Chapter 40: The Partnership Sealed

Inheritance of an ancient civilization’s relics?!

As soon as Jiang Chen heard this, he knew Hong had misunderstood. Yet he wasn’t surprised others would jump to such conclusions. There were simply too many unusual things about him. Being a planetary-level martial artist at nineteen was already so extraordinary it bordered on the absurd in present-day Earth. Even Luo Feng, who would reach the planetary level at twenty in the future, did so only after inheriting the legacy of an ancient civilization. If that could still be chalked up to monstrous talent, Jiang Chen’s achievements in science and technology were completely beyond the comprehension of Earth’s people.

In just a few years, he had produced several groundbreaking technological advancements, each with the potential to alter the balance between humanity and the monsters. Compared to Jiang Chen, Earth’s scientists were like elementary school children. This was something that could not be explained away by mere genius.

Many factions suspected Jiang Chen had obtained something related to the ancient civilization’s relics. But Jiang Chen had never left Base City—he rarely even stepped outside Yangzhou’s borders—so there was no evidence. Coupled with Jiang Chen’s formidable strength, those lurking in the shadows dared not act rashly.

However, with Hong’s power, he had every right to ask Jiang Chen such a question directly, without fearing he would cause offense.

Faced with Hong’s blunt inquiry, Jiang Chen fell silent. To speak the truth? That was out of the question. The existence of his system could never be revealed. But... ancient civilization relics? He truly had never touched such things.

After a moment’s silence, Jiang Chen shook his head slightly. “There are some things I simply cannot speak of.”

He decided to use “cannot say” as a smokescreen. Whether Hong believed it or not, Jiang Chen didn’t care. If the man truly resorted to any means necessary to get his so-called “inheritance,” then worst comes to worst, Jarvis would simply take control of all the Boxer mechs worldwide and go down fighting.

Hundreds of Boxer mechs could never kill Hong, but none of his trusted aides or subordinates would survive.

Still, deep down, Jiang Chen didn’t believe Hong was that unscrupulous. As a killer-turned-powerhouse, Hong was by no means a saint. But after blocking the monster invasions and protecting humanity for so many years, he couldn’t possibly be a man without any principles.

“So it’s not that you’re unwilling, but that you can’t?” Hong raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Jiang Chen said nothing, only nodded.

“Then I won’t pry further.” Hong was very straightforward, as though he would accept whatever Jiang Chen said.

Changing the subject, Hong continued, “But if you want to borrow the spatial ring, there’s still a price to be paid. Hmm… He wants the technology for the Boxer mechs.”

“The core technology is impossible,” Jiang Chen shook his head emphatically. “Besides, borrowing the spatial ring alone isn’t worth nearly that much.”

“What if he’s willing to exchange the spatial ring with you?” Hong pressed on. “Not lend, but sell it to you.”

Jiang Chen was tempted, but after hesitating for a moment, he said frankly, “Even if I gave out the technical data, no one on Earth but me could build it. There are too many other factors involved. Just the parts processing precision alone is beyond Earth’s current technological capabilities.”

“I see…” Hong sounded a bit disappointed.

Jiang Chen hesitated as well, then ventured, “Is there another condition we could negotiate?”

Hong didn’t answer right away. After a long pause, he finally said, “How about this—ten Boxer mech squads, that’s a hundred and twenty mechs. The spatial ring will be yours to use.”

He added, “No backdoors left in them. I also have an auxiliary AI from an ancient civilization’s relic.”

A hundred and twenty Boxer mechs—a cost of over a hundred billion. For the mere use of a spatial ring, the price was not low. But gaining a better starting point was well worth the trade in Jiang Chen’s eyes.

After a brief consideration, Jiang Chen decided not to haggle further and nodded readily. “Deal. But the orders for mechs are already lined up until year’s end. These hundred and twenty will likely be ready next year.”

“That’s fine.” Hong nodded and pressed a button.

A burly man clad in power armor appeared in the room.

Hong introduced him, “This is my guard, ‘Iceberg.’ He’s a planetary-level warrior. In a few days, when the spatial ring is ready, he’ll bring it to you at Jiangnan Base City. At that time, just hand over the goods you want transported to him.”

“Agreed. I’ll be counting on you,” Jiang Chen replied, his latter words directed to Iceberg.

—

After leaving the virtual space, Jiang Chen immediately headed to his factory on the outskirts to take inventory of the warehouse supplies and other resources.

After recalculating the spatial ring’s capacity several times, he decided to make a last-minute purchase of additional supplies. Given the size Hong specified, one trip wouldn’t be enough; on the second trip, only about a quarter of the ring’s space would be needed. The rest would go to waste.

Taking into account the many unexpected situations that could arise when establishing a new base, Jiang Chen decided to bring as many resources as possible, just in case. If he encountered trouble, he wouldn’t have to scramble.

Since the Boxer project, all eight major powers had made cooperation with Jiang Chen a top priority. Everything he needed was supplied with priority, and payment could even be deferred.

Jiang Chen wasn’t worried about running up debts either. He placed large orders through multiple channels at once. Massive quantities of ore, building materials, machinery, and more flowed steadily into his warehouses. He even prepared a year’s worth of food and medicine for tens of thousands of people.

Though he had no intention of bringing anyone with him to the base he was about to establish, since he had the capacity and it cost very little, it was better to be prepared.

A few days later, Hong’s bodyguard, Iceberg, arrived in Jiangnan Base City with the spatial ring, accompanied by Jia Yi. With them came a ‘Primal’ class intelligent fighter jet—a token of Hong’s friendship.

“Mr. Iceberg, thank you for coming all this way.” Jiang Chen led Iceberg to the warehouse and pointed to several massive storehouses ahead. “All of this needs to be transported. One trip won’t be enough; we’ll need to split it into two.”

“No problem. According to the chief’s orders, you are free to use this spatial ring as you wish for the next week,” Iceberg replied coolly but with flawless execution.

At his words, Jiang Chen smiled. “Let’s start with warehouses one and two. Once those are loaded into the ring, we’ll head to South America.”