Chapter 228: Attempting to Mooch Off the Caravan

“Bad news.”

Mr. Xiu initially thought the Executive Officer had changed his mind, or that oil production was affected by the war and couldn't be delivered on time.

The situation turned out to be even worse than he imagined.

Although the Galan diplomat’s wild boasts weren't a formal declaration of war, the Galan Commonwealth and the Free Trade Alliance would certainly enter a de facto state of war over this; there was no room for wishful thinking.

“Damn Galan!”

The merchants accompanying Mr. Xiu couldn't help but curse, though they didn't use overly offensive language since their host was nearby.

“Executive,” a male merchant who appeared to be in his 50s approached Lu Yuan.

“I am truly sorry. My name is Li Tao. I originally intended to scout a new route, but given the current situation, I’m afraid my caravan won’t be able to come to your side for now.”

Lu Yuan waved his hand, showing no disappointment.

“You are overly polite, Mr. Li. You don’t need to apologize for something that hasn’t happened yet. But I am a bit curious, how do you plan to avoid this war?”

The merchants exchanged glances.

“What else can we do—just like before, start fleeing as early as possible, hide in the star systems controlled by the Human Exploration Federation. There, the probability of being attacked by the Galan will be smaller—”

“What about trading? Will it all stop?”

“Hmm, we can conduct business within the Human Exploration Federation. Their economy is large enough, and we can barely make a living from freight charges.”

“But the Federation will also seize the opportunity to drive down freight charges!” one merchant whispered, “A bunch of scoundrels!”

No, what I mean is, can’t you be a bit tougher? Lu Yuan was speechless.

Judging by this situation, the Free Trade Alliance had long been bullied by Galan to the point of losing all their spirit.

“Each of your caravans should have their own escort forces. Haven’t you ever thought of uniting to resist?”

“Resist?”

Li Tao glanced at Lu Yuan and sighed.

“Executive Officer, our Free Trade Alliance has no fixed territory and lives in ship fleets. Do you know what that means?”

“It means you have no sustained combat capability,” Lu Yuan said calmly.

“You are very right! Yes, we can gather together and huddle, but doing so is essentially giving up on trading. The capital chain can easily break, and then even replenishing fuel and ammunition becomes a problem!”

“You might not know, but every step we merchants take is like treading on thin ice,” a middle-aged female merchant next to Li Tao said, “Even if Galan fails once, they still have vast territory and numerous citizens as a guarantee. If a warship is destroyed, they can buy another.”

“But what about us? If just one of those precious escort ships is sunk, the caravan will immediately fall into a vicious cycle of being robbed due to lack of protection, and then having no money to buy new warships because of being robbed. We can basically declare ourselves dead.”

Hmm...

Lu Yuan nodded, indicating understanding.

This was indeed a problem. In this post-apocalyptic universe, no one had it easy.

“Avoiding war has always been the survival rule for all caravans,” Mr. Xiu’s face showed a look of ashamed disappointment, like iron that couldn't be forged into steel.

“Those willing to come with me to Li Star today are already the bravest caravan leaders in the Alliance. Others, upon hearing that you are in a state of war, would rather hide as far away as possible.”

“Alright.”

Lu Yuan was silent for a few seconds, then smoothly brought up the proposal he had long prepared.

“What if I said I am willing to provide you with a foothold to resupply ammunition and fuel?”

“Are you referring to Li Star? Are you willing to openly oppose Galan and take us in?”

The old man who asked the question was immediately elbowed by a companion next to him, because while the word “take in” was accurate, it was still used poorly, too easily exposing the Free Trade Alliance’s disadvantageous position in negotiations.

“Cangyuan is already in a state of war with Galan, and I am not concerned about our relationship further deteriorating with them,” Lu Yuan said with a smile.

“But can you guarantee that this place won’t be captured? Does Cangyuan’s navy have practical combat experience against Galan’s regular army?”

Li Tao dared not gamble with his life savings and questioned.

No, big brother, what are you even talking about—

At this moment, Lu Yuan finally realized something.

Logically, traveling merchants were usually quite particular about etiquette and politeness, as harmony brings wealth. Yet, after these people arrived, they didn't even congratulate him.

Never mind the others, Mr. Xiu was an acquaintance, shouldn’t he have been a bit more cordial?

“—You wouldn’t happen to still be unaware that all 11 warships of the Punishment Fleet have been annihilated by us, would you?”

Ah!??

Mr. Xiu’s eyes instantly widened, his mouth agape, revealing four canines, a look of utter shock.

“What? Is it already over?! Really? Isn’t the Punishment Fleet still resting and training in a nearby star system or on the outskirts of your star system, waiting for the right moment?”

“Mr. Xiu, why would you think that?”

“Because there’s not a single trace of war here! When I landed, I saw from the air that your super factories and oil fields were still operating normally, the city was orderly, and even the space dock in orbit was perfectly intact!”

In Mr. Xiu’s perception, Cangyuan was the weaker side in the war.

This meant their fleet would inevitably defend in Li Star’s low orbit to receive quick support from space fighters launching from the planet’s surface.

In such a situation, space docks, cities, and the like would surely be affected by gunfire and suffer damage.

Therefore, when he saw that the two space docks were undamaged, he concluded in his mind that the battle had not yet begun.

He wasn't the only one who thought so; all the other merchants felt the same way!

Ha.

Lu Yuan sighed deeply.

Sometimes, it was truly easy to forget that most Star Alliance ships did not have faster-than-light communication capabilities.

For the people on these ships, all news was severely delayed.

“Because the war never spread to the inner areas of the star system. It ended in the outer asteroid belt, and the entire process took less than half a day,” Lu Yuan explained.

“Within half a day!? But, but—”

Mr. Xiu still couldn’t believe it. It sounded almost as easy as a regular force fighting natives without space travel capabilities.

“Are you really sure you defeated warships? I mean, the enemy might have used a tactical deception, using cargo ships to impersonate warships, with their main force still lurking nearby. Someone in the Alliance fell for such a trick before—”

Lu Yuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Why is your imagination so rich?

He looked up at the scorching sun.

“Let’s not bake here. Let’s find a place with a roof to talk in detail.”

In the industrial ship’s conference room, everyone watched the combat video edited by Ye Xing, completely stunned and speechless for a long time.

“The wreckage of the sunk warships is still in the asteroid belt,” Lu Yuan said expressionlessly.

“If any of you still have questions, I suggest you take a look when the Wealth Key departs. I don’t have anyone to take you there right now.”

“No—no need!”

After a brief silence, the conference room immediately became boisterous, with almost all the merchants jumping out of their chairs.

“Can you provide us with escorts?”

“Can you sell us the warships and fighters from the video?”

“Our cash might not be enough. Can we pay in installments?”

“We—we can prioritize providing long-term freight services!”

That’s it!

Hearing this, Lu Yuan found it hard to suppress the upward curve of his lips.

Prioritize providing long-term freight services! That’s exactly what I want.

Money is just an equivalent exchange. Only tangible goods and services are the real deal.

Only these two things can quickly increase Cangyuan’s strength!