Chapter 135: What's being traded isn't technology, but your future

Mr. Xu!

President Wil suppressed the frustration in his chest, leaned his body slightly forward, and spoke urgently.

We don't need a finished ship! We need an entire industrial system, technology transfer! Only then can we build our own space defense force!

The members of his delegation behind him also nodded eagerly, their eyes filled with longing for technology.

What they want is the ability to produce such spacecraft themselves!

In the conference room, everyone's gaze focused on Brother Xu, the atmosphere tense to the extreme.

Only a hint of just-right embarrassment appeared on Brother Xu's face.

He let out a soft sigh, as if making an extremely difficult decision.

"Technology transfer..." he said slowly, his voice full of regret.

"Ladies and gentlemen presidents, this really puts us in a difficult position. These technologies are the fruits of countless scientists working day and night, pouring their hearts and souls into research; they are the foundation of our nation."

He glanced around, looking at the anxious faces opposite, then shifted his tone.

"In principle, these core technologies absolutely cannot be shared with any country."

Upon hearing this, the hearts of President Wil and the others sank instantly.

"Well..."

Brother Xu's face again showed his signature smile: "Considering we are all members of the Blue Star civilization and will have to face unknown threats from deep space together, there is still some room for negotiation."

The flame of hope ignited once again in the hearts of the Western delegation!

"We can make an exception and open a channel for partial technology transfer to you all. However..."

Brother Xu lightly tapped his index finger on the tabletop; though soft, it struck each person's heart like a heavy hammer.

"This price will be extremely, extremely high."

His expression of "I'm doing this entirely for your benefit" and "I'm under tremendous pressure to help you secure this."

to Wil and the others seemed more hateful than a devil's grin, yet left them unable to rebut.

"We are willing to pay the price!" President Wil declared without hesitation.

"Excellent!"

Brother Xu nodded satisfied, then produced a tablet, lightly tapped the screen, and pushed it to the center of the conference table, facing President Wil.

"If that's the case, please take a look at this before deciding; whether you agree or not is up to your own choice."

President Wil eagerly lifted the tablet to his eyes, his gaze falling on the screen.

At just a glance, his breath caught, the hand gripping the tablet began to tremble uncontrollably.

The officials beside him and other national presidents leaned in; when they saw the content clearly, each person's complexion.

instantly turned ashen, devoid of any color.

What was listed there, just like before, was not any monetary figure!

It was a list!

A list so shocking it could make any nation's high-ranking officials collapse on the spot—a blatant extortion list!

【1】 Your country must provide us with pure rare-metal products at 99.9% purity, including but not limited to scandium, iridium, ruthenium… the total amount shall not be less than seventy percent of your current strategic reserves.

【2】 Your country must hand over all of its currently deployed and under-development military technologies, packaged and transferred to us.

【3】 Open all of your country's military bases worldwide to us for a three‑month 'friendly exchange and learning' program.

……

Item after item, dense and numerous, shocking to behold!

What kind of trade list is this?

This is clearly a document that forces every nation to chop off its own hands and feet, abolish its own martial prowess, then personally tear out its own heart and present it respectfully—a surrender deed!

"This… this is extortion! This is robbery!"

A military representative from one nation could no longer stay composed, letting out a hoarse roar.

President Wil's face was no longer ashen but turned a dark, bluish‑black.

He felt his heart being clenched tightly, making even breathing extremely difficult.

He jerked his head up, glaring fiercely at Brother Xu, his teeth grinding together.

However, Brother Xu seemed not to notice his murderous expression, and didn't even bother to glance his way.

He smiled, turning his gaze toward the other side, where the OZ Alliance delegation sat upright.

"Of course, considering our long‑standing friendship with the OZ Alliance, if you are interested in cooperation..."

Brother Xu's smile became even more "sincere."

"Based on this list, we can offer you a fifteen‑percent discount as a friendly price."

Boom!

"That sentence, like a detonated bomb, instantly shattered the fragile alliance within the Western delegation!"

"What?"

"A fifteen‑percent discount?"

The OZ Alliance representatives first stared in surprise, then their eyes flashed with complex emotions.

They instinctively glanced at President Wil beside them, their eyes filled with suspicion, wavering, and a hint of… secret delight.

Meanwhile, the Eagle‑Sauce nation's representatives instantly felt a stab in the back from their 'ally'—a chilling sense of isolation shooting from their feet to the tops of their heads.

Brilliant! Simply brilliant!

This move of divide‑and‑conquer is practically a textbook‑level stratagem!

The immense pressure, like Mount Tai pressing down, converged entirely upon President Wil alone.

He could feel the scorching gazes of those European 'allies' behind him, and could imagine what would happen if he refused,

These so-called allies would without hesitation sell him out to grab that "85% discount" slot.

He slowly closed his eyes, veins bulging on his forehead.

After a long silence, he mustered all his strength and squeezed out a single word from between his teeth.

"Sign!"

Thus, a world‑watched signing ceremony was formally held in the capital of Yanhuang Guo under the global live‑broadcast cameras.

President Wil sat expressionlessly before the table, picked up the pen that felt as heavy as a thousand jin, and signed his name on the agreement.

At the moment he set down the pen, countless flashbulbs blazed, recording this historic moment.

In the camera's view, Wil seemed to have been instantly drained of all vigor, slumping limp in his chair, his gaze vacant, like a walking corpse.

The whole world witnessed this scene.

It witnessed how the former era's world hegemon personally bowed his proud head, which had been held high for over a century.

It witnessed how it personally handed over the scepter symbolizing world power into the hands of the new king.

After he finished signing, the presidents of the other countries likewise signed their names.

If we don't seize this opportunity now, we will only be left farther and farther behind.

It's still that old saying: 【As long as the green hills remain, there's no fear of running out of firewood.】

Qin Hao, Luo Luo, and Zhang Yunfeng, among others, silently watched that humiliating scene on the screen.

"We must give them a weakened version of our technology; our aim is not to let them have self‑defense capability, but to completely control them."

Qin Hao suddenly spoke, breaking the silence,

His tone was calm, yet his words chilled the air.

"The technology we give them must be at least two generations behind what we use ourselves; moreover, we must plant our highest‑level backdoor in the core control system of every exported device."

"What they trade for at great cost is not a hope of rebirth, but a chain that we can tighten at any time, dooming them to eternal ruin!"

"Rest assured on this point—the higher-ups have already arranged it; we know exactly what we're doing."

Luo Luo and the others all broke into smiles.

Just a short week after the meeting ended,

Through these agreements, Yanhuang Guo virtually without firing a shot acquired massive strategic resources more than enough to sustain decades of high‑speed development,

and the entirety of the military‑technology archives that the developed nations of the old era had painstakingly accumulated over a century.