Chapter 155: Kansa's Resolve

"Forget it..." Li Yu thought for a moment, then shook his head. This scared the Boss pale, and he hurriedly declared, "I will answer honestly! Ask away, ask me whatever you want to know!"

The phrase "forget it" completely terrified him. He thought Li Yu was too lazy to ask further questions and was simply going to kill him on the spot.

"Although you say that, I don't really trust you." Li Yu shook his head and spat out a few syllables. The Boss's expression suddenly turned blank.

The Bewitching Sound Seed was incredibly effective. The surrounding Prismatic Yellow-Eyed Remnants did not dare to move a muscle, forced to watch their Boss act like a simpleton, answering whatever was asked.

It wasn't until a short while later, as Li Yu stroked his chin, that the Boss snapped back to his senses in horror. He had no idea what had just happened, only feeling an inexplicable sense of strangeness.

"Do you have anything you want to ask?" he inquired cautiously.

"No need. I already know everything." Li Yu organized the information the guy had just provided.

He was Prince Saster's man—or more accurately, a link in the vast organizational network under Prince Saster.

Saster naturally had his own enterprises. Thanks to his identity and strength, these industries were massive, spanning the legal, illegal, and the Grey Zone, at least within the Amethyst Civilization.

The timeline matched up perfectly. Saster really made the most of everything. That Purple-Winged Tiger was so enormous that even after discarding the useless parts, the rest could probably be sold for an astronomical price.

Prince Saster had his own sales channels in many places, and the Inuit Hub was just one of them.

The Pathos Fleet could indeed run rampant; at the very least, dealing with those B-Class Lifeforms was a dimensionality reduction strike.

However, the daily maintenance of the Pathos Fleet required a massive amount of funds. Last time, Dark Star bafflingly destroyed a few of their frigates, which all needed to be replaced.

While the Star Glory Empire supported the Pathos Fleet, they couldn't fund him forever, and the Amethyst Civilization certainly wouldn't allocate money to him either.

Prince Saster could only maintain his daily operations through these methods. After all, fighting a war was all about burning money.

Meanwhile, his subordinates had their own little schemes. They didn't get much of a cut from selling biological materials. Most of the Star Coins had to be handed over, and if the accounts didn't match, their ends would be extremely miserable.

Therefore, these Prismatic Yellow-Eyed Remnants could only figure out other sources of income.

Luring buyers and then taking them out—this kind of zero-capital business was the best method.

Unfortunately, most people buying biological materials were extremely shrewd and incredibly hard to con. Furthermore, the Inuit Hub was a legitimate transit station, which absolutely forbade random fighting.

This meant they couldn't con anyone at all. After so long, only Li Yu had taken the bait, though unfortunately for them, he did it on purpose.

"Sales channels..." Li Yu pondered before ordering, "Open your internal network..."

Trembling with fear, the Boss opened the internal network on his smart terminal. This was their procurement channel, displaying a vast array of biological materials.

"It really is here..." Li Yu's eyes lit up as he found his target—the Thunder Flame Fighting Ape biological material.

He had guessed as much the moment he realized these people were part of Prince Saster's massive biological sales network.

This extremely expensive creature, which still fell under the category of a B-Class Lifeform, was a prime commodity. There was no way Saster wouldn't want a piece of the pie.

Sure enough, he found the flesh and blood of the Thunder Flame Fighting Ape in their internal channels.

"Go apply for this meat..." Li Yu instructed the Boss.

"The Thunder Flame Fighting Ape..." The Boss shuddered, his complexion looking rather awful.

"Is there a problem?" Li Yu narrowed his eyes, prompting the Boss to hurriedly explain.

"No problem... no problem, it's just that we need to advance the funds, and the price of this Thunder Flame Fighting Ape is far too expensive..."

A Thunder Flame Fighting Ape priced at 2 billion Star Coins per metric ton required an advance payment of 1.8 billion. In other words, even if they sold it, these guys would only pocket a 200 million commission.

If there was a discount or a promotional offer, their cut would be even less.

"You've been operating here for so long, and you don't even have 1.8 billion?" Li Yu threatened mildly. "It seems Star Coins are more important to you than your life..."

"That's not the case at all..." the Boss frantically clarified. "Although we've been operating for a long time, the three of us brothers run this together. We also have so many subordinates to feed. The Star Coins that actually end up in our pockets really aren't that much..."

The Boss wept bitter tears, denouncing the wicked Prince Saster, looking utterly miserable.

In reality, there were still many people who couldn't even find a way to get such a job. After all, selling this stuff carried little risk. Especially in relatively legitimate places, they basically just sat around counting money.

Fortunately, Second Brother still had a breath left in him and hadn't been beaten to death by Li Yu.

Pooling together Second Brother's Star Coins, they had more than enough, allowing the Boss to directly order the Thunder Flame Fighting Ape biological material.

"I see quite a lot of biological materials here. It doesn't look like you're short on Star Coins." Li Yu glanced around.

The Boss tagged along beside him, flattering him shamelessly. "Those are just scraps and clearance items. Some don't even have the value to modulate a gene chain. They're not worth much at all. We just keep them around to see if we can con a few people."

Shady merchants! Absolute shady merchants!

If he hadn't stepped in to eliminate this public menace, who knew how many more people these guys would have ruined.

It would take about two days for the Thunder Flame Fighting Ape biological material to be delivered here. To avoid any unexpected incidents...

Li Yu notified Mangu, asking her to bring people to temporarily take over the place and drag away all the Prismatic Yellow-Eyed Remnants.

"Oh ho ho, so it's the three Yellow-Eyed brothers..." Mangu gave a coquettish laugh. She clearly recognized these people. After all, the three brothers were all C-Class Lifeforms, forces to be reckoned with, and all operated within the Grey Zone.

"Their reputation isn't exactly stellar. But the Inuit Hub has a massive flow of interstellar races, so newcomers here wouldn't know much about them."

"You didn't even ask me about them before coming over," Mangu cast a slightly reproachful glance at Li Yu.

Li Yu's heart skipped a beat. He gave a couple of awkward laughs and explained, "I forgot... slipped my mind..."

In truth, the moment Li Yu discovered the flesh of the Purple-Winged Tiger, he guessed they were probably Saster's people.

He harbored some ulterior motives himself and wasn't purely there to purchase biological flesh, so he hadn't bothered telling Mangu.

"But since you wiped them out in one go, there's nothing more to say." Mangu's gaze held a bit more thoughtful scrutiny as she looked at Li Yu.

There were hardly any traces of a battle. Third Brother had been killed in a single strike, sliced cleanly down the middle. Second Brother had been smashed into the wall, his armor cracked. The Boss was bowing and scraping, too terrified to resist.

Everything pointed to a single fact: Li Yu's strength absolutely crushed them.

"Right... that Kansa requested I implant a Thought Seal on him..." Mangu said with an inquiring tone. "He said you could use it as a handle to control him, and let him go back."

"Oh..." Li Yu was slightly surprised. A Thought Seal? It wasn't as if Kansa hadn't witnessed the power of the Thought Seal; it literally meant placing his life in someone else's hands. To think he'd make such a resolute decision.

However, holding onto Kansa had little value. He couldn't be traded for Star Coins, yet letting him go for free felt like a waste.

If a Thought Seal was added to the mix, it truly could serve as a means to control him, though there were still some concerns.

"Can the Thought Seal be removed...?" Li Yu weighed the possibilities.

"It can..." Mangu nodded, then quickly added, "However, the Amethyst Civilization doesn't have the capability. The Thought Seal involves the mental plane. The Star Glory Empire possesses the technology, but the Amethyst Civilization... impossible."

"The mental plane..." Li Yu muttered, then pondered deeply. "In that case, we really can let him leave..."

"As royalty of the Amethyst Civilization, he can provide you with a lot of assistance."

Mangu's smile grew enchanting. "He is also your pawn. We can share him."

This was Mangu's stance; Li Yu's power prompted her to show more goodwill.

Li Yu felt there was something off about this sharing arrangement, but he nodded anyway. "Once you implant the Thought Seal, he is free to go."

Kansa was brought into this new environment with some trepidation. He was still conflicted; being implanted with a Thought Seal meant entirely becoming someone's slave.

In the past, he would have never agreed. He would have chosen death over such humiliation.

But now, he considered the bigger picture. Whether he was a slave or not simply depended on his value. The Thought Seal was merely a conduit for trust.

Mangu and Li Yu were no fools. Treating him purely as a slave would be the most incorrect way to utilize him.

"Commendable courage..." Li Yu patted Kansa's shoulder, speaking with mild gratification. "Since you have this resolve, I can finally give an answer to the deceased Morcasa people."

Kansa forced a smile, though inwardly he was cursing furiously. 'Do the Morcasa people really need you to give them an answer?'

Nearby, the Boss of the Prismatic Yellow-Eyed Remnants looked at this somewhat familiar person, inexplicably feeling a twinge of sympathy.

Kansa caught sight of the Prismatic Yellow-Eyed Remnant looking at him with a comforting gaze and instantly felt annoyed. 'Where did this idiot come from? What's with that look?'

Mangu led Kansa into a small, dark room, calling Li Yu to come over as well.

Various scenarios flashed through Li Yu's mind. Though slightly reluctant, he followed them inside to ensure nothing unexpected happened.

"What a brilliant amethyst..." Mangu caressed the crystal on Kansa's forehead, her gaze somewhat distant and entranced.

Kansa's face was deathly pale. Although he was prepared to be implanted with the Thought Seal, he certainly wasn't prepared to be flirted with by Mangu.

"Through this amethyst, the Amethyst people can control the Amethyst Power. It's quite a magical thing..." Mangu explained to Li Yu.

"Uh-huh..." Li Yu nodded with a weird expression on his face. 'You're telling me about the amethyst, but why is your hand roaming all over Kansa's face?'

Kansa frantically signaled him. Li Yu coughed a few times and decided to speak up. Otherwise, Hunter might end up getting cuckolded soon.

"Can we begin?"

Without turning her head, Mangu replied, "I've already begun..."

Her hand roamed across Kansa's face. Special white patterns emerged, tracing the path of her fingertips on his skin.

Li Yu acutely sensed the fluctuation of Mental Power, which was rather profound.

'This Mangu is not simple...' Li Yu suddenly realized. Kansa was a C-Class Lifeform, yet Mangu controlled him with absolute ease. This ability was truly remarkable.

A special white seal was drawn onto Kansa's face, resembling some sort of unique symbol. It emitted a faint white glow before suddenly disappearing.

"Ah!!!"

Clutching his head, Kansa let out a miserable, agonizing wail. He rolled on the ground, his eyes bulging so furiously they looked ready to pop out of their sockets.

"It's a normal reaction. He'll be fine in a moment..." Mangu's condition also seemed a bit off. She swayed unsteadily, looking as though she might collapse at any second.

Li Yu was originally going to lend a supporting hand to showcase his excellent virtue of respecting the old and caring for the young, but after a moment of thought, he decided against it...

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Kansa's wails to fade. Struggling to stand up from the floor, his eyes completely bloodshot, he spoke in a hoarse voice, "There is one more thing I need your help with."

He continued of his own accord, "The Amethyst High Command is infiltrated by Saster's people. Saster will definitely know that I've appeared. He'll send people to hunt me down, and I can't fend them off."

"You want us to deal with those people?" Mangu seemed somewhat displeased. "We haven't seen any benefits yet, and you already want an investment?"

Kansa stated deeply, "After I return, I can grant you the title of Purple Crystal Honorary Knight, though the quotas are limited."

"A Purple Crystal Honorary Knight!?" Mangu's breathing grew noticeably heavier.

"...Equivalent to Second-Class Citizen Treatment in the Star Glory Empire..." Li Yu checked the database in real-time.

Mangu said excitedly, "Exactly... you guys can use it too. With this identity, you'll avoid a lot of trouble within the borders of the Star Glory Empire."

Kansa's value was already starting to show itself. Li Yu had initially planned to let Kansa leave only after they had departed the Inuit Hub, to avoid the risk of getting dragged into the mess.

But looking at it now... Li Yu casually retrieved Kansa's smart terminal and armor from his compressed space and tossed them back to him.

"What about the people from the Amethyst Civilization who are actually coming to pick you up? Can't they deal with Saster?" Mangu asked again.

"Just in case."

After equipping his armor, Kansa held off on turning on his smart terminal. He looked at the two, offered a silent nod, and walked outside.

No one stopped him. Exiting the gate, the artificial sunlight spilled over him. The pale purple radiance gave him the sudden urge to shed a tear.

Suppressing the emotional fluctuations in his heart, he waited until he was quite far from the building before powering on his smart terminal. Countless messages instantly flooded in.

Simultaneously, the moment he came online, alarms blared across several fortresses of the Amethyst Civilization.

Inside the interstellar shipyard, Saster looked up at the massive swarm of maintenance robots hovering around the Pathos Flagship, conducting intricate repairs.

The flagship had been damaged during his last battle with Dark Star and was still far from being fully operational.

"My Prince..." Rui Jin trotted over, his expression anxious. "Kansa's smart terminal has come online..."

"Where!" Saster whipped his head around, his eyes brimming with chilling killing intent.

"The Inuit Hub."

"Why is he at the Inuit Hub? What about Li Yu, and the Amethyst Core?"

Rui Jin had prepared his response. "According to our intelligence, Kansa claimed that his captors got into an internal conflict with the Morcasa natives, and he took the opportunity to escape."

"Took the opportunity to escape?" Saster snorted coldly, somewhat unconvinced.

"Prepare to set—" He paused. Glancing at the incomplete Pathos Flagship, Saster stayed silent for a moment before declaring, "Dispatch the Sun-Hunter Squad. Bring Kansa back to me."

Rui Jin hesitated. "My Prince, our civilization's internal authorities have already warned us several times. If we are discovered, I fear..."

"Furthermore, portions of the Inuit Hub are properties belonging to the Tyron Chamber of Commerce. If we make too big of a scene, the fallout will be severe."

Saster frowned deeply. After a long while, he ordered coldly, "Then keep a low profile. But as for Kansa... I must have him!"

Rui Jin sighed inwardly, knowing he couldn't talk Saster out of it. He swiped across his smart terminal a few times, a glint in his eye as he said, "My Prince, a shipment will be heading to the Inuit Hub soon."

"The Sun-Hunter Squad can travel to the Inuit Hub disguised as cargo, and we can have the Prismatic Yellow-Eyed Remnants stationed there coordinate with them."

"If they are exposed, we can use the Prismatic Yellow-Eyed Remnants as scapegoats."

Hearing this, Saster couldn't help but nod in satisfaction. Rui Jin's administrative capabilities were indeed quite reliable.