Ye Wenjie, watch my moves closely.

Chapter 34 Trading

"Tsinghua University astrophysics graduate student, what do you want to say? Just say it."

Following the script provided by Li Youyu, Yang Weining began his performance.

Evans glanced at the key tucked into Yang Weining's waist and forcefully suppressed the longing in his eyes.

"What are you arguing about?"

Evans asked, "Aren't you comrades?"

"Comrade? Hmph."

Yang Weining let out a cold laugh.

"That might have been true at first, but now..."

Yang Weining shook his head in disappointment, then hesitated to speak.

Seeing that things were looking promising, Evans pressed on, "Tell me about the story of ETO."

"Didn't Li Youyu tell you that?"

Yang Weining appeared very impatient.

Evans smiled wryly, "In fact, I didn't know about the existence of ETO until I came to Red Coast."

Aside from the story of the Lord, Li Youyu didn't tell us anything else. I felt like he was screening me.

"Screening? I think rejection is a more accurate description."

Yang Weining said, "Initially, it was he and I who discovered the Lord in the universe. We thought for a long time about how to deal with the existence of the Lord. Later we realized that human civilization was no longer able to initiate change from within, so we decided to establish an organization to welcome the arrival of the Lord."

This is our story, it's very simple.

However, Li Youyu is not a pure person.

As you can see, he is using the power of the Lord to pursue his personal ambitions.

As you can see, the ETO has a diverse staff, including academics like myself, security personnel, civilians, and even farmers.

I'm not prejudiced against them, but what do they know? Can they understand the Lord?

These people are precisely the greatest obstacle to the Lord's coming.

But what did Li Youyu do?

He gathered them together and shouted unrealistic slogans. Did he think it was still fifty years ago?

They oppose anything we want to do!

Absurd! Absolutely absurd!

Li Youyu was nothing more than a short-sighted leader who feared that others would seize real power and cast him into the annals of history.

He simply wanted to use these hypocritical followers to maintain his arrogant ambition.

He doesn't care about the Lord at all.

Evans understood.

The ETO organization within the Red Coast base has already subtly split into two factions.

One is a fanatic faction led by Li Youyu.

The members come from the fields and villages. They don't know Newton's laws or what the universe is. They only know that there is a powerful ally in a faraway place, worthy of their worship and incense offerings, just like the incense-burning temples that can be seen everywhere in this country.

It's called an organization, but it's really just a sect.

The other faction is the rational group composed of elite scholars like Yang Weining, who are proactive, have strong execution and decision-making abilities.

They truly wanted to bring about the Lord's coming, but due to the power struggles, they were never able to act freely.

This faction is the one Evans needs to win over.

"I think I can help you."

Evans said.

Yang Weining was direct: "Besides money, we don't need any help of any kind. The presence of outsiders is just a burden to us."

"Li Youyu is my superior at work. He monitors every piece of data from the Red Coast launch system. To get rid of him, I have to build a new launch site in a secret location. All of this requires money, not so-called moral support."

"The United States should have the conditions," Peterson, who had been listening in, interjected. "The conditions at observatories in the United States and Europe are much better than those at the Red Coast, and the regulations are also more relaxed. You could try coming to the United States."

Yang Weining completely ignored Dr. Peterson's suggestion, displaying a disdainful expression as if he had heard a child's babbling.

An awkward silence fell over the launch room.

After thinking for a moment, Evans tentatively asked, "I have money."

"Are you really rich?"

Yang Weining countered, "Mike Evans, having inherited his father's fortune, probably possesses a level of wealth that is difficult for ordinary people to reach."

But do you really think that much money? The United States spends trillions of dollars on its military every year. How can an individual fight against the concentration of power on this planet?

Only the Lord can.

"I want a way to connect with the Lord."

Evans couldn't wait any longer and cut to the chase, "Ten million dollars, in return for funding you, and give me the Lord's contact information!"

Peterson quietly tugged at Evans's hand. $1000 million—that was a huge sum.

In his opinion, it wasn't worth it.

Little did Yang Weining know that he didn't care about the number at all. "Any message sent from the Three-Body Starfield would be worth more than 10 billion on the market. We don't intend to sell it, but that doesn't mean we are poor."

Get out of here with your money, Evans.

"Just be a carefree rich kid; this has nothing to do with you."

Evans's expression shifted between light and shadow. After a moment, he made up his mind and said, "20 billion."

I will set up an offshore company and give you all the funds in it. You can use this $20 billion to do whatever you want. In return, give me the launch parameters!

When Yang Weining heard that Evans was willing to pay $20 billion without hesitation to buy the so-called launch parameters, he almost lost his composure.

Evans knew he had inherited shares in a multinational oil company from his father, but $20 billion was no small sum for him.

How credible is the script that Li Youyu fabricated that made Evans willing to spend nearly half of his working capital to obtain it?

Yang Weining wasn't stupid; he could easily guess with a little thought that this script, which could involve the national level, was probably real.

But when did it appear on Red Coast?

Yang Weining's memories were rapidly rewinding, all the way back to the evening when he and Lei Zhicheng almost fell off a cliff, and his mind went blank.

In the darkness, a subtle thread connects all the stories.

It must have been that day, the day he was almost killed by his wife.

Wenjie wanted to kill Lei Zhicheng, and it must be because of this.

The old man's sudden arrival at the Red Coast Base and Li Youyu's direct appointment as one of the research institute's leaders must be because of this.

A flood of complex emotions surged up, but with Evans still in front of him, he couldn't show too much of a strangeness; he had to keep playing his part.

"Show your sincerity before we talk."

Yang Weining brandished the pistol at his waist, making no attempt to conceal it. "Now, I'm going to send a new message to the Lord. Please stay away."

"Humans!"

Evans left in a huff, and as soon as he returned to his resting place, he made a transoceanic call to his American secretary.

Getting $20 billion into this Eastern country is still a very difficult task, as the expenses involved could be enormous.

But he doesn't care.

Li Youyu wants to monopolize the Lord's means of communication and become the Lord's sole spokesperson on Earth. He has such ambition but lacks the ability to match it, and sooner or later he will harm the Lord.

The good impression I had of Northwest China at first meeting had completely turned sour after just two meetings.

Evans absolutely loathed human cunning.

"Lord."

Evans made the sign of the reverse cross on his chest and prayed to the sun, "Please bless me and help me make contact with you."