Chapter 63: Luck
"His Excellency the Director has also gifted you this scroll. He asked you to take good care of it, and if you have the time, he hopes you’ll study it. He believes you’ll benefit greatly from it."
Rios looked at the worn scroll and frowned before turning to Sally.
"And what’s the price?"
"After calculating the cost of the Gene Tracing techni—"
Sally had just begun calculating the new total when Rios raised his hand and interrupted her.
"I don’t mean the price in money. I mean... what does your Director want in return for these techniques?" Rios looked at Sally suspiciously and asked in a cold voice.
"As you said before, you normally don’t sell these techniques because they belong exclusively to the Red Lotus Cosmic Empire. And you certainly don’t need money in exchange for them. Otherwise, you would’ve auctioned them instead of selling them to me—and with a discount, no less. " The mockery in Rios’s voice became even more obvious as he looked at Sally. "So... what exactly do you want? Because giving me these techniques like this... is rather suspicious."
---
Third Floor – Management Room
"Hahaha... That boy may be greedy, but he knows exactly how to keep his greed under control." Lord Anz twirled his long mustache around his finger several times. "I’m beginning to like his style."
Beside him, Director Lance looked at Rios and frowned.
"He’s smart, yes... but don’t you think he’s a little arrogant?"
"Arrogant?" Lord Anz glanced at Lance for a moment before turning back toward the red screen.
"So what if he is?"
"Does everyone have to be humble? Which one of us doesn’t have a bit of arrogance? You yourself were incredibly arrogant when you were young."
"Of course, humility is a good thing—but not all the time. And even if he’s a little arrogant, what’s wrong with that? His arrogance doesn’t come from noble birth or high status. It comes from confidence in himself and his own abilities. And the best part is that, despite his arrogance, he’s also cautious. In fact, it seems his caution always wins over his arrogance." Lord Anz smiled mockingly as he looked back at Director Lance.
"What? Are you regretting supporting him now?"
Director Lance stared at the red screen for a while before letting out a sarcastic sigh.
"No... I don’t regret that decision. It’s just..." He wanted to say something, but eventually sighed again and shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Forget it. I was simply thinking about what kind of person he’ll become... and how his decisions will shape his destiny."
Hearing that, Lord Anz narrowed his eyes and looked back at the screen.
"That’s only natural. Those with Immortal-grade talent don’t affect only themselves. Their decisions affect everyone around them. And once they grow a little stronger, those decisions may influence entire star sectors... or even an entire cosmic region if they fully mature instead of dying halfway down the road."
"Throughout the millions of years of the Red Lotus Cosmic Empire’s history, our Empire has never produced a single person with Immortal-grade talent."
"And throughout the entire history of this palace, only one person with Immortal-grade talent has ever visited it."
"That was during the era of the First Ancestor."
"But unfortunately... the palace failed to seize that opportunity." Lord Anz smiled faintly as he looked at Rios. "Now that such an opportunity has appeared before us again... we must make full use of it."
"He came to us at the perfect time—right at the beginning of his path. After all the assistance we’ve given him, our luck will become closely tied to his. If he possesses great fortune, then we’ll certainly receive a share of it as he continues to grow stronger."
"But if his fortune is terrible..." Lord Anz laughed confidently.
"...then his bad luck won’t be enough to affect a Cosmic Empire as powerful as the Red Lotus Cosmic Empire. Because we’ll only be connected to his good fortune through this initial investment, which will support him for a long time. We won’t continue investing endlessly, so we won’t become entangled with his misfortune."
---
First Floor
"Hahaha, Lord Ozir, you’re overthinking it." Sally laughed naturally as she repeated the words Director Lance was secretly transmitting to her.
"In truth, His Excellency the Director simply wished to support you since you’re at the beginning of your journey to establish your own kingdom. If you ask your golden assistant—or simply look into it—you’ll find that many palaces do the same. They choose candidates who meet their standards and provide them with suitable support."
"As for the price..." Sally smiled as she looked at Rios with unconcealed envy.
"His Excellency the Director asks you to leave that for the future. He only hopes that, if the Red Lotus Cosmic Empire ever needs your help someday... you’ll lend us a hand, provided it’s within your ability."
"The future, huh..." Rios frowned and fell into thought for a while. When he looked at Sally again, the suspicion still hadn’t left his eyes.
"...Very well. I accept."
Rios agreed.
Although he remained extremely cautious and suspicious, the benefits at this point far outweighed the risks.
Besides, he needed these techniques more than anything else—especially the Nine Lotus Leaves technique and the Gene Tracing technique.
Not only for himself...
But also for the kingdom he was about to build.
"You’ve made the right choice, Lord Ozir. The Red Lotus Empire bears no ill will toward its friends, nor does it break the promises it makes." Sally smiled gently, trying to reassure him.
"How much do the techniques I’ve purchased cost now?" Rios ignored Sally’s reassurance and immediately asked about the matter that concerned him most.
Hmph!
"Right away, Lord Ozir."
Sally grumbled inwardly at Rios’s unexpected response, but in the end she tapped the desk. A red screen appeared before her as she began calculating the final cost.
"The original total before discounts was 66,500 Prime. After adding the price of the sixth-level Gene Tracing technique, the total becomes 136,500 Prime. After applying the 80% discount, the final amount is 27,300 Prime."
Sally smiled as she presented the data screen to Rios.
Rios’s pupils trembled the moment he saw the screen and realized how much he would have had to pay without the discount. In the end, he could only sigh inwardly.
Looks like... I ended up owing someone today.
"But wait a second..."
"Why weren’t the Nine Lotus Leaves technique and the golden scroll included in the total?"
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