Chapter 1089
Chapter 1089 - 175 Negotiation
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10 min read
"You’re here?"
"I’m here."
"You shouldn’t have come....."
"....Tsk, which version of the dialogue is this? Just spill it already and make it quick."
When he stepped onto the battlefield, the opponent suddenly got chatty, clearly indicating there was more to what was being said.
Li Fan across from him paused for a moment. Already not good with words, his lines were interrupted, and he pondered for a bit... What’s the point in overthinking? He wasn’t adept at fieldwork and negotiations, so he just relayed the message directly.
"We’ve just received a message from headquarters. Originally, our plan was to eliminate you or take you back..."
The Church of the Lady of the Forest, being part of the Proper God Church, actually has quite a large influence in the Eastern Country. A certain company that had friction with Lu Ping’an before was just one of its subsidiary enterprises.
And due to the "extreme survivalism of Lin Nu"... within her church, there were numerous power factions. As Big Cat had put it in the past, "As for her company, her branch churches, who is the real headquarters? Whichever is the biggest and strongest, that’s the one."
The internal assessment mechanism was long since not just a simple matter of KPIs; "performance" directly related to life and death, more bluntly it related to the distribution of resources within the organization, the allocation of top-quality talents, and even the "blessing placements" from the Deities.
Among the multitude of organizations and forces, all were vying for the position of "Church Headquarters" in order to gain more.
This typical jungle law resulted in several changes of "headquarters," but at the same time, also led to the rapid development of Lin Nu’s Church.
Among the contemporary New Gods, she was one of the fastest, which also caused Big Cat all sorts of envy and jealousy.
"....Now headquarters has received a message. They think perhaps it would be nice to have a cooperative relationship. If you’d like to join the Church of the Lady of the Forest..."
Hearing this, Lu Ping’an was startled.
This was tricky. Should he just accept the offer and play the role of a dog? Or was it mere mockery? The next moment, Lu Ping’an realized it wasn’t so straightforward.
Before to them, Lu Ping’an was insignificant, just a "Resource Point," a Treasure Chest Monster who might have stumbled upon a "Divine Foundation"..... a lucky bastard.
For the people of Lin Nu’s Church, either eliminate this unstable element or take away its resources.
Negotiations? It’s supposed to be between equals, or at least "the same kind," how would an elephant negotiate with an ant?
But now, Lu Ping’an had changed, yet he alone was still not enough.
".....The Eastern Country Official put pressure on you."
"I don’t know, I’m just an executor."
Lu Ping’an didn’t think his identity as a "Rule-level Seed" would make them change their typically domineering attitude; the finest treasures meant nothing in the hands of others.
But since the Lady of the Forest is the Proper God Church of the Eastern Country, if the Eastern Country Official negotiated, they would have to consider the consequences..... if Lu Ping’an had been easy to handle before, that was one thing, but if it ended up as "assaulting an officer" or even a "terrorist attack," it would be quite another.
And the level of combat power Lu Ping’an was now displaying also meant he wasn’t the kind of weakling who could "suddenly disappear" easily, so the Church of the Lady of the Forest had to reconsider how to engage with him.
It was normal to extend an olive branch now, and if Lu Ping’an were "ungrateful," they could justify resuming hostilities..... The Official would still object, but would hardly be able to prevent it.
".....If I join the Church of the Lady of the Forest, what kind of treatment would I get? Is it a partnership, or something else? You may not believe me, but my primary Path is indeed that of the Gardener, that’s true..."
But Lu Ping’an’s words made everyone tense up.
"Lu Ping’an!"
And the one screeching in his ear was none other than Big Cat herself.
How could she possibly accept negotiating with Lin Nu, let alone serving under her authority?
"...Quiet down, have you forgotten? One of our goals for coming here was to craft a false identity, infiltrate the Church of the Lady of the Forest, and obtain its ’Knowledge’ to fill in the gaps in my Lord Path as a Gardener of the fifth-sixth tier. We’re just revising our original plan, that’s all."
Change always outpaces plans; the prior plan was obviously a bust, and if he still wanted to carry on with "the plan," he had to switch his mindset.
However, that wasn’t the main reason Lu Ping’an said what he did.
"Chris..... Big Cat has a grudge against Lin Nu, but I, Lu Ping’an, do not. To be honest, I don’t really have much of a feud with Lin Nu, just some minor friction with some of her subordinate forces."
Once he had that clear, it was evident that Lu Ping’an and Big Cat’s positions were fundamentally different.
Lu Ping’an naturally had additional ideas long before... Of course, he wouldn’t speak openly until the right opportunity presented itself, else Big Cat would get prickly.
"You... My Lord’s Church headquarters announced that if you’re willing to join our church, you will be granted the status of a Saint and given resource support for your cultivation as a priority."
But at that point, Lu Ping’an shook his head, which was probably what was known as the "professional nurturing" route.
This path was equivalent to directly joining the Church headquarters and truly becoming one of Lin Nu’s people.
If he had just started out, such an offer would be nice, but now that he had made a name for himself, it seemed like a significant loss to still be mixing as a hired thug within an organization.
"... You can also choose to affiliate yourself. Cough, I mean to join the pan-Church forces without joining the Church Headquarters directly, you only need to undergo a round of training and sign a series of cooperation contracts. And this won’t affect your official status, as we have cooperative relationships with many official forces, you can choose to be affiliated with an organization that leans toward the official side."
Although Li Fan said this, he was also surprised by the generous terms the headquarters had offered.
Generally speaking, only talents cultivated from within have the ability to establish a branch, and the offer made to the person in front of him was to exchange benefits with just a nominal affiliation and then not to be involved anymore.
"Of course, you need to take up a profession that comes from My Lord’s Path and have faith in My Lord."
Lu Ping’an stroked his chin, ignoring outbursts like "traitor," "are you kidding me, this is a scam," and "that bastard is utterly untrustworthy" ringing in his ears. He was just weighing the pros and cons.
The terms proposed by the other side had already exceeded expectations, which were usually only promised to "rule-level hired thugs" at the periphery.
Clearly, the so-called "joining" was also more or less equivalent to affiliating, just a title in name.
Lu Ping’an had never followed any faith, yet he understood what so-called faith was all about better than any zealous disciple, knowing that even a mere verbal commitment could cost a lot... The question was, what could he gain from it?
Regarding Big Cat’s complaints? He had long figured out how to deal with those...
"... Big Cat, do you really think if we go all out in war against Lin Nu, we can win... No, do you think I could live for three months?"
Lu Ping’an shut Big Cat up with "facts."
She wasn’t foolish; she just didn’t want to accept it.
Some matters are cruel and pragmatic.
Even with the deterrent of the official forces, it was only "verbal pressure." Lin Nu was different from the opponents Lu Ping’an had faced before; not only was she a Proper God, but she was also a well-mixed Proper God.
Dominating Three Faces above him was also a Proper God, and the Emcee conducting the ceremony was eighth-tier... A genuine Proper God would definitely have a number of eighth or even ninth-tier subordinates at their disposal.
If Lin Nu, as the Proper God of the Eastern Country, decides that Lu Ping’an is a "threat" that needs to be eliminated early, then even if the Eastern Country Official wanted to protect him, they wouldn’t be able to... With a group of eighth and ninth-order coming for him, Lu Ping’an wouldn’t stand a chance. Once dead, no matter how much Lin Nu compensated, it would be meaningless to him.
"Fine, I choose to affiliate. You might not believe it, but I came here intending to make a name for myself and then seek refuge with the Church of Lin Nu. I’m a Contractor, and I don’t lie..."
Seeing the look of disgust crawl over the face of the person opposite him at the mention of a Contractor, Lu Ping’an sighed. His predecessors really didn’t do any good deeds; the reputation of Contractors might never recover.
"... You can provide me with the knowledge needed for further growth. My Mentor is only a recently advanced fourth-tier and not combat-oriented. I’m willing to be affiliated by name and take part in Lin Nu’s survival competition game."
Alright, that made the person opposite nod.
Big Cat and Lin Nu had a kill-or-be-killed relationship, but Lu Ping’an was not in the same boat.
As long as the other side agreed, it would at least give Lu Ping’an a stable period of development. Once he truly ascends to the rule-level, the situation would be different again.
Would there be conflicts afterwards? Inevitably, but Lu Ping’an needed time and resources to grow further.
The "survival of the fittest" custom prevalent in the various structures of Lin Nu’s Church also provided Lu Ping’an with more room to maneuver.
"... Welcome to the fold, brethren. But as for your treatment and whether you can have independent rights to operation..."
"Still need to fight for it, huh? I understand."
The "big society" of Lin Nu, with its survival of the fittest ethos, has this advantage: if you’re strong enough, your treatment will be better.
And if Lu Ping’an were to defeat the present Saint, he could naturally demand treatment on par with, or superior to, that of a Saint.
Lost? Then what was discussed before was as good as null and void; just honestly play the role of a Treasure Chest Monster or a Tool Man.
"Heh, don’t say it, I’m starting to like Lin Nu. At least, she’s straightforward."
— End of Chapter 1089 —