Xavier slept exceptionally soundly this time, eventually being awakened by external commotion.
Opening his eyes, all he saw was pitch black, his surroundings warm and cozy. Shaking his head, Xavier finally realized that Kane had tucked him into his inner pocket.
He was pressed tightly against the man’s chest; on one side was the steady, powerful, and ceaselessly pounding heartbeat, while on the other, muffled external conversation gradually filtered through.
Xavier kicked that solid chest unceremoniously, signaling that he had already woken up.
In fact, the moment he opened his eyes, Kane had already noticed.
The newly awakened little intelligent entity was exceptionally restless, kicking and moving about everywhere inside his embrace, actually pushing the fabric out into a small bulging lump, which caught Valeri, the Dark Night Chamber of Commerce president sitting opposite, with a strange expression.
Valeri was among the earliest batch of villains to arrive on RX-2, having made a fortune in arms trafficking in his early years, and now firmly controlled the city’s largest trading network—weapons, intelligence, false identities, and contraband all flowed through his channels.
A third of Floris City’s [ChIJrdbSgKZWKhMRAyrH7xd51ZM] black market transactions were single-handedly managed by the Dark Night Chamber of Commerce.
If anyone could know about the mineral deposits on RX-2, it was none other than him.
At this moment, this man, who could practically be described as the underground ruler of Floris City [ChIJrdbSgKZWKhMRAyrH7xd51ZM], was smiling obsequiously as he sat across from Kane.
Years of pampered living had long accustomed Valeri to a high-and-mighty demeanor, yet even so, when facing the leader of the Blood Blade Pirates and the “Star-Skeleton Tyrant” renowned for his iron-blooded dominance, there was still an unconcealable dread hidden deep in his eyes, accompanied by a bit of deliberate fawning to lower his stance.
Only, the original caution and probing in his eyes turned somewhat bizarre the moment he saw the rise and fall of Kane’s chest.
Valeri’s smile slightly stiffened.
Reason repeatedly reminded him that he must absolutely not stare unscrupulously at this person’s chest again.
His gaze drifted, his tone carrying a trace of deliberate humility as he whispered, “Your Excellency, why didn’t you give advance notice of your arrival in Floris City [ChIJrdbSgKZWKhMRAyrH7xd51ZM]? I could have cleared the berths early and welcomed you personally…”
Before he could finish, his gaze was firmly captured by a sudden flash of brightness.
Only to see a small humanoid intelligent entity—or some kind of life form he didn’t recognize—protruding from the collar of Kane’s garment.
A head of curly silver hair was messy and fluffy from sleep, and the pale golden pupils still held undissipated, sleepy drowsiness, mixed with the impatient emotion of being woken up.
“What are you arguing about?”
Valeri’s unfinished words stuck in his throat and came to an abrupt halt.
Kane raised a hand, gently steadying Xavier who had climbed onto his shoulder. The palm touching the small intelligent entity’s soft body just as he woke up also quietly dispersed a bit of the irritation caused by Valeri’s greedy and probing gaze.
He leaned lazily backward, his legs casually crossed and resting on the table, while his hands once again leisurely tossed and played with an egg-sized mineral stone.
“No need for formalities. I have already received your sincerity—your men underlings sent me a big gift last night. For all these years, this is the first time I’ve had a gun pointed at my head.”
“What—!”
Valeri’s expression changed drastically as he suddenly stood up, “No, Your Excellency, there must be some misunderstanding in the middle. I harbor no intention whatsoever of going against the Blood Blade, nor could I possibly be arrogant enough to send people to assassinate Your Excellency—absolutely not!”
Looking awful, he stood facing the stern-faced Kane and repeatedly justified himself in a rapid voice.
Xavier roughly understood the cause and effect, felt curious, and once settled, quietly stretched out a strand of spiritual tentacles to poke Kane.
“How did you know that guy last night was his subordinate?”
Almost the exact moment the spiritual tentacles touched Kane’s skin, the black vines shot out like ferocious beasts catching the scent of blood, impatiently tangling around the pure white tentacles.
Xavier: ……
To satisfy his own curiosity, he endured and didn’t move.
Noticing the little fellow on his shoulder stiffening all over, Kane couldn’t help hooking his lips into a triumphant smile.
“Made it up.”
Why bother caring whose subordinate that little punk actually was? Whichever subordinate the “Tyrant” wanted to cause trouble for, that’s whose subordinate they were.
Others would only cautiously guess the intent behind the Blood Blade Pirates’ visit, and absolutely no one would dare question the truth or falsehood of his words.
Xavier: ……
Detestable, how could this fellow be so arrogant.
Xavier was speechless, and that strand of pure white spiritual tentacle also drooped limply, shrinking back swiftly before the black vines tried to tangle any tighter.
Reading a bit of speechlessness and annoyance from Xavier, Kane’s smile instead grew even wider, and the delight in the depths of his eyes was almost impossible to conceal.
Across from them, after half a day of self-defense, seeing Kane remain silent while his originally stern expression inexplicably softened, Valeri felt heavy confusion surging in the depths of his heart.
Wasn’t he just questioning him a moment ago, clearly meaning to make a fuss under the pretext, why did he start chuckling to himself in the blink of an eye?
He saw it clearly; Kane’s smile was clearly not directed at him, but rather landing on the small, delicate humanoid toy on his shoulder.
What on earth?! He was having a heart attack over here, pondering where he had offended this unpredictable power-holder, while the other party was amusing themselves with a little toy to pass the time?
Valeri pondered secretly; having wandered the underground world for many years, he had never heard of Kane having such a hobby…
Wait!
He recalled suddenly.
When his subordinates came back to report last night, they indeed mentioned in passing that the tyrant was accompanied by an unprecedented, doll-like strange existence. At the time, he just assumed his subordinates had been scared out of their wits and were wildly speculating, so he didn’t take it to heart at all.
The illustrious, fearsome, and decisive “Star-Skeleton Tyrant” no matter how one looked at it could not possibly have anything to do with such an exquisite and soft little thing.
Yet seeing it with his own eyes right now…
Valeri’s gaze carried a hint of doubt as he tentatively looked toward the extremely beautiful, tiny doll.
Noticing Valeri’s gaze falling on his shoulder, Kane lifted his eyes, and his icy gaze swept over sharply, piercing like reality.
Caught off guard, Valeri was locked onto by those grey-blue “seas of slaughter,” his heart tightening. He immediately reined in his stray thoughts and instinctively pulled out a polite smile.
Yet the next second, Kane caught the tossed stone and casually threw it into his arms.
The stone was not big, but it came flying extremely fast and heavy, causing him to grunt from the impact.
Valeri didn’t dare show the slightest bit of resistance, and could only force himself to compose and catch it. When he lowered his head to look closely at the shape of the mineral stone, his expression changed slightly.
Seeing this, Kane let out a cold scoff, “Looks like you recognize it.”
“Your Excellency Valentine, this…”
Before he could force out an excuse, Kane interrupted him coldly, “Since you know my surname, you should understand the grudge between me and the Church. Or are you saying you’ve already chosen your side between me and the Church?”
Hearing the keyword, Xavier’s gaze involuntarily landed on Kane’s face, only to see the clean-cut and sharp lines of his profile, with his expression as cold and rigid as usual in front of outsiders, revealing nothing unusual.
Xavier thoughtfully grasped the purple-blue gemstone hanging in front of his chest.
On the other side, Valeri was racking his brain to weigh his words, desperately dealing with Kane’s inquiry.
How could he not know that the Blood Blade and the Church were at loggerheads? In past years, the Church’s Holy Army frequently gathered military forces and ran to the Rift Light Star System attempting to wipe out the Blood Blade’s old lair, or else the Blood Blade Pirates specialized in intercepting and plundering the Church’s material supply routes.
It was just that the Church army failed to handle the Rift Light Star System’s defense even once; after retreating in defeat multiple times, they gave up the idea and instead turned to long-term confrontation and tug-of-war with the Blood Blade on interstellar shipping lanes.
Meanwhile, various materials intercepted by the Blood Blade from the Church mostly flowed to Floris City [ChIJrdbSgKZWKhMRAyrH7xd51ZM], among which there was no lack of contemporary top-tier technology and scarce resources.
Relying on this trade channel, the Dark Night Chamber of Commerce made a hefty profit, so naturally, they didn’t dare anger the Blood Blade Pirates.
“Your Excellency is joking,” Valeri bowed quickly, his tone respectful, “The Blood Blade Star and Floris City [ChIJrdbSgKZWKhMRAyrH7xd51ZM] have close dealings and deep cooperation; we are naturally a community of shared honor and disgrace, and it is absolutely impossible for the Church to have private dealings with me. As for why I recognize this mineral stone… It’s a long story; when I first arrived here in my early years, I also went to the old mining area to try my luck, though of course, I returned empty-handed in the end, since the ore veins on this planet had already been hollowed out.”
Kane raised an eyebrow slightly, the corners of his lips curling into an icy, half-smiling curve: “The ore veins here are exhausted, which doesn’t mean other star regions don’t have them.”
“I’ve long heard that President Valeri’s private business spans all major star regions, and I hear that the giant monopolizing the rare mineral industry in the far north of the Empire is actually your hidden enterprise.”
As soon as those words fell, Valeri was already breaking out in a cold sweat.
Because it involved the Church, that business of his was hidden extremely well, to the extent that even his trusted confidants didn’t know the full scope of it. He hadn’t expected it to have already been exposed to the Blood Blade.
“Is this your answer, President Valeri? You disappoint me greatly.”
Kane said indifferently. Clearly, he was sitting while Valeri stood and bowed, yet it created an overwhelming sense of contrast.
The high-and-mighty, chilling pressure shrouded down like a heavy net, making it suffocating.
Valeri’s heart sank.
So this decisive tyrant had known everything all along. In the past, he simply didn’t care and couldn’t be bothered to ask, letting him grow in secret like farming livestock.
And now, launching a sudden attack with step-by-step coercion clearly meant the time had come, and it was time to harvest.
With the other shoe finally dropped, he instead calmed down and slowly sat down, “I am willing to serve Your Excellency as a loyal dog.”
Kane said concisely, “Thirty percent.”
Hearing this, Valeri’s face instantly turned pale, looking extremely ugly.
Seeing his expression change drastically, Kane added with a trace of condescending indifference: “Only this kind of purification stone. In return, seven parts of the supplies sent to Floris next time will be handed over to you to take charge of.”
The corners of his lips curved into a meaningful, cold smile, and his gaze sank heavily: “Provided you have the capacity to swallow it.”
Seven parts!
Valeri’s thoughts rose and fell multiple times; amidst the shock and fright, there was also hidden joy, a mix of complex emotions.
He steadied his mind and spoke cautiously, “However, mining and preserving this kind of ore is very difficult. The last batch of goods was just shipped out, and accumulating a certain amount of purification stones will still take some time.”
“How long?”
Noticing the impatience in Kane’s tone, Valeri hurried to reply, “About fifty star-calendar days.”
Kane didn’t speak. In a dimension that Valeri couldn’t see, the black vines quietly emerged, their small tips lightly poking Xavier’s hand.
“Can you wait?”
Xavier turned his back and pressed the vine tip under his palm, giving Kane a warning look.
Seeing that Kane didn’t answer immediately, Valeri on the side felt his heart race with anxiety. He knew that this fickle “tyrant” always acted to extremes, and momentarily regretted why he had to consider the existing stock—he might as well have just given him everything to make things simpler.
Just as he was feeling uneasy, a clear and unique voice suddenly sounded, its tone lazy and relaxed, carrying a hint of elegant and casual temperament.
Valeri raised his head in surprise, only to discover that the one who spoke was actually the tiny doll sitting on Kane’s shoulder.
“Okay,” Xavier said indifferently, “All the ores must be above Mohs hardness 10.”
As a rule, the higher the magic power content of an ore, the harder its texture. Lacking a reference standard for magic ores in the interstellar era, filtering quality by hardness was considered the safest and most convenient method.
“???”
Valeri’s pupils shrank slightly, and he almost dropped his jaw in astonishment.
Has he lost his mind? This little doll from who knows where actually dared to interrupt before the “Tyrant” spoke, and even made decisions on his own accord?
He had already anticipated the consequences: Kane would surely fly into a rage and punish him.
After all, back then, just because Commander Cohen of the Wild Hunt provoked them by forcibly occupying the Blood Blade’s exclusive berth, it directly provoked the man to open fire without a word, blowing up dozens of accompanying warships and half of the airport district, acting absolutely autocratically and extremely ruthlessly.
Yet the anticipated cold reprimand didn’t arrive.
Kane’s expression remained flat and calm, following Xavier’s words to smoothly set the tone: “Do as he says. Fifty star-calendar days later, the Blood Blade will come to collect them personally.”
Valeri’s mind went blank. He gave a vague acknowledgement of “Understood,” bowed, and prepared to withdraw. Just as he was about to leave, he was called back by Kane again.
“I haven’t been to Floris City [ChIJrdbSgKZWKhMRAyrH7xd51ZM] for a long time,” Kane asked casually, “Are there any reliable custom clothing stores in the city?”
Valeri immediately smiled, “Your Excellency Valentine, the Rust Ring has always kept an exclusive clothing designer on hand, ready to serve you at any time.”
Although the Blood Blade Pirates had never utilized this group of people from beginning to end, the proper preparations had always been kept in place.
Kane paused slightly, raised a hand to point at Xavier on his shoulder, and tapped his forehead lightly with his fingertip. His expression remained cold, but the subtle action revealed undisguised familiarity: “Make them for him.”
“…What did you say?” Valeri looked at his action, full of bewilderment, and blurted out subconsciously.
Seeing this reaction, Kane knew he couldn’t count on him, frowned, and with a trace of disdain and impatience in his tone said, “Forget it, you may leave.”
Valeri’s mind shook violently, completely oblivious to how he bowed farewell and walked out of the room.
It wasn’t until the anti-gravity elevator landed and made a crisp prompt sound that he snapped back to his senses, his heart filled with sheer disbelief.
Even when his hidden enterprise was exposed, it hadn’t given him the sense of absurdity he felt just now.
No wait? Who can tell me why the tyrant has started cultivating his character and raising a doll??!