…

Except for the troops who stayed behind to guard the Leviathan skeleton and the scientific researchers who followed the fleet, the remaining ships of the First Fleet set out on their return journey after confirming that "Emergency Situation 000" had been lifted. As the only survivors of this incident, Ke Lan and his companions followed the First Fleet back to the Ark.

As soon as they landed, they were escorted by a team of elite soldiers to a reception room that was decorated quite exquisitely. The one who received them in the reception room was Lieutenant General Maginot, who had dealt with Ke Lan once before.

…

"In short, this is the general situation... Although you have made a huge contribution in this matter, I cannot award you even a medal other than verbal commendation." Maginot spread his hands and said with regret, "I'm really sorry, but given the current situation, this matter must be kept secret... Several other consortiums have also received the same notice."

"Keep it a secret? Can you keep it? The gap in crystal production is real. As long as there is a fluctuation in the market, someone will always guess the truth. Simply blocking the news will probably only backfire." The hound narrowed his eyes and said in a slightly mocking tone.

"But at least we can't announce this news now..." Maginot looked directly into the hound's eyes and said, "Nick, the key point of this matter is not that we have lost a crystal mine with rich reserves... but that Leviathan itself, the resurrection of the primitive species... This kind of news can easily cause panic among the people and lead to unrest as long as it is used by someone with ulterior motives..."

Maginot took out a silver cigar box from his pocket, opened it, took out a dark brown cigar, put it to the tip of his nose and sniffed it hard, but did not light it. Instead, he put it back into the box again.

"Twenty years. The Ark hasn't had an emergency numbered 000 for twenty years... Do you know what this means?"

Maginot stuffed the cigar box back into his pocket and continued, "People have gotten used to a stable life. This is no longer the era when the Ark just landed."

"You are deceiving yourselves." The Hound snorted coldly and did not look at Maginot well at all, but the latter did not seem to care at all.

"I also know that this kind of stability is actually an illusion, but at least this illusion can prevent most people from living in fear."

"But they will have to face their fear sooner or later, right?" Ke Lan, who had been silent, spoke up.

"But not now, at least not yet." Machino made a downward motion with his hand. "This is also what the higher-ups mean. In short, no one can spread this matter before we get the permission to lift the ban... As for the shortfall in crystal production, the authorities will find a way to make up for it."

"Hmph, such a big gap, I wonder how they are going to fill it." The Hound sneered. This was one of the main sources of his dissatisfaction at the moment - if the authorities took action to maintain stability, the market price of crystals would not change much in a short period of time. As for taking advantage of the information gap to speculate on crystal futures, it would become completely empty talk.

"Although I can't get you a medal, if you have other requests, you can tell me and I will report it to the higher-ups."

"Can I have money?" The Hound gave Maginot a blank look and asked.

"Yes, but the maximum is three million. If it's higher, it will be difficult to get your application approved." Machino said, "If you think it's too little, I can transfer another two million from my personal account to you."

"Just five million, are you giving away to a beggar?" The Hound said with a look of disdain, "To be honest, the Soma Group is more generous than you."

"The military and the consortium are different... Nick, you know that those soldiers worked so hard to earn first-class merit, but the reward they received was only 500,000 credit points and a medal. Three million is already the highest standard..."

"Stop, I don't want to hear your theories. I'm not a soldier anymore..." The Hound raised his hand, "How about this, let's change the terms."

"What conditions?"

"I want the right to purchase." The Hound seemed to have already thought about what he wanted. As soon as Maginot asked, he said it without hesitation.

"The right to purchase what?"

"The right to purchase new products from the military equipment research institute. As you know, even the best products available on the market are second-hand goods. You can't see the real good products without certain connections even if you want to... Although I have some connections in this regard, it is definitely not as useful as the purchase rights recognized by the military."

"...How dare you bring that up..." Maginot looked at the hound speechlessly.

"Just tell me whether you will give it to me or not. To tell you the truth, even if you don't want to give it to me, I still have ways to get those things. The reason I asked you for this permission is that I don't want to bother those old friends every time. Besides, isn't this a good way to save face for you? Otherwise, if you take out the five million, no one here would be interested in it."

"Okay, if you want the purchasing rights, then I'll give you that right. But I have to say this first, it's only limited to equipment below the battalion level. If you go to the Equipment Research Institute to buy tactical nuclear warheads, it's none of my business if you get caught," said Maginot.

"Let me make it clear first, it has to be the battalion-level standard of the field service. I don't want the junk from the garrison."

"Okay, okay, you're the one who has too many things to do." Maginot waved his hand and immediately sent a guard to bring a bronze card over. The Hound took the card, looked at it twice, and then put it into the inside pocket of his clothes with satisfaction.

…

After everyone signed the confidentiality agreement, the secret mission was over. However, when they were about to leave, Maginot stopped Ke Lan in front of everyone else.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong? Lieutenant General Maginot?" Ke Lan asked in some confusion.

What puzzled Ke Lan was not that Vice Admiral Maginot called him, but that he did not seem to mind that other people were watching them from the side... It seemed that Maginot's reason for looking for him should have nothing to do with the underwater city and the secret sect.

"It's not me. It's the people from the Soma Group who are looking for you. Oh, and Mr. Manstein... They hope that you will return to the group headquarters immediately after you finish your business here. As for what exactly it is, I'm not sure."

After hearing this, Ke Lan remained calm, but Manstein, whose presence had always been insignificant, groaned faintly. He had originally hoped to fill the huge public funds gap by helping Ke Lan and others speculate on crystal futures, but now there was obviously no such opportunity. If he was liquidated internally at this time, I'm afraid that this former executive of the Soma Group would have to move to the slums with his family tonight...