In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

Anyway, they definitely didn't go to the wrong place—the previous gift had worked, and the other party had already sent someone to greet them at the door. "Please follow me, gentlemen."

After passing through the waterside pavilion, they arrived at a quiet room. Cheng Gujian was standing straight in front of a painting. Hearing the noise, he turned around and said, "Envoy Xu, Madam Xu, welcome."

"Greetings, Grand Duke Gujian."

Xu Shi gave a perfunctory bow and exchanged a few polite words, "I saw the Duke during the day, and he was so handsome and imposing. I didn't expect him to be such a refined person."

Indeed, although the mansion appears unassuming from the outside, its interior is quite luxurious—it is fully furnished with all kinds of ornaments and paintings, and even the table legs are adorned with gemstones. Even if we don't know their value, they must be the work of a master from the Hualan Empire.

The same goes for the waterside pavilion and courtyard we passed through on our way here; they are so lifelike, it's clear that a lot of effort was put into them.

Xia Wuyou glanced at him, "You were right... How do you know so much?"

Anyway, there's no such rule in Night City. Whether it's the "Refraction" of the past or the "Snake Ring" of today, they are all very impressive inside and out. Otherwise, she wouldn't have made such a comment.

Xu Shi blinked. He had a good brother in his past life… whose place looked like a slum if you didn't know better, but when he walked in, the floor was practically made of gold. That's when he learned about this trick…

Of course, this was just a minor incident and not the main topic of today.

"Not at all, I'm just a military man, merely indulging in a bit of refined pursuits."

Cheng Gujian exchanged a few polite words and then offered them seats. He then pointed directly to the box placed in the quiet room and said, "Envoy Xu's gift is quite substantial. You must have something very important to discuss with us so late at night?"

"It's mainly about trade."

Xu Shi spoke frankly, "I don't want to cause trouble for the royal family either... Rather than letting them gossip endlessly, why not just finalize it with Your Excellency directly? I think your attitude is everyone's attitude in this matter."

"Envoy Xu, you flatter me."

Cheng Gujian waved his hand gently, “Both thunder and rain are imperial grace. I am merely entrusted by the late emperor to assist Her Majesty the Empress... Her Majesty is still young and immature in handling many things. When she grows up, she will have to repay all of this.”

At first glance, his words sounded very modest, but his expression didn't convey that at all. Instead, it had a "you've come to the right person, young man, you're very perceptive" vibe to it.

Grand Duke Gujian even subtly shifted his body to the side, revealing the painting behind him—a painting of him and the former emperor of the empire standing side by side, as evidenced by their identical crowns.

Wow, what a show-off!

Xu Shi thought to himself, "You still say you're not a powerful minister? This behavior is no worse than ruling from behind the curtain..."

The main reason is that he's very familiar with this feeling. "My status in Night City is about the same as yours, isn't it? Then it's alright."

Even his villain radar has been activated uncontrollably. This guy is probably a mid-to-late game boss, right?

After all, this is very much like Ao Bai's script—in the early stages, he was all-powerful and his achievements overshadowed the emperor, but then he was taken down by the protagonist who had grown stronger, and while purging the court of corrupt officials, he also won the empress's heart...

Who could blame him when Dongfang Xiao really was a girl? And a blonde, blue-eyed girl in white stockings at that… It was hard not to think of this kind of plot development.

Damn, what a cliché script. I have no idea what kind of people were in charge of designing the experimental fields in "Tenri".

"At least for now, Her Majesty the Empress is still cultivating the way of being a ruler, isn't she?"

However, he couldn't say this outright. Xu Shi only hinted at the subtext in Cheng Gujian's words, "Then I'll have to trouble you... We can't just turn back now, can we? The governor will scold me if he finds out."

“That makes sense. It’s clear that Envoy Xu and your party have an important mission.”

Cheng Gujian nodded slightly, his eyes sharpening. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have pulled that stunt during the day... Speaking of which, your ability is quite interesting; it's to stir up other people's emotions?"

"A mere trick cannot fool your discerning eye."

Xu Shi did not deny it, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Your ability to remain unaffected suggests that your strength is probably above mine."

This statement carries a hint of self-deprecation—to be fair, Xu Shi is now at least an A+ level "Ascensionist," or, in the words of the Hua Lan Empire, a "Chosen One" of the "Chong Yue" level, one in ten thousand. How could the penetrating power of "Evil Entropy Increase" be so easily resisted?

The fact is that at least 80% of the people present were seriously affected. Cheng Gujian was one of the few who were basically unaffected. This alone shows that he was a formidable opponent to everyone, not just a figurehead. He was not a powerful minister who was all show and no substance. He could not have become a powerful minister if he was only all show and no substance.

Besides him, there was one other person he couldn't defeat: Dongfang Xiao himself.

However, he did know something about this. He had heard Pan Cheng and Xiao Mei talk about it when he came. The imperial family has a lineage that is similar in ability for each generation of descendants, and it is called "Holy Light".

This is a versatile ability that combines offense and defense. Its passive effect is to neutralize most so-called "unclean things," such as mental shocks or physical poisons. As the ability level increases, it can materialize the so-called "holy light," creating things like lightsabers and light shields.

That's why the little empress seemed completely unaffected... In a sense, this ability is similar to Xie Qingyan's "ability nullification," but there are still significant differences when you look into it.

For example, if he can't influence the dog woman, it's like she's a stone woman, which is why he can't penetrate her. But Dongfang Xiao will cut off most of it, leaving at most a root. It's not that it's absolutely ineffective, but the effect will be greatly reduced. If you really insist on forcing it in, you can, but you won't get any pleasure.

This "Holy Light" is more like a specialization of the dark element, and it can't do what Xie Qingyan did, banning the accounts of whoever he touched... In general, each has its own merits.

The imperial family has a long history, so it's not exactly a secret to everyone. When I first heard about it, I even made a few sarcastic remarks.

Firstly, he also discovered that the abilities of the people of the Hualan Empire mostly had a touch of fantasy magic—this holy light, that sword array, and Fan Shigui's fire elemental ability... These kinds of abilities are rare in Night Sin City, and even if they exist, they are not particularly popular. Our country has advanced technology, so it is not too difficult to restrain these abilities.

Just like when Xie Qingyan was implanting superpowers before, he would directly use any water or fire superpowers he encountered as experimental subjects, without finding them strange at all.

Secondly, they actually possessed an ability that could be passed down through generations? This was extremely rare even in the City of Nightsin. At the time, everyone joked that even if the empress was an old woman, they should still capture her and study her...

In conclusion, although both city-states are under the same "rust fog," there are quite a few differences between them.

"Envoy Xu is too modest."

Cheng Gujian smiled, but his expression showed no sign of relaxation; instead, the topic had made him more wary.

Because he was also very clear that Xu Shi's abilities were by no means "trivial skills"; on the contrary, his abilities were quite powerful.

The reason he was able to withstand this mental shock was entirely due to an accessory he wore—the late emperor of the empire had once blessed him with "holy light" through a secret method, which made him fearless in the face of these attacks. His own abilities had nothing to do with this aspect.

However, he didn't have an easy time resisting Xu Shi's mental attack. Afterwards, he noticed that there was a crack in his accessory. This alone made him realize that the young man with glasses in front of him was definitely not simple; he was a real wolf in sheep's clothing.

Not to mention that he activates his ability without any warning, and many people are caught off guard and fall victim to it... Anyone who thinks he's weak is an idiot for being able to release such a wide-ranging mental shock in an instant.

But he couldn't say that either, because saying it would be tantamount to admitting his weakness.

Both Xu Shi and Cheng Gujian were shrewd old foxes; they both knew that the other side was hiding something, and pretending not to know was the best option.

"Actually, you don't need to be in such a hurry. The strength of your Night Sin City is clear to all the royal family and ministers present today."

After calming his emotions slightly, Cheng Gujian spoke in a deep voice and continued, "His Majesty is also very interested in this. Even if you hadn't come to me, it would have been only a matter of time before our two nations established trade relations."

"It's always better to be faster than slower."

Xu Shi smiled and said, "Besides, now that everyone has seen it, I hope the process can be made simpler."

Trade, in essence, is still a transaction. Since it is a transaction, everyone knows that there is a delaying tactic that can be used.

Xu Shi didn't want to delay, partly because he had other things to do, and partly because if he dragged it out too long, the people of the Hualan Empire would come to their senses...

The move he used today has a formal name: a sudden blow to the head. Essentially, it's like yelling for no reason before a fight. It can certainly startle someone in the short term, but if you think about it carefully over time, are you really that scary? Probably not.

Because the Hualan Empire is not a pushover. Today, they killed Fan Shigui, but its strength wasn't that great... Could such a vast empire truly have no foundation? It certainly does.

I've heard at least for a while that the Vatican possesses a so-called ultimate weapon, and the royal family also has a top-secret treasure. Considering that they mainly target "Rust Fog," the power of these objects must be considerable. Otherwise, why would "Heavenly Principle" create such a testing ground? Is it just a game? It shouldn't be underestimated.

But once someone brings these things up, the situation won't be as one-sided as it was during the day; it will be all unnecessary trouble.

That's why Xu Shi turned around and contacted Cheng Gujian privately to finalize everything as quickly as possible. It would be too late to say anything else then, and this would give him more room to maneuver.

“What Envoy Xu said is true. I have certainly broadened my horizons today.”

Cheng Gujian smiled faintly and pointed again at the gift Xu Shi had given him earlier, "So, is this your attempt to mentally assault me?"

"How could that be? This is more like a gift to make friends."

Xu Shi also laughed, "I just don't know what you need, so I can only offer this humble answer... As for asking you for help, there will naturally be a different price."

As he spoke, he gave Xia Wuyou a wink, and the other person understood and opened the briefcase he had brought.

"The weapons and medicine samples here are more effective than those displayed during the day."

Xu Shi explained with a smile, "If you need them, I can guarantee that they will only exist in your possession."

This is when the tug-of-war truly ends and we get to the point: if you seek Cheng Gujian's help, or rather, establish this kind of private cooperative relationship with him unilaterally, then of course you have to offer something extra.

The gold and silver from before were certainly not enough. A dignified duke would never lack such gold and silver, just like how he himself never had to worry about money in the City of Night Sin. At most, it was just used to show his attitude, or to put it more nicely, a stepping stone.

Cheng Gujian's words just now also implied that he was not as shocked as others—he himself was not much affected by his own abilities, so he naturally recovered faster.

Xu Shi had anticipated this situation. During the day, it was enough to intimidate 70-80% of the people. Expecting to intimidate every single person was unrealistic. Therefore, he had already made arrangements for a backup plan, which could be considered the conditions he had actually given.

Providing better weapons only to Cheng Gujian is undoubtedly sending a signal—no matter how much trade is established between Night Sin City and the Hualan Empire, the influx of new weapons will not affect your status, because I will give you better things to upgrade your private army.

More valuable assets are often reserved for those who are more important.

Neither of them brought up the matter, but Xu Shi was well aware that Cheng Gujian's power was so great that he must have a private army, which was one of the foundations of his position as a powerful minister.

Anyway, don't come up with something like "I am wholeheartedly devoted to the country and have no selfish motives." If you really do that, you won't even let me in the door. If you let someone in and then say such nonsense, then you're just being hypocritical.

The weapons he brought were essentially targeted at this market. High-level "Ascensionists" might not need these things. When have you ever seen Old Master Wen care about these things? Even someone at Xia Wuyou's level has always used alloy battle blades. He does rely on them, but not much.

However, for non-"Ascended Ones" and low-level "Ascended Ones", the improvement brought by equipment is obvious. These people are also the largest fighting force of a city-state or country.

Therefore, based on this premise, what Xu Shi promised him might not even be maintaining his position, or even further enhancing it.

"...How much can you give me?"

Cheng Gujian paused for a moment, then began to speak frankly, his subconscious biting of his lip indicating that he was already somewhat tempted.

"That depends on how much you need."

Xu Shi crossed his arms and smiled, "Including the future when diplomatic routes are fully opened, I can guarantee that your people will have a higher priority."

"Then what do you want?"

Cheng Gujian pondered for a moment.

"What I want is very simple."

Xu Shi nodded and said, "In addition to direct trade with the royal family, I hope to obtain a permit to open trading posts. There is only one requirement for these trading posts: we, the City of Night Sin, must operate them independently, and no one else, whether the royal family or the Holy See, has the right to interfere."

"Of course, you'll get a share of the profits, specifically... 80/20?"

Cheng Gujian nodded, signaling him to continue.

"As for the goods we hope to receive... here is a list, would you like to take a look?"

Cheng Gujian took the list, glanced at it, and asked with some curiosity, "Is this all you want?"

The items mentioned above are commonplace for the Hualan Empire; they are all natural items containing a lot of "divine energy," such as silver pine wood... If we're talking about rare items, they are just some minerals, but the empire's reserves in this area are by no means small.

"More precisely, in this direction?"

Xu Shi smiled and said, "I made this list rather hastily, and it may change in the future. We can adjust it then, how about that?"

The so-called trade is about exchanging what you have and what you don't. Not only Cheng Gujian, but Xiao Mei also had a similar reaction when she saw these things. However, the City of Night Sin lacks these diverse plants and animals that naturally contain "rust mist".

The major conglomerates have limited methods for extracting "Rust Fog," using either minerals or seawater, and their biodiversity is not as rich as that of the Hualan Empire.

The saying "every coin has two sides" applies here. These things are actually quite valuable to Xu Shi and his team, especially at this crucial juncture in their research on superpower transplantation. They can provide a lot of unexpected research value, as evidenced by how interested Jiang Chengcheng and Xie Qingyan are in them...

“…It makes sense.”