Qin Siyang now couldn't even get out of the school gates.
Thinking about negotiating with the military to accumulate influence still felt a bit far away. But chances don't come twice.
After opening the Path of Believers, Qin Siyang was confident that his current situation of being confined in South Glory could be broken open.
Qin Siyang's gaze sank, firm and heavy, "Alright, Director Zhao, I agree to your terms."
"Good. Then once I finish this cigar, we'll go see Chu Xiao'ang together."
Zhao Longfei lazily turned his chair toward the campus scenery outside the window and quietly listened to the sound of the cigar burning.
He wasn't surprised by Qin Siyang's decision.
Qin Siyang was smart, ruthless, loyal, and good at seizing opportunities.
With just a light hint from him, Qin Siyang had recognized how rare this chance was.
Seeing Qin Siyang get on track, Zhao Longfei felt deeply satisfied.
He couldn't help remembering the conversation he'd just had with his big brother, Zhao Longteng.
———
[Flashback]
"Second Brother, you're holding up Qin Siyang like this, not just for our crystal coin issuance plan, right? Be honest with Big Brother. What are you planning?"
"Big Brother, just like we talked about before, Qin Siyang might be the Child of the Plane. I think he handles people well and can really achieve things, so I want to give him a push."
"And if you can't push him?"
"I will. He only needs a chance."
———
[Present]
After finishing the cigar, Zhao Longfei sat for a moment longer in comfort. Then he took a deep breath to steady himself, stood up, put on formal clothes, and picked up the storage box on the table.
"Let's go, boys. Come with me to meet Chu Xiao'ang."
Zhao Sifang and Gu Yunpeng blinked, "We're going too?"
"You two go just to sit in and listen. When we get there, don't say anything, don't do anything. Just see some real-world stuff. The main act this time is Little Qin."
"Oh, okay."
Zhao Longfei patted Qin Siyang's shoulder, "Ready?"
"Yeah."
"Thought about what conditions you want to negotiate?"
Qin Siyang shook his head calmly, "In such a short time, and since I don't know the military well enough, I haven't figured it out."
Zhao Sifang widened his eyes, "Qin, you haven't figured out your terms and you're going to see Chu Xiao'ang? How are you going to negotiate?"
Gu Yunpeng also looked at Qin Siyang with curiosity.
Qin Siyang smiled, "I don't have any clear ideas right now, but after talking with Commander Chu, I should know what I want. When the cart reaches the mountain, a path will appear. When the boat reaches the bridge, it goes straight across. No need to panic. Director Zhao, let's go."
"Alright. Later, you and I will be representing the Zhao family in talks with the Chu Corps, so calling me by my full name is more suitable."
"Calling your full name feels too disrespectful. I'll follow Little Zhao and call you Second Uncle."
"That works too."
Zhao Longfei pushed open the door and left, and Qin Siyang and the other two followed behind him.
They went down the stairs and reached the second-floor conference hall.
Zhao Longfei knocked, "Secretary Lin, it's me."
Lin Yaman opened the door and nodded toward Zhao Longfei. When she saw Qin Siyang and the other two behind him, she looked slightly surprised.
Qin Siyang followed Zhao Longfei with long strides into the conference hall, sitting down beside him.
Opposite them sat Chu Xiao'ang, hair half gray with a full beard. On his left was Chu Baxing, his face cold and expressionless. On his right was a young man who looked just over twenty.
This young man sat directly facing Qin Siyang.
Their eyes met for a moment, and Qin Siyang felt a chill from the young man's gaze.
Not a deliberate disdain or cruelty. More like a natural, bone-deep coldness of character showing through his eyes.
After shaking hands with Zhao Longfei, Chu Xiao'ang smiled, "I thought only I would bring young people to see the world. Didn't expect Principal Zhao to think the same."
Zhao Longfei returned the smile, "Times aren't exactly peaceful right now. Who knows when these kids will have to shoulder responsibility. Letting them see more early on is for planning ahead."
"Mm! That's right. I know everyone here, so I'll introduce us."
"Thank you, Commander Chu."
"I'm Chu Xiao'ang, Commander of the Chu Corps. I've worked with Principal Zhao for many years, and I've also met you three young friends at the Zhao Chamber of Commerce ceremony."
The three of them stood and respectfully greeted him, "Hello, Commander Chu."
Chu Xiao'ang nodded and continued, "On my left is my son, Chu Baxing. On my right is the 3rd Brigade Commander of the Chu Corps, Zheng Cong."
Both men nodded as well.
Zhao Longfei added, almost like a question and an explanation, "This Brigade Commander Zheng seems to be related to Chief of Staff Zheng?"
"That's right. He's Old Zheng's son. He just returned from the God-Hunting front line this month."
Qin Siyang's gaze toward Zheng Cong sharpened a little with understanding.
No wonder someone so young could sit next to Chu Xiao'ang. He was Zheng Mubian's son.
Zheng Mubian, Chief of Staff of the Chu Corps, the Lion Emblem Spade Six.
In other corps, reaching the Lion Emblem level usually meant commander or deputy commander. Only in the Chu Corps was it commander and chief of staff.
Qin Siyang had once asked Zhao Longfei about it in casual chat, and Zhao Longfei had heard that the Chu Corps deputy commander, Huo Sancai, had been executed by Chu Xiao'ang after a failed mutiny.
After introducing his own people, Chu Xiao'ang began introducing those on the opposite side for Zheng Cong.
Chu Baxing had attended the Zhao Chamber of Commerce opening ceremony with Chu Xiao'ang last time, so he already knew Zhao Sifang and Gu Yunpeng.
"Sitting across from me is Principal of South Glory University and Zhao Chamber of Commerce board member, Zhao Longfei."
"Hello, Principal Zhao."
Similarly, Chu Baxing and Zheng Cong stood and bowed slightly.
Zhao Longfei nodded with a warm smile, "A group of promising young talents."
"Next to Principal Zhao is his nephew, Zhao Sifang, President of the Zhao Chamber of Commerce. Beside Zhao Sifang is the Chamber's Vice President, Gu Yunpeng."
Zheng Cong asked, "This Vice President Gu, what's your relation to Secretary-General Gu?"
"Secretary-General Gu is my third uncle."
Zheng Cong nodded at Gu Yunpeng with a bit of goodwill, "Nice to meet you."
"I'm also glad to meet you, Brigade Commander Zheng."
After learning that Gu Yunpeng was related to Gu Weiyang, Secretary-General of the United Government, Zheng Cong released noticeably more goodwill than before.
Qin Siyang curled his lip dismissively.
He'd thought Zheng Cong was a righteous, upright soldier, but he turned out to judge people by their connections too.
Chu Baxing, however, stayed the same cold-neutral self. Gu Yunpeng's identity didn't seem to change anything in his attitude.
Seeing Chu Baxing's plain reaction toward Gu Yunpeng, Qin Siyang found this cold, stern peer unexpectedly a bit endearing.
Chu Xiao'ang continued, "And this is the Zhao Chamber of Commerce Vice President, Qin Siyang."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Cong's gaze immediately locked onto Qin Siyang's face, "Vice President Qin, I've heard of you for a long time. This time coming to Zone 7, aside from talking material trade with Principal Zhao, I also wanted to meet you, greet you, get to know you."
Qin Siyang frowned.
'Someone completely unrelated wants to meet him?'
He didn't know Zheng Mubian or Zheng Cong.
'Does he want to privately trade for some materials?'
Not that Qin Siyang was being arrogant, but Zheng Cong's rank wasn't high enough to trade with him. The lowest rank he'd trade with was a Zephyr Church Protector.
A simple greeting… could it really just be a greeting with no hidden meaning?
What had he done to make this cold-faced Zheng Cong show goodwill?
He remembered his only connection with the Chu Corps was the previous trade with Chu Xiao'ang.
'Could it be that the Titan Foxtail inner-leaf fragments Chu Xiao'ang asked for last time were used to save Zheng Cong?'
'No. Chu Xiao'ang said Zheng Cong had only returned from the front line this month.'
'Then could it have saved his father, Zheng Mubian?'
Qin Siyang went through everything again quickly and felt his deduction was solid.
Just right for today's negotiation with the usually domineering military. Might as well grab the advantage in momentum first.
Qin Siyang looked at Zheng Cong and gave a small smile, "Chief of Staff Zheng, how's his recovery?"
As soon as he said this, Chu Xiao'ang, Zheng Cong, and Chu Baxing all turned toward Qin Siyang with shocked and doubtful expressions.
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