At a long conference table, the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's party, led by Minister Li Yaqi, and the Holy Elf Empire's representatives were signing the various agreements.
On one side of this conference room was a pane of one-way glass.
On the other side of the one-way glass sat Zhao Chen and Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen.
Since this matter had been put in the charge of Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, it was naturally Zhao Chen and Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, who dealt with each other, and the other Elf Sovereigns did not put a foot in.
Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, to avoid any suspicion, was not at Zhao Chen's side this time.
"It seems everything is going smoothly. Then let me wish the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's great plan success in advance." Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, raised a wine cup that had been set ready beside her, and looked at Zhao Chen across from her.
Zhao Chen took up his cup too and said calmly, "Your Holy Elf Empire is only my first stop this time; it isn't yet time to celebrate success."
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, smiled faintly and said, "There are already signed letters of intent from the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, the Holy Elf Empire, the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group, which is riding so high lately, and several other interstellar powers. With these stepping stones, how many in the known universe's civilizations could refuse to board this great money-making ship? And as the helmsman of this great ship, your Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire will be the one that profits most."
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, fixed her lovely eyes on Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen shook his head with a light laugh and said, "In fact I never meant to do anything this troublesome; let everything take its natural course, I say. But there are the two threats of the Devourer Civilization and Order. And your Holy Elf Empire's attitude has always wavered. So if our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire is to face the threats to come, it naturally needs to build up its own strength. And that needs enough resources and money. This is the only way."
Zhao Chen shrugged helplessly.
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, had been watching Zhao Chen's movements and manner all along; seeing how unconcerned he looked, as if he truly did not care at all about so great an undertaking,
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, was somewhat surprised in her heart.
Mind you, this universe trade alliance was no mere universe trading platform.
Its future would be very great, and the wealth it could produce was beyond imagining.
Through this platform alone, the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire could even make a second, or a third, Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire outright.
"Where do you mean to go next? Do you need my help?" Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, looked at Zhao Chen.
"I think Your Excellency the Bluewater Elf Queen should already know the answer," Zhao Chen said with a smile.
He had long since heard that Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, had been giving early instructions on certain moves to her people stationed in other interstellar civilizations' universes.
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, smiled faintly and said frankly too, "The Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation. Your choice is right. If persuading our Holy Elf Empire is the first step you've completed in this plan, then the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation is the second step to completing it; one could say it's as good as done. Our Holy Elf Empire has prestige; perhaps not what it was, but so long as the Holy Elf Empire still stands, it still has some strength. The Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation is, apart from the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, the largest interstellar civilization's power whose economy is over ninety percent industry. The interstellar warships they produce are spread all over the known universe's civilizations. Even our Holy Elf Empire sometimes buys parts some of our interstellar warships need from them. Theirs may not be the best quality, but they can deliver the quality and the quantity. So long as you can persuade them to join this plan, your Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire[1] will as good as have an industrial base! A man who wants to sell water and owns a well: does he need to worry that people won't come to do business with him?"
The simile of Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, was very apt.
"I'll do my best." Zhao Chen shook his head helplessly.
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, looked out of the window at the conference room. "When you negotiate with the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation, remember to use your trump card. Conditions for life in the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation's interstellar civilization's universe aren't very good, so grain output is very low; basically over ninety percent of the natural grain within their universe is bought from outside, and over half the synthetic food is bought from other universes too. Even the synthetic food made in their own universe is called the worst-tasting food in the known universe; there's even a rumor that eating their synthetic food shortens your life. So you should know how to persuade them."
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, looked at Zhao Chen with a faint smile, then walked out of the room.
Zhao Chen swirled the wine cup in his hand.
——————
The Holy Elf Empire leg of the trip came to an end, and Zhao Chen's fleet made ready to set out for the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation.
But setting out for the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation did not go as smoothly as coming to the Holy Elf Empire had.
For Zhao Chen's side had no universe star gate connecting directly to the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation.
The Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation was an interstellar civilization that sold a great many industrial goods abroad, but in some ways it was rather like the Stone Kingdom Zhao Chen had dealt with before:
very closed to outsiders too.
Perhaps because people who work in industry are all rather rigid-minded.
Every universe star gate connecting to the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation was wholly in the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation's hands.
And before this, relations between the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation and the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire had in fact not been good.
A large part of the reason was that the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's appearance had greatly squeezed their market for selling interstellar warships.
From the moment Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships went on sale abroad, they had dealt a huge blow to Holy-Hammer-line interstellar warships and the related industrial goods.
For now the output of Owl Dragon-line export interstellar warships was not very large, but anyone with eyes could see
that Holy-Hammer-line interstellar warships had no resistance at all against Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships.
Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships now had a price but no market at all; some even got rich reselling Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships, and often a T3-grade Owl Dragon-line interstellar warship, after changing hands again and again, would go for two or three times its original price!
That was how formidable Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships were.
And Holy-Hammer-line interstellar warships could only keep their original market by the sheer volume of their supply; because of the blow from Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships, the market was still in their hands, but the price of Holy-Hammer-line interstellar warships had fallen.
Some Holy-Hammer-line interstellar warships had plunged a full fifty percent in these few years!
That was real gold and silver.
One can imagine that to the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation, the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire was a rival.
Someone may ask: why did no one pay attention to Holy-Elf-line interstellar warships?
Weren't Holy-Elf-line interstellar warships very strong too?
That was because the Holy Elf Empire almost never sold interstellar warships abroad; getting interstellar warships from the Holy Elf Empire happened only in very rare cases.
So before this, it had always been Holy-Hammer-line interstellar warships that held the market.
Now that Zhao Chen was coming to their door, it was a case of rivals meeting on a narrow road.
Fortunately there was Huaya Lanlan, who, as the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group's representative, had worked with the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation before, and had channels into the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation.
After some going round about, Zhao Chen's fleet passed through the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation's star gate and came into the universe there.
When Zhao Chen came into this universe, he found that its space was not quite like any universe he had seen; put plainly, the matter in this universe's space was very murky.
It felt like facing something like smog or a sandstorm on a planet.
Even in a star system with a star, looking through the viewports beside the bridge, one could hardly see very far.
At times when things were bad, Zhao Chen could not even see the starships on his own fleet's flank from his own flagship.
Fortunately this cosmic weather did not affect the starships' radar; navigating by radar, the fleet could still sail normally.
Huaya Lanlan explained beside him just then, "Your Majesty, this is the natural state of the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation's universe. In this universe, over ninety percent of the regions lie under this cosmic wind-sand; 'cosmic wind-sand' is a cosmic weather peculiar to the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation, and the name is the locals' own. It's like the wind-blown sand on a planet's surface. It's there all the time. And it exists and moves in all sorts of forms. Some of it moves in regular circles or ellipses; some forms an irregular mass that moves about. Ordinarily it's like our situation right now: it only affects visibility, and has some abrasive effect on the paint of the hull's surface. One thing is that the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation's interstellar warships usually need an extra layer of coating over their starship paint; otherwise, eaten away by this cosmic wind-sand for long, the hull armor loses strength and some damage appears. But we won't be here very long, so it won't affect us much. In bad cases, though, this matter moves at high speed in great masses at high density. That's called a 'cosmic sandstorm,' and in that case an ordinary interstellar warship that goes into it has one chance in ten of coming out. Even T5 or T6-grade interstellar warships, if they fight a cosmic sandstorm for long, can hardly be sure of surviving. They can only survive longer in a cosmic sandstorm, which gives them more time to get out."
So that's how it is.
Zhao Chen took in Huaya Lanlan's explanation.
Huaya Lanlan, as a flower-fairy merchant and the head of the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group,
naturally knew more about every interstellar civilization's universe.
That was also why they had been brought along this time.
"This cosmic natural disaster has brought some bad effects too. For instance, if a local people's planet happens to lie in a belt of cosmic wind-sand, the planet's surface is struck as well, and the planet's inhabitants have to hide in shelters or certain buildings, or they die. And the natural environment on the planet is very badly affected. So in this universe, over ninety percent of habitable planets in fact only let people survive, but can't fully supply them with food. That's also why the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation is short of food, and why the main goods it imports are food," Huaya Lanlan said.
Zhao Chen listened to all this with narrowed eyes.
All of it was very important for his coming talks with the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation.
Huaya Lanlan paused, then went on, "The cosmic wind-sand brings this universe these harms, but it brings benefits too. There are a great many natural ores in this universe, on a par with the Stone Kingdom. At the same time, these conditions have led the local natives to do more research in industry. They've studied the cosmic wind-sand too, and from it they've worked out certain industrial features that are theirs alone. That I'll explain better when you see it with your own eyes later."
"All right." Zhao Chen nodded.
"I've arranged our itinerary from here. We'll be meeting a senior figure of the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation on behalf of the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group, to discuss a grain order. Because grain orders have always been very important to the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation, it's a good stepping stone for us," Huaya Lanlan said.
Zhao Chen asked just then, "By the material, the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation's political structure is federal. They usually name themselves such-and-such City, such-and-such Castle and the like. And with these as units, they make up the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation. Is that right?"
Huaya Lanlan nodded and opened a star map of the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation's universe, pointing to some coordinates on it, and some banners and insignia, and said, "The Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation ranks its places by grade, in four kinds: capital-city star regions, principal-city star regions, county-city star systems and castle star systems. The Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation has four great capital-city star regions in all, which are also its four biggest powers. The one we're going to see this time is one of them, called Black Sand City. Where we are now is a castle star system of one of Black Sand City's vassal powers. It's called a free federation, but small powers still attach themselves to big ones. So, all in all, in the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation the main division of power is by the four capitals. In these talks of yours, so long as you can persuade these four capital powers, the whole thing's done."
Zhao Chen nodded; he understood it thoroughly now.
Next, naturally, they went straight to the point and headed for Black Sand City's capital-city star region.
The fleet soon reached Black Sand City's satellite-city star systems; to put it simply,
Black Sand City was called a capital-city star region, but strictly speaking it was only the name of one star system in it.
But people called the whole star region Black Sand City.
And the satellite-city star systems were the star systems that guarded the Black Sand City star system around it.
To reach the Black Sand City star system, one had to pass through these satellite-city star systems.
And here Zhao Chen saw too what Huaya Lanlan had said before: the benefits this universe's peculiar natural conditions brought the locals.
Zhao Chen saw a kind of building he had never seen before.
It was something like a deformed windmill, yet not quite a windmill: it was an inward-curving ring, and one could see huge blades turning inside it.
They actively drew the cosmic wind-sand around them into themselves.
Huaya Lanlan, beside Zhao Chen, began to explain: "This type of industrial structure you're seeing, Your Majesty, is in fact the very foundation of the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation. They call it 'Holy-Hammer technology'; what's used now is basically the third generation or later; a satellite city like this can use the fourth. And if we go further in, we can see the fifth. It's said that long ago this universe's scientists and scholars, studying the cosmic wind-sand, found that the cosmic wind-sand's matter was itself a raw material, and that refining it could even yield a kind of energy. So they tried building, out in space, this kind of technical installation that could draw in and absorb the cosmic wind-sand. That way the step of gathering it could be skipped. That was the original first generation. Later people thought: since one could get this raw material, and energy from it too, why not simply build the related technical structures on top of it? That gave the second generation. It was also the first time industrial technology was applied to it: they merged starship factories with it, and could build interstellar warships fast. The building efficiency was far above other interstellar civilizations' powers'. The third and fourth generations after that kept raising it on this front. So the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation advanced by leaps and bounds here, and with a few lucky breaks in their own research into interstellar warship technology besides, though they couldn't build the strongest interstellar warships, they took the market for exporting interstellar warships across universes on the strength of quantity and quality."
Zhao Chen looked at these buildings, one after another like mutant windmills, before him, greatly astonished in his heart.
Sure enough.
Each universe's peculiar conditions breed technology utterly unlike any other's,
like the Holy Elf Empire's plant technology.
And Zhao Chen very soon drew from this some information to his advantage.
"So, building the same interstellar warship in these conditions, the building efficiency goes up greatly?" Zhao Chen asked with narrowed eyes.
Huaya Lanlan nodded hard. "To be precise, it has to use the 'Holy-Hammer technology' here. But Holy-Hammer technology has one characteristic too: it can't build technological products that are too fine. There's been a case of it before. Another interstellar civilization gave the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation an interstellar warship's technology to build under contract. An interstellar warship that might have taken ten months in the starship factories of their own universe took less than eight months here. And that was when they'd only just taken it on; had the building gone on, the building time could certainly have been cut further. They might even have cut the building time by over thirty percent!"
Cut by thirty percent!
At these words, Zhao Chen felt his heart jolt.
"But later some interstellar powers brought rather finer technology here too, and the result was that, though it could be built here, the defect rate went up greatly. The Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation tried to change that too, but perhaps because of the raw materials and energy they extract from the cosmic wind-sand, they've found it very hard to break through on this. The conclusion they reached after that was: here in the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation, they can build low- and mid-range technological products with greatly raised output and production time. But they can't build high-end technological products; if they insist on producing them, the defect and failure rates go up greatly. Far worse than having the production done in one's own home universe."
When he had heard this explanation through,
Zhao Chen understood it completely.
It was perhaps a double-edged sword.
But in Zhao Chen's hands it was a great piece of luck.
Zhao Chen had even already thought out his future cooperation with the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation; not just the universe trade alliance.
They would set up a cooperative relationship of a higher grade between them.
This Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation I must win.
That was what Zhao Chen thought at that moment!
After that, as Huaya Lanlan had arranged, Zhao Chen's party arrived at a starport in a satellite city.
This starport had a "windmill" of its own too; because such a "windmill" could provide the energy needed, basically every facility built out in space had windmills of different sizes.
Having berthed in port,
Zhao Chen led Li Yaqi's party, and a squad of guards under Panther-Girl, off his flagship.
On the gangway one could already see a reception party.
They were humanoid beings, but perhaps because the natural conditions here were so bad, they had no hair, and the surface of their skin bore a rather thick keratinized layer, somewhat like a lizard's.
It had probably evolved under the natural conditions.
In height and outward shape they were much like humanoids, some tall and some short, their average build much like Zhao Chen's and the others'.
The clothes they wore looked rather ordinary: all dark-colored garments, not very fine, rather coarse.
Huaya Lanlan had explained this too.
It was because the local tech tree had perhaps branched the wrong way, or because of a bias in the raw materials.
There was only heavy industry here, no light industry.
And clothes-making was light industry; add the natural conditions, and the locals cared more for how durable their clothing was than for how it looked.
That had formed their culture of dress.
"Miss Huaya Lanlan, Miss Huaya Nini, greetings. I never imagined the two famous ladies would come in person." The leader of the other side stepped forward; he was somewhat different from the other ordinary people, with something like gems set into his skin, which gave his person more color.
This was a cultural style of the locals here, a display of standing.
On the body, and above all on the face, they would set gems to show off their noble standing!