355: Chapter 356: A Single Man Takes Down a Stronghold, Terrifying the Military; They Want Technology? He Counters with an Exorbitant Rental Proposal!

Command Headquarters.

The holographic projection turned on, showing three people sitting on the other side.

On the far left was Chen Shu—still that same stern, unsmiling face, wearing a Federal officer's uniform. In the middle was a gray-haired old man with three gold stars on his epaulettes—a Major General of the Federal Military Department. On the far right was a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, with a sharp, capable temperament and a Federal Academy badge pinned to her chest.

"Mr. Lin Qi." The gray-haired old man spoke first, his voice raspy but full of vigor. "I am Wu Zhengyang, Chief of Staff of the Federal Eastern Theater Command."

"And this is—" He pointed to the woman beside him.

"Fang Qing, Vice President of the Federal Academy Joint Research Institute," the woman introduced herself, pushing up her glasses.

"What is it?" Lin Qi sat in a rocking chair, showing no intention of engaging in polite small talk.

Wu Zhengyang didn't mind his attitude. He had communicated with Chen Shu many times and was already fully mentally prepared for Lin Qi's style of doing things—this young man, who didn't play by the rules, had no habit of flattering authority.

"Two things." Wu Zhengyang held up two fingers. "First, the post-war report on the Eastern Continent mining area. Chen Shu has already forwarded the briefing you submitted to the Military Department. We have confirmed it—the High Priest of the Church of Calamity's Eastern Continent stronghold is dead, the faith channel has been severed, and one law seed has been destroyed. The entire Military Department's reaction to your actions is—"

He paused, using a very subtle word.

"Shock."

"Shock?" Lin Qi chuckled.

"Yes. Shock. One person, three days, single-handedly taking down a core stronghold of the Church of Calamity that the Military Department has watched for over a decade but never dared to touch. To put it bluntly—the first reaction of many people after reading the report wasn't joy, but fear."

"Fear of what?"

"Fear of you." Wu Zhengyang was very direct. "An individual capable of doing such a thing alone has never appeared in the history of the Federation. Your existence exceeds the upper limit of all the Military Department's risk assessment models."

Lin Qi leaned back in his chair and said nothing.

Fang Qing, beside him, took up the conversation:

"Mr. Lin Qi, let me put it from another perspective. There are currently two voices regarding you in the Military Department. One believes you are the only hope for saving the Federation and should be given maximum support and resources; the other believes you are an uncontrollable nuclear bomb, in case your target is no longer the Church of Calamity one day."

"Vice President Fang," Chen Shu interrupted her.

"I am merely objectively stating the divergence within the Military Department." Fang Qing pushed up her glasses. "Mr. Lin Qi should know these things."

Lin Qi looked at Fang Qing. "Which one are you?"

"I am the third kind," Fang Qing said. "I don't care if you are hope or a nuclear bomb. What I care about is the manufacturing technology for Law Creatures in your hands."

Here it comes.

Lin Qi thought to himself. He had long known it was impossible for the Federation to remain indifferent to Law Creature technology. A combat unit that required no manpower, no training, no salary, and no death benefits—this was the ultimate temptation for any military organization.

"What does Vice President Fang want?" Lin Qi asked.

"Technology sharing," Fang Qing said bluntly. "If you are willing to provide the manufacturing process of Law Creatures to the Federal Research Institute—"

"Impossible."

Fang Qing's mouth had just opened to state her conditions when she was cut off by those two words.

"Reason?"

"The manufacturing core of a Law Creature is Dao Source burning. Dao Source is my unique ability; your research institute can't even replicate it, so having the process blueprints is useless. This isn't a technical problem; it's a 'only I can do it' problem."

Fang Qing was silent for a few seconds.

"Then... what about contract manufacturing? The Federation provides the Materials, you do the manufacturing, and the finished products belong to the Federation."

"Zhang Wei," Lin Qi called out toward the door.

Zhang Wei poked his head in.

"Send that Law Creature rental proposal you wrote to Chen Shu."

"Huh? Send it now? I haven't set the prices yet."

"Send the framework first; we'll talk about the price later."

Zhang Wei quickly operated his terminal, and the proposal was sent over.

After the three people on the other side finished reading the proposal, there was a long silence.

"Rental?" Wu Zhengyang's brows furrowed. "You want to rent Law Creatures to the Federation?"

"Yes. Monthly fees, with the rent for each unit priced according to its combat Rank. Endurance charging is extra. Maintenance and replacement are our responsibility. The Federation has no ownership of the Law Creatures, only the right to use them."

"How is this different from an arms dealer?" Wu Zhengyang's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

"There's a big difference. Arms dealers stop caring once the sale is done; I provide long-term service. And—" Lin Qi paused, "you won't be able to buy anything more useful than this."

Wu Zhengyang looked at Chen Shu. Chen Shu was expressionless, showing no stance whatsoever.

"This proposal needs to be discussed by the Military Department," Wu Zhengyang finally said. "My personal opinion is—it can be considered, but the price and terms need to be renegotiated."

"No problem. Talk to Zhang Wei about specific terms; he's better at math than I am."

Zhang Wei nodded vigorously outside the door.

"Second matter." Wu Zhengyang turned the conversation back. "The issue of the remaining two strongholds of the Church of Calamity. The Western Rotten Wood Forest and the Northern Ice Rift Valley. The Military Department wishes to know your next plan of action."

"None for now."

"None?" Wu Zhengyang was stunned for a moment.

"I just got back from taking down a stronghold, and my Dao Source consumption wasn't small. Additionally, the defense system of D-3 Region needs upgrading, and the second batch of Law Creatures hasn't been built yet. Before these things are settled, I won't be going on any long trips."

"Those two strongholds—"

"As long as the Prophet doesn't move, the two High Priests won't run. Their faith channels are rooted in the ore veins; they can't be pulled out. Within the thirty-seven-day buffer period, I will get D-3 Region in order, and then I'll go dismantle them one by one."

"Thirty-seven days." Wu Zhengyang calculated in his head. "A little over a month. Is that enough time?"

"Whether it's enough or not, that's all the time there is."

After the meeting ended, the projection shut down.

Zhang Wei leaned over. "Seven, those people from the Federation—are they reliable?"

"Even if they aren't, I have to use them," Lin Qi said. "I need their alloys and supplies, and they need my Law Creatures and combat power. It's just mutual exploitation."

"Then what if they stab us in the back—"

"They can't pierce through."

Zhang Wei thought about it and felt that was true. The only power in this world that could possibly pierce Lin Qi was the Evil God himself. And if the Federation were on the same level as the Evil God, they wouldn't need to come begging Lin Qi.

"Alright then. I'll go prepare the pricing plan. Seven, what do you think is an appropriate number for the first batch of rented Law Creatures?"

"Ten units. Let them have a taste of the benefits first."

"Ten units... Based on a Second Transition Peak combat power rating, I'm planning to quote thirty million in monthly rent per unit. Charging fees are separate, five million each time. Maintenance fees—"

"You decide. Just don't be too ruthless."

"Seven, in business, there's no such thing as 'too ruthless.' There's only 'market pricing.'"

Lin Qi waved his hand, not wanting to get entangled with him on this issue.

He got up and walked out of the command headquarters, seeing Shi Gu standing in the yard, looking up and down at a passing Law Creature A-05.

"What are you studying?"

"Studying these tin soldiers of yours." Shi Gu reached out and tapped the chest plate of the A-05. "This thing's reaction speed is quite fast. Just now, I pretended to approach that 'core array' of yours, and it turned around and blocked me in two seconds."

"Why were you touching the core array?"

"To see if the defense mechanisms of these tin cans are working," Shi Gu said righteously. "I'm a security guard now, so I have to understand my colleagues' working habits."

Lin Qi glanced at him.

What the man said actually seemed to make some sense.