Chapter 1699: That's all? That's all?!

No other thoughts, just wanting to live a better life?

After hearing Xia Qing's words, Hui-Three Base Commander Qi Zhongye's gaze deepened.

"After your parents passed away one after another, you very calmly chose to hide your dual-system advanced evolution ability and survive in the outer city. During those years, your main job was construction worker, your side job was participating in evolution forest gathering and clearing missions as a beginner strength evolver, and at the same time, you kept trying other employment opportunities — signed up for the base's specialized talent program, applied for slots on the search-and-rescue teams at the inner and outer city hospitals, became an apprentice at an iron shop, and so on. You did all this to change your living conditions and improve your quality of life."

The base commander knew her resume inside and out, which didn't surprise Xia Qing at all; she simply maintained an expressionless face and listened with an open gaze.

Before fully grasping the true intentions of the negotiation opponent, one absolutely must not let the other's words and behavior sway one's own emotions — one must keep one's mouth shut and stay calm. Only this way can one truly understand what the opponent is saying, figure out their logic, and accurately pinpoint their sore spot.

This was negotiation experience that Iron Rooster Yang Jin had shared with Xia Qing during casual conversation. Xia Qing, who lacked experience negotiating with humans, had taken it and applied it directly.

Qi Zhongye leaned forward slightly, his expression composed, his gaze calm, his voice still gentle. "After the territory policy was issued, you were the first to step up to the desk in the mission hall, and you successfully exploited the Tang family's arrogance and the staff's slip-up to claim the territory you'd already chosen, and got twice the rations of other lords. After entering the territory, you successively formed alliances with the Azure Dragon Squad, Professor Fu Tianfeng, the lords of Northern District One including Xin Yu, the North and South Wolf Packs, and even the Tiger Pack and Xiong Qun — all to make your own life better."

Qi Zhongye hadn't uttered a single harsh word, yet he made Xia Qing realize clearly for the first time that the person sitting across from her was not only the highest administrative officer of Hui-Three Base, but also a survivor who had crawled out of the mountain of corpses and sea of blood in Year Eleven of the Calamity.

Over the past eleven years, the Hui City overall base commander and the commanders of other bases had all been replaced more than once, but the Hui-Three base commander had never been replaced.

Even though the former Hui City overall base commander Zhang Tao was a core member of the Blue Blood Alliance, and the former Hui-Three deputy base commander Tang Zhengrong was Zhang Tao's lackey, neither had managed to drag Qi Zhongye down with them.

Xia Qing quickly banished the distracting thoughts, focused intently on the powerful figure sitting calmly across from her, and waited for his next move.

She still wore an expressionless face, but her eyes had changed — though she herself hadn't realized it.

At this moment, her sniper's nature was fully revealed — her gaze was like a bullet being chambered, cold and still, quietly waiting for the instant the target clearly exposed itself.

Locked in her gaze, the admiration in Qi Zhongye's heart once again overwhelmed that touch of complicated feeling; his voice remained gentle and calm, his pace unhurried, as if every word he uttered carried the power to calm wind and rain. "Everyone wants to make their life better, but the ways of doing so differ vastly."

"The path you've chosen hasn't harmed any person or even any animal — that's your bottom line, your conscience. The Azure Dragon Squad cooperated with you probably because you hold resources they urgently need; the morally fastidious Fu Tianfeng cooperated with you certainly because he valued your bottom line; the wolf packs chose you, and the lords and the veterans from the Ninth Center are willing to follow you, also because of this quality you upheld even during the Calamity years."

Qi Zhongye paused, noticed that Xia Qing was still employing the clumsiest yet cleverest method — listening and waiting — with no intention of speaking up to respond, and a smile crept into his eyes.

He stood up, smoothed the creases of his old military jacket, and turned to look out the window. Under the sunlight, everything in sight was neat and bright, with misty haze in the distance.

The future of Hui-Three Base must be pioneered by those who stand in the light.

Qi Zhongye turned, his calm gaze settling once more on Xia Qing, who was brimming with resilience and righteousness. "The administrative jurisdiction, defense rights, and revenue distribution rights of the seven consecutively numbered territories can all be yours."

Xia Qing's heart eased, then immediately tensed up again; she clenched her fist and waited for the base commander to state his conditions.

Qi Zhongye sat back down in the highest-ranking chair in Hui-Three, and said bluntly, "First, your jurisdiction is not permanent. The base reserves the right to adjust the territorial jurisdiction under your control in extreme circumstances, according to overall strategic needs."

"Second, Hui-Three Base has priority purchasing rights and cost-price purchase quotas for the products of the precision instrument factory. The specific ratios and detailed terms will be negotiated between Li Xuegang and you."

"Third, and the most important point." Qi Zhongye's voice sank. "The Northern District One territory of Hui-Three has already become one of the demonstration zones for our country's territory policy. If Northern District One loses control, it will become the loudest card in the hands of those opposing the territory policy, and will have a major impact on the country's subsequent resource allocation."

"The territory policy concerns the lives and safety of over a hundred million grassroots survivors; it absolutely must not be shaken. Therefore, the people you've recruited through the seven territories, and the territorial alliance rules you've set, must not conflict with the country's basic laws or the overall security of Hui-Three Base. I will send people to conduct regular inspections, to maintain order in Northern District One, and also to ensure your achievements aren't easily destroyed by internal or external forces."

That's all?

After hearing the base commander's conditions, Xia Qing's clenched fist finally loosened completely, and she directly laid out her own negotiation bottom line. "Base Commander, the Northern District One territory, like the territories in the other four districts, doesn't need autonomy. After Professor Wu becomes a lord, he will enjoy lord's rights and fulfill lord's responsibilities according to law; his territory is his responsibility, and has nothing to do with me. I will only fulfill my own responsibilities and obligations, and be accountable for my territory and the Ninth Center. The Ninth Center's basic functions — farming and protecting Lord Number Seven's safety — will absolutely not waver."

Qi Zhongye……

After stating her own position, Xia Qing responded to the second condition the base commander had raised. "After the precision instrument factory is built, for the first two years it will only produce and sell medical equipment and farm tools externally — that was the condition under which Lan-One Base agreed to let Professor Wu and his family leave Lan-One. If our base needs these instruments, priority purchasing rights and cost-price purchase quotas are both open for discussion; if the base has other needs, we can discuss those too."

As for the price, that requires talking business and analyzing the specifics case by case.

After laying out her bottom line, Xia Qing brought up the main reason for her coming. "Besides Professor Wu's territory and the land for the precision instrument factory, the lords of the two territories I promised away have absolutely legal identities, and won't endanger the safety of the base or the territories — I just signed confidentiality agreements with them, so I can't reveal their identities to you. So I hope that, nominally, these five territories can all be kept as reserve territories for recruiting outstanding talents. Do you think that would work?"

So you came all this way just for this?!

Qi Zhongye, who had been sitting ramrod straight waiting to parry, laughed. "Fine. These five territories will temporarily serve as soil-reclamation experimental plots; no lords will be recruited before the reclamation succeeds. If after successful reclamation the two lords you've designated still can't show themselves, you'll act as their proxy for now. How to handle the specifics, you can discuss it with Xuegang."

Xia Qing stood up, snapped to attention. "Yes! Thank you, Base Commander!"

Qi Zhongye looked at Xia Qing quietly for two seconds, raised his hand to gesture her to sit back down, and brought up another matter. "Last January, after you entered the old regimental headquarters under the identity of Yan Ning from the Red Eleven Base special operations team, did you have a look around inside?"

Xia Qing's nerves tensed up again; she shook her head expressionlessly. "No. I went there at night, went straight to the barracks to rest after entering the post, and in the morning rode with the team to the safe zone. Before and after that, I never went to the old regimental headquarters, and I never asked anyone about the garrison's intelligence."