A World Worth Protecting

“I understand now. Based on this analysis, I can apply the same approach to Jin Duoming. I only have to remain as friends with Jin Duoming as there aren’t any conflicts of interest between the both of us!” Wang Baole immediately said. His voice traveled through the voice transmission ring. Lin You picked his teacup up and took a sip. He smiled.

“You’re right. You should know that the Trilunaris Corporation is in a difficult place, politically speaking. There are too many factions within the corporation fighting to control the corporation in the future. Jin Duoming is not the only competitor! They will face fierce competition in the future.

“Even though Daoist Jin acknowledges and recognizes Jin Duoming as the heir to the Trilunaris Corporation, he had been severely injured during the past Monster War. He is still suffering from the side effects of his injuries. It is likely… that he will never be able to break through the Core Formation realm and enter the Nascent Soul realm. The only option left to the Trilunaris Corporation is to bind their survival tightly together with the Federation’s survival.

“After all, the Federation would take more care in maintaining its image and reputation as compared to the other political forces when they are trying to devour the wealthy and resource-rich corporation. Why do you think the Trilunaris Corporation spent so much energy and resources in helping you set up the New Mars Region? It’s to ensure that you remain friendly towards them and also to maintain a friendly relationship with the Martian administration as well as the Federation!”

“Daoist Jin is a businessman, he isn’t the same as the rest of us…” What Lin You said showed his understanding and analysis of the various political forces. His words were priceless. They couldn’t be given a price tag. The only ones in the entire Federation who were qualified to have such a level of understanding and analysis of the situation would be those who shared his rank and status.

It was clear that this conversation was Lin You baring his true thoughts to Wang Baole. He held nothing back. He was standing in Wang Baole’s place and helping the latter plan for his future.

Wang Baole took a deep breath after listening to everything that had been said. A strange light glimmered in his eyes. He recalled the agreement between himself and Jin Duoming… it had been between him and a Trilunaris Corporation that was headed and represented by Jin Duoming.

The meaning behind Jin Duoming’s words seemed deep and layered as he pondered them.

“The Trilunaris Corporation isn’t to be underestimated though. Even though Daoist Jin doesn’t have a chance to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, and his corporation is plagued by faction politics, the situation would change if someone achieves a breakthrough. In addition… this Daoist Jin is extremely innovative. He has joined forces with the Federation to come up with an Anti-Spirit Bomb. In theory, if the bomb is successfully made, its power will be immense. A Nascent Soul is nothing in the face of the Anti-Spirit Bomb… the various political forces have tried hard to dig up more information but failed to find out more details. There have even been rumors that the Anti-Spirit Bomb has been tested and proven to be a success multiple times…”

“This is all for your information and understanding only. You only need to remember that Jin Duoming’s status dictates that he has to remain neutral in the face of Federation politics. What he needs isn’t a friend… but an ally!” Lin You spoke carefully and with great emphasis. He seemed to have heard the quickening of Wang Baole’s breathing after he was done speaking. He placed his teacup down, and a flash of approval flickered in his eyes where Wang Baole couldn’t see. He thought for a moment, then said softly.

“Baole, do you feel that the politics are much too complicated? Like you are stepping into a deep, bottomless lake?”

Wang Baole raised his head and stared at his voice transmission ring. After a moment of silence, he nodded.

Even though Lin You couldn’t see Wang Baole nod, he could imagine him doing so. He lowered his voice.

“Regardless of how clear a lake may seem, when you first wade into the middle of it, you will think the lake deep and bottomless. It is vast and murky and seems to hide countless secrets…

“But, once you leave the lake and stand at its edge, when you look at it again, you will realize that the waters are clear. You can see right to the bottom of the lake.

“Why is that? You know the answer. Your sight is obscured because you are in the waters. This doesn’t mean that you should leave the lake. It means that when there comes a day when you are no longer standing at the edge but are above the lake, in the sky, gazing down at it, you will find out that the waters are not only clear… but will realize that the lake is only as big as the size of your palm…

“If you look further into the distance, you will be able to see a vast ocean many times bigger than the lake. If you rise further up and lift your head skyward, you will find a greater universe that is even more extraordinary than the world you are in!”

“There are some things I’m not in the position to share openly… Baole, we humans… are but mere grains in a vast ocean.” Lin You seemed like he wanted to continue, but due to some unknown reasons, he decided not to. He only sighed a sigh that seemed to reveal powerlessness and an inability to control his own fate. That marked the end of their conversation.

The sigh echoed in Wang Baole’s ears and his head even after the transmission ended. He grew silent gradually as he mused over what he had been told.

<em>A grain in a vast ocean…</em> After a long while, Wang Baole lifted his head and gazed out into the starlit skies. He stared for a very long time, then, he shut his eyes. He wasn’t someone who tried to strive for things beyond his means. He knew very clearly that his only immediate concern was the New Mars Region. He would handle whatever came in the future when the future arrived.

With that thought in mind, Wang Baole continued his preparations. Time passed in a blur. Soon, the day of departure arrived.

Wang Baole had submitted his recommendations for his vice mayors prior to the date. They had been approved by the Governor without a hitch. His vice mayors were Li Yi, Kong Dao, Jin Duoming and Lin Tianhao.

Lin Tianhao would accompany Wang Baole and head for the new region, while the remaining three would follow after. They needed time to prepare the resources their respective political forces had promised. Wang Baole had a condition for making them vice mayors. They had to bring along the resources they had promised before they could take up office.

Regardless of how resentful Li Yi and Kong Dao felt regarding the arrangements, they could only swallow their resentment. Jin Duoming had no opinion on the matter though. He didn’t care whether he went or not, or if he did, when he would depart. The new city zone was just going to be a barren, deserted land. It was going to be so boring if he departed sooner.

In fact, there had been no disputes raised by any other political forces regarding Li Yi’s and Kong Dao’s candidacy during the fight for vice mayorship. Jin Duoming, however, almost lost his spot. It had been a narrow fight despite the Trilunaris Corporation offering to foot fifty percent of the bill.

Both the Galactic Dusk Sect and the Five Generation Sky Clan had eyed the vice mayorship hungrily. Due to the tensions between the Galactic Dusk Sect and Wang Baole, their request for a position had been rejected. The Five Generation Sky Clan, however, had met all the conditions. They even promised more than what the Trilunaris Corporation promised.

However, in the end… they had still failed.

Wang Baole had heard about it as well. It seemed that the head of the Senate had spoken at the most critical stage. This had caused the Zhuo family of the Five Generation Sky Clan to back down in resignation. Zhuo Yixian had also been transferred away, out of Mars. After slicing up the entire cake and dividing it amongst the various parties, he had been left with no cake and kicked out of the fight.

An outsider might have seen this as an internal fight amongst the various political forces. Wang Baole had thought about it for a while though and felt that Zhuo Yixian’s persistent and foolhardy investigation into the incident when Wang Baole and Li Wan’er had spent a night together had been one of the reasons for his current predicament.

<em>Well, there’s no way around that. He chose his own grave and buried himself in it when he insisted on investigating the matter…</em> Wang Baole had been rather pleased with the outcome and viewed the matter with relish. After which, he had set it aside and didn’t think about it further.

The day of departure arrived. Wang Baole and Lin Tianhao took up their new office. The Martian Colony Governor and the other high ranking officials of the Martian administration saw them off as an enormous fleet of five hundred cruisers slowly rose off the ground inside the Martian City port and into the sky.

Out of the five hundred cruisers, three hundred carried the hundred thousand men charged with constructing the new city zone. They were to follow Wang Baole’s orders. The remaining two hundred cruisers were packed with the resources given by the Federation and the Martian administration.

Loud booms thundered in the air. Wang Baole stood on the deck of the cruiser heading the fleet, and Lin Tianhao stood next to him. The two of them lowered their gaze at the land beneath them. They turned their eyes towards the Martian City, then raised said eyes towards the direction where the new city zone lay. Lofty aspirations and grand ambitions filled Wang Baole’s thoughts.

“Tianhao, give the orders. Move forward at full speed!” Wang Baole barked his orders. Lin Tianhao inhaled a deep breath and immediately complied. The five hundred cruisers soon rumbled and sped forward.

From afar, it looked like five hundred arcs of rainbow dashing across the heavens, racing into the distance…

Hours later, the five hundred cruisers reached the Divine Armament Zone. The ruins that had littered the lands had vanished, and donkey sprawled on the ground, lazy and pleased. Its cultivation had erupted during the period where he had been clearing the trash after the battle. It appeared to have reached the perfected True Breath realm.

Wang Baole ignored the donkey. The cruisers landed, and with Wang Baole’s orders, the blueprints showing the first construction phase of the Eternal Fortress were distributed. Only the core components of the Eternal Fortress were excluded from the plans. A hundred thousand people immediately went to work and commenced construction.

Wang Baole’s puppets were activated as well. Every one of those puppets followed Wang Baole’s orders and participated in the construction process as the main architects.

Together, they were building… the Eternal Fortress!

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