Chapter 14: Eight Digits
Watching the escort of the Crimson Empress walk into the distance, Su Xiao turned back into the wooden building.
Having eliminated the pro-peace faction's Guy today, the situation was gradually becoming clearer. From another perspective, if the situation here couldn't be fully resolved before the Nether forces invaded Pandora Star, then it was basically over.
Through Shenfu's side, Su Xiao had obtained some intelligence about the Empire's home planet, Oka Star. The situation there seemed stable on the surface, but in reality, the style there was almost changing, shifting from a technological side to a bizarre, supernatural-tech side.
All sorts of strange beings were popping up from who knows where, and various cults were sprouting like mushrooms after rain, popping up everywhere.
This was still a minor matter. The key issue was that the bizarre incidents on Oka Star were increasing. Initially, they could be categorized as folk supernatural events, mostly strange murder cases, but the next day, large-scale area lockdowns appeared there.
According to the information Shenfu sent back, 'death' had disappeared within that area. Wisps of dark green smoke stood vertically between heaven and earth. Each wisp of dark green smoke represented an 'Undying One'. Like those eerie existences, these 'Undying Ones' were equally dangerous.
Faced with this situation, the Empire had no good solution. They could only package and seal these 'Undying Ones', leaving them in place. It wasn't that they didn't want to move them, but if these 'Undying Ones' were taken too far from their place of death, they would 'come alive' and attack indiscriminately.
To sum up Shenfu's situation in one sentence: the Empire could still hold on, but how long they could hold on was anyone's guess.
This wasn't even the worst news. The Empire had a total of fifteen colony stars, and now almost all of them had been initially invaded by the Nether forces. Colony stars like Lucky Star were in a slightly better situation, but a colony star named Gray Hunt Star had completely turned into a living hell.
The situation there was so bad that even the Empire's fleet couldn't enter to investigate. According to reliable information, Gray Hunt Star was originally a planet that worshipped mystery and the soul. When it was invaded by the Empire, the various factions and schools there resisted exceptionally fiercely. To this day, resistance forces still lurked in the shadows there.
According to information sent out by the Empire's intelligence personnel, after Gray Hunt Star was initially invaded by the Nether, several secret forces united and, cooperating with the Nether forces, constructed the base of a spatial passage within Gray Hunt Star.
That very night, all communications between the Empire and Gray Hunt Star were severed. The last audio clip transmitted back from the satellite tower there was a banshee-like shriek. After that, the entire Gray Hunt Star seemed to have died, silent and still.
After losing two spaceships, the Empire decisively retreated, completely abandoning Gray Hunt Star.
This caused Pandora Star, which had not yet been invaded by the Nether forces, to become the last sanctuary. The Empire had already begun mass relocating citizens from the home planet to Pandora Star.
In reality, the Empire had probably had a small understanding of the Nether forces for a long time, they just kept it hidden. Moreover, the Empire seemed to know that Pandora Star would not suffer the first wave of Nether invasion.
This could be seen from how, after the Empire's Third Fleet stabilized its position on Pandora Star, they worked like crazy on construction. In such a short time, they had built the super-large city, New Star City.
The attitude of the Company was also worth scrutinizing. Those Company executives had always prided themselves on the Company building on the home planet. Yet this time, when they moved into Pandora Star, the Company's high-ranking officials actually brought their entire families to Pandora Star and established a city settlement only slightly smaller than New Star City. They were just short of giving it a name.
No matter how you looked at it, the Empire and the Company had taken preemptive precautions against the Nether invasion. However, this precaution seemed more like a phased development, expected to be completed within the next few years.
The reason they were so unhurried was that the Empire and the Company had both calculated the approximate time of the Nether invasion, but they couldn't stop it. They could only make sufficient preparations and passively accept it.
The current problem was that the Nether forces, which were originally expected to begin their initial invasion in a few years, had their several-year-long invasion timeline shortened to ten days, catalyzed by three 'super double-ups' and one 'nuclear bomb'.
To put it simply, from the Nether forces' perspective, they could either invade the Empire's side or not. So before, they didn't commit their main forces here, instead sending small fry to slowly gobble up the Empire's big cake. While they gobbled, the Empire recovered, allowing for a longer period of consumption. Hence the invasion timeline of several years. In other words, the Nether forces' attention wasn't on this side before.
Now it was different. The Nether forces were bearing down on the Empire's side with an unstoppable momentum. The Empire's garrison on Gray Hunt Star wasn't defeated; they just suddenly lost contact. That was the truly terrifying part.
The preparations of the Empire and the Company were thrown into chaos, but their crisis response capabilities weren't just for show. Some essential facilities were established with the highest priority.
In Su Xiao's view, the most ideal situation now was to achieve a three-party coexistence: the Insect Race faction, the Empire, and the Company, each occupying the East, South, and North directions. Their three main bases would form a triangular stance, facing each other.
If they could establish teleportation arrays between them, that would be even better, to prevent the three parties from becoming isolated islands once the Nether invaded Pandora Star.
As for why not unite and work together with one heart? That was impossible. Teammates were a double-edged sword. For example, if the Company's high-ranking officials were in charge of the Company, they were decisive and ruthless leaders. But if the three parties formed an alliance, they could really become pig teammates. Different forces had different styles and different decision-making methods. It was best to avoid talking past each other as much as possible.
There were many other benefits to not forming an alliance. When the Nether forces truly attacked, the three parties could share the firepower. Moreover, it was about not putting all eggs in one basket.
Imagine, if the three main bases established interconnected teleportation arrays, and one side fell, the people there would at least have an escape route, not be surrounded and trapped.
Now, the Empire and the Company had mutually acknowledged each other as one party. As for who would be the third party, it would be decided among the Crimson Empress, Brutal Kara, and Su Xiao.
Presumably, the Empire and the Company now supported Brutal Kara over the Insect Race leader, the Crimson Empress. The reason was their deep-seated old grudges with the Crimson Empress. With disaster looming, those two parties wanted to minimize risk, and Kara was their best choice.
In Su Xiao's view, at this stage, Brutal Kara should have already learned about the terrifying calamity of the Nether invasion. That was why she was so eager, trying to become the absolute leader of the Insect Race faction and become the third party within this world.
The intelligence Shenfu conveyed was absolutely crucial. It had to be said, after this old guy became a good teammate, his effectiveness was extraordinary.
The Undead Girl's side was also very impressive. Somehow, she had been monitoring the Crimson Empress. Her original words were that there were three contractors on the Crimson Empress's side trying to incite her to attack Su Xiao's side.
This made Su Xiao slightly puzzled. When had he made enemies? And three of them together? Moreover, their tone was that they specifically instructed the Crimson Empress to capture him alive, then extort him to avenge a past humiliation.
From the Undead Girl's description, Su Xiao knew who these three were: Molei, Yueshitu, and Hao Mei. They had actually gotten together and gained considerable influence with the Crimson Empress.
The Undead Girl's side had no good solution for this, so she chose the simplest method: directly sending her undead army to attack the Crimson Empress's main base.
It could be said that the Undead Girl's side both helped avert a crisis and blocked an opportunity. With the fungal carpet in place, their own mother nest wasn't afraid of being attacked; it was afraid of the enemies all hiding.
That was the current problem. Of the remaining four Insect Race factions, Brutal Kara was a master of defending her home, while Aiseiya was very low-key and never took the initiative to attack.
The Spider Queen was better at resource extraction. She could lend money at high interest, but she would never take the initiative to attack unless absolutely necessary.
The Crimson Empress wouldn't move easily either; she was constantly on guard against Brutal Kara.
Calculating this way, the four Insect Race factions were all masters of hiding. It was now the fourth day since Su Xiao entered this world. According to the intelligence Kaisa provided, starting from the entry into this world, the Nether would invade Pandora Star in about ten days.
Time was running out. It wasn't just about pacifying the four Insect Race factions; they also needed to gather all the resources in the southern region. Even with violent mining, it would take time. Moreover, Jila needed to be promoted to the Dominator level. Only then could there be a chance for a sliver of survival.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on a wooden chair on the second floor of the wooden building. The window in front was wide open. He looked at the oxbow lake in the distance. The good news now was that among the remaining four factions, the Spider Queen's side was already taken care of. She had signed 23 contracts and was completely arranged.
Su Xiao could even predict the next situation. After the Crimson Empress took that contract to find the Spider Queen, the latter would try to explain in various ways, eventually promising to pay a certain amount of resources to calm the Crimson Empress's anger. But this resource wouldn't be paid immediately; instead, she would quickly come to extort Su Xiao.
Su Xiao took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. The time should be about right. The Spider Queen would be arriving soon. He estimated that after she arrived, her first sentence had a 70% chance of being "You're asking for death," a 20% chance of being "What do you want?" and a 10% chance of silently staring at him.
Just as Su Xiao was thinking this, a sound of air being torn came. A bird-like, dragon-like creature flew over. This creature reminded Su Xiao of the Storm Dragon he rode on Ser Star.
"Roar!"
With a roar, the flying creature above dove down and landed roughly in front of the wooden building.
The Spider Queen on the back of the Flying Feather Dragon slid down along the dragon's wing and entered the room from the second-floor window. Her face was gloomy. As soon as she arrived, she said coldly, "You're asking for death."
It was the same as Su Xiao had predicted. The Spider Queen came and directly said "You're asking for death." Earlier, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha had all expressed disbelief and even bet their pocket money on it.
"Faker~"
Baha cursed. Bubu Wang's little expression gradually became pained. Amu scratched his head, looking a bit silly. Each of them took out 100 Soul Coins from their own little treasuries. This was pocket money they had saved up, spending money they could use to have fun in Reincarnation Paradise. Losing it now naturally hurt.
"I'll give you one last chance. Destroy this contract."
The Spider Queen said coldly. She had no choice now; she could only gamble, betting that Su Xiao wouldn't start a war with her right now.
"Alright."
Su Xiao took the contract parchment from the Spider Queen's hand. This contract had some content that was very unfavorable to the Spider Queen. She had probably already tried to destroy the parchment, but a contract notarized by Reincarnation Paradise? Could the Spider Queen destroy it? That was simply a fantasy.
Su Xiao dissolved this contract, which was about helping the Spider Queen eliminate the Guy tribe, after which the Spider Queen would pay various rewards.
Flames ignited on the parchment, burning it to ashes in a very short time. The falling ashes gradually dissipated in the air.
At this moment, the Spider Queen across from him felt the intense contract force that had made her heart palpitate dissolve. This force was too subtle; before it was dissolved, she hadn't even sensed its existence.
As the contract was dissolved, the Spider Queen's expression relaxed a bit. She simply sat down opposite Su Xiao, sizing him up with a half-smile.
"I underestimated you."
The Spider Queen spoke, a slight curve lifting her thin red lips.
"I overestimated you."
Su Xiao's gaze remained fixed on the book in his hand. This was knowledge about crystals, obtained from the Dragon Academy.
Hearing this, the Spider Queen's face darkened. But because Su Xiao had so readily dissolved the contract just now, she didn't flare up. Instead, she took out an IOU. Before she could speak, Su Xiao said:
"Let's talk about the debt issue."
With a snap, the ancient book in Su Xiao's right hand closed, facing the Spider Queen across from him.
"?"
The Spider Queen was stunned, because this sentence, "Let's talk about the debt issue," was what she wanted to say.
"Alright, let's talk. I lent you a total of 200,000 units of Life Ore. Deducting the first period's interest, the amount actually in your hands was 150,000 units of Life Ore. But this doesn't negate the fact that you borrowed 200,000 units of Life Ore. From the start of the loan, the hourly interest is..."
The Spider Queen pulled over a small round table and calculated the debt with paper and pen.
After waiting for nearly half an hour, when Su Xiao was starting to feel a bit sleepy, the Spider Queen tapped the paper with her pen and said: "Calculated this way, you owe me a total of 370,000 units of Life Ore. Do you acknowledge it?"
The Spider Queen was making such an exorbitant demand for a reason. In the morning, Su Xiao had destroyed the Guy tribe. After learning the news, the Spider Queen was extremely shocked. She knew how tough Guy, the home-defense maniac second only to Brutal Kara, was to fight. For him to be destroyed so suddenly naturally shocked and frightened the Spider Queen.
However, the Spider Queen had learned one thing: attacking the Guy tribe had also cost Su Xiao's side heavy losses. At least for today, they couldn't recover to their previous combat power. That was why the Spider Queen rushed over.
The Crimson Empress was also wary of Su Xiao's side, so she had promised the Spider Queen that if she really started a war with Su Xiao, the Crimson Empress would be willing to stand on the Spider Queen's side and join forces to destroy Su Xiao.
This was why the Spider Queen dared to make such an exorbitant demand. She was here to extort resources, to prevent Su Xiao's side from expanding their army again.
The Spider Queen sat cross-legged opposite, a long-nailed hand holding an IOU. She pinched the ends of the IOU and showed it to Su Xiao. The debt amount on it had changed from 150,000 to 370,000. From the smile on the Spider Queen's face, she was showing off her use of contract force to Su Xiao.
Bubu Wang and Baha were stunned by this display. The Spider Queen's current behavior was really not much different from performing a sliding tackle in front of a tiger. And she was so confident.
"Do you acknowledge the accounts above?"
The Spider Queen's index finger traced the top edge of the IOU.
"I'll tentatively acknowledge it. Whatever makes you happy."
"What do you mean, 'whatever makes me happy'?"
Although the Spider Queen didn't understand the meaning of these words, her instincts told her it wasn't a good thing.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak again. He took out a stack of contract parchments from his bosom, searched through them for a moment, found one, and handed it to the Spider Queen.
The first thing the Spider Queen saw was the spider imprint at the bottom, and that this contract was closely tied to her. Suppressing the unease in her heart, she began to examine the content. But when she saw that the debtor was herself, her cheek twitched. Her gaze shifted to the debt amount: ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions...
When she reached the eighth digit, the Spider Queen's mind went dizzy. A million-level Life Ore debt? Even if she sold everything she owned, she couldn't repay it. Moreover, the debt amount was 9,999,999.
"You tricked me."
The Spider Queen was already unwilling to accept the fact.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He took out the Fate Dominator lighter, lit it, and singed the corner of the parchment in the Spider Queen's hand. After more than ten seconds, he said to the Spider Queen with slight surprise:
"I didn't expect you to have such strong endurance in terms of the soul. I have three potions that act on the soul. Drink them, and let me observe your changes during the process. After that, this debt will be wiped clean."
Su Xiao closed the Fate Dominator lighter and stopped singeing the contract parchment. The Spider Queen's face across from him immediately improved a lot.
The Spider Queen never imagined that she would one day be caught by debt. She had used high-interest loans to screw over many Insect Race mothers or leaders. Now, she had finally gotten her comeuppance.
"Bring out those potions. I'll consider it."
The Spider Queen knew this contract was no joke. If she didn't repay this debt, the consequences would be severe.
A moment later, the Spider Queen sat there with a livid face, not speaking. She had looked at all three potions Su Xiao brought out, but she didn't dare drink any of them. Any one of them gave off an ominous feeling that made the soul tremble, indicating the risk of drinking it.
"State your real terms. I lose."
The Spider Queen looked at the wooden floor beneath her feet, but deep in her eyes was intense unwillingness.
Su Xiao didn't state any terms. Instead, he handed the entire stack of contract parchments in his hand to the Spider Queen.
"These... all of them!?"
The Spider Queen's gaze wavered between Su Xiao's face and the stack of parchments in his hand, as if she couldn't accept this earth-shattering fact.
Seeing that the time was right, Su Xiao gave Baha a look. Baha made an OK gesture with his wing and went downstairs to find Kaisa.
Soon, Kaisa came upstairs, carrying seven parts cunning and three parts sleaziness. Seeing his attire, the Spider Queen's slender brows furrowed. She recognized Kaisa as someone from the Company.
"Madam, have you heard of the Nether forces?"
Kaisa snapped his fingers, and a small blackboard appeared on the wall behind him. A thin wooden stick had somehow appeared in his hand. After clearing his throat, he began to explain the terrifying extent of the Nether forces.
The more the Spider Queen listened, the more blood drained from her face. In fact, she had long been puzzled by the various confusing behaviors of the Empire and the Company. In her view, these humans were simply brain-damaged. But now, after learning about the Nether invasion, all the actions of the Empire and the Company seemed perfectly normal, and even revealed a hint of desperation and hysteria within that normalcy.
The existence of the Nether forces wasn't a matter of whether the Spider Queen believed the information Su Xiao and the others provided; it was that the Spider Queen couldn't not believe it. It was like the final piece of a puzzle for this world. Once it was put in place, everything connected. If she still didn't believe it, that would be classic self-deception.
"Three parties holding Pandora Star to the death? The Empire is the first party, the Company is the second... then who is the third? The Crimson Empress? Or Kara?"
The Spider Queen had fully realized the severity of the situation.
"No, it's us. As long as we clean them all up, we become the third party."
Baha made a fist-pumping gesture with his wing, indicating that power was in their hands.
Seeing this, the Spider Queen nodded thoughtfully. This wasn't voluntary participation. With those 22 contracts, if she didn't join, she would never leave this place. Even if the one who came wasn't her main body, her main body far away in her main base would die suddenly.
Su Xiao brought the Spider Queen in mainly because he valued her worker insect race. Of the original six Insect Race factions, the Spider Queen's worker insect race was definitely the strongest in mining.
Su Xiao was too busy with the war aspect. For resource extraction, it was best to have a cooperative partner in charge. He had originally planned to cooperate with the Spider Girl, but unfortunately, cultivating her would require both time and resources.
Su Xiao's idea was to obtain the gene sequence of the Spider Queen's worker insect race and then use their own mother nest to cultivate them. The cultivated worker insect race would be under Jila's dominant control, while the Spider Queen could exercise a certain degree of manipulation.
Subsequent branch nest management would all be handled by the Spider Queen. Simply put, Su Xiao and Jila would be responsible for the war aspect. They would fight at the front, and the Spider Queen would build branch nests behind them.
This way, it wouldn't just be about occupying five large-scale mineral veins and one Source Mine. They could swallow up all medium, large, and super-large mineral veins in the southern region.
After hearing this plan, the Spider Queen looked at Su Xiao with confusion, completely unable to understand how the mother nest and Jila could withstand such high-intensity army expansion and Insect Race control.
The Spider Queen was overthinking it. Jila's longest war record was when she was on the Primordial Continent and had a conflict with the Sea Race on the other side of the continent. The two sides fought fiercely for over two months, and in the end, she completely defeated the Sea Race there, making them submit wholeheartedly.
"There's one more crucial thing."
Baha spoke. The Spider Queen looked at it. Baha smiled and asked, "Spider Queen, how many Life Ore units do you still have?"
"I still have 30,000 units."
"Nonsense. As an Insect Race mother, you only have this much Life Ore reserve?"
"I lent it all to you!"
The Spider Queen glared at Baha.
"Uh~"
Baha was speechless and gave an awkward smile.
"Are we starting your plan now?"
After learning the severity of the situation, the Spider Queen's attitude became proactive, because she didn't want to die.
"Not yet for now. There's one more thing I need you to do."
Su Xiao put away all the contract parchments. This was the guarantee that the Spider Queen wouldn't cause any trouble.
The situation on the Insect Race side was now becoming clearer. The Crimson Empress and Brutal Kara were vying for the leadership position. The low-key Aiseiya had never expressed an opinion, meaning that whoever won, he would continue to follow.
This plan was Kaisa's idea. Kaisa's view was that there was no need to fight a hard battle against the Crimson Empress and Brutal Kara. Their current advantage was that they had allied with the Spider Queen. They could have the Spider Queen choose to support the Crimson Empress, thereby completely provoking a major war between the Crimson Empress and Brutal Kara.
After these two sides started fighting, their side and the Spider Queen would join forces with the Crimson Empress, three against one, to crush Brutal Kara.
After crushing Brutal Kara, their side and the Spider Queen would then crush the Crimson Empress, who hadn't recovered yet, and finally deal with the low-key Aiseiya.
This way, their side would always maintain the advantage of outnumbering the enemy, quickly resolving the enemy while avoiding resource waste.
The more the Spider Queen listened, the more shocked she became. Their Insect Race didn't have so many schemes and intrigues. They just fought each other, belonging to Tactics X, Strategy E.
A moment later, the Spider Queen left. In fact, during her previous meeting with the Crimson Empress, the latter had shown signs of wanting to recruit her. Now, this recruitment was perfectly timed.
In addition, the Spider Queen would give the Crimson Empress a surprise: she would tell her about the Nether invasion, increasing her sense of crisis, and try to get her to attack Brutal Kara today.
Not long after the Spider Queen left, representatives from the Empire and the Company entered the chat room Bubu Wang had constructed to participate in this online auction.
The item for auction this time was 150 kilograms of "C5N2 Type Superconductor," with a starting price of 200,000 units of Active Ore. As the situation became more dangerous, the Empire was eager to turn these superconductors into weapons.
This was also the situation Su Xiao wanted to see. The more capable the Empire was of fighting, the more firepower they could attract later. That was never a bad thing.
Su Xiao put on a wireless headset. A virtual 3D projection appeared in front of him. One person he had seen before was the Empire's Hand, Rhine Gode. The other, a potbellied man, was the Company's representative. This auction was entirely a performance by the Company's representative.
A few minutes later, the Crimson Empress's projection appeared. Seeing this, Kaisa, wearing a shit-yellow hood, cleared his throat and said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this auction. You all know the goods. Yes, it's 150 kilograms of 'C5N2 Type Superconductor.' The starting price for this auction is 200,000 units of Life Ore. No upper limit. The auction begins."
"Two..."
The Company representative was about to speak.
"500,000. I bid 500,000."
The Crimson Empress spoke. Hearing this, the Company representative's face full of fat trembled. He now had the heart to kill the Crimson Empress.
"Crimson, don't go too far."
The Company representative said coldly.
"I really do need this thing."
The Crimson Empress's expression was cold. From the looks of it, she really did need the "C5N2 Type Superconductor."
Rhine Gode exchanged a glance with the Company representative, sensing something was wrong. They had originally thought the Crimson Empress was just driving up the price, but now it seemed she was a genuine competitor.
"I bid... 600,000!!"
After shouting this, the Company representative quickly took out some blood pressure medicine, swallowing a few pills before he could catch his breath.
The Crimson Empress was moved by the Company's wealth. Although she wanted to raise the bid, she couldn't produce that many Life Ore units. As for making a false bid, in the Crimson Empress's view, Su Xiao dared to rob even the Empire and the Company; there was nothing he wouldn't dare to do.
The auction went smoothly. Just as Bubu was about to turn off the projection, Su Xiao raised his hand to signal him to wait. He had Bubu cut off the connection with the Empire and the Company, leaving only the Crimson Empress's frequency.
"Crimson Empress, are you in your own insect nest?"
Su Xiao spoke in a calm tone. The Crimson Empress didn't deny it, which was taken as a tacit confirmation.
"So, those three are watching too."
"..."
The Crimson Empress still didn't speak.
Su Xiao signaled Bubu to cut off the communication. Since he knew the Apocalypse Sisters were there, he naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass. He was very short on Soul Coins lately.
Meanwhile, inside the Crimson Empress's nest chamber, Su Xiao's 3D projection disappeared, and the technological device on the table was destroyed with a sound.
Slightly behind the Crimson Empress, Molei, Yueshitu, and Hao Mei exchanged glances, their hearts starting to panic.
"Stay calm. We can win."
Molei was the first to speak.
"Right. As long as we hide, he can't do anything to us."
"How about... we just try giving him money directly?"
Yueshitu said tentatively. Hearing this, Molei and Hao Mei both glared at her, as if saying, "You coward who pays up without even getting hit!"