Competition among the Time Meters was out of Zhou Yi's hands; all he could do was ensure logistics were in place and wait patiently.

Two days had passed, and there had been no response from Rolex, but an unexpected message had arrived.

The tablet displayed "Lord Sha Hai requests a call."

Zhou Yi clicked to answer.

The speaker immediately conveyed the other party's voice, "Mr. Zhou, there's a situation. Duke Destructive's representative, Earth Official Lin Qin, has come to Sand Port City to see me and wishes to visit you."

Lin Qin?

Zhou Yi remembered that name from his memories of the Wuhu Elevated Bridge; it was also a high-ranking figure in the Shuanghe Region.

Clearly, it had come proactively during the war, most likely pressured by the dual "A" lineup of Condenser and Bone Man.

"Let it come."

"Alright, I'll bring it over."

About half an hour later, an enhanced car parked outside the gates of Jade City.

Lord Sha Hai arrived at 3101 with a visitor wrapped in a black robe.

With a clawed gesture, it introduced, "Mr. Zhou, this is Lin Qin."

Beneath the black robe was a mechanical body, a spherical metallic head with a pair of electronic eyes, and below it, eight long, foldable metallic legs resembling a mechanical octopus.

"Hello, Chairman Zhou, I apologize for the intrusion."

Lin Qin bowed slightly.

Zhou Yi nodded and said, "Please, sit down. It seems that you've sent a portion of yourself here."

"Yes."

Lin Qin sat in the chair nearby, "This is my first visit to the Sand Port Region. The place looks completely renewed, different from the data I had. Of course, Lord Sha Hai deserves credit, but it's mainly due to your arrival that such significant changes have occurred here in a short time."

Lord Sha Hai tactfully interjected, "Then I'll wait outside; take your time talking."

After saying this, it left the room.

Zhou Yi looked at the mechanical octopus, "I've got plenty to deal with on my end, so let's get straight to the point. Why are you here?"

"I'm also here representing the Shuanghe Region. We have firsthand experience of your company's strength."

Lin Qin continued, "If I'm not mistaken, those two A-grade beings that attacked the Shuanghe Region are both related to you, correct?"

Zhou Yi, sitting on the sofa with his leg crossed, admitted, "Indeed, they're employees of my company."

The electronic eyes of the mechanical octopus flickered faintly, "While your side has strong military capabilities, two high-end warriors cannot penetrate the Shuanghe Region. Otherwise, the sea lords would have long been conquered and annihilated by the Heavenly Kingdom, as no faction's high-end warriors can compare to those of the Heavenly Kingdom."

Zhou Yi became more curious, "Go on."

The other party stated, "There's no doubt about the strength of A-grade lives; sheer numbers of B-grade cannot make up for the disparity. However, no abilities in the world are absolutely invincible; every ability has its limitations or flaws."

"For example, the Condenser you dispatched has immense penetrating power."

"But if we deploy smoke interference, extracting light fog from the Dead Sea to cover the area, it can effectively weaken the Condenser's lethality and disrupt its targeting."

"This is a battle-proven and effective countermeasure."

Zhou Yi listened quietly.

"Your company's other A-tier life has abilities associated with sand or dust."

Lin Qin explained, "Whether it's sand or dust, there's plenty of data and experimental records. To counter such a versatile ability, appropriate isolation suits are needed to prevent sand or dust from entering the body."

"Besides, using water can also significantly hinder and increase the consumption of that elemental ability; water is its natural counter. Coincidentally, our commanding General Bai Xing's ability involves water, and it too is A-grade."

The mechanical octopus paused.

Zhou Yi, unhurried, said, "You mean to say, you have ways to deal with these two employees of my company."

"Yes. A-grade lives have missions more important than war; please do not waste our core strengths on this, as losses would be significant to both sides."

Zhou Yi chuckled, "Thanks for the reminder, but personally, I trust practice over theory. Actual combat will yield more accurate answers."

"…"

The other paused, then sighed, "Mr. Zhou, you're as difficult to deal with as the rumors say."

"Is that so? People who know me say I'm quite approachable."

Zhou Yi's tone was light.

He didn't believe the other was bluffing.

Lin Qin was partly right.

Although A-grade lives stood at the pinnacle of the Inner Sea, they were not invincible. There were counters between abilities, which Zhou Yi believed.

Just as Jiong He's power carried immense destructive force, it struggled to destroy Wu Yi's sandy physique.

However, Zhou Yi's demands were not high.

Even if they couldn't finish the battle in one fell swoop, applying pressure to the Shuanghe Region and increasing its economic consumption would still be beneficial to the war of honor.

"Mr. Zhou, we recognize your company's formidable strength; hence, I've come here with General Bai Xing's permission, hoping to reach new understandings and agreements with you."

The mechanical octopus said, "We are willing to make the greatest concessions."

"As long as Shell City and its surrounding areas are entirely ceded to the Shuanghe Region, we can end this honor war."

Zhou Yi laughed out loud.

The solution proposed by the other party was actually cession of territory, and they even believed they had offered a significant concession.

Such arrogance.

"Then there's nothing to talk about."

Zhou Yi said coldly, "Keep fighting then, we're not afraid to fight."

"Pity."

The mechanical octopus said again, "Then, could we possibly exchange prisoners?"

"Our side has captured two of your Northern Ocean Army warriors, and your side has taken one of our mutants hostage. We hope to exchange hostages."

Zhou Yi was on alert.

The offer to cease fighting in exchange for land seemed like a feint.

It wasn't until Duke Beidu captured a mutant that they learned this troop had resident flora in their brains.

It appeared this mutant was still of high value.

"We'll discuss exchanging prisoners after the war is over," Zhou Yi rejected outright.

The mechanical octopus seemed to have anticipated this: "Very well then."

"That covers the honor war portion of the mission, next, I'd like to represent Duke Destructive and discuss something else with you."

"Oh? Please go ahead."

Lin Qin said, "Since your side has A-level combat capabilities, I wonder if you have plans to develop other areas? I mean, the Outer Sea or perhaps... cross-border?"

"The Outer Sea is currently plagued by atmospheric creatures, but it also presents an opportunity. If several Skywalkers could travel together in a group, safety is still assured. Many areas have had their directions changed by atmospheric creatures, and places that were previously undevelopable can now be explored."

"As for cross-border, our side possesses a high-quality High-class Dark Domain, which can be safely traversed through a passage. It is currently being used by General Bai Xing."

"If your company is interested, we're willing to share it with you. We can discuss the specific conditions."

Zhou Yi felt somewhat fantastical at the moment.

They were still at war.

Since the winter began two months ago, several hundred people had been lost on the front lines, and Lin Qin came to discuss upper-level cooperation.

Zhou Yi said, "We're still in a state of war, isn't it inappropriate to talk about this now?"

"Inappropriate?"

The other side seemed somewhat puzzled: "But that shouldn't affect anything, right? At the core of war, isn't it just our two sides fighting over the dominion of land and civilians?"

"But no matter which of us wins, there will be no impact on our upper levels; it's merely an increase or decrease in existing stakes."

"A-level life forms, however, are on another level entirely. Even if this region or the Shuanghe Region is destroyed by a natural disaster, A-level life forms will continue to exist in this world."

"Once the war games between your company and ours come to an end, regardless of who the winner is, our fundamental strength will still be there. We are the true players behind the scenes, aren't we?"

"It's just about starting anew in a different place. The ultimate goal for the powerful is beyond the Outer Sea, even to travel beyond boundaries... there's no conflict between us in this respect."

Zhou Yi began to understand at this point.

This was a disagreement based on common sense.

He believed that a region was a top-down community of shared interest.

In the Wasteland Era, different strata belonged to the same side, and possessing an A-level life form meant belonging to the ruling class.

In the eyes of a Governor or sea lord, commoners were not one of their own, merely labor and tools to generate wealth for them.

There was no concept of country here, nor of a national entity.

Therefore, Lin Qin was not at all disturbed by the war.

Lord Sha Hai mentioning escape so casually previously was very natural as well.

After understanding these things, Zhou Yi also snapped back to reality.

Seen in this light, the fact that a Heavenly Kingdom emerged was indeed no small feat.

Compared to these sea lords, the Black Emperor truly seemed to be of great ambition and integrity.

Zhou Yi refused outright: "Let's talk about cooperation after the war is over."

The mechanical octopus, though puzzled, still politely responded: "If that's the case, then I've disturbed you for nothing, and thank you very much for taking the time to meet."

"I shall take my leave then, and wish you a pleasant life."

The mechanical octopus was sent off by Lord Sha Hai.

...

The visit of Earth Official Lin Qin made an impression on Zhou Yi.

From a negative perspective, even Skywalkers found it difficult to disrupt the current Wasteland order. The Heavenly Kingdom, as strong as it was, ultimately compromised by adopting a Governor system to alleviate regional conflicts and disparities.

On the positive side, the Wasteland's characteristic governance style made it hard for locals to feel any sense of belonging. So they moved wherever conditions were better, and being captured or defecting was a very natural thing.

As long as the Sand Port Region continued its robust development, absorbing outside immigrants would be very smooth.

The Outer Sea wasn't currently under consideration.

The Dark Domain, however, they did have in this region.

Zhou Yi thought to himself.

They might as well let two A-level employees explore the Dead Cult World.

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