The eyes of the senior manager were glittering, and he rubbed his mustache to cover his cramping lips. He asked, “What kind of deal are we talking about, Black Wind King?”
Glancing at the four senior managers, Li Yao smiled casually. “Do I need to say it out, everyone? If you cannot see what deal I’m trying to negotiate with you as the senior managers of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, I’ll be starting to wonder if you are qualified and smart enough to accomplish the unprecedented deal.”
The four senior managers were slightly stunned. Then, another senior manager who was younger hurried to say, “How can we not know what is on the Black Wind King’s mind? Although you have discovered almost a hundred abandoned worlds at the edge of the Imperium, learning their coordinates and developing them profoundly are two wholly different things!
“You only have the colonization resources and population of five Sectors, which may not be sufficient even for the construction of the barbaric worlds, much less rebuilding even more Sectors.
“Therefore, the coordinates of those abandoned Sectors, for the Black Wind King, are just ducks hanging high in the sky, greasy, fragrant, but unreachable!”
“Exactly!”
The second senior manager jumped out, with a look of “I’ve totally seen you through” on his face. With a cunning smile, he said, “We are all smart people. Why don’t we stop beating around the bush? I assume that the Black Wind King never really intended to rebuild those abandoned worlds in hundreds of years through hard work, did you? There will be too many variables during the hundreds of years. Besides, the experts of the Black Wind Fleet, with their tough and brutal nature, are the most excellent warriors, but they are not the dutiful and diligent pioneers!
“Instead of spending hundreds of years working on the uncertainties, it may be a better option to pack up those abandoned planets and sell them at a good price, earning more concrete benefits—the Black Wind King must’ve snuck back into the Imperium with such an intention, right? Only a critical business like that deserves you to come in person. If you are only here to investigate the latest situation of the Imperium, the mission could’ve been carried out by any random expert.”
“However, the moment the Black Wind King returned to the Imperium, you were involved in mayhem and realized that the Imperium today was on the brink of falling apart if not complete destruction. Heroes like the Black Wind King were needed more than ever to save the day!”
The third senior manager said confidently, “If I were the Black Wind King, I would’ve been a hundred times more ambitious too. The abandoned worlds at the edge of the cosmos may be good, but how can they be compared to the Black Wind King’s homeland?
“Trading the coordinates and development rights of the abandoned worlds for the five worlds including the Black Wind Sector or even more developed worlds around… Or taking over the banner of the reformists and becoming the hero who revives the Imperium, to be remembered by all future generations… That’s what the Black Wind King and the Black Wind Fleet want!”
“It is a pity—”
The old senior manager concluded, “—that the queen did not seem fond of ambitious heroes like the Black Wind King. Or rather, the reformists only have one banner, which is to be carried by one person ahead of all the other Immortal Cultivators. Therefore, a… minor misunderstanding happened between the two of you. Then, the Black Wind King came here to negotiate with the ‘old friends’ of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors for cooperation!”
The four senior managers were all the most experienced and smart guys. Although Li Yao said only a few words, they had inferred his intentions in a reasonable and convincing way. The managers, shareholders, and investors around all nodded their heads in agreement.
Li Yao’s eyes were popping out as he stared at the four senior managers without blinking.
It was not until the four senior managers were almost creeped out that he finally cackled and clapped his hands, raising his thumbs at the senior managers. “Haha, hahahaha! Impressive, very impressive! Do you know why I like the smart people of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors? Because you are all f*cking geniuses! Communicating with you does not need any effort. I do not even need to open my mouth for you to know what I am thinking. It’s almost like you’ve all practiced mind reading before!
“Then, let’s cut the crap. Do you think the business is acceptable?”
The senior managers looked at each other and then at the other managers and shareholders on the seats around. Seeing that everybody was fascinated and deep in thought, they knew that the participants were already tempted and were simply evaluating how much profits the Black Wind King had to offer.
“If I may ask the Black Wind King—”
The old senior manager asked cautiously, “The coordinates of how many abandoned worlds are stored in Firefly’s database? Also, what are the specifications of the barbaric worlds that you conquered? What’s the quantity of population, resources, and money needed for the first period of development, and how long will it take for them to be returned? Also, if we are going to establish new sailing routes between the homeland and the edge of the cosmos, are there suitable jump points? What about the fuel consumption on the way? We cannot talk about the business without knowing the details first.
“Also, more importantly of all, if the Black Wind King is generously offering the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors such a great gift, what do you want from us in return?
“What I want is very simple. Like what you said just now, what I want first is the five worlds including the Black Wind Sector. As the hometown of many experts in the Black Wind Fleet, they are of paramount significance and must not fall to the hands of other people.”
Li Yao said coldly and demandingly, “Also, after we do crush the four Kurfürst families and reestablish the Imperium, I will have the returns that are due for me. I do not care about being remembered by the future generations, but it won’t be an outrageous request to expand the scale of the Black Wind Fleet by a couple of times, right?”
The senior managers shook their heads at the same time. “No, not at all.”
“Hmm…”
Satisfied, Li Yao nodded his head. “In exchange, since I am not interested in the trivia about the reconstruction of the abandoned worlds or the operation and colonization, is it really a problem to entrust all the affairs to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors? I don’t care about the specific details. All in all, I have only one price, for everyone to benefit from this! I have no family or friends after returning to the Imperium after a hundred years. Now that we have met each other today by the arrangement of fate, everybody here will be my best friend. Since you are my best friends, we should eat meat and make fortunes together without leaving anyone behind, right?”
Everyone’s eyes were glittering like burning holes because of his declaration.
“Speaking of which, since we are best friends, reciprocity should naturally be honored.”
Li Yao narrowed his eyes, his voice filled with the most intense stink of blood. “The distribution of the duck is for the next step. For now, we have to stick together and defeat the four Kurfürst families first! Otherwise, we will not be cutting the duck but will be cut as ducks before getting split and swallowed by other people!
“I do not worry about it too much. After all, I have my Black Wind Fleet. Even if the four Kurfürsten were to learn about what I did, I’m afraid that they would have to turn a blind eye to it and show me some respect. But I don’t think everybody here can escape the disaster. Hehehehe!”
His crazy laughter made everybody look awful again.
“Since we have joined the cause to renew the Imperium, we have put aside our own ending, and we will certainly fight with our best. Please rest assured about that, Black Wind King.”
The old senior manager was still not letting it go. “However, if you could reveal some of the details of the enormous business you talked about, Black Wind King, I’m sure that it will significantly boost the morale.”
“Is that so?”
Li Yao frowned and said rather impatiently, “That’s what Jin Yuyan said too. He pestered me for three days and three nights until my head was dizzy before we finalized the details into a secret agreement. You’ll know them after you take out the agreement and read it.”
“Well—”
The old senior manager was stunned for a moment. Then he said with a bitter smile, “Black Wind King, you should know that our Director Jin has unfortunately perished. Where can we find the secret agreement that he signed with you?”
“It’s simple. Jin Yuyan had been paranoid and worried that somebody was going to murder him. In case of accidents, he told me the place where the secret agreement was kept as well as the retrieval code.”
Li Yao said, “He stored the secret agreement in your central trade database, with four retrieval codes and three other safety measures, namely… Huh, Manager Qi, your face is so awful that you almost look like a hanged man. Is there a problem?”
Qi Yuanbao was too shocked by what Li Yao said to control himself. He cried subconsciously, “Lies! Lies! You are telling lies! This whole thing is highly illogical! How could our Director Jin have told an outsider the place where the signed secret agreement was kept and the way to retrieve it? Why didn’t he tell other directors or his wife? That is simply too weird!”
“Fair enough. Now that you put it in such a way, it is indeed weird and illogical!”
Li Yao said quickly, “Then, in order to prove my innocence, why don’t you retrieve the document that I talked about and see for yourselves? The truth will immediately be out.”
“Well—”
Qi Yuanbao was more than angry. “How can the secret documents of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors be read by any random outsider?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in your secret documents at all.”
Li Yao smiled and said, “I’m aware that under normal circumstances, only your director is qualified to open the central trade database. However, in emergencies, five senior managers can open it too, if they unlock it together.
“Then, I would like the five of you to check whether the document that I talked about a moment ago is a secret agreement… or something else.”
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