoker did well; arrange it shortly and give him two bottles of potato yeast soup!”
Stoker took two seconds to realize that this was the legendary vodka! He immediately became delighted. He had no particular hobbies, just liked to drink inexpensive wine, but he hadn’t indulged in half a year and decided to find a place to drink to his heart’s content after the meeting adjourned.
He pondered for a moment, then added, “The rest of the deposit has also been transferred to the factory’s account, it’s just…”
Stoker stopped speaking, unable to help but look at a Black aunt next to him.
Everyone called this aunt Auntie Maggie. She was Buska’s aunt and a “child” of Red Maple Factory who had lived here all her life. Of course, she had obtained an accountant’s certificate in New Seville when she was young, so she was considered highly educated talent in the factory and was currently serving as Red Maple Factory’s accountant.
Although for a while recently, this plump Black aunt seemed more like Stoker’s assistant, working as a statistician.
Auntie Maggie, who usually showed no expression other than a smile, seemed a bit troubled now: “There’s some money in the account. We’re just discussing whether to pay everyone’s salaries. You know, the factory hasn’t paid salaries for many years… Captain, you’ve seen a lot of the world; you have to give us some guidance!”
