Chapter 720: Negotiating the Release of Prisoners
Chapter 720: Negotiating the Release of Prisoners
In the two hours that followed, Mayor Hu Jing's office was abuzz with intense discussions. Mayor Hu Jing, Su Yu, Xue Wenli, and Zhang Zhengwei delved deep into the plan, hammering out the specific details of its implementation.
Zhong Feng did not participate in this discussion. It was nearly noon, and he needed to return to the game to make the most of his twelve hours of daily playtime.
After two hours of deliberation, Su Yu and the others unanimously agreed that the Blue Star's strategy needed a significant shift!
Over the past seven months, the Blue Star humans had primarily focused on defense, reacting to the Skrull attacks as they came.
The "Gravity Funnel Plan," the "Green Crown Bird Plan," the "Explosive Mining Plan"—all these were reactive measures taken after the Skrulls launched their assaults.
But now, the situation had changed!
The war on Blue Star had reached a stalemate. The humans couldn't breach the 19 giant hot springs, and the Skrulls couldn't break out.
Apart from reinforcing their military and preparing for the final battle, the Blue Star humans had little else to do.
With nothing to do, the Blue Star should launch a strategic counteroffensive!
The first step in this counteroffensive was to establish bases behind enemy lines on Skrull Star.
Countries like Baker, the Makaton Kingdom, Dragon Island, and the White Eagle Clan—unite all the enemies of the G2 nations.
If these bases could grow and thrive, they would become a sharp "fishbone" lodged in the enemy's throat, potentially even dragging them down!
However, ideals are often lofty, and reality is harsh.
The combined GDP of the G2 nations on Skrull Star accounted for over 70% of the entire world's economy.
Such colossal entities would not be easily brought to their knees.
...
After two hours of meetings, the "Behind-Enemy-Lines Base Plan" was temporarily put on hold.
Su Yu bid farewell to Mayor Hu Jing and boarded the plane bound for Nippon.
Whoosh!
The supersonic fighter jet took off from the United Government headquarters, quickly disappearing into the horizon.
This time, Su Yu's trip to Nippon was not to visit Fuji Chika, but to negotiate the exchange of prisoners with the Skrulls.
The Skrulls wanted to ransom back their soldiers and high-ranking officers, partly to give the people a sense of closure and ease the war-weariness, and partly out of fear that these prisoners might reveal secrets under the "Memory Restoration Spell."
The Blue Star humans also wanted to bring back the three 6th-tier players who had been captured on Skrull Star as soon as possible.
Both sides found common ground and agreed to meet at noon at the boundary of the hot spring in Mount Fuji, Nippon, for the negotiations.
...
While Su Yu was en route to Mount Fuji, on Skrull Star, the expeditionary force's commander, Lance, was in a video call with Emperor Manina, reporting on the situation.
In the command center, Lance's office.
Lance looked at the emperor on the video call and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, I am heading to Blue Star now. The negotiations with Su Yu will begin in about half an hour."
"Very well," Emperor Manina nodded. "I leave the negotiations to you. As long as you don't exceed the price limit I set, you have my permission to proceed."
"Understood!" Lance said, his face stern but his mood considerably lighter.
After today, his brother, Rambo, would finally be able to return to their home planet!
Perhaps because "the lost is the most precious," Lance had been thinking about his brother every night for the past month, worrying about the mistreatment Rambo might be enduring at the hands of the Blue Star humans.
No matter what, brother is finally coming home today!
And the emperor must have forgotten about the green hat incident, right?
Lan Qi sneaked a glance at the emperor, who seemed perfectly normal. It seemed he really had forgotten about it! This made Lan Qi feel a bit more at ease.
In truth, Manina wasn't particularly concerned about Lan Bo. His mind was focused on the overall strategy to combat the Blue Star aliens.
Seeing that Lan Qi hadn't left yet, Manina asked, "Lan Qi, has Prime Minister Gordon of the Pacific Federation on Blue Star been exposed yet?"
"No," Lan Qi answered immediately. "With our help, Gordon successfully passed the Advanced Mind Test. (This refers to his memories being searched by three Priest players using the Mind Steal skill.) The Blue Star government trusts him completely and has given him control over all of North America. The forces he secretly supports are also well hidden, with no signs of discovery."
"Hmm, good work," Manina nodded in satisfaction.
"Your Majesty, are you planning to use this pawn?" Lan Qi asked.
"No, no, no," Manina waved his hand. "The time isn't right yet. Using him now wouldn't pose a significant threat to the Blue Star people. I intend to keep this pawn in reserve for a critical moment in the future."
"Understood," Lan Qi replied.
Manina thought for a moment and then continued, "Oh, right, what about the Dragon Clan? Is the Dragon King and his subordinates doing well on Blue Star?"
Hearing the emperor's question, Manina was taken aback.
He didn't understand why the emperor would ask this.
However, as the commander of the expeditionary force, he answered truthfully, "Your Majesty, the Dragon Clan's operations on Blue Star are proceeding normally! The Dragon King is stationed at the Alps Spring, and the Five-Colored Dragon King is at the Kilimanjaro Spring. They haven't caused any trouble for the local expeditionary forces."
But Manina smiled, "What about the Black Dragon King returning to Dragon Island a week ago? Why didn't you mention that?"
Lan Qi was stunned but quickly replied, "Your Majesty, that's a normal leave, right? Each Seventh-Rank Great Power can rest for four days a month. The Black Dragon King's leave wasn't excessive, so I didn't think it necessary to report it."
"Then do you know who the Black Dragon King met on the island?" Manina asked, a cold smile on his face.
"Um..."
"It was a dragon, a very special dragon."
Manina pulled out a photo from the folder on his left, showing a picture of Zhong Feng transformed into a black dragon, He then showed another picture from the Evolution game, depicting the Black Dragon Clan.
Seeing the two images side by side, Lan Qi's eyes widened in shock. "Your Majesty, this black dragon looks exactly like the one in the Evolution game! The Black Dragon King went to Dragon island to meet a Blue Star alien?!"
Lan Qi realized the gravity of the situation! If the Black Dragon King met a Blue Star alien without his knowledge as the expeditionary force commander, it could mean that the Black Dragon King... no, the entire Dragon Clan might have betrayed them!
Manina put down the two photos and shook his head. "We don't know if the Dragon Clan has betrayed us yet. More precisely, we can't confirm whether this black dragon is indeed a Blue Star alien..."
Over the next ten minutes, Manina briefed Lan Qi on all the information he currently had.
Lan Qi listened quietly, his expression shifting from shock to concern.
This was a serious matter!
(End of Chapter)
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