Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 295 - 214: Home Attire

Chapter 295: Chapter 214: Home Attire

The old butler, advanced in years, was unsuited for intense combat, so Duan Mingyuan had the servants aboard the ship carry off the butler, who had been knocked out by a flying kick.

Duan Mingyuan removed the old butler’s ring, and now he was certain, the butler was not a combatant, the true power originated from this ring, which Morgan VII had named the "Key of Dominance," believing it held the power to dominate all things, but in reality, the ring seemed more like some kind of transport device, used to open the bridge between reality and an exceptional world.

Simply by shutting off the ring and blocking the Divine Wood’s power in another space, the people on Mechanical Star would return to normal.

But this still didn’t answer the doubts in Duan Mingyuan’s heart.

Where did this ring come from, and who had crafted it?

The old butler’s memory contained scant information about the ring; one day, Morgan VII handed it over to him, entrusting the ring that symbolized the power of domination for him to control. In truth, the old butler was never a combatant; he had been on the Laurel from the moment of his birth, learning various knowledge since childhood, all aiming to assist the family head.

It was a tradition of the Silver Lotus Family for each head of the family to have such a presence by their side.

Diligently devoting their lives to the family, they too received the family head’s absolute trust.

Indeed, after Morgan VII entered the digitalized world, the butler oversaw all the big and small affairs of the family, only stepping in personally on matters that would impact the future of the family and the Chamber of Commerce.

Regarding the issue on Mechanical Star, the butler and Morgan VII misjudged the relationship between the Transcender and the "Cocoon," believing that even if the Key of Dominance couldn’t "digest" the Transcender, it could at least hold him off for a long time, enough for Duan Mingyuan to find a way out of the Forest Sea by the time the summit ended, and the merger between the Chamber of Commerce and the Company would have been a foregone conclusion.

They never dreamed that Duan Mingyuan’s fondness for making a wide range of friends would allow him to leave Forest Sea Star in just a few hours. His new friend, "Divine Wood," was very accommodating and directly let them out.

As of now, Duan Mingyuan had already made friends with three "Cocoons."

He felt all this was thanks to Jiuyue. In the past, he wasn’t a sociable person and hadn’t made many friends in the four years of working, but since meeting Jiuyue, he had made more and more friends and spanned various domains, even among different races.

Jiuyue’s words, "Making friends isn’t difficult, it often just requires taking a step forward," deeply inspired Duan Mingyuan.

Out in the world, he was fortunate that friends gave him enough face, allowing his interstellar travel to proceed smoothly.

"I checked, and there’s no record of Forest Sea Star on the internet,"

Mocking Pigeon said after listening to Earth Wolf Twelve’s wondrous adventure.

A planet with no people, filled with dangerous carnivorous plants, where they fought a divine wood that reached the clouds and ended up becoming friends without fighting.

This sounded like a story concocted on the spot by Earth Wolf Twelve, the kind even an animation movie company wouldn’t spare a second glance.

After a moment’s thought, Mocking Pigeon added, "Of course, I’m not questioning the authenticity of your story."

But it was truly strange.

This was the Great Cosmic Era, humanity has almost explored every corner of the universe, save for those regions shrouded by special cosmic phenomena, and they have named every planet, even those uninhabited.

"Drrrring, drrrring-drrrring-drrrring~"

An antique telephone rang opportunely.

As exploration met a deadlock, there would invariably be a visitor to enlighten everyone.

"And this visitor is none other than He Ya, a paragon of wisdom and beauty."

The ringing phone in Morgan VII’s master bedroom, with its retro style, looked like a decoration from centuries past—it was rare to see a landline phone in this era.

The telephone’s ring was the freest Duan Mingyuan had ever heard. Even if nobody answered, they could hear He Ya’s voice.

Another call from a "Cocoon" friend.

Though Duan Mingyuan found it somewhat redundant, out of politeness, and due to the value he placed on friendship, he symbolically answered the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Mingyuan, my dear customer, I’ve got some good news for you."

Upon connecting the call, He Ya couldn’t wait to bring him exhilarating good news. "After days of negotiation with the Brain Worm, they are willing to sell you the Leviathan eggs for the price of 4,999,999,999 Bei each. I’ve conducted market research for you, and as long as the method is correct, the hatch rate of the Leviathan eggs is 98%, which is a very optimistic figure. To show their sincerity, the Brain Worm are willing to air-drop one egg for you to cultivate and also welcome you to visit their star zone at any time."

He Ya felt that the price was incredibly reasonable, so much so that it could be described as dirt cheap.

If Universe Company and the Chamber of Commerce knew this price, they would buy up all the Leviathan eggs until none were left in stock.

However, wisely balancing the strength of both sides is the wisdom of a qualified businessman.

Ending the war too quickly would be akin to killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. Only by maintaining a prolonged and comprehensive war is it possible to make a killing.

"Thank you, but we currently don’t have enough funds."

Duan Mingyuan politely declined.

"What? You don’t even have 4.9 billion?"

The surprise in He Ya’s voice was evident over the phone, and she had to reassess Duan Mingyuan anew.

A grand Transcender, and he was broke?

She had gone to the trouble of bargaining with the Brain Worm for half a day, finally resorting to the influence of this war on the future of the universe to persuade the other party.

And now Duan Mingyuan was telling her that he didn’t even have 4.9 billion.

She couldn’t help but ask, "I heard you worked for four years, didn’t you save up even 4.9 billion?"

"What makes you think someone can afford a Leviathan egg after working for four years?"

"Take Garoya you met as an example."

He Ya put forth the facts and logic, "With her position, she could buy a Leviathan egg after just one month of working at the Chamber of Commerce."

She was serious about sharing this great news with Duan Mingyuan because in her view, 4.9 billion was completely affordable on a "household" budget.

"Never mind, if you don’t have the money, I have another way."

"What way?"

"I’ll buy it for you."

"No, thanks."

"You might as well hear my terms first. Remember Eisenberg-Adler I mentioned before? Just bring him to me, and I’ll give you 20 Leviathan eggs."

A prisoner worth nearly 100 billion, which was much more expensive than any bounty Duan Mingyuan knew of.

"Why are you so obsessed with this person?"

Duan Mingyuan couldn’t help but ask.

"Do you remember the secret weapon of the Shan Clan People I mentioned before you came to Mechanical Star?"

He Ya said, "The fact that you’re receiving my call here indicates that you’ve already seen it."

"You mean that ring?"

"How is it? Isn’t it miraculous? To think that the power of the ’Cocoon’ could be used by humans. However, the ’Key of Dominance’ you’ve seen is still not the complete form of this technology. Its essence is the exploration of ’Conscious Space,’ a domain even we are unfamiliar with."

At this point, the answer was on the verge of revelation.

He Ya confirmed Duan Mingyuan’s guess, "The researcher who proposed the study of ’Conscious Space’ is none other than Eisenberg-Adler. For this, he was convicted and incarcerated by the company on the Prison Planet."