256: Chapter 257 The Navigator Family

Under the respectful guidance of the Alliance staff.

A group of people wearing magnificent, heavy robes and holding exquisite psychic staves slowly walked into the reception hall.

The leader was an elder who appeared somewhat aged.

As soon as they entered, they took a glance at the exquisitely decorated room filled with classical human aesthetics, and a hint of slight surprise flashed in their eyes.

Then, they cast their gaze toward the man sitting in the main seat.

His short black hair was meticulously combed, he wore a black slim-fit suit, and a red flower was pinned to his chest.

This simple yet stylish attire made the eyes of the leading elder light up; he seemed very satisfied with this reception attitude.

Meanwhile, Lin Li was quietly observing this group, which could be called the most powerful special mutant group within the Imperium of Man in the Warhammer Universe.

They were all unusually tall, and their skin was a pale color from years of not seeing the sun.

Most noticeably, they all wore a special metal lens embedded with a ruby on their foreheads.

Hidden behind that lens was the third eye they used to peer into the tides of the Warp.

Those ruby-like eyes looked both disturbingly uncanny and carried a sense of unapproachable sanctity.

These people were none other than the Navigator House, a massive power that enjoyed a permanent seat in the High Lord council of Terra!

Lin Li stood up, smiling in welcome:

"I am Dawn, the Archon of the Spark Alliance. Welcome, Lord Remont Merlin."

A warm smile appeared on Remont's deeply wrinkled face.

He nodded slightly in return, then, under the guidance of the staff, found a comfortable seat and sat down.

The few young Navigator descendants who came with him also sat down in an orderly fashion.

This group of mutant aristocrats was very well-mannered; the entire seating process did not produce any unnecessary noise.

Then, the staff pushed a food cart and began to serve some exquisite refreshments and drinks.

There was a wide variety, not only fruit tarts of various flavors but also fresh juice cultivated from the farms.

This made the young Navigators in the entourage feel very curious.

Lin Li pointed to the food on the table and said with a smile:

"Everyone has come from afar. These are specialties cultivated from our local farms. The taste is not bad, and I believe you will like them."

"Thank you for your generous hospitality, Lord."

Remont nodded with a smile.

He picked up a glass of brightly colored juice, took a light sip, and a flash of appreciation crossed his eyes.

"To be honest."

After putting down the cup, Remont said straightforwardly,

"We have actually been in this territory for some time. During this period, we have walked around and gained a simple understanding of your Alliance's development history and some political history."

"As you know, as a house that guides the way in the void, we value the stability and development potential of a regime very highly."

Lin Li nodded without interrupting him.

Lin Li had long since received a monitoring report from Iron Man 73 about when these people arrived.

They arrived here a few days ago with the fleet of the Death Specter Space Marines.

But a few days ago, the Space Marines left after finishing their business, while this group of noble Navigators stayed behind under the pretext of resting and wandered around to investigate various regions.

Remont paused intentionally here.

Lin Li immediately understood the thoughts of this old fox.

The serious transaction was about to begin; the other party was waiting for Lin Li to speak first and take the initiative to reveal the Spark Alliance's cards and chips.

Undoubtedly, this house named Merlin was most likely just a marginalized small family within the vast Navigator system.

They had their eyes on the incredible development potential and military power of the Spark Alliance.

If they could invest early and board the ship of this emerging regime, their family might be able to rise with the wind in the sea of stars in the future and restore their former glory.

Likewise, Lin Li was in desperate need of these living navigators now.

With the addition of Navigators, the players' ships could safely rely on Warp engines for long-distance jumps to go out and expand.

Moreover, with the political network of the Navigator House, the Spark Alliance might be able to obtain various secret intelligence from among the High Lords of Terra through their secret channels.

This was a perfect win-win deal.

"Lord Remont."

Lin Li crossed his hands on the table, his eyes becoming serious,

"As you can see, we have just defeated the alien army that attempted to devour us with absolute force. The current Spark Alliance is actively preparing for an interstellar expedition to expand outward. We indeed very much need the professional guidance of your house."

"But at the same time, I believe that during your inspection over the past few days, you have also gained some understanding of the special systems in our region. Especially regarding the basic acts on human rights and equal rights."

Remont nodded in agreement:

"Of course. As it happens, our Merlin House has strict family discipline and has never had the bad tradition of abusing servants."

"No."

Lin Li corrected him with a smile,

"In our Alliance's laws, they are called hired workers, not servants."

Remont was stunned for a moment, then laughed and changed his words readily:

"Sorry, that was a misuse of words. Hired workers."

Lin Li put away his smile and continued to throw out his chips:

"If you are willing to reach a deep cooperation with us. First, within the next ten years, I will completely exempt all commercial transaction taxes generated by your house within our star system."

"Secondly, I will allocate a piece of land with a pleasant climate and absolute safety for you for free, to build your family mansion and settle all members. Likewise, in the highest-level decision-making council of the Spark Alliance, we will permanently add a voting seat belonging to your house."

Lin Li looked into Remont's eyes,

"At the same time, most of the honorary privileges you enjoy in the Imperium can be retained on this land."

Hearing these words full of sincerity, Remont nodded frequently, appearing very satisfied.

These conditions were simply generous to the extreme!

But immediately after, Lin Li changed the subject, his tone becoming unquestionable:

"But! There are only two privileges that absolutely cannot be inherited on my territory!"

"Absolute criminal immunity, and judicial independence!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the entire reception hall instantly went quiet.

The few young Navigators even widened their eyes in disbelief.

You must know that the Navigator House's privileges in the Imperium were far greater than those of the hereditary great nobles!

Especially in terms of the judiciary.

According to the ancient covenant personally established by the Emperor back then, the Navigator House was completely exempt from the jurisdiction of the Imperium's ordinary laws and administrative agencies in the vast majority of internal affairs.

They could formulate cruel family rules themselves and adjudicate all disputes privately.

Even in terms of personal criminal immunity.

Even if a Navigator was sentenced to death by an Imperial court for serious crimes such as treason or heresy.

He would also be exempted from all public punishment according to the law.

All his crimes could only be handed over to the Navigator House he belonged to for quiet disposal; the Imperial law enforcement officers had no right to execute the sentence directly!

This was a uniquely overbearing treatment in the entire Galaxy!

And now, this mortal leader actually dared to attempt to strip them of their most core, bottom-line privileges?

When Remont heard Lin Li's tough demand, the smile on his face disappeared.

He lowered his head and fell into long contemplation.

His fingers kept rubbing the top of his scepter.

After a full five minutes, Remont slowly raised his head and began to bargain:

"Lord, this breaks ancient traditions. If we give up these two privileges, as compensation in exchange, our house must legally possess the power to retain a private armed fleet, as well as complete administrative autonomy on our family territory!"

After listening, Lin Li almost didn't think at all and directly made the decision:

"No problem! The premise is that your private armed forces and autonomous laws must absolutely not violate the supreme constitution of the Spark Alliance!"

"Deal!"

Remont stood up and extended his pale hand.

A simple oral core agreement was thus efficiently finalized.

As for other more detailed commercial tax and military cooperation clauses, it would require a subsequent large-scale meeting of the Alliance's Archons to conduct detailed haggling and discussion.

After the group of Navigators had a pleasant and sumptuous lunch with Lin Li, they left Shelter directly with a satisfactory answer.

...

The joining of the Navigator House was already a certainty.

This could be considered a complete solution to a major bottleneck problem.

Next, the player legions that had built spaceships could directly seek cooperation with the Navigators to officially start cross-star system unknown exploration.

Once a player completed an exploration mission, the permissions for the B8 level of the underground Shelter could be smoothly opened.

"Everything is ready, except for the east wind."

Thinking of this, Lin Li suddenly slapped his forehead.

He suddenly remembered that in his system account, there was still a huge sum of ten million points obtained from just killing the Norn Queen that hadn't been used!

"Now is the time when we are lacking black technology. It's time to take this money to the system roulette for a high-stakes draw!"

Lin Li walked quickly back to his room and opened the computer lottery interface.

As the saying goes, the more points chips invested, the more high-end the black technology items that can usually be drawn.

Lin Li never had the intention of long-term planning.

He clicked the maximum bet directly and went all-in on the entire ten million-plus points at once!

"Ding—!"

Following an exaggerated golden firework effect erupting on the terminal screen.

The system notified that the prize had been successfully delivered to the underground warehouse.

Lin Li rubbed his hands excitedly, immediately ran into the elevator, and started looking down level by level.

After a period of busy work, he finally saw the pile of loot prizes that looked like a small mountain in the super-large storage area on the B7 level.

Inside, there were all kinds of Golden Age standard weapons, individual energy armor, and life-related items.

Just the precious Blackstone that could be used to build the Blackstone Matrix and obelisks was in a huge pile!

However, while Lin Li was counting the supplies, his gaze was attracted by a behemoth in the corner.

In addition to this pile of conventional Golden Age creations, there was a huge instrument with a unique shape placed alone in an open space.

That was a huge circular instrument with a diameter of fully five meters and a height of three meters!

At the very center of the instrument, a metal platform with complex energy circuit lines was recessed.

This thing had a very obvious difference from the other Golden Age creations with smooth, streamlined designs.

Because its overall shape was covered with thick external connection lines and rugged rivets, and it even exuded a cold, murderous aura.

This style was very close to the primitive, violent dark technology style of the warhammer 40,000 era.

"What is this thing?"

Lin Li walked around this machine twice, completely baffled.

He had long since called Iron Man 73 to come and identify it via intercom.

In a short while, accompanied by heavy metallic footsteps, 73's tall body arrived at Lin Li's side.

However.

When 73's pair of blue electronic eyes scanned the full picture of that huge circular instrument.

Its eye indicator lights actually started to flash violently!

Even the electronically synthesized voice it emitted showed obvious electrical stuttering and trembling:

"This... this kind of structure... how is it possible?"

73's voice was filled with deep shock,

"Creator! This... this is a psychic infusion instrument!"