Chapter 1270. Becoming a 'Master of Wealth' was also very easy to confirm.

The Tan race only took a few years to learn the details.

However, there were two different answers.

From the recruited factions, the Tan race heard that the Unknown Civilization, in order to cope with the upcoming Dimension War, hoped to accelerate its expansion and would support a group of factions for its own use.

However, the information obtained from Metal Light's internal network within the Unknown Civilization was that the Unknown Civilization wanted some sacrifices.

Metal Light was involved with too many Civilizations, which was why no Civilization extended an invitation.

In fact, the two pieces of information could be combined into one.

Both were correct.

It's just that the former concealed the true purpose, making it sound like an opportunity.

But in reality, it was cannon fodder.

During these years, Sara also became a high-ranking member within the Tan race. Through some information, he learned that a vacancy had appeared in Metal Light's upper echelons, and he strenuously vied for it.

The Tan race discussed it internally. Given Sara's relationship with Baise, it was indeed possible to attempt to touch that position.

Moreover, having another Tan race member in Metal Light's upper echelons would be more beneficial than detrimental to them.

However, Metal Light itself was already a mess. The Unknown Civilization's recruitment was a recent development, but Metal Light's decline had been ongoing for a millennium.

"From the current situation, it looks like Metal Light is on the verge of collapse!"

Sara was accompanied by his 'grandson,' Woody.

However, this Woody had already undergone consciousness replacement. He was previously a Soldier, and now he had been replaced again, by a Ship Secretary named Kradi.

This was a compromise.

Kradi spent a fortune to become Sara's grandson, hoping to get a share from Sara.

He quickly grasped Metal Light's information through the network Sara had established and deduced Metal Light's current predicament.

"Metal Light probably doesn't even know why its business is constantly decreasing."

"After all, those Unknown Civilizations won't tell the truth to these smaller factions."

"Even with the information Metal Light has now, that the Unknown Civilization intends to use nearby factions as cannon fodder, the Unknown Civilization might not know that this isn't because the Unknown Civilization wants to attack proactively, but because they believe the Galaxy Core Civilization will attack them first."

One truth layered over another truth.

Making everyone believe they knew the truth was precisely the Unknown Civilization's method.

Kradi's analysis was also what Sara thought.

But he felt there was more to it.

If the Unknown Civilizations were facing such a grave threat, why would they still keep Metal Light?

He heard that Bolan was also excluded.

This meant that the relationship between these star cluster powers and the extra-Stellar System Unknown Civilizations was quite complex. It was very likely that Metal Light itself possessed the ability to inversely influence these Unknown Civilizations.

This was nothing new.

Not every citizen in a Civilization would have a strong sense of belonging to that Civilization.

Especially when it came to those at the very top of the decision-making hierarchy.

They had more choices.

Therefore, self-interest could override the interests of the Civilization.

If this were the case, Metal Light would not just be a faction, but also a fishing rod that had already caught a fish.

It's just that the current angler was powerless against this fish, and the two sides were balancing each other.

What if there was a different angler?

Sara received a message from within his race.

Kradi noticed Sara's micro-expression and asked, "What happened?"

What a dog, so keen-scented!

Sara cursed in his heart, but on the surface, he calmly said, "It's agreed. The Tan race will promote me to Metal Light's core leadership, in charge of Metal Light's finances."

Kradi was very envious.

He was still only working under Sara, which made him very passive in many matters.

However, he thought about it and realized it was actually good. Sara was going to a bigger stage, so the matters here should naturally be handed over to him.

Kradi expressed his thoughts, but Sara's expression remained calm.

Kradi cursed inwardly and reluctantly said, "Ten million energy coin!"

He was extremely pained.

Ten million energy coin was already a large sum for him, a first-level Ship Secretary.

Sara immediately changed his demeanor, smiling and saying, "Why be so polite? I will speak to the higher-ups. I trust you with the matters here."

Sara was in a very good mood at this moment.

His goal was achieved, and he also earned a sum of money from Kradi.

However, it wasn't a complete walk in the park.

As the one in charge of financial matters and having become Metal Light's 'Master of Wealth', he had to produce impressive results, otherwise, he probably wouldn't last long.

This was, of course, quite easy for him as a Human.

The only problem was that Baise shouldn't reveal any flaws. If it attracted the attention and suspicion of Metal Light's higher-ups or the Unknown Civilization, then everything would be in vain.

Sara left a few days later on a warship.

Dome City was not Metal Light's headquarters. The headquarters was a very broad concept, referring to the core Stellar System managed by Metal Light, named Karnaranapha.

Sara heard it was very prosperous and had seen videos.

However, when he actually took a warship and spent decades to reach there, he discovered that it was even more prosperous than he had imagined.

After all, Metal Light only had tens of billions of members, so no matter how prosperous, it couldn't be that prosperous.

Sara, however, overlooked that. Who said Karnaranapha only had people from Metal Light?

Metal Light were merchants, and merchants needed foot traffic. Karnaranapha was the most developed place in the NGC339 Star Cluster, and it could also be said to be the safest place.

Life forms of various races throughout the star cluster all hoped to live in Karnaranapha.

The housing prices in Karnaranapha could reach 8000 Soanli per 1 Encai (38.5 square meters).

It's important to know that 1 Soanli contained more energy than a federal energy coin.

In such a backward region, the purchasing power of 1 Soanli was actually quite terrifying. Perhaps most life forms here only earned three to five Soanli a month.

There wasn't even a concept of 'a month' here. Work wasn't done by the bottom-tier creatures. Those gathered here were typically characters like space pirates, who received rewards based on each harvest.

An ordinary space pirate would need to spend at least three to four hundred years to buy 1 Encai in Karnaranapha, and typical houses were 10 Encai or more.

And even if they bought a house, they had to pay a specific property tax periodically. Of course, this was more like protection fees here.

When Sara arrived in Karnaranapha, he felt that every creature here had a worried expression. It was quite 'involutionary' here.

However, what was 'involutionary' was not commercial matters, as all commerce was monopolized by Metal Light. What they were 'involutionary' about was life itself!

Sara landed in Dome City, and it was like this everywhere. One could imagine what other parts of Karnaranapha were like.

After entering Dome City, a Gnu followed Sara.

The Gnu was the insect that had led the way when he had previously seen Tie Zhu discussing business.

They generally played this role in the star cluster.

This Gnu wore golden mecha. When other creatures on the road saw the Gnu's striking mecha, they all made way for Sara.

Dome City was very crowded, like the narrow alleys in old-era cities, with streets only five or six meters wide, which sounded alright.

But one must know that various races gathered here, and for many large creatures, it was even impossible to squeeze in.

Creatures of various sizes and races crowded the streets, and still had to make way for Sara. Sara had never seen such a scene before.

In his opinion, it didn't even seem much like a city owned by a near-intermediate Civilization power, let alone a capital-like city.

"Is this the first time the Gold Master has come to Karnaranapha?"

The Gnu asked.

"Yes!"

The Gnu was not only responsible for reception but also for answering questions and conveying certain information to the guest.

The Gnu beside Sara heard his reply and began to explain, "This is intentional."

"If these fellows are given too good a life, how will they strive for higher status?"

"And striving for higher status will generate wealth for Metal Light."

So that's how it was!

A despicable method.

In Sara's view, this was entirely due to the incompetence of the leaders, who couldn't manage everything, so they implemented such a management method that seemed reasonable but was actually a bit like 'cutting off future generations'.

The description 'cutting off future generations' was not even an exaggeration.

The drawbacks of such a management plan were obvious: it failed to effectively utilize every individual to create sufficient wealth.

A person who is highly exploited can only produce wealth through pure physical labor, not through wisdom.

It was actually somewhat similar to the difference between the feudal society and the technological society of Human Civilization a long time ago.

Ordinary people in feudal society had no opportunity to study and could only engage in farming and other work, while also being oppressed by landlords.

Everyone in feudal society was very busy, with no concept of an eight-hour workday.

After entering technological society, even if a person worked for a short amount of time, the value created far exceeded that of an ordinary person in the feudal era.

Metal Light did not use advanced social concepts to manage Karnaranapha.

It was like having a mountain of gold and modern mining machines, yet still making everyone dig with hoes.

Too barbaric!

"After all, it's not a true Civilization!"

Sara walked through these 'slums' and arrived at the true core area of Dome City.

Here, it looked like an intermediate Civilization, with wide roads, spacious houses, and many plants and animals cultivated.

And it was here that Sara finally got into a car.

High-altitude flying was not allowed in Dome City, and the outer roads were narrow, so every creature that came to Dome City had to walk a certain distance.

Sara guessed that this was also the effect desired by Metal Light's upper echelons.

Such a stark contrast between inside and outside was meant to prevent the creatures living inside from slacking off, otherwise, they might very well become one of those outside.

Soon, Sara arrived at the true Dome City.

This was neither the outer nor the inner area, but an area accessible only to Metal Light members, an area covered by a dome.

The dome was composed of countless machines. They watched everything inside the dome from high above, and if there was any anomaly, they would directly execute it.

Inside Dome City, Sara met an elder of the Tan race.

Actually, he should be called 'Bima'. In the NGC339 Star Cluster, this meant a highly respected person within a race. Various races widely used this title, and Bima was also the actual managing layer of the race.

"Pohabima!"

Sara performed a Tan race internal etiquette, showing respect for Poha.

Poha was very pleased, thinking that this young man, even though he was about to become Metal Light's 'Master of Wealth', still adhered to etiquette so well. He truly was an excellent young talent.

He smiled and said, "The race has arranged for me to take you to assume the position of 'Master of Wealth'. Actually, there's nothing complicated. This is an order personally given by Liancui. You just need to go and get the 'Master of Wealth' seal."

The seal was like an identity plate in Metal Light, a symbolic item that could be replaced if lost.

The process was indeed very simple, taking only a few minutes.

Next, Poha took Sara to a welcoming feast.

Sara was very resistant.

Because the food the Tan race ate consisted of insects, and they preferred to eat them alive.

If those insects were Earth creatures, Sara might be able to eat them, but each one was grotesquely shaped, as if they had escaped from a Cthulhu world. Sara could eat them, and his body would find them delicious, but his Human consciousness completely refused to accept it.