I am the God of Technology

As you could imagine, ever since they had gotten rid of Portia, they had been singing and dancing every day. The completion of that particular job came at a very high cost, but it all paid off in the end.

The best part was that they still remained in the shadows since they had manipulated the hatred of alien rebel factions to do most of the dirty work, which led to the current severe suppression of such groups.

When Beatrice began to rise up, they mostly did not dare to touch her because the Eternal Universe had become alert. Obviously, no matter how the Supreme Council or the Prime Human Council felt about Portia, the simple fact was that she was a strong stabilizing power for their universe.

Losing her filled them with rage and regret, forcing them to stop their advance and now focus on defending their territories with all they had, with the occasional smattering of help from Lara.

This had significantly stagnated the progress of the universe as a whole, and now learning about the Chaos Will and Chaos Origin that the universe needed, it was clear why another universe would pay such a high price.

They mostly let Beatrice grow and were relieved when she simply opted to become an admiral within the universe rather than take her significant strength into the First Gate. They hadn't needed to do anything until Dante first appeared and was labeled as a talent.

The orientation made them put their eyes on him, and they began observing him. The more Dante shone in later periods, the more unsettled they became until that fateful day when his stats were released.

Like the rest of the universe, they were shocked. Such growth was reminiscent of Portia's rise, and they began to quickly implement measures to take down Dante in the cradle. However, they were left speechless and helpless because before they could rally any forces and do anything substantial, Dante had already soared past what they could deal with.

After his recent fight with Lara, the spy factions were at an all-time low in terms of morale. It was so bad that many of the members had constipation nowadays, unable even to sit on the toilet and release anything.

Even worse were the faction leaders of these extra-universe factions who could not even get it up when they went down on their babes. Many times, they would wake up crying and thrashing at night, screaming Dante's name as if he was killing them.

And all this was without Dante even knowing where they were!

Now with the announcement of his company and his goods, the spy factions were frothing at the mouth. If the Eternal Universe were to monopolize Dante's wares and buy them up, their power in the First Gate would soon begin to rise greatly!

However, they quickly calmed down and realized that they were worried for nothing. There was little difference all this could make because the Eternal Universe controlled who entered the gates, and those who went in the first time hardly went in the second time, to the point where it was literally treated as punishment.

Thinking like this, they realized it was even good. With many people increasing their power but not entering the First Gate, they would likely vent their newfound arrogance on each other within the universe, causing war, turmoil, and suffering in which they could exploit!

Their bowels began to move, and their pricks began to rise as the beautiful future they painted for themselves seemed thrilling and deeply fulfilling, but one piece of news shattered all of that and took them straight from heaven to hell.

Dante had announced that anyone who purchased any of his goods, especially one relating to superpowers or the acquisition of powers, would have to sign a higher-dimensional binding contract to enter the First Gate and fight for the universe.

This news sent a second wave of deep uproar throughout the universe, this one being filled with negativity and reluctance. After all, who wanted to go and fight on the battlefront when they could stay at the backlines and enjoy their superior position and the benefits that came with it?

Besides, didn't they have fellows like Dante or Portia, or even Lara, to hold up the sky? Why did small fry like them have to go and risk their lives and die? It was immoral, unfair, bullying!

Immediately hundreds of arguments appeared all over, especially on the Etranet, as to how manipulative and evil Dante was, and how the Eternal Universe would be unsafe under his iron fist.

This left Dante amused because why did all civilized societies try to use the same tactic to rein someone in when they became too strong? Using public opinion to put pressure on them and berate them into doing what one wanted only worked if someone considered this so-called peaceful society as their backbone.

For those like Dante, on whom the peaceful society entirely rested on his whim, it was even more amusing rather than annoying or frustrating.

Towards such movements, there was only one correct response, to shut them down. Taking a step back, no matter how small, would embolden them, and they would ask for countless concessions until you finally could not take any more.

As such, Dante released a statement saying two things. Firstly, the purchase of his wares was optional, and if one did not like the terms, they simply could not buy. Secondly, all those who had championed the noise-making were banned from buying his products henceforth.

Immediately, the complaints were silenced like someone whose throat was gripped tightly. Those who had thought of using this common tactic to get some benefits and pressure Dante into conceding were filled with horror and regret, while those who had kept quiet were relieved.

Then they looked at his first statement and were speechless. Was Dante trying to use this stupid argument to rebut them? Yeah, they were his goods, and no one was entitled to them, but such wares that were supremely attractive were things that couldn't be passed up by anyone.

It was practically compulsory to buy them; the only question was whether one had the purchasing power or not. This matter concerned the life and death of many people and many factions, so how could he say something like this?

However, the noise had been reduced to incoherent grumbling as no one dared speak. Those who had been banned were furiously contacting friends and loved ones to step in for them and buy extra on their behalf.

However, Dante shut that avenue down as well, stating that anyone who acted as a proxy for those who were banned would also be banned as well. As for how he, Dante, would know, they should not be worried, for he had the means.

Immediately, the 'family' and 'friends' distanced themselves from those who were banned among their midst; some even outright expelled them or disowned them. They did not want the excuse of harboring these people to come back and bite them.

This shocked many of those who were banned, as their lives were practically ruined on the spot with no hope of redemption! All they had done was just try to be clever, without any real murderous nor fatally malicious intentions, so how did it come to this?

Dante was also speechless when he saw this and clarified that there was no need to go so far. He did not want the negative karma of destroying so many lives indirectly, even though it was not his intention.

Of course, it was too late for this. Even if the expelled fellows were taken back, the relationships had become dead, and the trust was broken. Fathers who laughed with their sons now passed by each other without greeting.

Brothers who swore to go through life and death together now pretended not to know each other when they met in public.

Sad!

While this was ongoing, Dante finally announced the opening of the premier auction, and he split the seating into political sectors. In other words, each sector had its seating area within the auction venue, as well as a limited number of participants who could enter per sector.

In the wide Eternal Universe, there were currently 20,348 officially recognized sectors. Each sector covered an uncountable number of light-years of distance, with more than a billion galaxies within each sector.

The sheer number of people to be covered was astounding, and Dante knew that if he didn't put some form of limitation or control, things would veer out of control. Even roadside dogs were longing to visit his auction, so you could be sure that those without the purchasing power would still like to come and witness the spectacle.

Well… witness it from home!

The event was streamed, and due to the help of countless quantum AI making countless calculations per second, those at home could use their chips to bid and present items even though they were not present.

That was why Dante initially thought, though, until Connor pulled him to the side and made a new suggestion. When Dante heard it, his eyes gleamed with shock and awe. Truly a merchant, what a vicious and cruel plan!

Not only was it perfectly logical, but it would maximize Dante's benefits while putting him in control of everything.

Thank God the fellow was on his side, or he would have to… Dante thought as his eyes narrowed at Connor behind his back, making the handsome mature man shiver.

Like this, the auction venue began to fill up as dignitaries arrived from outside in endless pomp and grandeur, causing those who were watching at home to be awed and amazed by the faces and names they were hearing.

The latest spacecraft of the era were continually landing, revealing pure human, mixed breed, and even alien dignitaries who were dressed up in the latest fashion of the universe, their eyes filled with arrogance and superiority since they knew the commoners were watching from home.

Look! Take a good look, commoner scum! This is the gap between you lot and me, hahaha!

If a mind-reader were to be present here, they would be speechless as all the dignitaries seemed to be thinking this same thought, as if they all shared the same brain cell in their heads.

Meanwhile, those who were watching were filled with endless envy and jealousy, wishing to be like those fellows. Some even went a step ahead and began worshiping them in their hearts, placing these fellows on a pedestal!

Dante and Beatrice watched the events ongoing from a distant place near the top, their expressions filled with amusement. Just as these dignitaries looked down on the general public as commoners, these fellows were just slightly richer commoners to the likes of the two of them.

After all, despite all their arrogance and suave walking down the aisle to their seats, they obediently sat down and did not make any noise, frankly behaving like good kindergarten children being lectured by their teacher.

They dared to posture before the public but not Dante, who could ban them on a whim. The funny thing was that they didn't realize that this only served to make them foils for Dante and built up his reputation even further.

The cameras had not stopped rolling, so the public could obviously see the switch from arrogance to obedience, and even if one was extremely slow upstairs, they could fathom that the reason why was simply because of Dante's presence.

When everyone was seated, Connor came out with Lily, the two dressed spectacularly and in the best fashion, standing on the stage in front of the crowd. Immediately, countless eyes fell on them, and even though they did not dare to release any auras, just having so many powerhouses who could decide the ups and downs of the entire universe focus on you was not easy.

However, Connor and Lily weathered it with ease, their own endless confidence beating back the eyes on them. After all, they were not the same anymore, being wielders of A-Rank superpowers!

In the public database, only Lara had achieved such a thing, so that meant that they were now technically on the same level as Lara! How could they be intimidated by such fellows?