Hearing what Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, described, Zhao Chen could not help picturing Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, just like that.
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, looked at Zhao Chen and suddenly asked a question: "You're on such good terms with Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen. If Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, held a standing beyond compare in the Holy Elf Empire, it would mean the Holy Elf Empire stood on the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's side. Haven't you any such idea?"
This question, thrown out so suddenly, was nothing simple.
What it meant was: have you no thought of raising Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, to a higher place?
Zhao Chen smiled faintly and said frankly, "To tell the truth, I'd be lying if I said I'd never had such a thought. Because as I see it, your Holy Elf Empire's leadership is very stubborn in its thinking now. Like passing up that chance before, when you could have wiped out the Devourer Civilization with us at one stroke. But I won't do what my friend wouldn't want done. On this point you needn't doubt Salaman. Salaman's loyalty to the Holy Elf Empire is absolute. If I used force against the Holy Elf Empire, or did anything that truly threatened the Holy Elf Empire, I believe she'd certainly break with me and face me on the battlefield. Salaman is my friend, and I won't put my friend in a hard place. So it's only a thought. But if Salaman had such a thought, then as her friend I'd back her without condition too. So I hope you won't press her too hard either."
Zhao Chen's words explained his own thinking.
But at the same time they spoke up for Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen.
You've kept pressing Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, and even tried to impeach her.
Behavior like that is playing with fire.
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, was silent for a moment, then looked at Zhao Chen. "If it were any other Elf Sovereign, I might doubt it. But with Salaman, I trust her instead. I have to say, I'm glad now that the one you're close to is Salaman and not someone else."
Zhao Chen smiled faintly and said no more on the matter.
Next the two talked of a few other things, no more than universe trade, the Devourer Civilization and the like.
When they had finished, Zhao Chen went back to that courtyard to work.
And Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, went back to her lodgings to wait for the conference to begin.
Bailan City · City Lord's Residence
"In this period a great many leaders of every power have visited our Bailan City. We've housed them all properly. Because you instructed before that, this matter being rather special, our focus must first be on this conference, I've put off other interstellar trading business, or postponed the interstellar transport fleets that could be postponed, and sent those that couldn't to berth at other starports. We'll make sure, without condition, that this conference goes smoothly." A flower fairy stood before Huaya Lanlan and Huaya Nini, pointing at the hologram of Bailan City before them.
She was the City Lord of Bailan City, or, one might say, its governor.
She was now one of the five top figures in the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group, though not one of the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group's founding members.
She was another interstellar trader who, after the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group rose, had merged her own interstellar trade group into it of her own accord: Hua Peipei.
She was not originally one of the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group's own, but Huaya Lanlan had always gone by ability and loyalty in choosing people.
After several early tests confirmed Hua Peipei's loyalty, and her ability at work being beyond question,
Hua Peipei naturally became one of the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group's leadership.
Later, when Bailan City was completed, she became Bailan City's City Lord,
a great figure in the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group,
and one of those chiefly responsible for this first conference of the universe trade alliance.
"Mind: every honored guest who comes, however large or small the interstellar civilization's power they come from, must be received with full courtesy. Any of them may be our customers in future. But at the same time, some guests of honored standing need some special treatment too. Guests from the Holy Elf Empire, for instance: give them a villa courtyard of their own to stay in. In short, there must be no mistakes. Every honored guest must feel our warm welcome!" Huaya Lanlan said gravely.
Huaya Nini, beside her, looking at a list, said with a grave face, "The seating order at the conference matters a great deal too. This time almost every interstellar power's leader in the known universe's civilizations has come. Among them, some may be hostile to one another, even still at war. So we mustn't let them run into each other on any account. And then they're sure to rank one another in their own minds as well. Anyone who thinks himself higher, if he's placed toward the back, is bound to be displeased. So the seating order mustn't go wrong either!"
The three of them talked on and on; every plan was settled only after being revised several times.
This was no simple conference; it was one that would bear on the fate of many universes to come, one that would be recorded in the annals of the universe.
It might even change the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group's standing for good.
Huaya Lanlan looked at a clock beside her: ten hours remained on the countdown before the attendees were to enter.
"How many invited guests haven't arrived yet?" Huaya Lanlan asked just then.
"Six more. Besides, thirty-one have come of their own accord without invitations. We've checked who these thirty-one are; most of them are leaders of interstellar powers holding perhaps less than a fifth of the territory in their interstellar universes. Basically, anyone who can get here has some strength. So we've sent them invitations after the fact too, so that they can attend this conference," City Lord Hua Peipei said.
Huaya Lanlan nodded.
Whatever they ought to prepare, whatever they ought to do, they must do well.
This was a chance the Owl Dragon Emperor had given them.
"Before the conference begins, check every step once more! It must be foolproof. For the time from the start of the conference through to its end, without my permission Bailan City is closed to the outside; no starship may enter or leave port. Understood?" Huaya Lanlan instructed gravely once more.
"Understood." City Lord Hua Peipei nodded gravely; she knew too that this conference was very important, and that there must not be the least slip.
The time drew nearer bit by bit.
In the small courtyard,
Minister Li Yaqi walked up to the Owl Dragon Emperor, who was resting with his eyes closed, and said, "We should go to the conference venue."
Zhao Chen opened his eyes; the matter so long in preparation had at last come to the moment of the final stroke of the gavel.
Zhao Chen stood up and straightened his attire.
Because this was a business conference, Zhao Chen did not wear the military uniform he usually wore, but changed into a simple outfit, yet one with no lack of dignity:
a suit of black clothes without much pattern, only some dragon designs worked in gold thread,
giving an air of quiet authority, low-key yet commanding.
"Let's go." Zhao Chen walked toward the courtyard gate.
Seeing this, Panther-Girl and the guards followed in silence,
forming a squad's guard formation within a three-meter radius around Zhao Chen.
But in fact it was not needed.
For City Lord Hua Peipei had arranged it so that
Zhao Chen's way from the courtyard into the conference venue was by a dedicated passage,
and within a certain range of the dedicated passage City Lord Hua Peipei had especially arranged that no one else might come near.
So all the way along, there was only Zhao Chen's party.
Minister Li Yaqi walked at Zhao Chen's side, half a step behind.
As she walked she said, "You've raised the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group up a great deal this time. Not only did you have so important a conference held in Bailan City, you put the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group fully in charge of it. And at the same time you gave the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group a quite different standing in the universe trade alliance. Aren't you worried that the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group will use this chance to grow strong past imagining? After all, the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group is only something we've bought into, not a business organization wholly ours. And it doesn't lie within our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's borders either."
What Minister Li Yaqi meant was that she feared raising a tiger that would maul them.
Zhao Chen said with a smile, "I know what you're worried about; I don't deny the possibility you speak of exists. But backing the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group does us more good than harm. First, the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group now has our capital in it, and to outsiders, though it has our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire behind it, it looks more like a free trade port. After all, some interstellar civilizations' powers are wary of our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, but have no such wariness of the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group. And having the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' name on it adds a good deal to our credibility too. All that is to the good. As for the harm you mention: first, we have overwhelming force; so long as we keep overwhelming force and hold that technology, we'll always be the ones leading. If one day we lose those advantages, then in fact not only the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group, but even our own house might run into trouble. So that's not what we should be worrying about. The only thing to worry about is that the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group grows too vast in future, presumes on our favor, or comes to overshadow its master. That's to be avoided. So in future we'll set up two more groups like the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group, devoted to universe trade. We can use the Rose-Red Dragon Group and the Northern Goose Group[1] as the base and form something like subsidiaries for it. And we naturally have the technology, and the production technology; they'd be late starters, but catching up with the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group in future shouldn't be a problem. Even if they can't match the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group's size, with these two, keeping the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group in balance should be possible."
Minister Li Yaqi understood at once; she seemed to have seen a related proposal from Secretary Lilith before.
She had never imagined His Majesty and the Lady Secretary had long since made plans against this and got ready.
"If that's so, it really is a very good arrangement." Minister Li Yaqi nodded in agreement.
After that, the party appeared in the conference venue.
The venue was very special, built by Bailan City especially for this conference, and in future it would serve as the universe trade alliance's branch in Bailan City.
It was a hall shaped like an orchid, whose inner structure could be laid out as needed.
And it was laid out now with seats like the petals of a flower.
The heart of the flower in the middle was the speaking platform, and outside it were petals, layer upon layer.
From inner to outer, the petals went from small to large.
That way, some very strong interstellar powers could be given a seat of their own,
such as the representative of the Holy Elf Empire.
And some of the large outer petals could gather together the representatives of suitable interstellar powers.
To such seating the attendees had basically no objection.
And there were several passages in; one of them was for the Owl Dragon Emperor alone.
So when the Owl Dragon Emperor's party appeared here, everyone in every seat in the hall fell quiet.
Every eye fell on this man of about thirty.
He was the man of highest standing in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire now: the Owl Dragon Emperor!
Zhao Chen looked around the hall; his gaze passed over almost everyone, and on some he knew, Zhao Chen's gaze lingered a moment.
They would nod slightly in turn, to show they understood:
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, of the Holy Elf Empire, for instance,
the four capital-city representatives of the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation,
and so on.
The number each power sent to the conference was not in fact fixed; some had as many as ten, others perhaps only two or three.
Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, for instance, had brought a small team of ten, all trusted people of hers,
the team responsible for the universe trade alliance plan.
So in this conference hall the people in fact already numbered over three hundred.
When Zhao Chen had taken his seat, the lights in the hall dimmed.
A beam of light fell on the stage in the middle.
Just then Huaya Lanlan came up onto it.
She was now not only one of the leaders of this universe trade alliance, but the host of this conference.
That showed well enough how the Owl Dragon Emperor was promoting the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group at present.
Huaya Lanlan, as an interstellar trader, had not appeared in such a role as host for many years, but the skill was still there.
As an interstellar trader, what one needed was to be smooth on every side, able to face any occasion.
"Welcome, everyone. You grace Bailan City's humble house. I won't introduce myself, Huaya Lanlan; many of you here are old acquaintances. The purpose of everyone's coming here is plain too. Let's go straight to the point. …"
Huaya Lanlan had perfect command of every stage of the whole conference; partway through, Minister Li Yaqi also came up to speak on the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's behalf.
At first, basically, it was setting out the benefits of the universe trade alliance plan and so on.
At the end of this stage, Huaya Lanlan raised her hand, and a huge blueprint appeared before everyone's eyes.
It was a hologram:
a map of the known universe,
including the interstellar universes of every interstellar power present, and of course those not present too.
In short, a map of every known universe within reach of exploration!
And on this map of the known universe, one could see that some places were already lit.
Those places were exactly the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, the Holy Elf Empire, the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' universe, the Searing Holy-Hammer Free Federation and so on…
These interstellar powers were lit, naturally, because they had signed letters of intent early, agreeing to the universe alliance plan going forward.
And shown now in so vivid a picture, it could give the representatives present who had not yet signed letters of intent a shock right in the face.
There was even one interstellar power's representative who, seeing every universe civilization around his own universe lit up, meaning they had all joined the universe trade alliance,
wore a face uglier than if he had eaten dung.
This lot plainly agreed to wait and see first, and then they all quietly signed letters of intent.
And as luck would have it, these fellows were sitting right beside him.
He looked at them coldly.
They all looked away guiltily.
"You can all see it. This is the universe trade alliance's map as it stands; this many interstellar civilizations' powers have already joined our organization. I trust those of you still considering it already have your answer now. Now is the time for you to decide. Before you a letter of intent will appear; you need only sign it, and you'll join our universe trade alliance organization. We'll grow together and prosper together. Afterward we'll sign detailed cooperation agreements. I, Huaya Lanlan, can guarantee, on the good name of our Bailan Interstellar Trade Group and of the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes, that this plan will certainly not leave anyone present, or any power, the loser!" When Huaya Lanlan had finished,
she raised her hand high, declaring this part begun.
After a short silence,
on that holographic blueprint, new universe coordinates lit up at once.
One… two… five… ten…
At the same time, below, more and more participants' signatures appeared on letters of intent.
At that moment, even those present still wavering in their hearts were all swept into this multi-universe tide of growth.
For with an organized plan of such wide reach, if they did not join, they might fall behind, and so be overtaken by other interstellar civilizations' powers.
None of them wanted to see that.
This part lasted only ten minutes.
And very soon over ninety percent of the blueprint was lit.
Only a few areas, not many, were not lit.
The great majority were some insignificant universes, some perhaps not yet even in the age of cross-universe technology, and so of little value.
But among them there was one very conspicuous black place.
It lay in a corner of the map, but the extent of its universe was very large.
Most of those present knew which universe civilization it was.
The Mahasi Interstellar Empire: the long-established T5 interstellar civilization, rumored even to have stepped up to the level of T6 technology.
It was the only interstellar civilization's power of T5 grade or above in the known universe that had not joined this universe trade alliance.
On seeing this,
the look in Zhao Chen's eyes changed slightly, and Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, in another petal of seats, glanced over too.
Though one interstellar civilization's universe like this not joining made little real difference,
it was rather like a slap in the face.
Just then Huaya Nini, below the stage, seemed to receive some message; her face looked very odd, and she looked hesitantly at her sister Huaya Lanlan on the stage, and then at the Owl Dragon Emperor in his seat.
"Your Majesty, something must have happened," Minister Li Yaqi, who noticed things closely, saw that Huaya Nini was not herself, and leaned to Zhao Chen's ear to say quietly.
"Have Huaya Nini come over," Zhao Chen said.
Minister Li Yaqi nodded and at once had someone tell Huaya Nini to come over.
Huaya Nini came over at once.
Huaya Lanlan on the stage noticed this too; her eyes changed slightly, and she sensed that something must have happened.
But she was still on the stage now, so she could not show her puzzlement; she still had to keep the conference going.
Huaya Nini came up to Zhao Chen's side just then; she walked very fast, and on the way even beat her wings without thinking, wanting to fly to Zhao Chen.
"What's happened?" Zhao Chen asked straight out.
Huaya Nini hesitated, then said carefully, "We've just received word. The delegation we sent to the Mahasi Interstellar Empire to hand over the invitation in person: the interstellar cruise liner they were on was attacked by unknown interstellar pirates. By our Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' tradition, when our people saw resistance was useless, they gave up resisting. Because we're interstellar traders. So usually, in a situation like this, the interstellar pirates won't do anything to our people; so long as we pay a reasonable ransom, the interstellar pirates let our people go. But… but this time something unexpected happened. The interstellar pirates slaughtered everyone aboard the interstellar cruise liner: three thousand two hundred people, every one of them dead. Of them, two thousand-odd were the cruise liner's, six hundred-odd were our Bailan Interstellar Trade Group's employees, and some others traveling with us were all murdered too. Among them… among them…"
When Huaya Nini got this far, she did not go on.
"Go on." Zhao Chen's look had gone cold by now.
"Because this Mahasi Interstellar Empire is rather special, when the people were sent, there was also a team from the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's Ministry of Commerce, ten in all. All of them… all of them were beheaded. This… this is the scene, photographed by the people who got there afterward." Huaya Nini put a photograph of the scene up before Zhao Chen.
The moment Zhao Chen saw it, his eyes went blood-red.
Minister Li Yaqi, beside him, clapped a hand over her mouth.