Qu Futata frowned, "Mr. Lin, the 'City of Stars' is so powerful now that even the US government has no leverage over it. How can we possibly seize control of it?"

The elderly Mr. Lin chuckled, "I have analyzed the history of the 'City of Stars' and discovered a peculiar phenomenon. It was built entirely by Liu Hui. Every decision Liu Hui made propelled the 'City of Stars' toward greater strength. Therefore, for the 'City of Stars,' Liu Hui is indispensable—the undisputed core of the core. As long as Liu Hui exists, the 'City of Stars' is invincible. But the moment Liu Hui is gone, the 'City of Stars,' lacking a second leadership core and suffering from its over-reliance on him, will inevitably descend into chaos."

Qu Futata's eyes slowly lit up. He said, "Mr. Lin means that we can completely bypass the formidable 'City of Stars' and focus all our efforts on dealing with Liu Hui alone. Once Liu Hui is gone, the 'City of Stars' will be thrown into disorder, and with our immense power, seizing control of it will be as easy as taking candy from a baby?"

The elderly Mr. Lin smiled, "The current Black president of the United States sees our weakened state and immediately thinks of shaking off our control. Once we truly master the formidable power of the 'City of Stars,' we will have sufficient strength to dismiss such disobedient leaders and install figures who will follow our every command."

The people around the round table, who had been contemplating how to destroy the 'City of Stars,' suddenly saw the light after Mr. Lin's reminder, realizing they had been stuck in a dead end. After a moment of thought, they immediately felt the plan was highly feasible, with a significant chance of success. After all, dealing with one person was far easier than confronting a mighty organization.

Qu Futata observed the relieved smiles spreading across the faces of those at the table and reminded them, "Although the 'City of Stars' might be our strongest adversary, I must caution everyone: this world is vast, and you must not forget the challenges other factions have mounted against our Dragon Slaying Society."

The elderly Mr. Lin frowned, "Mr. Qu Futata, the factions challenging us—are you referring to the group that has only recently begun to emerge over the past few years...?"

Qu Futata nodded, "Precisely. I am speaking of the individual known as 'The Professor' and his organization."

"'The Professor'? Isn't that the organization that just took over the Dream Group?" asked the Black man, Reese.

"That's the one. This organization has expanded rapidly in recent years, much like the 'City of Stars,' establishing a powerful global presence. However, despite their meteoric rise, they have been extremely cautious in concealing their identity. If we hadn't spent many years operating in this world and built up the most comprehensive intelligence network, we might never have even detected their existence," Qu Futata explained.

"Such a mysterious organization exists?" Arthur, the White man, asked in surprise.

"Indeed. This group, including 'The Professor' himself, is highly enigmatic. Even utilizing all our intelligence resources, we can only ascertain that 'The Professor,' who founded the organization, is likely based in Europe. But where exactly in Europe 'The Professor' resides, whether they are male or female, or what they look like—no one knows," Qu Futata stated.

The elderly Mr. Lin frowned, "The influence of this mysterious 'Professor' is expanding exponentially. If we allow this expansion to continue unchecked, they will undoubtedly pose a significant threat to our Dragon Slaying Society in the future. Therefore, while we deal with Liu Hui, we cannot afford to let our guard down against 'The Professor.'"

Qu Futata agreed, "We certainly cannot relax our vigilance regarding 'The Professor.' However, everyone need not worry excessively. Although 'The Professor' and their organization are mysterious and rapidly growing, they appear amateurish when it comes to financial management. Their forceful takeover of the Dream Group is a prime example of their inexperience. They secured controlling shares quite early on, but lacking capable financial experts, they were forced to let Wei Chao remain in charge of the Dream Group. Once Wei Chao gambled away all the Dream Group's funds in oil futures, they finally lost patience and decided to oust him and seize direct control. Yet, due to their inexperience, they completely failed to realize that the Dream Group had already been mortgaged to the banks, leaving it an empty shell. This rash move has not only exposed their identity and pushed Wei Chao firmly into opposition but has also driven the Dream Group to the brink of ruin. In the end, they will gain nothing."

The Black man, Reese, remarked, "In that case, we have two adversaries, Mr. Qu Futata. Who do you suggest we target first?"

Qu Futata replied, "Our primary enemy remains the 'City of Stars.' Our foremost objective is to eliminate Liu Hui, plunge the 'City of Stars' into chaos, and then seize control. Thus, all our resources will be channeled into this plan. As for 'The Professor,' for now, we will focus on surveillance. Ideally, we should attempt to establish contact with them, ascertain their stance toward us, and if necessary, we might even ally with 'The Professor' to eliminate Liu Hui of the 'City of Stars' together."

On the 'City of Stars,' Liu Hui was equally astonished upon learning about the change in ownership of the Dream Group. He asked Desheng, "You said Wei Chao left New York after being driven out. Where is he now?"

Desheng respectfully reported, "Boss, since leaving the Dream Group headquarters, Wei Chao has neither returned to his home nor contacted anyone. He has simply vanished. No matter how many resources we deploy to search for him, we cannot find a single trace of his whereabouts."

Liu Hui was taken aback. "Wei Chao is untraceable? Has he truly disappeared?"

Desheng nodded, "Yes, Wei Chao has suddenly vanished. While we were searching for him, we discovered that people from other organizations were also looking for him. We covertly trailed these individuals, but they detected our surveillance and immediately disappeared."

Liu Hui sighed, "It seems even in his downfall, Wei Chao is a coveted prize, fought over by many. Based on his past performance in the financial industry, he certainly possesses value worth fighting for. I worried previously that Wei Chao wouldn't survive the oil futures venture, but I never imagined he would lose so catastrophically—not only being publicly humiliated by a woman but also losing the entire Dream Group."

Desheng commented, "Wei Chao is indeed formidable, otherwise, he wouldn't have started his own venture at fifteen and later built the Dream Group into such a massive enterprise. However, his weakness is glaringly obvious: his womanizing and his absolute stubbornness concerning women, intolerant of any doubt cast upon them. Otherwise, even with the failure in oil futures, rising again would have been relatively simple for him."

Liu Hui closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then ordered, "'The Professor' has made their move and acquired the Dream Group; this gives us a clear location for their personnel. Immediately dispatch teams to New York to apprehend Han Junxi, who is currently in control of the Dream Group, and his subordinates. Inject them with the truth serum we use for interrogation and extract all specific information regarding 'The Professor' from them."

Desheng exclaimed excitedly, "Boss, have you finally decided to strike against 'The Professor'?"

Liu Hui smiled, "Hasn't 'The Professor' attacked us repeatedly? Is it not permissible for us to take the initiative just once? The reason we remained passive before was that we lacked a fixed target. Now that the Dream Group serves as the perfect lure, what reason do we have to hesitate?"

Desheng paused, then beamed with pleasure, "Boss, I understand. I will arrange it immediately. By tomorrow morning, you will have detailed intelligence on 'The Professor.'"

The next morning, when Liu Hui saw Desheng, he was surprised to find him looking dejected.

Desheng said with shame, "Boss, I apologize. We failed."

Liu Hui asked in astonishment, "How could you fail? Do they have experts who are even more formidable than your team?"

Desheng explained, "Last night, we used hovering fighter jets to transport forty of our most elite operatives to New York, intending to capture Han Junxi and his entire group in one sweep. However, we found no trace of him at Han Junxi's residence, and the people who came with him to take over the Dream Group had also vanished."

Liu Hui was shocked and immediately recalled the time he tried to apprehend the leaders who had seduced his company executives—they had disappeared just as suddenly. He asked, "They all disappeared again? Could this be another leak from within our ranks?"

Desheng replied, "Boss, this time it wasn't an internal leak. It's because after taking over the Dream Group, Han Junxi and his group suddenly discovered it was nothing but an empty shell, holding no value for them. Their action not only served to voluntarily take on the massive headache Wei Chao had created but also likely exposed them to serious trouble. Consequently, they evacuated with all their personnel last night. Our operation coincided exactly with their withdrawal, causing us to arrive at an empty venue."

Liu Hui inquired, "Did your teams attempt to track them?"

Desheng responded, "The opponents are seasoned veterans in this field. Although their departure was rushed, they left behind no exploitable trace, so we could not discover their trail."

Liu Hui sighed deeply, "What a pity. The lead on 'The Professor' has gone cold again. I truly wish to meet this mysterious 'Professor' face-to-face and discover who this person is that manages to slip through my grasp every single time."

Desheng assured him, "Since they left in such haste, they must have left some residual clues. We will analyze those clues and are certain to uncover some thread leading to them."

The sudden handover of the Dream Group, the takeover by 'The Professor's' people, and their subsequent disappearance right when Liu Hui was preparing to capture them left him thoroughly frustrated.

Although Liu Hui felt vexed by his repeated failures against 'The Professor,' the significant success of the 'City of Stars' electric vehicle market rollout provided a welcome counterbalance to his mood.

Following the conclusion of the recent nuclear crisis, the Italian government proactively approached the 'City of Stars,' offering apologies and pledging to fully open their domestic auto market to the 'City of Stars' electric vehicles. Their sole condition was that the 'City of Stars' continue making substantial equipment and product procurements within Italy.

The 'City of Stars' understood the immense domestic pressure the Italian government was under. They seized the opportunity to negotiate downward the purchase prices for equipment and materials. For the long-term benefits of cooperation with the 'City of Stars,' the Italian side had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

Thus, after resolving the misunderstanding, the 'City of Stars' and the Italian government swiftly finalized their cooperation agreement. Under this accord, the 'City of Stars' would still supply Italy with five hundred billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. However, the price per kilowatt-hour changed from the $0.01 provided to the US and Australia to $0.02—a penalty, perhaps, for Italy's offense against the 'City of Stars.' Although this rate was double that paid by Australia and the US, it remained significantly cheaper than the cost of domestic power generation in Italy, leading to widespread enthusiasm within the country.

The Italian government's public apology and the opening of their electric vehicle market not only instantly secured massive orders for the 'City of Stars' but also granted them access to cheap electricity equivalent to 80% of the nation's annual consumption. The benefits derived from this partnership with the 'City of Stars' were substantial for Italy.

Australia and Italy were both nations that had recently clashed with the 'City of Stars.' Yet, after both countries humbly apologized and provided tangible concessions, they reaped enormous rewards. Not only did the 'City of Stars' continue large-scale equipment and material procurement within their borders, but they also gained vast quantities of inexpensive electricity crucial for domestic development. This reduced the cost of living domestically and provided tangible benefits to the general populace.

With these two living examples, and as the US government was simultaneously negotiating with the 'City of Stars' regarding entry into the American market, other nations around the world began to take serious interest. This was particularly true for countries lacking their own automotive industry or possessing only a nascent one. They proactively sought out the 'City of Stars,' eager to introduce electric vehicles and simultaneously secure affordable electricity for national development.

As a result, in just three months, over fifty countries reached negotiation and cooperation agreements with the 'City of Stars' concerning electric vehicles and subsidized power. However, this group conspicuously lacked developed nations with established automotive industries. Even energy-starved nations like South Korea refrained from importing the 'City of Stars' electric vehicles and cheap power.

But the 'City of Stars' was unconcerned. Their joint-venture electric vehicle plants had only just begun production this year, and the production lines and equipment were not fully optimized, leading to capacity constraints. The electric vehicles produced were barely sufficient to supply the domestic Chinese market, with only enough left over to tentatively cover the domestic needs of the cooperating nations. Next year was slated to be the year of exponential growth for electric vehicle capacity. At that time, the 'City of Stars' would strike with full force, using their massive procurement leverage and cheap electricity to introduce this epoch-making product to the vast majority of countries and regions worldwide.

One day, as Liu Hui was contemplating the next phase of the 'City of Stars' plans in his office, his Planar Trading Device suddenly vibrated. He connected the call and saw that Alexander from the Magic Plane was attempting contact.

As soon as Alexander saw Liu Hui, he beamed, "Esteemed Teacher, greetings!"

"My dear Alexander, greetings to you too!" Liu Hui responded with a smile.

"Teacher, look what I have here?" Alexander displayed a smug smile and extended his hand, holding a small leather pouch. The drawstring was tightly fastened, obscuring the contents.

Liu Hui’s heart skipped a beat. "Is what's inside that pouch the God-level Magical Beast Cores?"

Alexander laughed, "I knew nothing could escape Teacher's eyes. This pouch contains eighteen God-level Magical Beast Cores." He then placed the pouch on the Planar Trading Device and activated the exchange button.

Liu Hui clicked to accept the trade and immediately took hold of the leather pouch. As he opened it, the ethereal glow emanating from the God-level Magical Beast Cores dazzled his eyes. He squinted and counted them: exactly eighteen cores.

"My dear Alexander, where did you acquire so many God-level Magical Beast Cores?" Liu Hui asked, elated.

Ever since An Qi discovered the profound utility of God-level Magical Beast Cores in array formations using the supercomputer, Liu Hui had tasked Alexander with collecting them everywhere. Unfortunately, over that long period, he had only managed to gather fifty-five cores, still far short of the eighty-one required to deploy the Grand Super Array. To his surprise, Alexander presented him with a massive gift today, contributing eighteen cores at once. With this acquisition, the required number for the Grand Super Array now stood at only eight cores shy.

Acknowledgement to reader: Ni Ge Cha Shao for the generous tip! RO