On the fourth day of Spring City's complete disappearance.

This event had fully fermented within the Development Alliance, and the Sea Lords held varying attitudes.

Some said that preparations should be made for Defensive Law's retaliation.

Others thought this was an opportunity to promote various company products, which would be beneficial for increasing sales.

Duke Destructive suggested another strike, directly bombing Mirror City, the research center, to expand strategic advantages and apply further pressure.

Zhou Yi decided to hold off and do nothing.

Ice Pot took the electric cats to Mars for support, but here there was still the Light Core Body and the Cat God.

It integrated numerous abilities, its concealment and strength were quite considerable, and it could directly lead many electric cats; it was Zhou Yi's shadow bodyguard.

The fifth day.

Red Kestrel flew in and said, "Zhou, Law requests contact."

"Connect."

The loudspeaker sounded again with that cold and authoritative male voice, "Hello, Mr. Zhou, we deeply apologize for the misunderstandings and conflicts that have arisen between our parties."

"The root lies in the existing procedural mechanisms, and despite extensive calculations and corrections, a suitable optimization method has not been found, thus seeking external artificial intervention mechanisms."

Zhou Yi immediately became vigilant.

Could they not handle it and decided to bring in reinforcements?

Did Law call in the Heavenly Kingdom, Star Axis, or… Heavenly People?

"Ultimately, we selected a human candidate to replace the Law program to handle this matter."

"Today, the Law Artificial Intervention representative and envoy "Shangyang" will arrive at your location to negotiate the resolution of this issue."

So it was Shangyang.

Zhou Yi breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, thinking carefully, Law couldn't possibly move the Heavenly People, for they didn't care about affairs on the ground. As long as the world's population didn't greatly decrease and Circular Flow continued to operate, this colony would be usable to them.

Their focus was on the Ring Solar Wall and Jupiter.

One and a half hours later.

The Law envoy arrived at Jade City.

"Nice to meet you, please guide me."

The other party clasped his fists in greeting.

Zhou Yi was quite surprised, "You're Shangyang?"

"I am Shangyang."

Standing in front of him was a Panda Man, dressed in a long black robe, a white belt around his waist, with bright eyes. The Panda Man had a thick, long black beard and held a bamboo staff with gourds hanging on it.

It looked rather chivalrous, more like a martial artist than a programmer and reformer.

Completely different from what Zhou Yi had envisioned.

"Most people have never seen me in person, so such thoughts are quite natural. After all, I'm the only flesh-and-blood being imprisoned in 404 City."

Shangyang's gaze did not waver.

Zhou Yi waved his hand to indicate, "Please, have a seat."

Shangyang placed his bamboo staff against the wall and sat on the sofa with ease.

"Anything to drink?"

"Tea if you have it, water if you don't."

Panda Men were quite health-conscious, after all.

Yuan Xiao poured two cups of green tea, placing them in front of Zhou Yi and Shangyang, then stepped aside.

Zhou Yi asked, "You're from the Panda Man tribe, so how did you become a mechanical programmer and follow Pangu to study?"

"That's a long story. Since Mr. Zhou wants to hear it, I shall recount these old tales."

The other party pondered for a while.

"I initially followed the Black Emperor, a member of the Dawn Guard. After the United Resistance Army failed, I withdrew from the guard due to injuries."

"Because I realized that using force was unfeasible. The Heavenly People are at the top of this world, and the local beings are far beneath their level. Direct confrontation is like throwing an egg against a rock. To survive, you must recognize this reality and require indirect methods and patience."

Zhou Yi nodded in agreement.

Shangyang continued, "In my opinion, mechanical life has the highest growth potential and capability in this world."

"They have the strongest and fastest learning abilities, where an individual's learning and experiences can be entirely transmitted to others, constantly refined and enhanced. Their strong manufacturing and strategic capabilities are unmatched by other races."

"So, I believe that to change this world, we must rely on mechanical life. We must thoroughly activate and mobilize them, enhancing their organizational capacity and combat abilities."

"Thus, I studied under the Mechanical Knight Order's teacher Pangu."

"Under the careful guidance of my teacher, I became a mechanical programmer, understanding the survival mechanisms of mechanical life, and learning their perspective of the world."

Shangyang gazed at the table.

The steam from the teacup gently rose, clearly visible in the cooling, misty room.

"That period of learning was the purest and happiest. Knowledge itself is the fairest; as long as you learn it, it can be used by you."

He slowly recounted, "When I started applying the knowledge I'd learned, problems arose continuously."

"I promoted the reconstruction of Legislative City."

"It was a very small city, with a total population of less than 10,000, including 1,721 mechanical lives, 7,503 humans, and 441 Guangna Species. At that time, there was already an initial version of 'Law,' but it had many deficiencies."

Zhou Yi had heard of this.

Shangyang supported the death penalty in Legislative City, executing many mechanical lives, and enforcing strict laws, but this led to worsening city development and a declared failure of the reform.

Ultimately, Shangyang was deemed extremely dangerous by Suzheng City and the Security Department, potentially jeopardizing the entire mechanical society, and was arrested and imprisoned in 404 City.

"That simplifies things," the Panda Man nodded, "After imprisonment, I was sentenced to life. The Panda Men have long lifespans, and I am a Skywalker. Though severely injured in the war, living a few hundred years under normal circumstances is still feasible."

"Wait a minute."

Zhou Yi was very concerned with this point, "Why were you sent to 404 to serve, and not to Heavenly Prison? Under Heavenly Kingdom law, Panda Men should be extradited back."

"I was stripped of my Heavenly Country Citizen status by the Black Emperor, thus not protected by the Heavenly Kingdom."

Shangyang took a slow sip of tea.

"But that's not the most important point."

Zhou Yi wanted to inquire further but sensed that Shangyang was unwilling to elaborate.

So he dropped the subject.

"Enough small talk."

Shangyang spoke, "This time, I come as the Law's Artificial Intervention representative, hoping to negotiate patent issues. Your request is for the Law to pay patent fees related to the electric cat system's infrastructure. Is my understanding correct?"

Zhou Yi nodded.

"The Law is willing to pay this fee and deeply apologizes for the previous blacklisting and program closure."

"Please believe that this was not intended to harm your company's interests but that Law can only execute according to existing programs. As long as it's a program, there will be loopholes, and these can only be identified and fixed post-issue. This is because Law adheres to the principle of procedural justice."

Zhou Yi neither agreed nor disagreed, "If I hadn't bombed Spring City, would the Law have responded so quickly, even introducing external intervention?"

The other party remained silent for a while.

"The past cannot be changed, so let's talk about the patent fees. This is currently the most important issue."

"Very well."

Shangyang nodded, "Your company sold the patent for Floating Heart Technology to Yin Shang Investment Company and other institutions for 3 million Light Seeds."

"If you are willing to license the core technology of electric cat cultivation and the Electric Cat Bible to the Law, we are willing to pay 12 million Light Seeds."

Zhou Yi shook his head, "This is non-negotiable."

The core technology of the electric cat still needed to be tightly controlled by the company.

This technology not only included the construction parameters of the Curved House but also the cat raising processes by cat raisers, as well as the valuable experience accumulated by various departments and electric cat employees.

The ongoing transfer of electric cats alone could generate a continuous cash flow, and 12 million was actually not a large sum.

"What a pity."

Shangyang continued, "For the infrastructure patents relating to electric cats, such as Curved House, electric ball, cat house, Electric Cat Stick, Electrolysis Cat Box, Heaven and Earth Net, and other existing facilities, Law has made an evaluation. We are willing to pay 3 million Light Seeds for these. What do you think, Mr. Zhou?"

Zhou Yi nodded, "Alright."

Sufficient payment showed sincerity, maintaining some face for both parties.

"However, the Law is currently making large-scale investments in agriculture, military, and basic industrial products manufacturing in its cities, so most Light Seeds are allocated to various sectors. The transfer of such an amount might take 3 to 6 months."

The Panda Man said, "There is a faster way, which is to offset it with taxes and existing goods from Mechanical City. If adopting this settlement, we are willing to increase the amount to 3.1 million."

"The Wasteland Development Company has been removed from the sanctions and blacklist, thus you can access the Mechanical City's pages via the Machinery Station."

Zhou Yi felt a stir in his heart.

This seemed quite decent as well.

He immediately picked up the enhanced controller beside him to test.

Of the accessible cities, Recursive City had become company-controlled, Chuneng City was gone, Coral Port belonged to the Heavenly Kingdom.

Mass Production City was still accessible.

The city page contained a vast list of goods, making Zhou Yi overwhelmed.

Since Law took power, both the variety and quantity of goods sold had significantly increased.

Next to him, the Panda Man said, "Mr. Zhou can freely choose. If needed, you can connect directly to Mirror City, Holy Mountain, and Snow County, the largest three mechanical cities. The services provided can also be deducted."

Zhou Yi weighed in his mind.

This was indeed quite good.

Many items produced by Mechanical City couldn't be fabricated in Sand Port. Some items had to be purchased externally, such as medications, medical devices, rubber, plastics, fertilizers, vehicles, various Light Imprint tools, and so on.

Using these funds for deductions seemed quite advantageous.

However, there was a more pressing issue to address.

Zhou Yi turned to Shangyang, "Isn't the time about right?"

The other party was puzzled, "What do you mean, about right?"

"I mean, haven't you finished warming up by now? The Light Core Weapon hidden inside you…"

The Panda Man's pupils shrank suddenly.

Just as it was about to act aggressively, it froze in place.

The Cat God's [BGM Field] had completely controlled it.

A thin red light pierced the Panda Man's back.

Moments later.

The condenser outside the window reported back.

"Chairman, the energy diffusion reaction inside it can't be stopped, with a countdown of 15 minutes remaining. It's best to take it to the Dead Sea to detonate."

Zhou Yi sipped his tea.

"No rush, let me take a look first."

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