The Seventh Base

With high enough stakes, anyone could betray.

For Ross at Blue Star Energy Technology Group, he was merely an employee enjoying various honors externally, but he knew well that these honors were illusory and not truly his, which inevitably led to feelings of discontent within him.

At that time, Douglas appeared and tempted him. It was normal for Ross to have thoughts. He might have considered gambling it all by confronting Douglas and transferring all his shares to him, letting Douglas and Xu Mo fight it out.

However, Ross's thoughts had not translated into action. He was tempted but did not follow through; otherwise, Xu Mo would not have invited him to the library for a chat.

Xu Mo had no intention of replacing him either. The capabilities of the Tard people were beyond doubt, and Ross exhibited his talents in his role by organizing the group methodically.

Even if someone else were in his place, wouldn't they also potentially betray?

Nevertheless, it was time to start being cautious, so he would have people monitor Ross and wait for the right opportunity to transfer the shares Ross held, perhaps into Sister Butterfly's name.

As for Sister Butterfly, Xu Mo had absolute trust in her, not even doubting that Sister Butterfly would die for him if needed.

But for now, it was not appropriate to transfer shares, as it would soon draw external attention.

After sorting things out, Xu Mo left the library, and as he was leaving, he dialed Ye Qingdie's communicator number.

"Xu Mo," said Ye Qingdie.

"Sister Butterfly, starting today, have Captain Ye assign someone to watch Ross. Let's prevent previous incidents from happening again," Xu Mo spoke.

"Understood," Ye Qingdie nodded.

"Additionally, tell Mr. Stark, that their primary task now is to fully focus on developing Superpower Weapons; the timeline needs accelerating. They can freely allocate funds, no restrictions; if there's a staff shortage, try to poach some people and ask Professor Luke to push harder," Xu Mo continued.

Blue Star Energy Technology Group was no longer short of money; they urgently needed top-tier talent at this point, but they lacked such connections. Professor Luke and the elders from Lucas University who had joined the group could probably provide some help.

"Alright," Ye Qingye nodded. Currently in Stark Group, Ross was in charge of external expansion while Old Stark handled product development and managed the research teams.

Currently, Blue Star Energy Technology Group has several important tasks to push forward.

First, to increase production capacity. Their capacity wasn't keeping up with external demand, with orders continuously booming.

Second, to construct and expand bases on various planets, to achieve self-sufficiency on those planets without needing supplies from the headquarters.

Lastly, product development, which is of utmost importance. The core competitive power of their group lies in its products. If the products aren't up to par, regardless of how famous Blue Star Energy Technology is, the market wouldn't care. Only when both marketing and products integrate can the group continue to expand.

Therefore, Xu Mo was very clear about where they should focus their efforts: on research and high-end talent, as that is the foundation of their enterprise.

Once the Superpower Weapons are developed, Xu Mo had even bigger ambitions for the next phase, a time when Blue Star Energy Technology Group would fundamentally establish itself in the interstellar arena.

After hanging up the communicator, Xu Mo dialed Carter's number.

"Xu Mo," said Carter.

"Carter, how's Douglas doing at the university lately?" Xu Mo asked.

So far, Douglas hadn't troubled him, likely still unaware of his identity.

The last incident with Li Zelong had exposed him, and currently, the forces invading Byron Star and, additionally, the assassination had drawn the attention of the Cross Judgment Institute, which informed Elizabeth, indicating that the Cross Judgment Institute might know he was one of Elizabeth's people, an interstellar Hunter.

However, the Cross Judgment Institute didn't spread this information widely, perhaps seeing it as the Princess's private matter.

Moreover, he hadn't committed any crimes, so the Cross Judgment Institute temporarily paid no attention.

Xu Mo understood that there is no such thing as an impermeable wall in the world. Since the Cross Judgment Institute already knew part of the information, more people would inevitably find out eventually.

Although Douglas was yet unaware of him, he had instigated trouble for him time and again.

In the past, Xu Mo had endured and not caused trouble for him.

But this time, Douglas first orchestrated an attack on a spaceship of Blue Star Energy Technology Group, resulting in hundreds of deaths, and then, he secretly contacted Ross trying to wrestle the group's shares from his hands.

In the case of Prince Charles, he was loyal and dutiful.

To prevent Douglas from continuously troubling Blue Star Energy Technology Group, Xu Mo felt it was time to create some trouble for him.

"Which aspect do you mean?" Carter asked Xu Mo.

"All the bad aspects," Xu Mo said.

Understanding Xu Mo's words, Carter realized that Xu Mo intended to target Douglas.

He also suspected that the last incident was the work of the Ministry of Defense; thus, it was related to Douglas as he was a participant.

"Being a noble, Douglas relies on his status, is proud, somewhat arrogant, but his external image is impeccable, with no obvious blemishes," Carter said: "At school, he gives the impression of being a noble young master with an extraordinary background, proud and aloof."

"Everyone appears bright and glamorous outside; the dark scenes aren't seen by others," Xu Mo spoke: "However, probably only those who know him best understand the real him."