Chapter 40. The Way of Cooperation
"You punk~"
Cocolia pointed at the slightly embarrassed Xander, her face wearing an expression of "just as expected."
Scratching his reddened cheek, Xander lost his momentum for the first time when he spoke.
"Look, aren't Seele and Bronya your favorite children?
You wouldn't feel at ease handing them to outsiders anyway."
"What you said sounds reasonable."
Cocolia's response made Xander breathe a sigh of relief.
He had just opened his mouth to say something when Cocolia cut him off.
"But Seele and Bronya are my two most beloved children, my dearest family!"
So, add money?
Xander grumbled inwardly.
"So, you need to do me a favor."
Hearing that, Xander relaxed.
It was just a favor—so long as she wasn't opposed, everything else was negotiable!
He hurried to pledge his loyalty.
"It's just a favor.
You don't need to use this kind of reason at all.
When it's your business, how could I not help~"
His words sounded righteous, making Cocolia raise an eyebrow slightly.
"Really?"
"Of course!"
"Then call me 'Mom' first and let me hear it."
"..."
Xander fell silent.
In the orphanage, it seemed he was the only one who had never called Cocolia "Mom."
From as early as he could remember, he had followed at the side of the still-young Cocolia.
Compared to calling her "Mom," he actually preferred calling her "Sis."
But the words had already been said.
Seeing the expectation on Cocolia's face, Xander kept a forced smile.
"Can I call you 'Sis' instead?"
"Nope~"
Ten-plus years of upbringing could indeed bear that title.
He had also been an orphan in his past life, so he had nothing against it.
But actually saying it out loud felt awfully awkward.
Seeing how tangled Xander was, Cocolia finally sighed with a dim expression and looked at him as she spoke.
"Forget it, Mom..."
...
In the end, he still called her that.
Then he was pulled into Cocolia's arms by her overflowing motherliness, and she vigorously rubbed his hair.
"Just this once, just this once!"
Hurriedly breaking free from Cocolia, the blushing Xander fled to another sofa and spoke to her.
A trace of regret flashed across her face at his escape, but she soon crossed one smooth, shapely leg over the other and returned to the stance of a strong woman.
"That really is a pity~"
What you can't obtain is, indeed, the most precious.
Savoring the sound she'd finally coaxed from her favorite son, Cocolia pursed her lips, slightly regretting not recording it just now.
"Alright, alright, let's talk business.
What is it you need me to do?"
He hurried to interrupt Cocolia, afraid she'd keep making him say it.
"Fine.
Strictly speaking, this should be... not a bad thing for you."
She spoke with some uncertainty, then folded her arms, lifting the ample chest even Seele envied a little.
"Do you know why I came to the Far East this time?"
"How would I know that?"
Casting her a puzzled look, Xander couldn't quite figure out what she wanted to say.
Don't tell me she wants me to handle business negotiations?
I can't do that either.
Ignoring Xander's reply, Cocolia continued on her own.
"Anti-Entropy's business in the Americas has already reached its peak.
Over on the Mu Continent, we also each hold about a third of the market with Schicksal and Shencheng Technologies.
Pushing further in those two places isn't something that can be done overnight."
"So you've set your sights on the Far East?"
"Yeah."
Cocolia admitted without hesitation.
She looked at Xander and spoke leisurely.
"That position of Sovereign of Anti-Entropy is something I'm determined to take.
So I need enough achievements to shut those old geezers up."
Hearing this, Xander perked up.
Good grief, Cocolia was already about to climb to the Sovereign's seat?
Xander hadn't paid much attention to these matters, so he was a bit surprised.
If he remembered right, the current Sovereign of Anti-Entropy was still Welt Yang—the one Bronya once idolized.
"Doesn't ME Corp already exist over here?"
Raiden Mei was the heiress of ME Corp.
Strictly speaking, they were even "one family."
It was just that Seele and Bronya rarely talked about their identities; Mei didn't know.
Cocolia shook her head.
"Not enough.
At the end of the day, ME Corp is just a high-tech institute.
The real control over this country's lifeblood industries still lies in the hands of those old noble clans."
Then she paused.
"Besides, ME Corp doesn't belong to my faction."
"..."
Uh-oh.
Don't tell me what comes next is Raiden Ryoma, President of ME Corp, getting arrested for economic crimes, and then Mei being cast out by everyone?
Then her identity gets exposed, the sisters fall out, and finally Seele and Bronya, after bitter reflection, pick up Frostmourne and make up with Mei to resist Cocolia's tyranny together...
Ahem.
I'm overthinking it.
He quickly shook his head to scatter the wild thoughts and asked:
"So what then?
What do you need me to do?
You can't be asking me to help you unite those great clans, right?"
Cocolia neither confirmed nor denied.
She went on.
"So I'm targeting the Moon Capital Group here in the Far East."
"Moon Capital Group?"
He felt like he'd heard that name before.
"Mm.
On the surface it looks like a conglomerate, but in truth it's a family that has lasted nearly two thousand years.
They have a deep grip on the nation's lifelines such as land, railways, and infrastructure.
You could say they're the most suitable partner."
Frowning in thought for a moment, Xander nodded.
"That does sound pretty good.
But I feel like there isn't much I can help with."
"Relax.
I'm not asking you to contact the Moon Capital Group's upper management for me."
Cocolia waved her hand and continued.
"I've already met their chairman before this.
Both sides were reasonably satisfied with the preliminary cooperation we discussed.
It's just that, when it comes to earning the other side's trust and deepening the cooperation, things are a little troublesome here."
"Can't you just sign a contract?"
"No."
Shaking her head, Cocolia's expression turned a bit strange.
"Because their bloodlines pass down generation after generation, compared to paper contracts, they prefer more private forms of ties."
At this, a bad premonition rose in Xander's heart.
Cocolia suddenly relaxed her posture and leaned back against the sofa.
She turned her gaze toward the kitchen door still shrouded in shadow, and even deliberately raised her voice as she spoke, delighted:
"So, I found you a fiancée."
Bang!
The kitchen door flew open, and Bronya and Seele fell to the floor in a heap like a collapsing human pyramid.
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