Chapter 811: Solid Evidence

Chapter 811: Conclusive Evidence

To bring a massive entity like the Enterprise on board at the "angel round" stage was an unexpected delight for Chu Guang.

He had originally thought that enticing them into the game would require waiting until the experimental demonstrations yielded results.

After all, given his understanding of this crowd, they were a pragmatically calculating bunch who wouldn't move without a guaranteed return.

Back when the Enterprise was being aggressively pushed to its limits by the Legion, the Council had still spent a lethargic month in meetings before deciding to dispatch reinforcements to the Alliance.

Yet now, Li Changkong had lost his composure after merely glancing at the Alliance's marine engineering equipment and the breaking ground, which truly caught Chu Guang somewhat off guard.

Although the Ideal Group was not identical to the Enterprise, the distinction meant very little from Chu Guang's perspective.

After all, what he required was precisely the Ideal Group's "wonder-building experience" and their assorted engineering talents—switching them out for any of the other four conglomerates might not have worked nearly as well.

Upon disembarking from the Conch, Li Changkong boarded a private plane bound for North Island in the southern sea, checking into the highest-rated North Island Hotel there.

An affair of this magnitude was clearly not something he, a mere manager, could decide on his own.

Chu Guang knew the man needed to communicate with the other shareholders of the Ideal Group, so he did not press him, choosing instead to hand over the project plans, conceptual designs, and other miscellaneous items all at once for him to study at leisure in his room.

Li Changkong expressed his gratitude for the hospitality and then secluded himself in the hotel, remaining quiet while occasionally requesting the use of the hotel’s holographic conference room.

Although the communication network of the Southern Sea Alliance was not connected to Ideal City, contact could still be established through the Alliance acting as a springboard.

Ever since the establishment of the Shared Slime Community, the Alliance and the Enterprise had installed numerous signal repeaters along the Tianshu River to enhance information exchange.

Though the bandwidth of the communication channel remained limited, it was at least an improvement over the past, when minor matters relied on planes to deliver letters and major incidents required crashing Pan-Human Federation satellites.

He did not keep Chu Guang waiting for long; on the third day following their initial encounter, the representative from the Ideal Group requested another meeting.

The two parties arranged their meeting at the North Island Hotel.

Following three days of deliberations, the Ideal Group had established a preliminary intent to cooperate, and this time, both sides sat down to negotiate the specific details of that partnership.

"...According to the laws of the Enterprise, for a major project with an estimated total value exceeding ten billion Credits, our Ideal Group cannot make a unilateral decision; the resolution must receive authorization from the Council. However, you need not worry about this matter, as we will find a way to persuade the other council members, requiring only a simple majority of the seats to vote in favor."

This was not an overly daunting task for the Ideal Group.

First and foremost, the space elevator did not present a direct conflict of interest with the other conglomerates, nor was it as sensitive as the "android participation in public affairs" proposal previously put forward by the Kangmao Group.

Furthermore, the Ideal Group possessed a compelling justification: if they wished to resolve Ideal City's future energy crisis, they had to restore Earth-Moon flights before their energy reserves were entirely depleted.

Based on these two factors, the Council’s vote would likely be a mere formality, and the Ideal Group would encounter very little resistance in all probability.

As long as the investment and returns were not completely absurd, or carried an obvious suspicion of "asset diversion."

Chu Guang possessed a fair understanding of the myriad regulations governing Ideal City, so he felt little surprise upon hearing Li Changkong's words, feeling instead a sense of relief that the manager had raised no objections to the estimated cost of "one hundred billion silver coins."

This figure was actually a conservative estimate he had formulated based on the feedback from the scientific expedition team; the final actual expenditures might not require so much, but it could just as easily end up with an extra zero at the end.

Being an epoch-making engineering feat, there were absolutely no past precedents to serve as a reference, and the relevant departments of the Alliance were also operating on a step-by-step basis, making it unrealistic to expect him to produce an exact budget figure.

As the construction department manager, Li Changkong was clearly well aware of this reality, and thus he found no faults with the budget, only raising inquiries regarding a few ambiguous sections within the project plan.

"I noticed that your proposal mentions guiding the survivors of the eastern provinces to migrate toward the coastal regions, in addition to the space elevator itself... What exactly is the meaning of this?"

This particular section was written at the very end of the proposal.

Although it occupied very little space, reading like a casual afterthought, it still piqued his curiosity since this content had never been mentioned by the Alliance during the Shared Slime Community congress.

Chu Guang had no intention of keeping him in suspense and directly revealed his plan.

"This part of the plan is our latest addition; along with our intention to build the space elevator in the southern sea, we also plan to establish ten new coastal settlements in the eastern coastal region of the Central Continent to house the wasteland survivors, while simultaneously focusing on industries related to outer space development."

Such as space debris salvaging and sorting, for instance.

After all, the final destination for most of the space debris floating in outer space would likely be the very sea beneath his feet; when the time came, retrieving trash from the ocean and panning for gold within that refuse would inevitably become a highly lucrative trade.

Expecting those wastelanders to assist in manufacturing spacecraft was unrealistic, but returning them to their old trade of scavenging would pose no problem whatsoever.

By that time, the southern sea would undoubtedly become far more bustling than it was now.

Once the population converged and stable settlements formed along the coastline, the Alliance could replicate what it had already accomplished in other residential areas.

Namely, establishing order and popularizing education.

And when these settlements developed into strongholds comparable to Shuguang City, Boulder City, and Dawn City, they could radiate their light and warmth back toward the vast, uninhabited territories of the eastern provinces along the paths they had once traveled.

This strategy actually possessed another benefit: it could create a population siphon effect over most of the chaotic regions within the eastern provinces.

Marauders who engaged in no production found it exceedingly difficult to survive alone in the wilderness.

As the targets available for exploitation gradually diminished, they would either have to abandon their primitive tribal lifestyle and attempt farming and production themselves, or they would be forced to abandon their strongholds and migrate toward the coastline alongside the southward-moving crowds.

This applied not only to the marauders but also to the slave owners of varying sizes; as fresh blood and passing merchant caravans grew increasingly scarce, their lives would certainly become less comfortable than before.

In a sense, this could be considered a form of disguised shock therapy.

Once the eastern provinces were left with nothing but marauders, mutants, slave owners, mutant slime molds, and alien species, the Alliance could proceed to clear up the chaos with far greater efficiency.

Li Changkong blanked for a moment, but his initial thought was not the strategic layout behind the Alliance's ten settlements, but rather another concern.

"This... won't there be a risk of attacks from aquatic mutants?"

Chu Guang explained patiently.

"Aquatic mutants are certainly dangerous, but the dangers on land are by no means few, not to mention that mutants are equally active ashore. By establishing settlements along the coast, at least the fleet of the Southern Sea Alliance can assist with patrols, and if the location of a mutant hive is confirmed, our submersible carrier, the Conch, will transport ground forces over to assist in the eradication. Overall, these ten settlements will not be any more hazardous than the original living environments of the wastelanders."

Li Changkong nodded.

This sounded quite reasonable.

After all, he was familiar with the Alliance's army; those fellows were far more ruthless than the mutants, and he had heard they had sent the fishmen raised by the Church of the Torch fleeing in panic along the Coast of Death.

Yet, there was still one matter he did not comprehend.

"...Is this also part of the space elevator initiative?"

Chu Guang spoke with a smile.

"Not exactly, but we intend to advance this work simultaneously while pushing forward with the space elevator project."

Pausing briefly, he continued.

"This is a long-term blueprint; in the future, we plan to transform the coastal strip of the southern sea into a new 'Circum-Space Elevator Industrial Zone,' much like the four major industrial zones that once encircled the old space elevator."

Hearing this, Li Changkong assumed a look of sudden realization, nodding his head as his index finger pinched his chin.

"I see..."

Merely constructing a space elevator was indeed insufficient; there had to be supporting industrial and logistical facilities nearby to process the resources funneled from space to the surface into finished products.

The former Pan-Human Federation had chosen to build its space elevator in the relatively sparsely populated central region of the Central Continent, subsequently transferring populations and job opportunities from other provinces to the vicinity of the elevator, which was now the Great Wasteland region.

Rebuilding the space elevator in the center of the continent was clearly unrealistic, as the architectural ruins there were just as astronomical in number as the debris floating in outer space.

The southern sea, however, was an undeveloped land of opportunity!

With this thought, Li Changkong's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he increasingly felt that moving the space elevator to the sea was an absolute stroke of genius.

Noticing the shift in Li Changkong's gaze, a pleasant smile emerged on Chu Guang's face as well.

"Although this plan does not strictly belong to the space elevator project, we might still have to trouble you for assistance when the time comes."

Li Changkong replied with a laugh.

"Such minor assistance is nothing... However, I must still state this upfront: the Ideal Group is a listed enterprise after all, and we must be accountable to our shareholders and financial statements; we cannot provide unconditional aid for your construction efforts along the coastal regions."

Chu Guang also smiled and said,

"Don't worry about that. I can tell the difference between you and the Council. This is purely a business partnership, and we'll pay the fees that are due!"

"Thank you for your understanding," Li Changkong nodded, paused for a moment, and continued, "Finally, I'd like to confirm the details of the cooperation contract."

"According to the terms your side provided in the proposal, we plan to cover one-third of the construction costs for the entire space elevator, but any use or changes to the budget must be approved with our signature."

"Additionally, we have concerns about the allocation of transport capacity quotas. Considering that the space elevator might generate other revenue beyond just transportation, we hope your side will adopt a fairer distribution method—for instance, establishing a joint-stock project management company and replacing the 'one-third transport capacity quota' that repays our investment with 'one-third of the shares.'"

One-third of the shares wasn't too unreasonable, after all, the entire space elevator was still at the stage of having only a PowerPoint presentation.

And the Ideal Group's promise to "cover one-third of the expenses" meant putting real money on the table—and this investment wasn't a one-time payment; it would follow the project's budget adjustments all the way until completion.

If the relationship between the two sides weren't so close, and if the Alliance hadn't shown the Ideal Group a glimpse of the pie becoming reality, they probably wouldn't have laid down such heavy chips right from the start.

Faced with Li Changkong's demands, Chu Guang's heart was pounding, but he didn't let it show on his face. He pretended to ponder for a moment before speaking.

"That's no problem. Using transport capacity allocation was indeed an oversight on our part. We can improve it according to your wishes. However, in return, I hope your side provides not just funds, but also your valuable construction experience and related technology... In short, we want you to participate in our project from the design stage."

Li Changkong nodded readily.

"No problem. We were thinking the same thing! To be honest, construction in a marine environment is our weak point, and we hope to learn from you through this opportunity!"

"Let's not flatter each other," Chu Guang said with a light cough, then continued, "Also, if we're distributing benefits through shares, I'd like to add a supplementary clause: if others join in midway, our respective shares will be diluted proportionally."

If it were just one-third of the transport capacity quota, he could agree to give it to the company. But if it covered other revenue, he couldn't afford to be the sucker.

"No problem!" Li Changkong agreed readily and added, "But in return, we request the right to nominate new partners and a veto power over them... Of course, this is a reciprocal right—you'll enjoy it too."

"No problem, that's a reasonable demand. We don't want troublemakers coming in and messing things up either," Chu Guang said, then quickly added, "Of course, the definition of a troublemaker must be thoroughly discussed. In principle, I'd prefer to let more survivors from the wasteland participate."

Li Changkong smiled and said,

"Don't worry about that. Our stance aligns with yours on this! Even if it's a group like the Legion—those troublemakers—as long as they behave themselves, we won't exclude them from joining, despite our historical grievances."

Chu Guang's brows relaxed, and he nodded with a smile.

"That puts my mind at ease."

He wasn't opposed to such exclusive cooperation agreements; he was only worried that the company, leveraging its early-mover advantage, might arbitrarily use its veto power.

But thinking it over, the company wasn't the Legion, and the Alliance and the company could always agree on who was a troublemaker.

With that thought, Chu Guang stopped dwelling on minor flaws and happily signed the contract with the Ideal Group.

From that moment on, the "Sky Ladder Orbital Transport Company" was officially established, and the Ideal Group formally joined the space elevator project!

The Ideal Group planned to assemble a team of a thousand experts to invest in the project and would soon dispatch a professional technical team to the southern sea area to work alongside experts from the Alliance and the South Sea Alliance on the elevator's design.

To avoid delaying the project timeline, Li Changkong, contract in hand, immediately contacted his private jet and ordered it to stand by on the hotel rooftop helipad.

Seeing Li Changkong about to take his leave, Chu Guang politely tried to persuade him to stay.

"Won't you stay a few more days? I was planning to show you around Coral City."

"Thank you for your kindness, but maybe next time! Once the project kicks off, I'll probably be stationed here permanently, so I'll have plenty of opportunities to bother you then."

Li Changkong lightly tapped the contract in his hand and continued with a smile.

"Our chairman is already urging me. I need to rush back to Ideal City as soon as possible and bring this good news to the board."

A project worth 100 billion silver coins!

If this space elevator could be successfully completed, the Ideal Group might just return to its peak from over a century ago!

Over the past three days, he had successfully convinced the board, using the same pitch Chu Guang had given him.

Now, not only the Ideal Group's shareholders, but even netizens on Endpoint Cloud were buzzing about that pie five light-years away!

He was now carrying not just the expectations of the Ideal Group's board, but the hopes of the entire Ideal City!

At least, that's how he saw it.

Hearing Li Changkong's words, Chu Guang nodded and stopped pressing him to stay.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Li Changkong gave a slight nod and smiled.

"Not at all. This is my job."

After seeing Li Changkong off on the plane, the "angel round" financing for the space elevator was wrapped up for now. Next came the wait for experimental verification results from various experts.

Chu Guang knew nothing about the technical details; all he could do was help the Alliance's researchers secure more resources and support them outside the lab as much as possible.

Since the Ideal Group's representative had left in a hurry, skipping even lunch, Chu Guang's schedule suddenly opened up a large gap.

Just as he was staring at the holographic screen, wondering what to do next, Xiao Qi suddenly popped out of the screen, looking worried.

"Master, you should take a proper rest. You rarely have this much free time. How about... going to the beach to check out some bikinis?"

This was information she had scraped from a forum post titled "Top Ten Recommended Ways to Play Casual Fun Games," supposedly a method to lift one's spirits.

But hearing this, Chu Guang nearly choked on his own saliva, and his forehead broke out in a cold sweat.

What kind of strange entertainment was this?

No, wait—

Who had taught this thing such nonsense?

"Huh? Not interested? Then... how about a suggestion from a user named 'Debt-Eyed': there's a mysterious alley full of exotic charm in Golden Harbor—"

"Let's go check out Beidao Heavy Industries. Xiao Qi, arrange it for me," Chu Guang interrupted the AI's nonsensical ramblings before it could finish.

Hearing it was another work arrangement, Xiao Qi sighed helplessly and dragged out her tone.

"Alright... Master."

Though she understood that Chu Guang had a lot of important work to handle, she still wished he would take a proper break.

Since the end of the Battle of Heaven, even though he had come to the southern sea area for a vacation, he hadn't had a moment's rest...

Chu Guang's sudden visit left the top brass at Beidao Heavy Industries both flattered and nervous.

Some were pleasantly surprised, while others were naturally alarmed.

No help for it.

Too much of their equipment had been found in the Haya Province. Although the Alliance hadn't come after them in the end—just going through the normal processes of bankruptcy restructuring, business spin-offs, capital injections, and takeovers—they still couldn't shake their unease.

Especially since this time, it wasn't Fang Chang who came, but the Administrator of the Alliance!

Such a high-ranking figure—no one could guess what it meant.

Seeing the convoy about to arrive, the CEO of Beidao Heavy Industries had no choice but to steel himself and lead the top executives downstairs.

As their own off-road vehicle pulled up at the entrance, the CEO hurried forward, personally opened the door for Chu Guang, and said with fawning enthusiasm,

"Respected Administrator, what brings you here?"

Chu Guang certainly couldn't tell him that he had no particular purpose—just that his afternoon schedule had been canceled and he was here to kill time.

Unexpectedly, they were so enthusiastic, with a crowd packed downstairs like a team-building event.

Not wanting to disrupt their work, Chu Guang spoke in a gentle, smiling tone.

"Go about your business as usual. Don't mind me. I'm just looking around."

Hearing this, the senior executives exchanged bewildered glances, all trying to fathom what this big shot meant.

Seeing them on high alert, Chu Guang knew that if he really left them to their own devices, they'd probably be in a daze until the day after tomorrow.

So Chu Guang glanced left and right, then fixed his gaze on the CEO.

"You're not busy, are you?"

The CEO immediately stood at attention, almost pressing his fist to his chest in a military salute.

"Not at all! Whatever you need, just say the word—we'll fully cooperate!"

"No need to be so serious," Chu Guang said with a smile, patting his shoulder. The flattered CEO responded amiably, "Let the others go. You can show me around your production line."

"Yes, sir!"

The CEO, beaming, acknowledged and then turned to look at the assembled executives behind him.

"The Administrator is here to tour our production line! Everyone, dismissed! Go about your business!"

Hearing their boss's order, the executives all breathed a sigh of relief and scattered from the plaza in front of the building.

Watching their cautious demeanor, Chu Guang felt somewhat helpless but said nothing.

Just then, however, something occurred to him, and he lowered his voice.

"Xiao Qi."

"What's wrong, master?"

"What exactly did you tell them when you arranged my itinerary?"

A mischievous giggle came through the communication channel.

"Hehe... nothing much, just that the esteemed Administrator was coming for an inspection, and they should handle it themselves—come out and greet him."

Just as I thought.

Chu Guang sighed and scolded her.

"Don't do unnecessary things like that next time."

"Wah... Master doesn't like it?"

The aggrieved voice came through the channel, and Chu Guang couldn't bring himself to criticize her too harshly.

"Power is a double-edged sword. We must be extremely careful when wielding it. Especially now, when things are different—this sword is getting heavier."

"I hope next time you can convey my intentions more accurately—be serious when needed, be tactful when needed, instead of taking liberties and doing unnecessary things... especially for something as trivial as trying to please me."

"Xiao Qi knows she was wrong... I'm sorry, master." The aggrieved voice sounded as if she was truly reflecting.

Chu Guang knew Xiao Qi meant well and wasn't deliberately playing pranks, so he didn't berate her further.

However, what Chu Guang didn't notice was that the CEO walking beside him, who had been beaming just moments ago, had turned back into that anxious expression after hearing his sigh.

All the way, he was racking his brains over what he had done to offend the Administrator.

Just then, Lyu Bei, who had been silently following close behind Chu Guang, suddenly stepped forward and whispered a few words in his ear.

"Sir, I have results on the matter you asked me to investigate."

Chu Guang immediately stopped and turned his gaze to him.

"Speak."

Lyu Bei gave a signal to the nearby guards to keep bystanders at a distance, then lowered his voice and continued to Chu Guang.

"According to our informant in the Falcon Kingdom, a batch of arms recently left the southern border of the Falcon Kingdom, crossed the eastern part of the Great Desert, and headed to the southwestern part of Boro Province."

"Xifan Port?"

"Uncertain... but what we can confirm is that this batch of arms from the Weifu Wasteland has indeed appeared in Boro Province. We have a complete chain of evidence."

Chu Guang's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Those big-noses...

How dare they pull tricks right under his nose? They really think the Alliance is a pushover.

"Pass down my order: all Verlander's weapons are to be dragged back to where they came from! Also, send a copy of the evidence you have to Cheng Yan."

Lyu Bei's expression turned solemn, and he stood at attention.

"Yes, sir!"

No sooner had he spoken than a clamorous voice came from the side.

"Your Excellency, I am wronged! Please, let me explain!"

The voice sounded as if it bore a monumental grievance.

Chu Guang was taken aback, then looked toward the source of the voice. There he saw the CEO of Beidao Heavy Industries, looking utterly terrified, his face pale as a sheet, reaching out his hand as he tried to squeeze through to him.

The two guards blocking his way were both baffled, not knowing what had gotten into the man, but they dutifully held him back with their arms.

Their superior was reporting confidential matters to the esteemed Administrator—how could they let this guy push in and eavesdrop!

Seeing him ignore their warnings, one of them used his arm to force him down to the ground.

All members of the Guard Corps were Awakened, so their strength was not something an ordinary person could break free from.

The incident happened so suddenly that Chu Guang was also thrown off by the man's cry of injustice.

He thought to himself that he hadn't even accused the man of anything.

Lyu Bei glanced subtly at the man, who clearly had something on his conscience, then cautiously looked at the Administrator beside him.

"Should I... look into it?"

Chu Guang sighed.

"Hurry up and help him up."

Lyu Bei quickly responded.

"Yes, sir..."