On the Ark.

Who talks about cooperation like that?!

Who starts a collaboration with the phrase, "I think your time is up"?!

Where did you find such a negotiation genius?!

Lin Ye couldn't help but turn around and glare fiercely at Nian, trying to warn her not to say anything reckless. However, Lin Ye forgot that Nian was practically immune to all threats from him; no words or actions could provoke her, let alone a single glance. Nian didn't even bother to acknowledge him and simply ignored him.

Moreover, it's already too late for Lin Ye to warn Nian now.

The words have already been spoken.

Elder Kieran's expression had changed from initial surprise to anger.

After all, no normal person would like the phrase "the end is near".

"Kid." As expected, Elder Kieran's tone also turned somber. "Do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course I know," Nian said, pursing her lips. "Besides, 'kid' is a term I use to address you, so please don't use it to call me, okay?"

"You..." Elder Zilean seemed about to erupt, but as one of Laterano's elders, he possessed a certain level of shrewdness, though not many. He turned to Lin Ye and said, "I know Rhodes Island wants to snatch Rhine Lab's order from us, but if you're going to try to grab attention with such tricks, I can only say you underestimate Zilean. If there's nothing else, please leave."

After saying that, Kieran stood up and prepared to leave.

This gave Lin Ye a huge headache. He hadn't even managed to say a single word to Kieran, and Kieran was already leaving? What kind of situation was this?

"What are you babbling about?" Before Lin Ye could reply, Nian spoke again, in a very disdainful tone, "What does your physical condition have to do with Rhodes Island's order? Even if you agree to cooperate with Rhodes Island, Rhodes Island's current technology can't save you."

At this moment, Lin Ye really wanted to cover Nian's mouth and shut her up. He began to regret bringing this auntie along; wasn't he just making trouble for himself?

However, the last sentence from Nian had a slight effect. Kieran, who was originally planning to leave, stopped and turned to look at her after hearing her words.

"What exactly do you mean?" Kieran said in a deep voice. "Aren't you just trying to cleverly point out my 'ailment' and then explain that only Rhodes Island can cure it? Little sister, I've seen this kind of trick far too many times. It's utterly unoriginal."

“Who cares if it’s original or not,” Nian said. “Besides, the last person who called me ‘little sister’ is probably dead by now…”

"Cough cough cough cough." Lin Ye hurriedly stood up, clearing his throat while pressing Nian's shoulder to signal her to stop talking nonsense. But at the same time, he had to explain for Nian, "Mr. Ji, to be honest, this Miss Nian is the most outstanding doctor on our island. Many times she can see problems that other doctors cannot. So you might as well listen to what she has to say before making a decision."

In truth, Lin Ye really didn't want to involve Nian. He originally just hoped that Nian could stay quietly by his side and be a mascot. After all, Rhodes Island is such a big place, it would be unreasonable for a dignified Doctor not to have one or two beautiful secretaries, right? Just look at this old man, a room full of Zakat angels.

But he never expected that Nian was not a well-behaved little secretary at all, but a troublesome ancestor.

But what could Lin Ye do now that things had already escalated? He couldn't very well push Nian out and then tell Kieran that he and Nian weren't actually that close, could he? That would be too stupid. So all he could do now was cooperate with Nian and hope that Nian genuinely noticed something wrong with Kieran's body, rather than just making things up.

"The best doctor?" Kieran's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said with a sneer, "I have a full physical examination at Rhine Lab every six months. Even the best doctor at Rhine Lab wouldn't say there's anything wrong with my body. And the last physical examination was just a month ago. Are you trying to say that I suddenly fell ill within this month?"

“No.” Nian shook his head and said quite seriously, “You’ve been having this episode for a long time.”

Kieran's eyes widened: "You!"

"The doctor you mentioned," Nian slowly interrupted Kieran, "can he really detect all the problems in your body?"

"Ha, if he can't do it, then you think you can?"

Nian shook his head: "I can't either. I'm not a doctor, how would I know if you're sick?"

Lin Ye's lips twitched slightly.

"Playing tricks." Kieran clearly didn't want to waste any more time here and prepared to leave again.

However, the next sentence from that year stopped him again.

“I remember you have a monster here called ‘Abomination’, right?” Nian said. “Its power isn’t so easy to control, is it?”

Kieran froze.

"Let me guess." Nian tilted his head, a faint smile on his face. "Mortals want to plunder power that doesn't belong to them, but end up being devoured by that power. This kind of plot is quite common in movies and TV dramas, isn't it?"

Kieran turned around abruptly, staring intently at Nian, his expression no longer calm.

“What do you know?” Kieran asked in a hoarse voice. “Why do you know all this?”

Lin Ye also turned his head and looked at Nian in disbelief.

He had been worried about how to get Mostima and Abomination out of Kieran, but he never expected that Nian would take the lead, and in such a way at that. As for the matter of Nian getting involved with Abomination's power, although he didn't know how Nian figured it out, judging from Kieran's reaction, it seemed to be true.

“I told you, I can see the problems your doctors can’t,” Nian said. “That’s probably why you have a check-up every six months, right? Because you’re afraid of dying. It’s just a pity that you don’t have an illness, or at least not an ordinary one. Doctors can never solve your problem.”

Kieran stared intently at Nian: "You mean, you can solve this?"

"Who knows?" Nian shrugged. "But I think you're not in a hurry to leave now, are you?"

Kieran remained silent for a moment.

Then he sat back down.

"Isn't that better?" Nian said with a smile.

Chapter 638 Have you heard of the God of Kalan? His concubine

Although Lin Ye didn't know if Nian did it on purpose, at least after Nian's actions, Elder Kieran returned to his seat, and compared to his previous arrogant disdain, he was much more obedient now. Perhaps, as Nian said, Elder Kieran did have some understanding of his own body, at least more than the Rhine Life physician who gave him checkups every six months.

"Alright, can we talk now?" Elder Kieran asked in a deep voice, "How did you know that?"

"Let's talk about that later." Nian put her hand on Lin Ye's shoulder, looking like a big sister. "Right now, we're talking about him, not me."

Elder Kieran's eyes widened: "What do you mean? Are you trying to make me betray Laterano's interests for my own body?!"

It must be said that Elder Kieran's mind is quite sharp; he immediately thought of this.

Although Lin Ye felt quite uncomfortable hearing the words "selling one's body" and "gaining profit" from Elder Kieran, an elderly man, he still quickly explained, "Please don't misunderstand, Elder Kieran... no, Elder Kieran, we absolutely did not mean that. We are here to discuss business. As for your health, we can have our physician examine you after we finish our discussion."

"Even if I don't choose to cooperate with you?" Elder Kieran retorted.

Logically, the response to such a question should be, "No matter what choice you make, we will help you," to show sincerity. However, Lin Ye really didn't want to show sincerity to Kieran, that old geezer who had looked down on them and deliberately neglected them just a moment ago.

He's not a scoundrel.

So he said tactfully, "Of course, we won't interfere with your decision, but similarly, we won't interfere with Dr. Nian's decision either. We're here to discuss business with Laterano. If the business goes through, I can naturally ask Dr. Nian to help you. But if the business doesn't go through, then I don't have the right to ask Dr. Nian to treat a stranger, do I?"

Kieran finally understood what Lin Ye meant.

It seems to be saying that business is business and individuals are individuals, but in reality it means, "If you can't even reach an agreement on a business deal, then what's the point of talking about it?"

Kieran hadn't expected that Lin Ye, seemingly an honest and simple man, would have such a cunning side, daring to indirectly threaten him, an elder of Laterano. He wanted to say, "Who do you think you are? Rhodes Island is just a small pharmaceutical company in Laterano's eyes, what does it amount to?" But when he thought about his physical condition, he couldn't bring himself to say those words.

After a moment of silence, he snorted coldly: "Then let's talk, but I still want to make it clear that I will not do anything that would harm Lateran's interests."

Despite the seemingly tough words, even Lin Ye, a novice negotiator, could see the change in Taikilan's attitude.

From the initial "What is Rhodes Island anyway?" to "I would never discuss cooperation with you for personal reasons", to the final "We can talk, but don't go too far".

Ha, it's like going from "I'll just touch it" to "I'll just rub against it"... cough cough cough.

Stop, stop, stop! I can't think about this anymore.

Looking at Kieran's wrinkled face, Lin Ye couldn't help but feel a little nauseous at his own thoughts. Fortunately, he managed to hide it in time, and at the same time, he took out the contract that Kal'tsit had given him and handed it to Kieran with a smile.

"Of course, Rhodes Island is a company with a conscience in the industry," Lin Ye said in a deep voice. "We would never betray our partners."

The rest of the process went even more smoothly than Lin Ye had imagined.

I thought it would take at least half a day to talk, but Kieran just flipped through the contract, asked his assistant for some data, and then made a decision.

“Indeed, as you said, this cooperation is very sincere,” Kieran said in a deep voice. “Tomorrow I will bring this contract to the Elder Council meeting to discuss it with the elders, and if nothing unexpected happens, we can finalize it directly.”

Can I place the order right away?

Lin Ye couldn't help but glance at the wall clock and realized that less than half an hour had passed since Kieran took over the contract.

While it's true that they came with great sincerity, on the other hand...

Which business doesn't involve bargaining? But Kieran simply didn't seem inclined to do so, and the reasons were obvious. Lin Ye had to force himself to keep from revealing that knowing smile. But what he didn't expect was that Kieran had more to say: "Of course, I'm talking about barring any unforeseen circumstances. After all, I'm not the only elder in Laterano. If other elders object, there's nothing I can do."

Lin Ye was slightly taken aback. Looking at the calm-faced Kieran, he suddenly understood what the other party meant.

It's clearly saying, "If you can't satisfy me next, then I don't know what might happen at tomorrow's Elders' Council meeting."

Tsk, what a cunning old fox.

However, Lin Ye didn't expect to be able to handle it so easily, so he turned to look at Nian.

He didn't know what was wrong with Kieran's body, but Nian seemed to know very well.

At this moment, Nian was leisurely enjoying the desserts. When she saw Lin Ye and Kieran looking over, she remained calm and even licked off the syrup stuck to her fingers before slowly saying, "That is the power of a curse."

"The power of a curse?"

Kieran frowned. "You mean this is the curse of hatred upon me?"

“What else could it be?” Nian said. “You touched a power you shouldn’t have touched, so naturally you have to bear the backlash you shouldn’t have to bear. To be honest, it’s quite surprising that you’ve survived until now, because that guy called Abomination should be quite powerful. But surviving until now is already the limit, which is why I said your time is coming to an end.”

Nian's words caused a significant change in Kieran's expression, but he remained calm and asked, "Since you know so much about this, what's your plan?"

“Yes, it’s quite simple,” Nian said. “The thing inside your body is the mark of that monster. Either you make that monster erase the mark, or you find someone stronger than that monster to help you erase the mark.”

"Something more powerful than Abomination?" Kieran said. "What are you talking about? How could there possibly be something more powerful than Abomination in this world?"

“Yes. Have you heard of the God of Kalan?” Nian pointed to Lin Ye beside him and said, “Look, his concubine.”

Kieran: "?"

Lin Ye: "?"

Chapter 639 You old geezer, you still want to steal the husband from the God of Kalan?

Lin Ye often couldn't quite figure out whether Nian was the naive and innocent type who would say something shocking or the cunning type who deliberately caused trouble, but he personally leaned towards the latter. After all, the other party always managed to say things like "I and my friends were stunned" at crucial moments, all while wearing a sly smile.

Just like now.

When she said, "The God of Kalan is Lin Ye's concubine," both Lin Ye and Elder Kilan had expressions that seemed to say, "Are you kidding me?"

"Are you... joking with me?" Kieran reacted a step faster than Lin Ye, his face flushing with anger again. "Do you think I'm a fool? Aren't you afraid I'll blacklist Rhodes Island at the Elders' Meeting tomorrow?!"

Because Nian's words were so unreliable, Kieran was so angry that he didn't bother to hide it anymore and directly revealed the unspoken rules they had agreed upon.

Lin Ye quickly laughed it off and said, "No, no, no, Doctor Nian was just telling a joke to lighten the mood because the atmosphere was a bit awkward. Elder Ji, there's no need to take it too seriously."

Kieran glared at her: "Is this the time for jokes? And why do you keep calling me 'Old Kieran'? You're doing it on purpose!"

Lin Ye was even more embarrassed, while Nian curled his lip and said, "I'm too lazy to joke with you at a time like this. Believe it or not, your time is almost up anyway."

It has to be said that Nian is quite skilled at roasting people. He's not only good at roasting his own people, but he's also very good at roasting outsiders. His line, "Anyway, your time is almost up," made Kieran so angry that he was fuming and glaring, but he was helpless. After a long time, he could only manage to say, "Nobody knows if the God of Kalan really exists, but you say that the God of Kalan is this man's little, little, little wife! Do you think I'll believe that?"

"Why can't we believe it? Are you allowing monsters here, but not true gods in Kalan?" Nian said, arms crossed. "As for evidence, it's easy for you. As the little man of the god of Kalan, do you think our Doctor doesn't have some special abilities?"