Chapter 339: Don

Mo Yu's jest about "weeping over poverty while guarding a mountain of gold" didn't change Lei Dong's adherence to the rules, but it planted a seed of a different thought in his heart. Indeed, facing the ever-growing "black gold" shortfall of the Star-Chasing project, conventional methods had become inadequate.

A few days later, a high-level closed-door meeting on the preliminary reconnaissance and special resource procurement for the Star-Chasing project was held at the Base Command Center. Attendees included Lei Dong, Xia Wan, and several heads of core departments; Qin Feng also attended—rarely, for he usually had no interest in such specifics, but the Guixu ruins were clearly an exception.

The meeting atmosphere was heavy. The intelligence department head reported fragmented new information on the Guixu Starfield, gathered from several interstellar black markets—all pointing to the region's strangeness and danger, and confirming that other factions were secretly active; clearly, news of Guixu had spread.

The logistics and Ministry of Resources heads displayed the latest "special expenditure" budget report, its shocking red deficits making everyone frown.

"... In summary," the Ministry of Resources head concluded, "if we cannot replenish at least this amount of 'black gold' within three months, our preliminary reconnaissance, custom equipment fabrication, and key personnel hiring plans will be forced to delay or cancel entirely. This will severely impact the Star-Chasing operation's progress and safety margin."

The number he cited made the air in the room grow even heavier.

Lei Dong's fingers tapped the table unconsciously; his gaze swept the room, finally landing on Qin Feng, seated beside the head chair, eyes closed in meditation (or perhaps just not listening at all).

He took a deep breath, as if making a decision, and spoke carefully: "Mr. Qin, regarding this funding gap... have you considered... that oil field you mentioned before..."

He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear: could they "borrow" even a fraction from that theoretical "mountain of gold"—worth trillions—belonging to Qin Feng, to solve this urgent crisis?

All eyes turned to Qin Feng.

Xia Wan also looked at Qin Feng, feeling uneasy. She knew his attitude toward worldly wealth, but the situation was exceptional...

Qin Feng slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze did not rest on Lei Dong, but on the budget report displaying the deficit—his expression remained utterly calm.

The meeting room fell silent, so quiet a pin dropping could be heard.

After a few seconds, Qin Feng spoke, his voice quiet but clear to every ear:

"Don't touch the company's money."

Everyone: "???"

Company? What company?

Lei Dong was stunned, not understanding Qin Feng's meaning.

Qin Feng seemed unwilling to explain. He raised his hand and casually slashed his index finger through the air.

A thin space rift appeared silently before his fingertip.

Then, under everyone's stunned stares, three objects floated gently out of the rift, as if carried by invisible hands, landing softly in the center of the meeting table.

They were three unremarkable-looking items:

A palm-sized, jet-black stone, its surface riddled with natural pores, seeming to absorb all light.

A twisted, dried section of purple wood, resembling an ancient tree root, emitting a faint, sweet fragrance.

A quail-egg-sized, murky bead, its interior swirling with gray mist.

These three items looked ordinary, even worn—but their manner of appearance and Qin Feng's casual demeanor suggested they were anything but common.

"Black Soul Stone," Qin Feng pointed at the black stone, his tone as indifferent as describing a roadside pebble, "palm-sized, enough to buy three well-equipped interstellar mercenary squads and secure their lifelong loyalty."

"Ten-thousand-year Soul-Nourishing Wood," he pointed to the purple wood, "this fragment alone can restore any soul on the verge of dissolving back to full strength. On the soul black market, it can fetch a small fleet."

"Finally, this," his gaze settled on the murky bead, "a fragment of a Ji Mie Xing He Suì Pi. Though a fragment, the Ji Mie Law it contains is enough to make old masters on the path of destruction fight over it. Sell it—its starting bid won't be lower than a fully equipped deep-space battleship."

The meeting room fell into deathly silence.

Everyone stared, mouths agape, at the three unimpressive "rubbish" on the table, their minds completely frozen.

Black Soul Stone? Soul-Nourishing Wood? Ji Mie Xing He Suì Pi?

Buy mercenary squads? Trade for a fleet? Match a battleship?

What the hell are these things?!

Lei Dong felt his heart might burst from his chest! He'd been agonizing over hundreds of millions in "black gold," yet Qin Feng had casually pulled out these three "trifles"—their value... had already exceeded his understanding of "wealth"!

Qin Feng, watching their awestruck expressions, seemed bored, and added:

"I keep these things just taking up space."

"Sell them. Get the job done."

With that, he closed his eyes again, returning to his detached, otherworldly state—as if he'd just discarded some trash.

Only when the thin space rift sealed silently did everyone snap back to reality.

Lei Dong's hands trembled as he cautiously approached the three "treasures," feeling their restrained yet abyssal aura, nearly moved to tears!

Solved! The greatest problem had been resolved so casually! And not by "borrowing" the oil field—a hot potato—but by Qin Feng dipping into his own pocket (or clearing his inventory)!

"Thank you, Mr. Qin! Thank you, Mr. Qin!" Lei Dong bowed repeatedly, voice choked with emotion. With these three items, how could "black gold" ever be lacking? He could even consider forming a "Shadow Fleet" entirely loyal to the New Era, composed of top-tier mercenaries and alien elites!

Xia Wan looked at the three items on the table, then at Qin Feng, eyes closed in meditation, her heart filled with complex emotion.

Master... he wasn't indifferent to these "worldly matters."

He simply supported them in his own way.

"Don't touch the company's money..."

Now she understood what he meant.

In Master's eyes, that oil field might count as "company" property (though the relationship between this "company's" boss and employees was rather messy), and he couldn't be bothered to act. But these "trifles" he carried with him—those were his personal stash?

Using his personal stash to fund the company's major projects...

This approach... was truly... unique.

Watching Lei Dong and the other heads cluster around the three items, excitedly discussing them as if they'd found the Holy Grail, Xia Wan couldn't help but smile slightly.

It seemed the Star-Chasing project's journey would be far "richer" than expected.