“Firstly…
“I’m sure Lord Zhu Ling is aware of the importance of coal to humans. We will not sit back this winter and allow the dwarves to continue being arrogant. Frankly speaking, regardless of whether we reach a cooperation agreement with the ents, we will still conduct a pre-attack drill on the dwarves’ Black Stone Vase Camp to announce the strength of the basin to the world!
“Of course, whether it will be a direct attack or through other means will not be disclosed right now, but it is a must that we empty their coal storage!
“We request that the ents provide 30 to 50 ents to assist our attack.”
Zhu Ling thought about it and nodded quickly.
“I can agree but on the terms that my brother ents are not used as meat shields to be sacrificed. I will immediately halt the cooperation if the risks and casualties of the plan are too high.”
“There won’t be a problem. I believe no territory lord would like to see casualties, including ours and Lord Zhu Ling!”
The most crucial negotiation technique was putting out the most important point in the beginning.
Seeing that Zhu Ling agreed without hesitation or questions made Su Mo overjoyed, and he quickly began to plant bait for the subsequent terms.
The Land Flowers and Rafflesias were the few valuable plants that could be traded externally.
Zhu Ling had deliberately emphasized the Rafflesias during the introduction, demonstrating that he knew the importance of this plant to humans.
He wanted to boldly ask for some, regardless of whether he would succeed or how much payment they would request.
In case the ents played some tricks, it would not be easy to wait for another chance to infiltrate so deeply into the enemy’s territory.
Therefore, after pausing momentarily, Su Mo directly began to shift the focus of the conversation.
“Secondly, I believe that Lord Zhu Ling heard from Elder Zhu Chuan in detail that apart from the heavenly fruit, we also have many plants that will benefit the ents.
“It’s not merely because of our lord Su Mo’s mighty power but because we humans have irrigation systems and cultivating techniques similar to those of the ents.
“Thus, we are willing to reach a strategic agreement with the ents.”
Su Mo paused and looked at Zhu Ling.
Sure enough, Zhu Ling wore a curious expression with a hint of trying to suppress his excitement.
“What kind of strategic agreement?”
“You give us a share of all the seeds and mature plants. We will share the future profits between our territories if we can develop suitable variants.”
“Outrageous!”
Zhu Ling interrupted Su Mo and tried hard to suppress his surging anger.
“That is a term that I simply cannot agree with. Plants are the foundation of the ents’ lives. We will never hand over our seeds and mature plants even if we are on the best terms.
“I won’t consider this request even if Lord Su Mo was here today!”
Having expressed that there would not be any further discussion, Zhu Ling’s intentions were obvious. This was simply something he would never let happen, and it was certainly not because they were not on good terms.
“Calm down, Lord Zhu Ling. Everything should have a good start, right?” Su Mo, who sat opposite him, was not shaken and calmly replied.
“How about we start with a few small plants? We can start with the crysanthereal grass, big peak flower, fortune berries and flavor spores.
“When we achieve results from cultivating these four plants, then maybe we could talk about other plants?”
The crysanthereal grass was an extremely fast-growing herbaceous plant and was the first plant in the ents’ enclosure.
It could be used to feed herbivorous animals and as a seasoning in dishes. The taste was slightly similar to the bitterness of a chrysanthemum. It was not a very delicious taste but it had its merits.
The big peak flower was a variant species of the genus Cotton in the Malvaceae family, which was a close relative of cotton.
Unlike conventional cotton, once the temperature reached below ten degrees, it would produce rotten seeds and buds.
Big peak flowers were capable of resisting low temperatures of -60 degrees and high temperatures of 40 degrees and could survive in extreme conditions.
Due to its tenacity, the flower could be found all over the mountains and wilderness when mature, which was why it was named “big peak flower”.
Fortune berries were the only plants with a “soul” among the four proposed plants.
Saying it had a “soul” actually meant that it had certain abilities.
The fortune berries were able to simulate living beings’ vitals and could feed on objects themselves. They would automatically separate the poisoned part and give an early warning if the object they ate had poison.
Su Mo had confidence that Zhu Ling would agree to the four proposed plants.
The ents graded plants into four levels from A to D.
The grades of these four plants were the lowest D grade, which had little use and had the lowest transaction value.
Zhu Ling would understand that using these useless plants as an exchange term in the agreement would benefit the ents without causing any harm if he was smart enough!
Sure enough, after Su Mo made the proposal, Zhu Ling first subconsciously wanted to repeat his previous statements and refuse but he was taken aback after he suddenly realized what was said.
“Are you sure you only want these four?”
“Yes, an alliance requires a long process of building mutual trust. We will prove to the ents the sincerity and strength of the Heavenly Court!”
“Are you able to make the decision for Lord Su Mo?” Zhu Ling asked.
“Yes, I was permitted to make the decision as long as Lord Zhu Ling agrees on our terms!”
Zhu Ling’s expression was filled with unconcealed hesitation as they exchanged questions and answers. He looked at Su Mo’s firm expression, then suddenly picked up the wine jug and gulped it down.
“Okay, since you’re able to make the call for Lord Su Mo… we will give the seeds and mature forms of these plants to the Heavenly Court for research. We will not seek any shares of the profit and all the benefits gained will belong to the Heavenly Court if you’re able to make breakthroughs with these four plants.
“Even if the research breakthroughs exceed our expectations, I refuse to hand over any more seeds or plants for cooperative research!”
A small change would lead to significant changes.
The best way to break through a person’s defense was by opening up a small gap and gradually widening it.
Zhu Ling was on the fence. On one hand, he wanted the plants to achieve great breakthroughs in mutations so that the strength of the ents could be improved and they would be able to get out of their current situation.
On the other hand, he was worried about completely handing over the authority of the ents’ biggest weapons and putting themselves in a situation where they could easily be backstabbed.
Whether Su Mo offered a delicious pie or blood-stained poison, as the ents’ lord, he had no choice but to take it because he had no other means to resist!
They continued to discuss the third supplementary term to their agreement and Su Mo gave additional explanations for the first two agreements.
The sun went down in the west, and dusk arrived when Su Mo finally stood up, stretching out his hand in satisfaction.
“Then it’s settled. I’ll have to trouble Lord Zhu Ling to quickly make necessary preparations as time doesn’t wait for anyone. I have to return to our territory to pass on the message.”
Zhu Ling also smiled and stretched out his branch to Su Mo.
“Sure, I’ll make arrangements. I remember you mentioned some plants you wanted in the garden? How about I get someone to guide you and also teach you the methods of transplanting and cultivating the plants. You can also come in close contact with some other plants in the meantime.
“As for the specific cooperation details, I’ll gather our people according to the agreed time to quickly establish the alliance between our territories before winter arrives.”
Zhu Ling tapped on the ground with another branch of his after speaking.
Zhu Xia, who had been waiting by the door for a long time, walked in and nodded respectfully after Zhu Ling whispered in his ears.
“Honored guests of the Heavenly Court, please follow me!”
The atmosphere in the room was surprisingly cordial except for the moment when Su Mo proposed the second term of the cooperation, and they had a brief tit-for-tat.
It was as if this was not their first meeting, but rather they had been allies who worked together for an extended period.
The four basin villagers, including Sun Di, were amazed and secretly admired their territory lord, that was able to turn things to his favor even in foreign territory.
As they walked to the door and completely disappeared from Zhu Ling’s field of vision, only Su Mo was aware of his completely soaked back.
‘Zhu Ling is indeed an old fox. This must be one of his baits to test us.
‘He wants to check if I’ve really dropped the idea and deliberately set up this trick to test me. It’s too bad that my target wasn’t this place!’ Su Mo thought to himself as he kept up with Zhu Xia’s footsteps with a thoughtful expression.
Although Zhu Ling was somewhat silly and fell for many of Su Mo’s traps, it did not mean that his IQ was merely decoration and was good for nothing.
The moment that Su Mo suggested only four grade D plants for the second term, Zhu Ling had been deliberately trying to set him up, using other methods to hint at the laxity of the guards in the botanical garden.
He even made it a point to tell everyone clearly that there were many opportunities for them to “steal” in the botanical garden, so go ahead!
Anyone would have easily fallen into the trap after such hints since they had storage spaces.
However, Su Mo followed after the ent, Zhu Xia, on the path back to the botanical garden. He concentrated, and his eyes did not wander anywhere else.
The other tempted villagers quickly noticed his demeanor and copied his upright attitude, following behind.
The botanical garden looked unguarded, and the various plants were happily basking in the sun.
In reality, with the help of his sixth sense, Su Mo could sense several eyes observing them. It was as if they were prepared to swarm upon them if the group were to try anything.
“You’re allowed ten minutes to look around the botanical garden.
“I’ll go pack the plants and wait for everyone at the door!”
Zhu Xia introduced them to four kinds of plants and looked meaningfully at the five very honest people. He slowly moved his body and disappeared from their sight.
The entire botanical garden was deserted in an instant.
The westward sunlight shone down, and the place seemed to give off an illusion of a foreign planet.
Sun Di cautiously glanced around to make sure no one else was there, and he stepped forward. “Shelter lord, what do we do? Should we do it?”
The other three villagers also quickly surrounded Su Mo in the middle.
“Change of plans. We’ll operate according to Plan C. Sun Di will be responsible for attracting attention, and everyone else will cover him.
“After that, it’ll be the same as the old plan. We need to buy at least 20 minutes no matter what!”
Feeling the intense gazes, Su Mo muttered in a low voice and quickly instructed the villagers.
The villagers nodded, and without waiting for Zhu Xia to return after ten minutes, they simultaneously walked toward the door.
When they arrived at the door, two gazes on them disappeared, and only one remained.
“What happened? You guys don’t want to look around anymore?”
Su Mo waved his hands. “No, it’s fine. This is the first time we’re visiting Thousand Trees King City. We want to spare some time to visit the outside of the city and appreciate the ents’ customs, so we don’t want to waste too much time here!”
Zhu Xia maintained a smile. “Oh? Okay, there are still a few things that haven’t been packed. I’ll guide you through the city first!”
15 minutes passed.
After the group left the inner city, the remaining eyes watching them finally vanished.
At that moment, Su Mo glanced around to see the crowds walking around the streets.
He wrapped his hands around his stomach and said, “Argh! My stomach hurts. Elder Zhu Xia, is there possibly a place in the outer city where I could…uh… relieve myself?”
“Relieve yourself?” Zhu Xia was confused.
“Uh, there’s this so-called thing called relieving your urgency? The lunch prepared this afternoon was too fancy. I couldn’t help myself from eating. I didn’t expect my stomach to be so grumpy. Argh, it’s so painful…”
Su Mo placed his hands on his stomach and sat his butt on the ground. His miserable groaning attracted the attention of the surrounding ents very quickly.
The crowd grew increasingly, and Zhu Xia finally figured out the meaning of his words.
“Quick, quick! You can just say you want to go to the toilet! Why bother saying it so elegantly?” Zhu Xia said hurriedly.
“Come and support him. I’ll lead the way!”
Zhu Xia took the lead, walked in front of everyone, and did not stop. He shouted at the other ents to make way, and none dared to follow after them,
After walking for about four to five minutes, everyone arrived at a slightly remote street.
Zhu Xia steppe forward and pushed open the back door of one of the stores.
“This is my shop in the city. Yes, you’ll have to make do with that place!”
Zhua Xia pointed toward the small house in the garden for tool storage.
It was similar to a dry toilet in rural areas on Earth. The small house had a gap slightly above the waist, and people outside could clearly see the interior.
Zhu Xia immediately waved his hand, dispersed the guard vines surrounding him, and turned around to promise not to peek to ease Su Mo’s embarrassment.
“Sorry for the trouble, Elder Zhu Xia!”
Su Mo rushed forward eagerly and “accidentally” stepped on the guard vines on his way. After confirming that the guard vine was temporarily disabled, Su Mo was thrilled and rushed into the toilet!
The next moment, Su Mo crouched down, and the palm-sized adventurer’s terminal slid out from his trouser pocket into his hand.
“Would you like to activate the holographic decoy projection module?”
‘Activate!’
Su Mo quickly clicked on the app and waited for the terminal to confirm the various camouflage information. Soon, the silver-white terminal began to deform and fell to the ground, emitting a faint blue light.
It took only a few seconds for a duplicate of Su Mo to appear in the position where Su Mo was squatting.
“I’m leaving it up to you!”
“Rest assured!”
The holographic decoy had a little artificial intelligence capable of imitating the user’s posture and executing some simple commands as long as the user’s information had been entered.
As long as no one came close and touched it, it would be hard to tell apart the decoy from a real person from a distance!
After everything was ready, Su Mo carefully stuck out his head to confirm his “escape” route.
Su Mo’s eyes narrowed, and his muscle tightened instantly. Then, he ran out like a cheetah.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
He used the full force of his Level 5 power, and due to the unique mechanism of the human body, Su Mo’s speed was close to a Level 6, reaching a terrifying 100 meters in 5 seconds.
By the time Zhu Xia heard the sound of the wind and heavy footsteps, Su Mo had already crossed the wall and came to a blindspot on the street.
“Huh? What was that sound?”
Zhu Xia turned around suspiciously toward the direction of the sound.
Apart from the flowers and trees that grew everywhere, he only saw Su Mo squatting in the “pit” with a constipated look on his face.
“Did I hear it wrong?”
He observed Su Mo’s painful expression a few times, and thinking back about being the one responsible for arranging the lunch, Zhu Xia quickly turned away toward the street and glanced at the group of four who were looking around them with curiosity.
“Hey, don’t run around. Not everyone in Thousand Trees King City has a good personality like us.
“Look over there. You don’t want to run into those thorn-bearing ents. You better walk around them! They have the worst temper!”
Zhu Xia used his branches to drag the four curious people to his side, and his eyes showed a trace of fear as he watched the thorny ent walk away slowly.
As the same Level 5 ents, when they were not fighting for their lives, the companion plants greatly determine an ent’s strength.
The ent that walked toward the distance wielded a mutated guard vine which was one of the best. It would be difficult for even three Level 5 ents to be his opponent.
“Ah? Is this… Mr.Thorn considered strong among the ents?
Sun Di glanced at the cautious Zhu Xia, who wore a strange expression, and after getting an affirmative nod from the latter, the four people exchanged shocked expressions.
They already knew about the complete steps of Plan C, but they still had doubts about whether Su Mo could successfully infiltrate and complete the tasks.
Zhu Xia’s confirmation made the group of four in awe of the “strength” of their shelter lord even in a foreign territory.
…
The four of them were immediately inspired and quickly rushed toward Zhu Xia.
“Elder Zhu Xia, what was the cultivation method of the fortune berries again? I don’t seem to remember clearly!”
“Elder, about the flavor spores, we actually have…”
