"Does even eating fail to stop up that mouth of yours?" Zhao Chen took up a great lobster outright and stuffed it into Saint Cana's mouth.
As for why Zhao Chen would plant this Guiji within the Holy Radiance Empire.
Naturally it was to be ready either way, and at the same time to help Guiji open up the Holy Radiance Empire's market.
Hereafter the Starlight Empire, the Stellar Alliance, and the Holy Radiance Empire might all lie within Zhao Chen's map of interstellar trade.
Zhao Chen had no interest whatever in being lord of any empire.
He wished only to be a rich man of leisure amid the sea of stars.
"Tch." Saint Cana ate the great lobster down; and say what one would, the Owl Dragon Legion's messing was truly rather fine. Back when she had been "seized" into the Owl Dragon Legion and kept at Zhao Chen's side, her palate had been spoiled outright.
Eating the Holy Radiance Empire's food, she found it savorless.
"Ah yes — this bill wants settling." Zhao Chen produced a set of electronic data for Saint Cana as well.
Saint Cana swept her eyes across it, and started up onto her feet outright in her shock. "Bloody hell — is this a robbery? So much money as this?"
Upon it stood a full 500 billion star coins!
"We agreed on it beforehand: the costs arising from this military support were all to be borne by you. And every item of ours carries its price in plain figures; each outlay is written out in full. Still more, the appearance fee of a single T5 interstellar warship — weigh that for yourself." Zhao Chen said it with a smile.
Zhao Chen's words were indeed no falsehood: the prices were marked in plain figures.
Only that they were not cost prices.
Saint Cana was no fool either; she naturally knew the twists and turns of it.
But the figure was not one she could not accept; still more, without the help of Zhao Chen's Owl Dragon Legion she could never have carried through this series of world-shaking plans.
"I knew before that your fleet's way of making war was simply burning money. I never thought it was not burning money at all — this is burning ore-planets! Happily, in this confiscation of mine I turned up no small quantity of things from the Disciple family. And that crew of the Imperial Senate had gathered no few resources beforehand for the migration plan, all of it collected in one place — which spared me the trouble of scraping it together myself." Saint Cana, open-handed, approved this "expense claim" outright.
"And how much did our Empress take in this time?" Zhao Chen looked at Saint Cana with a smile, for all the world as though he were looking at a little idol of gold.
Saint Cana, though, this time smiled and let fall just two words. "Not telling!"
"Tch~" Zhao Chen did not in truth care what the sum came to; had he wished to know, he could perfectly well have set people to look into it, and would have had the answer soon enough.
As the common saying has it: even in plucking wool from a sheep, one should not pluck at it without cease.
Still more, Zhao Chen took the broad view — however many resources Saint Cana might hold in her hands, must she not in the end buy her interstellar warships from him all the same?
Saint Cana was no more than the porter of those resources.
Something occurred to Zhao Chen of a sudden, and he looked toward Saint Cana. "Within any short time, this permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest of yours cannot be dealt with root and branch; it can only be checked and eased by slow degrees. And you know as well that over upon the Warhammer side a Demon Race of very great threat has sprung up. I cannot leave that side unattended; and my fleet is besides very short of military-supply resources, so within any short time I cannot offer you any very great help either. My advice is that you produce interstellar warships as fast as you may, and expand the scale of your fleets. That Sacred Light Empress's Fleet-Group's holding of 300,000 interstellar warships is still far from enough. But those interstellar warships of your Holy Radiance Empire truly will not do. How of it — will you not consider our Owl Dragon line of interstellar warships? I can grant you the technology license."
Saint Cana saw that look upon Zhao Chen's face, smiling and not smiling, and guessed at once that this fellow assuredly had more to say. "Speak, then. What terms?"
The corners of Zhao Chen's mouth lifted. "A technology license, naturally, carries a license fee. At present I can open to you the starship technology of most interstellar warships at the T2 and T3 grades; and besides that I can sell you outright a number of T4-grade interstellar warships. As for the license fee — this figure here."
Saint Cana took one look at the fingers Zhao Chen held out, and let out a sigh. "Have I any right of refusal?"
Set aside for the moment that the Owl Dragon Legion now had the strength to hold the Holy Radiance Empire in its grip.
Zhao Chen was not wrong either: to rely upon these interstellar warships of the Holy Radiance Empire's own developing alone, against the interstellar hive-race, was far too poor a return for the cost.
Even were some license fee to be paid, the combat power of the Owl Dragon line of interstellar warships stood there displayed, real and undeniable.
Saint Cana's own Sacred Angel Legion had tasted it in the flesh before now.
"We call this mutual benefit." Zhao Chen said it with a wicked grin — in Saint Cana's eyes the very picture of a profiteering merchant.
Saint Cana of a sudden took up the wine bottle beside her and drank it off at a draught; then, her cheeks faintly red, she looked toward Zhao Chen. "I ask you this. How long must we wait before you are willing to help us settle the threat of this permanent Grade-5 cosmic bug-nest? I know that in your Starlight Empire there is a permanent cosmic bug-nest as well, and that it has in the main been brought under control now — it cannot be wiped out, but the interstellar hive-race pouring out of the cosmic bug-nest can be held within the compass of a few star systems. I ask no more than this: that you help me to do that much. For it, I can pay any price. Whatever the Holy Radiance Empire has, I can give you! The people of those three star regions truly… truly… cannot wait…"
As Saint Cana said it she rose sharply to her feet and looked Zhao Chen full in the face; and there were tears standing in her eyes besides.
Down to this hour she had not forgotten those three star regions abandoned by the Imperial Senate.
Those three star regions had now become, in a manner of speaking, a "defensive depth" — but… at the thought of the numberless living souls in those three star regions being savaged by the interstellar hive-race, of planet after planet sinking into scenes of the world's end.
Saint Cana had slept badly all this while.
Zhao Chen drew a deep breath. He knew it too; had he the power, he would have wished to do something.
Only that just now there was nothing to be done — Zhao Chen truly could not be in two places at once.
"I can give you only a little counsel, and such help as lies within my power, to put off the hour when those three star regions fall. As for when I shall have a hand free to help you settle this trouble — that I cannot warrant either. For over upon the Warhammer side the Demon Race may launch an attack at any moment, and I must leave the Owl Dragon Legion war-stock enough to fight a campaign. I… need time," Zhao Chen said, low and grave.
Saint Cana swayed upon her feet, and of a sudden pitched forward into Zhao Chen's arms.
"I beg you… if only they can be saved… can be saved… those people… I… I can give you anything… I beg… I beg…"
Zhao Chen looked at Saint Cana, kneeling upon the floor with her head sprawled across his thigh.
So this fellow was drunk already — and what a wretched head for drink that was.
Click.
The door was pushed open, and the bodyguard leopard-woman walked in. "Commander, there is a matter… I must with you—"
Zhao Chen and the bodyguard leopard-woman looked at one another, and the air grew somewhat awkward.
The leopard-woman had seen Saint Cana too, sprawled across Zhao Chen's thigh.
And Saint Cana's head was twitching without cease.
"You… you… you carry on…" The bodyguard leopard-woman closed the door in silence and walked out.
"Here! A misunderstanding — a misunderstanding! I can explain. Good grief — and now you have gone and been sick!"