In the afternoon, Zuo Feng, who had been idle, suddenly received a report that Miss Xiao Rou from H City wanted to see him, and she was accompanied by Jun Moce and Pan Yeluo.
Mr. Zuo was slightly surprised but quickly composed himself, waving his hand to allow his subordinates to let them through.
The matter of the E-rank bounty was difficult to keep secret. If Miss Xiao Rou had come alone, Mr. Zuo might have thought it was a lead on the bounty.
But since she brought Jun Moce and Pan Yeluo with her, there must be another reason for this.
What could Firefly have that they valued so highly?
Without a doubt, it was the Void Land. It seemed H City had also received the news and could no longer hold back.
Mr. Zuo smiled slightly and walked towards the reception room on the first floor.
Regarding the Void Land, Mr. Zuo had originally planned to open it completely, but considering that where there are people, there will be disputes, he still needed to set some rules.
Not long after, Mr. Zuo sat in the conference room, looking with some surprise at the pale-faced Mo Tianya and Jun Moce. He paused for a moment, then returned to normal, chuckling to himself:
“These two must have looked into the eyes of the Azure Sky Guard or the Green Shadow Vanguard.”
The Eyes of the Gods cannot be looked at directly, and these two obviously didn't know this, resulting in a backlash.
Mr. Zuo subtly observed them, already understanding a bit, a faint smile still on his face.
Miss Xiao Rou nervously clutched the hem of her skirt, standing between Jun Moce and Pan Yeluo, and began to introduce them:
“Mr. Zuo, this is Deputy Leader Pan Yeluo of Mo Wen Tianya, and this is Leader Jun Moce of Jun Lin Tianxia. We have come this time for the matter of the Void Land.”
After introducing the two, Miss Xiao Rou immediately stated their purpose. She had interacted with Mr. Zuo for some time and knew his personality; he disliked beating around the bush, so she went straight to the point.
Jun Moce and Pan Yeluo exchanged glances, both seeing a trace of solemnity and lingering fear in each other's eyes.
Earlier, on the outskirts, they had only glanced at those eyes and were immediately hit by its power, as if their souls were being torn apart.
They simply couldn't believe that such a terrifying existence could exist in this world!
And it was just Firefly's guard!
This forced them to re-evaluate Firefly's strength. Before, they had planned to talk to Firefly as equals.
Now it seemed that Firefly was far stronger than they had imagined; in fact, they were not even on the same level as opponents.
Jun Moce forced a friendly smile, trying hard to suppress the surging fear in his heart, attempting to conceal his unease.
“Mr. Zuo, I heard that the edge of the Void Land can help people light the seventh lotus seed, and that your base has fully opened the Void Land. Is this true? If so, our E City also hopes to participate and share resources.”
Jun Moce's words carried a probing tone, his gaze fixed on Mr. Zuo's expression, trying to catch a hint of weakness.
Mr. Zuo chuckled lightly:
“Leader Jun is indeed straightforward, so I will also be direct. The Void Land is indeed open and welcomes any individual or force to go there to make a breakthrough.
However, everything has rules. If your E City wants to bring people to break through, you can do so, but you must abide by the rules set by Firefly.
The first rule: no unauthorized entry into Firefly's sphere of influence to disrupt Firefly's normal operations;
The second rule: fighting is prohibited at the edge of the Void Land. If any conflict occurs, it must be submitted to Firefly for arbitration;
The third rule: no occupying any area of the Void Land, and no setting up strongholds or barriers to obstruct others' passage. Violation of any of the above rules will result in Firefly directly killing the violator, with no leniency.”
Mr. Zuo had not considered methods like expulsion, but Firefly was short-staffed and had no time to expel those who challenged the rules. Direct killing was the simplest, most effective, and most deterrent method.
Jun Moce and Pan Yeluo exchanged glances again, both seeing deep apprehension in each other's eyes, but they also breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as they didn't violate the rules, they could bring their subordinates to the edge of the Void Land to break through without paying any price. In this way, their first objective was achieved.
As for the three rules, they were not difficult to accept, given Firefly's strength.
Jun Moce nodded slightly:
“Leader Zuo is indeed a straightforward person. This puts our minds at ease.
Therefore, on behalf of everyone in Jun Lin Tianxia, I thank Leader Zuo for his honesty and trust. We will strictly abide by the rules set by Firefly and will never do anything that harms Firefly's interests.”
Jun Moce had originally brought gifts, but after witnessing Firefly's strength, his gifts seemed insignificant, even a little ridiculous.
He had initially thought Firefly's strength was far inferior to Jun Lin Tianxia's, so the gifts he prepared were merely a few six-line zombie crystals and some high-level zombie materials. Now, he dared not mention these gifts again; bringing them out would be somewhat insulting.
Mr. Zuo waved his hand and said:
“Leader Jun, there's no need to be polite. The foundation of cooperation lies in mutual respect. Your adherence to the rules is the best sincerity.”
At this moment, Pan Yeluo's eyes flickered slightly, as if he was thinking about something. After a moment, he slowly spoke:
“Leader Zuo, besides confirming the opening of the Void Land, we have another matter to discuss with Firefly this time.”
Pan Yeluo's gaze lingered on Mr. Zuo's face for a moment, as if he was weighing his words, then he slowly continued:
“It's about the E-rank bounty. I heard Miss Xiao Rou say that you issued the E-rank bounty. For the previous E-rank bounty for the earth-elemental variant, we sent people to investigate again, but found that the variant was no longer at its original location.”
He deliberately paused, observing Mr. Zuo's reaction, while his peripheral vision glanced at Jun Moce beside him.
Jun Moce sneered inwardly, knowing that Pan Yeluo was using this as a feeler, wanting to use the bounty to bring up the topic of A-level metal weapon transactions, and incidentally gauge Mr. Zuo's reaction to the depth of this matter.
He remained calm, picked up the water glass on the table, and took a sip, as if listening intently.
“Oh?”
Mr. Zuo's eyebrows raised slightly, his face still maintaining that calm expression, showing no ripple of emotion.
“Deputy Leader Pan is referring to the E-rank bounty for finding the earth-elemental variant? That mission was indeed issued by me, and Miss Xiao Rou is the contact person; this is no secret. As for the earth-elemental variant disappearing….”
Mr. Zuo leaned forward slightly, his hands clasped on the table, his gaze calmly sweeping over Pan Yeluo and Jun Moce.
“Deputy Leader Pan, what exactly did you discover? Please speak frankly.”
Pan Yeluo's heart tightened. Mr. Zuo's candor made his prepared probing words seem somewhat superfluous.
He quickly adjusted his strategy, a seemingly sincere smile appearing on his face:
“Leader Zuo is indeed upright. We were indeed unable to track the completed E-rank bounty target—the earth-elemental variant—but there is news indicating that it seems to have been brought back to Firefly. We admire your base's strength and efficiency. However, we are not here to pursue this matter, but rather…”
He deliberately drew out the end of his sentence, his gaze turning to Jun Moce, as if seeking some unspoken understanding, or perhaps hinting that Jun Moce should also speak.
Jun Moce put down his water glass and took over the conversation at the right moment, his voice steady but with an imperceptible hint of inquiry:
“Deputy Leader Pan's meaning is that the variant's strength is extremely terrifying, and since your base was able to defeat and bring the earth-elemental variant back to the base, it must have made extraordinary progress in the research and development of cutting-edge weapons or the utilization of certain special materials.
Our E City, especially Jun Lin Tianxia and Mo Wen Tianya, has great interest and sincerity in cooperation in this area…”
He specifically emphasized the four words “special materials,” looking at Mr. Zuo with burning eyes, no longer concealing the deeper meaning.
Pan Yeluo immediately nodded in agreement:
“Precisely. We understand that your base may recently have access to a… non-conventional metal material transaction channel, whose performance can be described as A-grade. This material is crucial for enhancing the strength of our entire E City, and even for combating zombies.
We hope to engage in deeper exchanges and cooperation on this, sharing what we have.”
He finally placed the core objective of “A-level metal weapon transactions” on the table in a relatively subtle but mutually understood way.
Miss Xiao Rou stood by, feeling the suddenly heavy atmosphere and the hidden sharpness in the two leaders' words. She became even more nervous, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, not daring to breathe loudly.
Although she didn't fully understand the complete meaning of “A-level metal weapon transactions,” she knew it was by no means a small matter.
