The Most Powerful Brain in the Interstellar Space

These planets include resource-rich planets, travel planets with extremely advantageous geographical locations, and even some planets with undeveloped mineral veins. Unlike ordinary resource-rich planets, these planets truly possess invaluable treasures that are priceless and hard to find, veritable hidden gems. Therefore, this auction attracted attention from all sides as soon as it was announced.

However, standing out among so many people is no easy feat. The military and political circles have sent representatives to further consolidate control over the scattered private planets. If a direct confrontation were to occur, no other power, in terms of financial resources, influence, or connections, could possibly contend with either of these forces. They could only hope that the Empire would show mercy and not deny them even a small share.

The resource planets they possessed hadn't changed hands for a long time, and the spoils had already been divided. If they could acquire another planet or two, the distribution of benefits within their tribe would shift again. Therefore, they were determined to make this trip no matter what.

"No wonder." The Four Seas Trading Company, which had previously been hesitant to hold such a large-scale auction, had attracted the support of so many powerful forces. This was because they were all stakeholders, and they all wanted to acquire the unclaimed planets held by the Four Seas Trading Company.

“Ahui, you may not know that this batch of unclaimed planets has something to do with you.”

Ok? !

Jiang Hui couldn't believe it. What did this have to do with her? When did she acquire such abilities? How come she didn't even know it herself?
"Do you remember the complaint you filed during your driving qualification exam?"

The girl nodded, of course she remembered. She had only intended to take a simple exam, but she nearly lost her life in the exam hall. Then, she was caught up in the unrest at the defense line and almost lost her life. These two incidents alone made Atlantis the most unforgettable place in her life so far.

“After you filed the complaint, the military followed the trail and found several people behind it. This was not the first time they had done this, but because the situation was complicated, it was difficult to convict them of the appropriate crimes at once.”

The ensuing unrest on the defense line exposed them all at once. These people were not targeting the examinees to eliminate dissidents, as the previous investigation had suggested. Instead, they were actually spies and agents planted within the empire by the rebels, and their actions were all aimed at planting their own people and preparing for future chaos.

No one knows when these spies were formed, how many years they had been lying in wait, or how many things they had done in secret. But judging from the evidence available so far, they have caught a few big fish all at once. It's true that when the tide goes out, you can see who's been swimming naked.

Afterwards, this group of people naturally could not escape being purged. It is unknown what kind of shady business they had been involved in with external forces over the years. Although their clan history was very poor, their wealth was very rich. Just from these few fallen clans, they had produced thousands of private recruits.

This is incredible. You have to understand that even some of the most powerful and influential clans in the central star system only have this many members. These few clans, which are just average in terms of interstellar history, have actually hidden so much.

These assets would naturally be confiscated and returned to the national treasury during the liquidation process, but the liquidation among powerful and aristocratic families always leaves lingering connections. Although the evidence against these few aristocratic families is truly irrefutable and there is no possibility of reversal, it does not mean that families with economic ties to them are also guilty.

Due to specific political reasons, these sizable clans collapsed overnight, with almost all their resources and assets seized by the empire. Those who had economic dealings with them were naturally implicated. Aside from those with guilty consciences busy cleaning up the mess, some chose to cut ties with the empire to avoid further conflict, while others, more astute, had signed guaranteed-benefit contracts during their collaborations. This ensured that if problems arose, they could reclaim their share of the profits even if they suffered undue losses.

Almost all of the hundreds of planets appearing at this auction fall into this category. This is also why they were separately brought to the auction, independent of the military and political factions.

These planets are from legitimate sources, with clear and clean origins. Even if the Empire wanted to reclaim privately owned planets, it wouldn't be able to forcefully take action against them.

Most of the recipients simply wanted to recoup their losses and didn't want to directly confront the Empire and offend both the military and political circles. So, although they were also eager for these private planets, it was better to exchange them for direct resources than to deal with the trouble that would come with it.

Thus, with the tacit approval of various forces, including both the military and political circles, these unclaimed planets fell into the hands of the Four Seas Trading Company and would all be auctioned off at this event. In this way, witnessed by all parties, these planets were legally recognized and could start afresh without being pursued by any single force. Of course, this was contingent on them successfully overcoming numerous obstacles to acquire these unclaimed planets from among the various powers.

"Huh? Looks like they didn't pay enough." Jiang Hui clicked his tongue in displeasure and then shook his head: "What a mess. I really don't know what they were after. They created such chaos and lost so many lives, and in the end, they still failed and ended up with nothing."

Clarence and Zhou Xiuwen both knew about the near-fatal incident during Jiang Hui's exam and were deeply worried for her. However, due to the complex situation and the fact that the culprits were well hidden, they couldn't do anything to them for the time being. Who would have thought that karma would be so swift and merciful? When the incident came to light later, they were all brought to light at once. In addition to the unforgivable crime of treason, a deeper investigation would also uncover charges such as plotting to harm someone who hadn't fully awakened and disrupting the country's talent selection process.

"Colonel Phillips, who was in charge of overseeing the qualification exam, was also suspended from duty for disobeying orders and dereliction of duty." Actually, his father's situation was more serious. Compared to his son's simple folly, General Phillips' subsequent actions were truly inappropriate.

Ever since the Colonel Phillips incident came to light, he had been trying to use his power to suppress the impact of his son's mistake, and then somehow got dragged into the turmoil on the western front. Naturally, this was discovered afterward, but because his background was still clean, he wasn't truly purged. However, this also caught the attention of the Zhou family father and son, making it absolutely impossible for him to become the head of the First Army Corps.

“Speaking of which, I haven’t thanked you for reminding me earlier.” Zhou Xiuwen was referring to Jiang Hui’s later mention of Phillips’s dereliction of duty as an invigilator. Although it was just a friendly complaint, it happened exactly to Zhou Xiuwen’s liking, and he then took the opportunity to remove Phillips from the list of candidates for the First Legion’s acting representative.

"Oh, and about the compensation, you don't need to worry about that. Father mentioned it to me a few days ago; the initial settlement of this matter has been completed, and those who were accidentally involved can receive corresponding compensation from the assets liquidated by these aristocratic families. Your case should result in a substantial compensation."

(End of this chapter)