blenderwars Chapter 83 We now have an official walkthrough.
Chapter 83 We now have an official walkthrough.
The first conference hall of the State Guesthouse.
Two groups of people sat clearly separated on either side of the long, rectangular mahogany conference table.
Jensen straightened his tie and extended his hand. Zhang Chongshan, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, stepped forward to shake it. The two maintained impeccable diplomatic smiles, but a hidden tension lurked in their gazes.
Frankly speaking, negotiations between countries are often tedious and boring, nothing more than the exchange of bargaining chips.
Without beating around the bush, Jason pushed a thick document to the center of the table.
"Minister Zhang, the White Eagle Empire has always valued strategic cooperation with your country."
Jason interlaced his fingers and leaned forward. "Your country has recently made a breakthrough in conquering secret realms. We are willing to offer 5 billion, plus three tons of S-grade secret realm specialty star-patterned steel from the White Eagle Kingdom, in exchange for some of your country's recent... strategy information."
Representatives from several neighboring countries chimed in. The representative from Japan straightened his back and proposed adding higher-level enchantment blueprints. The representative from South Korea clamored for technology sharing, shamelessly claiming that the dungeons originated from their ancestors.
Zhang Chongshan didn't even open the document. He picked up his teacup and blew on the floating leaves.
"Mr. Jensen, you're too kind."
Zhang Chongshan put down his teacup and spoke slowly, "China has always advocated common development. As for any breakthroughs, that's purely a misinterpretation by outsiders. We were just lucky grassroots awakeners who managed to acquire a couple more pieces of standard equipment. Strategy guides are too unpredictable; releasing them might mislead our international allies."
Jason pressed further: "Can luck really reduce border casualty rates by 80%? Minister Zhang, let's be frank. Those new uniforms your frontline troops received didn't just fall from the sky."
"This is all thanks to the improved food provided by the logistics department, which has improved the soldiers' physical fitness." Zhang Chongshan said without changing his expression, spouting nonsense. "If your country is interested in our recipes, I'll have someone send a copy over this afternoon, free of charge."
The representative from the Sakura Kingdom panicked: "Minister Zhang, this is a matter of utmost importance concerning all of humanity's resistance against the anomalies in the secret realm. You cannot keep this to yourselves!"
"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want." Zhang Chongshan leaned back in his chair. "When you monopolized the resources of A-level secret realms a few years ago, why didn't you mention all of humanity? Now you're talking about dedication, isn't it a bit late?"
That conversation killed the conversation.
The Chinese officials saw through their cards from the very beginning and simply didn't respond.
No matter how the other party threatened or bribed him, Zhang Chongshan always adhered to the tactic of "I don't understand what you're saying," passing the buck perfectly.
The atmosphere in the conference room plummeted to freezing point. Jason's face turned bright red, but he was completely helpless against these stubborn Chinese officials.
With direct negotiations failing, covert operations began to take place.
Those "bait" that broke away from the main group began to become active around various official secret realm locations.
It's worth noting that the White Eagle Empire's agent training system is indeed quite sophisticated. They disguise themselves as materials merchants, down-on-their-luck awakened individuals, and even speak fluent Chinese dialects, attempting to gather information from the bottom up.
In their preconceived notion, awakened individuals in China lack systematic training, often fight amongst themselves for resources, and are easily bought off with money. They believe that as long as a large sum of money is poured in, a few loopholes can always be pried open.
However, they overlooked a crucial variable: the landscape of grassroots awakening in China had already undergone a dramatic transformation.
Since Lu Yan handed over a massive amount of advanced equipment to the country, the Dragon Guard has not only armed the regular army, but also devoted a lot of energy to organizing the secret realm data, with official specialists publishing high-quality guides for free on various forums.
The generous benefits led to a sharp increase in the survival rate of civilian teams and an unprecedented surge in their cohesion.
Jianghai City, the outer gathering point of the B-level secret realm [Gale Canyon].
Ten young people sat around in the rest area. Team leader Chen Yufei took a rag and carefully wiped the bronze-grade longsword he had just obtained. A faint wind magic flowed along the blade, a high-level item that they had never dared to dream of before.
"Captain, that post from 'Dragon Guard Instructor' on the official forum is amazing!" The vice-captain, a fat man, held a half-empty bottle of cola. "Following his positioning strategy, the Wind Elemental Lord was worn down before it could even unleash its ultimate attack. That monster's weak point is under its armpit; if this were before, our current setup would have been suicide missions."
Chen Yufei sheathed his longsword: "The country really treats us like their own children now. Before, all those advanced strategy guides were monopolized by the big guilds, and they charged 100,000 yuan for a consultation just to see one. Now they're being made public for free, and they even expose the monsters' starting moves. From now on, stop buying those shady secondhand tips from the black market and read the official announcements more often."
"That's right!" the mage in the group chimed in. "I heard that a team in the next city cleared the outer perimeter of an A-rank dungeon using the official guide and got a silver set item as a drop. Everyone's leveling up like crazy now."
Just as the group was chatting, a man wearing a gray-black windbreaker and carrying a large backpack approached them.
The man was tall and wore a baseball cap with the brim pulled low.
"Brothers, not bad for you." The man, speaking Mandarin with a slight northern accent, handed over a pack of high-end cigarettes. "Want to be friends?"
Chen Yufei glanced at him, refusing the cigarette: "What's up, bro?"
The man lit a cigarette and lowered his voice: "I'm an intelligence broker. I see you guys are very professional, so I'd like to ask you something. Lately, everyone's been saying that new versions of A-level and even S-level dungeon guides have been released. You guys are well-informed, do you have any inside connections?"
Chen Yufei is quick-witted.
Official domestic forums have dedicated staff to answer questions from amateur teams every day, and basic strategies have long been widely known to the general public in China.
Any normal awakened Chinese person could easily find this information online. Why would a guy claiming to be an information broker come to the entrance of a Rank B secret realm to ask about this?
It goes without saying that something unusual must be going on.
Chen Yufei put his hands behind his back and gestured to the fat man. The two had been partners for many years, and the fat man understood immediately. He quietly took out his phone and blindly dialed 110.
"An A-level strategy guide?" Chen Yufei feigned difficulty. "That's top secret. How could a small team like ours get access to it? Even if we did, it would only circulate within the military. We wouldn't even have a chance to get close to it."
Thinking he had a chance, the man immediately unzipped his bag.
Inside were stacks of brand-new cash, plus two rare wind-element crystals that emitted a faint glow.
"Five hundred thousand in cash, plus these two materials." The man coaxed, "As long as you can provide useful clues, such as which legion recently got new equipment, or who is in charge of writing these guides, the money and the items are yours. With these, your team can immediately get a set of top-tier equipment and won't have to grind monsters on the outskirts anymore."
Chen Yufei looked at the money and sighed.
"Brother, your business acumen is lacking." Chen Yufei stood up and kicked the man's bag over. "You think you can buy state secrets for 500,000? Do you think the Awakened Ones of China are beggars?"
As soon as he finished speaking, ten young people simultaneously drew their weapons and surrounded the man. The fat man immediately raised his heavy shield, blocking the man's retreat, while the mage girl's staff had already formed a fireball at its tip.
The man had a bad feeling. He hadn't expected these lower-level awakened individuals to act so unpredictably. Based on his past experience in other countries, these same lower-level awakened individuals would have pounced on him long ago upon seeing so much money. He flicked his wrist, and a green-glowing dagger slid into his palm, ready to break through.
"You're asking for death!" the man hissed, leaping up as he tried to break through the fat man's side.
"Shield Bash!" The fat man didn't hesitate, slamming his heavy shield solidly onto the man's shoulder.
The man froze, Chen Yufei's longsword already at his neck.
"Don't move."
A calm voice sounded behind the man.
Before he knew it, a Dragon Guard special agent in plainclothes was standing behind him, a standard-issue source energy gun pressed against the man's lower back.
The special agents swiftly put anti-magic handcuffs on the man and turned to look at Chen Yufei and the others.
"Well done, very alert." The special agents gave a thumbs up. "This kid is a foreign spy, we've been watching him the whole time. We were wondering what big fish he could get in touch with, but we didn't expect him to get caught by you guys."
The fat man put away his phone and wiped his sweat: "Sir, should this 500,000 be considered a seizure or a bonus?"
The special agents laughed: "Consider this your merit award. Go to the local police station to collect the banner later."
Chen Yufei patted the fat man's head: "Good for you! We have the official strategy guide now, why would we care about a little money? Sir, take the guy away, don't delay us from continuing to grind."
Watching the special agents escort the spy away, Chen Yufei's team members exchanged smiles.