340: Chapter 340 Nothing was written on the paper.

When Zhao Tieshan arrived, Lin Yuan was sleeping.

To be precise, he was enjoying himself.

The temperature in the Core Zone master bedroom was kept at a constant 23 degrees.

The curtains were drawn, and the light was dim.

Lin Yuan lay on the bed in a very relaxed posture—limbs splayed out.

Ye Qingxue sat at the head of the bed.

Her fingers pressed against Lin Yuan's temples, the pressure light and rhythmic, just right.

Press three times, pause once.

Press three times, pause once.

Lin Yuan closed his eyes, his breathing steady.

Ye Qingyue sat on the left side of the bed, holding Lin Yuan's left hand.

Her mental Superpower transformed into a wisp of warm energy, seeping from her fingertips into Lin Yuan's meridians.

With every press, one could feel a warm current spreading from the palm up to the arm.

Ye Qingyue's technique was very professional.

After all, she was a doctor.

When it came to massaging hands, she understood it better than any masseur.

It was just that her "massage" came with a mental Superpower bonus—this was probably the most expensive "hand care" in the entire Blue Star.

On the right side of the bed, Bai Xingli held Lin Yuan's right hand.

Her fingers were slender and fair, pressing on Lin Yuan's finger joints one by one.

From the thumb to the little finger.

Then from the little finger back to the thumb.

The pressure was just right.

Not too light, not too heavy.

Bai Xingli's expression was very serious while doing this.

It was like she was completing a precise mission.

In fact, to her, it was indeed a mission.

A mission she was very happy to carry out.

At the left side of the foot of the bed, Lin Wanrou knelt on the ground, holding Lin Yuan's left foot with both hands.

She was the gentlest of the five.

When kneading his ankle, her strength was so light it was like petting a cat.

Occasionally, she would look up at Lin Yuan's face.

To confirm he was comfortable.

To confirm he wasn't frowning.

To confirm the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.

Then she would lower her head and continue kneading.

With a satisfied smile.

As for Lin Ruoxue—

She was in charge of the "middle."

A lazy smile played on Lin Ruoxue's face.

It was the kind of smile one has when they've just woken up but don't want to get out of bed, finding the pillow especially comfortable.

Five women.

Five positions.

One Lin Yuan.

If someone were to see this scene from outside the door, they would probably have a question—

"Is this the Apocalypse or a royal palace?"

The answer is: both.

The royal palace of the Apocalypse.

The Apocalypse inside a royal palace.

Ye Qingxue's fingers moved from his temples to the center of his forehead.

"Zhao Tieshan is here."

Her voice was very soft.

As if afraid of waking someone having a sweet dream.

"Su Yuyan is receiving him in the outer city."

Lin Yuan didn't open his eyes.

"Hmm."

Ye Qingxue: "Aren't you going?"

Lin Yuan: "Why go?"

Two words.

No hesitation.

No thought.

Not even opening his eyes.

It was like someone telling you "your package is downstairs," and you replying, "just leave it at the door."

Zhao Tieshan came to negotiate with the fate of 2,200 people.

Lin Yuan's response was "why go."

Ye Qingxue didn't say anything else.

Her fingers continued to press.

Press three times, pause once.

The rhythm didn't change.

Lin Ruoxue muttered from the side:

"Sister Yuyan is the most suitable for these kinds of things. She used to manage a company with tens of thousands of people."

Then she yawned.

Continuing...

Outer city conference room.

Zhao Tieshan sat on a chair.

The seat opposite him was empty.

He had been there for five minutes.

The seat opposite was still empty.

Shen Qing stood behind him, and two guards stood at the door.

None of the four spoke.

Zhao Tieshan's fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop.

He was waiting.

Waiting for Lin Yuan.

He had made many preparations for this meeting.

He had thought of his opening lines.

Thought of his negotiation strategy.

Thought of his bottom line and room for concession.

He had even thought about what expression he should use to maintain the dignity of an old soldier if Lin Yuan's attitude was tough.

The door opened.

A young woman walked in.

Twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

Long hair, professional attire, high heels.

Wearing high heels in an Apocalypse of minus 170 degrees—this in itself was an attitude.

It meant: I don't need to run.

Su Yuyan sat opposite Zhao Tieshan.

She brought a folder and a pen.

Brought no water.

Brought no assistant.

Alone.

Zhao Tieshan looked at her and waited for two seconds.

"Where is Mr. Lin?"

Su Yuyan smiled.

That smile was very professional.

Very polite.

Very pretty.

But the meaning beneath the smile wasn't very pretty.

"Lin Yuan is very busy. For such a small matter, I can handle it."

Small matter.

Zhao Tieshan's fingers stopped tapping.

2,200 people.

12 tanks.

30 armored vehicles.

1,500 regular soldiers.

A former deputy commander of the military region had come in person.

Small matter.

Zhao Tieshan had been a soldier for thirty years.

From platoon leader to deputy commander.

Commanded exercises with tens of thousands of people.

Participated in border conflicts.

He had been looked down upon by many people in his life.

But never had anyone used the words "small matter" to describe a negotiation where he carried the lives of 2,200 people.

Never.

Shen Qing tensed her body slightly behind him.

She felt the change in Zhao Tieshan's emotions.

But Zhao Tieshan didn't lash out.

He couldn't lash out.

Because he knew what the other party said was a fact.

For a Shelter that possessed an alien alloy city wall, plasma penetration gun, annihilation cannon, and thousands of Ability Users—

The 2,200-strong Northern Border Army was indeed a small matter.

Zhao Tieshan took a deep breath.

"I won't beat around the bush. My people can't hold on much longer. I need supplies."

Su Yuyan opened the folder and took out a piece of paper.

There was nothing written on the paper.

She was prepared to record on the spot.

"What do you have to trade?"

Zhao Tieshan began to report his assets.

"12 99A main battle tanks, 30 armored personnel carriers, various military weapons and ammunition, and 1,500 well-trained regular soldiers."

When he said these things, he tried his best to make his tone sound weighty.

This was all his property.

The largest chips a former deputy commander of a military region could bring out.

After listening, Su Yuyan tapped her pen on the paper twice.

Didn't write anything.

Just tapped twice.

Then she looked up.

"We don't need tanks or armored vehicles."

Zhao Tieshan's expression changed slightly.

"As for the soldiers..."

Su Yuyan thought for a moment. "They can work. But they aren't absolutely necessary. We have enough manpower now."

Zhao Tieshan fell silent.

All his property.

Everything accumulated over a thirty-year military career.

In the mouth of this young woman, the value was roughly equal to "can work, but not absolutely necessary."

If he were twenty years younger, he might have slammed the table.

But he was fifty-five.

A fifty-five-year-old doesn't slam tables.

A fifty-five-year-old swallows it.

Zhao Tieshan gritted his teeth.

"I have one more thing."

He took out a sealed metal box from his bosom.

The box was not big, the size of a palm.

He put the box on the table and opened it.

Inside was a dark red crystal the size of a fist.

The surface of the crystal had a strange luster—it wasn't reflecting external light, but glowing on its own.

A faint, dark red light.

Like a heart beating.

"We found this on the edge of a forbidden zone in the north."

Zhao Tieshan said.

"My researchers say the energy density of this thing is one hundred times that of an evolution crystal. But we don't have the ability to study it."

Su Yuyan looked at the crystal.

She didn't understand energy.

Didn't understand Superpower.

Didn't understand evolution crystals or energy density.

But she understood value.

If something made researchers say the word "one hundred times," then it was valuable.

She took out her phone and took a picture of the crystal.

Sent it to Xia Muqing.

Three seconds later, Xia Muqing replied.

A message.

Six characters and an exclamation mark.

"It has resonance with the authority fragment! Want!"

Su Yuyan glanced at the phone screen.

Then she flipped the phone over and placed it face down on the table.

Her expression didn't change at all.

"It's okay," she said.

It's okay.

Xia Muqing had sent a "Want!" with three exclamation marks on her end, but in Su Yuyan's mouth, it became "It's okay."

This is negotiation.

The more you want something, the more you have to act like you don't care.

Su Yuyan was a former CEO of a listed company.

She started negotiating with investors at eighteen.

Got Series A financing at twenty.

Took the company public at twenty-three.

Negotiating with Zhao Tieshan?

To put it bluntly—

This really was a small matter.

Su Yuyan picked up her pen and wrote a few lines on the paper.

Then she pushed the paper in front of Zhao Tieshan.

"Terms."

Zhao Tieshan looked down.

First: The Northern Border Army as a whole will be incorporated into the jurisdiction of the Shelter, but will not enter the Core Zone. A military zone will be established next to the outer city, with Zhao Tieshan managing daily affairs himself.

Second: Female members of the Northern Border Army may voluntarily choose to join the Shelter's Core Zone. The Core Zone only accepts females; this is the rule.

Third: Military forces are subject to the unified command of the Shelter, while daily management rights belong to Zhao Tieshan.

Fourth: The dark red crystal belongs to the Shelter.

Terms of exchange: The Shelter provides food, winter supplies, frost curse antidotes, and frost crystal stone heating equipment sufficient for 2,200 people to survive the winter.

Zhao Tieshan read them one by one.

Very slowly.

Each point felt like a knife.

The first point: He changed from "Commander" to "Garrison Officer."

The third point: His army was no longer his army.

The fourth point: His only valuable bargaining chip had been taken away.

But the exchange terms—food, warmth, antidote, heating.

These four things equaled 2,200 lives.

Zhao Tieshan was silent for a full minute.

The conference room was so quiet that the sound of the wind blowing against the alloy walls outside could be heard.

Shen Qing stood motionless behind him.

She knew what Zhao Tieshan was thinking.

She also knew what the result would be.

Because there was no second choice.

"I agree."

Zhao Tieshan's voice was flat.

It sounded like he was saying something very ordinary.

But when he said those three words, his right hand clenched into a fist under the table.

His knuckles turned white.

Su Yuyan nodded.

"Sign it."

She took two printed agreements out of a folder.

Printed.

When Zhao Tieshan saw the words "printed," his heart skipped a beat.

This agreement had been prepared in advance.

In other words—before he even arrived, they already knew he would agree.

The terms, content, and format were all drafted beforehand.

He thought he had come to negotiate.

In reality, he had come to sign.

Zhao Tieshan picked up the pen.

He signed.

After signing, he put down the pen and asked a personal question.

"My Chief of Staff, Shen Qing… she wants to join the Core Zone."

Su Yuyan glanced at Shen Qing.

Shen Qing stood straight.

Her military posture was standard.

Her gaze was calm.

A thirty-year-old female officer, short hair, cold features, and a capable temperament.

Shen Qing spoke up.

"Commander Zhao showed me great favor. But I am a soldier, and I will go where I can be most useful."

Su Yuyan: "Fine. I'll have Qin Ziyan show you around."

Her tone was very casual.

It was like arranging for a new employee to start work.

"Your workstation is on the third floor, get the computer password from IT, the cafeteria is on the first floor, and lunch is served at twelve."

That was roughly the feeling.

Shen Qing gave a salute and turned to leave.

Zhao Tieshan watched her back.

His most capable Chief of Staff.

The person who had followed him for five years.

Just like that, she left.

She left cleanly and decisively.

She didn't even look back.

Zhao Tieshan didn't blame her.

In the Apocalypse, water flows downward, and people move toward higher ground.

This "higher ground" didn't refer to status.

It referred to the probability of survival.

Zhao Tieshan stood up.

"Then I—"

"After the agreement takes effect, Lan Xin will go to your camp to build the military zone," Su Yuyan said.

"It should be finished in about two hours. The supplies will be delivered this afternoon. The frost curse antidote will be prioritized for your 47 infected people."

Zhao Tieshan was stunned.

47.

She knew he had 47 infected people.

He hadn't mentioned this number.

Shen Qing hadn't mentioned it either.

This number was an internal secret of the Northern Border Army.

But the other side knew.

Zhao Tieshan suddenly realized one thing—from the moment he set up camp, everything about him had already been clearly understood by the other side.

Military strength, equipment, material reserves, number of infections.

Everything.

He thought he was playing chess.

In reality, he was just a piece on the chessboard.

And the person playing the game didn't even appear beside the board.

The person playing the game was sleeping.

Zhao Tieshan walked out of the conference room.

He walked out of the outer city.

The wind on the ice field hit his face.

Minus 170 degrees.

It was very cold.

But not as cold as his heart.

He looked back at the Shelter.

The ten-meter-high alien alloy city wall.

The Female Warriors patrolling on the wall.

Behind the wall was the Core Zone, which he would never be able to enter in his lifetime.

In the Core Zone, there was a young man he had never met.

That young man wasn't even willing to spend ten minutes to see him.

Zhao Tieshan turned around and walked toward his camp.

The wind was strong.

He walked very slowly.

His back was a bit hunched.

He was fifty-five years old.

He had led a hundred thousand troops.

He had fought wars.

He had earned merits.

In the end, in front of a twenty-five-year-old young man—he didn't even have the qualifications to meet him.

…

Core Zone.

When Su Yuyan brought back the dark red crystal, Lin Yuan had just woken up.

The five women had already dispersed.

Ye Qingyue went to the medical area.

Bai Xingli went to patrol.

Lin Wanrou and Lin Ruoxue went to the kitchen to help Chu Yanran.

Only Ye Qingxue remained.

She was sitting at the table by the window, organizing documents.

Sunlight—no, there was no sunlight.

The light shone on her profile, and her contours were very soft.

Su Yuyan placed the crystal on the table.

"Zhao Tieshan signed. This is the only thing in his bargaining chips that is slightly interesting."

Lin Yuan picked up the crystal and looked at it for a moment.

The dark red light pulsed in his palm.

"What does Xia Muqing say?"

"It resonates with the authority fragment. She is already analyzing it."

Lin Yuan nodded and put the crystal down.

"What about the rest?"

"The military zone will be built in two hours. Supplies will be delivered this afternoon. Antidotes prioritized for the infected," Su Yuyan reported very concisely.

"Over 400 women applied to join the Core Zone, I have Chen Hanyue in charge of screening and placement."

Lin Yuan: "Hmm."

The conversation ended.

Su Yuyan turned and left.

From entering to leaving, it took less than a minute.

No nonsense.

No asking for credit.

No "How did I do today?"

Because it wasn't needed.

The matter was done.

The results were there.

Ye Qingxue listened to the whole process from the side, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.

"Yuyan is becoming more and more like a CEO."

Lin Yuan: "She already is."

Ye Qingxue thought for a moment: "That's true."

…

That evening.

Xia Muqing's analysis report was delivered to Lin Yuan.

The energy structure inside the crystal had a 30% similarity to the authority fragment.

It was not the fragment itself.

It was more like an "echo" of the fragment.

Or a "projection."

An authority fragment had existed somewhere, leaving behind residual energy marks, which condensed into this crystal.

Lin Yuan held the crystal in his hand.

The authority fragment inside him began to resonate.

It was very faint.

Like the sound of a bell from afar.

A set of blurry coordinates appeared on the surface of the crystal.

North.

About 500 kilometers away.

One of the 108 Forbidden Zones.

Lin Yuan looked at the coordinates and was silent for a few seconds.

"Another fragment."

He put the crystal away.

"No rush. Let's finish the things in front of us first."

The door was knocked twice.

The rhythm was fast.

It was Luo Qinghan.

She pushed the door open and came in, her eyes carrying a light that Lin Yuan was very familiar with—that was her reaction when she sensed something important.

"I sensed it. That crystal."

Lin Yuan: "Hmm."

Luo Qinghan: "Do you plan to go?"

Lin Yuan: "No rush."

Luo Qinghan looked at him.

"...You are never in a rush for anything."

Lin Yuan thought about it.

"Being in a rush won't make the fragment fly over on its own."

Luo Qinghan opened her mouth, wanting to refute.

But she found she couldn't.

Because he was right.

Being in a rush really wouldn't make the fragment fly over.

Luo Qinghan turned and left.

As she walked away, she muttered something.

Lin Yuan didn't hear it clearly.

It was probably something like "Sooner or later, you'll be the death of me."

Lin Yuan locked the crystal in the drawer.

Then he turned off the lights.

Outside the window was endless darkness.

500 kilometers to the north, an authority fragment was waiting for him.

8 kilometers to the south, 2,200 newly joined people were waiting for supplies.

In the mine to the east, frost crystal stone was still being mined continuously.

On the ice field to the west, who knew what was moving.

But these were all matters for tomorrow.

Today, Lin Yuan only wanted to do one thing.

Continue sleeping.

After all, his nap had just been interrupted.

He had only enjoyed the massage from five people for less than an hour.

It was a loss.