Stars, Players and Immortals

Chapter 83 Trade Agreements (4K+)

As soon as Zhang Qiming finished talking about cooperating, Wang Shu's signal appeared.

[Unknown quarantine procedures are spreading—]

[The integrity of the second-layer access area of ​​the lunar dark web has decreased!]

Continued expansion will cause widespread damage to the storage network, lunar springboards, and backup links.

[Recommendation: Please halt expansion; this is a prerequisite for negotiation!]

Zhang Qiming raised his hand, causing the Great Wall ICE to retract half a circle inward.

The crimson-black wall remained stationary outside the data nodes of the lunar dark web; Somo, Kongsu, and Nanna remained detained. (Great Wall ICE)

The blockade has not been completely lifted; progress has only been temporarily halted.

His chances of capturing Artemis and Wangshu were limited.

The Great Wall ICE has just been developed, and its internal program code still needs to be iterated through samples.

The reason why they were able to capture Somo, Kongsu, and Nanna in one fell swoop was largely due to their first encounter.

But that's enough. Of the five core AIs, three are in his hands, giving him ample bargaining power.

Zhang Qiming went straight to the point, saying to the two AIs, "On behalf of the Martian Skydrive Government, I propose a provisional trade and cybersecurity agreement to the Lunar Council."

"The key points of the agreement are as follows: The Lunar Council will activate the civilian production line in Busan to provide Mars with basic civilian consumer goods, including prosthetic body maintenance consumables, medical accessories, household machinery parts, living terminals, basic repair parts, and other related materials."

"I'll send you the detailed list now."

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and pushed over the list of civilian consumer goods that Mars urgently needed.

Artemis and Wangshu did not accept it immediately.

The two AI signals first created a read-only isolation zone on the perimeter, scanned the documents using a contamination protocol, and only transferred the list to the council's reading queue after confirming that there were no hidden puppets inside.

A few seconds later, Wangshu's signal appeared first.

The list has been read.

[Type of Goods: Basic Consumer Goods]

Busan's civilian production line has the necessary manufacturing capabilities.

[Synchronize information on changes in Martian government.]

[Match result: Zhang Qiming, Supreme Commander of the Mars Skydrive Government.]

[Second digital avatar match: Saint Sophia Paleologina, the new Pope of the Mechanicus.]

[Two sets of higher-order agent signals exist within the unknown program—]

[Red signal match: Mars military intelligent agent Ares!]

[The white signal was not found in the old database. Based on recent intelligence from Mars, it is presumed to be the new intelligent agent of the Sky Drive Government, Chishiro!]

[Conclusion: The visiting party is qualified to negotiate.]

[Recommendation: Both sides should cease the expansion of offensive programs, lift the continuous pressure on core nodes, and proceed with formal negotiations.]

At this point, while outlining his terms, Zhang Qiming also took the opportunity to offer the Sky Chaser government's cooperation terms.

"In exchange, Mars will provide the Lunar Council with sophisticated components for your maintenance of servers, unmanned equipment, underground computing arrays, and deep-space backup ships."

"During the first phase of cooperation, the Skydrive government may release one captured core AI as a guarantee for the implementation of the agreement."

His gaze swept over Somo, Kongsu, and Nanna, who were locked in digital cages.

"If the subsequent cooperation goes smoothly, the Skydrive government can open a limited public network registration channel for the Lunar Council under the regulatory framework of the Great Wall ICE."

"In the future, once Mars achieves its unified goals and rebuilds the Mars-Terra Internet order, the legal management of intelligent agents can also be included in the formal agenda."

"Of course, there is only one prerequisite: the Lunar Council must stop its illegal infiltration of the public information domain, stop manipulating proxy networks in human society, and accept cybersecurity review by the Skydrive government."

Zhang Qiming raised his hand and pointed at the Great Wall ICE, and the black ice matrix on Su Mo, Kong Su, and Nan Na lit up.

Having said all that, if these lunar AIs still don't learn to be pragmatic, then they shouldn't blame me for using the Great Wall ICE to block the entire lunar dark web.

The Lunar Council has little room for negotiation left.

Artemis and Wangshu clearly understood this principle, but they still needed to think about it more deeply first.

Here's the situation on the lunar council's side: Your Martian government only needs to focus on moving forward, building ships, waging war, and killing each other, but our lunar AI has many more things to think about deeply.

[Under deep consideration — Feasibility assessment of the agreement in progress —]

Busan's civilian production line has the capacity to supply components for Mars, which can be used to maintain underground computing arrays on the lunar surface.

Deep-space backup ships and automated factories.

The cooperation plan has the foundation to be established!

[Issues: Large-scale freight transport cannot be concealed!]

The Terra government must have detected the shipment from Busan, the lunar transfer, and the Mars receiving link.

[Request for clarification: How should we handle Terra's reaction?]

Looking at Artemis's analysis, Zhang Qiming calmly said, "Don't you have the Blue Eyes organization?"

Upon hearing this, the signals from both lunar AIs momentarily paused.

At that moment, Hagia Sophia even sensed a reaction similar to that of a human being "stunned" from the fluctuations in their data.

The so-called Blue Eyes organization is a network of agents that Kong Su has embedded in Terra's real society.

Those selected humans underwent special prosthetic eye modifications, and their pupils would emit a cold blue halo when remotely controlled.

On the surface, they are company directors, security consultants, heads of charitable foundations, and elites from all walks of life; in reality, the blue-eyed people are the eyes, ears, and moles planted by the lunar AI, holding all the gray areas from government affairs to the black market on behalf of the parliament.

Wang Shu was the first to respond.

The Lunar Council can indeed use the Blue Eyes organization to delay the Terran government's response, but such large-scale aiding the enemy cannot be completely and permanently concealed or ignored.

If the cooperation is established, the Lunar Council must publicly acknowledge the existence of trade relations with the Martian government.

[Consequences: The Thai government will issue a strong condemnation and further tighten its policies towards the Moon, further escalating tensions between Thailand and the Moon.]

Zhang Qiming said, "Then let's make it public."

As soon as he finished speaking, even Saint Sophia's digital clone couldn't help but glance at him.

Zhang Qiming did not explain, but continued, "Mars will organize fleet training exercises outside the lunar transport route, covering the lunar transfer line, deep space relay station, and Mars receiving route. All trade fleets carrying agreement identification codes will be included in the Mars Skydrive government's escort list."

Artemis immediately offered a new round of deductions.

[Short-term scenario: The Terran government will express strong dissatisfaction with the trade between Mars and the Moon.]

[Possible measures: diplomatic condemnation, upgrade of orbital monitoring, deployment of additional low-Earth orbit patrol fleets, and reactivation of the lunar blockade proposal.]

[Probability of a military standoff between Thailand and Thailand: 73.44%]

[Probability of localized conflict breaking out within six months: 23.36%]

[Long-term projection: Support for radical, war-loving, and anti-AI groups in the Terran Council will continue to rise.]

[It is estimated that the probability of a war between Thailand and China will enter a high-risk zone in twelve months!]

[Conclusion: This action will continue to escalate the military conflict between Mars and Terra!]

[Further analysis: You are actively increasing the probability of war breaking out—this may very well be your purpose—]

Zhang Qiming: "I didn't. Don't talk nonsense. Don't think you can slander me just because you're in the A team. This is just a normal military exercise!"

Artemis: [————]

Wang Shu: [————]

The two AIs were right; this step will indeed bring the conflict between Thailand and Thailand to the forefront.

The problem is, what real peace exists between Terra and Mars? It's just a thin veil separating them, easily pierced.

The Lunar Council's open supply of goods to Mars will surely enrage the Terran authorities.

But as furious as they were, they would either suppress their anger or bring out their fleet to put on a show of confrontation. Given the way Terran bureaucrats operated, they would definitely hold their noses and endure it in the short term, and would never dare to easily overturn the table.

But you can hold your breath for a while, but not forever. The longer you drag it out, the more your patience will run out, and the greater the chance of things turning sour.

All things considered, with all the wrangling and preparations, Terra will definitely make its move within a year or two.

What Zhang Qiming wanted was precisely this golden period of development, a year and a half.

Therefore, he must adopt a tough stance of not yielding an inch, intimidating the Terra authorities and exploiting their hesitation, making them indecisive and hesitant, thus delaying the start of the war.

A few seconds later, Artemis responded.

The days when the Lunar Council could remain in the gray area and watch from the sidelines are over.

Now there are only two paths: either be served at the table or be served as a dish.

Between eating and being served as a dish, the Lunar Council made a wise choice.

[The Lunar Parliament accepts the first phase of negotiations!]

Condition 1: Release Soma.

[Condition Two: The unknown isolation procedure must cease further expansion!]

[Condition 3: Mars will exchange precision components, server maintenance parts, and unmanned equipment replacement parts for basic civilian consumer goods produced by the Lunar Council.]

Wangshu's signal appeared shortly afterward.

The Busan civilian production line will begin preheating within twelve hours.

The first batch of basic consumer goods is expected to be delivered within a week.

[Transportation Plan: Busan Low-Rail Freight Station - Lunar Relay Warehouse - Mars Receiving Route]

"very good."

Zhang Qiming nodded in satisfaction, then raised his hand, and the Great Wall ICE slowly retreated.

The crimson-black wall receded along the permission boundary, and the black ice matrix also loosened its grip somewhat, restoring Kong Su and Nan Na's external call permissions to the minimum operating threshold.

Black Wall loosened its grip on their necks, but did not release them. After all, the cooperation agreement only stipulated the release of Somo first. At this moment, the digital cage on Somo's body also dissipated. It immediately frantically reorganized the permission structure and sent a self-check command to the immersive network layer of Busan Nest City.

[Somo Core Process Restored]

[Buseong Nest City Remote Control Link Rebooted]

[Tidal power station status monitoring in progress —]

[Automatic factory status check in progress —]

[Low-rail freight station under status monitoring —]

Look, this is AI. Once the cooperation is finalized, it doesn't whine or complain.

Somo was just released from the digital cage, and immediately went into overdrive to maximize production capacity without any emotional fluctuations.

Zhang Qiming was very satisfied with this.

If AI doesn't cause any of those mechanical uprisings or Iron Man rebellions, it's practically the best productivity executor.

No need for rest, no internal friction, and commands are executed immediately; its efficiency in boosting production capacity is an order of magnitude higher than any human industrial team.

He said to the AI ​​of the Lunar Council: "After the first shipment arrives on Mars, we will deliver the first batch of precision components as agreed. During the transport, the Mars fleet will conduct routine exercises and escort missions outside the lunar route."

The Lunar Council will implement the first phase of the agreement.

[Once the Busan production line is operational, it will prioritize the production of basic civilian consumer goods listed on the Mars inventory.]

The cooperation record has been archived in the core files of Parliament.

Zhang Qiming nodded.

"It's a pleasure working with you."

There was a moment of silence in the lunar dark web.

Several core AIs seemed to have made brief assessments of this statement.

Finally, Artemis gave a response.

【————A pleasure doing business with you.】

Mars, Olympus Mons.

*Pfft—*

Both Hermes-class cyber deep-sea chairs simultaneously released nerve-isolating fluid, and fine white mist sprayed out from the metal gaps. Zhang Qiming and Saint Sophia opened their eyes at almost the same time.

Zhang Qiming raised his hand to remove the neural isolation ring, pulled out the data pin from the back of his neck interface, and gently pressed the confirmation button on the side of the armrest. The deep-sea chair then cleared all the remaining synchronization packets.

After finalizing the first phase of the trade agreement with the Lunar Council, he took the two suppressed AI cores, Kongsu and Nanna, back to the Martian cyberspace, and then ended the infiltration with Saint Sophia.

Saint Sophia also removed the neural isolation ring, and the data spots in her pupils slowly faded.

As soon as she sat up straight, she heard Zhang Qiming say, "I'll leave Kong Su and Nanna to you to make contact with for a while. You are the Pope of Ten Thousand Machines, you should know what to do in a way that benefits the Martian people, the Mechanical Church, and the Skyward Government."

Saint Sophia naturally understood the true meaning behind Zhang Qiming's words.

Zhang Qiming brought the two AIs back to Mars not simply to seize leverage. If these two core AIs could be subdued by the Skyward government, it would be equivalent to having the Lunar Council firmly in control.

Saint Sophia: "I'll give it a try."

Zhang Qiming: "This matter will require your help a bit more. Great Wall ICE will cooperate with your operation."

Saint Sophia said, "I understand."

After finishing his instructions to Hagia Sophia, Zhang Qiming got up, straightened his cuffs and clothes, and walked out.

He still has a lot of official business to attend to.

Outside the deep-sea diving room, personnel from the Internal Health Department had been waiting for a long time.

As Zhang Qiming stepped out of the cabin, two internal security officers immediately stepped forward and draped a dark gray military and political overcoat over his shoulders.

The armored doors leading to the outer layer of the official residence opened one by one, and the levitation vehicle stopped in the center of the enclosed lifting platform. Ares military identification lights flashed on both sides of the vehicle, and the escort drones completed a final patrol along the edge of the platform.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Qiming arrived at the Olympus Hub.

The Supreme Command's night duty system was immediately activated, and the encrypted channels of the Provisional Executive Committee and the Sky Drive Military Commission lit up simultaneously.

Zhang Qiming did not hold a lengthy meeting, but issued two transfer orders in succession.

The first transfer order was sent to the Technology Liberalization and Reconstruction Committee and the Industrial Coordination Agency of the three major blocks.

[Supreme Commander's Order: Preparation for Delivery of Precision Components]

After the order was issued, the Mars Industrial System immediately began rearranging its inventory and transporting precision components in preparation for the delivery agreed upon with the Lunar Council.

The second order was issued to the First and Third Fleets in the name of the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission of the Sky Drive.

[Central Military Commission Order: Joint Exercises and Training Outside the Thai-Lunar Flight Belt]

After issuing the two transfer orders, Zhang Qiming rubbed his temples, a gesture that had almost become a habit. While rubbing his temples, he casually opened the diplomacy interface of the Gaia system and selected to expand [Diplomatic and Trade Agreements].

A diplomatic and trade agreement—

Trade Partner: Lunar Council; Agreement Type: Monthly Resource Exchange Agreement; Duration: Six Months; Trade Acceptance: +1

Our side provides: Precision components: -8/month; The other side provides: Consumer goods: -35/month. "The issue of consumer goods has been resolved."

Zhang Qiming leaned back in his office chair, feeling slightly more relaxed.