A Maybach on a rainy night? Talk to my Levadin!

I originally thought that the Reunion Movement was already a top-tier infected organization because everyone helped each other, shared hardships, and supported one another. I never expected Rhodes Island to be so extravagant.

What are they after?

Such good treatment even made many people feel unworthy of it, fearing that if they didn't put in enough effort, this good life would slip away.

This recruitment drive not only increased the number of employees compared to the first batch, but also added more job positions.

Workers, cooks, mechanics, Level 4 workers, cleaners... there was something for everyone. The staff in the department worked non-stop, registering, verifying, and assigning positions. They completed the recruitment target before 3 p.m.

After the quota was met, the HR staff decisively stopped the queueing process and informed everyone that the recruitment activity would continue the next day. No matter how much the infected people present pleaded or tried to persuade them, they showed no leniency and turned away.

"That's incredibly ruthless!"

Someone stood there stamping their feet, their voice full of grievance, "I've been queuing for so long, and they just stop like that? Can't they be a little more accommodating?"

"Yeah, yeah, no matter what, there are so many people here..."

Some people couldn't stand it anymore and retorted: "We know you want to have work and to have enough to eat, but aren't they also fellow infected people? They've been working all day since early this morning and haven't even had a sip of water. Why don't you care about our fellow infected people now?"

"Exactly, exactly. Didn't they say they'd come again tomorrow? How anxious can we be? Can't we even wait a day?"

"The operators on Rhodes Island have it tough too. They're all compatriots, so let's be understanding of each other..."

The complaints from the crowd gradually subsided. No one noticed that overnight, those Reunion Movement members who had previously harbored suspicion and even rejection towards Rhodes Island had begun to actively speak up for Rhodes Island, and even renowned scholars had begun to advocate for it.

After their heart-to-heart talk last night, Talulah seemed to have become quite studious, asking Zhao Zizhan many questions.

When Cha saw the decision Zhao Zizhan made the next day, she seemed to understand it, but also seemed not to understand it, so she ran to Zhao Zizhan for clarification.

"Why do we have to do it in batches today?"

"Of course, it's for making hooks," Zhao Zizhan said with a matter-of-fact smile.

“Nowadays, if we want to fish, we need a hook. Emotions are the best hook. On the first day of recruitment, the camp already knew that we were going to build houses and provide food, so they had something to look forward to. On the second day, when the people who came saw that the people who came yesterday had really received new clothes and were eating meat, that hope turned into a real desire.”

Zhao Zizhan paused, a hint of planning in his eyes, "Once this desire to live a good life accumulates to a greater extent and becomes the dominant force in the camp, everything will fall into place naturally."

"If the people who planned those things had any brains, they certainly wouldn't have let us rally the people in the camp. These two days are when emotions are at their peak; they'll either act today or tomorrow, they won't wait long."

"I see. We just need to wait for them to slip up, and then we can wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

Talulah said, her eyes shining.

Finally, I'm in a familiar territory!

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Zizhan heard his communicator ring. When he answered it, he heard a message from Rembit.

Before the remnants of Black Serpent could even make a move, Rhodes Island encountered some trouble.

Rhode Island has a complex environment, with many family businesses and large and medium-sized international companies vying for territory. As a newcomer to Rhode Island, he had not yet made any connections, which naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of a local mining company.

This time, they came to negotiate: "They said that Rhode Island's establishment of a base here has seriously infringed on their mining land and interests, and they demanded that we immediately withdraw from this mining area, as well as apologize and pay compensation."

Everything before that was fine, but hearing about the apology and compensation triggered Zhao Zizhan's personal PTSD.

Good grief, where did I come from? My head is so itchy, I thought I was going to grow braids.

For no apparent reason, a nameless anger surged up from my stomach and rose straight to my forehead.

"It's alright, leave it to me," Zhao Zizhan replied calmly.

"Zizhan, you must remain calm. The other side has been deeply entrenched in Rembiton for many years and is already a local power. When communicating with them, we must be careful to use the right methods... If necessary, we can avoid direct confrontation..."

"I know, just leave it to me," Zhao Zizhan said, hanging up the call.

Should I avoid him?

"Talulah, the plans have changed. We're going to meet this local mining company."

Jiang Ziya fishing? Now it's the Dragon Crossing the River!

Chapter 154 Negotiation.

Upon hearing Zhao Zizhan's words, Talulah, though still not understanding the specifics, knew from the inexplicable low mood Zhao Zizhan was displaying that the situation was probably not good, and immediately nodded.

Zhao Zizhan pressed down on Talulah's shoulder, and with two fingers pointing to her brow, he searched for Qi. Suddenly, the scene in front of them flashed, and the two of them arrived on Rhodes Island.

At this moment, on the island.

"What's the specific situation?"

Zhao Zizhan noticed that the island's agents all looked tense, so he stepped forward to ask them a question.

An operative in charge of communications rushed forward, his fingertips still trembling slightly: "Here's what happened. This morning at eight o'clock, we suddenly received a call from a Victoria Mining Company. They said they've been operating in this mining area for fifteen years, accusing us of illegally encroaching on the mine vein. They also claimed that our landship's docking and infrastructure construction damaged their equipment and caused mine tunnels to collapse, resulting in 'incalculable losses.' Their representative is currently in the conference room, negotiating with Amiya and the others, and their attitude is extremely tough..."

"I understand, leave it to me."

Before Zhao Zizhan finished speaking, he turned to the side and gestured for Talulah to follow. The two walked side by side toward the conference room.

As soon as I reached the meeting room door, the sounds of arguing came clearly from inside—it was a male voice with an old Lontinem accent: "We have repeatedly emphasized that the mining rights for this area have been registered with the Victorian royal family for ten years, and our cooperation agreement with the local tribes is still valid! Your landship has entered without permission and has set up mining facilities without authorization, which is clearly a blatant encroachment! We demand that you immediately compensate us for the equipment damage of three million kaletti [1], issue a formal apology, and withdraw all personnel within seventy-two hours—and this matter will be considered closed, otherwise..."

"How about otherwise?"

Zhao Zizhan raised his hand, and the heavy conference door was pushed open with a "bang," the door panel hitting the wall with a dull thud. He and Talulah filed in one after the other.

The scene that greeted them was tense: Amiya sat in the main seat, her ears pressed tightly to the top of her head, her fingertips digging into the table. Opposite her, in a leather chair, sat a Rupert in a suit. The suit was a little wrinkled, but the signs of its care were visible to the naked eye. Behind him stood two guards in black security uniforms, their hands on their weapons at their waists, glaring fiercely at the two people who had entered.

Seeing Zhao Zizhan suddenly barge in, the Rupert did not answer his question. Instead, he sneered and turned to Amiya, his tone full of sarcasm: "Is this how you manage your subordinates? Such an important negotiation meeting, and you don't even have access control? You just walk in whenever you want? No wonder you would do something as unruly as embezzling other people's property."

The two security guards behind him immediately drew their long swords from their waists, the blades humming and gleaming with blue light. They stepped forward and blocked the doorway: "Unrelated personnel, get out immediately! Otherwise, we won't be polite!"

Before Zhao Zizhan could raise his hand, Talulah had already taken a step forward, her wide cloak drawing a sharp arc behind her, firmly protecting Zhao Zizhan behind her.

With a soft "whoosh," the flaming longsword was suddenly drawn, and orange-red flames exploded in the room instantly, the scorching heat forcing those around to instinctively retreat.

Before the two security guards could even swing their swords, Talulah's blade, radiating intense heat, swept past them—with two crisp "sizzle" sounds, their longswords instantly melted in two, scalding metal fragments falling to the ground, sending sparks flying. Even more terrifying, the intense heat from the sword spread through the air, and the security armor on their chests began to melt, the scorching metal sticking to their flesh with a hissing sound.

"what--!"

A piercing scream instantly echoed throughout the conference room, and the two security guards rolled on the floor clutching their chests.

Talulah stepped forward expressionlessly, sword in hand. Flames danced on the blade, reflecting a chilling killing intent in her eyes as she looked down at the Lupo.

Marked as Zizhan's enemy!

The Rupert man was so terrified that he slumped into his chair, his face turning deathly pale. He frantically shrank back, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a screeching sound. "You, you, you... what are you doing? I, I warn you! We are representatives of Victoria's 'Blackstone Mining'! If you dare lay a hand on me, you will be making an enemy of all of Victoria! You will face Victoria's wrath!"

"Hey, calm down, calm down, it's not that serious."

Zhao Zizhan quickly stepped forward, gently pressed Talulah's shoulder, and shielded her behind him.

"Let me introduce you first. This is Ms. Talulah, the leader of the Reunion Movement."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the other man's terrified face. "This Rembiton mining area was jointly developed by Reunion and Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals. We share the mining and management rights—so we are certainly qualified to participate in this meeting."

"We consider your act of expelling us without cause a provocation against the Reunification Movement and have the right to take legitimate self-defense measures."

"Now let's get back to your demands. You said before, 'Otherwise what?'"

The man from Nalupo swallowed hard, forcing himself to straighten his back, but his voice trembled noticeably: "You...you're threatening me! I'm telling you, it's no use! Compensation and an apology are both necessary! Otherwise...otherwise we'll mobilize the company's armed forces and take necessary measures against you!"

"very good."

Zhao Zizhan nodded, his tone eerily calm, "May I ask how you are addressed?"

Richard

“Yes, Mr. Richard.”

Zhao Zizhan raised his chin. "Please take our reply back to your superiors—we will not withdraw our personnel; we will not apologize; and you will not see a single piece of cash."

"This is Rembitox, not Victoria's backyard. Put away your bullying attitude, bring it on, we'll take it all!"

After saying that, Zhao Zizhan waved his hand and said, "See this gentleman out."

Although Zhao Zizhan was not a manager, his imposing presence stunned those around him, who subconsciously followed his instructions. Two agents supported the still groaning security guard, while another agent reached out to "invite" Richard to stand up, half-pushing and half-dragging him towards the door.

As Richard was dragged to the door, he was still shouting defiantly, "You bunch of country bumpkins! Just you wait! The company won't let you get away with this! We'll get the royal family to send a fleet to scrap your landships!"

The heavy conference door slammed shut, shutting out the shouting. The conference room finally returned to silence. Zhao Zizhan let out a long sigh of relief, raised his hand to rub his temples, and then gently patted Talulah's shoulder: "You cooperated well, Sister Talulah. Your murderous intent just now was so convincing. It scared Richard so much that his legs went weak."

Zhao Zizhan originally intended to play the good cop/bad cop role, but he didn't expect Sister Tazi's cooperation to be so effective, completely suppressing the opponent's momentum and allowing Zhao Zizhan to perform well immediately.

Upon hearing this, Talulah paused slightly in her grip on the sword hilt, turned to look at Zhao Zizhan, her eyes full of doubt: "What acting skills?"

Zhao Zizhan's smile froze instantly. He blinked and tentatively asked, "So... just now you drew your sword to scare Richard, wasn't that just an act?"

"You don't really want to kill him, do you?"

"Yes"

"walk slowly……"

"Agent Zizhan..."

Amiya jumped off her chair and ran over to remind her, "You were a bit too reckless just now. Victoria's relationship is a political factor we have to consider, and we were in the wrong to begin with..."

“Amiya, this is Rembiton,” Zhao Zizhan said calmly. “In Rembiton, there’s an old saying: ‘Father can discipline, mother can discipline, but the Duke can’t.’”

"Due to historical and contemporary reasons, Rembiton harbors intense resistance against all official forces in Victoria. In Rembiton, the opinions of the Victorians are the last thing that needs to be considered."

"Besides, he can't represent Victoria; they're just a mining company looking to take advantage of us."

"That's not right, Xiao Zizhan."

ACE walked over with his arms crossed, his brows furrowed and his face full of doubt. "How do you know so much about Rembiton? I remember you said before that you had never been to this place."

"Even if I've never been here before, I can find out through other channels. My boss is Sister Raidian, you know. How can I do logistics if I'm not well-informed?"

"What you said makes sense..."

A young operator nearby couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "This guy's fifteen? When I was fifteen, I couldn't even read a map, let alone understand the history and customs of other regions..."

"Then you're really uncultured..."

Another operator leaned over and whispered a reply, causing the people around to stifle their laughter.

"Everyone," Zhao Zizhan began, "A good start is better than a bad one. If you want to establish yourself in Rembiton, it's crucial that you can stand firm. We need to show the outside world that we are not helpless prey. Anyone who dares to reach out to us should be prepared to have their hand chopped off."

"Rhodes Island doesn't need to get involved in this matter. Rhodes Island just needs to focus on production and construction, do business honestly, and make money steadily."

"Aren't we just worried about how to make these infected people who relocated from the Reunion Movement more cohesive? Now someone has provided a ready-made solution."

"Only when people defend their homeland with their own hands can the connection between people and their homeland be deeper, can people trust their compatriots who fight alongside them more, and can people be more determined about the future. This contradiction originally needed some opportunity and time to be resolved gradually."

"Unfortunately, this Victorian mining company has run into trouble."

PS: [1] Caledi: Rembiton's official currency - excerpted from "Pilgrimage to the Land" P307, Rembiton section on countries and low-lying regions.

That's all for today's update. I'll update the next chapter on academic integrity a little later!

Chapter 155 Chinese-style Succubus Tower.

"I've already checked their information," Kroos said as she strolled over, looking down at her tablet.

"The boss was a former lieutenant in the mine defense force, nicknamed Scarface Willie. He and five comrades pooled their retirement pay to start a company. After two years in Victoria, they couldn't get close to politics or compete with established mining companies. In the end, the company was acquired by an established mining company backed by a duke. Following the company's orders, they came to Rembiton to pioneer the land."

She swiped the screen and brought up a series of yellowed financial statements.

"After three years here, he's actually doing better and better. Using his military status, he's used force to control a large number of local miners. He owes money to seven construction teams, and the recorded IOUs alone fill half a box, not to mention the unsigned ones. These miners have been living in extremely harsh mining conditions for years, and many have developed severe ore diseases. They lack sufficient medical care and treatment, and isolation equipment is also scarce..."

Zhao Zizhan felt the air pressure around him decreasing (physically) as Kroos narrated. When she talked about the mines, he felt like the surroundings were about to freeze over. It wasn't just his imagination; there was real frost coming from the sleeves of the Reunion Movement cadres next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Frostnova's hands, hanging by her side, were covered with a thin layer of ice, ice crystals dripping from between her fingers and shattering into tiny fragments on the ground. He couldn't help but marvel at how the company's boss was a genius, managing to step on two major landmines at once—truly invincible.

First, he unleashed his own bloodline buff, then he touched upon the painful meeting of the Reunion Movement members, paying tribute to the legendary mine-clearing soldier.

Talulah stood up: "Leave the matter of how to deal with this mining company to us. We came here in gratitude to Rhodes Island and have already received too much help from you. At least in this small matter, let us do something to repay you."

"Saving the infected is the very purpose of the Reunion Movement."

Talulah's fingertips lightly brushed the hilt of her sword at her waist, the cold glint of the metal reflecting in her eyes. "As long as there is one compatriot coughing up blood in the mine, as long as there is one person being whipped while mining, we have no right to stop."

"Uh... not really..."

Kroos hesitated, wanting to say something but then stopped herself. She had initially thought that this mining company didn't have the same background as the mines in Ursus, but after thinking about it, she realized that the difference wasn't that significant, so she remained silent.

No one objected, and the Reunion Movement cadres also stood up. They didn't say much, but together with Talulah, they asked to let them handle the matter.

"What are you going to do?"

ACE asked.

"Strike first, strike hard."

No one objected. At this point, Rhodes Island had no grounds to persuade them. Besides, a pharmaceutical company that could kill hundreds of people a day was hardly a benevolent organization.