77: Chapter 77 Li Guibing's Price

After the incident at the communication market, Li Guibing took the initiative to request a meeting.

The location was not his warehouse, nor was it a teahouse commonly used by the Old Goods Circle, but a temporary meeting room arranged by Tang Zhiwei.

He was very sensible.

He didn't bring many people, only a secretary and a black briefcase filled with documents.

Zhao Ye leaned against the doorway, his gaze toward him not particularly friendly.

Shen Qinghe sat at the table, Bai Ya was in charge of taking notes, and Tang Zhiwei sat in as an observer representing the logistics line.

After Li Guibing entered, his first sentence was very direct.

"I know you don't like beating around the bush."

He opened the case.

Inside were a list of Old Goods Circle warehouses, logistics routes, several gray storage contracts, contact information for cargo resellers, and several suspected transit points for anomalous old objects.

"I can hand these things over to Torch."

Zhao Ye raised an eyebrow.

"And the conditions?"

Li Guibing did not deny it.

"I hope to receive protection."

"If my people aren't courting death, I hope they can receive priority rescue if they get entangled with anomalies."

"Additionally, I want to know if there is anything that can help me protect myself."

Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room changed instantly.

Zhao Ye tapped his fingers on the table.

"You want to buy abilities?"

Li Guibing looked at him, not backing down.

"I am used to making things clear."

"In reality, money can buy bodyguards, information, and risk avoidance. Here, I'm not sure of the rules, so I'm asking."

This was where Li Guibing differed from ordinary opportunists.

He wanted a price, but he wouldn't play dumb.

Shen Qinghe spoke up.

"Torch does not sell core permissions."

Li Guibing looked at her.

Shen Qinghe continued: "You provide resources, intelligence, and connections, which can be exchanged for collaboration contributions. Contributions can be redeemed for containment services, risk warnings, basic protection, and logistics collaboration qualifications. But you cannot buy abilities directly, nor can you bypass the vetting process."

Tang Zhiwei added: "If your people participate in missions and violate rules by contacting anomalies, hoarding containment objects, or reselling pollution sources, your contributions will be wiped, and in severe cases, you will be directly added to the danger list."

Li Guibing was silent for a moment.

In reality, he was used to being the one setting the price.

But within the Torch system, money was only one type of resource.

What truly determined one's position was mission records, risk assumption, pollution adaptation, and whether one followed the rules.

Zero's voice echoed in the room.

[Resources can be counted as contributions.]

[Contributions do not equal core permissions.]

[Peripheral collaborator permissions can be applied for.]

[Violation records will permanently affect future assessments.]

Li Guibing looked up at the grey-white text that had appeared.

After a long while, he chuckled.

"Understood."

"Here, money can knock on the door, but it cannot take the head seat."

Bai Ya said indifferently: "Being able to understand this much shows that Boss Li isn't confused yet."

Zhao Ye glanced at Bai Ya.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"It's a high one."

Li Guibing wasn't angry; instead, he pushed the case over.

"Then I'll pay the first installment of the admission fee."

Bai Ya began scanning the documents.

Soon, the Grey Net marked a red line over one of the warehouse numbers.

Warehouse number: J-13.

Note: Previously stored parts of a longevity lamp briefly.

The relaxed atmosphere in the room vanished instantly.

Li Guibing looked at the number, his expression darkening.

"I thought this warehouse had been cleared out a long time ago."

Shen Qinghe stood up.

"Things related to anomalies won't just be cleared out because you think they have been."

Li Guibing had actually prepared himself to be rejected.

It wasn't that he didn't know his status was awkward.

A big shot in the Old Goods Circle, gray storage contracts, circulation of goods of unknown origin, many connections, and messy accounts. In the eyes of the authorities, he wasn't clean. In the eyes of Torch, he was more likely a collection of Old Object Chain nodes.

But he came anyway.

Because that night at the communication market made him see one thing clearly: if he didn't voluntarily hand over some of his channels, the Old Object Chain would sooner or later use his channels to drag more people down.

By then, he wouldn't be a big shot.

Just a larger recipient.

In the meeting room, Tang Zhiwei examined the documents carefully. She wasn't looking at the old goods themselves, but at the storage, transport, insurance, access control, and personnel arrangements.

"In these warehouses of yours, how many are not completely under your control?"

Li Guibing glanced at her.

"Sixty percent."

"How much is outsourced management?"

"Thirty percent."

"How much of it do you yourself not even know what has actually been stored there?"

Li Guibing was silent for a moment.

"Ten percent."

Zhao Ye sneered.

"Is ten percent not enough?"

Li Guibing offered no defense.

"It's not. That's why I came."

This sentence made Zhao Ye uncharacteristically stop retorting.

Shen Qinghe pushed a copy of the Peripheral Collaborator Code of Conduct in front of him.

Li Guibing lowered his head and finished reading it, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

No hoarding of anomalous objects.

No unauthorized testing of containment tools.

No using the Torch name to suppress others, conduct transactions, intimidate, or profit.

If anomalous goods are discovered in circulation, they must be reported immediately.

Those who violate the rules will no longer enjoy Torch protection.

These terms were very rigid.

So rigid that they left him almost no room for maneuvering.

But after reading them, Li Guibing actually smiled.

"This is good."

Zhao Ye raised an eyebrow.

"What's good about it?"

"The stricter the rules, the more it shows you aren't here to steal my business," Li Guibing said. "People who steal business talk about profit sharing. People who set rules are the ones who tell me first what I can't touch."

Bai Ya looked at him.

"Boss Li is indeed suited to live a little longer."

"Many thanks." Li Guibing paused. "Although it doesn't sound like a compliment."

Tang Zhiwei said indifferently from the side: "Around here, it counts as a compliment."

After Li Guibing signed the peripheral collaboration confirmation, Zero did not give him a Mark of the Torch, only a one-way warning talisman.

When encountering a marked anomaly, the talisman paper would heat up.

Aside from that, there was no power, no interface, and no qualification to enter the lobby.

Holding that talisman, Li Guibing finally confirmed one thing.

It wasn't that Torch didn't need real-world resources.

But it would never let real-world resources contaminate the core.

This set of rules was more stable than he had imagined.

And more terrifying.

Before Li Guibing left, he suddenly stopped at the doorway.

"Can I ask one question?"

Shen Qinghe looked at him.

"Ask."

"If I don't follow the rules, what will happen?"

Zhao Ye chuckled.

Li Guibing did not laugh. He asked very seriously.

Shen Qinghe also answered very seriously.

"Ordinary illegal acts will be handed over to the law."

"For anomalous violations, Torch will first stop you from spreading further pollution."

"If both apply, then both will be counted."

Li Guibing was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"I like this answer."

"Why?"

"Because it doesn't sound like it's trying to scare people."

When he pushed the door open to leave, he finally understood completely that Torch was not just another larger buyer in the black market.

It was here to set boundaries for this black market.