"Octopus Head, it's up to you. Liu Peiqiang, connect the signal and prepare for projection," Wang Han instructed.
"Yes." Upon hearing this, Liu Peiqiang immediately started operating the workbench.
Octopus Head quickly led his seven or eight fellow octopus members to stand in designated positions, while the others who were not Octopus Heads avoided the area of the projected video.
The video call connected, and the decision-makers of the "Never-Setting Sun" appeared on the large screen in the spaceship's command center. Qiu Jiji, dressed in a futuristic spacesuit, and several members of his tribe also appeared on the large screen in front of the decision-makers.
Meanwhile, in the skies above London, screenless virtual projections appeared in several locations, very clearly, attracting the attention of the panicked crowd, who gradually calmed down. The projection was divided into two halves; one half showed Qiu Jiji and his people dressed in sci-fi spacesuits, looking like aliens, while the other half showed the decision-makers of the British Empire.
"We belong to the Divine Might Empire, jointly established by 250 civilizations within the Divine Might Galaxy, and the Octopus Brother Cosmic Debt Collection Company. Someone hired us to collect a debt. Here is an IOU from you. The due date has arrived, and you should repay your debt." After the communication connected, before Qiu Jiji could even express any friendliness, Octopus Head immediately produced the IOU and spoke in a jumbled mess of words, even giving a close-up of the IOU. The language was translated into a synthesized voice by a fake language translator nearby and transmitted into the conference hall of the Never-Setting Sun, also amplified by the warship's loudspeakers throughout the skies above London.
"The Royal Hotel owes five trillion in gambling debts!" Upon seeing this IOU, the decision-makers of the British Empire were stunned.
"No, this debt absolutely cannot be borne by the state; it's our tax payment."
"The debts owed by the Royal Hotel shall be repaid by the Royal Hotel itself."
"Isn't it possible to go bankrupt? With such a huge debt, let the royal family find a way to continue repaying it after going bankrupt. The state cannot repay it."
The crowd in London was stunned. Five trillion in gambling debts—this was an astronomical sum. In this era, five trillion was enough to wage a large-scale national war. The crowd was immediately agitated.
"Mr. Alien, we are unaware of this IOU. Moreover, this is a gambling debt owed by the Royal Hotel in Britain, and has nothing to do with my British Empire. Mr. Alien should be going to the Royal Hotel to collect the debt." Looking at the IOU, Qiu Jiji said with a smile. Seven or eight hundred people died at the Royal Hotel. Such a big thing had happened, and now that seven days had passed, he had naturally received a report. But this IOU absolutely could not be accepted.
"Our Cosmic Debt Collection Company has been collecting debts across the galaxies of the universe for hundreds of thousands of years. We always value credit. We will never accept false or invalid debts, but once a valid debt is handed over to us, we will definitely collect it for our client, down to the last penny. This is our rule for debt collection. Over hundreds of thousands of years, we have collected debts from millions of civilizations and have never failed. Our reputation has always guaranteed that we will collect 100% of all debts without exception."
"If you have any debts that need us to collect, you can contact us. As long as the company confirms the debt is reasonable, we can take the case. No matter how difficult the debt is to collect, even if the debtor is dead, we can perfectly recover it all for you. 100% trustworthy, never failed. And we will absolutely guarantee the client's information. We will absolutely guarantee the client's safety during the debt collection process until we hand over the recovered debt to the client," the octopus-headed man said, launching into an advertisement. However, despite spouting a lot of advertising slogans, he didn't provide a single contact method. Of course, this was at Wang Han's behest; the act had to be convincing.
“We have verified the authenticity of this IOU. It is indeed a gambling debt owed by the Royal British Hotel seven days ago. We have also checked it with the time machine and there is no possibility of forgery. The creditor is real, and the facts are true,” the octopus-headed man said. “However, the Royal British Hotel is unable to repay the gambling debt, so we have come here to collect the debt from the owner of the Royal British Hotel. The owner of the Royal British Hotel is the British Royal Family, so naturally we have come to collect the debt from you.”
“The Royal Hotel belongs to the Royal Family, not the British Empire. While the British Royal Family is indeed a royal family, it's merely symbolic; it has no right to rule the country, nor any claim to its debts. The British Empire has no obligation to assume the British Royal Family's debts. If you're trying to collect the debt, they should be able to repay it themselves after going bankrupt, not by demanding it from the British Empire.” Qiu Jiji said, forcing a smile. This debt absolutely could not be borne by the state. It wasn't that he didn't want to say the IOU was fake or invalid, but since these aliens had come, if he let them leave empty-handed without giving them anything, judging from their attitude, war might break out.
Going to war with aliens... Looking at the futuristic spaceships in the sky, covered in countless weapons, I figured they could destroy a city in minutes. Just by looking at them, I knew their technology was incredibly advanced. I wondered if their backing was truly that powerful. Even if it was just hype, I couldn't possibly win. Perhaps it was better to sacrifice the royal family for the sake of the nation, since the royal family was supported by the state anyway.
"Bankruptcy? That's the rule of your M77 Nebula, Blue Star. The royal family is symbolic, and that's also your planet's rule. This IOU was given to us by the creditor, so of course it must be enforced according to the laws of our Divine Might Galaxy. If there's no ability to repay, the family will repay; if the family can't repay, the family's country will repay; if the country is also unable to repay or refuses to repay, we will forcibly collect the debt, including arresting your citizens to work for us, even selling or confiscating everything in your country, including living beings, until you repay all debts. This includes, but is not limited to, war or destroying planets and selling off species to settle the debts. We will not allow anything to damage our 100% debt collection credibility. In millions of years, no civilization has ever made us an exception. You have thirty minutes to prepare the debt." The octopus-headed man said, looking at Qiu Jiji with a mocking expression. "Go ahead and declare your country bankrupt. If you go bankrupt, we'll arrest people to pay off the debts." The threat was palpable.
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