Because the Hualan Empire is not a pushover. Today, they killed Fan Shigui, but its strength wasn't that great... Could such a vast empire truly have no foundation? It certainly does.

I've heard at least for a while that the Vatican possesses a so-called ultimate weapon, and the royal family also has a top-secret treasure. Considering that they mainly target "Rust Fog," the power of these objects must be considerable. Otherwise, why would "Heavenly Principle" create such a testing ground? Is it just a game? It shouldn't be underestimated.

But once someone brings these things up, the situation won't be as one-sided as it was during the day; it will be all unnecessary trouble.

That's why Xu Shi turned around and contacted Cheng Gujian privately to finalize everything as quickly as possible. It would be too late to say anything else then, and this would give him more room to maneuver.

“What Envoy Xu said is true. I have certainly broadened my horizons today.”

Cheng Gujian smiled faintly and pointed again at the gift Xu Shi had given him earlier, "So, is this your attempt to mentally assault me?"

"How could that be? This is more like a gift to make friends."

Xu Shi also laughed, "I just don't know what you need, so I can only offer this humble answer... As for asking you for help, there will naturally be a different price."

As he spoke, he gave Xia Wuyou a wink, and the other person understood and opened the briefcase he had brought.

"The weapons and medicine samples here are more effective than those displayed during the day."

Xu Shi explained with a smile, "If you need them, I can guarantee that they will only exist in your possession."

This is when the tug-of-war truly ends and we get to the point: if you seek Cheng Gujian's help, or rather, establish this kind of private cooperative relationship with him unilaterally, then of course you have to offer something extra.

The gold and silver from before were certainly not enough. A dignified duke would never lack such gold and silver, just like how he himself never had to worry about money in the City of Night Sin. At most, it was just used to show his attitude, or to put it more nicely, a stepping stone.

Cheng Gujian's words just now also implied that he was not as shocked as others—he himself was not much affected by his own abilities, so he naturally recovered faster.

Xu Shi had anticipated this situation. During the day, it was enough to intimidate 70-80% of the people. Expecting to intimidate every single person was unrealistic. Therefore, he had already made arrangements for a backup plan, which could be considered the conditions he had actually given.

Providing better weapons only to Cheng Gujian is undoubtedly sending a signal—no matter how much trade is established between Night Sin City and the Hualan Empire, the influx of new weapons will not affect your status, because I will give you better things to upgrade your private army.

More valuable assets are often reserved for those who are more important.

Neither of them brought up the matter, but Xu Shi was well aware that Cheng Gujian's power was so great that he must have a private army, which was one of the foundations of his position as a powerful minister.

Anyway, don't come up with something like "I am wholeheartedly devoted to the country and have no selfish motives." If you really do that, you won't even let me in the door. If you let someone in and then say such nonsense, then you're just being hypocritical.

The weapons he brought were essentially targeted at this market. High-level "Ascensionists" might not need these things. When have you ever seen Old Master Wen care about these things? Even someone at Xia Wuyou's level has always used alloy battle blades. He does rely on them, but not much.

However, for non-"Ascended Ones" and low-level "Ascended Ones", the improvement brought by equipment is obvious. These people are also the largest fighting force of a city-state or country.

Therefore, based on this premise, what Xu Shi promised him might not even be maintaining his position, or even further enhancing it.

"...How much can you give me?"

Cheng Gujian paused for a moment, then began to speak frankly, his subconscious biting of his lip indicating that he was already somewhat tempted.

"That depends on how much you need."

Xu Shi crossed his arms and smiled, "Including the future when diplomatic routes are fully opened, I can guarantee that your people will have a higher priority."

"Then what do you want?"

Cheng Gujian pondered for a moment.

"What I want is very simple."

Xu Shi nodded and said, "In addition to direct trade with the royal family, I hope to obtain a permit to open trading posts. There is only one requirement for these trading posts: we, the City of Night Sin, must operate them independently, and no one else, whether the royal family or the Holy See, has the right to interfere."

"Of course, you'll get a share of the profits, specifically... 80/20?"

Cheng Gujian nodded, signaling him to continue.

"As for the goods we hope to receive... here is a list, would you like to take a look?"

Cheng Gujian took the list, glanced at it, and asked with some curiosity, "Is this all you want?"

The items mentioned above are commonplace for the Hualan Empire; they are all natural items containing a lot of "divine energy," such as silver pine wood... If we're talking about rare items, they are just some minerals, but the empire's reserves in this area are by no means small.

"More precisely, in this direction?"

Xu Shi smiled and said, "I made this list rather hastily, and it may change in the future. We can adjust it then, how about that?"

The so-called trade is about exchanging what you have and what you don't. Not only Cheng Gujian, but Xiao Mei also had a similar reaction when she saw these things. However, the City of Night Sin lacks these diverse plants and animals that naturally contain "rust mist".

The major conglomerates have limited methods for extracting "Rust Fog," using either minerals or seawater, and their biodiversity is not as rich as that of the Hualan Empire.

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