"I should rather like to see what you have to persuade me with." The Frost-Wolf chieftain folded his arms across his chest and said it with a light laugh.
"You have no need of my persuasion; someone else will persuade you." Zhao Chen said it serene as a light cloud in a calm wind.
And just at this moment the Frost-Wolf chieftain received a communication request.
He had only to glance at it, and his expression shifted slightly; then, without any closing word, he withdrew from the meeting.
Which left the others in some astonishment.
"Siren tribe — because of your special character, there are in fact not many who compete with you. But at the same time this limits you. So far as I know, the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth permits you to hold only a small number of purely oceanic planets; and it must be understood that the number of purely oceanic planets within a star region is exceedingly small. Which has led directly to this: of the planets your Siren tribe now holds, 70% already face a condition of excess population. Which greatly threatens your living environment. Before this you applied besides to the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's upper ranks to have some further habitable planets arranged for you, but you never received any definite answer. For a habitable planet is, after all, a resource; and who is willing to give up a habitable planet for nothing?"
Zhao Chen said all this as though musing to himself, and then looked at her with a smile. "There is a certain friend who should be very glad to share some things with you."
And just as this Siren chieftainess was in her puzzlement, she likewise received a message.
That was from a friend of hers.
Unlike the Frost-Wolf chieftain's outright departure, the Siren chieftainess took her leave first, and then withdrew.
With this, only three remained upon the scene.
"I should rather like to see how you persuade me." The Fury Bear chieftain folded his arms across his chest and said it with pride.
"Do you want starships? Do you want interstellar warships mightier than the Dragon-folk tribe's?" Zhao Chen threw the line out directly.
...
The meeting ended.
"How did it go?"
Zhao Chen opened his eyes, and Lilith, waiting beside him all this while, asked it with concern.
"With the material you prepared for me, was it not simply a matter of reaching out and taking them?" Zhao Chen said with confidence.
As the common saying has it: know yourself and know your enemy, and in 100 battles you will have 100 victories.
Before this meeting Zhao Chen had come to understand these five neutral tribes thoroughly.
Zhao Chen had great confidence he could take the greater part of them!
Which Lilith had foreseen long since.
She raised another matter. "Just now, while you were in the meeting, the Dragon-folk tribe's representative Leona sent over a request for video communication."
"It seems our side income is about to arrive." This time Zhao Chen did not play for time.
He put Leona's side straight through.
The video window opened.
Leona opposite maintained that 'good' manner from before.
"Only 10 hours have passed. It seems you have already reached a rather fine result on your side," Zhao Chen said with a smile.
Leona forced down her rage. 500 billion star coins was no small sum either.
But because of this business's special character, Leona had in the end gone to her mother's family behind the throne.
And after a round of threats and inducements, that family had agreed to pay out 50% of it — that is, 200 billion star coins.
Which was several years' savings for that family!
Presumably after that Mr. Robert got back, his position as heir would be in some doubt.
Leona set aside her thoughts and looked at the man opposite, saying gravely, "We agree to your ransom demand; here is our list. The procedure for delivering the ransom will follow what you said. But we have one condition."
"What condition?" Zhao Chen asked.
"I require that delivery be made face to face; you and I must meet offline." Leona pointed at Zhao Chen and then at herself, wearing a look of provocation besides.
Zhao Chen smiled faintly. "I shall fix the place."
"No objection." Leona lifted her head and squared her chest, and agreed to it confidently.
At this point the ransom list Leona had sent over was received on Zhao Chen's side as well.
But upon opening it Zhao Chen found that this ransom came to only around 400 billion star coins, and not the whole 500 billion.
Looking carefully, Zhao Chen found that the personnel to be ransomed upon it were only the Dragon-folk fleet group, and did not include those 20,000 tribal interstellar warships.
Zhao Chen did not change color, and looked at Leona with a smile. "Shall we go by this list, then? I recall that accompanying your Dragon-folk Tenth Fleet Group there are besides 20,000 interstellar warships of other tribes."
"Those are their interstellar warships, and their business. You laid down the rules yourself beforehand; you will not now be wanting me to pay their ransom along with it!" Leona watched Zhao Chen warily.
Zhao Chen smiled faintly. "I have always been as good as my word; since I laid down the rules, we go by what the rules say. Then as for the place of delivering the ransom and releasing the hostages. Let it be fixed at the star gate in the Black Tiger Star Region's First Star System — and it happens that after you have received the Dragon-folk Tenth Fleet Group, I can send you all back directly by the star gate."
The star gate in the Black Tiger Star Region's First Star System had, after the Dragon-folk Tenth Fleet Group came to the relief here, soon been brought under the control of Zhao Chen's Owl Dragon Legion.
Though somewhat damaged, the trouble was not great.
With a little repair it could now be restored to use.
Only that traffic through the gate was restricted: without leave from this side, the Dragon-folk tribe's gates could not connect through.
"Very well." Leona agreed outright, and fixed her eyes hard upon Zhao Chen. "Let us meet without fail!"
The video communication ended.
"Commander-in-Chief, is it not too dangerous to agree so hastily to her demand for an offline meeting?" Lilith asked in concern.
"Dangerous? This is our own ground, and the place will be fixed by me besides. This dragon princess does not think it dangerous; what have I to fear?" Zhao Chen shrugged.
Lilith said stubbornly, "I am still not easy about it. Why should she require a meeting with you at the same time as delivering the ransom? It defies all common sense."
Zhao Chen smiled faintly. "If you look at this business from the standpoint of the larger situation, of strategy, and so forth. Then it is indeed a most unreasonable thing. But if you shift your standpoint, you will find it is entirely reasonable."
Lilith was taken aback; she had not caught the Commander-in-Chief's meaning in this.
Nor did Zhao Chen say anything further.
Because in this dragon princess he had seen the shape of a certain great white cat.
That temper, that look in the eyes at their first meeting — truly they were far too alike.
He had not seen his own great white cat in a good while, and did not know what she was about now.
She had not come to his flagship to report on her work these several days.
Zhao Chen rubbed at his chin; he was beginning to miss his own great white cat somewhat.
All the fault of this heap of Warhammer troubles.
Once this round of Warhammer business was handled, he would have to take the great white cat off for a proper holiday.