166: Blue Star First City

Shen Xiaochuan lay in bed, many things crossing his mind. He didn't know that far away, a negotiation regarding him was underway.

The lights in the meeting room were bright. Saul sat on one side of the long table, his face somewhat pale. He sat upright, his tie fastened tightly. His fingers tapped on the table; the rhythm hadn't changed, but the movements had become smaller.

Yue Zhengzhong sat opposite him. He wore gray clothes with a collar that rubbed slightly against his neck and cuffs that were somewhat worn. He didn't look at Saul, instead lowering his head to flip through the documents in his hand, the paper rustling.

"Let us say it once more," Yue Zhengzhong spoke, his voice neither loud nor soft. "Shen Xiaochuan is a Chinese citizen. His development will be arranged by us; he will not be going to the United States."

The corner of Saul's mouth twitched. "Lord Deputy Envoy, those words are too absolute. The flow of talent is normal. We are merely proposing a technical exchange, not forcibly taking anyone. Furthermore—" He paused. "With Shen Xiaochuan's abilities, he would be successful anywhere. Why must he stay in only one place?"

Yue Zhengzhong looked up and glanced at him.

That glance was very calm, like looking at a stone.

Yue Zhengzhong said, "Do you think no one knows what you've done? Last month, you had a retired Awakened go to Shen Xiaochuan, promising five million faith points to lure him away. Fifteen days ago, you sent an invitation via an encrypted channel and provided a 'Free Passage Card,' promising lifelong visa-free entry and the right to settle in the God Kingdom. Three days ago, you even sent someone to sneak into Skydome City's market to hand him a contract scroll in person. After all these actions, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Saul's fingers stopped tapping.

His expression changed. "Those... were merely private actions; they cannot represent the official stance."

"But you used the NATO negotiation team's public signal segment." Yue Zhengzhong took a piece of paper from the folder. "The signal source, time, and energy band all match. Do you want me to read it out for everyone to hear right now?"

Several people from the neutral zones nearby quietly looked up.

Saul said nothing.

He wanted to argue back, but he couldn't find the words.

"You talk about cooperation, but you've been headhunting behind our backs." Yue Zhengzhong placed the paper on the corner of the table. "Shen Xiaochuan didn't agree because he knows who he belongs to. Now you're still talking about 'talent exchange'—don't you feel ashamed?"

The meeting room suddenly fell silent.

The air conditioner blew, and the curtains swayed gently.

Saul finally moved his mouth. "Then is your meaning that we won't even discuss resource sharing?"

"Resource sharing must be built on a foundation of equality." Yue Zhengzhong looked at him. "You want to take our people while also wanting to share our results. Is that reasonable?"

"But you are monopolizing technology!" Saul suddenly stood up and slammed a hand on the table. "Controllable Energy-Gathering Arrays, High-Order Summoning Systems, Faith Point Conversion Models—you use them yourselves but don't let others learn! You call this equality?"

"Then what do you suggest?" Yue Zhengzhong also stood up, his voice not high, but every word was clear. "Should we open our doors and let you take whatever you want? Let the newly Awakened youth all be bought away by your money? Will you only be satisfied when one day we have nothing left?"

The two stared at each other, neither backing down.

Saul gritted his teeth. "You don't want to talk at all!"

"We have been talking all along." Yue Zhengzhong slowly sat down. "It's the direction of your talk that is wrong."

He opened the folder and tapped the first page.

"Now, I will give you three seconds," he said. "Listen closely."

Saul frowned. "What?"

Yue Zhengzhong raised one hand, extending three fingers.

"Three."

He folded one finger.

"Two."

He folded another.

Everyone held their breath.

Saul opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound.

"One."

The final word fell.

Suddenly, a golden line split the sky.

It wasn't lightning, nor was it the clouds breaking; rather, space shattered like glass, and a starry sky appeared behind it. A massive light screen unfolded, and text rolled down like a waterfall:

[Global System Announcement]

[Congratulations to the Huaxia Region God 'Shen Xiaochuan' for building the first city in Blue Star's history!]

[Achievement Certification: First City Founder]

[Rewards Issued: kings treasure chest x1, Rank 1 Divine Position Promotion, Server-wide Announcement!]

[Current Divine Position Rank: Rank 1 · City Builder]

The light screen lasted for ten seconds.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

No one blinked, no one coughed, even breathing had stopped.

Saul stood where he was, the color slowly draining from his face until it was deathly pale. His hand rested on the table, his fingertips trembling slightly.

The translator's hand loosened, and the headset fell to the floor, making a crisp sound.

Yue Zhengzhong slowly closed the folder, his movements slow but steady.

He looked up, gazing at the row of people opposite him.

"Where were we?" he asked.

No one answered.

"Oh." He nodded, as if talking to himself. "We were talking about terms."

He stood up, walked to the middle of the table, and placed the folder in the center.

"Now, we can renegotiate the terms."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was powerful.

"First item: the disputed mining area 'North Ridge No. 7' is to be returned to Huaxia."

He flipped the file open.

"Second item: open three cross-border faith channels, allowing our Believers to pass freely without restrictions."

"Third item: any form of inducement or recruitment targeting our newly Awakened gods is prohibited; violators will be considered hostile."

He stated each point, tapping the folder as he went.

"The above three items must be answered within twenty-four hours. Otherwise, all negotiations are terminated."

The meeting room remained silent.

Several NATO representatives looked at each other; none dared to speak.

Saul finally moved.

He wanted to speak, his lips trembling, but only a single sound came out.

"This... is impossible..." he whispered. "Building a city requires resources, population, and a stabilization period. How could he possibly be so fast? It hasn't even been fifty days!"

"The facts are right here." Yue Zhengzhong looked at him. "If you don't believe it, you can check the System logs; every node has a record."

Saul's eyes widened, his mind a mess. He was unwilling to believe it and unwilling to admit defeat. He wanted to find a reason to argue back but found he couldn't say anything.

"It must be cheating!" Saul suddenly looked up. "He used illegal means! Or someone helped him! This kind of speed is not normal at all!"

"Then go report it." Yue Zhengzhong sneered. "Go to the Arbitration Tribunal, pull the data, and perform a verification. As long as you can prove he violated the rules, we will handle it ourselves."

Saul was speechless.

He knew the Arbitration Tribunal would not take the case. Once a System announcement was issued, the achievement was established and could not be revoked.

Unless there was ironclad evidence proving Shen Xiaochuan had faked it.

But he had none.

Because it was real.

The first city of Blue Star had indeed been built.

And it was completed by a twenty-year-old youth alone, without any outside help.

Yue Zhengzhong no longer looked at him, turning toward the door.

"We await your reply," he said.

When the door opened, light from the hallway shone in, lengthening his shadow.

His entourage followed, their footsteps light and steady.

Only Saul and the people behind him remained in the meeting room.

Someone looked down at their terminal; the announcement on the screen was still flashing.

Someone propped their head with their hands, their shoulders slumped.

Saul slowly sat back in his chair, holding his forehead and closing his eyes.

His suit was still neat, and his tie wasn't messy, but his entire being seemed drained of strength.

The sky outside was gloomy.

The distant city was blurred, with only a few lights shining like stars in the mist.

In some corner, a communication device vibrated.

The screen lit up with an emergency message:

[US Headquarters Instruction: Immediately suspend all subversion operations against Shen Xiaochuan and shift to intelligence monitoring status. Repeat, stop immediately.]

The sender was Joseph Black.

Saul stared at those words for a long time.

Then he reached out and turned off the screen.

The lights in the meeting room flickered.

Someone looked up at the ceiling.

No one spoke.

Another device chimed with a notification; it was a private message from the South American representative.

The content was just one sentence:

[Excuse me, are you currently accepting applications for technical cooperation?]

The sending time was the eleventh second after the System announcement was issued.

Yue Zhengzhong walked down the return hallway, his pace not fast but very steady.

An assistant ran over. "Deputy Envoy, we just received news that seven neutral zone delegations have submitted letters of intent for cooperation, wanting to join our resource network."

"Set them aside for now," Yue Zhengzhong said. "Let's handle the NATO matter first."

"But will they... still talk?"

Yue Zhengzhong stopped and looked back at the meeting room.

The door was closed, and it was dark inside; nothing could be seen.

"They will talk," he said. "As long as they still want to survive."

He continued walking forward.

At a corner, a staff member carrying documents walked toward them, nearly colliding.

"Sorry, sorry!" the person quickly moved aside.

Yue Zhengzhong waved a hand and said nothing.

After walking a few steps, he stopped again.

"Wait." He turned back and asked, "What is that in your hand?"

"Ah?" The person looked down. "It's a copy of the System announcement that was just printed; headquarters wants it for the archives."

"Give me one."

The other person quickly pulled one out and handed it over.

Yue Zhengzhong took it and opened it to look.

It read:

[Congratulations to the Huaxia Region God 'Shen Xiaochuan' for building the first city in Blue Star's history!]

He stared at the line for a few seconds.

Then he folded it and put it into his coat pocket.

"Let's go," he said to the assistant.

The two continued walking.

At the end of the hallway was a window, letting in a bit of light.

The light shone on the floor, forming a thin line.

Yue Zhengzhong's shadow crossed that line; with one step, he was on the other side.