Chapter 241 Psionic Clues
"See him? There's no reason not to. Inform everyone."
Lu Yuan could roughly guess the purpose of Paradise Island's visit, as they were the main military supplier for Galan's naval warships.
Soon, their envoy was invited in.
The person was a gloomy young man with a head of gray hair, narrow eyes, and pale lips that were always tightly pressed together. His back was noticeably hunched, and he wore a long black robe that dragged on the ground.
Caoyuan and Ma Lou went forward to greet him, while Lu Yuan still acted as security, standing by and listening.
"Greetings, everyone from Cangyuan Future Technology—"
The envoy's tone was slow and hoarse, and his gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if he was in a not-so-healthy state, perhaps due to consuming too much of something.
The other party quickly introduced himself, then directly stated his purpose, which saved time.
"...You must know that Galan's independent military industry capability is very limited. Over seventy percent of their naval vessels are designed and built by Paradise Island, including the thirteen Galan warships you previously sank and captured, which are all signature products of Paradise Island."
"So?" Caoyuan said coldly.
"Ah, haha..." The envoy chuckled awkwardly.
"Now, due to media reports, everyone in the Star Alliance knows that these warships purchased by the Jialan are vulnerable. In actual combat, they can't even withstand a single shot and don't even have time to retaliate. This has had an extremely negative impact on the reputation of our products."
You chose to sell garbage, and now you blame us?
Lu Yuan found it amusing as he listened from the side.
The envoy continued: "Therefore—after our research, we had to make a 'difficult' decision. We hope Cangyuan will stop attacking Galan's naval warships and fighter jets produced by Paradise Island in the future."
Caoyuan hesitated repeatedly, remaining silent for a full five seconds, but still couldn't help but curse.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course!" The other party felt perfectly justified.
"We are in a state of war with Galan," the good-natured Ma Lou tried to be polite, "Setting aside whether your request can be met, the key issue is that in the rapidly changing battlefield, our fleet simply cannot afford to spend extra time distinguishing which ship is your product."
"Oh, then why not just not open fire and retreat directly?" The other party immediately became presumptuous.
"Hey! This guy is just here to provoke us!" Ye Xing and Guo Li Cheng, who were standing a bit further away, immediately wanted to go up and beat this person, but Lu Yuan, acting as security, stopped them.
For some reason, he always had a feeling that the other party was extremely dangerous and not just an ordinary envoy.
Currently, Lu Yuan had leveled up to 28, far ahead of other employees, and even his perception, a secondary attribute, had surpassed that of Ye Xing, who was an Investigator and currently level 24.
"Are you asking us to surrender directly?" The tall Caoyuan straightened his upper body, crossed his arms over his chest, and sat upright in his seat, his eyes gathering a chilling light.
However, the other party showed no weakness.
"No! I'm just here to offer suggestions. I know you've recently earned a lot of star alliance credit points through crude oil trade and the rapid appreciation of the cangyuan coin, and Paradise Island—let's just say, we really like credit points!
"So, why not use the easily earned money to buy more warships from us?
"This way, even if you plan to sink more Galan warships in the future, Paradise Island's military sales reputation will not be affected anymore, after all, it's our own ships fighting each other. You can also use this opportunity to quickly expand your fleet size, it's simply a win-win!"
You motherfucker...
You provide arms to both sides of the war, letting the money of the warring parties quickly turn into worthless debris in space, and then you make a fortune, right?
Caoyuan was too angry to speak.
"Can the warships you sell to Cangyuan guarantee to completely suppress the Galan navy, like our own frigates?" Ma Lou asked, suppressing his anger.
"Heh heh—" The envoy lowered his head, seemingly pondering and weighing for a moment.
"No! The warships we can provide you are the same generation of products as those sold to Galan. As for how to gain an advantage in combat, you'll need to use your own brains, if you can."
Facing this obvious provocation, Caoyuan's eyebrow twitched.
He was about to stand up, but just then, something unexpected happened.
Caoyuan suddenly felt his body become very heavy, so much so that after exerting force with his legs, he couldn't stand up smoothly!
What's going on!?
He tried his best to remain calm, maintaining his previous posture, without panic, without losing composure, and without showing any abnormality in his expression or movements.
At the same time, Lu Yuan seemed to see a faint, extremely subtle purple light flash in the envoy's eyes!
This instantly reminded him of the Gaia Hive Mind on Emerald Star, and the giant creature's purple eyes.
"I'm very curious."
Ma Lou, who hadn't noticed anything unusual, continued the conversation.
"Why do you only ask us to stop attacking Galan's warships, and not ask Galan to immediately stop using weapons purchased from you? Is there any difference between the two? Wouldn't the latter suggestion also save your reputation?"
"You've raised a valuable question!" The envoy looked at Ma Lou with interest.
"Let me put it this way: firstly, the unmotivated Jialan people highly approve of the quality of the military hardware we provide. They have basically given up on self-developing weapons, meaning they will continue to buy from us in the future, making them a long-term, high-quality customer we are unwilling to easily lose!
"Secondly, any choice that leads to Galan's complete defeat could trigger a chain political reaction within the Star Alliance, potentially leading to unexpected, well... risks.
"As new members of the Star Alliance, I suggest that before you make a decision to act, you'd better thoroughly understand why Galan has achieved its current status, to avoid provoking opponents you cannot afford to provoke. Of course, I can state Paradise Island's stance in advance: we suggest Cangyuan submit a peace proposal as soon as possible and unconditionally cease fire with Galan!"
Upon hearing the other party's words, Caoyuan immediately clarified Cangyuan's stance.
"No need. We are not interested in the suggestions you've made today."
"If Paradise Island truly wants to restore its military product reputation, then I suggest you appropriately reduce kickbacks and less deception when doing business, and sell some of your true cutting-edge technology, such as advanced warships above the Tier 1 standard. Perhaps then, the Jialan on the battlefield won't be so vulnerable."
"Haha! You overestimate them! It's people who win wars, not cold warships."
The envoy smiled and stood up, bowing slightly.
"I understand, gentlemen. In any case, I have delivered the message today, and my duty is fulfilled. Farewell."
He turned, his back hunched, and slowly walked out of the branch office, turning back with a smile along the way.
"But I still want to remind you, be careful what you wish for!"
After confirming the envoy had left, Caoyuan immediately came to Lu Yuan to report the unusual situation just now.
"Executive Officer, that kid just now was not right! He seemed to be able to use an ability similar to a gravity trap, but we scanned him before he entered, and he wasn't carrying a personal Zero Element Furnace like those from Emerald Life Science, nor any technological equipment other than a mobile phone!"
Lu Yuan nodded.
"Actually, I noticed it too. It seems Paradise Island might have preserved quite a few research achievements from the golden age in the field of psionic ascension."
They have something to be proud of...
He paused for a second or two.
"But compared to the 'superpower' the envoy deliberately showed off, I'm actually more interested in what he said."
Caoyuan: "...You don't really want to buy outdated warships from them, do you?"
"How could that be!" Lu Yuan waved his hand with a smile.
"Although the other party was basically talking nonsense, I now realize a problem: we still don't understand the political situation inside and outside the Star Alliance thoroughly enough."
"Even though we've beaten Galan twice, we still haven't figured out the most crucial question: how did this faction, which has serious problems in all aspects, develop to become the second largest in the entire Star Alliance today and achieve such interstellar social influence..."
"...And what kind of allies are truly behind them, and how high is their support for them."
Lu Yuan looked at Ran Ge.
"How about this, help me schedule an appointment with Anya. Tell her I hope to visit her at 'Purgatory' today."