Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Tycoon

The wealthy tycoon is the most important figure in Sack, and for this reason, he is extremely reluctant to let people see him standing.He was short, like his daughter, but his daughter was well-proportioned, and he was not, chiefly because his legs were too short.His upper body is quite strong, and his face can be described as handsome, but below the waist, he has a pair of stubby legs, and he has to sway awkwardly when he walks. So he always sat behind a desk.Except for his daughter, his valet, and his deceased wife, no one had ever seen him in any other position. At this moment, he was sitting there majestically.He had a big head, a big mouth, and big nostrils, but his chin was pointed and had a dimple in the middle.Such a dignified appearance can give people a double impression of benevolence and stubbornness at the same time.He didn't pay much attention to his hairstyle. His hair was combed back almost to his shoulders. Every hair was blue and black, without any gray or gray mixed in.His cheeks, around his lips, and around his chin had a faint bluish glow, the result of twice-a-day struggles between the Florentine barber and his stubbornly growing beard.

The tycoon loves to put on a show, and he knows it well.He has a well-trained expression, and his two stubby big hands are placed on the table, and they are lightly clasped.The smooth, polished tabletop was empty, no paper, no talking tube, no decoration of any kind.This simplicity and nature further highlights the existence of the tycoon itself. He was speaking to the pale-faced secretary in a feeble voice that was his own when speaking to mechanical devices and Florentine officials: "I suppose I'll take it all?" In fact, he already knew the answer in his chest. His secretary replied in the same feeble tone: "Bolter Bot said he couldn't show up before three o'clock because he was busy with important business."

"How do you answer?" "I'm saying this is a big deal at the moment and any delay would be unwise." "The results of it?" "He said he would appear, sir. The others agreed without hesitation." Fafu smiled slightly.Half an hour earlier and half an hour later will not make any difference, the important thing is that this involves a new principle.The five big tycoons are too sensitive to their own independence, and this sensitivity must be removed. Now he waits.This room is large, and everyone else's place is ready.It was two twenty-one, according to the large chronometer.For a thousand years, its trace radioactive energy has never malfunctioned, nor has it decayed in the slightest.

What a shock these two days have been!This ancient timepiece has probably never witnessed anything comparable in the past. However, after all, it has experienced thousands of years, and it has indeed seen many things.When it started ticking, Sark was a new world, consisting of several human-built cities with little contact with other senior worlds.At that time, it hung on the wall of an old brick building, which has long since been reduced to dust.Once, during three brief Sac "Empires," undisciplined Sac soldiers ruled five or six worlds around them.During those days, it silently told the time indifferently.And during the two times when the fleets of neighboring worlds controlled Sark, its radioactive atoms still decayed one by one according to precise statistical laws.

Five hundred years ago, Sark discovered that the soil of the nearest world—Florina—had immeasurable treasures.After advancing victoriously, the Saks made peace as conquerors.From then on, Sark gave up the empire he had built, and only took Florenna back to his territory, and soon became the power of the galaxy, even Trantor could not catch up.Everything that happened was carefully recorded by this timepiece. Trantor coveted Florenna, and so did the other powers.Over the past few centuries, greedy hands have reached out to Florenar from all over space, trying to claim it as their own.But Sac held on to Florenna, and would rather trigger a galactic war.

Trantor knew it!Trantor knew it! It was like the silent rhythm of a timepiece, sending these words into Fafu Tycoon's mind over and over again. The time is twenty-three past two. Nearly a year ago, Sack's Big Five had a get-together.That meeting, like today, was held in Fafu's hall.At that time, those tycoons who were scattered all over Sac gathered together in their own continents through three-dimensional avatars just like today. In terms of basic functions, the 3D avatar is equivalent to a life-size 3D TV, with all the sound and light effects.In Sark, any moderately well-to-do average person has this kind of equipment.But where the former surpasses the latter is that there are no visible receivers.Except for Fa Fu, although the tycoons present are no different from real people, they are not actually their real bodies.They completely cover the wall behind them, and the figures presented will not flicker, but they can penetrate these forms with their hands.

The real body of Lune Tycoon sits on the other side of the planet, and at this moment, only his continent is shrouded in darkness.In the Fafu hall, Lu Nei's image was surrounded by artificially illuminated white cold light, which looked extremely dim under the surrounding sunlight. Whether they are real people or images, these people gathered in the hall represent the entire Sark.This ugly combination is the embodiment of this planet.Rooney is bald, rosy, and fat; Barry has gray hair and dry, wrinkled skin; Sting wears rouge and powder, and wears an old-fashioned smile, pretending to have a life force that has long since disappeared; Porter appears to be indifferent to material life. I haven't shaved for two days, and my nails are disgustingly dirty.

They are the five big tycoons. These five men sit at the very top of the three-tier ruling hierarchy in Sark.The lowest rank among them was, of course, the Florentine officials of the State Department; their place remained unchanged in the rise and fall of the great Sack families; it was they who really moved the machinery of government.Above them are ministerial heads appointed by the hereditary (and innocuous) head of state.The official documents of the government need to have their names and the names of the leaders of the country in order to take effect, but the only responsibility of these people is to sign.

The highest level is controlled by five big tycoons, each occupying a continent with the acquiescence of the other four.They were the heads of the five great families, which controlled all of the trade in Ji Tiao, and the wealth derived from it.Money is the backing of power. With power, Sac's policies can be controlled, and money is in their hands.Among these five people, Youshu Fafu is the richest. On that day, nearly a year ago, the wealthy tycoon faced four other masters of the galaxy's second-richest planet (the richest being Trantor, after all, Trantor had a million worlds and they had only two).

"I got a strange letter," he said at the time. They didn't ask any questions, they all waited in silence. Fafu handed a sheet with metallic luster to the secretary. The secretary walked past the four figures on the seat one by one, and held up the sheet to let them see clearly. The time was just right for everyone to finish reading the words on it. For the other four people who participated in this meeting, only they are real, while others including Fa Fu are just phantoms.The sheet with metallic luster was also an illusion, and they could only sit there, staring at the light focused in front of them.Those rays of light emanated from the fertile continent, spanned a long distance, and were respectively sent to the continents of Barry, Potter, Sting, and the mainland island of Lunei.The handwriting they read was a phantom within a phantom.

Only Potter, the blunt and unaccustomed tycoon who was not used to sophisticated equipment, forgot for a moment that there was only a phantom in front of him, and stretched out his hand to get the letter. His arm stretched out towards the rectangular edge of the video receiver, and was instantly cut off, leaving only half a severed limb.Fafu knew that in Potter's own room, his hands didn't catch anything, he just walked through the letter door and Fafu smiled, and the others also smiled, and Sting even let out a chuckle. Pot blushed and quickly withdrew his arm, and the amputated limb was restored. Fafu said: "Okay, everyone has read it. If you don't mind, I will read it aloud now, so that everyone can think about its meaning." As soon as he raised his hand, the secretary came quickly and held the sheet in a proper position so that Fafu could easily get it. Fafu began to read aloud in a soft voice, every word was full of drama, as if the letter was written by himself, and he was very happy to share it with everyone. "The letter reads as follows: 'You are one of the five great tycoons of Sark, and your power and wealth are unrivaled. Yet those powers and wealth are built on weak foundations. You might think that the whole of Florenia Thistles are by no means weak foundations. But ask yourself, how long will Florenna be around? Forever? No!Florina may be destroyed tomorrow.Although it may continue to exist for a thousand years, in comparison, it is more likely to be destroyed tomorrow.Honestly, it's not me that's going to destroy it, it's a force that you can't predict or foresee.Please face this devastation and the fact that you have lost your power and your wealth, for I will claim most of it.You'll have time to think about it, but not much. If you try to spend too much time, I will declare this impending doom to the entire galaxy, and especially to Florenia.In this way, all things, wealth, and power will come to naught.I won't have it then, but I'm used to it; and you're going to lose it, and that's a very serious problem, because you're born with a lot of money. I will specify the quantity and method in the near future. If you transfer most of your property to me according to your own wishes, then you will keep the rest safely.By your current standards, honestly, you don't have much left, but it's better than losing it all.At the same time, don't underestimate the little remnant you will keep. Florenna may outlive you, and you can at least live out the rest of your life comfortably, though not luxuriously. "' After Fafu finished reading, he turned the sheet back and forth with both hands, and then slowly rolled it into a translucent silver cylinder, and the words engraved on it became a blurred mass of red. He changed back to his usual tone: "This is a very interesting letter. There was no signature at the end, and the tone of the letter, you have all heard, is contrived and arrogant. What do you think, you tycoons?" Lune's rosy face showed displeasure: "This is obviously a man who is close to insanity, almost like writing historical fiction. Frankly, Fafu, bringing us together for this kind of garbage destroys A long tradition of self-government among the continents, it's a big deal. I don't like discussing it all in front of your secretary either." "My secretary? Because he's a Florentine? Are you afraid he'll be upset by this letter? Ridiculous." His tone shifted from mild banter to command. "Turn to Lune Tycoon." The secretary did so immediately.His eyes were lowered cautiously, and his pale face was so unwrinkled and expressive that it was hardly alive. "This Florentine," said Fafu without hesitation, as if he did not exist, "is my personal servant. He has never left my side, and has never had contact with his fellow countrymen. But not because That's what makes him absolutely trustworthy. Look at him, look into his eyes. Can't you see that he's obviously been mentally reformed? He's not capable of even the slightest thought of being unfaithful to me. Don't worry if you're angry If so, compared to any of you, I would rather trust him." Potter smiled softly: "I don't blame you, of course our loyalty to you is not as good as a reformed Florenian servant." Sting chuckled a few more times, and shifted uneasily, as if his seat was getting warmer. None of them commented on Fafu's use of a mind-shaping device against his personal servants.If they reacted, it would really surprise Fa Fu.In fact, mind reformers can only be used to correct mental abnormalities or remove criminal impulses, and are prohibited from being used in any other way.Strictly speaking, even the five big tycoons are no exception. But as long as Fafu thinks it is necessary, he will use the mind reformer-especially the reforming target is the Florentine; as for the reforming of the Sak people, it is much more sensitive.Fafu did not ignore that when he mentioned spiritual transformation, Tycoon Sting seemed a little restless.Because it was well known that he was always using reformed Florentine men and women for things far more personal than secretarial work. "Okay," Fafu folded his blunt fingers, "I didn't gather everyone together to hear me read a letter from a madman. I hope everyone understands this. In fact, I'm afraid we are facing a Serious question. First of all, I asked myself, why only me? It is true that I am the richest of the tycoons, but I alone control only one-third of the total trade of thistle. And the five of us Taken together, the whole trade is controlled. It is as easy to make five copies of a letter as it is to write one." "Rattling," Potter murmured, "what on earth are you trying to say?" The puckered and bloodless lips on Barry's gloomy gray face began to squirm: "He wants to know, Lord Potter, whether we have received the same letter." "Then just say it straight." "I think I have made it very clear." Fafu said calmly, "How is it? Have you received it?" They looked at each other, showing expressions of hesitation or resistance depending on their personalities. Rooney spoke first.Beads of sweat hung on the pink forehead of this fat tycoon, and he took a soft thistle square towel and frequently wiped the sweat hidden in the folds of fat. He said, "I don't know, Fafu. I can ask my secretary, who are both Sacks, by the way. After all, even if such a letter did reach my office, it would be considered— —What did we call it just now?—A letter from a madman. I'll never see it, that's for sure. Only your special secretarial system keeps you from being exposed to such rubbish. " He looked around and smiled, showing wet glistening gums and two rows of chrome-steel dentures.Each denture is embedded deep in the gums and is tightly bonded to the jawbone, stronger than any tooth with enamel.But also because of this, his smile is more terrifying than his anger. Barry shrugged: "I think what Lune just said can represent all of us." Sting Chichi smiled. "I never read the letter. Really! I never read it. It's such a boring, onerous job, and I don't have time for it." He looked around eagerly, as if it was necessary Convince everyone of this important fact. Potter said, "What's the matter with you all? Are you afraid of getting rich? Tell you, rich, I don't have any secretary, because I don't need anyone to help me with things. Yes, I got the same letter, and I'm sure the other three did as well. Know what I did with that letter? I threw it in the waste disposal, and I urge you all to do the same. Well, call it a day, I'm tired." After he finished speaking, he raised his hand to press the switch.With just one touch, his image will disappear from the Fafu hall. "Wait, Bot!" Fafu roared in a forceful tone, "wait a minute, I haven't finished yet. You don't want us to reach any resolution or take any action in your absence, do you? Of course you Won't," "Let's just stay a little longer, Potter tycoon." Lune persuaded in a softer tone, although his small eyes sunken in the fat were not particularly kind, "Why does the rich tycoon care about a small thing?" It makes me wonder how worried it is.” "Well," Barry's cold voice scratched everyone's eardrums, "Maybe Fafu thinks that this friend who wrote to us has information about Trantor's attack on Florenna." "Bah!" Fafu spat contemptuously, "whoever he is, how would he know? Our secret service is effective enough, I assure you. Besides, even if we do bribe him with property, how will he stop it?" The attack? No, no. By the destruction of Florence, he seems to mean physical rather than political." "It's just crazy," Sting said. "Really?" Fafu asked back, "So, you haven't noticed the significance of those events in the past two weeks at all." "What events?" asked Potter. "Looks like a space analyst has gone missing, of course you've heard of it." Pot still looked rather annoyed, unrelenting. "I heard about it from Abel of Trantor. What the hell is it? I don't know anything about space analysts." "He sent a telegram to their base on Sark before he disappeared. Have you at least read a copy of it?" "Abel showed it to me, but I didn't notice it at all." "What about the others?" Fafu's eyes challenged everyone in turn, "Does your memory still work?" "I read it," Lune said, "and I remember it. Of course! It also mentions destruction. Is that what you want to emphasize?" "Gee!" Sting squealed, "it's just ugly and bloody and doesn't make any sense. Let's stop talking about it. I almost couldn't get rid of Abel that time, and it was before dinner time. Really Hate it, really." "We have no choice, Sting." Fafu said impatiently, (what can you do with a man like Sting?) "We have to continue the discussion. That space analyst once mentioned Florina destruction, and at the same time as his disappearance we received a blackmail letter threatening the destruction of Florina. Is this a coincidence?" "You mean, the blackmail letter was written by that space analyst?" Old Barry asked in a low voice. "Unlikely. Why should he announce it publicly and then do it again anonymously?" "When he made the initial announcement," Barry said, "it was their office in Sack, not us." "Even so. But unless absolutely necessary, the blackmailer always only contacts the person he wants to blackmail." "So what?" "He's gone missing. Even though this space analyst was a good guy, he spread a dangerous message. Now he's in the hands of another group of people who aren't good people. They're blackmailers." "Another batch of what?" Fafu leaned back in the chair sullenly, his lips barely moved: "Are you really asking me? The answer is Trantor." Sting shivered. "Trantor!" he cried out. "Why not? What better way to gain control of Florenia? That is one of the main objectives of their foreign policy. It is certainly better for them if they can achieve their goal without resorting to violence." .Listen, if we agree to this deceitful blackmail, Florence will really become theirs. Although they allow us to keep a little," he held out his thumb and forefinger, "but Even this, how long can we keep it? "Conversely, suppose we ignore it—and we have no choice—what will Trantor do? Well, they'll spread rumors to the Florenese farmers that the end of that world is coming. Wait till Rumors spread, and farmers panic. What will follow but disaster? If a man thinks that tomorrow is the end of the world, what power will drive him to work? The harvest will be rotten, and the warehouse will be empty. " Sting lifted a finger to smooth out the powder makeup on his cheeks, and looked at a mirror in his apartment, but it was out of range. "I don't think that would hurt us too much," he said. "If the harvest is smaller, won't the price go up? After a while, it will turn out that Florencia isn't quite there yet, and farmers will then Will go back to work. And we'll be able to threaten with austerity. Really! I don't know a single civilization that can survive without thistle. Oh, that's king thistle, and I think it's pretty mediocre." He had a bored attitude, one finger gracefully resting on his cheek. Barry kept his old eyes closed and endured.At this time, he said: "There is no room for price increases now, we have already sold at sky-high prices." "Exactly," Fafu said, "it won't cause a serious stockout anyway. Trantor has been waiting for signs of unrest in Florenna, and if they can get the entire galaxy to think that Sark won't be able to guarantee the export of thistles, Then they landed in Florence to maintain their so-called order and maintain a fixed output of thistles, which is the most natural thing in the universe. The danger is that the free world in the galaxy may stand with them for the sake of thistles On one line—especially if Trantor agrees to break the monopoly, increase production, and lower selling prices. They may be another face afterwards, but at this juncture, they will have the support of other worlds. "If Trantor wanted to take Florenar, that was the only logical thing to do. If it were pure force, even for self-preservation, the free world outside Trantor's sphere of influence would join us." "What role does that space analyst play? Is he a necessary role? If your theory is strong enough, it should explain that," Rooney said. "I think so. Most space analysts are psychologically unbalanced, but this one has developed some kind of—" Fafu moved his fingers, as if building an invisible building, "some kind of crazy theory. What kind of theory is it?" It's not important, the important thing is that Trantor can't let it be officially announced, otherwise the Space Analysis Bureau will deny it. However, if that person is arrested and the details are found out, then the information they obtained may be enough to bluff ordinary people; They can use it to make it sound real. The Bureau of Analysis is Trantor's puppet, and once this matter is spread through scientific rumors, they will never have enough power to deny it even if they want to overwhelm it. That lie." "Sounds too complicated," said Potter. "It's weird, they can't make it public, and yet they want to make it public." "They can't have it officially released as a serious scientific statement, and they can't even have the Bureau of Analysis receive such a report." Fafu said patiently, "But they can spread it as a rumor, you understand?" "Then why did old Abel waste his time looking for that space analyst?" "Do you think he will spread the word that that person is in his hands? What Abel is really doing is completely irrelevant to what he is doing on the surface." "Well," said Lune, "if it's what you say, what are we going to do? Fafu said: "It is very important that we recognize the danger. If possible, we will find the space analyst. We must keep all known Trantor spies under close surveillance, but not interfere with their activities." Action. From their actions it is possible to understand the development of the situation. As for the rumors of the impending destruction of Florenia, we must completely suppress on this planet. severe measures to deal with. "The most important point is that we must remain united. In my opinion, the only purpose of this meeting is to form a consensus. We all know the importance of self-government of the continents, and I am sure no one insists on this more than I do. But that It was under normal circumstances, but now is not normal. Do you understand?" Somewhat reluctantly, because the autonomy of the continents is not something that can be easily given up, and they know it in their hearts. "Then," Fafu said, "let's wait for the opponent's second wave of action." That was a year ago.After everyone left, Fafu Tycoon suffered the most bizarre and complete defeat in his life.In all his rather remarkable and long struggles he had never had such an experience. There was no second wave at all, and none of them heard back.The space analyst was never found, and Trantor kept up the search intermittently.There were no traces of doomsday rumors in Florenna, and the harvest and processing of thistles maintained a steady progress. The Lune tycoon started calling Fafu every week. "Fat Fu," he usually said, "any new developments?" His fat was always quivering with glee, and there was always a hoarse giggle in his throat. Fafu accepted his ridicule calmly and dejectedly.what can he doHe sifts through the clues again and again, but to no avail.One factor is missing, one extremely important factor has been left out. A year later, when everything suddenly exploded at the same time, he finally got the answer.He knew he had an answer, and the answer was something he hadn't expected. He called another meeting.Now, the time displayed by the chronometer is twenty-nine minutes past two. They started appearing one by one.The first was Potter, pursing his lips and scratching the short gray beard on his cheek with his fingers.Then there was Sting, who had just washed off the make-up from his face, revealing a pale, sickly complexion.Barry looked tired and unconcerned; his cheeks were sunken, and the armchair was heavily padded with a mug of hot milk beside him.Rooney appeared last, two minutes after the others; his lips were wet and he had a sullen expression.It was night again for him, and this time his lights were so dim that he seemed to be sitting in a cube of shadow, shadowy, unable to illuminate the area around him even with the power of the Sun of Sark. Fafu opened his mouth: "You tycoons! Last year I speculated that there was a crisis far away with a complicated background, and I fell into a trap by doing so. The crisis does exist, but it does not come from far away. It is very close to us, very close. Among you One already knows what I mean, and the others will soon too." "What the hell are you trying to say?" Pot asked impatiently. "Someone betrayed!" Fafu replied quickly.