Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 2325: Everyone can be talked to(2)

None of the four lowered their heads, nor did any of them avert their gaze.

Facing the pressure of a peak expert, they displayed a composure and mental fortitude rare even among the finest of the younger generation.

"Uncle Beiyin."

Jie Su smiled and greeted him, raising his right hand in a small wave toward the She Ke Star leader behind the metal cage.

The gesture seemed to break the tense atmosphere slightly.

Beiyin glanced at Jie Su, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

But his attention wasn't really on his daughter or Jie Su—White Robe was a focus, and Ye Zhongming was as well.

Beiyin already knew White Robe inside and out; he could have told you what the young man had done nearly every day since birth.

There was no help for it—when your daughter set her sights on someone, Beiyin had no choice but to learn everything.

Previously, he had been opposed to it.

He wasn't the type to casually sacrifice his daughter's happiness—on the contrary, he loved Yisewei dearly. But Beiyin was also someone who placed his race's interests first. If his daughter's choices ran too far against those interests, he would make appropriate sacrifices.

It sounded complicated, but it really came down to a question of balance. Beiyin knew exactly when and how to adjust.

For instance, he had opposed the relationship between White Robe and Yisewei because White Robe hadn't shown him a future that would benefit him, Yisewei, or the She Ke Star people. On the contrary, the ill-fated Star-Eye Clan seemed like a curse he didn't want to touch.

Now he had agreed, because White Robe's growth had exceeded his expectations—if this young man continued on this path, he would at least be Isewei's equal in the future. And the new vitality of the Star-Eye Clan had made Beiyin sense a resurgence in a small race.

Especially now that Zimu—whom he had thought talentless and easy to control, yet bearing a prince's title—was dead.

Naturally, there was also one more person from the Star-Eye Clan.

Beiyin shifted his gaze to Ye Zhongming's face.

Earth?

An image of a tiny planet surfaced in Beiyin's mind.

Before this, he had truly overlooked this minor planet that didn't even rank among the cosmos's fifth-tier stars.

So-called fifth-tier stars were just a customary term among the cosmic races, roughly meaning small and resource-poor.

But the person who had emerged from this small planet, and the changes he had brought to the Star-Eye Clan since coming up—Beiyin still found it remarkable.

He wouldn't underestimate the people before him just because they were only great experts—one of them not even that. On the contrary, he had always believed that Jie Su and his daughter would be the future of the cosmic races, and now he had to add White Robe to that list.

As for Ye Zhongming, Beiyin wasn't sure yet—he needed to see more.

"We killed Zimu." The first words out of Ye Zhongming's mouth weren't an apology, but that.

Jie Su and White Robe's hearts skipped a beat.

Not every big shot appreciated unorthodox moves.

And some big shots had bad tempers.

Coincidentally, in others' eyes, Beiyin was just such a conventional, short-tempered person.

"Because his existence threatened the relationship between White Robe and Yisewei." Ye Zhongming, however, didn't seem to care, continuing to look at Beiyin. "Since you, as her father, had decided to sacrifice your daughter's happiness and wouldn't help, we had to solve the problem ourselves."

"Fortunately, we succeeded."

Beiyin did something, and the metal cage that even a super-level-nine beast couldn't budge suddenly melted away, allowing him to stand directly before Ye Zhongming.

"Succeeded?" Beiyin's face held a cold smile. "Without the Su Clan, without the She Ke Star people's intervention, and without the Reina Star people holding the Huo'er Star people back, do you think you'd still be alive?"

"That doesn't matter." Ye Zhongming shrugged. "Honestly, you helped us as much as you helped yourselves—because it served your interests best. How the situation among the cosmic races stands, and how each decision and change will affect the future—that's what people like you should be thinking about."

"People like us, right now, just think about... not letting our own get pushed around. If someone gives us trouble, we hit back. Simple as that."

Ye Zhongming showed no fear.

"Maybe later, when we're in your position, we'll make the same decisions as you—but that's later. At least for now, this is what we do."

Perhaps carried away, Ye Zhongming looked at Beiyin with an odd expression. "Sometimes, not overthinking all the concerns, just following your heart, might break through the current chaos among the myriad races. Sometimes, chaos and sacrifice are inevitable."

Jie Su wanted to cover his face—Zhongming, what are you doing? This is our major ally!

"Are you lecturing me?" Beiyin's tone grew colder.

"No, just sharing my thoughts." Ye Zhongming suddenly smiled. "I know our horizons are limited by our level, but our talent sets our ceiling. Sometimes, isn't it interesting to watch a group like us charge ahead in what seems like a crazy or even crude way, and then sit back and see what happens?"

"We'll keep doing this, and we've done it well—even killed Kunzuo. With Yisewei, I think we can do even bigger things."

Beiyin found the young man before him increasingly interesting. In his journey to this position, he had heard too much boasting, but few could make him feel—as this kid did—that though there was exaggeration, there was no solid evidence to refute it.

Because they really had killed Zimu, and they really had killed Kunzuo.

"Then you'll have to give me a reason to want to watch from behind." Beiyin asked.

Ye Zhongming tilted his head in thought. "Would you like to hear the short-term, medium-term, or long-term?"

"As long as you don't tell me you're going to wipe out the Huo'er Star people."

"Then—short-term, I want to unify Dark Strip City, help the Su Clan absorb a few races, save up some money, and make some investments."

Beiyin snorted, unimpressed.

"Medium-term, train a batch of great experts, manufacture a batch of good equipment, and then plunder some wealthy races we don't like."

The She Ke Star leader laughed, a hint of mockery in his tone. "Sounds like the long-term is really to destroy the Huo'er Star alliance."

Ye Zhongming shook his head.

"That... the Huo'er Star people aren't our ultimate goal—they've never been our biggest enemy, just a stumbling block. My personal long-term goal is to kill the Slave Race outside Earth, and then dissect it for study."

Everyone: "..."