"77.5 million pearls?!" one of the men standing in the back suddenly raised his voice, almost shouting over the murmurs of the others. "This is nothing short of broad-daylight robbery—utter nonsense!"
They had subjugated entire planetary empires before—whole empires whose wealth would not have reached even a fraction of this amount, even if every wall, every tower, every structure had been sold for scrap. Yet here they were, being asked to pay this absurd sum, as if the universe itself had conspired to bleed them dry.
"Do you want to come and calculate it in my place? By all means, step right up." The bald man extended the small notebook toward him with exaggeratedly raised eyebrows, then pulled it back just as nonchalantly, fully aware that no one would dare snatch it from him—not here, not now, not ever. "If you don't know the exact activity on those planets over the past year, then ask your superiors! Ask them everything you want!"
