Chapter 182- Despicable
Translator: TeamTWO
Editor: Nora
6th month, 28th day, the migration in reality had entered its final stages.
The migrants had carried various artwork, old books, and biological samples onto a spaceship. Apart from that, various production lines and smart robots were on that ship. These were brought to ensure that when it reached planet Hope, they could be assembled straight away and produce various resources.
In truth, two years after the satellites spotted planet Hope in the year 2171, the federal government had put together an explorer squad to do the first stages of exploration.
The explorer squad had traveled for a full 10 years before they reached planet Hope. In addition to the time for the signals and messages to be sent, the basic knowledge the federal government had about planet Hope were just of these few years.
Hence, the production lines that were sent were very specific. As for the specific details, only the high-level federal government members and the people involved knew.
The spaceships designated for the migration had been parked at the various spaceports. As Jiaozhou was a city closer to the middle region, it had its own spaceport. Ouyang Shuo was definitely going to rush to Modou to meet up with his little aunt. Then, he would board the spaceship at the suburbs of Modou.
As it lacked maintenance and fixing, the network signals were starting to become unstable.
In the morning, he gave Sun Xiaoyue one last call to ask about the situation with the Cui family.
"The Cui family has a huge reputation in Dali and is a huge business organization. They run nearly every type of businesses. Their core is silver weapons and banking," Sun Xiaoyue said through the phone, "It's as you said, bandits attacked Cui Yingyu when she was on a trip. Then, she went missing. After such a long time, they believe that she has already died."
Ouyang Shuo nodded," Xiaoyue, I don't want to hide this from you, she's in my territory. After I come online, I'll send you one of her items. Use it link up with the Cui Family."
"Oh no wonder. Leave this matter to me!"
"Thank you!"
Ouyang Shuo hung up. Then, he opened his handbrain and headed onto the forums.
The lightning operation was revealed on the forums. The eight lords were describing their experience. In truth, there was nothing to say, as they didn't even see who their enemies were. When they went online, they were directly sent to the Dali Region.
This was the first territory destruction incident in the China Region that wasn't due to monsters or raider attacks.
Naturally, it attracted attention, especially at such a specific time—a few days before the migration. This event made everyone curious, and they started to speculate.
Although they didn't know who it was, Shanhai City had become the biggest suspect. The reason was simple. Firstly, Shanhai City was the strongest in the Lianzhou Basin, and thus they had the ability to do so. Secondly, Shanhai Town had recently upgraded to grade 2 city and the territory land had expanded.
Moreover, the members of the Sky Blade Alliance fanned the flames, so Shanhai City became the biggest suspect.
Ouyang Shuo remained calm and didn't make any statements. He neither admitted nor denied these claims.
If someone stood out to scold and chide Ouyang Shuo, that guy would be an idiot. The main point of Earth Online was territorial warfare and conquest, so there was no justice or righteousness. It was just survival of the fittest.
Luckily, there were no idiots. Even the eight lords only ranted on the forums. In the end, they could only accept that they were unfortunate.
In truth, the reason this became a focal point was why Shanhai City decided to rage wars at such a sensitive time period, was it a show of strength or to make a stand?
If one called it a show of strength, there was no need to do so with their ability, as they had already earned the respect of everyone in China.
Bai Xiaoshen raised the point that Shanhai City's action had actually helped everyone out. He had warned the rookies that although there was freedom in your territory, you are never safe and can be attacked at any time. It was better to just stay safe in the system imperial city.
His argument had received a lot of support.
Many rookies that joined the game started to weigh the pros and cons of playing the lord mode.
During the weighing process, another thought was tossed out. The person raised that there was a perfect solution—to join a strong territory. That way, you could remain safe even if you don't have power.
Ouyang Shuo kept quiet. He didn't know if it was a coincidence or if Chun Shenjun and the others had fanned the flames. The migration caused many to lose their everything. At this time, Chun Shenjun had provided them with hope. He wanted to get them into his own territory to make up for his current weakness.
Although Shanhai City stood to gain from such a theory, Ouyang Shuo didn't find it something to be happy about. Since he started, he had already decided that his territory wouldn't accept a large number of players.
In the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo brought Bing'er to the cemetery to clean their parents' graves for the last time as a goodbye.
Tomorrow morning, he was going to bring Bing'er and rush to Shanghai to meet with little aunt. As the migrant numbers were too big, Shanghai—which had 2.4 million people—was assigned to spaceships. Each ship could take 1.2 million people.
Of course, these spaceships were specially modified such that each person only took up a small amount of space. Basically, as long as it was enough to fit a game cabin, it was fine. Before they boarded, the players needed to enter the game cabin and the robots would transfer the cabins to a specific spot in the ship.
When the galactic spaceships took off, the game cabin would enter a deep sleep mode. The player would be completely frozen and only unfrozen when they reached their destination.
After they returned from the cemetery, Ouyang Shuo started to pack up their luggage. They decided to bring the items that they the most valued. The federal government would provide the other things.
In the end, Ouyang Shuo chose a framed family photo from when his parents were still alive. At that time, Bing'er was just a little kid that looked very cute.
As for Bing'er, she chose a cloth doll. It was already old, but she treated it as a gem. It was a birthday present from her Father.
At night, Ouyang Shuo got online as usual.
As they ate breakfast, Ouyang Shuo looked at Yingyu, "Yu'er, come to my office later. I have something to discuss with you."
"En." Yingyu thought it had something to do with work, so she didn't pay much attention to it.
10 a.m. Yingyu entered Ouyang Shuo's office.
Ouyang Shuo asked her to sit. Then, he gathered his thoughts,"Yingyu, you do know that Brother is different from you all and has a special way to contact the outside world, right?"
Yingyu nodded, “I know."
"I have friends in the Dali region, and I asked her to find out about your family’s situation." Ouyang Shuo continued.
Yingyu's heart clenched, and she painfully asked, “Then? Did my family think I already died in the wilderness?"
Ouyang Shuo nodded,"You'er don't be said. it's also normal. After all, they haven't heard from you in half a year. Such a judgment is normal."
"Big Brother you don't need to console me, I understand." Yingyu tried hard to calm herself down.
"How about this. Allow my friend to contact your family. I need an item from you and also a handwritten letter. My plan is to allow your family to believe and confirm that you are still alive. Then, we can contact them through the cooperation platform in the advanced market. What do you think?"
In truth, Ouyang Shuo words were selfish.
If he wanted to, he could have found a territory near Dali region to ally with and send Yingyu there. Then, he could arrange a unit to send her back home to reunite with her family.
The reason why he didn't do that was because he also had his considerations.
Firstly, Ouyang Shuo didn't want to treat allying others as a game. An ally in Shanhai Alliance had strict regulations. Although Consonance City was in Yunnan Province, it was closer to Kunming.
After the 10 times expansion of the game map, Kunming was over three thousand miles away from Dali. Even if one used the speed of a Qingfu horse, it would take two months to rush there, which wasn't too practical.
Secondly, Ouyang Shuo couldn't bear to let her leave Shanhai City. Not to mention the relationship between them, Shanhai City needed this financial director. In the future, when Shanhai City had enough talents, Ouyang Shuo would consider sending her back.
Ouyang Shuo sometimes felt that doing so was a bit despicable, as this betrayed the trust she had in him. He said that as long as the time was right, he would protect her and send her back to Dali. He was really shameless.
However, this was the price one needed to pay as a lord who controlled power.
As a lord, the situation and future of the territory was the first thing he considered. Maybe only Bing'er was someone that couldn't be touched in his heart. Only that wouldn't have anything to do with profits and benefits.
Actually, to be able to contact her family was enough to Yingyu. Shanhai City had given her a platform, and it was a fortunate event to end up here.
"I think that's great. I'll finish the letter in the afternoon and pass it to you."
"Great!" Ouyang Shuo was expressionless.