Chapter 130: Stepping into a Pit

Lu Chen examined the contract in detail; every clause was extremely clear, with absolutely no ambiguous wording.

After signing the contract, he then took out a Silver Coin and placed it on the coffee table.

He returned to his room.

Only then did he let out a soft sigh.

Now he finally realized just how deep the waters behind the Neutral Tavern really were.

But he also saw their essence clearly: it was reputation, the extreme maintenance of their own reputation.

This was also the point that made one have no choice but to believe in them.

After a night of rest, Lu Chen finally returned to the Zhuangyuan.

"Sir, construction at the site has resumed." This book was first published on Tian Tian Kan Novels; go to ttk. tw for the most complete collection, providing you with an error-free and orderly reading experience.

Manager Wang opened the car door and, after Lu Chen stepped out, quickly began to report.

"Also, Professor Li has invited you for tea."

Lu Chen nodded slightly, returned to the house to take a shower, and changed into a new suit.

"Let's go, let's go sit with Professor Li."

Lu Chen spoke softly to Manager Wang.

Although he had rested very well last night, it was ultimately not his own territory, so Lu Chen naturally did not feel entirely at ease.

However, the Neutral Tavern's design was indeed excellent.

And only after staying there himself did Lu Chen feel that his previous thoughts had indeed been too simple.

Such complex underground engineering was truly not something his own team could handle.

Just from the distance between the auction room and the room, how to hide, how to move—Lu Chen actually had some sense of it, but the construction was truly not something he could manage.

Lu Chen looked somewhat blankly at the busy people outside the car window and sighed softly.

If not for experiencing it firsthand, who could have imagined that beneath Xianggang there was actually a massive physical empire?

After the vehicle stopped at the entrance of the Zhuangyuan, Lu Chen shook his head to cast the complicated matters to the back of his mind, then straightened his suit before getting out.

He walked all the way to the reception hall.

"Little Lu is here."

Professor Li was sitting on the sofa, smoking a Cigar; seeing Lu Chen, he reached out and tapped the sofa beside him.

A hint of a smile was on his face.

"Uncle Li, what is the matter that you called me over for?"

Lu Chen had a look of confusion on his face, but he still sat honestly on the sofa and casually picked up a Cigar to preheat it.

"It's just that I haven't looked for you in a long time; have you had any difficulties lately?"

Professor Li glanced at Lu Chen, took a puff of his Cigar, poured a cup of clear tea, and pushed it toward Lu Chen.

"I heard you've made contact with the Neutral Tavern; you need to be more careful regarding matters there, don't get too deeply involved."

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, took a puff of his Cigar, and after several minutes, he finally looked up at Professor Li and asked softly.

"Uncle Li, I find the transactions at the Neutral Tavern to be quite fair."

"Fair, it is indeed very fair, they might even be taking a loss, but your core technology, and even your influence, are being silently infiltrated by the Neutral Tavern."

Professor Li smoked his Cigar and spoke softly.

"I don't know what agreement you reached with them, but the more you use them, the greater the harm to yourself."

Lu Chen looked at Professor Li with some surprise, took a deep drag of his Cigar, and after a long while, spoke softly.

"There are pros and cons, aren't there?"

"If one can utilize it to rise quickly, that is also a good thing."

After a few minutes, Lu Chen added a few more sentences.

"But excessive reliance becomes poison. Thank you for the reminder."

"Just keep a firm grasp on it yourself; your core competitiveness must remain in your own hands. As for other projects, the Neutral Tavern is still quite decent."

Professor Li nodded with satisfaction, then spoke softly.

"It was right of you to send Tingting over the first moment your Zhuangyuan was attacked, but as for the subsequent events, I only knew you went to the Neutral Tavern to resolve things."

"I was indeed targeted by Saiyang, and going to the Neutral Tavern was to resolve this matter."

Lu Chen thought for a moment and decided to speak directly.

"There is more to it; I wanted to obtain the Neutral Tavern's underground construction technology, so I cooperated with them using a pharmaceutical technology document, and I also won the bid for the No. 9 Shipping Document."

Professor Li was stunned for a moment; even his hand holding the Cigar paused for a while. After a long time, he looked at Lu Chen deeply.

"Tell me about the medicine; I recall you don't have any investments in pharmaceuticals, right?"

After saying this, he took a deep drag of his Cigar and then added a sentence.

"Regarding medicine, it is best not to cooperate with the Neutral Tavern. If you can cultivate your own team to conduct research, that would be best."

"Medicine for treating that aspect—well, like you need, Uncle."

Lu Chen felt a bit awkward, and after a good while, he spoke hesitantly.

"The Neutral Tavern only wants to obtain the formula for their own use; they don't want any of the sales channels or profits."

Professor Li glared at Lu Chen.

"You little thing, you dare to tease me."

He sighed, looked at Lu Chen's somewhat constrained smile, and sighed again.

"Once the Neutral Tavern gets the core formula, it can't really be kept secret. Fortunately, they will protect your interests, but who knows if the Neutral Tavern might get involved in the fray because of some incident?"

Professor Li sighed earnestly.

He then continued to explain.

"Every collaborator is like you, but no one is certain whether the Neutral Tavern will flip the table; once you share your core technology with the Neutral Tavern, it is equivalent to handing them a handle to use against you."

Lu Chen's expression turned grave in an instant, and he nodded slowly.

"You cannot trust them as you would your own people; the core formula is in your hands, so you can naturally control it, but once there is a backup, is it still yours?"

Professor Li looked at Lu Chen, then sighed softly.

"As long as someone else has mastered your core formula, even if the other party promises not to use it, it is no longer under your control."

"It has already been exchanged."

A bitter smile appeared on Lu Chen's face.

But he kept what Professor Li had said in his heart.

Fortunately, it was only the Blue Little Pill, just a product with relatively high profits, and it would not have any fatal impact on Lu Chen.

Even if the Neutral Tavern wanted to use this matter to blackmail him in the future, in reality, he would at most only lose some profits.

With so many patented drugs in his portable space, any one he took out would be in greater demand than the Blue Little Pill!

Some could even be called specialized wonder drugs, and each one could be called sky-high priced in Lu Chen's original world!

Don't feel bad, don't feel bad...

Lu Chen comforted himself with a bitter smile.

"Alright, since you have already cooperated, just treat it as a lesson learned."

Professor Li was stunned for a moment, let out a long sigh, glared fiercely at Lu Chen, and then sighed helplessly.

"Since the contract has already been signed, then strive to become an Honorary Councilor of the Neutral Tavern; at the very least, this status is quite difficult to obtain, and the technology you shared with them should be worth this position."

"Are you an Honorary Councilor?"

Listening to Professor Li's remarks, a trace of surprise appeared in Lu Chen's eyes.