Growth of Yggdrasil III is not yet ready Please germinate for an additional 27 days then the Path will be prepared
Fuck me Randidly muttered When he had checked earlier he had sensed that raising his Stats would open up his Path But now that he examined the feeling more carefully and translated the constructs of Aether it seemed that increasing his Stats would only lower the amount of time that Randidly needed to wait It wouldnÆt rid the Path of its gestation period altogether
So now Randidly looked bitterly at his Path screen Do I save this thirteen hundred PP for 27 days from now or do I get another one of those 1000 PP Paths
Ultimately Randidly swore quietly several more times and walked the circuit of the room for several minutes When no obvious answer manifested itself Randidly walked out of the small room without making a decision Spending time simply sitting around and considering right now felt like a waste of time It was enough to now know that the decision was one that he needed to make Although the Judgement was coming it wasnÆt coming suddenly
RandidlyÆs attention again shifted inward Rather than his Soulspace he examined the constructs of Aether that the System had constructed around him including the probe left by Octavius Shrike and the looming Judgement After a brief examination Randidly could feel that his actions thus far shifted the timeline up In three or four weeks the Judgement would come
Like LyraÆs proposal the issue of whether to use the PP immediately would be put on the back burner while he focused on other issues Hopefully clarity would come from giving himself some space and perspective on the question
Mark jumped to his feet when Randidly walked out of the room Mr Ghosthound Have you finished already It has only been about twenty minutes
Yep Randidly said lightly although he inwardly cursed the fact he hadnÆt thought to check his Absolute Timing before blandly walking out Part of his haste was because he had mistakenly been under the impression his fight against the Grim Chimera had taken quite a while Thanks for the help Is there a room where I can work on some forging
Ah Yes everything is prepared Mark bowed You will not be disturbed while you work I have personally arranged the details IÆm sure you wonÆt be disappointed
Those words gave Randidly pause Not because this man was obviously a leech like being worthy of disdain but because it gave him an idea An idea that caused the blood to immediately drain from his face
But Randidly gritted his teeth If you want to be a leader you need to lead
Actually would there be any way that you could broadcast my forging
Chapter 965
When Evan CraneÆs phone rang he was already in such a foul mood that he chewed in frustration on the end of his cigar rather than answering He didnÆt even glance at the terminal How come I have heard nothing from the Zone Transportation Board And Erickson SteelÆs chilly rejection of the offer of Skill Engraving is ridiculous How could they not covet this knowledge Did they possibly not believe that we
While EvanÆs mind was racing the second ring dragged his attention over to the monitor of his phone Instantly he paled and scrambled to pick up the receiver
Ahem Senator Heathridge to what do I owe this pleasure Evan coughed out inwardly glad that the other party couldnÆt sense that his words contained half a lung of cigar smoke Still he frantically waved his hand worried that the Senator would have some way of noticing
Because you fucked up That bitch Tatiana really pulled a fast one on ya The cool response came IÆd wondered why they were being so passive the past few months but to think they had taken such a long view of things Basically the ZTB is on their side now
What The amount of money I pay them is Evan fumed but he was immediately cut off
is a fraction of what they gained from Erickson Steel from what IÆm told Senator HeathridgeÆs clipped and direct tone didnÆt sound angry but just like he was calmly reading a story from the front page of a newspaper Apparently the new train car was provided by Erickson Steel and the engraving used to power it is ingenious Impossibly so After connecting to the main transit system this new care actually added energy A significant amount of energy So much so that the ZTB will rubber stamp Erickson SteelÆs activities so long as they are allowed to inspect the engravings
That gave Evan Crane pause Erickson Steel was sitting on an engraving that could revolutionize the Manatech railway system Damnit if he could only control the company and look at its secrets with his money
Releasing a calming breath Evan Crane said Then we bring an official inquiry Force the ZTBÆs hand
There was a chuckle on the other end of the line DidnÆt I already say it You fucked up But IÆll indulge you What happens if we bring an official congressional inquiry
We have the votes Evan said through gritted teeth It was hard to take HeathridgeÆs casual arrogance even now But Evan Crane would still be a two bit criminal if the Senator hadnÆt noticed his potential and given him some seed money Even if they get Firefly and his cronies we
Senator Heathridge sighed You truly donÆt understand anything but money IÆm not worried about Firefly I have him distracted with other matters IÆm worried about the ZTB
The only thing ZTB can do is act within the manatech railways Evan said dismissively Other than that their only power
Then Evan froze
yes their only other power is to unilaterally enter into a partnership with a foreign power and delegate to that foreign power the ability to expand the rails in their own territory Senator Heathridge said softly A law that was passed specifically with Donnyton in mind A law that includes the ability for the designated foreign power to give out a not insignificant number of Tier I citizenships
And you have been pushing the foreign angle very hard against Erickson Steel They are subject to numerous taxes due to that designation It would be politically thorny but it is difficult for me to see how we could win on both the tax issue and whether they could be designated a foreign power WeÆve already committed too much to altering the public perception of them
Evan blankly looked down at his desk
Senator Heathridge continued to speak Whoever came up with this plan well itÆs genius I wonder how long they struggled in secret to create an Engraving that they were confident enough to tempt the ZTB with well no matter The mastermind clearly has given this situation a lot of thought Undoubtedly this is the culmination of months of preparation And this might not yet be their final move
For a second Senator Heathridge was silent When he spoke again his voice was filled with urgency We cannot let them control the tempo of this ItÆs time to put our final plan into effect Can I count on some extra cash from you
of course Evan Crane said a vein in his temple spasming
Good Send the funds to the usual place And Crane donÆt take any more actions on your own Then the line went dead
For several seconds Evan Crane stared at the door sincerely hoping that a subordinate would come through with bad news so he would have the excuse to put his cigar out in someoneÆs eye Then with his jaw still painfully clenched from this humiliation Evan began making a few calls
Every time someone picked up the phone as he called and answered ingratiating Evan Crane grew a little bit more bitter Because he knew deep down that the only reason these powerful people took his calls was due to his association with Senator Heathridge Without his power Evan Crane was nothing
But that wouldnÆt last Once Evan Crane was the CEO of Erickson Steel
Even if I have to go myself I will get to the bottom of Erickson Steel and devour all of its secrets
The sky was laid out before Vye like a painting the mid day sun peeking out behind towering storm clouds sending brilliant rays of sunlight down to gleam against the stone and metal walls of Erickson Steel Behind those rays the long wall of black clouds cast shadows across the surrounding forest warning of the rain to come