Translator: AnubisTL
"Chairman Li."
On Orange Red Star, a man in uniform sat behind his desk, gazing at the grinning middle-aged man who had just submitted a starship landing application. After a long silence, he waved his hand dismissively.
The door quickly closed.
A small item was placed on the desk and activated. This device blocked all electronic signals, effectively preventing eavesdropping. Of course, if someone used a specialized rule item for eavesdropping, there was no defense.
After all, this device could only guarantee protection against most attempts at electronic eavesdropping.
"We've been cooperating for some time now. Using your mineral transport starships to help people illegally enter Orange Red Star—smuggling—that's not a problem."
"Everyone knows what's going on."
"But aren't you pushing it a bit tonight? It hasn't even been that long, and you're already requesting landing permission for four more starships?"
"Do you think my superiors are fools? Thirteen mineral transport starships landing on Orange Red Star in a single night? Orange Red Star is a commercial and residential star—what do we need all that ore for? To build artificial mountains?"
"Ahem."
The man before him, his face beaming with a simple smile, scratched his nose awkwardly. "It does sound a bit far-fetched, doesn't it? But business has been exceptionally good tonight. Just think of it as an artificial mountain, okay?"
"As for your superiors, don't worry. I've already taken care of them."
"..."
"Even if you've taken care of my superiors, what about their superiors? So many mining ships landing in one night—how can we explain that?"
"I've taken care of everyone in your chain of command, from top to bottom."
"..."
The uniformed man remained expressionless for a long moment before finally speaking. "Then why have you been bothering me all this time? Why didn't you just have my superiors order me to do this?"
"That wouldn't do. When there's meat, everyone should get a share."
The man chuckled, leaving the deeper reasons unspoken. The truth was, those higher up could only turn a blind eye, never issue a direct order.
As long as nothing went wrong, everything would be fine.
But if something did go wrong, this man would be the one taking the fall.
That's why he was paying him. Otherwise, who would take the blame if things went south?
This man? Don't be ridiculous. He hadn't taken any bribes and was merely following orders. The higher-ups? Even less likely—it would tarnish the Federation's image.
Who would take the blame in the end?
Naturally, he would. Enraged and humiliated, the federation sent troops to crush him, then broadcast the entire operation in a meticulously orchestrated media blitz—a one-stop shop for damage control.
At the grassroots level, personnel were responsible for their duties and, when necessary, served as scapegoats at critical moments.
It wasn't just Iron Man who maintained peace; there was also the Scapegoat Man.
"Good. I appreciate your attitude."
The uniformed man fell silent, took the starship landing application from the other man's hand, and stamped it with an official seal. "These recent batches of people you've been transporting—they won't cause any trouble, will they?"
"Absolutely not," the man across the desk replied with a foolish grin, retrieving the stamped application. He grinned at the officer and said, "Don't worry, sir. They're all law-abiding federal citizens—as obedient as can be."
But inwardly, he smirked silently.
Who smuggles themselves across the stars and still claims to be law-abiding?
Tonight's smuggling operation to Orange Red Star was massive, and the firepower they carried even frightened him.
This is practically war-level weaponry. In this situation, they'll probably replace my contact again. A new one will likely be assigned in a few days.
If every day could be as profitable as today...
At this rate, he'd soon have enough money to buy a fully equipped destroyer.
In truth, it was perfectly normal for the uniformed man before him to be unaware of this. Those in higher positions could only operate within the established rules. For instance, they couldn't order frontline staff to engage in actions that might leave them vulnerable to criticism.
However, dismissing a frontline employee with a poor work ethic fell entirely within the rules, was perfectly reasonable, and left no room for complaint.
Therefore, whenever a new frontline employee was assigned, he would go to handle the handover. If the newcomer accepted bribes and did their job, they'd get along well, and everyone would profit together.
If the newcomer was incorruptible and refused bribes, he'd have them fired and replaced.
If the newcomer took bribes but didn't deliver, he'd have them fired and replaced.
If the newcomer was too dense to understand even the most obvious hints, he'd have them fired and replaced.
In short, he'd keep replacing them until he found someone who satisfied all parties. He and those in higher positions never discussed such matters—not a single word was exchanged. They relied entirely on unspoken understanding.
You do your part, and I'll do mine. Though they never communicated directly, the job got done.
For those in their line of work—scrapping by under the federation's thumb—the most crucial skill was understanding unspoken cues, not just spoken words. Their ability to read between the lines had to be top-tier.
As he left the office...
He straightened his back and casually handed the official stamped invitation to one of his subordinates waiting by the office door before striding out and boarding the magnetic levitation car hovering nearby.
Checking his wrist-mounted account balance, he counted the digits and nodded in satisfaction. Tonight's deal had been quite profitable.
Smuggling was a lucrative business.
Firstly, clients who chose to smuggle themselves often had substantial financial resources and were willing to pay a premium.
Secondly, the operational costs were astronomical. Beyond the price of starships and the fuel consumed during interstellar travel, the regular bribes paid to officials alone amounted to astronomical sums, all of which had to be factored into the overall expenses.
However, the advantage lay in the absolute monopoly of the smuggling industry.
On each planet, the federal officials responsible for starship landings would only cooperate with a single faction, never multiple groups. The reason was simple: more players meant more variables, and for these officials, stability and security were paramount.
In other words, anyone wanting to smuggle themselves onto Orange Red Star had no choice but to come to Li Shangyin. No one else could help them.
Absolute monopoly meant that whenever a large number of people prepared to smuggle themselves onto Orange Red Star, it was his time to make big money. Unfortunately, despite having contracted this planet for quite some time, such opportunities had been rare.
Just then—
A communication screen suddenly popped up on his wrist device.
A man with facial tattoos, wearing a green military vest and carrying a rifle, stared solemnly into the screen.
"Boss, the brothers just found information about one of the factions among the mining ships that landed earlier."
"So what? What does that have to do with us?"
Li Shangyin stared expressionlessly at the man on the screen. "The cardinal rule of this business is never to pry into a client's identity. Are you trying to break that rule?"
"But Boss, that faction is Albatross."
"Albatross?"
Li Shangyin paused, a flicker of disbelief and elation flashing through his eyes. After searching high and low, I find them without even trying!
He had been searching for the Albatross gang for a long time, but he had never been able to pinpoint the location of their hideout. Their operations were as elusive as ghosts. He never expected to stumble upon them here!
Just now, they had claimed to have taken over the smuggling operations on Orange Red Star.
This "takeover" wasn't a matter of money. Instead, he had systematically eliminated all the previous factions controlling the smuggling routes on Orange Red Star, leaving the business to fall into his hands by default.
In areas beyond the reach of federal law, competition was brutally simple: survival of the fittest. The last one standing was the victor.
His reason for hunting down the Albatross gang was equally straightforward. The Albatross controlled the smuggling rights for an entire star. If he could wipe them out, the smuggling rights for that star would fall entirely into his hands.
"Damn it!"
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he swiftly retrieved several application forms from under his seat. After hastily filling them out, he barked into the communication screen, "Tell the boys to board the ship! We're hitting the jackpot tonight!"
"If we pull this off, we'll be living like kings from now on!"
"Bring all the gear!"
"This is my territory. I can smuggle in whatever I want, no matter how big the cargo. We'll make multiple trips if necessary. I'll go submit the application."
"Anyone who dares set foot on my turf won't leave alive. I wonder if they're all coming. Even if it's just their core members, we can capture them and force them to reveal the coordinates of Albatross's hideout."
Every smuggling operation is backed by armed forces, their firepower often surpassing that of interstellar pirates.
Interstellar pirates primarily rely on the speed of their starships, individual combat skills in space, the ability to quickly board enemy vessels, and comprehensive capabilities like intelligence gathering. Firepower is a secondary concern.
But smugglers operate differently. In territorial disputes, they rely on overwhelming firepower to crush their opponents. Whoever survives claims the territory.
If pirates wage guerrilla warfare, smugglers wage positional warfare.
And in positional warfare, firepower is paramount, giving smugglers a clear advantage over pirates in this regard.
"..."
In the familiar office, behind the familiar desk, the man in the familiar uniform stared at the unfamiliar application form for a long moment before speaking.
"Sixteen minutes from now, four mining ships are requesting permission to land."
"Thirty-two minutes from now, another four mining ships are requesting permission to land."
"Forty-eight minutes from now, yet another four mining ships are requesting permission to land."
"Roughly calculated, nearly twenty mining ships are requesting permission to land at various times in the coming hours."
"Chairman Li, isn't your business tonight a bit... excessive?"
"Are you trying to start a war on Orange Red Star?"
"Heaven bless us, business has indeed been decent tonight."
Li Shangyin chuckled, pushing an anonymous Star Card across the desk with a grin. "They're just refugees, lacking federal citizen status. They can't board starships, so they have to take the back routes."
"They're all well-behaved. No trouble at all."
"All good people."
(End of the Chapter)