Lilith had swept her eyes over these ten faces too.
If Zhao Chen guessed right, the files on the mercenary legion fleets behind these ten had already risen in Lilith's mind by now.
"Everyone's here. I'm in charge of this task: Huaya Nini. You are the mercenary legion fleets we've selected for this escort and transport task. Next I'll send you all the relevant files, and what the escort requires. As for the bounty, it follows the procedure we agreed before," the one called Huaya Nini said.
At this a fat-headed, big-eared figure on the far side of one video window raised a hand and asked, "Wait a moment. Miss Huaya Nini, do you mean that all ten of our mercenary legion fleets have been chosen for this escort task?"
"That's right."
"In this mercenary task before, it said plainly that no more than three legion fleets would be hired, with no more than 10,000 interstellar warships in all. But as far as I know, the mercenary legion fleets behind the ten of us here have at least over 50,000 interstellar warships here now."
The Flower-Fairy Huaya Nini said with a smile, "I was just about to explain that to you all. Some details of the mercenary task have changed; your workload, of course, is unchanged. It's only that the quantity of goods we're escorting this time has grown greatly. So the number of legion fleets hired has grown too."
"Is it really as simple as the details changing?" the figure pressed again.
Seeing worry and suspicion on everyone's faces too, the Flower-Fairy Huaya Nini could only say with a show of helplessness, "Since you're all worried and suspicious about this, I'll tell you all a little more. But I expect you all know the rules. From now on, what you hear is secret. Whether or not you accept this task in a moment, you may not spread it about outside. Otherwise, once we learn of it, that you've broken the spirit of the contract, our Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes will refuse from then on to work with that mercenary legion fleet that broke the spirit of the contract."
Huaya Nini said it gently and sweetly, but the threat in it was already very plain.
For now, given the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' standing and connections, any mercenary legion fleet they shunned would as good as have offended nine out of ten people,
and would have a hard time afterward getting a share of the pie in cross-universe interstellar trade.
Some might wonder whether these mercenary legion fleet commanders, who held legion fleets in their hands, could really swallow it so meekly.
In truth the main reason was that the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes held these powers, but would never use them lightly.
They understood very well that a deterrent used too often is no longer a deterrent.
And so far the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes had used this means only twice.
Both times they had made all the relevant information public, so that everyone was sure the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes were the ones harmed and threatened.
As for the two who had offended the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes: one was a mercenary legion fleet of some standing at the time, ranked in the top ten for strength.
The other was an interstellar power in some interstellar civilization's universe.
Both had paid dearly for their foolishness!
Back to the present.
Hearing Huaya Nini's warning, everyone present nodded to show they understood.
After that, Huaya Nini answered why this task had changed.
This transport task was in fact for an interstellar power in a state of war, which had ordered a batch of military-industrial parts and starship modules.
Mind you, the interstellar traders of the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes would do every kind of business but one:
the trade in finished interstellar warships.
Why stress the trade in finished interstellar warships? Because the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes did not wholly keep out of the trade in military industry and arms.
Sales and transport of things like individual armor, interstellar shuttles, individual weapons and military-industrial parts, they would all do.
Only the sale of finished interstellar warships they never touched.
Even though plenty had hinted that they could sell their own interstellar warships to the Flower-Fairies' interstellar trade groups, or join with the Flower-Fairies to set up interstellar trade groups for starships and the like,
every one, without exception, had been turned down by the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes.
Even though everyone knew that selling interstellar warships was the most profitable part of the arms trade,
the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes would not do it.
To many this seemed timid, weak, cowering behavior.
But Zhao Chen knew the reason very well.
Zhao Chen understood well the saying that a common man is guiltless, but guilty when he carries a jade.
Once an interstellar trader of the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes held the channel for selling interstellar warships, people would start to care about the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes and to fear them.
As in: you sold finished interstellar warships to my enemy and not to me.
Or: you sold finished interstellar warships to me and to my enemy alike.
The Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes might declare to the outside that they were forever neutral, but finished interstellar warships beyond doubt touched the bottom line of a great many interstellar powers.
So from this it could be seen that the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes were careful, cautious people; they were never greedy; they knew very well what they should do and could do,
and what they must never, ever touch.
It was by this understanding that the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes had come as far as they had.
"Only the cargo has grown?" someone questioned.
Huaya Nini answered, "At least in the intelligence we know of so far, yes. But it can't be ruled out that along the way, in that target universe, some armed force may mean to attack us."
That was a very artful thing for Huaya Nini to say.
But none of those present were fools; they caught some of what it meant.
It meant only that the goods they were to escort touched the interests of some interstellar powers, so they would very probably be attacked.
The Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' interstellar transport fleets being attacked was in truth a common thing,
above all in high-risk universes that had long been at war.
For in high-risk universes like that there were usually a great many interstellar powers.
And the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' network of outside relations fell mainly into several kinds.
The core customers were no more than the upstream makers who could supply goods, and most of these upstream makers were high-grade interstellar civilizations living in a fairly peaceful environment.
The Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes would usually sign a mutual non-aggression agreement with these core customers; its content was very simple: both signing parties declared they would not attack the other's interstellar fleets first.
And for signing this contract with the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes, the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes would also give some advantages, such as concessions on prices in interstellar trade.
That naturally pleased those core customers very much; they had no enemies for now anyway.
Beyond these there were the midstream and downstream customers.
The midstream and downstream customers were simply explained too: customers who could both supply goods and buy them, and customers who could only buy them.
And the latter were usually in high-risk universes; these customers naturally would not sign such a contract with the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes.
For their enemies might buy the supplies and goods they needed from the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes, and so long as they had not signed such a contract,
even if they really did attack the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' interstellar transport fleets, the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes would not take revenge on them afterward.
Of course, there was an understood condition in this too:
outside of combat, no harm was to be done without cause to the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' people and staff.
That meant that in incidents where the interstellar transport fleets under the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes were attacked, so long as the interstellar transport fleets surrendered,
the attackers would treat the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' staff very kindly, and send them all home safely.
And the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' contracts stated too that once it was certain that, in escorting goods, there truly was no ability to resist, it could be treated as a failed escort task, and the personnel involved could abandon the goods and surrender outright.
It was these rules and regulations of the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes that had let them grow to where they were.
Some might say: wouldn't the customers who placed those orders be furious at this?
Furious they certainly were.
But more often helpless; and in return the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes would give some compensation, such as refunding the whole payment after deducting costs.
With this compensation, naturally everyone put up with it.
"Does anyone still have questions now? If not, we'll send you all the formal contracts," Huaya Nini said, looking at everyone.
"No objection from me."
"Acceptable."
"Let's set out soon."
"Heh heh heh, once the escort's done, can we get a little extra?"
Most of them tacitly accepted these terms.
Lilith naturally did not refuse either.
Very soon contracts were sent to each of the ten mercenary legion fleet commanders.
Lilith glanced over hers, and looked at Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen nodded.
Lilith signed the contract.
"This escort contract runs half a month in all."
Half a month.
Zhao Chen thought it over; Lilith's side and Charlotte's were going ahead at the same time anyway.
If they really could ally with the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes, half a month was nothing.
"Who is this Huaya Nini?" Zhao Chen asked curiously.
Lilith brought up a document and explained, "The younger sister of the head of one of the Flower-Fairy Federal Tribes' great interstellar traders, the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group."
At the name of the Bailan Interstellar Trade Group, Zhao Chen understood Lilith's intent at once.
For the head of this Bailan Interstellar Trade Group was one of the candidates the Bluewater Elf Queen had given before.