Having returned to the Innovation, Lila piloted the shuttle machine to cruise along the seaside.
Xu Yang planned to reserve a secluded, world-remote beach for the future construction of a new base, since it was risky to linger in one place for too long.
The beach, known as Jiubin Town, had many sites for sale. With its vast and tranquil sands, Xu Yang researched and found it was acquired by Xisheng Real Estate Company, which subcontracted Ruoye Construction Company for its development.
Xisheng Real Estate is a key company of Xisheng Investment Group, founded by Honma Noriko’s eldest son, Kamibayashi Shinichiro, with last year’s revenues reaching 1.16 trillion funds.
"Xisheng..." Whenever Xu Yang saw the capital associated with the Xisheng System, he couldn’t help but think of Kojima Kanako. Despite all the events, Kanako had returned to the Xisheng family, back under the control of the infinitely powerful Lady Honma Noriko.
Lady Honma Noriko was a tough and astute investor. At 135 years old, she was approaching the theoretical limit of human lifespan. Despite this, she was nearly burnt out and faced the threat of death, no longer making public appearances.
What would happen after her death? Xu Yang couldn’t help feeling doubtful. Xisheng Investment Group, long hidden behind the world stage, supported multiple corporations; the financial empire constructed by Honma Noriko and her family might fall into incredible chaos with her death. Xisheng operated as a traditional family business, yet they still hadn’t decided on a qualified successor.
Kamibayashi Shinichiro, as the strong and decisive manager of Xisheng Real Estate, monopolizing the commercial real estate development in most of the Archipelago Continent, would have been the most suitable successor for Honma Noriko, but he didn’t outlive his mother and died at the age of 75.
The first batch of children to follow Honma Noriko were genuine power figures with appropriate succession rights, but none outlived their mother, missing the chance to inherit Xisheng.
As of today, "the children of Xisheng" had become "the descendants of Xisheng," this massive group encompassing thousands, all coveting control of Xisheng Group firmly held by Honma Noriko, hoping to use this vast financial capital to exert real-world control.
Kojima Kanako was indeed just like a leaf within the family, fortunately still one of Honma Noriko’s daughters and not demoted to the status of a grandchild, which would have further diminished her standing.
——Honestly, at this point, Xu Yang was quite eager to see what the scene would be like after Honma Noriko’s death; it would likely be the true embodiment of a deluge.
Her family ties were complex and intertwined, with descendants occupying various companies under the Xisheng name, ambitious and equipped with powerful armed forces and Witches, making it difficult to end with business negotiations. The lack of peaceful transition all but ensured the outbreak of a war of succession.
As the Innovation approached, a service robot from Ruoye Construction Company requested to connect.
"Dear valued customer, hello! This is the investment consultant from Ruoye Construction Company, welcoming you to Jiubin Town! Here we have White Island’s finest and most picturesque coastlines. Ruoye Construction Company is responsible for the customer experience."
Xu Yang inquired about investment recommendations, and saw that Jiubin Town’s beach was divided into two areas. The core area had established villas, resorts, private sightseeing beaches, sea baths, and beach hotels available for purchase, with the average asking price at 28,951 funds per square meter.
The peripheral area was an uninhabited barren beach, permitting one’s own development, much cheaper, without even a road connection—a completely deserted place, sold in sections.
Xu Yang quickly took a fancy to a beach concealed by giant primitive forests, with beautiful, freely accessible sand by the sea, and dense woods inland, suitable for the construction of a very concealed semi-underground structure, spanning an area of 6 square kilometers, offered at a discounted price of 13.5 million funds.
After finalizing his choice, a guide drone flew in from afar, leading Xu Yang to the designated site. The drone, shaped somewhat like an eyeball robot but trailing a pair of leaf-shaped armed wings, could transform into Hovering Cannons, a type of Energy Weapon that could operate detached and fire freely.
"We apologize for not being able to receive you immediately! Thank you for choosing Ruoye Construction Company’s real estate service," the drone communicated with the Innovation, "You will purchase the beach with the best water quality and most exquisite scenery on White Island, accompanied by lush, pristine jungle reserves."
Approaching the target location, Lila reduced speed ahead of time.
"Other military targets detected," Lila inherently scanned the ground area.
Under her perception capture, Xu Yang activated the Innovation’s monitors and indeed scanned 6 stealthily moving armed personnel on the outskirts of the forest, advancing in a scattered formation, seemingly searching the woods.
"Are those people on the ground also with Ruoye Company?" Xu Yang messaged the guide drone.
After scanning, the guide drone stayed in place, entering a state of alertness; the armed wings detached from its sides, becoming Hovering Cannons, drifting downward.
The drone broadcast a warning to the ground, "Please be aware that this area is undergoing legitimate business operations by Ruoye Company. Any attempt to interfere with transactions or harm customers will be met with strong action by our security department."
Hearing the warning, the armed personnel quickly hid deep in the forest, waiting for an opportunity to strike. They were not a disorganized mob, but planned to take down the sales drones and even make a move on the Innovation!
"Don’t just stick to verbal expulsion, please take actual action," Lila communicated.
"Authorization requested—authorization successful." The sales drone powered up the hovering cannon, and a dark purple beam of high-energy light shot towards the ground, accurately striking their hiding spots and causing a series of explosions. The personnel were forced to flee clumsily, hastily retreating to the outskirts of the forest in search of proper cover.
The sales drone did not give up the chase, driving the group of armed men out of the sales territory.
The Innovation kept its distance the entire time, with Xu Yang secretly scanning the mysterious gunmen and fighters. Despite their anti-scanning implants, there were still some valid data feedback, indicating that they belonged to an independent group of bounty hunters, who specialized in killing high-value targets on the bounty list in exchange for funds.
"We are very sorry," the sales drone apologized to Xu Yang and his group, "Our company has not sufficiently cleared and disinfected the area for sale. In light of this, please accept our compensation as a token of our sincerity. We guarantee that such incidents will never happen again to ensure your premium experience."
The sales drone sent over a gift pack redemption code, which could be exchanged for a beautiful sailboat valued at 598,000, sufficient for fishing near the shore. Considering this, Xu Yang did not press the issue further and instead became concerned with something far more important.
Could it be that some high-value target is hidden within this dense forest? Xu Yang pondered. It seems that not only he was interested in this lush and excellently concealed wilderness beach, there were others hidden here as well.
Now that they had been driven away, he decided to see exactly what was hidden here.
Xu Yang sent a message, requesting the sales drone to leave them to rest on this beach for a while, undisturbed.
After the previous minor conflict, the sales drone needed to return to recharge its energy reserves, so it entered cruise mode, quickly turned, and headed back to the air station of Ruoye Construction Company.
Once the company’s drone had left, the beach was theirs to investigate. Xu Yang landed the Innovation on the sand. The place was indeed beautiful, too bad others couldn’t see it.
In the distance, a large anti-pollution dike had been erected, like a white wave-shaped wall, keeping the massive amounts of human-made ocean garbage out and leaving behind a large area of crystal-clear sea. Automatic amphibious cleaning drones were traversing the waters, clearing out the contaminated seawater that had seeped in. Because of environmental pollution problems, the fishing industry had declined, and people preferred to consume industrially synthesized fish rather than seafood with varying degrees of radiation.
This was an artificial paradise. Xu Yang strolled along the beach. To attract customers, the company constructed a seascape by keeping the garbage out. The waves lapped the shore, yet no marine life was present. Wearing boots, he left a trail of footprints in the sand.
Xu Yang was born and worked in Luning Prefecture, Xia District, a place close to the mountains and far from the water. He had a yearning for the sea, and now that he had arrived at a real seafront, it felt quite pleasant, yet it still fell short of perfection in his heart, not quite like the Nestor Industrial Park buried at the bottom of the sea. In the undersea tunnel, one could directly watch the oddly shaped sea creatures through the glass curtain wall.
Knowing that some high-value targets might be present, Lila continuously scanned the forest.
"...There are other people here." Lila found the Cassandro Comet from the shuttle machine and aimed her gun towards the forest.
Xu Yang looked toward the forest. A vague figure was visible in the depths. He drew his own gun "Well Tiger" and pursued the figure.
The other person did not run fast, making them quite easy to catch. They could vaguely make out a poorly clothed, attractively figured woman running towards a secluded cave in the thicket, and she dived in, terribly afraid of Xu Yang and his party.
The area near the seafront was flat, but the region further inland was rugged, littered with tall, primal coastal forests, deep with shadows, and a somber environment.
"What’s inside?" Xu Yang approached the entrance of the cave, activated his nano armor, and held the Well Tiger in his hand.
"There are 3 girls," determined Lila from the sound of the wind, breathing, and body heat, "They are hiding in a very deep place."