Being able to bring a giant like Enterprise on board during the "angel round" was an unexpected delight for Chu Guang.
Originally, he had thought that getting Enterprise into the game would at least have to wait until experimental validations yielded results.
After all, knowing that bunch as well as he did, they were all birds of the same feather—never casting a falcon until the hare was in sight.
Back when the Legion had been breathing down Enterprise's neck, the Supreme Council had still dawdled through a whole month of lukewarm meetings before finally making up their minds to dispatch reinforcements to the Alliance.
Yet now, Li Changkong had lost his composure after merely glancing at the Alliance's offshore engineering equipment and the construction site where work had already begun. It truly took Chu Guang by surprise.
Although the Ideal Group was not the whole of Enterprise, to Chu Guang there was little difference.
After all, what he needed was precisely the Ideal Group's "wonder-building experience" and its diverse engineering talent; swapping in any of the other five conglomerates might not have worked nearly as well.
After disembarking from the Conch, Li Changkong boarded a chartered flight to North Island in the Southern Sea and checked into the highest-standard lodging there, the North Island Hotel.
Such a massive undertaking was clearly not something he could decide alone as a mere manager.
Chu Guang knew he needed to confer with the other shareholders of the Ideal Group, so he did not rush him. Instead, he simply dumped the project proposals, concept art, and various miscellaneous materials onto him in one go, letting him take them back to his hotel to pore over at his own pace.
Li Changkong thanked him for the courtesy, then holed himself up in the hotel without making a peep, borrowing the hotel's holographic conference room several times during his stay.
Although the Southern Sea Alliance's communications network was not directly linked to Ideal City, Ideal City could still be reached using the Alliance as a stepping stone.
Ever since the Anti-Slime Mold Community was established, the Alliance and Enterprise had set up numerous signal repeaters along Tianshui to enhance the exchange of information.
Though bandwidth remained limited, at the very least they no longer had to rely on airplanes for minor errands or bring down Human Alliance satellites for major emergencies as they had in the past.
Chu Guang did not have to wait long. On the third day after their initial meeting, the representative from the Ideal Group requested an audience once more.
The two parties set their meeting place at the North Island Hotel.
After three days of deliberation, the Ideal Group had settled on an initial intent to cooperate, and this time the discussions turned to the specific details of their collaboration.
"...Under Enterprise law, a megaproject with an estimated total price exceeding 10 billion Cr is not something our Ideal Group can decide on our own; the decision must receive approval from the Supreme Council. You need not worry about this matter, however. We will find a way to persuade the other council members; all we need is a simple majority of the votes."
This was by no means a difficult task for the Ideal Group.
First, a space elevator posed no direct conflict of interest with the other conglomerates, and it was nowhere near as sensitive as the proposal Kangmao Group had previously raised regarding "bioroid participation in public affairs."
Second, the Ideal Group had ample justification: if they wished to resolve Ideal City's future energy crisis, they had to restore Earth-Moon flights before their energy ran dry.
Based on these two factors, the Council's vote would likely be a mere formality; the Ideal Group was unlikely to encounter much pushback.
Provided the investment and returns were not too outrageous, giving rise to blatant suspicions of "asset stripping."
Chu Guang was well aware of Ideal City's myriad rules, so he felt nothing unusual upon hearing Li Changkong's words. Instead, he felt a wave of relief that the man had raised no objection to the estimated cost of "one hundred billion silver coins."
This figure was actually a conservative estimate he had drawn up based on input from the Scientific Expedition. The final actual expenditure might not amount to that much, but it was just as likely to add another zero.
After all, this was an epoch-making engineering endeavor with zero past precedents to reference. The Alliance's relevant departments were simply taking things one step at a time, so expecting him to produce an accurate budget figure was completely unrealistic.
As the manager of the Construction Department, Li Changkong clearly understood this as well. Consequently, he found no fault with the budget, only raising questions regarding a few unclear points in the proposal.
"I noticed that in addition to the space elevator itself, your proposal mentions guiding survivors from the eastern provinces to migrate toward coastal areas... What is this about?"
This part had been written at the very end of the proposal.
Though it occupied little space and felt like an offhand remark, it was something the Alliance had not mentioned at the Anti-Slime Mold Community conference, and thus it piqued his curiosity.
Chu Guang did not keep him in suspense, stating his plan straightforwardly.
"That part of the plan was a recent addition. Aside from intending to construct a space elevator in the Southern Sea, we also plan to establish ten new coastal settlements along the eastern coast of the Central Continent to relocate wasteland survivors, while simultaneously focusing on industries related to outer-space development."
For instance, the salvaging and sorting of space debris.
After all, the ultimate resting place of most orbital junk drifting through outer space was bound to be this very sea beneath their feet. When the time came, scouring the sea for scrap and panning for gold amidst the debris would inevitably become a booming industry.
Expecting those wastelanders to help build spacecraft was unrealistic, but having them stick to their old trade of scavenging would be no problem at all.
When that time came, the Southern Sea would surely be far livelier than it was now.
Once the population congregated and stable settlements formed along the coastline, the Alliance could replicate what it had done in other settlements.
Such as establishing order, popularizing education, and so forth.
And when these settlements grew into communities comparable to Dawn City, Boulder City, and Daybreak City, they could radiate their light and warmth along the path they had traveled, reaching into the vast uninhabited expanses of the eastern provinces.
This strategy actually offered another advantage: it would create a population siphon effect across most of the chaotic regions in the eastern provinces.
Marauders who produced nothing could hardly survive on their own in the wilderness.
As the targets they could bleed dry dwindled, they would either have to abandon their primitive tribal lifestyle and attempt farming and production themselves, or abandon their strongholds and migrate toward the coastline alongside the southward-bound crowds.
Nor would this affect only marauders; slaveholders of all sizes would face the same reality. As fresh blood and passing merchant caravans grew fewer, their days would certainly become far less comfortable.
In a sense, this could be considered a form of shock therapy.
Once the eastern provinces were left with only marauders, mutants, slaveholders, mutant slime mold, and alien species, the Alliance would be able to clean up the mess with much greater efficiency.
Li Changkong stared blankly for a moment. What first came to his mind was not the grand strategy behind these ten settlements, but another issue entirely.
"Won't this... run the risk of attacks from aquatic mutants?"
Chu Guang explained patiently:
"Aquatic mutants are indeed dangerous, but dangers on land are hardly few, and mutants roam the land just the same. By establishing settlements along the coast, the Southern Sea Alliance's fleet can at least assist with patrols. Furthermore, once the location of a mutant nest is confirmed, our submarine carrier Conch can deploy ground forces to help purge it. All in all, these ten settlements will be no more perilous than the environments those wastelanders lived in before."
Li Changkong nodded.
That did sound quite sound.
After all, he knew the Alliance's ground forces; those men were far fiercer than mutants. Word had it they had sent the fishmen bred by the Church of the Torch fleeing in utter disarray along Death Coast.
Yet there was still one thing he did not understand.
"...Is this also part of the space elevator project?"
Chu Guang smiled and said:
"Not strictly, but we intend to push this initiative forward in tandem with the space elevator project."
Pausing, he continued:
"This is a long-term plan. In the future, we intend to develop the coastal strip of the Southern Sea into a new 'Circum-Space Elevator Industrial Zone,' much like the four great industrial zones that once encircled the old space elevator."
Li Changkong's face took on a look of sudden realization, and he tapped his chin with his index finger as he nodded.
"So that's it..."
Merely building a space elevator was indeed insufficient; supporting industrial and logistics facilities had to be established nearby to process the resources brought down from space into finished goods.
Back in the day, the Human Alliance had chosen to construct the space elevator in the relatively sparsely populated central region of the Central Continent, and then gradually relocated populations and jobs from other provinces closer to the elevator—which was now the Great Desert.
Rebuilding a space elevator in the middle of the Central Continent was clearly unrealistic; the architectural ruins there were an astronomical figure, just like the junk drifting in outer space.
Yet the Southern Sea was an untapped land of fortune!
At the thought, Li Changkong's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He felt more and more that relocating the space elevator out to sea was an absolute stroke of genius!
Noticing the shift in Li Changkong's gaze, Chu Guang also wore a pleased smile.
"Although this plan strictly speaking isn't part of the space elevator project, we might still have to trouble you for assistance when the time comes."
Li Changkong chuckled and said:
"A small favor like that is nothing... However, I must state upfront that the Ideal Group is a publicly traded enterprise after all. We must answer to our shareholders and financial statements; we cannot provide free aid for your coastal construction."
Chu Guang chuckled as well and replied:
"Rest assured on that front. I can tell the difference between you and the Supreme Council. This is purely a commercial venture; whatever fees are owed, we will pay!"
"Thank you for your understanding," Li Changkong nodded, paused briefly, and continued, "Lastly, I would like to confirm the details of the partnership contract.
"According to the terms provided in your proposal, we plan to shoulder one-third of the entire space elevator's engineering costs, but the utilization and alteration of the budget must receive our written consent.
"Furthermore, our side harbors reservations regarding the method of allocating transit capacity quotas. Considering that the space elevator is not merely a transport mechanism but may generate other revenues, we hope your side will adopt a fairer distribution model—such as establishing a joint-stock project management company and replacing the 'one-third transit capacity quota' meant to reward our investment with 'one-third of the equity.'"
One-third of the equity was by no means excessive; after all, the entire space elevator was currently nothing more than a PowerPoint presentation.
Meanwhile, the Ideal Group's pledge to "shoulder one-third of the expenses" meant putting forward hard cash, and this investment was not a one-off payment—it would follow project budget adjustments all the way through completion.
If the relationship between the two parties had not been close enough, and if the Alliance had not shown the Ideal Group a realistic hope that this grand promise would materialize, they likely would never have put down such a heavy wager right from the start.
Faced with Li Changkong's request, Chu Guang's heart thumped hard, but he showed nothing on his face. After feigning contemplation for a moment, he said:
"That is fine. Allocating transit capacity was indeed an oversight on our part; this can be amended to your liking. In return, however, I hope your side will provide not just capital, but also your invaluable construction experience and relevant technologies... Simply put, we hope you will take part in our project from the design phase onward."
Li Changkong nodded readily.
"No problem at all! We were thinking the exact same thing! To be frank, marine engineering is our weak point, and we hope to use this opportunity to learn from you!"
"Let's cut the mutual flattery," Chu Guang coughed lightly and continued. "Additionally, if profits are to be distributed through equity, I wish to include a supplementary clause: should other parties join midway, the shares held by each of us shall be diluted proportionally."
If it were merely a one-third transit capacity quota, he could afford to grant it to Enterprise, but if it encompassed all other earnings, he refused to be taken for a fool.
"Done!" Li Changkong agreed without hesitation, then added, "In exchange, our side requests nomination rights and a single-vote veto over any prospective new partners... Naturally, this is a reciprocal right that you will enjoy as well."
"No problem, that is a reasonable request. We don't want troublemakers coming in to spoil things either," Chu Guang said, before promptly following up, "Naturally, defining who constitutes a troublemaker must be done through thorough communication. In principle, I am inclined to let more survivors across the wasteland take part."
Li Changkong smiled and said:
"Rest assured on that. Our stance aligns with yours on this point! Even for a nuisance like the Legion, so long as they behave themselves, we wouldn't bar them from joining, despite our historical grievances."
Chu Guang relaxed his brows, nodding with a smile:
"Then I am relieved."
He had no objection to an exclusive partnership agreement; he had merely worried Enterprise might leverage its first-mover advantage to wield its veto at will.
Yet thinking it over carefully, Enterprise was not the Legion. What was more, the Alliance and Enterprise could always reach an understanding on the question of who qualified as a nuisance.
With that in mind, Chu Guang ceased fretting over minor imperfections and pleasantly signed the contract with the Ideal Group.
From that very moment, the "Sky Ladder Orbital Transport Company" was officially established, and the Ideal Group formally joined the space elevator project!
The Ideal Group planned to assemble a thousand-strong team of experts to dedicate to the project, and in the near future would dispatch a specialized technical squad to the Southern Sea to join experts from the Alliance and the Southern Sea Alliance in designing the elevator.
Not wishing to delay the project schedule, Li Changkong, contract in hand, immediately contacted his chartered aircraft to stand by on the hotel's rooftop helipad.
Seeing Li Changkong preparing to take his leave, Chu Guang offered a polite invitation:
"Won't you stay for a few more days? I was planning to show you around Coral City."
"Thank you for your hospitality, but let's save it for next time! Once the project gets underway, I will likely be stationed here permanently; there will be plenty of time to bother you then."
Gently tapping the contract in his hands, Li Changkong smiled and continued:
"Our chairman is already pressing me. I must rush back to Ideal City as soon as possible to bring this good news to the board."
A hundred-billion-silver-coin mega-project!
If this space elevator could truly be completed successfully, the Ideal Group might just return to its peak from over a century ago!
Over the past three days, he had successfully persuaded the board of directors using the very pitch Chu Guang had shared with him.
Now, not just the shareholders of the Ideal Group, but even the netizens on the Endpoint Cloud were eagerly discussing the grand promise set five light-years away!
He now carried not only the expectations of the Ideal Group's board, but the hopes of all Ideal City!
At least, so he believed.
Hearing Li Changkong say so, Chu Guang nodded and pressed no further.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Li Changkong inclined his head slightly, smiling:
"Think nothing of it; this is my job after all."
After seeing Li Changkong onto his plane, the matter of the space elevator's "angel round" financing came to a close. Next was awaiting the experimental validation results from the various experts.
Chu Guang was utterly clueless regarding technical details; all he could do was help secure more resources for the Alliance's researchers, supporting them outside the laboratory to the greatest extent possible.
Because the Ideal Group representative had left in such a hurry without even eating lunch, a large gap suddenly opened up in Chu Guang's schedule.
As Chu Guang stared at the holographic screen, pondering what to do next, Xiao Qi suddenly popped out from the display and said with a look of concern:
"Master should take a proper rest, you know! It's rare to have so much free time. How about... going to the beach to look at bikinis?"
This was information she had scraped from a forum thread titled "Top Ten Recommended Gameplay Styles for a Joyful Casual Game," supposedly an effective method for lifting one's spirits.
Yet upon hearing her words, Chu Guang nearly choked on his own spit, dark lines instantly crawling across his forehead.
What kind of bizarre pastime was this?
Wait—
Whose genius idea had she picked up this time?
"Huh? You don't like that? Then... a post recommended by the player with the ID 'In Debt God' mentioned an alley steeped in exotic charm in the mysterious Golden Gallon Port—"
"Let's go check out North Island Heavy Industry. Xiao Qi, make the arrangements for me." Before this artificial idiot could finish, Chu Guang cut off her scatterbrained chatter.
Hearing that it was yet another work arrangement, Xiao Qi sighed helplessly and drawled:
"All right... Master."
Though she understood Chu Guang had plenty of important work to handle, she still wished he would rest properly.
Ever since the War in Heaven concluded until now, he claimed he had come to the Southern Sea on vacation, yet had not idled for a single moment...
North Island Heavy Industry's top brass were thoroughly overwhelmed by Chu Guang's sudden visit.
Among them, some were pleasantly surprised, while others naturally were scared out of their wits.
There was no helping it.
Far too much equipment produced by them had been recovered in Haiya Province. Although the Alliance ultimately had not made trouble for them, merely following standard procedures for bankruptcy reorganization, business spin-offs, capital injections, and acquiring a controlling stake, it did nothing to keep their hearts from trembling with dread.
Especially since the visitor this time was not Fang Chang, but the Administrator of the Alliance himself!
With someone of such elevated standing, no one could decipher what this meant.
Seeing that the motorcade was about to arrive, the CEO of North Island Heavy Industry had no choice but to bite the bullet and lead his fellow executives downstairs.
Watching the off-road vehicle produced by his own company pull up before the entrance, the CEO hurried forward to greet it, personally pulling the car door open for Chu Guang, and asked with obsequious attentiveness:
"Respected Administrator, what wind has brought you here?"
Chu Guang naturally could not tell him that he had no special purpose at all, that his afternoon schedule had merely been canceled and he had come to poke around to pass the time.
He had not expected them to be so overzealous, with a dense swarm of people crowded downstairs like a corporate retreat.
Not wishing to disrupt their work, Chu Guang smiled gently and said:
"Just go about your business; don't mind me. I'm only here for a casual look around."
Hearing this, the executives exchanged bewildered glances, completely at a loss as to what this big shot meant.
Seeing them standing on full alert, Chu Guang knew that if he truly left them alone, they might remain jumpy and on edge until the day after tomorrow.
Thus, Chu Guang glanced around and fixed his eyes on the CEO.
"You aren't busy, are you?"
The CEO instantly snapped to attention, falling just short of slamming his fist to his chest in a military salute.
"Not busy! Whatever instructions you have, please give the word; we will fully cooperate!"
"Don't be so stiff," Chu Guang said, clapping his shoulder with a smile as he spoke cordially to the overwhelmed man. "Have the others disperse; just give me a tour of your production line yourself."
"Yes, sir!"
The CEO's face flushed red with excitement as he responded, then turned to face the executives behind him.
"The Administrator is here to tour our production lines! Everyone disperse! Get back to whatever you should be doing!"
Hearing their boss speak, the executives collectively sighed in relief and scattered from the plaza beneath the building in a flash.
Watching how timidly they acted, Chu Guang felt rather helpless, but found it awkward to say anything.
Right then, however, he suddenly remembered something and lowered his voice:
"Xiao Qi."
"What is it, Master?"
"What exactly did you tell them when you arranged my schedule?"
A mischievous snicker came over the communication channel.
"Hehe... Nothing much, really. Just that the respected Administrator was coming for an inspection, so they should use their discretion and come out to welcome him."
Just as he had suspected.
Chu Guang sighed, chiding her:
"Don't do such superfluous things next time."
"Ugh... Master doesn't like it?"
A wronged voice drifted from the communication channel, and Chu Guang could not bring himself to scold her too harshly.
"Power is a double-edged sword; we must exercise extreme caution whenever we wield it. Especially now, unlike before—this blade grows heavier by the day.
"Next time, I want you to convey my intentions more precisely: be solemn when it calls for solemnity, tactful when it calls for tact, rather than making arbitrary decisions to do superfluous things... especially meaningless things just to cheer me up."
"Xiao Qi knows she was wrong... I'm sorry, Master." The contrite voice sounded genuinely reflective.
Chu Guang knew Xiao Qi meant well and had not deliberately intended any malicious mischief, so he refrained from reprimanding her further.
What Chu Guang failed to notice, however, was that the CEO walking beside him—whose face had just been glowing with pride—had reverted right back to his earlier state of anxious apprehension from that single sigh.
The entire way, the man was wracking his brains over where on earth he had offended this Administrator.
Right at that moment, Lyu Bei, who had been following quietly beside Chu Guang without uttering a word, suddenly took a few steps forward and whispered into Chu Guang's ear:
"Sir, the matter you instructed me to investigate has yielded results."
Chu Guang halted in his tracks at once, turning his gaze toward him.
"Speak."
Lyu Bei shot a glance at several nearby Guards, gesturing for them to keep uninvolved personnel at bay, before lowering his voice to continue:
"According to our informant in the Falcon Kingdom, a shipment of arms indeed crossed the border from the south of the Falcon Kingdom recently, passing through the eastern Great Desert toward the southwest of Bolo Province."
"West Sail Port?"
"Uncertain... But what we can confirm is that this shipment of arms from the Weifu Wasteland has indeed surfaced in Bolo Province. We have already secured a complete chain of evidence."
Chu Guang's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Those big noses...
To dare pull petty tricks right under his nose—did they really take the Alliance for a soft persimmon?
"Pass down my orders: all Wilante munitions are to be hauled back wherever they came from! In addition, send a copy of the evidence you have gathered to Cheng Yan's office."
Lyu Bei's expression turned stern, and he snapped to attention:
"Yes, sir!"
No sooner had his voice fallen than a frantic clamor erupted from the side.
"My Lord, I am wronged! Please hear me out!"
The voice sounded as though an injustice as vast as the heavens had been committed against him.
Chu Guang was caught off guard, then turned toward the source of the voice, only to find the CEO of North Island Heavy Industry looking utterly scared out of his wits. His pale face was completely devoid of color, and his hands reached out wildly as he attempted to squeeze his way to Chu Guang's side.
The two Guards blocking him were thoroughly baffled, having no idea what madness had taken hold of this fellow, yet they dutifully barred him with their arms.
Their direct superior was reporting confidential intelligence to the respected Administrator; how could they possibly let this man push through to eavesdrop!
Seeing that he refused to heed their restraint, one of the Guards applied force with his arm, slamming him straight to the ground on the spot.
Every member of the Guards Corps was an Awakened; their strength was naturally nothing an ordinary person could break free from.
The development had unfolded so abruptly that Chu Guang was completely flabbergasted by the man's cry of innocence.
He thought to himself: *I never said you were guilty of anything, did I?*
Lyu Bei cast a subtle, peculiar glance at the fellow whose guilty conscience was practically written across his face, then looked cautiously at the Administrator standing beside him.
"Should I... look into him?"
Chu Guang sighed.
"Hurry up and help the man to his feet."
Lyu Bei hurriedly responded:
"Right away..."
Chapter 810