Chapter 513

Chapter 513: Each Has Their Thoughts

"Well, this star cluster is far from the super star cluster and has a very low upper limit. Looking at the entire star cluster, it’s quite difficult to find a suitable place for cultivation."

Morris held back his anxiety, clinging to a glimmer of hope as he explained.

"It’s fine; any place will do!"

Mares replied lightly, as if unaffected.

Morris instantly felt utterly disappointed.

He understood that Mares must have realized he had been deceived.

That was why he was deliberately stalling for time.

Regret filled Morris’s heart.

At the time, to ensure a swift signing of the contract, he had not thoroughly considered the details and was worried that the contract conditions might be too harsh, leading Mares to reject signing it.

Thus, the main condition in the contract was that Mares must hurry to arrive in this star cluster.

He could not leave the star cluster until finding Yi Chen and the Shadow King.

However, the contract did not clearly state that once Mares arrived, he had to immediately start searching for Yi Chen and the Shadow King.

It also did not specify how long Mares had to find Yi Chen and the Shadow King.

This gave Mares the opportunity for revenge.

Morris also felt some dissatisfaction inside.

Wasn’t it just about hiding the news that this star cluster was incompatible with the Tree-Dwelling Tribe?

Wasn’t it just hiding the fact that the territory income was appallingly low?

For the former, if he had started searching as soon as he arrived in the star cluster, he could have left in a few days, and the impact wouldn’t have been significant.

For the latter, even a tiny bug is still meat.

A thousand years of territory income is at least a considerable amount.

At least, in Morris’s eyes, it was a significant amount.

The round trip would only take a little over four months; that income wasn’t bad at all.

What more could he be dissatisfied with?

Moreover, even if he was dissatisfied, this star cluster was indeed incompatible with the Tree-Dwelling Tribe.

Deliberately stalling for time and being fooled was his own fault.

It would be better to complete the task quickly and return to the Tree Star Cluster.

"How about this: since your search and tracking abilities are incredibly strong, why not find the people first?"

Morris subtly reminded him, "To be honest, this star cluster isn’t a place where we strong from the Tree-Dwelling Tribe should stay. The sooner we resolve this, the sooner we can return to the Tree Star Cluster together."

Mares smiled bitterly, "To be honest, I’ve run into some trouble while carrying out my task and suffered some injuries. For the past two months, I’ve been recuperating on the Large Battleship."

"Although I’ve managed to suppress it somewhat, if I recklessly stop the suppression now, it could easily worsen my injuries. I need to completely suppress them before using my search and tracking methods to find the target."

"So… how long do you think that will take?"

Morris inquired.

"I estimate it will take about another month or two to fully suppress it," Mares replied without hesitation.

"Alright then!" Morris said, feeling helpless.

After all, since things hadn’t escalated yet, he wouldn’t force Mares to use his search and tracking methods.

Although his strength realm was a whole major realm above Mares’s, Mares had extensive connections and was undoubtedly one of the most resourceful beings among his peers.

Defeating Mares wouldn’t be an issue for Morris, but controlling him would be a significant problem.

If he allowed Mares to escape, all hope would dissolve like a puff of smoke.

Fortunately, this star cluster was a place that was incompatible with the Tree-Dwelling Tribe.

Since Mares already knew he had been deceived, he surely understood the situation and wouldn’t want to stay here either.

Moreover, as the super star cluster experienced upheaval, and with Mares having a task at hand, he wouldn’t be able to delay for too long.

After a month or two, he would undoubtedly start feeling anxious.

By then, as Mares’s anger would have diminished, he would be eager to leave. If Morris offered a bit more compensation, Mares would likely just resolve the task without fuss.

If luck wasn’t on Mares’s side and he encountered a situation like Morris’s, where he was confused and the Shadow King stole his Space Stone, then he wouldn’t even need to be urged or offered more; he would voluntarily begin to complete the task.

"Since there isn’t a suitable place, I’ll just find somewhere to heal. I’ll keep in touch. Once I suppress my injuries, I’ll contact you right away!"

Mares thought coldly.

He didn’t expect that even with his obvious attitude, indicating he knew he had been deceived, Morris would still act like he had Mares in his grasp.

Mares originally planned to pressure Morris into raising the compensation.

With the incompatibility between this star cluster and the Tree-Dwelling Tribe, he felt a bit intimidated.

He had his friends dig up all of Morris’s possessions.

If Morris was willing to increase the compensation, Mares would raise the price, draining Morris of everything he had.

Then, he would quickly fulfill the contract and head back to the Tree Star Cluster.

Just as Morris expected, Mares indeed had tasks waiting for him back in the Tree Star Cluster.

If he managed to exhaust Morris’s resources, it would likely diminish Morris’s anger significantly.

After returning, he could then think of ways to cause some trouble for Morris through connections, and that would pretty much be that.

After all, Morris was a major realm above him.

He believed in leaving some leeway; letting Morris take a significant loss would help him vent his anger while keeping things manageable.

Mares was cautious by nature and didn’t want to push Morris too hard, fearing they might end up with a deep-seated grudge.

What he did not expect was that despite Morris guessing he knew he had been fooled, he still completely avoided mentioning increasing the offer.

This only intensified Mares’s already furious mood to a boiling point.

If Morris hadn’t been far stronger and they weren’t in the star cluster outside their main region, Mares would have confronted him directly.

It felt like such bullying!

"Fine!" Morris nodded.

He had no idea how furious Mares was at that moment.

"Then I’ll take my leave!" Mares finished, turning to leave.

He also didn’t realize that Morris was already broke and had no way to raise the compensation.

Of course, considering Morris’s stingy nature, even if the Space Stone hadn’t been stolen by the Shadow King, he wouldn’t increase his stakes under these circumstances.

"Envoy…"

Watching Mares suddenly vanish, Lu Qingxian and the federal High-ranking Leaders felt a mix of embarrassment and helplessness.

Of course, each one of them was cunning and wouldn’t show it.

Instead, they all wore anxious and agitated expressions.

"It’s alright; we only have to wait a month or two. I have already signed a contract with him, and until he finds Yi Chen and the Shadow King, he can’t leave this star cluster."

Although Morris felt unsettled, he still offered some words of comfort.

He was, after all, trying to reassure himself.

"Then we can only wait another month or two!" Lu Qingxian and the federal High-ranking Leaders had looks of helplessness.

"Let’s go!"

Morris didn’t feel like comforting them further and returned to the Large Battleship alone.

After exchanging glances, Lu Qingxian and the other High-ranking Leaders followed him aboard the Large Battleship.

They then notified the Captain of the Large Battleship to return to the life planet housing the headquarters of the Federal Parliament.

As the Large Battleship departed, the surrounding escort ships also turned back, returning to their respective military bases.