Chapter 1068 - Extortion

“I’ve hit at a good time. Sorokin has finally compromised…”

By his estimation, there was a seventy-percent chance of the negotiation succeeding. Even if he had the right time and place, he dared not speak with absolute certainty that Sorokin would yield to him.

Fortunately, his judgment of Sorokin’s character was not wrong, and the final result was favorable to him.

If it was another Beyond Grade A with a temper, they would most likely have fought. However, Sorokin was good at enduring, and it was probably not the first time he had dealt with such matters. After weighing the benefits and costs, he immediately chose to compromise.

“Speaking of which, Sorokin is so shy about showing his strength. There must be a lot of factors within…”

Han Xiao stroked his chin as he pondered.

This guy was not like the other Beyond Grade As, who relied on their own personal power to influence their organization’s development. He had almost no record worth mentioning, and his business was run through the normal and legal way.

The advanced civilizations had always been alert to any non-allied Beyond Grade A organizations. As the top financial group in the universe, the stronger their power, the more jealousy they would attract. Commercial organizations were not armed forces and had their own set of industry rules to follow. The moment they were targeted by the three Universal Civilizations, it would be hard for the financial group to maintain stable footing. If Sorokin decided to retaliate, others would know that he had been hiding his strength, and the civilizations’ fear would increase.

This was only one of the reasons. Han Xiao still remembered some of the information displayed about Sorokin on his interface. This guy had probably changed his skin many times and had been living in the universe with different identities.

But no matter how many times Sorokin changed his skin, his ability would not change, so he avoided any form of conflict so as not to be recognized. Maybe he had committed some huge offense, so he deliberately kept his name incognito.

“This guy is full of mystery.” Han Xiao shook his head. This was all speculation, and maybe Sorokin had another reason to do so.

No matter what those secrets were, he had squashed Sorokin this time and avenged the suppression he had suffered over the past two decades.

Shareholders would receive huge dividends from the Limitless Financial Group every year. This was no small amount, and while it was not too huge of a loss to Sorokin, Han Xiao could finally obtain some interest.

Under normal circumstances, such huge dividends would not be taken for free. Every shareholder position given by the Limitless Financial Group was coveted, and they would form another business cooperation with the Beyond Grade A organizations, mutually benefitting both parties.

But Han Xiao naturally would not allow the Limitless Financial Group to partake in the army’s business channels, otherwise it would just be a gift to Sorokin. He had made up his mind to only take the money and do nothing, just like a dog in the manger, deliberately creating trouble for Sorokin.

“The Evolutionary Totem is being released to the universe, and I’ll also obtain the shareholder position of the Limitless Financial Group. With these two sources of income, the abundant funds are enough to support the continued expansion of the army. The stock price of the Germinal Financial Group will also skyrocket.”

Han Xiao was overjoyed. He took out his communicator to send messages to the contact points of the three Universal Civilizations.

It was only the initial step for him and Sorokin to come to a consensus. He still had to file it with the three Universal Civilizations regarding this matter for their support. Because of the Evolutionary Totems, this was not a difficult task.

After sending out the news, Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

Once the dynasty, federation, and church had all expressed their opinions, Sorokin also folded, which meant that the follow-up affairs of Black Star’s Godlike Battle had almost come to an end. There was nothing left to do except to take care of Traveler and the Super Star Cluster Civilization behind him.

Traveler had already hidden himself, but Han Xiao knew which Super Star Cluster Civilization he belonged to. However, he had no plans to deal with the civilization behind the scenes at this moment.

On the one hand, the Super Star Cluster alliance was currently developing as a group and steadily expanding in the free competition zone, not creating any trouble, so there was no opportunity for him to take action. On the other hand, the three Universal Civilizations would not sit back and watch the Super Star Cluster develop in the Flickering World. Thus, they would definitely take action. Han Xiao decided to wait for the time the three Universal Civilizations launched an attack to cooperate with them, which would achieve twice the results with half the effort needed.

“Things are almost settled. The establishment of a platform for the Beyond Grade A united front should be placed on the agenda.” Han Xiao rolled his eyes in deep thought.

Both Manison and Kasuyi, one director and the other the actor, did not come to urge him after the incident. No matter what they had done before, at least he owed them a favor during the Hila Rescue mission, so he still had to put in some effort to maintain a united front.

“The purpose of this platform should be to take advantage of the opportunity of the Flickering World to unify all the Beyond Grade A organizations, allowing everyone to have a communication platform, binding all Beyond Grade As together. It cannot be hidden from the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations, yet it cannot be done with too much fanfare… united front… hang on, united front‽”

Han Xiao suddenly had a eureka moment and hurriedly recited a few phrases from the socialist mantras before deriving an ingenious idea.

…

At the same time, Secret Master in the faraway Beast Ancestor stronghold received a communication application from Sorokin.

“Sorokin, what’s happening?”

“Your Excellency Secret Master, I have a piece of bad news for you.” Sorokin sighed.

“Speak.”

“There’s now a problem in our previous deal.”

“What exactly happened?” Secret Master hurriedly asked.

“I promised to leave you one of the shareholder positions, but Black Star came over just now and used his current influence to threaten me. You also know, with the sale of the Evolutionary Totems, the three Universal Civilizations will surely support him. Thus, to reduce my losses, I could only agree to his request.”

“You mean Black Star stole my reserved shareholder seat?” Secret Master’s expression changed.

“Sigh, it’s indeed like that. I can actually create a new major shareholder seat, but I need to dilute the equity of the others, which is more troublesome. It will take a lot of time to carry out some commercial operations and complete the capital increase. Otherwise, the other Beyond Grade A shareholders will not be happy.” Sorokin could not take out his share, otherwise it would be painful if he lost control of the entire financial group.

“… Alright then. Let’s proceed with the deal when you’re done.”

Secret Master was helpless. While he said he would cooperate in the future, he had actually already planned to cancel the trade in his heart.

This Sorokin was obviously too unreliable.

I’m obviously first in line here…

Secret Master had no anger toward Han Xiao snatching his lollipop. After all, in his opinion, Black Star did not know about their private transaction and did not specifically target him.

…

A couple of days later…

“Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union?”

In the Black Star Palace, Sylvia looked at the prototype of the plan that Han Xiao had handed over and could not help but show some surprise.

Han Xiao placed his feet on the table, raising his eyebrows as he replied, “Any problems?”

“The problem is so big that I’m speechless. The dynasty will never agree.” Sylvia had an expression of helplessness. “To boldly unite all the Beyond Grade A organizations, isn’t this taking the initiative to anger with the three Universal Civilizations?”

“What are you talking about? The Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union is a non-governmental organization that aims to deal with the contradictions between the Beyond Grade A organizations involved in the expansion of the Flickering World. It’s always better to solve problems through negotiation rather than violence and jointly maintain the public security of the Flickering World. This is a good thing that will benefit the entire Star Field, and it is also an idea I developed after experiencing the previous incident. I’m worried that there might be more Beyond Grade As that will fall into my hands.” Han Xiao spoke with an expression as though he totally believed in his lies.

Sylvia was speechless. She waved the document in her hands. “You do know that such bullsh*t will not get past the three Universal Civilizations, right?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao stopped his scholarly act, rolling his eyes.

“Well duh, but what else can I do? If I wish to integrate the Beyond Grade As, I’ll need an excuse. Whether the three Universal Civilizations believe it or not, we still have to sugar coat it to prevent us from getting caught in an embarrassing situation.”

Sylvia still had a worried expression. “To have our Black Star Army be the pioneer, won’t this be too eye-catching? Especially in the eyes of the dynasty…”

“That’s why this is only a draft. I’ll still have to pull in more people to establish this union. Those who joined in the Meeting of the Gods with me will probably tacitly choose to join.” Han Xiao shook his head.

While the Beyond Grade As had similar unions, there had never been a union of such scale, akin to the Mercenary Association, Pharmacist Association, or even the Superheroes Association. While the name of this organization was called the Development Union, in the eyes of discerning people, this would be an association that gathered all the Beyond Grade As in the known universe.

So long as most of the current Beyond Grade As joined this organization, they would be able to drive the membership rate of any new Beyond Grade As in the future. Its scope far exceeded that of The Ancient Ones to encompass all Beyond Grade As.

And if one utilized the appeal of this organization to continue to expand the range of members included, it could even evolve into a Super Association for the entire universe. Such a scale would be terrifying because such associations were generally only established by the three Universal Civilizations.

“Having such non-governmental organizations will never put the three Universal Civilizations at ease. They will inevitably ask for their own personnel to settle in. By that time…” Sylvia interjected.

“I know what you mean. ‘Beyond Grade A’ has a special meaning, and the three Universal Civilizations do not wish to have an association of such a nature… But because we’re Beyond Grade As, they can only express their views, and they cannot go all out to prohibit it,” Han Xiao countered.

He was clear that once such an organization was created, the Beyond Grade As would no longer exist as a tray of loose sand. The three Universal Civilizations would also become wary, but at this moment, this organization only served to aid communications, nothing really major. Thus, while the three Universal Civilizations would feel apprehensive, they would not take any action.

However, this might not be the case in the future. The problem of the united front was that it could not circumvent the affiliation of each Beyond Grade A’s allied faction. This was the shackles created by the three Universal Civilizations, and they would not allow the Beyond Grade As to get rid of it.

Furthermore, what the Mechanic Emperor wanted to do was unite the strength of all the Beyond Grade As, whilst Han Xiao only wished to reduce the number of Beyond Grade A casualties, accumulating high levelled combat powers in the explored universe. Their goals were different, and there would be differences at some point in time. Furthermore, the Beyond Grade As were not of the same mind.

“Army Commander, you’re playing with fire.”

Sylvia had a worried expression. Her mind was full of the information regarding the Tragedy of the Pinnacles, and with the increasing popularity of the Black Star Army, she did not wish to see the three Universal Civilizations clear out all Beyond Grade A organizations. If that happened, the Black Star Army would inevitably enter their list.

Why did the three Universal Civilizations have an unbreakable dominance? It was precisely because when combined together, they had the ability to manipulate the entire explored universe! She had no doubt that the three Universal Civilizations would be willing to pay any price to kill off all disobedient Beyond Grade As in the universe, including their own allies.

Without the backing of a Universal Civilization, a Beyond Grade A would still be a Beyond Grade A. But in the same line, a Universal Civilization would still be one even without its Beyond Grade A allies.

“You’re thinking too much. Everyone has their own scruples, and it might not reach such a stage. Right now, I’m just testing the waters.” Han Xiao sighed. “The topic of Beyond Grade As is just too sensitive, so we can only take a step and observe, to see what how the Universal Civilizations react.”

“Alright then… I’ll go and improve on this plan.”

Sylvia could only accept it. After all, Han Xiao was the boss.

She got up and opened the door, only to find that Feidin was waiting outside. The two of them passed each other.

Seeing Feidin, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He straightened and spoke with a smile. “Aren’t you practicing your song at the moment? How do you have the time to visit me?”

“I found out everything. You actually want me to go and be an actor.” Feidin had a resigned expression. “Couldn’t you have discussed it with me beforehand?”

“It’s just being a star. You’re back in your old line. Furthermore, the army needs you. You can’t possibly reject this.” Han Xiao chuckled.

“Alright, forget about the acting part, but why am I even the main character?” Feidin was speechless. “And my role is you‽”

Feidin’s role was to be Black Star in the new film.

Lucky people would still be the main characters even when acting.

“This arrangement is very appropriate. Only you are as handsome as me. This is in line with the facts. Just take a look over here. If we meet with a stranger, they might even say that we’re twins!”

Feidin had no words.

Han Xiao laughed to himself. before waving his hand. “Alright, I won’t joke anymore. The main reason is because no one dared act as me and bear the consequences after. You’re someone close to be who used to be a star, so the director arranged it that way.”

“But it’s been so long since I last acted. Won’t this be too weird for me?” Feidin was still hesitating.

“Haha, it will only be a hit if you’re in a leading role. You’re also a Calamity Grade, and a Psychic at that. How is acting difficult?” Han Xiao encouraged.

Han Xiao persuaded Feidin a while longer before sending this doubtful person off.

Shaking his head with a laugh, he took out his communicator to check on the latest news.

After swiping for a bit, he stood up in shock. A piece of internal news from the dynasty was reflected in his pupils.

The Dark Lord had resigned from his position!