Li Ming was looking at the items in the file one by one, his expression suddenly changed, and he turned around to throw a punch. The cripple, who had been at a distance from the back of Li Ming’s head, swiftly jumped aside, his expression sheepish.
Li Ming frowned slightly, "What are you doing?"
"I’m checking to see if there are any stitching marks on the back of your head," he said, his gaze drifting.
Li Ming stared at him, feeling utterly puzzled: "What stitching marks?"
The cripple muttered, "Didn’t your dad turn you into a Mechanical Transformation?"
Li Ming was speechless: "Do I look like one?"
The cripple also felt that he didn’t resemble one, which made it all the more preposterous.
Li Ming sat back down, the majority of these files were clear video records, along with top-secret documents.
It was indeed evidence of Star Creation Company bribing the high officials of Silver Grey City, implicated many people, and even Qin Xiao himself was in them.
"He even recorded himself?" Li Ming was surprised; it made some sense for Qin Xiao to collect evidence on others.
But including his own evidence was truly bizarre - was he afraid others wouldn’t know?
Li Ming couldn’t figure it out at the moment and didn’t try to think further; he simply copied everything.
"Is this... the secret dealings between Star Creation Company and the high officials of Silver Grey City?" The cripple glanced at it, his face changing slightly: "Where did you get this?"
"Found it on the road," Li Ming casually said.
At the headquarters of the City Guard Building, Qin Xiao was standing solemnly, the fluctuating sound waves on the virtual screen in front of him accompanying an aged voice.
"You’ve done well. With Star Creation Company’s covert operations on Silver Grey Star exposed, they’ve agreed to back down, give up the unlimited mining rights, and the new mineral resources will be re-tendered. They’ll also compensate for the stolen resources."
"It’s what I should do," Qin Xiao bowed his head. This was a windfall for him.
"However..." This word made Qin Xiao tense up, "Star Creation Company demands an explanation for Chen Songnan’s situation."
"After all, he was a regional executive director. Just disappearing without a trace doesn’t look good."
Qin Xiao cautiously said, "Chen Songnan hasn’t been found yet, it’s unclear whether he’s dead or alive."
"If he weren’t dead, he would have contacted Star Creation Company by now, Qin Xiao. How many years have you been dispatched to Silver Grey Star by me?"
Qin Xiao’s fist clenched subconsciously, he murmured, "Twelve years."
"It’s been no short time, so stop playing these little tricks in front of me. The matter of you sending people to the Star Creation Company’s branch has been found out." The other party sighed, "They wanted to hold you responsible for their lives."
Qin Xiao’s face changed dramatically, and his heart leaped to his throat.
"However, this time they are the ones at a disadvantage. They can’t just remove you with a single word. Not many of the people you sent to Star Creation Company are still alive, right?" He said casually, "Blame it on them. After all, it’s Star Creation Company, they need to be given some face."
Qin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, gratitude welling up, his voice even trembling, "You..."
"Don’t mention it anymore, go handle it." The screen turned off, the person’s indifference to Qin Xiao’s gratitude apparent.
Qin Xiao’s expression became collected, not a trace of gratitude remaining, his face shifting shades. How could Chen Songnan just die like that? Star Creation Company likely hid this information on purpose to save face.
Couldn’t the higher-ups see this? Not necessarily, they just didn’t care. Already having the upper hand overall, it was fine to give in on minor points.
"Such a pity..." Qin Xiao shook his head.
"Did you get the stuff?" Qin Xiao’s voice came from the smart terminal in Li Ming’s hand.
"Yes, I infiltrated Star Creation Company’s building and found this thing."
"Well done, well done!" Qin Xiao praised repeatedly, showing his inner joy, and then said:
"Then bring it back as soon as possible, I’ll be waiting for you in Silver Grey City."
"Understood." Li Ming ended the communication.
"Do you plan to use the power of the City Guard to combat those people?" The cripple beside him pondered and then shook his head: "It’s a good idea, but if the people behind ’Ash’ really want to take you down, it would just take them a single word."
"The City Guard won’t confront them for your sake."
Li Ming opened the Black Hole Network; the quote for the spacecraft had already come in--seven hundred and fifty thousand Star Coins.
"That low?" Li Ming was speechless.
"Expecting Black Hole Network to be generous is like waiting for a pie to fall from the sky," the cripple likewise deeply resented it.
This spacecraft was definitely registered by "Ash"; Li Ming had a legitimate identity and could simply buy a ticket to leave Silver Grey Star.
Although the quote was lower than Li Ming expected, he chose to sell it anyway and began to thoroughly clean the traces in the spacecraft, pulling out the hard drive.
The Black Hole Network acted quickly. By noon, someone came, all covered up, inspecting the inside and outside of the spacecraft thoroughly.
"You dismantled the distributed service hard drive, haven’t you?" he asked.
"Correct," Li Ming replied.
"In that case, the sale price will be reduced by ten thousand."
Li Ming, sensing the gleam of the sickle, said with displeasure: "I’m an old customer of yours, aren’t I? You still want to reduce it by ten thousand Star Coins?"
"Hmm..." The other person eyed Li Ming and tapped on the smart terminal he held, pondering: "Sell it to me for six hundred thousand Star Coins, and I’ll give you a piece of information."
Li Ming was slightly stunned, looking the person over, skeptically asking: "Are you really with Black Hole Network? Since when does Black Hole Network offer such services?"
He glanced at the cripple beside him. The cripple pulled Li Ming aside, hesitantly saying: "I thought it was just a rumor, I hadn’t expected it to be true."
"What do you mean?" Li Ming was puzzled.
"Black Hole Network occasionally invests in people they have a very high opinion of." The cripple explained softly, "They control the dark side of the Star Web and have countless pieces of information."