Great, I'm surrounded by villains.

He did not relax and asked coldly, "So, what is the price?"

"You know the purpose of the Chamber of Commerce. If you can manage the directors well and keep them in line, the Chamber of Commerce can stop interfering with their decisions."

"The Chamber of Commerce Consolidation Act?"

Coyote Twelve cursed in his heart. The Semites seemed willing to take a step back, but in fact they were throwing all the messes to them.

"Cowboy, it seems you are smarter than the rumors say."

After that, Morgan VII looked at Duan Mingyuan and said, "This is how the universe works. If you help us achieve our goal, the Chamber of Commerce will give you the 'peace' you desire."

He believed that Duan Mingyuan would be able to achieve this result without bloodshed. "It's not difficult for you. There's no need to fight. You only need to modify some of their memories to bring true peace to this planet. I have to admit that this is a very convenient ability."

Of course, this is only the first step in the cooperation between the Chamber of Commerce and Duan Mingyuan.

Morgan VII thought that this was a normal process. As business partners, he should show them some of his transcendental skills during their first collaboration.

"The cooperation between the Chamber of Commerce and Universal Company is only the first step towards the future. You have demonstrated your value to the family over the past period of time, so the Shan people are willing to share the future with you... Savior, this title sounds much better than the spiritual leader of the rebels. You need this reputation, and so do we."

When the cocooning of the Machine Star was prevented, they also created a new future for the Beyonders.

He is no longer defeated as a "devil", but praised as a "hero".

On the road to a new era, people need a strong enemy and a hero who can defeat the strong enemy, and the Semites are willing to give this identity of the future white glove to their partners.

In the end, the "hero" and the people of his hometown will get the peace they wish for amid flowers and praises.

“The Chamber of Commerce had no intention of fulfilling the promises made at the banquet from the beginning.”

Duan Mingyuan understood that the only purpose of the dinner was to stir up suspicion among the directors.

"This is the business world. When you can no longer provide value to your business partners, you must be prepared to be abandoned at any time. The Sixteen Stars Summit is a deformed product based on the tide of the times. When the Chamber of Commerce merges with the company, this 'neutral' organization will no longer be needed."

Morgan VII changed the subject and said, "But if you can manage this organization well, the Chamber of Commerce can allow it to continue to exist as a token of sincerity."

He believed that he fully communicated the purpose of the Chamber to their future partners.

From the very beginning, the summit on Jiqiao Star was not a game of votes for bills, but a means used by the Chamber of Commerce to completely disintegrate the Sixteen Summits.

"Of course, if you lose interest in these people, the Chamber of Commerce has prepared a simpler plan for you. As long as they die on Planet Jiqiao, the Chamber of Commerce will quickly foster new rulers on these sixteen planets, and they will naturally abolish outdated institutions such as the Sixteen-Star Summit."

"I totally understand."

Duan Mingyuan finally understood what Morgan VII meant. The peace talks he hoped for were doomed to fail.

"Well, what do you think?"

"The Sixteen Star Summit will continue. We will not interfere with the votes of other summit directors, but Blue Star will definitely cast a vote against it."

Duan Mingyuan also stated his full intentions, "In order to maintain order at the venue, please drive the Laurel away from this star region."

This is not a business, and he is not a businessman.

"it's a pity."

Morgan VII shook his head regretfully. "We need your fame and power, but we also hope that you understand that the Transcendent is not the only choice for the Chamber of Commerce. In fact, no one in this universe is irreplaceable."

After receiving Morgan VII's signal, the butler took off his white satin gloves expressionlessly, revealing the dazzling ring on his index finger.

"Then let's get back to the beginning of the topic."

Morgan VII said, "Perhaps you have heard a saying that no matter what the process is, the result will always develop in the direction expected by the Chamber of Commerce. If this is a detective game for you, the answer you want is hidden in that ring."

The anomaly of the Gear Hotel originates from this ring.

All the assassins who boarded the ship also died from this ring.

Duan Mingyuan saw the ring on the butler's finger burst into dazzling light, and the fluctuating energy gave him a somewhat familiar feeling.

When the curse of flesh and blood spread on the Mechanical Star, and when the "cocoon" was about to cover every corner of the planet, he also sensed the same existence.

Compared to the consciousness born on the Mechanical Planet, this ring is more ferocious and powerful.

"You can consider it as the trophy of the Chamber of Commerce."

The image of Morgan VII gradually faded until it disappeared. After the negotiations broke down, he handed over the aftermath to a special person to handle as he had done before.

——"This is the power that controls everything."

I feel much better from my cold today, and I went water skiing for a few days. Starting tomorrow, I will resume the 6k word updates and short dramas!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 289 To the Death Star

When Duan Mingyuan and Coyote Twelve's vision regained clarity from the strong light, they were no longer in the master bedroom of the Laurel. They were outside the cave, and the smell of grass and soil wafted in their faces. It seemed that it had just rained here, and the ground was still wet.

There was an extinguished campfire in the cave, as if someone had lived here before.

Outside the cave is the road down the mountain, which leads directly to a dense forest. Looking around, everything within sight is covered by the sea of ​​forest.

Although the situation was different, Duan Mingyuan had seen this trick before.

Unknown energy filled the forest, just like the game of escape that he had been invited to participate in by the "consciousness" of the Mechanical Star not long ago.

Compared to the space constructed by the "consciousness" of the Mechanical Star, this place is wider and more complete, and looks more like a complete planet.

This is Morgan VII's trump card, and it is also the reason why the Semites firmly believe that they are qualified to have an equal dialogue with the transcendents - a formed "cocoon", completely "cocooned", a planet without any Homo sapiens. This may also be the picture that Ava-Jo and all the other assassins saw before they became Morgan VII's collection.

Their memories were stripped from their brains, and left forever in this world invaded by vegetation.

Duan Mingyuan soon found out who left the bonfire.

Ava-Jo left many fragmentary records in the cave with the dagger he never left, which recorded the process of the legendary assassin's state of mind.

From the initial optimism and disdain, and the firm belief that he would soon be able to get out of the forest, to the subsequent madness and despair, the last part of the text seemed to be nonsense, just like when they met Al-Joe in the "Collection Room", only intermittent sentences were left.

Later all the texts conveyed only one thing.

—Don’t go into that forest.

Judging from the timeline, Al-Jo persisted in this space for one month and seven days, the longest among all the assassins.

"Old Duan, something is wrong with this place."

Coyote Twelve also silently read the words on the cave and lit a cigar for himself.

It was strangely quiet here, and he couldn't see any enemies, but he got goosebumps all over his body.

In fact, a cyborg will not have the same physiological reactions as ordinary people, but he feels that only this statement can describe his feelings at the moment.

He needed a cigar to calm down.

The deathly silence brought back bad memories for Coyote XII. At that time, he was still working for Universal Corporation, leading his own rangers, and was sent to "cocooned" planets to carry out missions time and time again.

Most of them are rescue operations, but there are also occasional cleanup and investigation missions.

If it is the latter, it means that this will most likely be a difficult journey, and the longer they stay on the "cocoon" planet, the closer they will be to death.

And the feeling this silent forest gave him was exactly the same as those "Death Stars".

"This place is very similar to the 'cocooned' planet I've been to. You never know what kind of monster you'll encounter in a place like this."

Coyote Twelve sat down next to the campfire, stretched out his index finger, and a beam of light blue flame shot out from his fingertips to light the campfire. He suddenly understood Ava-Jo and those assassins. They were stranded alone on a "death star", unable to find any humans, and only endless monsters were waiting for them in the forest.

Ava-Jo mentioned that the plants in the forest seemed to have their own consciousness. If he stayed in the forest alone for a long time, he could hear low whispers that sounded like human voices, but when he followed the sound, there was nothing in the deep bushes.

Ava-Jo was "tricked" by the trees during his last exploration.

He usually leaves some marks on the tree trunks to remind himself of the way back, but when he checks those marks, he finds that the positions of the marks have been replaced and turned into a huge circle, which takes him back to the same place again and again.

"The longer I stay in this forest, the more I feel this way."

Coyote Twelve read the text on the cave. It was after that exploration that Ava-Jo's mental state became extremely unstable. The galactic assassin did not encounter any enemy, but fear took root in his heart.

What's even more desperate is that Ava-Jo can never be sure whether walking out of the forest means being saved.

This was more like a small goal he set for himself, so that there would still be hope in his heart.

Unfortunately, Ava-Jo ultimately failed to achieve his small goal.

After he fell into complete despair, his head was retrieved and placed in a container, leaving him trapped in the abyss of despair and unable to find peace forever.

"Let's take turns keeping watch. This is the benefit of having two people."

Coyote Twelve suggested.

The time in this place seemed to be synchronized with that of the Mechanical Planet. They warped into the Laurel in the middle of the night. It was also late at night when they arrived at this place. The starlight here was particularly dim, and only the bonfire burning in the cave could bring people some sense of security.

After Al Joe became insane, he always believed that something would enter the cave after he fell asleep, and he saw a vague silhouette several times in his confusion.

The silhouette has the outline of a human figure, but is covered with vegetation.

The other party did not attack him, but just watched from a distance, and disappeared again when Ava-Jo regained consciousness.

Coyote Twelve guessed that the last straw that broke the camel's back for Ava-Jo was most likely related to the silhouette he mentioned. In his last record, he mentioned that he would find out the truth about the silhouette, but there was no further news after that.

? “Go down the mountain.”

Duan Mingyuan picked up a torch and handed it to Coyote Twelve.

"Go down the mountain, are you sure?"

Coyote Twelve looked at the forest shrouded in twilight from afar, and he felt resistance from the bottom of his heart. He suggested almost without thinking, "It's safer to explore during the day, and the view is much better."

Not only Ava-Jo, but all the assassins who came here reached a consensus on the issue of "don't go deep into the jungle at night".

"All the weird things happened after dark."

Duan Mingyuan said, "The swapped marks, the strange whispers, and the silhouettes between half asleep and half awake."

He guessed that the reason why Ava-Jo and the other assassins had not made any progress was probably because they always returned to the cave before nightfall - no matter how far they walked during the day or how many marks they made, they had to return here before nightfall. It seemed that only the bonfire in the cave could give them some sense of security.

As for the few times they spent the night outside, they left them with extremely terrifying memories.

He looked at Coyote Twelve, "Why, are you scared?"

"I'm a Cowboy Bebop, how could I be afraid of—"

Coyote Twelve's answer came to an abrupt end, and the words "afraid of the dark" were swallowed back on the tip of his tongue.

After Duan Mingyuan said this, he suddenly realized that he was indeed afraid of the dark. The thought of exploring the forest in the middle of the night made him feel strongly averse.

Resistance comes from fear, even if he doesn't know what he is afraid of.

It was more like some kind of nature imprinted in human instinct. The fear of darkness and the unknown made him, a cowboy who was used to big scenes, unconsciously make a conservative decision.

“It’s emotion.”

After a long time, Coyote Twelve suddenly spoke.

Just like those affected in the Gear Hotel, their subsequent behavior had nothing to do with their identity and upbringing, and became the most instinctive action.

When you meet someone you hate, you should beat them up or even kill them.

This is how humans solved problems in primitive society.

And he seemed to have unknowingly returned to primitive society, and like Ava-Jo and all the other assassins, he was trapped in a cave by darkness and the unknown. Only the light here could make him feel at ease.

But Ava-Jo never noticed anything abnormal about himself. Coyote Twelve felt that if Duan Mingyuan hadn't suddenly asked him this, he probably wouldn't have realized it.

Morgan VII's steward called this anomaly "the power of domination."

Coyote Twelve forced himself to suppress his strong inner resistance and took the torch handed over by Duan Mingyuan. After realizing the abnormality in himself, all this was not easy.

His brows were furrowed. The enemy on this "Death Star" had become himself, a shackle hidden in his instincts.

But then he discovered another unusual place.

"You... aren't afraid?"

Although this question sounded stupid, it made Coyote Twelve vaguely aware of the difference between Duan Mingyuan and him, or "human beings".

This is not bravery, but Duan Mingyuan skipped the process of fighting against instinct from the very beginning.

He seemed to be lacking some emotion. The fear of darkness and the unknown had no effect on him from the beginning. Not only that, he also saw some excitement in Duan Mingyuan's eyes.

Yes, it’s excitement.

It seems that for Duan Mingyuan, this is more like an interesting journey of exploration.

"not afraid."

Duan Mingyuan picked up another torch. Just now, he upgraded these torches and gave them the characteristic of permanent burning, which saved them the tedious time of looking for other lighting tools along the way.

In some exploration games, Duan Mingyuan always likes to carry some lighting tools with high durability.