ACC Chapter 34 Trillionaire

Plans were a very interchangeable thing. As long as an activity or action was scheduled for a future date, there was always a 50% chance of being scrapped or changed. This was one of the many instances of chaos theory.

I had been about to try and find a way of awakening a bloodline within my symbiote, yet, here I was, seated within my comfy office chair, behind a desk, and speaking to an attorney of sorts.

Why? Because of a few contracts I had signed when I had handed over my Auto-Cul array technology to the Federal government.

"If you could sign here and here, everything would be completed." Mr. Hans, a middle-aged man of South American descent, clad in a suit clearly too small for his muscular form, spoke, drawing part of my mind from the haze of my thoughts.

A golden parchment, the last of the transfer contracts, laid before me. It was the most important document of all, wreathed with multiple spiritual energy types because of the different attuned arrays running within the spiritual paper. This contract was what had catapulted the Golden Merchant group into the behemoth it had become.

These contracts were inviolable. The consequences for breaching one were heavy, even for those at the Nascent Soul stage like myself.

"Since the Golden Merchant sent you here himself, what are his thoughts on the matter of that bill?"

The reason I had asked the question was simple, the man possessed the greatest business mindedness among all cultivators. No- he was greed incarnate. If he decided to oppose Livia's reform, then there was going to be trouble.

"He didn't say anything in particular. And you know the man..." a sigh escaped his lips as he leaned back in the chair, having finished placing the parchment back into its specially made case. That thing rejected all manner of spatial arrays. "... His thoughts are always inscrutable."

I resisted the urge to let out one of my own. Effective from today, I had just become a trillionaire. And since I hadn't been one to dabble in business, I had wanted to atleast gauge where the wind was blowing. But it seemed that I would have to play it by the ear.

"Livia, what is her drive?"

"Hoh! That's why the old guy sent you. Her drive is simple. That no one be above her."

When I said that, Mr. Hans' expression became somewhat priceless. For a moment, I had entertained a desire for laughter.

"Is she that naive?"

If I hadn't known her for as long as I did, I too, would probably be spotting that same expression.

"Let's leave that question for another time. I want to know something, would she be able to start a civil war or something if everything devolved?"

The reason I was asking was simple... And judging by the flicker within his eyes, he too had understood. Without the President, that man was loose. Though it was puzzling how he hadn't opposed Livia, caution was still necessary should he join her side.

"Qin Wentian will be handled."

That simple statement assuaged my worries. I stood up and gazed at the city below.

"I won't take up any more of your time."

Mr. Hans went away as I contemplated my new role within the Federation. With all these funds, what was I to do? Maybe I should hold off on it.

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That woman Livia was probably going to be requesting for funds or something. Though, if all the land becomes Federation property, problems will arise.

The view was left behind as I headed for the door. It was time to take a tour of the Automated factory. It had been a long time since I had made any rounds.

I spilled out onto the street from the building, my thoughts a tangle of tangible mass that was weighing down upon me.

Had I been coasting along all this time? My laziness... Had it been the entire reason that I had failed to pick up clues of Livia's true aim? No! That wasn't right. I had managed to. I just hadn't cared enough to bring about such a serious subject matter to our friendship. Maybe that was why I had never gotten a true read on her. Because I hadn't cared enough to be curious.

Like right now. Even though I had just became one of the movers and shakers in the world, I still hadn't made my own decision, or have my very own opinion on whether Livia's bill was good or bad for me or other people.

For example, Lily had probably gone back to her clan because of the proposed bill. But I hadn't said anything of reassurance. She was a self-made matriarch. And all her hardwork was about to be invalidated.

How had she taken my previous laziness? Actually, if I was being honest, I was the weird one. Lily had still been working hard, like the rest of the people around me.

The people I was walking past... Each had something to strive for within this world. Their soul auras told all even though they were smiling, crying, sad and happy.

The big question I had never asked my self was, 'what did I want out of life?' Exploring the stars and reaching higher steps on the ladder that was cultivation were enough to excite me. But I had never taken proactive steps into really pushing towards them.

(Is your life interesting?)

The question echoed within my mind. The Devil that had appeared during my tribulation had asked. Even now, I lacked the answer.

I tucked my hands into my pants, lowering my gaze to the sleek composite ground of the street, relying on my divine sense to navigate the crowd.

My thoughts paused for the moment as something I hadn't seen in a while attracted my attention, bringing my stride to a halt.

It was the scene of a growing skyscraper. But instead of wood, I could see earth and a myriad of other attuned spiritual energy types, like glass, steel and many more as assembled themselves skyward. Array lines, trailed after the growth, fortifying and powering the various utilities within the building itself.

New ways of construction had already been invented, but this old style brought up some nostalgia. Even as a brat, I hadn't really put in effort-no. The effort had been there. The missing thing was will. A powerful desire to have something and doing something about it to bring it within my grasp, especially those unattainable things.

My stroll was resumed after a few seconds, with me having grown bored with the construction scene because of how slow it was taking in my eyes. This, and many others were the problems of being a stage higher than anything or anyone around you. They were painfully slow.

Maybe it was time that I became serious. That suggestion rippled through me as once again I focused inwards, only leaving a sliver of attention to the outside.

Lily was going to lose many things, and so would I, if that bill were to get passed. But as a person who hadn't mingled much within the rich, my influence within was non-existent. Not to mention the fact that I had no real acquaintances even among the tycoons, with my relationship with the Golden merchant being shallow at best.

With a thought, my divine sense linked with the omnipresence of the city. This was how the internet worked, a collection of consciousness. It was an amalgamation that spanned the entire planet, needing powerful arrays to exchange information with its sister clusters that were on Mars, the Moon, and the various satellites, and technological marvels within the star system.

A route, one which would make it so that I traveled at my maximum speed without inconveniencing anyone, or bump into structures appeared within my mind, with an outline of the entire city.

This city was an engineering marvel all on its own. It was simply titled The Wall. A horizontal city that stretched along the desert, with half of it within the ocean. The double walls keeping everything within from the harshness outside, were tall enough to vanish into the clouds. The array work that had gone into it had cost a whooping 1 trillion credits.

My feet took off the ground as I defied the planetary gravity, which had been getting stronger recently because of the planet's evolution. Everything else blurred as I moved at maximum speed, taking sharp turns, corners and loops as I followed the route to a tee.

I had power and influence. Yet most of the time I had been sitting upon such resources. I had to start taking the initiative. It would be better if I started with the factory tour.

Within a few seconds of me traveling at my maximum speed, without teleportation, I reached my destination, where an array glowing with brown lines was lighting up the place, followed by two sides parting within the middle to allow me outside of The Wall, where I was greeted by a sandstorm. The sand particles alone were impacting my defensive film at the velocity of crude array bullets from a firearm of the past.