Chapter 125

Chapter 27: Reaching an Agreement

　Returning from the battlefield at the Sales Office, Yun He didn’t bother explaining the reason for the ceasefire to his subordinates. They didn’t pry either; who wouldn’t want a few days off?

　People coming from other cities had no idea about the purpose of this war. They just wanted to finish their tasks quickly, return home, claim their rewards, and enjoy themselves.

　These Spiritual Energy Manipulators, who had participated in numerous battles, would instantly transform into fierce berserkers once they stepped onto the battlefield, catalyzed by their spiritual energy affecting their emotions—far removed from the refined modern individuals they usually were.

　Even during the ceasefire period, Yun He wasn’t idle, arranging for his underlings to complete layouts in other areas.

　”The Young Master will arrive in one or two weeks,” he told the others. “Before that, I hope we can completely control more than half of Tianhai City. Understand?”

　The short-term goal now was most important—welcoming the Young Master of the Yun Family with a grand reception.

　A few underlings marked with the code ‘gray’ exchanged glances, and one of them dared to speak up:

　”Mr. Yun He, annihilating Yuan Xiaoling’s forces within one or two weeks might be somewhat difficult.”

　Yun He raised his eyelids slightly: “We don’t need to annihilate her. Just surround them in the Beach District and slowly consume them.”

　”Then… what about Yuan Xiaoling?”

　”Same thing.”

　Isn’t that obvious? Yuan Xiaoling is a Fourth-tier powerhouse, and she’s adept at utilizing her Fourth-tier abilities. Killing her might be even harder than wiping out her forces.

　Besides, Yun He wouldn’t tell them that he had no intention of killing Yuan Xiaoling in the short term. She’s Fourth-tier, which represents a qualitative leap compared to Third-tier, and she’s a spiritually powerful Fourth-tier, just like her Dabeitù.

　If she gets enough nutrition, the Foundation Stone might hatch prematurely, which could cause some serious problems.

　……

　Yun He doesn’t want Yuan Xiaoling dead, but Yuan Xiaoling plans to take him out first.

　Coincidentally, both of them share the same idea: if another veteran Fourth-tier dies, the nutrition required by the Foundation Stone might be sufficient.

　Lingling isn’t going to mention any reserves she has, but Yun He is genuinely at the late Fourth-tier stage.

　Early this morning, sitting in the car heading to Four Squares Academy, Yuan Xiaoling glanced through the documents in her hands while speaking to Bai Ling:

　”Our official reason for coming here is that there’s an issue with the industry transfer documents. But honestly, I’m currently facing a rather serious difficulty.”

　Bai Ling kept her eyes on the steering wheel without looking back: “What problem?”

　Today they were going for negotiations, so they traveled light and didn’t bring a third person.

　Yuan Xiaoling put down the documents and said helplessly: “Because there’s nothing wrong with the transfer documents.”

　”…”

　Lingling didn’t have time to come up with another excuse because the car had already arrived.

　”No worries, I’ll just point at something random on the document. He won’t possibly check it thoroughly, and then I’ll steer the conversation towards the real matter while he’s looking.”

　Yuan Xiaoling quickly thought of a perfect solution with her sharp mind.

　At the entrance of Four Squares Academy, Li Li was already waiting to greet them.

　”Miss Yuan, Miss Bai, you’ve arrived.”

　After exchanging pleasantries, she lowered her voice: “When I consulted Director Dai, his reaction was very calm.”

　”That’s not great?” Yuan Xiaoling said.

　”It’s good, but… never mind,” Li Li led them to a room and said, “Follow me.”

　It was the same guest room as last time, except that last time Dai Hengzhu received Yun He here, and this time it was Yuan Xiaoling.

　”Director Dai, long admired.” Yuan Xiaoling walked in, sat opposite him, and smiled sweetly as if meeting for the first time.

　Dai Hengzhu poured two cups of tea and placed them on her side: “You two have come all this way to see me, surely you must have something important to discuss.”

　”Exactly,” Yuan Xiaoling took out the transfer documents and pointed randomly, “There’s a problem with your documents.”

　Dai Hengzhu picked it up and looked carefully, asking calmly: “Regarding the transfer of Xingrui Café, do you have any opinions on Clause 3 of Page 1?”

　Yuan Xiaoling hesitated slightly.

　Ah, wait, you’re actually reading it?

　Seeing her inability to respond, Dai Hengzhu quietly set the document aside, drank a couple of sips of tea, and suddenly asked:

　”How much do you know?”

　Yuan Xiaoling furrowed her brows: “Know what?”

　”When Li Li and Xiao Su used the excuse of delivering documents to find you, they came back the next day saying you needed to see me. It seems they must have told you something.” Dai Hengzhu said, looking towards the door.

　Yuan Xiaoling also glanced over and thought to herself that it couldn’t be helped—it was your fault for being discovered, not mine.

　”Everything that needs to be known is known, and in some aspects,” she mimicked Bai Ling’s previous cold demeanor, maintaining an icy little face, “we know more than they do.”

　Such as the Inner Stone of the Mind.

　Speaking of which, didn’t Li Li say that Dai Hengzhu didn’t care about such matters? And there aren’t many loyal people at Four Squares Academy, yet every move they make is under his control.

　Dai Hengzhu’s expression remained unchanged: “Since that’s the case, is there anything else you’d like to say to me?”

　This unexpected jump straight into negotiation caught Yuan Xiaoling a bit off guard, but since it happened, she decided to lay her cards on the table.

　”I want to propose a deal with Director Dai—if I eliminate the Yuns as soon as possible, you give us something in return.”

　Lingling is straightforward—you think you’re direct? I’m more direct than you.

　Dai Hengzhu chuckled lightly: “Miss Yuan, these two conditions seem beneficial to you. Why do you think I would agree?”

　Why? Of course it’s because… uh-oh, haven’t figured out how to phrase it yet.

　Let Lingling organize her thoughts…

　”Director Dai,” Bai Ling spoke up, “your control over Four Squares Academy relies on the help of the Foundation Stone, right? Including detecting Li Li’s abnormal behavior.”

　”…”

　Dai Hengzhu didn’t reply, which was essentially an admission, and Yuan Xiaoling’s eyes lit up—right, though he sits quietly here every day, the fluctuating hearts within Four Squares Academy cannot escape the perception of the Foundation Stone.

　Although the Foundation Stone isn’t his wife, if Dai Hengzhu is willing to cooperate actively, the Foundation Stone can still lend a hand.

　Bai Ling continued: “Since it’s helping you, you must know that Yun He has no intention of finishing things with us anytime soon, correct?”

　Dai Hengzhu still didn’t speak, nor did he drink tea. The room was silent except for Bai Ling’s voice, quiet enough to hear a drop of water hitting the ground.

　”Guess when he plans to make his real move,” Bai Ling said word by word, “Do you think the Yun Family would act without absolute certainty before awakening the Foundation Stone?”

　At this point, Dai Hengzhu finally reacted: “If they won’t act without certainty, what about you?”

　”You stop worrying so much. If you agree to cooperate, I’ll take out Yun He next Monday,” Yuan Xiaoling crossed her arms, “If you don’t agree, our chances are too low, I won’t fight. I’ll go back to Chunhai with my wife.”

　Bai Ling rolled her eyes and instinctively looked elsewhere, silently disapproving of this title, but ultimately didn’t deny it.

　Dai Hengzhu paid no attention to their youthful antics and carefully considered the situation.

　If Yuan Xiaoling really gives up and leaves, Tianhai City will fall entirely into the Yun Family’s hands, giving them unlimited time to deal with the Foundation Stone. Such consequences are risks he dare not take.

　”What do you want?” Dai Hengzhu asked.

　Saying this meant he agreed to cooperate.

　Yuan Xiaoling secretly sighed in relief and turned to look at Bai Ling.

　”We need the information of those involved in the incident at Four Squares Academy a year ago,” the White-haired Maiden said expressionlessly, “Including the confidential parts.”

　Dai Hengzhu pondered for a moment and said: “I’ll have someone prepare them. You can pick them up on the day you plan to make your move.”

　Documents related to employees’ personal data and family information would eventually end up in the hands of the new owners of Tianhai City after he left, so it was acceptable.

　He didn’t know that these were clues Bai Ling was searching for to counteract the Foundation Stone. The White-haired Maiden wanted to find the Wu Bian—the mental anchor points—of those several shadowy figures lingering in her mind.

　Forget him, even Yuan Xiaoling didn’t know, so the Blonde-haired Maiden thoughtfully felt a bit sleepy.

　”There’s one more thing I want to know,” she placed her hands down earnestly, “What exactly happened back then?”

　To the point where she… you… became so… um.

　Directly let down, driven to despair, dehumanized, seeking revenge on the world.

　But how to say it? Though Yuan Xiaoling is the cutest big-breasted beauty in the world, this question still feels a bit inappropriate.

　Dai Hengzhu’s expression remained calm, and after a few seconds of silence, he said: “After you succeed that day, I’ll tell you. Consider it my last story.”

　Yuan Xiaoling blinked, calculating in her mind that she had two hidden trump cards, small surety backing large surety, completely fearless of his deception.

　”Alright, the time is set for next Monday, three days from now. Arrange a meeting between Yun He and us near Four Squares Academy.”