On the Ark.

He touched the penguin's head and face, then said with some surprise, "The workmanship is really good."

Then, Exusiai came out from the back room: "Wow, guest, you're really lucky today, I found the list... Um, boss, when did you arrive?"

Lin Ye's body froze instantly.

……

……

Author's BB: I can probably only update 4K today. I have a fever and a headache. The temperature in Hangzhou is really torturous (I feel like I've had a really bad month).

Chapter 424 Negotiation

Lin Ye felt he should change his habit of touching things that were always on his mind. He shouldn't act like a primary school student, wanting to touch everything new and interesting. Just like touching Chen's Chixiao a year ago, and touching the boss of Penguin Logistics a year later, it was really... but the feel was still pretty good.

Cough cough cough, it seems I've gotten the wrong idea again.

Right now, the owner of Penguin Logistics, the man known as "The Emperor"... no, the male penguin, is standing on the counter, wearing sunglasses, folding his wings, looking down at Lin Ye. To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that he had just moved and spoken, Lin Ye would probably still think it was just a toy.

"So you're the representative sent by Rhodes Island?" the Emperor spoke slowly. "You're quite audacious. Do you know who I am?"

Before Lin Ye could speak, Exusiai chimed in with a grin, "You're the BOSS, aren't you?"

"Shut up, Exusiai, I didn't ask you." The Emperor stretched out his "hand" and pointed at Lin Ye. "Kid, you should have been prepared for this!"

Exusiai got excited: "Ha, he just touched you, right? Did he do something outrageous while I wasn't here? Wow, this feels so exciting!"

"Shut up! Exusiai! Don't speak when the boss is talking!"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh." Exusiai nodded repeatedly. "Okay, okay, BOSS, you can continue. I won't say anything."

The Emperor snorted coldly and said, "The last person who dared to do such a disrespectful thing to me was..."

“Just recently,” Exusiai added, “and it was someone from Rhodes Island, I think his name was Medivh?”

The Emperor finally snapped: "His name is Magellan, not Medivh! Exusiai, are you deliberately picking a fight?! Talking back to your boss like that, you're out of a month's salary."

"Huh?" Exusiai's smile vanished instantly. "No!"

"Heh, now you know you were wrong? It's too late!" The emperor's tone was somewhat smug.

Lin Ye then heard a familiar name: "Magellan? I know him!"

"What good is it for you to know her?" The Emperor glanced at Lin Ye. "Magellan and I have a good relationship, but what does that have to do with you? You're not hoping to use Magellan to get closer to me, are you?"

"No, I was just saying it offhand."

Lin Ye felt somewhat helpless, realizing his thoughts had been seen through. He had a feeling he'd been tricked; otherwise, why wouldn't the Emperor have come out properly and greeted him? Instead, he stood silently among the dolls, watching him and letting him touch them without uttering a sound. If Exusiai hadn't come out, who knows how long the Emperor would have remained a doll?

However, Lin Ye couldn't fathom why the Emperor would do such a thing.

While Lin Ye was wondering what was going on, the Great Emperor sat down again, then casually grabbed a bottle of wine from the counter, twisted off the cap, and started drinking. This was the first time Lin Ye had ever seen a penguin drink wine, and he had to admit that the action was rather comical. He had a feeling that the wine would spill out of the Great Emperor's beak, but it didn't.

The emperor drank almost half the bottle before putting it down.

"It tastes bad." The Emperor pushed the bottle towards Exusiai. "Or rather, it's terrible. Don't leave this kind of inferior wine here to embarrass yourself. Throw it all away."

"Huh? All of them?"

"Throw away all of this brand! Because it has ruined my expectations!" the Emperor shouted. "This is unforgivable!"

"Alright, alright." Exusiai shrugged. "You're the boss, I'll listen to you."

“If you had been this obedient just now, I wouldn’t have docked your pay.” With that, the Emperor looked at Lin Ye again. “Then let’s get straight to the point. Kal’tsit sent you to me, right? You want to buy warships from me.”

It has to be said that the Emperor's thinking is indeed beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. Just a few minutes ago, he was still angry that Lin Ye had touched him without permission, then suddenly he picked up a bottle of wine and chugged it down, complaining about the quality of the wine afterward, and finally steered the conversation back to the main topic, leaving Lin Ye completely bewildered by his temperament. However, since they had already gotten to the point, Lin Ye immediately took out the envelope that Kal'tsit had given him and handed it to the Emperor: "Kal'tsit asked me to give this to you."

The Emperor scoffed, but didn't immediately take it: "What era are we living in? Still communicating with envelopes? Rhodes Island shouldn't be that backward."

Lin Ye didn't know how to respond.

"Never mind, I always felt you were a bit slow on the uptake." The Emperor sighed and took the envelope from Lin Ye's hand. "Since Kal'tsit sent you here, can I assume that you are the person in charge of Rhodes Island?"

"No, I'm just here to deliver a message."

“For such an important deal, would Kal’tsit only send a messenger to me? That woman isn’t that stupid.” The Emperor opened the envelope. “But judging from your reaction, she probably didn’t tell you many details… Hmm, this offer is indeed much more sincere than the last one, but if I may be frank, we still can’t get that warship she’s eyeing.”

Before coming, Lin Ye had already learned the general situation from Kal'tsit. Rhodes Island did not have the capability to manufacture warships and could only purchase them from abroad. Currently, through Penguin Logistics, they had contacted a warship produced by Victoria. However, the price was far from what Kal'tsit had expected, but Kal'tsit was unwilling to give up, so she sent Lin Ye to negotiate with the Emperor.

Bargaining, or "bargaining" for short, is actually similar to buying vegetables at a market, except this time you're buying a warship.

Lin Ye said, "We can only offer this much money, but we can offer other items as payment."

"Easy for you to say." The Emperor made a disdainful penguin sound. "What can you offer as compensation? Even if you dismantle and sell your old mobile city, it won't make up for the difference."

Lin Ye thought to himself that the price Kal'tsit was offering already included the full value of the old mobile city after it was dismantled. Rhodes Island really couldn't squeeze out a single penny, but they absolutely had to buy this warship.

“We can use medicine,” Lin Ye said carefully, “medicine to combat Oripathy.”

“I knew you would say that,” the Emperor said. “But it doesn’t matter. I know that the medicine to combat Oripathy is the most precious thing in the world, but the best one currently available is still the one from Rhine Lab. I admit that the medicine that Rhodes Island improved is more effective, but if the price and cost cannot be reduced, then it is meaningless.”

Lin Ye slowly raised two fingers: "Two years."

"What, two years?"

“Give us two years,” Lin Ye said, “and we’ll be able to come up with a better drug.”

Chapter 425 Lin Ye, Subjected to Unspoken Rules (Part 1)

Because it was their first negotiation and Lin Ye lacked experience, his phrasing was somewhat problematic. To the Emperor, it sounded as if Rhodes Island had given them a blank check, or that they wanted something for nothing, which naturally displeased him. Fortunately, Lin Ye quickly recovered and clearly conveyed Kal'tsit's true meaning.

"You mean, Rhodes Island will develop a superior drug for Oripathy within two years, one that can completely replace the current one on the market?" the Emperor asked, "and then give us full distribution rights for the new drug?"

Lin Ye nodded: "Yes, that's what we mean."

"Hmm, that sounds much more reasonable," the Emperor said slowly. "So, Kal'tsit never intended for the seller to lower the price in the first place, but rather planned for us to make the first move and cover the difference. In return, Penguin Logistics will receive the distribution rights for future new drugs? Am I right?"

Lin Ye nodded again.

"That's quite interesting. I must say, Rhodes Island certainly has a lot of ideas," the Emperor said slowly, folding his wings. "Indeed, if there really were a new drug that could perfectly replace the old drugs currently on the market, the value of the distribution rights alone would be equivalent to a mobile warship. But the problem is, why should I believe you can develop such a new drug within two years? To completely replace the current 'Life' type on the market, simply improving the efficacy a little won't be enough. There must be a breakthrough, and costs must be controlled."

“We are aware of all of this,” Lin Ye said. “Since we can make this promise to you, we must be confident.”

The Emperor curled his lip: "Young man, confidence can't feed you or put money on the table. To put it bluntly, you just want Penguin Logistics to invest in your new drug, but no matter what kind of investment it is, it can't be done with just words."

Lin Ye understood the Emperor's meaning, but he was helpless, because Kal'tsit had only sent him with a letter and a mouth. Entrusting such an important task to someone with no experience—did she not even expect him to succeed? Otherwise, why would she have thought of sending him to persuade the Emperor?

Furthermore, Lin Ye also knew that the new drug Kal'tsit wanted the Emperor to invest in wasn't "L" type, but rather a new drug that the R&D department had been developing. It would take about a year to produce results, so he could only invite the Emperor to send a specialist to Rhodes Island to check on the current development status of the new drug, thereby assessing its value and whether it was worth their investment.

"Since things have come to this point, I will definitely send someone to take a look," the Emperor said. "And to be honest, I'm not very interested in your new drug. Unless it can completely cure Oripathy, it's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. And Penguin Logistics has never been involved in or interested in pharmaceuticals. The only reason we're going to visit you is because of Kal'tsit."

Before Lin Ye could speak, Exusiai gave the Emperor a thumbs up and said, "As expected of a BOSS, your aura is stronger than others."

"Really?" The Emperor adjusted his sunglasses. "But why do I feel like you're mocking me..."

"How could that be? You're my boss, how could I possibly mock you!" Exusiai said with a grin. "I was just sincerely praising you."

The Emperor nodded with satisfaction: "That's more like it, but even so, I still won't return the deducted wages to you."

"Oh... how could this happen?"

Seeing that the Emperor had agreed to send a specialist to Rhodes Island to inspect the new drug's development, Lin Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief. In this way, the task Kal'tsit had given him could be considered barely completed. After all, expecting to finalize a deal for a mobile warship in a first meeting was far too unrealistic. As long as he could arouse the Emperor's desire to invest, that would be considered a success.

Meanwhile, Lin Ye was still pondering the Emperor's words.

The Emperor just said he has no interest in the drugs currently on the market, nor in the new drugs Rhodes Island's R&D department is researching, because none of these drugs can cure Oripathy; they only offer temporary relief, delaying the inevitable. This made Lin Ye think of "L" type, a drug that can completely cure Oripathy. Perhaps that would pique the Emperor's interest? If Rhodes Island were to offer "L" type as a new drug for investment, the Emperor would probably readily provide the funding. Even if the final product's development date is unknown, it's still a drug with the potential to change the world, far surpassing other drugs.

Of course, the "L" type is currently a top-secret Rhodes Island research and development product. Even within Rhodes Island, only a few people know about it, so it's even less likely that it would be brought out to attract investment at this time.

"Hey kid, what are you thinking about?" Lin Ye's thoughts were interrupted by the Great Emperor. "Isn't it common sense to look people in the eye when you're communicating with them?"

"Ah, sorry." Lin Ye immediately raised his hand and looked at the Emperor's eyes... what the hell? How could you see his eyes while he was wearing sunglasses?

"Tch, I really don't know what Rhodes Island was thinking, sending someone as inexperienced as you to negotiate with me." The Emperor shook his head. "Couldn't you have sent someone a little more mature? Like Magellan or something?"

Magellan is anything but mature...

Lin Ye couldn't help but complain in his heart.

"Alright, alright." Exusiai stood up. "Now that the work is finished, boss, can we go home?"

The Emperor flapped his wings: "Whatever, I have things to do tonight anyway. An old friend of mine opened a new bar and invited me to go."

"Hey? Want some drinks? Do you have any snacks? Can you take me with you?" Exusiai shouted.

"Go away, what are minors doing going to bars?"

Watching the conversation between the Emperor and Exusiai, Lin Ye couldn't help but glance at the time, thinking that Penguin Logistics' closing time was surprisingly early, almost no different from when he was slacking off on Rhodes Island. Just then, Exusiai suddenly put her hand on Lin Ye's shoulder: "Hey, want to come with us tonight?"

Lin Ye was stunned for a moment: "Me?"

"Yes."

"I think I'll pass." Lin Ye was a little confused; how did he suddenly get invited?

Lin Ye's answer displeased the Emperor: "Hey, you! How can you be so insensible?"

"what?"

"Isn't it common sense for a salesperson to accompany their boss to a bar?!" the Emperor shouted. "Don't you understand the unspoken rules of the workplace?!"

Lin Ye: "???"

……

……

The author's rant: My cold has gotten worse, and I've been in bed all day. It's tough.

Chapter 426 Lin Ye, Subjected to Unspoken Rules (Part 2)

"Wow, cheers to the boss for treating us to this meal!"

"cheers!"

"Yo hoo!"

Several bottles of beer clinked together, making a crisp sound, accompanied by the Emperor's angry shriek: "Exusiai, shut up! What do you mean by saying I went through so much trouble to treat you? The amount of beer I bought you could circle the outskirts of Lungmen! Don't you have any conscience?"

"Okay, okay." Exusiai nodded repeatedly, raising her glass again. "Cheers to the conscientious BOSS!"

"cheers!"