Chapter 579

"They can communicate through language and are also afraid of bullets; they pose no threat to us."

Seeing Ni Yongyao naturally knew that these merfolk were unarmed and didn't have any weapons of mass destruction. Facing guns and ammunition, they would only be slaughtered. Even if they could control the ocean, that ability was negligible and couldn't exert much effect.

So even if Seeing Ni Yongyao didn't bring guns, he could solve these merfolk with his bare hands on land, let alone if they went there with guns and ammunition with great fanfare; these merfolk would surely scatter in a panic.

He was going there to recruit and negotiate, not to slaughter the merfolk; that wouldn't have much value.

Upon hearing this, Fire Fox heard that Mr. Ni knew the merfolk very well and nodded:

"I understand, Mr. Ni. However, I will prepare a group of bodyguards. If you encounter any safety issues, I will arrange for these bodyguards to move out immediately."

Seeing Ni Yongyao smiled: "Good, you arrange it. Tomorrow morning, we will head to the merfolk island."

Delay leads to changes; who knew if these merfolk would move to another place? If he ended up empty-handed, trying to find traces of the merfolk again would undoubtedly be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

It could only be said that Li Ruolan's luck was indeed good; otherwise, humans wouldn't have only heard legends for hundreds of years. Even those who had truly seen merfolk would only think they were hallucinating, which showed how well these merfolk hid.

Seeing Ni Yongyao was very interested in the merfolk squad, and he also had enough chips to persuade the merfolk. If these merfolk didn't agree, Seeing Ni Yongyao would also take coercive measures.

Soon, the next day, over a dozen speedboats from Hong Kong headed to the uninhabited island. This time, he did not let anyone carry firearms. The merfolk gathering place was right here, and it was easy to find.

But these situations had long been discovered by the merfolk, who hurried back to the tribe to report.

On the uninhabited island, an aged figure was listening to the report here. Although it was simple, one could see traces of life. Many merfolk stayed in the seawater, but there were also some houses built with templates around.

Merfolk themselves could also live on land for a period of time. These merfolk's own lives and language were actually influenced by the nearby culture, and their language communication was also the language of Hong Kong.

One young merfolk had a terrified expression: "Chieftain, we discovered a batch of speedboats approaching our island. It is very likely that humans have discovered our traces."

Merfolk turned pale at the mention of humans. Their numbers were scarce, and because of severe environmental destruction, they could no longer live in the deep sea. If they appeared in front of humans, they would surely become specimens; there was simply no possibility of negotiation.

Most humans would show greed toward merfolk; whether as exhibits or for other value, merfolk could allow ordinary people to obtain huge wealth, which was why they wouldn't reveal themselves.

The old man called the Chieftain coughed; her name was Gu Lai, and she sighed:

"We have nowhere left to go. This is our last home. I hope they haven't discovered us, but we must also prepare for the tribespeople to be ready to leave at any time."

Gu Lai's expression was helpless; she didn't know how many times their tribe had moved. Time and again, they had migrated culturally, and they had also tried to understand human culture; in the end, they were originally one kind of race.

But they were too scarce. Now, if their last refuge was discovered, they had nowhere else to go.

Other merfolk nodded upon hearing this. They also had old and young, but the total number of merfolk did not exceed a hundred; they were already a huge tribe.

It was already too late to leave now; they could only hope the tribe wouldn't be discovered. Gu Lai's expression was helpless; hiding like this wasn't a solution either. They didn't know when they would be able to gain human understanding.

Moreover, this assassination was also because of the development of the Qingluo Bay project. They naturally knew Li Ruolan was the person in charge this time, but there was a larger enterprise behind her.

When their assassination failed, they thought of the possibility that their refuge had been discovered, but they just wanted to harbor a fluke and were unwilling to leave here.

After Seeing Ni Yongyao arrived at the uninhabited island, he scanned his surroundings and waved his hand: "Fire Fox, you just follow me. The others guard outside the island; no need to provoke these merfolk."

Although Fire Fox was worried about Seeing Ni Yongyao's safety, Mr. Ni hadn't brought many people, so it should be a sure thing: "Yes, Mr. Ni."

After speaking, Fire Fox arranged for these bodyguards to be distributed around the island. However, from the surface, there was nothing different here, but Seeing Ni Yongyao knew that there was more to it than met the eye inside.

Seeing Ni Yongyao took Fire Fox and soon passed through a cave. This huge cave was actually connected to the ocean, and there were many buildings built on the water surface inside.

There was also a stranded large ship inside. These buildings were built using waste materials, and there were even some televisions and other products inside. There were traces of life, and it didn't look like an abandoned place.

It was just that it was terrifyingly quiet here, and there wasn't much sound, but the more it was like this, the more worried Fire Fox became, and a look of vigilance appeared on her face.

Seeing Ni Yongyao, however, was unhurried and said: "I am Seeing Ni Yongyao, the person in charge of this Qingluo Bay project. I want to talk to you."

"Since I know this is the gathering place of the merfolk and I didn't bring weapons, it is enough to express my sincerity."

Seeing Ni Yongyao narrowed his eyes, looking at the calm sea, not in a hurry at all. The merfolk were surely observing them from the shadows to see if he posed a threat.

Moreover, the Qingluo Bay project had destroyed the living space of these merfolk. He laid his cards on the table and paused again:

"As for your assassination plan, it only treats the symptoms but not the root cause. Even if the person in charge of the Qingluo Bay project dies, there will be another person to develop this place. Your exposure is destined."

"And as the person in charge of the Qingluo Bay development, I can completely control the land reclamation plan."

Seeing Ni Yongyao knew what these merfolk needed and could completely use it as a negotiation condition.

As soon as the words fell, a merfolk suddenly leaped out of the water, and subsequently, many merfolk appeared from the sea surface, only revealing their heads, looking at Seeing Ni Yongyao with vigilance.

If there was anything wrong, they would flee quickly.

At this time, Gu Lai sighed and came to the shore, revealing her half-human, half-fish body:

"I am the Chieftain of the merfolk. I don't know how Mr. Ni wants to talk?"

"Chieftain."

Some young merfolk wanted to dissuade her; they were truly afraid of being used. If they could cooperate with humans, they would have done so long ago, but more people cared about the value of the merfolk themselves and did not respect their individuality.

Most people wanted to catch them and exhibit them in museums or turn them into specimens, which was also the reason why merfolk feared humans.

Fire Fox subconsciously took a step back when she saw these merfolk; the unknown would bring fear, but following Mr. Ni, she didn't want to make a fool of herself, but she hadn't expected that merfolk would truly appear.

This was not a legendary creature, but one that truly appeared in front of them.

Seeing Ni Yongyao narrowed his eyes; sure enough, merfolk could communicate, and subsequently, he stated his conditions:

"I hope to cooperate with you. I will provide conditions to ensure your safety and survival, including all kinds of things you need, which our Ni family will provide."

"We will continue to develop the Qingluo Bay project, but it will not affect the survival of you merfolk, including helping you if your merfolk tribe encounters difficulties in the future."

Seeing Ni Yongyao knew that merfolk were nothing more than a survival issue. The entire Hong Kong was under his control, and basically, no one would discover the traces of these merfolk.

Gu Lai was also somewhat tempted, but there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world: "The conditions Mr. Ni offered indeed make us unable to refuse, but I have one condition: we merfolk must absolutely not appear in the public eye."

"If our identity is exposed, even Mr. Ni would not be able to protect us."

There were too many wealthy merchants around the world coveting merfolk, and their lifespan was much longer than ordinary humans; many people felt that merfolk had too much value.

If exposed to the public eye, it would be the destruction of a tribe. Gu Lai had no choice, because they had already been discovered by Seeing Ni Yongyao.

Seeing Ni Yongyao knew the attractiveness of merfolk; it was even very likely that they would be snatched by the power of a nation.

"Confidentiality work will be done properly, but I need you merfolk to help me do things."

Gu Lai, on the contrary, breathed a sigh of relief. Since Seeing Ni Yongyao had requirements, he was indeed sincerely negotiating conditions with them. If there were no conditions to do so much for their merfolk, they would instead have to suspect Seeing Ni Yongyao's purpose.

"Mr. Ni, as long as it is within our capability, we will agree, but I hope these conditions will not harm our tribe."

Gu Lai also had conditions. Their merfolk's own living environment was becoming increasingly difficult, and sooner or later, they would have to come into contact with humans. Reaching a treaty with Seeing Ni Yongyao now was not bad.

Seeing Ni Yongyao smiled: "Actually, I hope to establish a merfolk squad responsible for helping me handle some things. Of course, these things are very likely to expose you merfolk."

"But I do things very steadily; without absolute certainty, I won't expose your identity. At the same time, I need merfolk blood and scales for scientific research. Of course, this is equivalent to giving you a physical examination."

Seeing Ni Yongyao knew the value of merfolk themselves and was very likely to find new scientific technology from them.

Gu Lai pondered for a moment and felt that Seeing Ni Yongyao was not excessive and respected their needs. They also understood their own value; this cost was nothing, and it didn't sacrifice any individual merfolk.

"Good, Mr. Ni. We are willing to cooperate with Mr. Ni. Of course, Mr. Ni must fulfill the treaty in advance. We merfolk also have old and young and need a new environment to be taken care of."

Seeing Ni Yongyao smiled slightly. It seemed the negotiation with the merfolk went very smoothly. Mainly, Gu Lai also wanted to come into contact with humans. After their assassination failed, they knew that the merfolk would be exposed.

If the matter blew up, their entire tribe would be destroyed, so they needed a powerful force to cooperate with them, and the Ni family was the best choice.

"Fire Fox, afterwards you arrange the handover with the merfolk, provide the environment, and satisfy all their requirements, including shutting down the surrounding sonar devices, as these will cause harm to the merfolk."

Their land reclamation naturally also used sonar devices to expel other marine life, but these sonars would cause irreversible effects on the merfolk.

Fire Fox agreed immediately: "Yes, Mr. Ni."

She also hadn't expected to reach a cooperation with the merfolk race. If it weren't for them being half-human and half-fish, Fire Fox would have really thought these merfolk were no different from ordinary humans.

Seeing Ni Yongyao waved his hand and said: "Since I have also given the merfolk enough sincerity, it just so happens that there is a task that needs you to complete."

Gu Lai did not refuse, because it was too difficult to find such a partner.

"Good, we merfolk will prove our value."

Seven days later, in international waters, a Portuguese warship slowly sailed over, still some distance from Haojiang. Admiral Sanchez was in charge of this punitive mission.

However, the mainland was no longer something they could manipulate at will. Even if they sent a warship, there would be at most one; otherwise, if they came with great fanfare, their opponent wouldn't be the bandits of Haojiang but the warships sent by the mainland.

The mainland side would absolutely not allow a large number of warships to approach their port. Even if Haojiang was a leased area, the mainland wouldn't agree. Portugal finally negotiated with the mainland, and there could only be one.

And on this warship, there were nearly two hundred fully armed soldiers; solving a dozen bandits was not an easy task.

Sanchez was sipping fine wine on the ship's deck, his heart already drifting to Haojiang. That was a place paved with gold; once the bandits were solved, they could make a fortune.

"Amaral is truly a fool, actually being taken out by a group of low-class petty thieves."

Sanchez's mouth curled into a sneer. Once their army occupied Haojiang, they could bring back a lot of wealth. Just as he was fantasizing, he didn't know that several figures had already appeared silently under the sea surface.

These merfolk looked at each other, their hands already prepared with special bombs, as well as weapons specifically for underwater use. Although there were only a dozen of them, the sea was their world.

This warship didn't discover the figures of these merfolk at all. Soon, the entire ship's hull was fitted with time bombs, silently; no one discovered such an abnormality.

PS: Begging the masters to cast some flowers, evaluation tickets, and monthly tickets!... Qi.