CHAPTER 810: CHAPTER 810: IRONCLAD EVIDENCE

Being able to bring the company onboard at the "Angel Wheel" stage was certainly an unexpected delight for Chu Guang.

Originally, he thought that to get the company involved, at the very least, he would have to wait until the experimental verification yielded results.

After all, based on Chu Guang’s understanding of these people, they are all those who won’t act until they see a concrete advantage.

Back then, even when the company was overwhelmed by the Army, the council only made the decision to send reinforcements to the Alliance after a month of lukewarm meetings.

And now, Li Changkong, just by glancing at the Alliance’s maritime engineering equipment and the construction site that had already begun, couldn’t hold his patience, which indeed surprised Chu Guang a bit.

Although the Ideal Group is not exactly the company, for Chu Guang, there’s no difference between the two.

After all, what he needed was precisely the "miracle construction experience" and various engineering talents of the Ideal Group; it might not have been as effective if it were other groups from the Big Five companies.

After disembarking from the Sea Snail, Li Changkong took a special plane to the North Island in the southern sea area and stayed at the North Island Hotel, the highest standard there.

Such a significant matter is clearly not something he, a manager, can decide on his own.

Chu Guang understood that he needed to communicate with other shareholders of the Ideal Group, so he didn’t rush him. Instead, he piled project plans, concept drawings, and various miscellaneous items onto him, letting him take them back to the hotel for careful study.

Li Changkong thanked him for his kindness and then enclosed himself in the hotel without further movement, borrowing the hotel’s holographic conference room several times during the period.

Although the communication network of the South Sea Union is not connected to the Ideal City, it can still contact the Ideal City via the Alliance as a springboard.

Since the establishment of the Sticky Community, the Alliance and the company have set up numerous signal repeaters along Tianshui to enhance information exchange.

Although the bandwidth of communication channels is limited, at least it does not have to rely on planes for small matters or on crashing the United Human satellite for big ones as before.

Chu Guang didn’t have to wait long. Just three days after their initial meeting, this representative from the Ideal Group sought another meeting with him.

The meeting was scheduled to be held at the North Island Hotel.

After three days of discussions, the Ideal Group had already set a preliminary intention for cooperation, and this time the two parties began to negotiate the specific details of the cooperation.

"...According to the company’s regulations, for such a large project with an estimated total price exceeding 10 billion Cr, our Ideal Group cannot decide on its own. The decision-making must be approved by the council. However, this is not something you need to worry about; we will find a way to persuade the other members of the council, as long as we can get a majority vote in favor."

This is not difficult for the Ideal Group.

First, the space elevator does not have direct conflict of interest with the other few groups, nor is it as sensitive as the previous "bionic beings’ involvement in public affairs" proposed by the Kang Mao Group.

Secondly, the Ideal Group has ample reasons; to solve the future energy crisis of the Ideal City, it is essential to resume Earth-Moon flights before the energy runs out.

Based on these two factors, the council’s vote is likely just a formality, and the Ideal Group is unlikely to encounter significant resistance.

As long as the investment and return are not too outrageous or suspected of "asset transfer."

Chu Guang was aware of the regulations in Ideal City, so he was not surprised by Li Changkong’s words. On the contrary, he was relieved that Li did not question the estimated cost of "1000 billion silver coins."

This figure was a conservative estimate based on the suggestions of the scientific expedition team; the actual expenditure in the end may not require so much, but it might end up having an additional zero.

After all, it is an epoch-making project with no previous cases for reference, and the relevant units of the Alliance are still taking one step at a time. It is unrealistic to expect him to provide an accurate budget figure.

As the manager of the Construction Department, Li Changkong clearly understood this, so he did not nitpick on the budget, only raising questions about a few unclear parts in the plan.

"I noticed that besides the space elevator itself, your plans also mention guiding the survivors of the Eastern Provinces to migrate to coastal areas... What is that about?"

This part of the content was written at the end of the plan.

Although it did not occupy much space, just a mention in passing, it still aroused his curiosity since this part had not been brought up in the Alliance’s Sticky Community conference.

Chu Guang didn’t keep him in suspense and directly revealed his plans.

"This part of the plan is newly added. In addition to building a space elevator in the southern sea area, we also plan to establish ten new coastal settlements in the eastern coastal regions of the Central Continent. These are intended to resettle survivors from the Wasteland and focus on developing industries related to outer space development."

Like space debris collection and sorting.

After all, the space debris floating in outer space will most likely end up in the sea beneath his feet, and going to the sea to collect junk and retrieve valuable materials from it will inevitably become a popular industry by then.

It’s unrealistic to expect the Wasteland Wanderers to help build spacecraft, but having them stick to their old line of scavenging is feasible.

By that time, the southern sea area is bound to be much busier than it is now.

When the population gathers and forms stable settlements along the coastline, the Alliance can replicate what has been done in other settlement areas.

Such as establishing order, expanding education, and so on.

When these settlements develop into places not inferior to the likes of City of Dawn, Giant Stone City, and Dawn City, they can also extend their light and warmth back along the paths they came, radiating toward the vast no man’s land of the Eastern Provinces.

This strategy actually has another advantage; it can create a population siphon effect over most chaotic regions of the Eastern Provinces.

Looters who do not produce are hard-pressed to survive alone in the wilderness.

As the targets they can leech off gradually diminish, they will either abandon their primitive tribal lifestyles, attempt to farm and produce themselves, or follow the southern migrants toward the coastline.

And it’s not just the looters; the large and small Slave Owners alike, as fresh blood and passing Commercial Teams diminish, will find their days growing tougher than before.

In a way, this can be seen as a form of shock therapy.

When the Eastern Provinces contain only Looters, Mutants, Slave Owners, Mutated Slime Fungus, and Variants, the Alliance will find it much cleaner and quicker to address the chaos.

Li Changkong was momentarily taken aback, but his first thought was not about the layouts behind the ten settlements made by the Alliance but rather about something else.

"This... wouldn’t there be a risk of attacks from Aquatic Variant Humans?"

Chu Guang patiently explained.

"Indeed, Aquatic Variant Humans are dangerous, but there are many dangers on land too; furthermore, Mutants are also active on land. Establishing settlements along the coast means at least the fleet of the South Sea Union can patrol for assistance. If the location of a Mutant Nest is confirmed, our Conch Submarine Carrier will deploy ground troops to assist in clearing. Overall, these ten settlements won’t be more dangerous than the original living environments of the Wasteland Wanderers."

Li Changkong nodded.

This sounds quite reliable.

After all, he was familiar with the Alliance’s army. Those guys were even tougher than the Mutants, and he heard that they drove the fishmen raised by the Torch Church into retreat on the Death Coast.

However, there was still something he didn’t understand.

"...Is this also part of the space elevator plan?"

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Not really, but we plan to advance this work simultaneously while pushing the space elevator project."

After a pause, he continued.

"This is a long-term plan. In the future, we plan to develop the coastal area of the southern sea area into a new ’Space Elevator Industrial Zone,’ just like the four major industrial zones that surrounded the old space elevator in the past."

Upon hearing this, Li Changkong showed a suddenly enlightened expression, pinching his chin with his forefinger and nodding.

"I see..."

Building a space elevator alone is indeed not enough; there must be supporting industrial and logistical facilities nearby to process resources transported from space into products.

The United Human once chose to build the sky elevator in the relatively sparsely populated central part of the Central Continent and then gradually moved the population and jobs from other provinces near the space elevator, which is now the Great Desert area.

Rebuilding a space elevator in the central part of the Central Continent is obviously unrealistic; the construction ruins there, and the debris floating in outer space, are astronomical numbers.

However, the southern sea area is an undeveloped treasure trove!

Thinking of this, Li Changkong’s eyes brightened even more, and he increasingly felt that moving the space elevator to the sea was simply a genius idea!

Noticing the change in Li Changkong’s eyes, Chu Guang’s face also showed a pleasant smile.

"Although strictly speaking, this plan is not part of the space elevator project, we might still need your help."

Li Changkong smiled and said.

"That’s a small favor... But I have to say in advance, the Ideal Group is a listed company. We have to be responsible to our shareholders and financial statements, and we cannot provide free support for your construction in coastal areas."

Chu Guang also smiled and said.

"You can rest assured about that. I can distinguish between you and the Council; this is purely commercial cooperation, and we will pay the necessary fees!"

"Thank you for your understanding," Li Changkong nodded, paused for a moment, and continued, "Lastly, I’d like to confirm the details of the cooperation contract."

"According to the terms provided in your plan, we plan to bear one-third of the space elevator’s construction costs, but the usage and changes of the budget must be signed off by us."

"Additionally, we have concerns about the allocation of transportation capacity. Given that the space elevator is not just a transport tool and may generate other revenues, we hope you can adopt a more equitable distribution method, such as establishing a joint-stock project management company to replace the ’one-third transportation capacity share’ with ’one-third of the shares’."

One-third of the shares is not unreasonable, given that the entire space elevator is still at the PPT stage.

And the Ideal Group’s promised "bearing one-third of the expenses" are all real money, and this investment is not one-off but will keep following the project’s budget adjustments, until the project’s completion.

If it weren’t for the close relationship between the parties, and the Alliance showing the Ideal Group the hope of a real big pie, the other party probably wouldn’t lay down such a heavy bet right from the start.

Faced with the demands proposed by Li Changkong, although Chu Guang’s heart was pounding, it did not show on his face. He pretended to think seriously for a moment before saying.

"That’s not an issue, the way we considered transportation capacity allocation was indeed inadequate, and it can be improved according to your suggestions. However, in return, I hope your side can provide not just funding, but also your valuable construction experience and related technology... Simply put, we hope you can participate in our project from the design phase."

Li Changkong readily nodded.

"No problem, we actually had this idea as well! To be honest, working in a marine environment is our weak point, and we also hope to learn from you through this opportunity!"

"Let’s not flatter each other," Chu Guang lightly coughed and continued, "In addition, if it’s a joint-stock profit distribution, I hope to add a supplementary clause. If there are any new partners, our shares will be proportionally diluted."

If it’s one-third of transportation capacity share, he could agree to give it to the enterprise, but if it includes other revenues, he would not want to be taken as a fool.

"No problem!" Li Changkong readily agreed and continued, "In return, we require the nomination and veto rights for new partners... Of course, this is an equal right, and you have the same."

"No problem, that’s a reasonable request, and we don’t want disruptors coming in to sabotage either," By the time he mentioned this, Chu Guang added again, "Of course, as for the identification of disruptors, we need thorough communication. In principle, I am more inclined to let more survivors from the Wasteland participate."

Li Changkong smiled and said.

"You can be assured of that. On this point, our position is consistent with yours! Even if we have some historical grudges, like with the Army, as long as they behave themselves, we won’t exclude them from joining."

Chu Guang relaxed his eyebrows, nodded, and smiled, saying.

"Now I’m at ease."

He did not object to such exclusionary partnership agreements; he was just worried about enterprises using their prior position to abuse their veto power.

But actually, thinking it over, enterprises are not like the Army, especially when the Alliance and enterprises always find agreement on who the troublemakers are.

With this realization, Chu Guang stopped fretting over the minor details and happily signed the contract with the Ideal Group.

From this moment, the "Sky Ladder Orbital Transport Company" was officially established, and the Ideal Group officially joined the space elevator project!

The Ideal Group plans to assemble a team of a thousand experts to invest in the project and will soon dispatch a professional technical team to the southern sea area to join the Alliance and the South Sea Union experts in the elevator’s design work.

To avoid delaying the project’s timeline, Li Changkong immediately contacted his private jet to stay on standby at the hotel’s rooftop helipad after securing the contract.

Seeing Li Changkong planning to leave, Chu Guang politely invited him to stay a bit longer.

"Won’t you stay here for a few more days? I was planning to show you around Coral City."

"Thank you for your kind offer, perhaps next time! Once the project is underway, I might have to reside here permanently, and then I’ll have to trouble you more often."

Gently tapping the contract in his hand, Li Changkong smiled and continued.

"Our chairman has been urging us, so I need to hurry back to Ideal City and bring this good news to the board of directors."

A mega project worth 1000 billion silver coins!

If the space elevator can be successfully completed, the Ideal Group might just return to the peak it reached over a century ago!

In the past three days, he successfully persuaded the board, using the very arguments Chu Guang had shared with him.

Now, it’s not just the shareholders of Ideal Group, but even the netizens on Endpoint Cloud who are buzzing about that grand promise five light-years away!

He is now carrying not only the expectations of the Ideal Group’s board but also the hopes of the entire Ideal City!

At least, that’s how he sees it.

With Li Changkong having said that, Chu Guang nodded and refrained from trying to persuade him to stay.

"You’ve worked hard."

Li Changkong slightly nodded, smiling as he spoke.

"It’s nothing, this is my job after all."

After seeing Li Changkong off to the plane, the issue of financing the space elevator "Angel Wheel" was considered over, and now it was time to await the experimental evaluation results from various experts.

Chu Guang had no expertise in this professional matter; all he could do was try to secure more resources for the Alliance’s researchers and support them wherever possible outside the laboratory.

Due to the Ideal Group’s representative leaving in a hurry, not even staying for lunch, Chu Guang’s schedule suddenly opened up quite a bit.

As Chu Guang was staring at the holographic screen wondering what to do next, Xiao Qi suddenly popped out from the screen, looking worried as she said,

"Master should take an appropriate break; it’s rare to have so much leisure time. How about... going to the beach to watch bikinis?"

This was information she’d gathered from a Forum post titled "Top Ten Recommended Relaxation Activities for a Fun and Casual Game" and was supposedly a way to bring joy.

However, upon hearing this, Chu Guang nearly choked on his own saliva, black lines appearing on his forehead.

What kind of weird entertainment is this?

No wait—

Where did this guy learn this from some other wise guy?

"Eh? Don’t like it? Then... a player’s reply from ID Debt Giant Eye recommended a mysterious alley filled with exotic ambiance in Jinjaron Harbor—"

"Let’s go to North Island Heavy Industries. Xiao Qi, arrange it for me." Not waiting for this artificial intelligence to finish its brainless comment, Chu Guang interrupted.

Hearing it was another work-related arrangement, Xiao Qi sighed helplessly, elongating her tone.

"Alright... Master."

Though she understood that Chu Guang had many important tasks to handle, she still hoped he could take a good rest.

Since the end of the Battle of Paradise till now, he claimed it was a vacation to the Southern sea area, yet he hadn’t relaxed for a moment...

For Chu Guang’s sudden visit, the upper management of North Island Heavy Industries was all flattered and astonished.

Some were delighted, naturally, while others were terrified.

No choice.

They had found so much of their equipment in Haiye Province. Although the Alliance didn’t ultimately cause them trouble and merely went through a normal bankruptcy restructuring, business separation, and capital investment process, they couldn’t help but feel apprehensive.

Especially the fact that it wasn’t Fang Chang coming this time, but the Manager of the Alliance!

With such a high-ranking visitor, no one could be sure what it meant.

Seeing the convoy was about to arrive, the CEO of North Island Heavy Industries could only brace himself and lead the top management downstairs.

Seeing their own off-road vehicle parked at the entrance, that CEO hurriedly stepped forward to personally open the car door for Chu Guang, eagerly saying,

"Honorable Manager, what wind has brought you here?"

Of course, Chu Guang couldn’t tell him that he didn’t really have a special reason, just that an afternoon appointment was canceled, so he came here for a casual visit to pass the time.

Unexpectedly, the other side was so enthusiastic, with a large crowd gathered downstairs as if it were a team-building event.

Not wanting to disrupt their work, Chu Guang warmly smiled and said,

"Just go about your usual work, don’t mind me, I’m just taking a look around."

Hearing this, the executives looked at each other, trying to figure out what this VIP meant.

Seeing their tense manner, Chu Guang realized that if he really left them on their own, they might be distracted for days.

So Chu Guang glanced around and settled his eyes on that CEO.

"You’re not busy, are you?"

That CEO promptly stood at attention, almost bringing his fist to his chest in a salute.

"Not busy! Whatever your request, we’re fully prepared to comply!"

"Don’t be so formal," Chu Guang laughed, patting him on the shoulder, as the flattered CEO responded amicably, "Forget the others; just show me around your production line."

"Yes!"

The CEO responded with a beaming face, then turned to the assembled executives behind him.

"The Manager is here to tour our production line! Let’s disperse, everyone! Get on with your work!"

Upon hearing the boss speak, the group of executives collectively breathed a sigh of relief and scattered from the plaza below the building.

Seeing their cautious demeanor, Chu Guang felt somewhat helpless, but he couldn’t say much.

However, at this moment, he suddenly thought of something and lowered his voice.

"Xiao Qi."

"What’s up, Master?"

"What did you actually tell them when you were arranging my schedule?"

A mischievous giggle came from the communication channel.

"Hehe... didn’t say much, just told them the esteemed Manager is coming for an inspection and to come out and greet you."

Just as he thought.

Chu Guang sighed and remarked.

"Don’t do such unnecessary things next time."

"Uh... doesn’t Master like it?"

A pitiful voice came from the communication channel, and for a moment, Chu Guang couldn’t bring himself to harshly criticize it.

"Power is a double-edged sword; we must be extremely careful when wielding it. Especially now, it’s different, this sword grows heavier."

"I hope next time you can convey my intentions more accurately, being serious when it’s necessary, being subtle when it’s called for, rather than taking the liberty to do unnecessary things... especially those done to amuse me."

"Xiao Qi understands the mistake... I’m sorry, Master." The pitiful voice sounded like it was reflecting on itself.

Chu Guang knew Xiao Qi meant well and wasn’t intentionally causing trouble, so he didn’t scold it too harshly.

However, what Chu Guang didn’t notice was that the CEO walking beside him, who previously wore a radiant expression, now returned to an anxious look due to his sigh.

Throughout the journey, he pondered what could have offended the Manager.

Just then, Lu Bei, who had been silently following by Chu Guang’s side, suddenly walked a few steps forward and whispered a few words in his ear.

"Sir, the matter you asked me to investigate has results now."

Chu Guang immediately stopped walking and looked at him, asking.

"Speak."

Lu Bei gave a look to a few nearby Guards, gesturing for them to keep unrelated persons at bay, and continued in a low voice to Chu Guang.

"According to our contacts in the Falcon Kingdom, a batch of arms recently exited from the south side of the Falcon Kingdom, passed through the eastern Great Desert, and headed towards the southwestern Poluo Province."

"West Sail Port?"

"Uncertain... but we are sure that this batch of arms from the Wasteland House indeed appeared in Poluo Province, and we have obtained a complete chain of evidence."

Chu Guang’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

These big-nosed folks...

Daring to play tricks under his nose, thinking of the Alliance as an easy target.

"Transmit my order: return all Vellante arms back to where they came from! And send a copy of your evidence to Cheng Yan."

Lu Bei straightened up and responded sternly.

"Yes!"

His words had just fallen when a noisy voice came from nearby.

"My lord, I am wronged! Please listen to my explanation!"

The voice sounded as if there was a huge grievance.

Chu Guang was momentarily stunned and then looked toward the source of the voice, only to see the CEO of North Island Heavy Industries looking terrified, with a pale face devoid of blood, stretching out his hand to try to reach him.

The two Guards blocking him looked perplexed, not knowing what had gotten into this guy, but continued dutifully to block him with their arms.

Their superior was reporting confidential matters to the esteemed Manager, so how could they let this guy eavesdrop!

Seeing he wouldn’t be dissuaded, one of them pressed him to the ground using their arm.

The Guards Corps are all Awakeners, with strength ordinary people can’t break free from.

The scene happened too suddenly, leaving Chu Guang stunned by that phrase of grievance.

He pondered that he hadn’t accused this person of anything yet.

Lu Bei gave a complex look to the seemingly guilty person, then cautiously turned to look at the Manager standing beside him.

"Should... I investigate?"

Chu Guang sighed.

"Help him up quickly."

Lu Bei quickly responded.

"Yes..."