Chapter 1281: 413. Like an Enemy, Like a Friend_2
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In a sense, the Players were like hounds with keen senses of smell, aiding the United Bureau in searching for treasures in the starry sky.
Noland Lee’s exceptional Task involving black hole manipulation naturally made him a collaborator with the United Bureau. noveldrama
Upon receiving Captain Leighton’s brief letter, Noland Lee, after much consideration, decided to meet with the other party.
He had a Player convey a message, asking Captain Leighton to prepare a Conference Room aboard the Domic unmanned battleship, where he would send his avatar to keep the appointment.
Half an hour later, a new letter arrived in Noland Lee’s hands.
...
After reading it, he summoned his energy body Magic Avatar, controlled it to leave the Black Hole, and flew towards the Battleship where Leighton was.
The Magic Avatar’s appearance was like a rubber man filled with pinpoints of stars.
Its free flight in Space caused a stir among the group of Players, and many took the opportunity to use their recording functions to capture video.
Noland Lee didn’t have time to play with the Players just now.
He went directly to the vicinity of the Battleship and, after the other party shut down the Ship Shield, passed through the opened Cabin Door and stepped inside.
Inside the Conference Room, Captain Leighton and two others had been waiting for some time.
They were slightly shocked by the appearance of the energy body before them but didn’t question further, instead treating it as a normal human and inviting it to take a seat.
Negotiation expert Doris cut to the chase and raised a question.
What price would the United Bureau have to pay to study Noland Lee’s Black Hole?
Noland Lee didn’t immediately answer the question.
Before giving a formal response, he had some things he wanted to clarify.
“Aren’t you curious about my origins?” Noland Lee asked in a voice simulated by magic to sound like a human male:
“Why do you trust an extraordinary being that suddenly appeared in the Lisom Star System so much? Is it because I get along well with the Undying?”
The three members of Leighton’s team exchanged looks before Doris responded.
She raised her hand and tapped a few times on the holographic screen, bringing up several documents.
Noland Lee glanced at the headings and content of the documents and immediately understood.
Both the Metal Creation Group and the United Bureau had been studying the Black Hole civilization of the Cane Tip Seat for a long time.
The difference between them lay in their research approaches.
The Metal Creation Group would dispatch Fleets to try and enter the Black Holes of the Cane Tip Seat to explore what lay within.
The United Bureau was more inclined towards archaeology, which meant gathering Interstellar Mercenaries to unearth ancient artifacts left behind by the Supreme God Clan.
Considering the ancient artifacts that had been deciphered so far, it was the Supreme God Clan that owned the Black Holes of the Cane Tip Seat, and they were also the beings who guarded Mankind’s civilization.
Since they were the guardians of human civilization, Noland Lee, who was recognized by the Undying as a member of the Supreme God Clan and was also found within a Black Hole, naturally gained the United Bureau’s trust.
Though there were some misunderstandings, Noland Lee felt they were of no significant consequence; on the contrary, they facilitated his cooperative relationship with the United Bureau.
After reflecting on this, Noland Lee didn’t immediately point out where the United Bureau’s misunderstandings lay, but instead asked:
“What is the relationship between the United Bureau and the Metal Creation Group?”
Doris said:
“In the field of security affairs, the United Bureau and the Metal Creation Group stand on the same front, jointly combating groups that disrupt interstellar order, such as the Angel Enterprises Alliance, rogue unmanned drone swarms, Cosmic Monsters, and others.
“In the manufacturing field, most of the United Bureau’s Space Stations and Ships are bought from the Metal Creation Group. Moreover, the Clone Pilot technology controlled by the United Bureau also requires technical support from the Metal Creation Group.
“What aspect of the relationship are you concerned with?”
Noland Lee fell silent.
He had already anticipated that the Metal Creation Group was widely involved in Outer Space services, but still felt he had underestimated their influence.
He could imagine that when he asked Players to deal with the Metal Creation Group in the future, he would undoubtedly encounter significant resistance from the United Bureau and might even find himself turning allies into enemies.
In other words, by helping the United Bureau to study Black Holes now, Noland Lee was helping his enemy—the Metal Creation Group.
From this perspective, Noland Lee could not form a cooperative relationship with the United Bureau.
However, things were not absolute.
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“Just now, Doris also said that the Angel Enterprises Alliance is a common enemy of the United Bureau and the Metal Creation Group,”
Noland Lee felt that he could use this to his advantage to expedite the rescue of the Assassin Angel from the trap.
“I can agree to collaborate with you on black hole research, but not now,”
said Noland Lee:
“The black hole in the Lisom Star System only allows souls to enter. Your battleships and equipment can’t get through. Half a year from now, I’ll create another man-made black hole for you to study.”
Noland Lee talked about creating black holes as if it were nothing significant, leaving the three people present feeling disoriented.
In that moment, the three truly felt the vast gap born from their difference in life forms, which shook them deeply.
Noland Lee continued:
“As a condition for the exchange, I wish for the United Bureau to collaborate with my Undying to eliminate the Angel Enterprises Alliance.”
“Eliminate the Angel Enterprises Alliance?” Doris took a deep breath and tentatively asked,
“Could it be that the content we decrypted is true? That there are Angels within the Supreme God Clan? Could the inspiration for the human-shaped ships of the Angel Enterprises Alliance come from the Supreme God Clan?”
Noland Lee slowly nodded:
“Correct. The Angel Enterprises Alliance has desecrated the bloodline of my clan. Eliminating them is my mission. Of course, the Dark Divine Cult is also my enemy. If the United Bureau is interested in exterminating the Dark Divine Cult, we can collaborate on that after we have overcome the Angel Enterprises Alliance.”
This was the official statement.
Privately, Noland Lee had already quietly decided that after the Assassin Angel was freed, he would join forces with them and swiftly wipe out the Metal Creation Group by surprise.
The so-called extermination of the Dark Divine Cult was merely a smokescreen put out by Noland Lee to mislead others.
Otherwise, he certainly couldn’t say that he intended to destroy the Metal Creation Group openly; that would be deliberately undermining the United Bureau.
After Noland Lee finished speaking, the Conference Room remained silent for a long time.
Almost a minute later, Doris finally said:
“Before departure, I obtained an official authorization from the United Bureau Management Department. I can represent the United Bureau and accept your proposal.”
Doris looked at her two colleagues and said again to Noland Lee:
“To show our sincerity, we are willing to assist with the elimination of the Angel Enterprises Alliance before you provide a black hole for research. What would you need us to do?”
Noland Lee wasn’t surprised by Doris’s attitude.
No person or force would foolishly refuse an offer of help in eliminating a major threat for them.
Noland Lee said evenly:
“I need detailed information on the Angel Enterprises Alliance; that’s the first thing.”
“No problem at all,” Doris nodded in agreement.
“Second, I hope the United Bureau can open the Star Gate access for the Angel Enterprises Alliance, allowing my Undying to move in and out.”
The main camp of the Angel Enterprises Alliance could not be reached directly by warp.
Whether moving into the protected range of the United Bureau from the main camp or vice versa, assistance from the Star Gates was needed to cross millions of light years.
The United Bureau controlled the Star Gates, effectively reducing smuggling and the invasion of Artificial Angels.
One might wonder why not just destroy the Star Gates to prevent the invasion of Artificial Angels completely.
No, no, that’s not the right idea.
The Angel Enterprises Alliance could also create Star Gates.
If the Angel Enterprises Alliance created illegal Star Gates within their territory, they could secretly send Artificial Angels to plunder within the borders of the United Bureau.
To destroy these illegal Star Gates, the Security Guard would need to start from within the range of the United Bureau and enter the territory of the Angel Enterprises Alliance.
Therefore, to regularly clear out illegal Star Gates, the United Bureau had to preserve a few of them within their domain that could quickly reach the territory of the Angel Enterprises Alliance.
Only by opening access to these Star Gates to players could those tasked with the mission quickly reach the territory of the Angel Enterprises Alliance.
Noland Lee had originally planned to convince the United Bureau himself.
Now, with Doris serving as a liaison, opening the Star Gates should be simple.