I Can Program My Body?

Chapter 684: Terms of the Alliance

As the call connected, various screens appeared showing each fleet leader who had contacted him. Seeing their faces, Nash quickly recognized who they were.

At the previous Altier Convention, he had made sure to log every participant’s appearance, name, team, and various other details that passed through his senses.

According to that data, the leaders contacting him now were in charge of various high-level teams that had decided to align themselves with the Chronos Alliance.

"What do you need?"

"Lord Nash, we called to ask if we can join the Neon Star Alliance." Veyra, the leading individual among them, said.

"This—"

Hearing Veyra’s words, Nash was momentarily stunned, yet he also understood exactly where they were coming from.

As high-level cosmic teams, they were nothing more than slightly larger ants compared to the top-level teams.

Beyond even them stood the seven major teams that controlled each side of the Wild Void Territory.

If they wanted to survive and come out intact, their only option was to join an alliance with others.

For this purpose, they had three choices: join one of the major-level teams, join one of the top-level teams, or form an alliance of their own.

The former two options had their prerequisites; they required enough value and a willingness to submit.

Thus, the only viable path left was to form an alliance made up of high-level cosmic teams.

Among the high-level teams affiliated with the Chronos Alliance, the Neon Star Alliance was the most promising option.

Understanding all of this, Nash didn’t immediately agree.

"Naturally, I welcome every cosmic team that wishes to join us. However, I must remind you, if you want to join the Neon Star Alliance, you must follow all of its rules and obey my word." Nash said coldly.

Although it was somewhat similar to the conditions set by top-level teams, Nash didn’t care.

He had no interest in leading a loose alliance where everyone acted on their own. Not only would it be a waste of time, it would also breed problems that were far from easy to solve.

Meanwhile, hearing his words, everyone fell silent.

By their plan, they had only wanted Nash to serve as the figurehead of a loose alliance, someone to lead when difficult decisions needed to be made.

Now, however, based on his words, they would need to integrate into the Neon Star Alliance and become one with it.

Most of them could not accept that condition. They had avoided joining a top-level team precisely to retain their autonomy.

If they were willing to bow their heads to the Neon Star Alliance, why not simply go to one of the top-level teams? With their foundation and potential, their safety in the near future wouldn’t be an issue.

"The choice is yours. That said, I will be establishing a public trading zone in the coming months. If you ever find yourselves without a place to settle, you are welcome to come to us." Nash added at the last moment.

Based on their reactions, none of them would be joining the Neon Star Alliance any time soon.

However, once disaster struck, once they felt the full weight of their insignificance and fragility, extending a second invitation shouldn’t be a problem.

Furthermore, the more teams gathered in the public trading zone, the more prosperous trade would become.

The only concern was the territory assignments. There were only a limited number of slots for high-level teams allowed within a Domain Area, and including them in the mix would cause an imbalance.

Nash could only think to negotiate with the Chronos Alliance when the time came.

Meanwhile, deep in thought, every leader began to process his words and consider the implications.

After a long silence, Veyra glanced at the others and reached a decision.

"We would like to settle in your public trading zone. But what about the territory assigned to us?"

The territory assigned to them was not merely a title deed; it came with responsibilities. To prevent any large-scale dark beast outbreak, they were required to regularly cull the dark beasts in their area.

If they relocated to the Neon Star Public Trading Zone, they wouldn’t be able to spare the manpower to manage it.

"Don’t worry about that. I’ll make a request to Deputy Hanna." Nash promised with a smile.

Given his agreement with the Chronos Alliance regarding the dark energy purification device, arranging for another team to take their place shouldn’t be an issue.

"That’s good to hear. When will we be able to settle in your public trading zone?"

"In about a week or so. However, we’ll also need your help constructing the large-scale platform. Based on your contribution, I can grant you a plot of land without additional payment. You will, of course, still be subject to taxes afterward."

"We understand. Please contact us as soon as the place is ready." Veyra agreed after checking that none of the other leaders had any objections.

"Wonderful. Then I welcome you to the Neon Star Public Trading Zone in advance." Nash smiled.

Although he couldn’t directly incorporate them into the Neon Star Alliance for now, it would only be a matter of time.

He didn’t doubt that the strength, potential, and extraordinary benefits they could offer would eventually win them over.

"If you can, feel free to invite other high-level teams as well. The more people we have, the safer we all are." Nash added as an afterthought.

Since all he needed to offer was a reasonably safe place to stay, inviting more wasn’t too much trouble.

"Of course. We’ll let the other teams know what we discussed."

After reaching an agreement, they exchanged communication IDs to stay in touch.

Though communication was cumbersome in this wild void region, the growing number of private virtual servers made it possible.

Afterward, Nash recorded the coordinates of the territories they were responsible for, planning to speak with Hanna about a solution.

---

As the days passed, the number of high-level teams wishing to join him continued to climb, from a few dozen to hundreds, to over a thousand.

Nash had a feeling that if he stayed a little longer and waited, even more teams would eventually come around.

Unfortunately, before he could grow complacent, the top-level teams began to make their move.

While they couldn’t directly target anyone, extending invitations was another matter entirely.

With greater strength and resources, coupled with increasingly generous incentives, some of the high-level teams that had promised to join him backed out.

Rather than recruiting teams outright, the top-level teams had copied Nash’s model and pledged to protect them within their own territories.