Translator: AnubisTL
The second approach was much simpler.
Typically, if a planet's living conditions were particularly suitable and it seemed a waste to use it for the Ten Thousand Races Arena, the federation would contact the Cleaning Company and order a thorough cleansing of the planet.
This involved exterminating all sentient life capable of resistance, while minimizing damage to the ecological environment and leaving no trash behind.
This meant heavy firepower was off the table. Instead, ground troops would be deployed to systematically eliminate the native inhabitants in batches—a process euphemistically referred to as "clearing trash."
The Cleaning Company specialized in this type of operation.
Once cleansed, these planets often became vacation spots for wealthy merchants or politicians.
Being far from the galactic federation meant they were unsuitable for permanent habitation, serving only as occasional getaways. Of course, some pirates and rebel forces also used these planets as their main bases.
"The Cleaning Company?"
Chen Jiang raised an eyebrow slightly, tucked the tablet into his chest, and stood up to gaze down at the ant-sized crowd below. He remained silent.
His sources of information were too limited.
All his intelligence came from this forum. He had no way to access deeper insights, and even paid consultations yielded no answers, only risked exposing his identity.
Still, he could reasonably infer that X held a position of considerable influence.
That was enough for now.
Suddenly, the tablet in his pocket vibrated again.
A message popped up:
[Mr. Jiang Cheng, my eldest brother has safely arrived on Eugenia Star. We'll need your assistance next. Is now a good time? If so, I'll have my brother contact you.]
It was from Wu Zhending.
[Yes, it's fine.]
Chen Jiang replied casually, then stood up and turned to Scar Dog and the others. "Let's go find a secluded spot in the wilderness. Things are about to get noisy."
"Right away!"
Scar Dog flicked his cigarette butt off the rooftop, stretched his limbs, and prepared to leave.
Just then—
The advertisement playing on the large screen of the opposite skyscraper abruptly cut off. The professionally dressed woman reappeared, resuming her broadcast of a news bulletin.
[We interrupt this program for an urgent late-night news bulletin.]
"On the evening of September 13, 2022, cosmic era, the Orange Red Star Enforcement Force, under the leadership of Minister Li, successfully solved the most horrific terrorist attack on Orange Red Star this year, which occurred in North Creek City."
"The suspects behind this attack have been identified as the Qunli Corporation, a rival company of North Star."
"Under Minister Li's brilliant leadership, the case was solved in less than two hours. During the arrest, the suspects resisted violently, fiercely resisting detention and even attacking the enforcement officers."
"Left with no other choice, Minister Li was forced to eliminate the suspects on the spot, sustaining severe injuries in the process."
"The following footage shows family members of the victims visiting Minister Li in the hospital, where he is recovering from the injuries sustained during the operation."
"Many citizens were moved to tears. Despite the late hour, crowds gathered outside the hospital, laying flowers at the entrance as a heartfelt tribute to Minister Li, who was injured in the line of duty."
"The Star Defense Minister of Orange Red Star, deeply concerned about the incident and unable to sleep due to grief, rushed to the hospital upon hearing of the case's resolution. He expressed his sincere gratitude, saying, 'You have sacrificed so much for the people of the federation.'"
"According to sources, the star lord of Orange Red Star finally extinguished the light in his study that had burned through the night after the case was solved."
"Minister Li sustained severe injuries in this incident and, deeply saddened by the ordeal, has voluntarily resigned from his position as Minister of the Orange Red Star Enforcement Force."
"Currently, the crime-solving rate on Orange Red Star remains at an impressive 99%. Heaven's Net is vast and inescapable; we urge all law-abiding citizens to remain on the righteous path."
"All is peaceful. We will forever uphold and cherish peace."
Scar Dog stared expressionlessly at the news on the massive screen before him for a long moment before finally speaking. "This is truly magical realism. What can I even say?"
"Only that we should congratulate Minister Li on taking another step up the ladder."
"Wait, this... this is actually happening?" Li Hao exclaimed, pointing at the screen across the street. "This thing really is magical realism, huh?"
"I take back what I said about Minister Li lacking brains. He doesn't just have brains—he has a hundred of them!"
"So, the Qunli Corporation just died for nothing?"
"I wouldn't say for nothing," Scar Dog replied, pulling a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it, and placing it between his lips. He gazed at the woman on the screen, still droning on, and sighed. "You could say they were sacrifices on the path to peace."
"The Federation's citizens crave peace, and a high crime-solving rate naturally makes them feel secure."
"Cases that can be solved are immediately opened; those that can't are never filed. And for cases that must be opened but can't be solved, well, we just force a solution."
"After all, the peace the Federation's citizens demand is nothing more than that string of digitized crime-solving statistics."
"I don't know why, but even though I've never met anyone from the Qunli Corporation, I feel sorry for them now. They didn't just die for nothing; they were wrongfully killed."
In truth, there was no attempt at concealment.
The upper echelons of Orange Red Star had long known that the terrorist attack was orchestrated by the Jiang Cheng Company.
But they couldn't arrest them, nor could they afford to.
The Rose Club's tentacles reached too deep. Cutting off this head would plunge Orange Red Star and several surrounding planets into chaos.
But the public was watching the federal government closely, so solving the case was inevitable.
In the end, Qunli Corporation could only die with its grievances unaddressed.
One man was wronged, but peace was secured.
A worthwhile exchange.
Just as that woman had said, we will always uphold and cherish peace.
This is peace.
Any broad concept inevitably means that in some narrow corner, someone bears the full weight of that concept. Peace is no exception.
"Alright," Chen Jiang said, rising to his feet. He walked to the edge of the rooftop, leaning on his cane as he gazed down at the city's dazzling lights. "Let's stop discussing these meaningless matters. Come on, Wu Lengjing is calling."
The next moment—
He took a slow step forward, spread his arms wide, and turned in mid-air, savoring the heart-stopping thrill of freefall. A faint smile played on his lips as he gazed dreamily at the bright moon overhead.
"I love this peaceful world."
"But—"
"Now that I've arrived, peace must depart."
"The peace belonging to Blue Star will be rebuilt upon the ruins of the federation."
The wind roared past his ears, a fleeting whisper.
Scar Dog, standing on the rooftop's edge, glanced at Brother Jiang hovering in mid-air and casually shrugged. "You're right, they are meaningless things. Brother Jiang, you've been getting cooler with your actions lately."
"You can't keep this up, though. You need to restrain that irresistible charm of yours."
With a sudden leap forward, he felt the air crushing against his face and watched the tiny ants and vehicles below grow larger. A cigarette butt, glowing crimson, dangled from his lips as he threw a punch into the air, his voice slightly manic as he roared:
"Damn this world!"
Li Hao, still standing on the rooftop's edge, shrugged helplessly and watched Brother Jiang and Scar Dog jump. Closing his eyes, he followed suit, the wind screaming past his ears.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Since joining Brother Jiang, not only had his safety improved, but life had become far more interesting.
On Blue Star, he had always assumed he'd spend his life operating an excavator. He never imagined he'd experience anything like this.
The commotion drew the attention of passersby below, and gasps of shock and alarm erupted from the crowd.
Just as everyone expected the three figures to crash heavily to the ground and vanish from sight, a white light gate suddenly materialized in mid-air!
In a manner they couldn't comprehend, the three figures disappeared into the gate.
Immediately afterward, a line of large white characters formed from white mist exploded across the sky above the buildings:
[Jiang Cheng Company extends its sincerest greetings. You will be hearing this name often in the future.]
[I am Jiang Cheng. Our paths will cross again.]
In an instant, many people pulled out their cameras and raised their wristwatches to take photos, their faces filled with awe as they exclaimed in admiration. The spectacle was undeniably impressive, resembling a performance by extreme sports athletes.
At this point, the citizens of the federation didn't fully grasp the significance of "Jiang Cheng Company" or the meaning of "our paths will cross again."
After a long while, the white characters slowly dissipated.
Yet in North Creek City, the largest commercial hub on Orange Red Star, the nightlife continued uninterrupted.
Countless people indulged in the pleasures of the night, living in a drunken stupor.
On the edge of the rooftop of North Creek City's tallest office building...
A man in a white suit, draped with a coat, stood at the edge of the rooftop, calmly gazing at the words exploding across the sky between the buildings. After a long silence, he waved his hand and spoke.
"What's the progress?"
"99% complete."
A woman in an ultra-short skirt stood beside him, her eyes tightly closed as her hands rapidly tapped on a semi-transparent screen before her. "Eugenia's satellites are private, with their own unique key structure. That delayed us a bit."
"Fortunately, the computational power required wasn't too complex."
"They were relatively easy to infiltrate. Progress is now at 100%. We've gained control of 18 private satellites orbiting Eugenia Planet, but we can only use them for surface reconnaissance."
"We can't access the satellites' weapons systems. They're double-encrypted, and any intrusion attempt triggers an immediate shutdown of all satellite functions for one minute, along with a Level 1 alert to central control."
"This process is protected by three 1024-bit keys, making it irreversible and impossible to interrupt."
"That's enough."
The man nodded slightly, swirling the wine in his glass as he calmly watched the words explode across the sky in the distance. "From this moment forward, monitor every sign on the surface of Eugenia Planet, at all times."
"Contact me immediately if you detect anything unusual."
"I want to see what surprises this Jiang Cheng Company has in store for me."
"If they prove worthy, absorbing them into the CBD organization might not be out of the question."
This man was none other than X, the mastermind behind the Rose Club.
"Um..."
The woman in the miniskirt standing beside him spoke with a peculiar expression. "There might already be something happening."
"What do you mean?"
The woman opened her eyes and tapped her wrist-mounted device several times. A bird's-eye view quickly projected into the air.
The footage showed a desolate wilderness. As a Remote Space Transmission portal opened, a massive cannon barrel—at least fifteen meters in diameter—slowly extended from the white light gate.
The crimson patterns on the awe-inspiring barrel began to flicker violently.
The next moment—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Light bullets, each fifteen meters in diameter, erupted at a rate of tens of thousands per minute. They streaked through the air, forming luminous trails that nearly blanketed the sky, before crashing into distant targets.
The light bullets tore through the night, bathing the land in a blinding artificial dawn.
Everything has two sides.
Light, typically a symbol of rebirth, now represented deathly silence.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Massive light bullets detonated in rapid succession nearby. As the barrel began to swivel, a cataclysmic bombardment commenced.
Though they couldn't hear the explosions, the sheer visual spectacle conveyed the overwhelming force of the assault.
The barrel continued to rotate.
Caught completely off guard, the surface of Eugenia Planet had no time to mount any defense before being subjected to an unprecedented bombardment.
Eugenia Planet, a private world owned by the Eugenia Company, housed the company's three largest miscellaneous goods warehouses. These warehouses, each covering an area comparable to a city, could supply the bulk of miscellaneous goods for several nearby planets.
Now, this private world, which had never faced an external invasion since its acquisition by the Eugenia Company, was suddenly subjected to a massive bombardment.
The bombardment continued, but they could no longer see clearly.
Dust billowed across Eugenia Planet, obscuring the surface beneath the thick cloud.
Yet one thing remained clear to them all:
The Jiang Cheng Company had made its move.
"Hah..."
X exhaled softly, shifting his gaze from the satellite feed projected in mid-air to the still-lingering white text nearby:
[I am Jiang Cheng. We have a long future ahead of us.]
He had never underestimated the Jiang Cheng Company, nor had he ever believed they would fail.
But he hadn't anticipated they would move so swiftly.
(End of the Chapter)
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