Chen Ming was, of course, aware.
But he didnāt care about the other forces.
Anyway, basically, they wonāt be involved in the future, no need to consider them.
And itās because of these peopleās funding that these pirates have enough value.
If he can successfully capture these pirates alive, he can earn bounty money and get some cash from the people behind them.
As long as he informs those people about the capture in advance, theyāll surely be willing to pay.
Quickly bail them out of jail, give the pirate a new identity, and heās yet another "bandit" who can maintain his own dominance.
So Chen Ming finally decided to use this method.
And heās always been robbing pirates; he just paused for a bit because Duskās side was too important recently, now itās time to start again.
The guys at Glasses quickly gathered all the intelligence on pirates who recently appeared in the Star Zone and around it, meeting Chen Mingās requirements.
Not many, only three in total.
Their combined bounty is less than two hundred million, honestly just enough for pocket money to buy a spaceship.
If Chen Ming really wants to make money, he still has to rely on his Spiritual Energy or colonies.
The former requires others to completely trust him, while the latter demands long-term investment.
After receiving the intelligence, Chen Ming left Glassesā place.
As he stepped out, he saw Old Wu still drinking in the corner of the bar.
The bar was empty for most of the day, but Old Wu somehow found a girl he was interested in, looking like they might head to a motel any moment.
Chen Ming didnāt intend to disturb him.
But Old Wu didnāt seem like heād end things quickly, so Chen Ming went over and greeted him: "Old Wu."
"Yo, Little Mu, finished with Old Lu?"
Old Wu was very enthusiastic, pulling Chen Ming to sit on the sofa next to him, showing none of the attitude he had when Chen Ming said he wanted to see the factory director.
Chen Ming almost didnāt realize when he heard "Little Mu," but then remembered it was the alias Mu Shuikong he used before.
Old Wu was pretty cautious when outside.
Once he realized, Chen Ming nodded and said, "Finished."
"So youāre here for a drink? Want me to find you a good-looking one too?"
"No need, Iām here for business, the thing weāve been doing for a while needs to be restarted, you might have to make a couple of trips again."
Chen Ming isnāt very safe right now, running around might cause issues, so he plans to have Old Wu go out to collect the bounty like before.
Of course, Chen Ming wonāt skimp on Old Wuās commission.
"And you personally came for this?"
"Not just this, thereās something else, help me buy some things."
Chen Ming handed the sorted list from Brilliant directly to Old Wu.
Old Wu saw it and pushed away the girl leaning on him, switching to a business-like attitude.
As he said, if itās a simple matter, Chen Ming could just contact him via terminal.
Now that heās come over in person, there must be something important.
Old Wu glanced at the items on the terminal and, with his mouth slightly open, seemingly surprised, said: "These things..."
"Whatās up? Can you manage? If not, I can find the boss."
"Donāt, buying things with Old Wu, arenāt you just wasting time?"
"I know, thatās why I came to you first."
"Tsk."
Old Wu, who was initially persuading Chen Ming, instantly rolled his eyes at him.
But Chen Ming ignored it and just asked, "Can you buy them?"
Old Wu slightly shook his head, then nodded, saying: "Some items are quite strange, but if youāre okay with substitutes, itās pretty easy to manage, all basic stuff."
The list Chen Ming gave to Old Wu was organized by Brilliant, because Brilliant knows what a colony needs during initial development.
Only a few infrastructures are internal models specific to Duskāunavailable to humans and not easily replaced by human equipment.
Directly purchasing raw materials and equipment required to manufacture these is necessary, letting Brilliant create them, or Chen Ming handle the manufacturing.
Normally, Old Wu just needs to order whatās on Brilliantās list.
But clearly, Brilliant missed something when drafting this list.
Many things are abundant in Dusk but not necessarily among humans.
Of course, this list might have been prepared beforehand and only now shown to Old Wu by Chen Ming.
Brilliant, having access to the human internet, should know which items are scarce among humans.
But since Chen Ming didnāt specify when the list would be needed, Brilliant didnāt ask Chen Ming for modifications.
Now itās time.
Chen Ming asked: "Which items need substitutes, point them out."
Old Wu tapped a few times on the terminal and sent a modified list back to Chen Ming, saying: "Just these."
Chen Ming quickly forwarded the list to Brilliant, and upon confirming with Brilliant that substitutes would suffice, he said: "No problem."
Old Wu tapped the terminal a few more times, saying: "Hm, should be able to sort it out in two days, but there are so many and theyāre diverse, delivery might take a few more days, the expense wonāt be small given the volume you need..."
Chen Ming raised his hand to stop Old Wu from continuing: "You know what Iām up to, and money isnāt an issue."
"Iāve made quite a bit lately, if we can buy everything and keep 10% as backup, the extra money can be used to smooth things over and expedite efficiency."