Simulation: Starting from Under One Person

“I found an investor who was willing to fund my efforts to expel the barbarians, but I need to pay a price to help him find some things.”

While answering Takasugi Shinsuke's question, Katsura Kotaro remembered something else: he had been busy fighting recently and hadn't had time to look for rare items.

'Hiss! Is this... considered passive resistance?'

While internally complaining, Katsura Kotaro looked at the back seat of the carriage: "Tatsuma, you've been traveling in space for so long, have you seen anything precious or strange?"

Takasugi Shinsuke paid no attention to Katsura Kotaro's question, but focused on the previous one.

The person who can afford to buy so many spaceships is no ordinary person.

However, there were quite a few people in Edo who could come up with that much money, but no one had ever been heard of having any dealings with Katsura Kotaro...

Let's wait and see! Judging from the wig's previous actions, he was probably going to take people to meet his supporters.

"Strange items?" Upon hearing this, Sakamoto Tatsuma recalled for a moment and said, "I have indeed seen quite a few strange items, and of course, even more strange creatures..."

“Biology…” Gui tilted his head and thought for a while. Fang Rui’s requirements did not seem to exclude biology.

“…That works too.” After a moment, Gui nodded slightly. “Both living things and items are fine. Just help me collect some, and I’ll pay you.”

“Emmm…” Upon hearing this, Sakamoto Tatsuma remained silent for a while before explaining after a dozen seconds, “Wig, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but strange items have strange abilities and are not so easy to transport.”

For example, there are octopuses that expand when exposed to hot water, and parasitic monsters that grow by constantly consuming energy...

To Sakamoto Tatsuma, these were all strange creatures, and he wondered how they could be transported.

"It's not a wig, it's Katsura!" Katsura retorted at first, then continued, "I'll do my best."

“Alright!” Sakamoto Tatsuma did not refuse. He could choose a less dangerous creature or other items.

Takasugi Shinsuke didn't say anything. In his memory, Katsura had no interest in strange or unusual items, yet now he was asking Sakamoto Tatsuma to collect them, and even paying for them...

A reasonable guess is that his supporters want it.

"A peculiar item?" Takasugi Shinsuke pondered. Come to think of it, could the red cherry blossom, which had not yet been successfully manufactured, be considered peculiar?

A knife that can grow, collect data, and has its own computer—this is probably the first time one has appeared.

But what is the reason for this person collecting unusual items? Is it purely for collection?

Or perhaps you're looking for something?

With their own agendas, the group arrived in Kabukicho and, led by Katsura, went to Otose's Tavern.

Meanwhile, Sakata Gintoki and the others, having finished their work for the day, were having fun in the tavern.

Holding a glass of wine, Sakata Gintoki saw the group of people entering the store and his eye twitched slightly. "What's going on? Is this a class reunion? Nobody told me!"

Upon hearing Sakata Gintoki's voice, Takasugi Shinsuke reflexively retorted, "That means you've been ostracized."

"Tsk!" Sakata Gintoki and Takasugi Shinsuke clicked their tongues softly, staring at each other with rather fierce expressions.

Sakamoto Tatsuma and Katsura Kotaro were used to bickering when they met, so they ignored them and went to sit down at the bar.

"I'd like a drink," said Sakamoto Tatsuma.

Chapter 564 Some News

"Excuse me, is Fang Rui here?"

Katsura Kotaro asked Otose, but Fang Rui didn't tell him where he lived. So Katsura would go to Otose's bar and Yoshiwara Peach Blossom Village to try his luck and see if he could meet Fang Rui.

If they don't meet, they will contact Fang Rui using communication devices. As for why they didn't contact Fang Rui immediately, it's because Gui wanted to bring the other two to meet Sakata Gintoki.

Former comrades-in-arms, former friends... they hadn't seen each other for a long time, and he felt they should get together for a while to discuss cooperation and ease the conflict.

"I don't know, but I can help you notify him."

Deng Shi knew nothing about Fang Rui's whereabouts, but he did have Fang Rui's contact information.

“No need, I’ll handle the contacting.” Gui immediately refused and sent Fang Rui an email informing him of his situation at the Odose Tavern and the issue of payment for the spaceship.

Fang Rui responded quickly, saying he would wait at the Otose Bar and come later...

Gui said there was no problem with that, and that catching up with friends while waiting was a great option.

Thinking this to himself, Katsura looked at Sakata Gintoki and the others. Sakamoto Tatsuma, holding a wine glass, was joining in the fun at the tavern, exchanging a few words with one person and arguing with another...

Sakata Gintoki and Takasugi Shinsuke are having a drinking contest. Even though they haven't seen each other for a long time, these two haven't changed at all. They start bickering as soon as they meet. They really are great friends!

"Huh?" The two people who were drinking suddenly trembled, as if they were enveloped by malice.

'What's going on? Someone's plotting against me?! Is that you? Takasugi Shinsuke (Sakata Gintoki)!'

After a brief moment of confusion, their eyes met again, as if lightning had struck between them, their expressions fierce.

The atmosphere was so tense that it seemed like a fight was about to break out, so Gui immediately spoke up to calm things down.

"Don't fight, don't fight. It's been so long since we last met, don't you have anything to say?"

"No! I have nothing to say, especially regarding Takasugi Shinsuke. I have absolutely nothing to say."

Sakata Gintoki's tone and expression were quite irritating, easily provoking Takasugi Shinsuke's anger.

Enraged, Takasugi Shinsuke didn't hesitate at all, swinging his fists and raining blows at Sakata Gintoki.

Sakata Gintoki, on the other hand, raised his arm very quickly, the whole movement was done in one go, as if he had practiced it hundreds of times.

Looking at the familiar scene, Gui said he wanted to rest for a while. He often saw similar scenes, from when they were studying at a private school to the period of the anti-foreign war. It was common for the two of them to "play around".

Usually, Sakata Gintoki deliberately provokes Takasugi Shinsuke's anger, and then the enraged Takasugi Shinsuke will directly take action, followed by ordinary playful fighting...

However, the scene of the two of them playing around is already a relatively distant memory for Gui.

Lost in memories, Gui didn't try to persuade them further. Their playful antics didn't last long; they stopped after a while, sat back down on the wooden bench, looked at each other for a moment, and drank in silence.

On the other side, Sakamoto Tatsuma returned to his position at the bar and saw the two sulking. Seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere, he immediately hooked his arms around their necks.

"Why are you drinking alone? It's been so long, tell me something happy!"

The next second, Sakamoto Tatsuma was sent flying by two people.

"It's so noisy!"

"Go aside!"

Yes, from this angle, it looks exactly the same as before.

Someone who can't read the room has often angered two people in the past, and is quite adept at stepping on landmines.

Looking at how the four of them interacted, Otose didn't say anything. The fact that they could joke around and argue was proof that they had a good relationship.

About half an hour later, Fang Rui arrived at the Otose Tavern. The scene that greeted him upon entering was...

Sakata Gintoki and Takasugi Shinsuke got into another fight. They had both drunk a little, but neither of them got drunk.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the two of them were very restrained, and for some reason, they refused to get drunk.

Or rather, refusing to get drunk in front of the other person...

Sakamoto Tatsuma was trying to break up the fight, but he got punched every time he got close to the two of them.

Katsura did not try to mediate the fight; he watched the whole thing from the sidelines and even tried to stop Sakamoto Tatsuma from intervening.

Sakata Gintoki and Takasugi Shinsuke are both well-behaved and won't be in any danger, so let them fight each other!

Anyway, the two used to fight each other all the time.

As for the other customers in the tavern, they were just watching the show. Fights were an occasional occurrence at Otose Tavern. For example, when Sakata Gintoki was drinking in the tavern but had no money, someone would be beaten up by one of them.

Therefore, when the guests saw Sakata Gintoki and Takasugi Shinsuke fighting each other, they were not surprised at all, but instead fanned the flames.

"What's going on?" Fang Rui asked, sitting next to Gui.

"When...did you get here?" A familiar voice suddenly came from the side, and Gui seemed to be startled, trembling reflexively.

"If you're asking about the exact time, then it should be one minute ago."

To answer Katsura Kotaro's question, Fang Rui repeated his previous question, "What... is going on with them?"

"They're probably just really excited because they've been apart for so long!" Gui said, offering his interpretation, only to be glared at by the two of them.

Upon seeing Fang Rui appear, Sakata Gintoki lost all interest in fighting and instead prepared to discuss serious matters.

"Let me see the bill."

After receiving the bill for the spaceship from Gui, Fang Rui glanced at it briefly, estimated its value, and then handed ten boxes of gold coins to Mutsu.

"Pleasant to work with."

Upon receiving the money, Mutsu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since the cooperation has been so pleasant, let's continue! I have a commission for you: negotiate a deal with the Lianpeng mercenary tribe and purchase various weapons..."

"Whether it's warships or other weapons, it's all possible..."

Upon hearing this, Mutsu did not immediately agree to Fang Rui's request, but instead asked, "Buying spaceships and weapons again, are you preparing to start a war?"

"It's not that I'm preparing to start a war, but that someone else is going to start one, even a war that will engulf a wide area..."

Thinking about the deceptive maneuvers, Fang Rui lost the will to comment. How to put it... even the most hateful person has a pitiable side...

"Are you sure?" Mutsu's eyes suddenly sharpened. Mutsu disliked war, especially its wide-ranging impact.

"Why would I need to lie to you? With an obvious lie?"

Fang Rui countered with a question: if you want to deceive someone, you should use a more sophisticated lie.

"Since you knew war was imminent, why didn't you stop it?" Mutsu grasped the crux of the problem.

"The spark that ignited the war was the Celestial Guides. Do you know what the Celestial Guides are? They have other names in interstellar space..."

Before Fang Rui could continue explaining, Mutsu interrupted, "I know."

"It's normal for them to start wars, after all, they're a group that frequently invades other planets, but they have no reason to start wars with a wide-ranging impact..."

The current interstellar order is very advantageous to the Celestial Guides; they are the beneficiaries and have no reason to disrupt it.

"There's really no reason, but the war broke out because the Celestial Guides messed things up."

"The situation has spiraled out of the control of the Celestial Guides."

As Fang Rui said this, the reason why Xu Neng could so easily gain control of the forces under the Heavenly Guides was partly because Xu Neng had already obtained the Heavenly Guides' confidential information. As for how he obtained it, there were many ways...

For example, the Tenshoin "Naraku" works for the Tensho-shu, so naturally he has access to some confidential information.