Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 623 - 493: Indecisiveness

Qu Jianlei could sense Krieg's emotional fluctuations and could roughly guess what was on the other's mind.

But he genuinely didn't care; he simply waved his hand nonchalantly, "Alright, you can go."

This blatant disregard made Krieg feel even more unbalanced, but he eventually left, having collected himself.

Qu Jianlei counted the Silver Notes; the amount was a bit low, nine million eight hundred thousand, not even ten million.

However, the other party provided a breakdown: the Hoyel Mansion paid five million eight hundred thousand for this Vortex.

There were also costs for the enhanced version and transportation costs for Panda traveling to and from Star No. 3.

All in all, the total came to a little over nine million seven hundred thousand, and the other party compensated nine million eight hundred thousand to make it round.

The Blitz team might not miss those few million, but the Vortex indeed does not have a uniform price.

There is an official price, but it's only a reference.

Government bulk purchases can enjoy certain discounts; ordinary people wishing to buy would have to pay a markup, with the more remote areas requiring a higher markup.

The list provided by Blitz shows the costs for Panda's Vortex; it's not particularly precise, but close enough.

Thus, it's not a matter of being stingy but rather precise payment, while also showcasing one's intelligence capability.

"Jerk," Qu Jianlei shook his head and muttered under his breath.

You only calculated the cost of the Vortex; if I truly had an AI that you guys snatched away, how much would that be worth?

The Hoyel Mansion helped with buying the Vortex, making pick-up convenient; can the Silver Notes measure such a favor?

Therefore, this cost calculation is indeed absurd, but he's too lazy to argue over it.

Since he already decided not to divulge any news about the small lake, the other party can calculate however they want, as long as it surpasses the cost.

As for the other party demonstrating accurate intelligence capability, possibly flexing their muscles, Qu Jianlei didn't mind.

Only the weak are fussed over such displays; Qu is a strongman.

He's even somewhat pleased—the more capable your intelligence gathering, the more accurate the information you provide me in the future.

Then, he started reading the information on Bida Freight.

Truly, this company is not simple; they monopolize sixty percent of Star No. 4's freight business, with bulk cargo transportation accounting for eighty percent.

This means the other freight companies only undertake the transport of non-bulk or specialized goods.

Like the mining group supported by Chris, eighty percent of its transport business is also handed over to Bida.

This relates to the Imperial antitrust laws: mining makes mining money, transportation makes transportation money.

However, taking on so much bulk cargo transportation, Bida's strength is evident.

Qu Jianlei was surprised to find that two-thirds of the military orders in the company's list.

It sounds little, but in other words, it is quite intimidating; over thirty percent, almost forty percent, of the military's transportation orders were given to Bida.

Military transportation volume is actually confidential, but scavengers hold nothing back and even provide related data.

Over thirty percent is already terrifying; note that a lot of the military freight business is assigned to cronies.

This is not just the problem of "backing to eat the mountain"; the profit on military transportation is indeed higher than civilian but carries a heavier responsibility.

So, handing military material transportation to cronies is also convenient for accountability—which is a reasonable justification.

Bida Freight's ability to snatch over thirty percent share from these cronies is truly mind-boggling.

However, this doesn't scare Qu Jianlei; his main concern is how to make a move.

The intelligence provided by the Blitz team didn't mention scavengers; they pointed out who bought Daisis.

That was Magillen, the assistant manager of Bida Fourth Star Company, a B-level Warrior nearing fifty.

This age reaching B-level shows considerable potential, but his strength is still a bit lacking to become a high executive at the Fourth Star Company.

However, since he was sent by the Hope Star headquarters of Bida Company, it's not surprising.

Magillen didn't directly contact Daisis; he only made the decision, and the person handling it was A-level Warrior Aaron.

Aaron is the Guard Captain of the company on Star No. 4; ten years ago, he completed his atonement punishment and was hired by Bida.

There are three A-levels in Bida's Guard Team; after all, interstellar freight encounters significant risk potential.

Aaron is not the strongest but has a Stone Attribute, making him most resilient and often serving as the manager's bodyguard.

This means his contact with Daisis was not only under assistant Magillen's direction but also the manager's idea.

The bribing costs were undefined by the scavengers; anyway, the situation is generally like this.

Qu Jianlei strongly suspects that Aaron also contacted Blitz; it's just natural for people to want to have their cake and eat it too.

As for the shareholders' composition of Bida and the forces related to its business having several Supremes—that's normal.

Arresting these two men hastily might be unwise... Qu Jianlei slowly pondered.

Given their status and cultivation level, they are certainly not the true puppet masters behind; they are just mouthpieces.

Taking them down is not hard, but if it alarms the snake and the real masterminds hide, it won't be resolved in the short term.

Qu Jianlei didn't like to procrastinate too long. After thinking for a while, he reached out to Hertman again.

He hoped the Guard Captain could step in and make things difficult for Bida Freight—you use official power, and so can I.

"Bida Freight?" Hertman was genuinely surprised and, after thinking for a moment, asked, "Are they the ones dealing with you?"

People in that position aren't usually clueless.

Deal with me... Qu Jianlei was a bit speechless, was this an attempt to clear things up again?

"It was Kushnier's death that got me noticed by them... your boss may not be without danger!"

"Tsk," Hertman was thoroughly perplexed, and after some contemplation, he replied, "I will report to the boss."

When Hoyel heard this request, he was also troubled, "Bida's influence on the Central Star is significant, and I'm already at a crucial point..."

"But we are the Current Manager," the Guard Captain hesitated before attempting to persuade his boss.

"They're eyeing Kushnier's death with a certain malevolence in itself."

"Malevolence?" Hoyel sneered at this remark. As the planet's second-in-command, he wasn't entirely without bravery.

He expressed disdainfully, "For those who do legitimate business, would they dare?"

Could a freight company really be doing entirely legitimate business? The Guard Captain could only smile bitterly and then make one last effort.

"I think if we keep considering them, those guys may not necessarily appreciate it. On the contrary, hitting back appropriately could yield results."

Hoyel hesitated as well, but eventually shook his head, "Targeting Bida Freight would affect the planet's prosperity."

That's the terror of monopolistic forces. Once Bida Freight halts operations, it would greatly impact Star No. 4.

No need to mention the deterioration of the local investment environment, just Bida's transportation capacity alone supplies more than half of the planet's bulk goods.

Star No. 4 is a newly established planet. It exports minerals but also needs a large influx of external supplies.

Hoyel cares too much about his position as the top dog. Affecting the planet's development and prosperity could lead to reproach.

You just lack a bit of daring, the Guard Captain secretly sighed in his heart. Is Bida, which is earning big on Star No. 4, willing to abandon it?

Anyway, he couldn't persuade anymore, even though he thought Panda was worth helping, his boss is Hoyel!

So he nodded, "Alright, I will explain it to him."

"No," Hoyel shook his head, pondering a while before responding, "We still have to cause some trouble for Bida, control the intensity."

The Guard Captain was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly understood and nodded, "I will explain to him that our capabilities are limited."

The boss was worried about Panda's discontent. Alas, not only are you indecisive, but you're also quite afraid to die.

However, Hoyel was almost a fine old fox and could easily guess what he was thinking.

He nonchalantly shook his head, "If the force is too strong, it could trigger unrest, which isn't good for the residents of Star No. 4."

After a pause, he looked at his Guard Captain, "A small force won't serve as a deterrent... they crossed the line this time."

The line he was referring to, of course, was the massacre of the Daisis Family or perhaps also the intentional trouble for Panda.

After all, the credentials held by that individual were as a consultant to his mansion's Guard Team.

"Understood," Hertman nodded. You're not just afraid, but you also care about your own image.

Since Hoyel had set the tone, the next day, someone went to pick trouble with Bida.

Finding fault is actually quite simple; in such a big freight company, there are always processes that are not perfect and procedures that are incomplete.

At a time when Bida is at its peak, no one usually intentionally makes things difficult, and some minor flaws aren't considered major problems.

Even a cursory inspection might reasonably uncover issues.

Bida didn't react initially, thinking that although there were some issues, timely correction would suffice.

As for those borderline violations that could either be calculated or ignored, just slipping some money would do.

However, after rectification, the government did not straightforwardly approve it, and Bida's people felt something was wrong.

In the past, such minor oversights could be resolved within a day or two, but now... they were dragging their feet?

These oversights ranged from "expired transportation permits" to "excessive armaments on cargo starships." There were all sorts of reasons.

However, Bida's operations weren't largely affected, with freight volume reducing by just over ten percent.

In theory, this was not a significant problem; those in transportation know that business fluctuation is quite normal.

However, the government's lack of enthusiasm to assist, accompanied by signs of delay, was not a normal signal.

Bida is an old established company across the Star Realm—what oddities hadn't they seen?

They didn't even have to ponder much to realize they were being targeted, and after some inquiries—understood!

The action was coming from the Hoyel Mansion. Clearly, the master behind Panda had emerged.

The business impact was not a big deal, but if it continued to be dragged out, it would severely impact Bida's reputation.

Once a freight company loses its reputation, it's not far from decline.

However, for a prominent second-in-command of a planet to use such underhanded means to retaliate, it was truly disconcerting.