515: Chapter 515 A Handshake with Hidden Meanings

The central hall of Aetherland's "Temple Palace" was decorated with exceptional grandeur today.

The building itself was the ultimate manifestation of Shankong biological aesthetics.

The dome resembled a massive seashell, its surface flowing with a pearlescent luster, while rhythmic glowing moss grew on the walls, enveloping the entire space in a soft golden light.

In the center of the hall, a long table was arranged in the style used for signing documents.

There were no traditional pens or paper on the table, only three holographic projection terminals, each corresponding to the protocol texts to be signed by the three parties.

Lin Qingyuan, the Eastern Federation representative, arrived five minutes early.

He stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the hive-city architecture outside that pierced the clouds, his face devoid of expression.

Evelyn, the company representative, arrived right on time.

Today, she had changed into a deep blue business suit with her hair pinned up, looking capable and formal. Only one assistant followed behind her, carrying the company's protocol storage case.

On the Shankong side, all five core power-holders of the Joint Coordination Committee were present.

The rotating chairwoman, Lina Sol, stood in the center, with Rex, the Commander-in-Chief of the Interstellar Defense Force, on her right, and Alva, the Chief Scientist, on her left. The other two power-holders in charge of culture and economy were flanked on either side.

"Welcome, two distinguished envoys." Lina Sol bowed slightly, a standard, polite smile on her face. "Today is the most important day in the history of the Shankong Civilization. To establish formal diplomatic relations with a human Void from the distant galaxy is the guidance of the high heaven and our mutual honor."

Lin Qingyuan nodded in return and simply said, "The honor is mine."

Evelyn merely gave a slight nod, her gaze sweeping over the five power-holders before coming to rest on Rex.

This soldier's posture was stiffer than the others, and the shadows of a few days ago still lingered in his eyes.

The signing ceremony process was simple.

The representatives of the three parties sequentially left their biometric signatures on the holographic terminals. The protocol texts were backed up and simultaneously sent to the official databases of the Eastern Federation, the company, and the Shankong Civilization.

It took less than ten minutes.

This was followed by a brief speech segment.

Lina Sol delivered an enthusiastic speech on behalf of the Shankong side. The content was nothing more than clichés like "interstellar friendship," "civilizational mutual learning," and "common prosperity," not forgetting to add at the end, "May the high heaven bless our cooperation."

Lin Qingyuan's response was equally concise, emphasizing keywords like "equality and mutual benefit" and "mutual respect."

Evelyn's speech was the shortest, consisting of only two sentences: "The company welcomes new partners to the galactic market. I hope everyone abides by the contract. It's a pleasure to cooperate."

The ceremony concluded, and the three parties entered the adjacent conference room to conduct closed-door negotiations for the technical exchange framework.

This was the real highlight of the day.

Inside the conference room, the three parties sat separately.

On the Eastern Federation side, Lin Qingyuan was the lead negotiator, with two technical consultants sitting behind him. The company was represented by a specialist from the technical department; Evelyn observed, occasionally interjecting but mostly focusing her energy on observation.

On the Shankong side, all five power-holders were present, followed by seven or eight technocrats and scholars.

"According to the intentions communicated beforehand," Lin Qingyuan opened the light screen in front of him, "the Eastern Federation is willing to provide the following technical support to the Shankong Civilization."

A list appeared on the light screen.

Basic aerospace technology training, including orbital mechanics, propulsion System principles, and life support foundations. Popular science on the principles of faster-than-light travel, civilian spacecraft technology, and Eastern Federation social and cultural courses.

"This is only the first stage of cooperation," Lin Qingyuan added. "As mutual trust deepens between both parties, we can expand into more areas in the future."

Lina Sol read the list carefully, maintaining a polite smile while her mind calculated rapidly.

Aerospace technology training—this was acceptable. As long as the people sent could learn real things, they could fill their gaps in this area upon return.

The FTL principles—even if it was just theory, it was better than being completely ignorant as they were now.

Civilian spacecraft technology—even the most basic version didn't matter, as long as they could reverse-engineer the basic design logic, it would significantly shorten their independent research and development time.

As for those social and cultural courses, she ignored them directly.

Who cared what the Eastern Federation people thought?

What culture could a race without faith have? Just a bunch of unbelievers; aside from technology, the rest was just dross.

With a country like that, who knows if their... was also...

Of course, despite her thoughts, Lina Sol's expression management was quite impeccable.

"We have fully felt the sincerity of the Eastern Federation," she spoke slowly. "In return, the Shankong side is willing to provide the following Biotechnica resources."

She signaled the Chief Scientist, Alva, to open the list.

A Biotechnica database, including a complete System of gene editing, organ cultivation, cell repair, and bionic architecture.

Scholar exchange quotas, up to thirty people per year, who could enter the Shankong core laboratories for exchange.

Additionally, some special biological resources, including active samples for genetic research, rare biological enzymes, and some medicinal biological extracts.

"These are the core achievements of our Void," Alva added, a hint of pride in his tone. "Especially in the areas of cellular telomere repair, biological enzymes, and targeted organ cultivation, we have unique technical paths. We believe they will be helpful to your biomedical research."

Lin Qingyuan nodded calmly on the surface, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Those old academicians at the Eastern Federation Academy of Sciences had been waiting for exactly this.

For over a hundred years, they had never been able to fully master the technology of Enhancement Serums. If they could find a Breakthrough from the Shankong side, even if it just provided some new ideas, it would be a massive gain.

"What is the level of openness for the database?" he asked a key question.

"Except for a very few areas involving national security, over eighty percent of the research materials are open," Alva replied decisively. "The Shankong Civilization is never stingy with its friends."

Lin Qingyuan nodded and didn't ask further.

Next, the two sides consulted on details such as the number of exchange students, duration, and treatment. The entire process went quite smoothly, with both sides showing considerable "sincerity."

As for the company, if there was something you wanted, you could just check their official website.

As long as you could afford the credit points, it wasn't a problem.

Two hours later, the technical exchange framework agreement was officially finalized.

The three parties shook hands again and took a group photo, announcing the official launch of the cooperation.

After seeing off the people from the Eastern Federation and the company, the five power-holders did not leave the conference room.

As soon as the door closed, Rex slammed his fist on the table.

"Those terms," he gritted his teeth, "are completely one-sided! What they gave us is all castrated junk! What we gave them is a complete database!"

"Calm down, Rex." Lina Sol sat back in her chair, the polite smile on her face long gone, replaced by a complex expression of exhaustion mixed with greed.

"Do you really think the database we gave them was real?"