Chapter 521: with translation of chapter title

Old Ao Di's gaze sank: "Is it my imagination, madam? Your tone of voice… is quite different from just now."

"One must set a good example before juniors. In negotiations, speaking without restraint is hardly a good habit, isn't it?" Emerald Lady said lightly, "Now we can speak openly through the skylight. Do you believe it, Ao Di? In the past ten amber ages, you are not the only one who has experienced the changes of the cosmic market as a 【merchant】."

"Interesting… hehehe, this is getting interesting. Speaking openly through the skylight, excellent! I love openness and transparency. Come on, tell me where you want to place this move."

"How unfortunate, my habit is to move the general first, then place the piece. Let me state the conclusion: first, your plan cannot be realized. Pinokangni has absolutely no possibility of bypassing the company's public offering."

"Second, you cannot stop the company from entering Pinokangni. We have plenty of time and methods; we will find a suitable breach, tear it open bit by bit, then fill it, letting the Asdena star system become familiar again with the company's tactics."

The Emerald Lady leaned forward slightly; at this point, the corner of her lips still retained a hint of icy curvature, but her eyes held no smile, only an unfathomable weighing and a near‑cruel scrutiny.

Just as a venomous snake has already coiled around its prey, she need only tighten her body, tighten it further… until strangulation.

"I will return your words in full. To preserve your dignity and so you do not become a target at the formal talks—you had better abandon that fantastical plan."

——

Blessings upon a beautiful world.

Good, good handsome——!!

Such a domineering attitude, controlling everything in one's palm, beyond question! This lady!! Please be sure to look at me with those icy eyes!

Dackness glanced at the Emerald Lady once, and she nearly couldn't stand; her wine glass clanged to the floor, her cheeks instantly flushed visibly, and her breathing began to quicken.

"You jerk, pay a little attention to the occasion…" Ando leaned back with a look of disgust, moving a bit away from Dackness.

"Dackness is probably already imagining this lady whipping her, right?"

"Ah… of course! Don't you think she's really suited to wield a whip?!" Dackness gazed dreamily at the Emerald Lady, blazing with power on the sky screen—dangerous, elegant, charming, handsome—it's hard to imagine these four elements coexisting in one person… it's exactly to her taste!

In short, please lash out without mercy——mmm!!

Before she could finish speaking, Ando reached out and covered her mouth to stop her from uttering more lascivious remarks.

"But Ando, is it really okay for her to go all out against Old Ao Di?" Aqua withdrew her gaze from the sky screen, somewhat worried: "Turning against the family isn't exactly a good strategy, is it?"

"No, we must clash with him." Megumin gently set down her juice‑filled cup, "Old Ao Di speaks without restraint; from the start he never intended to negotiate calmly with you. If we don't hit him hard, he'll think the company has no temper—I support the Emerald Lady on this. People like him only get worse if you don't give them a blunt blow, that's how businessmen are."

——

"Hehehahaha! Interesting, truly too interesting!" Old Ao Di burst into hearty laughter, as if it were rare to meet an opponent daring to oppose him head‑on, "You woman wearing a mask, your tone is not small! Today I'll see what cards you're holding."

"Don't forget, Mr. Ao Di, the company controls the largest‑scale interstellar publicity platform. Over half of the universal news network is our mouthpiece. The instant you broadcast the news of Pinokangni's public offering, tens of billions of users will simultaneously receive such a push——"

The Emerald Lady slowly lifted her gaze, eyes like a venomous snake flicking its tongue: "The family's protection of Pinokangni has already failed; an accident in a dream could lead to permanent brain death."

After speaking, the Emerald Lady chuckled lightly: "Guess how many ways the company can, relying solely on this news, devalue the alfalfa coin to nothing within twenty‑four system‑hours while the whole galaxy watches Pinokangni."

A bead of cold sweat slid from Old Ao Di's forehead, as if an invisible pressure prompted him to unconsciously adjust his posture, adopting a more formal, solemn bearing toward the unmoving woman before him.

Do you think you can do it?

"My whip is long enough that even in Bei'erbo Yinte I could easily choke your neck." The Emerald Lady said calmly.

——

Fatezero.

"Hiss…… this, this is about directly strangling the opponent's livelihood! Not only a commercial strike, but also utterly destroying them in public opinion and reputation…… the Emerald Lady is ruthless……"

Inside a cramped dwelling in Fuyuki City, Weber and Rider were watching the negotiation unfolding on the sky screen; seeing the clash between Mr. Ao Di and the Emerald Lady reach white‑hot intensity, Weber even felt the surrounding air begin to heat up.

Rider sat cross‑legged on the floor, gulping down cheap beer, his rugged brows knotted tight; his huge hand slapped his thigh in dissatisfaction, emitting a dull thud: "Boring! Really unpleasant!"

"Huh? What's wrong, Rider?"

"The company is far too indecisive. Want something? Just seize it! Spot a piece of land? Gallop across it, conquer with sword and spear—that's the way of a king! Chit‑chatting at a tiny negotiation table is simply dull. With so many fleets, why not just steamroll Pinokangni and be done with it?"

"Hey! How is that okay, Rider? Where did you toss the 'peace' in the Interstellar Peace Company? Precisely because they are the 【Preservation】 Krippet faction, they must not readily resort to force! If they casually blast worlds that defy them into fragments with annihilation starships, what would other worlds reliant on the company's credit system think?"

Weber couldn't help shouting back, but facing the towering Rider, his long‑standing lack of confidence still made his voice tremble.

"So, therefore…… we must use means within the rules! Apply economic pressure, isolate via public opinion, so that the opponent 'reasonably' collapses or submits under the rules we set! That way the company achieves its goal while outwardly preserving the dignity and image of 【Preservation】."