aircannonsinc Chapter 50 Everyone Wants a Lunch
Chapter 50 Everyone Wants a Lunch
Upper Nest, the private residence of Administrator Perron.
Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, one sees the ever-present industrial smoke and dazzling neon lights of the city.
The air in the bedroom was stuffy and hot.
Jessia's face was expressionless, her body covered in sweat.
Beneath her, Perrin, the executive officer in charge of Star Harbor Logistics, was panting heavily, his face flushed.
Peren's layers of fat trembled violently with each movement, and sweat streamed down his almost invisible neck, soaking the silk sheets beneath him.
"Ah... Jessia... my goddess..."
Peren's small eyes, squeezed into slits by flesh, were filled with a dazed look, and he was uttering nauseating nonsense.
Jessia did not respond, nor did she even glance at him.
Her gaze passed over Peren's bald head and landed on an old mechanical clock on the wall.
"Three minutes left."
She silently calculated the time in her mind, her body skillfully matching the other person's rhythm.
In this dark 41st millennium, especially for Forge VII, located on the edge of the hazy star field, the most valuable thing is no longer gold, nor the string of frightening numbers in the Helios Group's account.
It's a right to escape.
Given the current situation, many ordinary citizens are still fighting tooth and nail over a few starch balls, thinking it's a huge deal.
But in the eyes of high-ranking officials like Jessia, who had access to interstellar communication, this planet was already a dead end.
Rumors of war have already spread, and warp storms are tearing apart the surrounding shipping lanes.
The main force of the Imperial Navy had long since withdrawn to guard more important strategic nodes.
All that's left are a group of cowardly planetary defense soldiers and a bunch of administrative bureaucrats who are still living in a drunken stupor.
Furnace No. 7 is now an isolated island.
The Helios Group is indeed wealthy; they own eight large cargo ships in the Heng system.
But here's the problem.
All of them are ships within the same mooring.
They do not have subspace engines or Geller force field generators.
This kind of ship is fine for transporting goods within the Heng system, but if it dares to fly outside the system, it could take hundreds of years to reach the next place with humans.
What if we force our way into subspace?
That would be utterly disastrous.
That's why the Helios Group went to such lengths to dig into the so-called "forbidden zone" of District 9.
The remains of the traveling merchant buried below are the only thing within a radius of dozens of astronomical units that might have a readily available subspace engine and Geller force field.
Once they dig it up and load it onto their own cargo ships, they can make a getaway.
All other options lead to certain death.
"Huff... huff..."
With a long sigh from Perrin, this disgusting deal finally came to an end.
He lay paralyzed on the bed, like a puddle of melted lard.
Without pausing, Jessie rolled over and got out of bed.
She walked barefoot, stepping on the expensive carpet, to the bedside table.
On it was a magnetic card, stamped with the highest-level pass of the Hazy Starfield Starport Administration.
[Premium Departure Permit]
With this, once the Helios Group has secured the spaceship, she can take her personal belongings and bypass all the cumbersome checks to board the ship directly.
Even if the group doesn't manage to secure a spaceship, as long as a passing Imperial warship or other merchant ships are willing to dock, this card can still allow her to buy an expensive ticket.
Jessia picked up the magnetic card and put it into her handbag.
"Baby... when will next time be...?"
Peren groaned in bed, trying to reach out and grab Jessia's wrist.
Jessia dodged to the side:
"When I'm in a better mood."
She coldly uttered a sentence, then turned and walked into the bathroom.
Turn the water flow to maximum and set the temperature to the highest.
The scalding hot water washed over her smooth skin, burning it until it turned red.
Jessia took a stiff-bristled brush and scrubbed vigorously the area where Peren had touched her.
She didn't think she was dirty; she just felt disgusted.
To survive, to avoid perishing with this doomed planet, she was willing to sell everything.
Body, dignity, and even the interests of the Helios Group.
In her eyes, family and company are just tools.
Only the living Jessia Hel is real!
Twenty minutes later.
When Jessia walked out of the executive residence, she had changed into a brand new fitted uniform, her hair was neatly combed, and her face wore an aloof indifference that kept people at a distance.
Once she gets out of bed, she's back to being the ruthless CEO of the Helios Group.
The hovercar was already waiting at the door.
"To headquarters."
Jessia got into the back seat and immediately turned on the data terminal.
The battle report for Zone D was updated ten minutes ago.
Zeman, that good-for-nothing, has returned, bringing back even worse news:
A madwoman's machine spirit awakened on the ship and took control of the entire ship's defense system.
……
……
Helios Group headquarters, top-floor conference room.
The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
The long conference table was filled with the group's senior executives, but no one dared to speak.
Thor sat at the head of the table, his face so dark it could drip water.
On the holographic screen in front of him, footage of the three "cleaner" drones wreaking havoc was playing repeatedly.
Especially the mocking laughter of that machine spirit made everyone present feel their faces burning.
"Can anyone tell me?"
Thor's voice was low and hoarse, suppressing his impending rage.
"We spent 5 billion yuan to build this elite force, and this is the level we're at?"
"Being chased like a dog by three dilapidated robots from thousands of years ago?"
The security director lowered his head, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Chairman...that's Abomination AI, and it's Abomination AI supported by a starship defense system."
"Zeman did his best, but our heavy weapons were completely ineffective in that confined terrain..."
"An excuse!"
Thor slammed his hand on the table.
"I don't want excuses! I want the engine, I want the Gale Force Field, right now!"
"Time is running out, don't you bunch of idiots understand that?!"
Saul stood up and pointed to the dark sky outside the window.
"The subspace storm is getting closer, and another smuggling ship that attempted to jump lost contact yesterday."
"If we can't dig that ship out and fix it within six months, we'll all die here."
"No matter how much money we have, or how many factories we own, in the end we'll just be a bunch of slightly richer corpses."
Everyone fell silent.
Everyone knows the situation, but no one can do anything about it.
Just then, Jessia pushed open the door and walked in.
The high heels clicked on the floor with a crisp, clear sound.
She went straight to her seat, sat down, and put her handbag on the table.
"Since we can't get into Zone D."
Jessia spoke, her voice calm.
"Then let's try a different approach."
"We need more technical support..."
She looked at Saul.
"But before that, Uncle, I think there's a hidden danger we need to address first."
"What potential danger?" Thor frowned.
"Bottom Nest".
Jessia pulled up a file.
It was about Andy, though there were only a few blurry photos and some indirect textual information.
"Recently, a mysterious force has appeared at the bottom of the nest, stealing our black box, bombing our factory, and stealing our data."
"Intelligence analysis suggests that the other side possesses extremely strong technical capabilities, and may even have mastered some powerful technologies that we are unaware of."
Jessia's fingers tapped on the table.
"I'm thinking, since we've encountered a technical bottleneck in Area D, why not just bring these guys over?"
"If they can crack the black box, they might be able to deal with that ruthless machine spirit too."
"I request to allocate a heavy-armored unit to cooperate with the mercenaries of the middle nest to conduct a thorough search of the bottom nest."
"Once we capture that core technology, it will be of immense value, whether for the purpose of uncovering the black box or for conquering the starship."
On the surface, it was for the benefit of the group, but it was also out of Jessia's personal motives.
She always felt that the guy who stole her things was a variable, that keeping him around would be a disaster, and that having him in her hands was a bargaining chip.
However, Thor refused without even thinking about it.
"no."
Thor waved his hand, looking impatient.
"Jesia, you're being too sensitive."
"Do you even know what time it is? They're just a bunch of bottom-nest rats scavenging for trash, who just happened to find some powerful weapon by chance."
"Now all our forces must be concentrated in District 9."
"Every gun, every bullet, must be used to deal with that damned machine spirit."
"Sending troops to the bottom nest now? That's a waste of resources!"
"But..." Jessia still wanted to try.
"No buts!"
Thor made the decision unilaterally.
"Although Zeman was defeated, he brought back important intelligence."
"Although the machine spirit is fierce, it is stuck inside the starship and cannot move."
"I have already contacted several large mercenary groups in Zhongchao, as well as Father Zor of 'Gearheart'."
"We need to spend money, a lot of money! Hire more heavy firepower!"
"I refuse to believe that we can't level a mere restricted area by piling up artillery shells!"
A chorus of agreement erupted in the conference room.
The executives nodded in agreement, agreeing that this was the right way.
After all, in their minds, there is no problem that money can't solve; if there is, it's because they don't have enough money.
Jessia looked at this group of fanatical and blind people and sneered inwardly.
These old fogies have been blinded by fear.
They bet everything on that one ship, completely ignoring all other possibilities.
What if the attack fails?
What if the Machine Soul really does self-destruct in a fit of anger?
At that point, the Helios Group will truly be doomed.
Jessia stopped talking and silently put away the document about the bottom nest.
The meeting continued, and everyone began to discuss enthusiastically which mercenary group to hire and what type of bunker buster bombs to purchase.
Jessia's thoughts, however, had already drifted elsewhere.
Since the group refuses to send troops, and since Saul and his gang are unreliable.
Then she'll have to figure it out herself.
The mysterious figure from the bottom nest can manipulate the black box so skillfully and crush the Cleaner team like ants.
Jessia was certain that this was definitely not some ordinary garbage collector.