Chapter 7403: Finding Backers Although Ketis, Alexis and their many collaborators had expanded the scope of the Elemental Universe a bit too much, Ves was not necessarily displeased by the results. Although its new features would certainly attract a lot of unwelcome attention from regulating bodies, Ves may be able to prevent the worst from happening. He did not want third parties to swoop in and usurp control over the Elemental Universe. The Larkinson Clan specifically set up the Elemental Universe Consortium in order to ensure that the original creators retained enough control over their creation. While the Larkinsons might permit other groups to acquire a share into the Elemental Universe Consortium, the clan had to retain majority control. This was the absolute bottom line! Ves knew that he had to leverage his power and influence as a tier 2 galactic citizen to the fullest if he wanted to prevent the Elemental Universe from falling into other people’s hands. "You and Ketis have done a good job." He praised Alexa. "The Elemental Universe has exceeded my expectations. However, expanding its access from mech pilots to everyone has massive implications. It may be the first real piece of E-technology that many ordinary red humans gain access to. There is no way to keep the Red Collective out of the game due to this reason. We can’t claim that the Elemental Universe falls under the jurisdiction of the Red Association as its scope has already expanded beyond providing training opportunities for mech pilots." The younger mech designer looked concerned. "We assumed that you would be able to take care of any regulatory issues on your end." "I can see why you think that way, Alexa. While it is true that I should be able to protect my interests in this project, I still have to pay a price. I think I have little choice but to find a strong partner to back up our ownership of the Elemental Universe and prevent other third parties from trying to take it over." "That will not stop them from creating their own alternatives." the woman mentioned. "That is true, but it will be a lot more difficult for them to compete since they have lost the first-mover advantage." "Do you have a partner in mind to help us run the Elemental Universe?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂 Ves frowned in thought. "That is a difficult question to answer. We can’t turn to any of the big guys. They may not be interested in the Elemental Universe. If they are, then the chances are too great that we will surrender too much control to the other party. We have to partner up with smaller players, but they cannot be too weak. We need backing that is strong enough to deter takeovers, but still manageable enough to maintain a fair balance of power." "It sounds as if you are looking for a partner that is roughly as strong, wealthy and influential as the Larkinson Clan." Alexa concluded. "I can think of a number of suggestions. It is best to leave out Terran clans and Rubarthan principalities. There are weaker ones among them, but even they have extensive alliances that makes it difficult for them to maintain their independence." Both Ves and Alexa brainstormed for a few minutes. "The Transhumanist Faction should hold a strong interest in what we are doing with the Elemental Universe." "No." Ves immediately shot down this proposal. "The Transhumanists may only be a part of the Red Association, but they are led by a powerful god pilot. I do not want to allow any tier 1 galactic citizen to extend his or her tentacles to our work." That ruled out a lot of possible organizations such as the Cybernetic Empire and the Hunting Association. "What about the Coalition of Faiths?" Alexa made another suggestion. "Religion has been gaining more ground since the Age of Dawn. This is especially the case when manifestations of faith have become easier to produce. They can do so much easier at the private halls that we are planning to put up for rent for considerable sums. The largest churches will be happy to make use of our services. The best part is that no god pilot has bothered to take charge over them, so we should be able to hold our ground against their powerhouses." This was actually a decent proposal. The Coalition of Faiths may be divided into multiple strong faith organizations, but it had decent success in maintaining a united front when it mattered. However, Ves ultimately shook his head yet again. "The Coalition of Faith is a growing power in society. Their influence is quite extensive within the Red Collective. However, I have also observed its faults and shortcomings. Its representatives are beholden to different beliefs and occasionally clash against each other. I am also apprehensive of giving any measure of control over the Elemental Universe to religious nuts. I believe it is best for everyone if the Elemental Universe is run by secularists." The young lady accepted this argument without any pushback. "Very well. Leaving aside the Coalition of Faiths and its constituent organizations leaves out many mid-sized groups, though. Aside from individual first-rate and second-rate states, I can only think of educational institutions, Red Collective departments and various combat associations." "That doesn’t sound so bad." Ves responded as he thought about specific names. "We can combine the first two suggestions on that list. Cooperating with a specific university is not worthwhile, but the story is different for the Red Collective’s Education Department. It is quite influential, but it doesn’t hold a lot of hard power since it is mainly focused on teaching as opposed to amassing power. I think the educators over there will be glad to take advantage of the teaching possibilities of the Elemental Universe. I will reach out to the people over there. I am sure that they will be interested in forming a cooperative agreement." This was a good start, but they needed more partners in order to make the Elemental Universe’s backing solid enough. "What about joining hands with your old partners, Ves? The members of the Golden Skull Alliance would love to invest in the Elemental Universe, especially since they are already familiar with your work." That caused Ves to cross his arms. "I am not too sure whether that is a good idea. The Golden Skull Alliance... has not fully caught up with the growth of our clan. To be more blunt, we have outgrown them. I am sure that the Cross Clan will eventually become a force to be reckoned with, but that is years away. The same applies to the Glory Seekers, the Adelaide Mercenary Company and the Boojay Family." The Golden Skull Alliance still remained relevant to the Larkinson Clan, but its priority was not as high as before. While some of the old partners had invested in their own first-class fleets, none of them could compare to the Premier Fleet in size and power. What was even more important was that none of them possessed as many ace pilots as the Larkinson Clan! The recent elevation of Saint Jannzi Larkinson had only increased the gap even further! Therefore, Ves pretty much disqualified the Golden Skull Alliance for this cooperative venture. The other partners lacked the might, clout and wealth to adequately protect the Elemental Universe. The Larkinsons needed to find a bigger partner, one that possessed at least a certain degree of influence in high society. "The Eternal Vulcan Empire?" "No. No dwarves." "The Creation Association?" "I own the Creation Association. Its support is already included." Alexa’s eyes lit up all of a sudden. "I just came across a promising party. The Wild Fighter Association should be a good third partner." This time, her proposal actually had merit. Ves seriously considered the possibility. He had cooperated with the Wild Fighter Association in the past and found their cooperation to be pleasant. The members of this wild group may be a bit rowdy, but their hearts were in the right place. Dealing with them was no different from doing business with principled mech pilots. As long as he did not cross their bottom lines, there should be no problem with maintaining a steady business relationship. "I am not sure whether the Wild Fighter Association has the interest, manpower and resources to cooperate with us on this venture, but... it is worth a try. Ketis seems to have a closer relationship with the Wild Fighters, so I will let her take charge of negotiations." Both of them quickly went to work after they composed their list. Ves did what he promised and contacted the Red Collective’s Education Department using his own channels. Meanwhile, Ketis reluctantly agreed with the premise that they needed to find more backing for the Elemental Universe and sought out the Wild Fighter Association. Both mech designers attained considerable success in eliciting the interest of their prospective business partners. It was easy to show off the value of the Elemental Universe. It offered the same familiar features of the old MSTS but also offered a huge range of expanded services. No matter whether it was mech pilots or regular red humans, each of them could find something useful and productive to spend their time and Elemental Credits on. The more ECs they had in their pockets, the more use they got out of the Elemental Universe! None of the people who spoke on behalf of the Education Department and the Wild Fighter Association were stupid. They possessed enough intelligence and foresight to understand the huge potential and growth prospects of the Elemental Universe. A single demonstration was enough to prove the validity of the Larkinson Clan’s claims. Negotiations proceeded quickly after that. None of the parties wanted to waste too much time on details when they all wanted to make their mark on the Elemental Universe. The Wild Fighter Association was already pretty content with the extensive fighting and training opportunities, but its most ardent combat fanatics clearly wanted more! They couldn’t wait to design their own elaborate combat scenarios and battlefields for them to fight to their heart’s content. As far as the Wild Fighters were concerned, the Larkinsons had been too conservative in their scenario designs! True combat should be a lot more chaotic and unpredictable! As for the RC’s Education Department, its many teaching personnel embraced the Elemental Universe’s ability to accurately simulate a lot of E energy-related phenomena. It was quite expensive for the collies to generate special cultivation environments that were strongly biased towards single attributes. They had to acquire large amounts of rare and expensive hyper materials in order to construct more ideal environments. In contrast, the Elemental Universe could simulate the same environments without demanding expensive materials. It just cost a bit of Elemental Credits to run the simulated environments, which was much more cost-effective than the alternatives. Of course, cultivating in these simulated elemental chambers did not provide the full range of benefits. What mattered the most was exposure. Granting people an affordable way to get in touch with rare and powerful elements made it easier for them to gain the initial comprehension that was necessary to get started with more advanced qi cultivation methods. The people of the Education Department even theorized that the right simulated environments may even be able to promote the breakthrough of willpower cultivators! Whatever the case, the Education Department was wealthy enough that it did not require a major commitment to invest in the Elemental Universe. After a frantic day or two of negotiation, the three parties eventually came to a consensus. The Larkinson Clan would retain 60 percent ownership in the Elemental Universe Consortium. The Red Collective’s Education Department was happy to acquire a minority stake of 25 percent. The Wild Fighter Association did not possess as much negotiating power as the former two, so it could only make do with 15 percent ownership. After determining the exact split, the representatives of all 3 organizations quickly met up to finalize the contract and turn everything official.