Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 2331: Jumping out

Ye Zhongming sat comfortably in the chair specially designed for him, feeling genuine admiration for Jie Su in his heart.

Though this might have been just a casual instruction on Jie Su's part, the fact that he hadn't forgotten such a detail showed he was truly a thoughtful person.

It was no wonder someone like him deserved to one day sit in the Su Clan's top seat.

With the Red Female Guard around, Ye Zhongming's life had become ten thousand times more comfortable—everything was taken care of for him.

Now, he sat in his chair, eating fruit, and talking with Jie Su.

On the light screen, Jie Su looked somewhat helpless.

"I only found out about this after I got back. It's a complicated matter." Jie Su was answering about the proceeds from Ye Zhongming's Novice Number One benefits from the planet hunting ground.

"Originally, if it had only been the Huo'er Star people, the Su Clan and the Sheke Star people joining forces, with the Reina Star people secretly helping, could have held them off. Since no one wanted to break ties openly, it was just a war of words—things would have ended up as they should."

"Without evidence, they wouldn't have been so shameless as to withhold your resources, because opening that door would have dealt a serious blow to their reputation. Once rules are broken, rebuilding them is a long, painful process. The Huo'er Star people wouldn't do that for pocket change."

Jie Su sighed. "Unfortunately, those dwarves jumped out."

The Su Clan's relationship with the Taros Red Dwarves was decent, but influenced by Ye Zhongming and the conflicts between them in the Novice Battlefield and elsewhere, Jie Su's opinion of them was middling.

"They proposed that peak experts are a precious resource shared by all the cosmic races, hope against the Slave Race. Every peak expert who dies abnormally should be thoroughly investigated. Until a conclusion is reached, all suspicious individuals should undergo necessary investigations."

"You know the Taros Red Dwarves—they're very special. Among the supermajor races, they're strong and hold high status, especially since the appearance of their God Smith, which elevated their strength another level. With them speaking up for the Huo'er Star people, the situation immediately became chaotic."

Jie Su's brow was furrowed—clearly, things weren't looking optimistic for him and Ye Zhongming.

"The Huo'er Star people took the chance to demand an investigation—a guilty-until-proven-innocent one—pointing directly at the Su Clan and the Star-Eye Clan alliance. They seemed ready to make a big fuss. The pressure on the Sheke Star people and us suddenly increased."

Hearing this, Ye Zhongming gritted his teeth at those dwarves—what business did they have meddling? What were they trying to achieve?

"The dwarves have dealings with every race, especially the major and supermajor ones, and very close ties. So many races that had secretly sided with us became hesitant when they saw the dwarves step forward. Quite a few have already stopped speaking up or acting on this matter—especially the Reina Star people, who are major buyers of weapons and equipment. They've also shown signs of backing off, which has directly influenced many other races' choices."

"At that point, if we didn't do something, we'd be too passive, and things might head in a direction we didn't want."

"So we made indirect contact with the Taros Red Dwarves and held discussions with the Sheke Star people and other forces. The conclusion was that these dwarves wanted to profit from war."

Jie Su paused. "Not large-scale war, of course—localized conflicts, or even just a state of war readiness, would be enough. The Taros Red Dwarves just want us all to buy weapons and equipment from them."

"They're insane with greed." Ye Zhongming shook his head.

It wasn't just a casual complaint—he genuinely thought the Taros Red Dwarves were playing with fire.

They were indeed powerful—a God Smith, peak experts, many great experts, and powerful war machines.

In terms of combat power and overall strength, they were on par with the Huo'er Star people and the Reina Star people.

But they weren't invincible, and they were just one race, not the leader of a camp.

If the myriad races fell into chaos and large-scale war broke out, could they really stay out of it? And did they think other races were fools—that they wouldn't see through this? Weren't they afraid of being targeted?

If things went wrong, they might find themselves condemned by all races.

"They've always been crazy—rich, and well-connected. Word has it that when equipment bonuses are factored in, their number of great experts exceeds the combined total of the Reina Star and Huo'er Star people. Their peak experts also outnumber any other supermajor race—not counting the top-tier equipment they might produce at any time."

"So using this incident as a pretext, as long as they don't go too far, no one wants to offend them."

Jie Su adjusted his tone and continued, "But this has clearly upset other races too. After contacting the Reina Star people, we reached an agreement—they'll continue to help us, but we need to provide some 'funding' for them."

"That includes the trade losses they might incur from the Huo'er Star people being displeased (which could drive up weapon prices), their operational costs for this matter, and so-called risk premiums."

Speaking of this, Jie Su smiled wryly. No matter how nobly phrased, it was just extortion—getting benefits here and there. That's how politics worked.

"That's a lot of money, isn't it? Even after deducting what we gained this time—including the Star-Eye Clan's share and mine—it's still not enough, right?"

Ye Zhongming felt a sense of helplessness. He had done his best to rally whatever allies he could, but sometimes it still wasn't enough.

"Not only is it not enough—it's far from enough. Your share and the Star-Eye Clan's combined are only a fraction of the total. So I'm sorry, brother—that money isn't coming back." Jie Su replied.

That made sense. Ye Zhongming nodded in understanding—the Reina Star people wouldn't settle for pocket change.

"So what's the situation now?" Ye Zhongming asked.

"All right, for now—at least no one's going to show up at our bedside and take us away anytime soon." Jie Su laughed self-deprecatingly. "But there'll probably be more trouble ahead. We'll each have to be careful."

At that point, Jie Su raised his voice slightly. "The reason the Taros Red Dwarves dared to stir things up so openly this time is that they're planning to auction off a Lie God-grade piece of equipment! Whoever offends them will obviously lose eligibility. No supermajor race would want that—Lie God-grade is just too rare. The Huo'er Star people are making such a fuss—I almost think it's more about losing the Luosheng Bow than about Kunzuo."

Ye Zhongming's eyes widened involuntarily.

"Those dwarves are willing to part with that?"

The cosmic races were no longer as peaceful as before—undercurrents of tension were everywhere. Such an item would have an outsized impact.

"We analyzed it." Jie Su said seriously. "That piece of equipment was made centuries ago and has always been in Taros Red Dwarves' hands. The most likely reason they're selling it now is that their God Smith has crafted a brand-new Lie God-grade item—one that's far superior to this one."