Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 235 - 155: Interstellar Friends

Chapter 235: Chapter 155: Interstellar Friends

"Breaking news, the representative of the Shanqi Commerce Association will visit the Yunhai Book Academy today!"

As the first rays of dawn fell on the academy, festive banners were hung at the foot of Qing Chi Mountain, and the Hunter Association stationed there took the initiative to handle reception and security duties.

The matter caused a stir within the Yunhai Book Academy, as the students knew that an important figure was visiting today, but no one knew what the Shanqi Commerce Association actually did.

In fact, not many Blue Star People paid real attention to the movements of the universe.

The sky was too remote for them, as simply getting by in life demanded their utmost effort.

Unlike Qing Hua’s visit to the Imperial Court, the Chamber of Commerce’s representative did not put on an elaborate display. They did not directly suspend their flagship above Qing Chi Mountain. Instead, the visiting delegate, dressed in a professional suit, presented the epitome of a cosmic public servant.

She wore a watch on her wrist, checking the time at regular intervals.

It was mentioned in books that Shan Clan People value time greatly, always quoting "time is money" or rather, all things in this world could be translated into money in their eyes, and the numerical values represented by money could also be turned into all things.

Among the many goods, time is one of the more expensive commodities.

"Garoya, from the Chamber of Commerce’s external affairs department."

The woman, with her legs crossed elegantly, sitting in the association’s lounge, handed Duan Mingyuan a business card with gold trim. "Seeing is believing, Mr. Mingyuan."

"My reputation shouldn’t have been loud enough to reach your ears."

Duan Mingyuan pocketed the business card.

The most captivating thing about Garoya was her eyes: a pair of amber serpent pupils. Conversing with her was like facing a venomous snake hissing at you. She was certainly beautiful, but the aura she emitted made her seem more like a real Monster than those on the mountain behind.

This was Duan Mingyuan’s first encounter with a member of the Shan Clan.

They didn’t appear much different from Blue Star People outwardly.

"The spiritual leader of the United Front, your name is discussed all across the universe... Aren’t you going to invite me to tour the academy?"

"The academy has arranged a welcome ceremony for you, as well as breakfast."

"I don’t eat sweets or intelligent creatures."

"Rest assured, the academy has taken care of everything."

In the days before Garoya’s arrival, Duan Mingyuan had painstakingly studied the history of the Shan Clan People, sensing that they might have a long period of dealings with them ahead.

The former refers to Garoya’s personal preference, while the latter is a doctrine set by the trade deity He Ya.

Intelligent creatures refer to non-humanoid beings in the universe with independent thinking, like the Monsters on Qing Chi Mountain. There are many such groups in the universe, some of which have built large civilizations on their own planets.

The Shan Clan People believe that eating intelligent beings would impair their thinking.

Duan Mingyuan soon realized that in dealing with Shan Clan People, one might never truly know their real thoughts. On the way up, Garoya had highly praised the labyrinth constructed by the academy, regarding Blue Star’s civilization as a treasure of the universe.

Then, subtly, she suggested that treasures like Blue Star deserved to be appreciated by more people.

That was the initial intention of the Shanqi Commerce Association.

This was undoubtedly a severe test.

Both sides knew the other was talking nonsense, yet they had to continue with the polite charade and let the hypocrisy carry on.

Garoya was clearly a master of this craft, her demeanor and tone perfectly calibrated.

The "viper" maintained a step’s distance from him at all times, and after entering the cafeteria, she also quite ordinarily bought meat buns and soy milk. Following a sip of soy milk, she showed an excited expression and brought up at just the right moment how much she loved the food and culture of Blue Star and had always wanted to visit. This time, her wish was finally fulfilled.

She spoke as if it were all true.

If it were an inexperienced youngster, he might truly develop a liking for Garoya and consider her an interstellar friend.

For instance, Tang Qianqian, Li Hua, and Yang Ping, after observing Garoya, concluded that "this Chamber of Commerce representative seems rather nice," but only the sly Rattlesnake smelled his own kind on her.

In the world of humans, snakes are synonyms for cunning and treachery.

Anyone who has an air as somber and venomous as a snake is definitely not good news.

Besides it,

There was Yang Ping.

The last two sentences were swiftly added by Rattlesnake when he noticed that the atmosphere of the conversation had turned a bit strange.

Duan Mingyuan trusted his own intuition even more, which told him that no matter where Garoya went, she would say the same thing.

"How wonderful it would be to live in such a natural place forever. Once I retire, perhaps I should buy a house here for my old age," Garoya said, squinting her eyes as if her whole being had relaxed.

"Then you should hurry, I’ve heard that houses near Qing Chi Mountain have recently increased in value," came the response.

This was both a fact and a joke.

As far as wealth was concerned, the Shanqi Commerce Association was much richer than the Consortium of his company. Considering Garoya’s position, if she wanted to buy, it would probably not just be a property under Qing Chi Mountain but the entirety of Yunlong City, including Qing Chi Mountain itself.

While this might sound exaggerative, before the "Cocoon" metamorphosis of Flashing Star, the Shan Clan had already purchased seven planets, branding their name on entire worlds, turning them into private property.

"It looks like I’ll have to work hard then, otherwise I might have nowhere to retire to in the future," Garoya seamlessly steered the topic back on track with Duan Mingyuan, "Although I really like everything on Blue Star, the official procedures must still be followed. Over the next three days, based on what I see and hear here, I will grade the level of this civilization."

With that, she pulled out a Blue Star banknote with a face value of one hundred, "This is my capital."

Each representative of the Chamber of Commerce had their own criteria for assessing the levels of civilizations, Garoya explained, "I will do my best to use this capital to earn more wealth. The next three days will be the deadline. At this time three days from now, I will grade this civilization based on the chips in my hand."

"The standard for grading is?"

Garoya’s actions also piqued the curiosity of Duan Mingyuan, as he had never before seen such a method of assessment.

"The more wealth I accumulate over these three days, the lower the grade I will assess for the civilization."

Seeing the confusion in Duan Mingyuan’s eyes, Garoya explained, "In this world, if some are rich, it means others are poor. The line between trade and plunder can be very thin. Everything is judged by wisdom and insight. The more chips I accumulate, the more it shows that people here are likely to lose the wealth that rightfully belongs to them due to short-sightedness and lack of intelligence."

In the midst of her speech, a predatory light flickered in Garoya’s serpentine pupils.

For civilizations unable to protect their wealth, the Chamber of Commerce would "buy" everything from them.

Because, in the doctrine of the god of commerce, fools have no value to exist.