Starshark Interstellar Adventurers Guild - Guild Master's Office
The servants placed tea and snacks in front of Zhao Chen, Chu Xuan, and Xue Xiaoxiao.
"Lord." Guild Master Guild Master's gaze fell on the group of guards behind Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen understood what Gui Ji meant. He looked at the leopard woman behind him and said, "You all wait outside."
The leopard woman hesitated for a moment, but then she remembered the commander's personal strength.
"We're right outside. Commander, you can call us anytime you need us," the Leopard Woman said, leading her subordinates out of the room.
The door to the room was also closed by the servants.
Only Gui Ji, Zhao Chen, and two others remained inside the room.
Xue Xiaoxiao couldn't hold back any longer and asked directly, "Mother, why did you make Xiaoxiao marry that bastard from the Qian family!"
Guild Master Oni said in a deep voice, "Everything must be done with the overall situation in mind."
"I don't recall ever when our Star Shark Guild needed to use a woman to save face for the sake of the so-called big picture!" Xue Xiaoxiao retorted directly.
Guild Master Guild Master gave her daughter a deep look; in the past, she would never have dared to confront her directly.
It seems she has really grown a lot during the time she was away.
It was probably the man in front of me who gave me the courage.
Guild Master Oni opened her mouth, but the words remained unspoken.
“Xiaoxiao, you’ve misunderstood Guiji Guild Leader,” Zhao Chen said at this moment.
Gui Ji and Xue Xiaoxiao both looked at Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen said calmly, "The Star Shark Guild was doing quite well originally, but the withdrawal of the Mechanical Race about two years ago directly led to a sharp decrease in the Star Shark Guild's profits."
If I'm not mistaken, the current earnings are less than a third of what they were at the peak.
The Star Shark Guild is a large and powerful organization with too many people to support.
According to the rules set by your Starshark Guild, any adventurer registered within the Starshark Guild who is injured while performing a mission will be provided with care according to certain standards.
While this increased StarShark's cohesion, it was also a considerable expense.
Previously, the Starshark Guild could manage to cover these expenses, but now... they're probably struggling to make ends meet.
"Why?" Xue Xiaoxiao hadn't quite grasped the question yet.
Chu Xuan then said from the side, "Based on the intelligence we have gathered..."
In the past, the rise of the Star Alliance was largely due to its crucial connection with the existence of the Galactic Alliance and the Machine Race.
The Galactic Alliance is now practically defunct, and the Machine Race has withdrawn its troops for some reason.
This has directly led to a rapid decline in the StarCraft industry over the past two years.
Star Shark Guild is a prime example.
Previously, half of the missions in the Starshark Guild were actually related to the Mechanical Race.
The star systems now being developed by the three great empires were once under the control of the machine race, and sometimes these star systems contain things that the three great empires need.
Raw materials, or starship wreckage, technological data, etc.
Sending a large-scale imperial army would certainly be inappropriate for such a situation.
That's when adventurer organizations like the Star Shark Guild came into existence.
The three major empires provide the funding, and the Star Shark Guild handles the operations, thus forming an industry chain.
Now that the supply chain has collapsed, Star Shark Guild is also in a critical situation.
If I'm not mistaken, Starshark Guild now only has two paths to choose from.
Firstly, cut some unnecessary expenses for the Starshark Guild, such as the treatment of the wounded and some weaker interstellar adventurers who are unable to carry out missions.
Secondly, that is open source! To find other business opportunities.
And the Qian family might just be the new business opportunity the Star Shark Guild is looking for!
Xue Xiaoxiao's mind went blank, and she understood the reason behind it.
She looked at her mother in disbelief: "So... Xiaoxiao is the bargaining chip in your deal?"
Now that things have come to this, Gui Ji knows she can't keep it a secret any longer.
She explained, "Things are indeed as Your Excellency and this young lady described."
The Qian family promised some things that could help our Star Shark public account overcome its difficulties.
But he also put forward some conditions, one of which was that he had to marry my daughter.
Before, in order to protect Xiaoxiao, I had kept her specific information from the outside world. People outside only knew that I had such a daughter, but no one knew what she looked like or how old she was.
No one knew that this girl had secretly gone to the Starry Empire several years ago to study at the Northern Starship Military Academy.
Perhaps this is just a coincidence.
At the time, while I was struggling with this matter, Gu Xiaoxiao... who is the girl in this arranged marriage, is my adopted daughter. She grew up at the same time as Xiaoxiao and they are as close as sisters; I also gave them similar names.
Xiaoxiao is a sensible child. She said she was willing to pretend to be Xiaoxiao and marry the young master of the Qian family.
She said that she was also like my daughter, so she was simply keeping her promise to the Qian family.
"Xiaoxiao is taking my place..." Xue Xiaoxiao's expression was complicated. Although she had expected it, she was still unsure when she finally confirmed it.
It had a significant impact on her.
It made her feel a lot of guilt. If she hadn't left, would she have been the one to be married off?
Ask yourself, with the life and death of the Star Shark Guild looming before her, would she agree to marry that perverted bastard from the Qian family?
She didn't want to think about it anymore, because she already had the answer.
"Xiaoxiao, there's still a chance to salvage this situation," Zhao Chen said.
"Where is Xiaoxiao now!" Xue Xiaoxiao hurriedly asked her mother.
Guild Master Gui said, "We should be almost at the main star of the Qian family's territory now. We set off the day before yesterday."
The wedding date is set for five days from now, so the Qian family requires the bride to arrive early to make preparations.
Xue Xiaoxiao swayed.
The thought of her best friend marrying a jerk because of her suddenly increased her guilt.
She bit her lip lightly and finally decided: "No matter what! I have to bring Xiaoxiao back. I absolutely cannot let Xiaoxiao jump into this fire pit."
"The Starshark Guild is in crisis... I'll figure something out... If all else fails... I'll get married!"
Guild Master Oni sighed deeply, sat down in her chair, and rubbed her temples.
At this moment, the aura emanating from her gave off a weak feeling, instantly arousing the man's protective instincts.
"Sigh... Who would have thought that the Star Shark Guild would come to this?"
"Cough cough cough."
Zhao Chen spoke up again at this moment, and stood up and walked between Xue Xiaoxiao and Gui Ji, the president of the Guild.
He spread his hands and looked at the two of them with a slight smile: "Gentlemen, have you overlooked something?"
The Qian family isn't the only one capable of resolving the current crisis facing the Star Shark Guild.
Why go to the trouble of seeking something far away when it's closer to home?
Zhao Chen's words were quite clear.
Want to latch onto a powerful figure?
Look, we have one right here, thick and big.
What the Qian family can give, the Xiaolong Legion can also give.
What the Qian family can't provide, the Xiaolong Legion can still provide.
In fact, what the JF-17 Legion gives you is beyond your imagination!
Gui Ji and Xue Xiaoxiao both turned their gazes to Zhao Chen.
