“I understand!”
Bronya’s pretty face was serious.
She furrowed her brows and began to consider the issue carefully.
Hina nudged Xia Ye and whispered:
“Xia Ye?”
“You’ll help us, right?”
“I will!” Xia Ye nodded:
“But we’ll have to set out on another journey. You’ll have to rely on yourselves then!”
“I’ll do my best!”
Bronya knew that Xia Ye and the others had already helped her so much. She couldn’t ask for more. As Xia Ye had said before—
The future of Belobog was in the hands of the people of Belobog!
“Don’t be so nervous!”
Xia Ye felt that his warning had taken effect. He smiled and offered a sweet gesture:
“Once the planetary network covers the globe, you won’t have to worry too much about general forces. Belobog will at least have the ability to defend itself. Plus, with the face of the Star Rail, as long as you don’t encounter those infamous scourges, you basically don’t need to worry about threats from the stars!”
“I understand!”
“Here we are! Here we are!”
In front of the underground cable station.
The area was already crowded with residents of Belobog.
As the cable car slowly docked, the first batch of residents from the lower strata stepped out of the carriage, and without exception, they all looked up at the sky. Then, they all felt their legs go weak!
In the lower strata, the so-called sky was a 2,000-meter high dome.
Now, seeing the truly deep and vast sky.
Even the elders who had gone down from the upper strata before couldn’t adapt easily.
Let alone Hook and the other kids who had been born in the lower strata!
“Wow! My head is spinning!”
“Hook… Hook can’t do this!”
“Big brother, help!”
“Wow, what is this?”
Xia Ye couldn’t help but laugh as he saw Hook activate her Flame Emblem with a call, a ball of fire rising to envelop her. This was Flame Protection, possessing a defensive effect and calming the mind. It was a case of accidentally and coincidentally mitigating Hook’s fear of open space.
“Great Guardian!”
Natasha came up to Bronya.
“Natasha!”
“You came at the right time!”
Bronya was worried that she didn’t have anyone to help her:
“After the residents of the lower strata are settled, come help me handle the administrative affairs. I’m going to die of exhaustion!”
“Is it really that exaggerated?”
Natasha had originally disbanded the Geofront, wanting to open a clinic and orphanage in the upper strata.
But seeing Bronya’s pitiful expression, she couldn’t bear to say her plan out loud—Belobog was in a state of ruin and Bronya had a difficult time!
She should stay and help her!
…
Three days later.
The situation in Belobog had stabilized.
The network had also covered half of this planet, and things were heading in a positive direction. However—
“Xia Ye!”
While accompanying Kiana on a shopping trip, Xia Ye heard Welt’s voice from the train:
“A starship is approaching the planet!”
“Starship?”
Xia Ye and Kiana exchanged a glance. They weren’t surprised that a starship had appeared, but since Welt specifically mentioned it, then—
“What faction’s starship is it?”
“The company…”
“I knew it!”
Xia Ye was speechless: “Kiana, I guess the company has been keeping an eye on our movements ever since you repaired the train and set sail again. Every time the train opens up a new route, the company follows behind to take the fruit of our labor, just like now!”
“Hehe~”
Kiana of course knew that too.
Currently, only the Star Rail was sailing among the stars in the Milky Way, so naturally, it attracted a lot of attention.
Xia Ye was right!
However—
“It’s not that exaggerated. Given the current situation of Belobog, cooperating with the company is actually a good choice. After all, some departments of the company are actually quite willing to support lower-level civilizations!”
“I don’t think it’s that simple!”
“Is that so?”
…
Soon after, in the Cliffcastle.
Bronya looked at Topa, who introduced herself as a senior executive of the Strategic Investment Department of the Interstellar Peace Company, and asked with furrowed brows:
“Can you say that again?”
“Sure!”
Topa had a smile on her face:
“When the Anti-matter Legion invaded Yarilo-VI, the ruler of the planet at the time borrowed a large amount of money from the company to build a mechanized army to resist the Anti-matter Legion.”
“After the Star Nucleus Disaster, the planet lost contact with the outside world, but this debt didn’t disappear. Seven hundred years have passed, and the principal and interest combined amount to… all this, uh… Great Guardian, it’s time to pay!”
“But that wasn’t a loan we—"
“Sorry, the contract states that the borrower is the primary civilization of this planet.”
Topa said calmly:
“If the primary civilization of this world changed after the disaster, then this debt would be wiped clean. However, now, the primary civilization of this world is still humans, so this debt should be repaid by you!”
“But the number you gave is too enormous!”
Hina grumbled indignantly. Even she, who wasn’t very well-educated, knew that the number Topa mentioned was astronomical—she could tell from Bronya’s expression!
“This is a debt of an entire planet, plus seven hundred years of overdue fees. Naturally, it’s a hefty sum—”
“What about waiving the unreasonable interest?”
Topa hadn’t finished speaking when Xia Ye walked in with the train crew:
“Strictly speaking, you should have come to collect this debt long ago. But for seven hundred years, you’ve ignored it. Now you’re coming to chase after the debt. We have reason to suspect that you deliberately created the overdue period to collect an illegal late fee!”
“Star Rail!”
Topa’s eyes turned serious:
“You owe a debt, you repay it. That’s a universal principle. Are you Star Rail going to break the rules of the galaxy?”
“Of course not. We acknowledge the debt of Yarilo-VI. What we question is—”
Xia Ye sneered:
“In these seven hundred years, you wouldn’t have forgotten this bad debt. Now, just a few days ago, you suddenly remembered and ran over to collect the debt, would you?”
“Because the Star Nucleus blocked the route—”
“What does Yarilo-VI have to do with it?”
Xia Ye interrupted Topa again:
“It was your own inability to collect the debt on time that caused this debt to be overdue for seven hundred years. Now you’re trying to pin your mistake on the people of Yarilo-VI!”
“Kiana, is this always the domineering style of the Interstellar Peace Company? I’m so disappointed!”
“No, that’s not the case~”
Kiana secretly gave Xia Ye a nod of approval!
This kid was really something. He could actually engage in a war of words with a company expert specializing in debt liquidation from the Strategic Investment Department, and even gain the upper hand. However—
“The company is very friendly most of the time. Let’s hear what this Topa lady has to suggest to help Belobog overcome its debt crisis~”
“…”
Xia Ye and Kiana played the good cop and bad cop, and Topa saw through it at a glance.
However, she had to accept this step down!
After all, what Xia Ye said was true. Strictly speaking, it was the company’s failure to handle the debt promptly that caused the delay!
Although at that time, if they were to collect the debt, Yarilo-VI would have been unable to repay it, that wasn’t an excuse—
The rules are the rules. Star Rail understood the rules and could naturally find this loophole!
“Bronya, does Star Rail fully represent your position?”
“They are outsiders after all. Can they make decisions for you?”
“Of course!” Bronya replied without hesitation: “The folks from Star Rail just saved this world, and I trust them unconditionally!”
Bronya understood that she couldn’t even understand the contract Topa had brought out, and she knew little about the galaxy. And as soon as Xia Ye appeared, he had basically helped her avoid seven hundred years of interest. It was the best choice to leave this matter to him!