Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
In a villa on the outskirts of Shengjing, Zuo Lin tapped his fingers on the table rhythmically, there was a smile of surprise hanging on his lips. His slightly slender but incomparably bright fingers stared at the constantly changing data on the screen thoughtfully as he mumbled to himself, “Qin Fen!? Interesting! These youngsters, who had interest first instilled into them since childhood actually chose to oppose their families for him. How interesting! I didn’t expect Qin Fen to have such rare leadership and affection. If such a person is under my control, then in the future…”
“You… won’t have a future.”
The door was slowly pushed open as a chilling murderous intent so cold that it felt like the wind from the north pole had flooded the room. A young man, holding a scarlet lance, was standing in the dim-lit corridor! A nauseating smell of blood was wafting from the tip of the spear as bright red blood dripped down the ground along the tip of the spear.
In the darkness, a pair of youthful brown eyes flickered with inexplicable fierceness. Scorching hot true energy was erupting from his body but the energy field around him was extremely cold. He was like a lone wolf that had gone hungry for several days in the wilderness, its cold gaze alone was enough to make people shudder.
A cold killing intent swept the entire room!
Zuo Lin, who was sitting on the comfortable office chair, turning it left and right, rested his chin on his palm as he looked at the West Asian Mourad with interest. “Are you one of Qin Fen’s avid followers? I didn’t expect you to come so quickly, but what is even more surprising is the fact that you actually found me. Although I haven’t hidden my whereabouts, the fact that you found me in less than twenty hours is still a bit surprising.”
Snap! Zuo Lin snapped his finger as a bright and sunny smile spread on his lips. “You are truly amazing! Do you want to kill me for Qin Fen? What a touching friendship! But I wonder how valuable this friendship of yours is in Qin Fen’s eyes? I hope it’s very valuable…”
Zuo Lin tilted his head and thought before he said, smiling, “Although it was originally an impossible thing, now that you are here, I should give you a lesson on life at the very least. The only time something can be guaranteed in this world is when interests are involved. As for friendship? It’s the most useless, as well as the most insecure thing in this world! I have seen too many of these so-called ‘friends’. They usually shout slogans like ‘I am your brother’, they will shout for you and be moved. But when the moment to really show support comes, even if they only have to pay just a dime every day, all of them will choose to retreat! This is what friends are!”
Mourad, staring coldly at Zuo Lin, asked indifferently, “Are these your last words?”
Zuo Lin smiled as he waved his wrist lightly and said, no longer paying any attention to Mourad, “Catch him, I want him alive.”
The two statues-like martial artists standing behind Zuo Lin rushed towards Mourad, who was by the gate in unison with a shake of their figures. Fierce aurae of power dispersed the cold and sharp chill that had flooded the room when Mourad opened the door in the blink of an eye.
The aurae of three martial dao master intertwined together for a while. The ground under Zuo Lin’s feet quaked and his body shook like a willow catkin that could not bear the slightest amount of force. This left him no choice but to retreat out of the villa.
Zuo Lin was quite aware of how much damage could a fight between martial dao masters cause. He crossed his arms before his chest as he gazed at the villa which had already been reduced to rubbles, watching the fight between the three martial dao masters with an appreciative smile hanging on his face. He nodded frequently as he said to himself, “Qin Fen, I am looking forward to your next performance. Will you be act smartly and sacrifice your arm, sacrifice this young martial dao master, or would you stupidly give me some stupid excuse to come and rescue him?”
The expensive villa was reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye. Traces of a huge battle between martial dao masters could be found just about everywhere. The ground seemed to have been plowed by dozens of tractors back and forth several times.
The police were doing the cleanup and investigation work but the perpetrators had long disappeared into thin air. Everyone could only look at this amazing destructive power in admiration. The martial dao masters indeed deserved to be called as powerful war machines.
The Sacred Martial Hall’s special helicopter slowly landed over a pier in Hawaii before Qin Fen and the others filed out and looked up at the dazzling sun.
As someone who had entered the Sacred Martial Hall twice, Qin Fen no longer enjoyed the privilege of being able to take the Sacred Martial Hall’s special helicopter to travel to his desired destination. Yang Lie and the others could be considered to have been slightly implicated. They were also thrown in Hawaii, no longer to be transported.
“Where will we find Zuo Lin? Where is Zuo Lin now? Where is Mourad now?”
Everyone glanced at each other and found the same question in each other’s gaze.
Whether it was Yang Lie or Solomon, everyone was used to having the support of their families. Whether it was money or information, they never had the need to trouble themselves for it. If they want to know something, they just needed to make a phone call. As long as the family could find the information, it would be sent to them at first notice.
For instance, Zuo Lin’s location, what was his most likely position now? Before, all they needed to do was wait close by. They could wait there for Mourad before he could attack and stop him.
Yang Lie smiled bitterly. A slight wry smile also appeared on Solomon’s usual poker face. Only after they had opposed their family did they discovered that apart from their martial strength, they had only ever done only a few things on their own.
Caesar smiled. His smile wasn’t bitter but rather, he was really smiling in happiness. Everyone else was the prospective successor of their families or going to be an important pillar in the future, but he was different!
Caesar! He had truly inherited the helm of Europe’s Alexander Family. Although he may have less than twenty hours left before he was out of the leadership position, he could still mobilize the entire family resources of Alexander Family for now. It wasn’t difficult for him to investigate the general location of Zuo Lin.
At least, it could still be calculated! A general direction. Besides, he could find news regarding Mourad, not just regarding Zuo Lin.
“Dear Leader Caesar, have you come to regret the loss of the huge Alexander Family now that you contacted us? You are no longer going to continue fighting for that stupid friendship, are you?”
On the screen was Caesar’s aunt who still appeared young and beautiful. Her long blonde hair was curled up like a dowager’s. Her deep cleavage was particularly noticeable in contrast to her slightly lean figure.
“Dear aunt, my friendship isn’t stupid. As for the Alexander Family, do you think I, Caesar is on the losing end? I will become a divine beast martial artist in the future, and in a divine beast martial artist’s eyes, the Alexander Family is nothing. In fact, it’s the Alexander Family who will have lost a future divine beast martial artist and several other future divine beast martial artists just because of your stupid view of interest.”
“Hehehe…” Caesar’s aunt raised her hand to cover her mouth as she laughed like a noble; the mountains on her chest shook with her laughter. She slightly raised her chin and said, “My dear nephew, can divine beast martial artists be mass-produced? Since you didn’t call me to tell me that you are regretting your choice, why did you still contact the family?”
“Divine beasts can’t be mass-produced but they can be produced in concentration.” Caesar raised the corner of his eyebrows slightly and straightened his waist as a confident aura of power radiated from him. In Caesar’s aunt’s eyes, he suddenly grew taller. “This time I contacted because I am still the patriarch. I still have command over the family. Now, I order the family to immediately mobilize all forces to find out the whereabouts of two people. One is Zuo Lin, and the other is a West Asian soldier who had once entered the Sacred Martial Hall to train and had left the Sacred Martial Hall not too long ago, the fifteen-star martial dao master, Mourad.”
Caesar’s aunt pursed her cherry red lips into a faint smile. “Okay, my dead patriarch. We will notify you immediately once we find the news. Of course, the premise is that if you are still the patriarch of our Alexander Family.”
Suddenly, Caesar discovered that he had done something very stupid. When the entire family knew that I could not manage this family, almost all the people, who believed interest is everything, would have sided with the aunt at first notice, right? Although they could not resist the order of the current patriarch, it was still possible to delay by slacking in work.
As for the punishment of the current patriarch? Caesar smiled. After twenty-some hours, those punishments would be reduced to nothing. And those who had been punished might get a promotion due to this punishment. Today’s punishment order was the means for their future promotion.
Qin Fen smiled. They might have martial strength but their condition wasn’t any better than a blind man’s. The large forces had their various advantages, because of this relationship the Elysium and Inferno of Saturn not just have martial artists. Also because of this, a variety of talents had emerged, such as the Mysterious Daughter of Nine Skies who stayed at the foot of the mountain for a long time.
“Dragon Hall, perhaps it’s a good choice.”
Qin Fen sunk deep into his thoughts. According to Ma Juntie’s introduction, the development of the Dragon Hall was extremely rapid. Under the integration of Zhang Xiangyang, Dragon Hall was no longer purely a gathering place for martial artists but had become a gathering place for all kinds of talents.
Internet hackers, financiers, military talents, and all kinds of talents were converging to the Dragon Hall for various reasons.
A crisp ring interrupted Qin Fen’s chain of thoughts. As he started the projection screen, a young soldier wearing the ranks of colonel on his shoulder, the rising star of the army, the regimental commander, Colonel Zuo Lin appeared before his eyes.
Qin Fen, looking at Zuo Lin in the projection, had to admit that this young soldier from such a prominent family, who had a high degree of attention in the army, seemed to be in hearty spirits today as if he had encountered something to be happy about.
“Qin Fen, I wonder if you are still busy with the assessment objective.” Zuo Lin smiled as he looked at Qin Fen. “I received a gift not too long ago. After careful consideration, I found that this gift may be more suitable for you. So, I decided to give this gift to you. Are you interested?”
Zuo Lin said in a self-satisfied voice. He lightly clapped as the camera slowly turned to the corner of the room.
Mourad! His entire body was covered in blood. Dozens of wounds from blades, kicks, and punches could be found on his body. He looked tired. His arms were tied behind his back, lying on the ground flat; he was unable to move even a bit. A mottled red spear was stuck in the ground next to his neck.
The camera turned back to Zuo Lin. He spread his hands lightly on either side with a worried look, but absolute confidence and happiness were quite clear on his face. “What do you think? Lieutenant Colonel Qin Fen, are you satisfied with this gift?”
Qin Fen stared at Zuo Lin silently before asking in a calm voice, “Tell me your price.”
Zuo Lin raised his thumb. He raised the corner of his eyebrows as the smile of a winner spread on his lips. “Smart and tactful! Qin Fen, do you know, I like you more and more because of this tactfulness of yours?”
Qin Fen’s chest heaved up and down gently. He shook his head from side to side as he replied with a deadpan look. “I’m sorry, I don’t like you. Let’s talk, what’s your condition?”
Zuo Lin supported his chin with both hands, observing Qin Fen through the screen meticulously. The skill of negotiation was deep and profound. He only had one good piece in his hand. As such, he only had one chance to state his terms. If the opposite party agreed immediately after he stated his terms, then the price he stated was too low. He might have benefited but it also meant that the negotiations had failed.
And if the asking price was too high, he would be severely rejected. Zuo Lin would have felt that he had lost his computing power. He needed to state the price that would exceed Qin Fen’s bottom line but would not cause Qin Fen to break the negotiation. He must make sure that the opposite party could talk back, leading to a bargaining situation so that he could really touch the bottom line of the other party a little bit. And only after knowing where it lied could he obtain the greatest benefit.
Negotiation was another kind of battle. A clever negotiator could completely subdue an uncooperative opponent on the negotiating table, turning the opponent into his own subordinate, reaching the highest level of a soldier who could make others yield without even fighting.
What was Qin Fen’s bottom line? Zuo Lin didn’t dare to be too sure. Martial dao masters usually had glory and dignity of their own. I can only wear him down bit by bit using various means before he can be my subordinate finally! If I directly ask him to pay allegiance to me, I’m afraid Qin Fen will immediately break the negotiation and sacrifice Mourad.
Will Mourad be sacrificed? Zuo Lin’s heart ached a little bit. Mourad had come to kill me but if I kill him according to the norms, although the Mourad Family might not say anything on the surface, there will still be some dissatisfaction.
The art of negotiation was to force the opposite part to make a deal when he could no longer retreat. It would be foolish to still compare if one had already been forced to the end of the rope.
Today, the families of various continents had issued orders to their respective descendants. It wasn’t just a simple exchange of interest. The major families were driven by Saturn’s huge benefits. They were forced to choose a side so that they could understand that it was foolish to think of riding on the two boats at the same time.
The families of various continents were well aware of Zuo Lin’s personality. If they rode two boats, after Zuo Lin had won with absolute advantage, he would settle accounts after the fall of Saturn for sure. By that time, he would have them by their throats. They would suffer huge losses.
Killing Mourad might really touch the interest of the West Asian Mourad Family. Smart people did not arbitrarily set up unnecessary opponents for themselves.
As for Qin Fen? Zuo Lin never considered him a real opponent. Qin Fen is just a wild horse with an extremely wild personality. He is just difficult to tame, that’s all.
Qin Fen’s face remained expressionless. Zuo Lin knitted his brow tighter. From the beginning to the end, he was unable to see through this young martial dao master. Everything that looked okay before the call had turned unsuccessful at this moment. He quickly made various possible calculations in his head. Finally, he slowly stretched out his finger, giving the impression that he had the pearl of wisdom in his hand. “If you want Mourad to live, then, you need to withdraw from the military’s current Saturn campaign.”
“Done!”
Qin Fen stared at Zuo Lin. There was no hesitation in his discourse. Qin Fen’s speed of answer startled Zuo Lin. At the corner of the screen, Mourad, who was lying on the ground flat, had his eyes flicker with a sense of loss; a stunned look even appeared on the face of the martial dao master who was suppressing him.
This answer was too unexpected and too quick. The martial dao master suppressing Mourad even suspected that Qin Fen was lying but when he looked at Qin Fen’s firm gaze that could pierce through the iron itself, it was quite clear that he meant what he said.
Zuo Lin felt his jaw drop a bit; he almost looked at Qin Fen with his mouth open, tongue-tied. This was the condition he had proposed after much thinking.
How great were the benefits of Saturn? Zuo Lin believed that as a martial dao master, Qin Fen was well aware of it. As such, he didn’t propose this condition with the intent of Qin Fen accepting this condition.
Zuo Lin thought about it for a long time. A young martial dao master like Mourad was indeed very valuable but compared to the benefits of Saturn, a martial dao master was still insignificant!
If Zuo Lin was standing in the same position, Zuo Lin believed that his reply would be as resolute as Qin Fen’s but it would be just the opposite.
Zuo Lin had not planned on Qin Fen accepting this condition, rather, he wanted to use this condition as the basis for negotiations. Even if Qin Fen did not give up the right to compete in the end, he could’ve still competed for greater benefits in other aspects.
Of course, the reason why Zuo Lin kept Mourad by his side and let him watch this negotiation was to let him hear Qin Fen’s firm and immediate refusal to this condition in order to give a blow to Mourad’s thoughts and let him be disappointed with Qin Fen. Then, he would resort to other tricks to take this Mourad as his underling.
Mourad was a young martial dao master! Just this fact alone made him very valuable in Zuo Lin’s opinion. At this moment, he was planning on using Qin Fen’s refusal to make him fall into despair and sorrow, which would make him fragile, like a person who didn’t know how to swim but had fallen in the river. As such, even if it was just a straw, he would desperately try to grab it, turning him into his most loyal subordinate from now on!
Mourad wasn’t alone! Zuo Lin believed that as long as he took Mourad under him, he would not be on the opposing side of his family. A martial dao master admitting his mistake and returning to the family… the family would naturally welcome him with open hands.
Zuo Lin had made a good long calculation after Mourad joined him; he would focus on training him so that he could inherit the Mourad Family. By then, the West Asian Mourad family would become his vassal; the alliance of interests would be much stronger.
Zuo Lin looked at Qin Fen in perplexity. I have calculated everything one by one. First, I will subdue Mourad using the refusal. Then, he will negotiate to occupy more advantages and prepare to take Qin Fen under him in the future.
But… Zuo Lin felt that Qin Fen’s refusal was extremely absurd. He even wanted to laugh but before his facial muscles could show a smile on his face, he lost the urge to laugh because this reply really wasn’t funny! Although he had obtained great benefits from negotiation, Qin Fen’s refusal was beyond his expectations. He could not help but wonder if Qin Fen was just being impulsive or if he was lacking in the brains department.
Suddenly, Zuo Lin felt a little angry. He hated the fact that all the feeling of having everything in his control, even the future, had been suddenly destroyed. He hated that new problem had created a problem in his plan to subdue Mourad. But what he hated more was Qin Fen’s way of thinking that violated the maximization of interest.
If he was in Qin Fen’s position, Zuo Lin believed that after he had refused, he would have narrated a long story filled with passion to move the captured Mourad so that Mourad would feel that he was a hero destined for greater things!
Zuo Lin even calculated this in advance. After Qin Fen had really refused, he would make a heroic speech filled with passion and side with Mourad to get an explanation. Then, he would throw in another prepared speech to embarrass Qin Fen even more. Listening to which, even the other family descendants around Qin Fen would be colder to Qin Fen.
But Qin Fen’s reply was too different. As long as one knew how to weigh the benefits slightly, he would know that choosing to refuse was the smartest way to maximize benefits.
There wasn’t even a shred of hesitation! Zuo Lin thought in his heart. If there were even three to five seconds of hesitation, I have had the confidence to use my unparalleled eloquence to cause Mourad to detest you. Even if I could subdue Mourad immediately, I would have buried a seed in his heart.
Qin Fen coldly stared at the slightly stunned Zuo Lin before he shifted his gaze to the injured and suppressed Mourad. Finally, he said calmly, “Let him go.”
Let him go! Zuo Lin furrowed his brow. The condition I just proposed seemed to be wrong. Qin Fen’s bottom line is beyond ordinary people’s imagination. Now, If I continue to propose conditions, I think I can get more benefits. Only…
Zuo Lin hesitated. He lightly tapped his fingers on the table. As someone from the upper strata, he had to be a man of his word. Especially if he wanted to subdue Qin Fen. At least at this moment, he must show enough credibility. If he didn’t even have this kind of bearing, Qin Fen would not work hard for him even if he received Qin Fen in the future.
Let him go immediately? Zuo Lin was very reluctant. Although he was confident that he could take Qin Fen in as his subordinate in the future, the opportunity before him was once in a blue moon chance. All he needed to do was continue to propose terms and he would be able to increase his benefits with a hundred percent guarantee. The only downside was that it was somewhat cheating.
Zuo Lin knew very well that none of the people present were fools. Just now anyone could tell that it was already unfair to Qin Fen. And they could tell that the condition was just for exchange for Mourad. If he added any extra conditions, everyone would be able to tell that Zuo Lin was cheating.
“Ke…Ke…”
Zuo Lin raised his hand and put a fist in front of his lips as he coughed forcefully a few times to conceal his mischief. Then, he lowered his high-pitch voice slightly and said, “Very well, then we can talk about the second condition.”
