Chapter 639: This is a big gamble, my friend.
Daylight arrived.
Ninglan New City welcomed a new day, and the dream creatures far on the horizon disappeared at the edge of Ninglan New City at that moment. The guarded areas also lifted the personnel lockdown this morning.
Some people, so excited that they barely slept all night, were still recounting the miracle that happened last night.
Indeed, it was a miracle.
Not only did those curious ordinary people have a rough night, but many members of the clubs bonded by interests who settled in Ninglan New City also had trouble sleeping.
Yesterday’s “negotiation,” if one could even call it that, was more like a direct announcement. The opposing side had no negotiation skills at all, just outputting demands, completely unaware of the importance of profit and its connection to their lifeblood.
The only bottom line they could probe from the other side was… that Teaching Assistant Yang Yuelan indeed wanted to make a profit from this, and their only means of resistance was to insist on the cost they had already given. If they did not agree, then it would be over, making the other side understand this was indeed their bottom line…
Even though this negotiation had no reporters and was not recorded, the entire process still leaked.
The content of this… made their scalps tingle!
The opposing side was just an amateur with brute strength, not understanding the rules of capital operation; they rushed in and started robbing money, but awkwardly, no one dared to touch her.
Their only means of resistance was that nobody should profit; let’s all play it out together, and then the other side, considering the money they had already received, would say: “Alright, let’s leave it at that~”
This truly made them feel helpless!
However, my state at this moment was quite good.
After my daily meditation practice, I happily enjoyed my breakfast, completely indifferent to what had happened yesterday.
However… I did gain quite a few benefits from Ninglan New City. Although it seemed damaging, they were all “one-time” benefits. The only thing that troubled them was accepting the plant network system, as this condition was not one-time and would deeply root in every corner of Ninglan New City, influencing their future development.
Ninglan New City would eventually recover; in a sense, Ninglan Qiuyue was half an insider for me. She could see the assistance I provided to her, and she also helped me fight for benefits. These “gifts” did not trouble Ninglan Qiuyue at all because all the benefits were ultimately going into someone’s pocket. As she brought these out as repayment and investment, how could she feel bad about it?
Moreover, after I made an example out of the first person to rebut me yesterday, that fellow’s current fate was quite tragic. He was directly taken after the meeting, and no one dared to protect him now.
I heard that a public trial would take place in the next few days; perhaps he would become the scapegoat. Some unsettled scores might also fall upon him, but no one would care about that.
After enjoying breakfast, I did not rush to leave Ninglan New City.
Because I knew the matter was not over yet.
Rather than leaving and waiting for them to come find me one by one, it was better to resolve everything from the beginning.
After all, seeing the problems of Ninglan New City resolved so easily would make many people uneasy.
However, I did not expect the first person to come looking for me to be… Millien.
“Hello again, Sister Xiao Han.” Millien reappeared before me, sporting her characteristic smile, and both her tone and expression revealed a desire to please.
“Indeed, we meet again. What do you want this time?” After being found by Millien, she quickly went to a café and invited me into a private room.
“I’m really sorry to disturb you again this time.” Millien first apologized and then handed over a stack of parchment, all filled with the content of witch contracts.
“I came this time mainly representing the All-purpose Association, seeking collaboration on resources related to dream dispersal…”
Millien tried to simplify her language and clarify her purpose for coming because she had grasped one characteristic of the other side: “they dislike trouble.”
In fact, she was not the one coming to negotiate this time, but she had taken on this task through some small tricks given the current manpower shortage in the Expanding Realm. Moreover, she was one of the few people who had contact with Teaching Assistant Xiao Han, so even taking on such a tough task required some methods.
The reason she did this was naturally that she saw her own opportunity.
Yesterday’s negotiation involving Teaching Assistant Xiao Han, she had naturally watched. What other people saw from it was not important; perhaps they noticed the hardline tactics or the aggressive attitude, but she did not care about that.
What she saw was the lack of negotiation ability on Teaching Assistant Xiao Han’s part, coupled with her understanding of the other side’s dislike for trouble.
Reasonably deducing, could she become the person the other side needed?
The answer was yes.
But this required her to strive for it, to take a gamble, which is why she was the first to find Teaching Assistant Xiao Han.
Such efficiency was quite astonishing, considering this was achieved in just half a night. She hadn’t slept at all, but all of this was worth it.
Now, she needed to first demonstrate two aspects to show her worth.
The first was her own means. She was, in principle, a member of the All-purpose Association and needed to safeguard its interests. However, due to the current larger environment and the unequal information the All-purpose Association had regarding Teaching Assistant Yang Yuelan, her maneuvering space was large enough. Therefore, when she acted ruthlessly, she would even strike down her own side.
The second was her ability. She could become the person to negotiate on behalf of Sister Xiao Han, representing Teaching Assistant Xiao Han’s position, using her own means to gain maximum benefit within even unreasonable limits.
Indeed, what she was doing might… No, she would definitely attract attention from the All-purpose Association, but as long as she acted quickly and demonstrated her own value to gain Teaching Assistant Xiao Han’s regard, she could be protected and become the true link between the other side and Teaching Assistant Xiao Han.
After all, the All-purpose Association in the Expanding Realm needed to rely on this assistant, so even if past accounts were questioned, she wouldn’t be afraid since she understood the All-purpose Association’s methods very well.
“Such troublesome things…” I sighed softly and then took the thick stack of parchment.
This was an entire set of witch contracts, including the main contract, additions, and supplementary contracts.
I casually flipped through it, but did not see any issues because I did not really understand contracts, and this contract was no different.
“Please rest assured, Sister Xiao Han, this contract is the maximum benefit I fought for on your behalf…”
“Whether it is the maximum or whether it is your bottom line cannot be guaranteed just by your words.” I interrupted her. Although I could sense her sincerity, I chose to understand the facts.
“I have plenty of means to understand these matters.” I lightly tapped the contract, using the Earth Vein Identification Technique to directly obtain information.
Then the information anchored by this contract unfolded like a net in an instant.
Countless pieces of information continuously emerged, detailing everything meticulously.
Seeing this scene made Millien’s pupils shrink, her breath stopped momentarily, and even her body trembled slightly…
After understanding this information, I discovered an eye-catching aspect.
“You really dare to do this… Aren’t you afraid the All-purpose Association will come after you?” After comprehending, I specifically pointed out a segment of information, which contained the underlying logic behind everything Millien was doing, “This truly is a big gamble, isn’t it? Afraid that I might ignore you and expose you to the All-purpose Association? Then… you might never recover from this.”
I pulled up this piece of information and presented it before her, where even details regarding her decision-making processes were included.
She swore that she had never felt as breathless as she did now throughout her life!
Everyone seemed to have no privacy before her… but… this development was more effective than her attempting to articulate it!
At least she demonstrated a premise of being “trustworthy.”
“I’m afraid… but life is meant for risks… Sister Xiao Han, I believe you will need me. I can help you solve those troubles; I won’t let those annoying people say a single word to pollute your ears…” Millien continued to plead.
“Interesting…” I gave a simple evaluation and then carefully examined her other conditions, cross-referencing her as the anchor for even more information retrieval channels.
During this time, I once again saw a familiar item, “Sister Xiao Han’s Support Team.” This support team still existed and was not small in scale.
They had developed some size even without my understanding, and this support team even crossed grades, with plenty of people from higher grades… which genuinely surprised me.
“So, you’re agreeing?” Millien asked in surprise.
“Not yet; you must at least demonstrate your value first. Let’s take those who came to find me today as your test. You need to show me that you’re more useful than the Earth Vein Identification Technique for me to be convinced.”
I picked up a pen and signed my name on the contract. The witch contract transformed into a binding force under the witness of contract power, one for me and one for the other party.
I had checked this contract with the Earth Vein Identification Technique; there were no issues, so I would naturally acknowledge it.
Of course, the main point was that they had no idea I could return to the dream; however, I was too lazy to use that means to blackmail them. Such tactics were only a heavy blow after they played dirty!
Thus, this contract was not only beneficial for me but also contained loopholes that only I could exploit. Why wouldn’t I sign it?
“Now you can act as my agent with those people and start your performance. I will come to collect your results tonight. If I’m not satisfied, I won’t sign any of the contracts, and you will bear all consequences of that failure; do you dare to take such a risk?”
“I dare!” Millien gritted her teeth and said firmly.
This truly became a big gamble.
“Then I look forward to your good news.” Hearing her determination, I didn’t mind giving her an opportunity.
Indeed, once one’s own strength is formidable, many would come to serve me, just like those teaching assistants; I don’t have to dirty my hands for anything.
“Um…”
“What else is there?” I asked when I saw her hesitant to speak.
“Um… Sister Xiao Han, could you please provide a confirmation? To prove that I am qualified to represent you in communication with them; anything that can confirm this would be fine, even a token of yours or a contract.” Millien hurriedly said.
“Is that so? That’s fine…” I nodded, thinking there was no problem, but as for the contract… it’s best not to sign too many; hence, I took out a box.
“This is a weapon I usually use for reading or battling, custom-made for me by Instructor Natalie. Its name is ‘The Persuader: Box of Books.’ I hope you can take this with you to help persuade your opponents.”
I pushed the book box that was sitting on the table towards her, then said nothing else and stood up to leave.
After all, I was originally thinking about dealing with a whole day’s worth of troubles; now that the troubles were shifted, I naturally felt relaxed.
I must say, this girl named Millien is quite an interesting character; as for whether she can be trusted… whether it counts as betraying the All-purpose Association… or whether she might end up betraying me… none of those concerns were significant.
Right now, her value to me was that she indeed reduced a lot of my troubles.
After I left, Millien followed me out. My movements in Ninglan New City were quite noticeable; for an unstable factor like me, they naturally needed to keep track of my exact location in real-time. Otherwise, if I slipped up, I might cause them significant trouble.
Soon, another figure saw me from a distance.
“Teaching Assistant Xiao… Huh? Who are you? Don’t block my way.”
“Now I’m Teaching Assistant Xiao Han’s agent. If you need to communicate with Sister Xiao Han, you can talk to me.”
“You?” The girl frowned at the one blocking her. Then she remembered, “I have some impression of you; you’re that Millien from the All-purpose Association, right? What are you doing?”
“I’m not joking. I’m now fully authorized to handle affairs for Sister Xiao Han. If you don’t believe me, you can go find Sister Xiao Han, but do you think she’ll pay attention to you?” Millien said while displaying the book in her hand, “You should be familiar with this book, right? If you don’t recognize it, I’d think you don’t even qualify to discuss subsequent matters with me.”
“This! You’re serious!” She recognized the book instantly; it was far too famous for losing to the renowned Teaching Assistant Liliana, and it had happened twice!
It was impossible not to recognize it, not to mention that only this unconventional Teaching Assistant Xiao Han used books as weapons at the Witch Academy!
“I wouldn’t be bold enough to joke about something like this with Sister Xiao Han. Now… please, let’s negotiate and see if your proposed contract has any sincerity.”
Seeing Millien’s smug expression, the girl felt utterly distressed!
Originally, this was a tough job, facing pressure from her own club and the hard-to-approach Teaching Assistant Xiao Han—a double whammy.
Initially, she thought the other side didn’t understand negotiation and planned to play the pity card to muddle through and deal with her club’s situation.
But now she had to face a member of the All-purpose Association…
This kind of person was the hardest to deal with!
