Tempest of the Stellar War - Chapter 263

Chapter 263: Lure

"Keke, Professor Xiao Fei, you seem to have forgotten that our agreement is a restricted contract . Without our consent, you cannot enter the market . " Alex smirked . Capital manipulation was a game of bigger fish eating smaller fish, and these people were completely unable to hold their own .

All who were present finally understood the reason why these two financial groups had so meekly agreed to the stock division . Clearly they had held this up their sleeve from the start .

Without a way to enter the market, deliberate pressure and false rumours from the two financial groups could force them into compliance, and OMG and Little Lucky Star would take a hit as well .

Most crucially, even if they took no offensive action, cutting the source of funding would be pressure enough . OMG and Little Lucky Star's resources in the coming phase would be like spitting into a bonfire .

Whereas the two financial groups had time and money to spare .

Those who come have no good intentions . Those who have good intentions will not come .

Xiao Fei and the rest finally understood the situation that they were in .

"Consider our conditions carefully . 50 billion is no paltry sum to you!"

Xiao Fei sat quietly for a beat . "The major shareholder is not here . Alone, I cannot speak for us . "

"Keke, we'll give you a week . "

Alex and Heaton were in no rush . The more this dragged out, the more pressure was on the other side . All preparations had been made, and they would soon understand what it meant to encounter walls wherever they went .

Such research tasks not only required huge amounts of funding, but needed channels and influence in various aspects . Without the option of entering the open market for funds, this task was a sitting duck .

Majority stakeholder?

No one could save them now . This was but a small project, with no guarantees of success .

 Heaton and Alex were chatting cheerfully with each other . To them, this was a holiday, and they planned to soak in the sights on Earth .

Faced with the overbearing Heaton and Alex, Xiao Fei and the rest could only hem and haw while they sought for a solution .

Heaton and Alex had already changed roles from guests to hosts and laughed carefreely as they sauntered around, while Xiao Fei and the rest could not even muster a smile .

This matter was fairly serious . Within the meeting room, Ye Bingwen, Old Yan, and Xiao Fei were in the midst of racking their brains . In the business aspect, Yan and Ye had more ideas .

OMG and Little Lucky Star were less concerned . Attracting investors and striking out on their own yielded the same possibilities of huge profits, but at the expense of equally high risk .  Developing a product from theory to practical use was difficult, and to achieve commercial uptake was particularly difficult . Furthermore, to do so was to insult these two huge financial groups . If they let their stocka go, they could also earn a tidy sum through selling off their shares . Little Lucky Star had no such inclination, but for OMG, such finances would further subsequent research and promotion a long way .

Xiao Fei looked towards Ye Bingwen . Old Yan had no clear ideas, and Ye Bingwen was the best hope in the larger scheme of things .

"Xiao Fei, any thoughts?" Ye Bingwen wanted to know Xiao Fei's inclination .

"No sale . Absolutely not . Mr . Ye, do we have any other options?"

Xiao Fei was firm . It would rankle to have the fruits of their research snatched away . Even worse, once these businessmen had their hands on the technology, military, and not public, usage would be on their agenda . Even if selling brought greater profits, this was not something that Xiao Fei was willing to accept .

The purpose of this research was to improve the convenience and safety of interstellar travel, which was her future research direction .

Ye Bingwen nodded . "I understand . Given present circumstances, it seems very difficult, but we must try regardless . We must first stall for time .  All they did just now was in part intimidation . If they really wanted to clean us up, they would not have bothered bandying with us . Old Yan here should be experienced in market tips and tricks . "

"Haha, not so much intimidation, but they sure showed us the carrot and the stick . Ye, please help us think of something . My little brat said to follow Teacher Xiao Fei's lead in this . " Old Yan laughed . He still held his cool in this matter, although the Little Lucky Star of the past could never have dreamed of being in such a titanic struggle .

"Alright . We're of the same mind then . Let me try what I can . We're sitting on a mountain of gold, and we don't have to be afraid that there won't be miners . "

Outside, Yan Xiaosu and Ye Zisu were unburdened by such concerns . Yan Xiaosu was eagerly singing praises of the Wind God, to the point where Ye Zisu became a little embarrassed .

"Second Brother, that's too exaggerated . The mech actually still has many shortcomings . It needs another iteration of refinement . The performance in CT is relative to mature power . In actual usage, environmental fluctuations and operational wear will definitely lead to instability . "

Ye Zisu said .

"Haha, don't be modest . I've used it too . Oh, that reminds me, why couldn't I engage the emergency energy shield? It seems like many people have the same problem too," Yan Xiaosu asked curiously . He was a mecha geek as well, and he would definitely support Ye Zisu's design wholeheartedly .

"That… was not an intentional design . " Ye Zisu waved it off irritably with a bitter smile . She had no need to conceal anything from Yan Xiaosu .

Yan Xiaosu's jaw dropped . Not in the… what blasphemy was she trying to commit???

Wang Zheng was indeed about to commit blasphemy himself . Lie Xin was in front of him, looking for a private chat .

Between the two beauties in this training, Lie Xin and Meng Tian, Lie Xin's halo was a little more radiant . Her family was prestigious and she was sexy and outgoing . In comparison, Meng Tian was a little reserved and adopted a chilly manner to everyone .

"Wang Zheng, I've been wanting to talk to you for a long time . " Lie Xin sized him up . After being out-maneuvered by Lear, Lie Xin's rage had cooled sufficiently .

Other people had seen the flaws in Lie Xin's leadership, but the truth was that they had been deceived by the wretched Fatty . Fatty looked like a wallflower . But if he really was a wallflower, how could someone like Lear keep him by his side? Her over-confidence had caused errors in her judgment . She had dismissed Lear from her concerns and accepted Fatty, secretly wanting to show off .

This fatty needed to be taught a lesson when the moment presented itself .

For now, she needed to turn the tables . She had no idea what Achilles was thinking, but failure was not an option for her .

Victory and defeat hinged on the events on Earth . Whoever took the Earth qualification would be unbeatable back on the main stage on Mars .

Although she was out of the running for the leader contest, it in no way meant that she could not demonstrate her own leadership skills .

"Wang Zheng, you and your friends can't beat Lear . That guy isn't just wily, his ability is on par with Achilles and mine . To beat him, we should team up . You and Zhang Runan join my team, and we'll all go to Aslan together . This lineup is definitely a force to be reckoned with!"

Lie Xin said . She truly did not want to join with Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan, and Meng Tian… was not her cup of tea either . She was truly Meng Ao's daughter, with her cold personality and similar ability . As for Zhang Shan… he was trash . His paltry displacement ability was of little use .

Wang Zheng smiled and shook his head . "We'll be fine as we are . If we don't try, who knows how the outcome will be?"

"Oh, you're pretty confident, huh . " Lie Xin said mildly . "Although I've no idea where you get that confidence from, I'll only ask once . Think carefully on your answer . If you want to go to Aslan, only I can bring you there!"

Fundamentally, Lie Xin always held her head high . Even when giving her approval, she expressed it in a way as though it should be an honor that she bestowed .

Wang Zheng's smile was still firmly fixed on his face . "If there's a chance for us to battle together, that would indeed be quite an experience . "

Looking at Wang Zheng's retreating profile, Lie Xin huffed . This fellow was really arrogant . Did he really think he was something after exploiting a slip in the system? He was still far from being able to compete with Lear . Pride came before a fall, and then he would come crawling over to beg her .

With her help, Wang Zheng could beat Lear and earn a direct invitation . Of course, the other invitation would be accorded to her .

This was a mutually beneficial arrangement .

What made him think he… Where did that confidence come from!?

Lie Xin turned away without a care . To her, a small setback did not affect the larger scheme of things . Lear… was an Earthling after all!

"Wang Zheng, what did Lie Xin want with you? Does she fancy you or something?" Zhang Shan asked privately during their mealtime . This was indeed a development .

"Keke, nothing much, she just wants to use us, is all," Wang Zheng replied between mouthfuls .

"Oh? What did you say?"

Meng Tian and Zhang Runan looked over as well . Meng Tian was especially concerned . Although she wasn't sworn rivals with Lie Xin, they did not get along too well either .

Wang Zheng shrugged irritably . "Ugh, I wasn't born to live the life of a slave . Forget it . That girl's airs are too much to deal with . "

"Oh, I understand now . She only has eyes for this opportunity that we have and is trying to use us . Fat chance! If she joined us, we'd only make her do the grunt work . " Zhang Shan laughed .

The marvelous turn of events had caused Zhang Shan's aspirations to grow rapidly, like spring bamboo after the rains .

This was a God-given opportunity!

Lear was not alone either . Besides Luo Fei, Lear had chosen three out of the rest .

Edison, Aloman, and Stocker .

Edison's forte was electronics and technology – he hacked Skylink firewalls as a hobby . In other aspects, however, he was ordinary .

Aloman was a conceited strongman from Titan . Privately, he was confident that he could take down Raston .

Stocker's Ability X allowed him to breathe underwater, but was also otherwise unremarkable .

This caused a few hopefuls to lose heart . Lear's selection was indeed niche!

Luo Fei's actions had been heartless, and they were etched clearly in the minds of the Martians . If it was not for the rules in effect, they would have long beaten him to a pulp . But as it was, he ate and drank unmolested, even having the cheek to call out greetings to Martians . His personality was indeed infuriating .

It almost seemed as though his skin was so thick, his cheek could fly a shuttle all by itself .

Following Qiu Si's appearance, the afternoon training began .

"You've all been training on Earth for quite some time now . We'll be doing something new this afternoon for a change . It'll also be the first task in the leader selection . "

After Qiu Si's words, many an eye in the audience brightened . After endless torture, finally they would get to test their skills out .

Wang Zheng or Lear?

Besides them, of course, Achilles and the rest were not invalid either . Although they had no chance at the qualification, they could nonetheless prove themselves .

In the end, IG qualifications were determined by one's abilities . Without top-tier strength, one could not go far; cheap tricks only worked once .