Chapter 514: A Glimmer of Hope

Chapter 514: A Glimmer of Hope

Zheng Yichen took away the design documents that were rejected, leaving behind the ones she had chosen. However, these chosen designs only had simulation images; they lacked any internal designs. Based on the concepts behind these designs, they were sufficient for The Church’s people to research and create similar items. Yet, research takes time; it cannot be completed in just two or three days.

She believed that if she did this, Zheng Yichen could immediately produce finished products. Before The Church could research and complete their own versions, he would put those products on his Online Store. Currently, the items displayed in his Online Store already had his unique style, making imitations easily recognizable.

Items created based on Zheng Yichen’s theoretical research, even with later modifications, would still retain some of his distinctive style. Even if Zheng Yichen could not time it perfectly, The Church would still end up at a disadvantage. Zheng Yichen could easily take advantage of the situation to cheat The Church, without worrying about retaliation… because they were in the wrong from the start.

Stealing someone else’s research results is a shameful act, whether on Earth or here in the Otherworld—provided it is exposed. People in the Otherworld tend to be even more extreme in their actions.

These documents were left by Zheng Yichen. He did not provide any authorization statement, so if the Chief Supervisor took them, it would still be her fault and The Church’s fault.

In other words, this was Zheng Yichen’s little revenge for her cold attitude. Well, openly expressing dislike for someone right to their face—she did not find it strange to face such consequences.

“Honestly, I did not want to see you come here.” In the Quarantine Camp, Zheng Yichen looked at the Chief Supervisor before him with mixed feelings. His opinion of The Church… never mind, it had always been high anyway. Adding a few more points would not surprise him anymore; he was already used to it, with no more surprises left.

Even so, he had to say it: The Church really had a lot of capable people. Not to mention Achille, whom he had encountered before, even this seemingly young woman, the Chief Supervisor of the Isolation Zone, was one of them. If she had just sent someone else to ask questions, Zheng Yichen would have found her easier to deal with—at most, she was straightforward and a bit sharp-tongued. But for a laid-back dragon like him, it was no big deal.

Being sharp-tongued was not the same as insulting others…

The problem was that she came here personally. The place she was staying was not very close to this Quarantine Camp; even Zheng Yichen pedaling his bicycle at high speed would take about ten minutes to get back. Not long after he arrived, she showed up. This woman was not easy to deal with either. Someone who could set aside pride to get things done—how could her methods be poor?

Her becoming the Chief Supervisor of the Isolation Zone showed she had both reasons and ability… Since she was already here, Zheng Yichen’s little revenge had also succeeded. There was nothing more to say; they might as well continue discussing business. Strictly speaking, it was not revenge… Well, it was more like a probing move with a hint of revenge.

Besides, this woman had stirred up trouble first, making Zheng Yichen travel all the way to her place. Tsk! Now they were even.

Discussing business, of course, took place in Zheng Yichen’s single room. Inside, the Chief Supervisor glanced at the furnishings—very simple, with only a chair, a bed, and a table. There was not even a faucet, clearly not like a high-end Portable House.

She sat unceremoniously on the bed. The bed had a soft cushion, which was naturally more comfortable than sitting on a hard chair. After sitting down, the Chief Supervisor gently crossed her legs and glanced slightly at where Zheng Yichen was looking. She could not help but curl her lips.

“So, as a dragon, the reason you can get involved with a Witch is this… human-like aesthetic sense, right?” If it were a normal Dragon Clan, even using an Alchemical Avatar like Zheng Yichen’s, they would not give a second glance at human women’s legs, which could display beauty. What would they look at? Toothpicks?

Think they taste good?

Ah, pfft! Outside of battle, or without deep hatred for someone, dragons do not eat Humans! After all, the Dragon Clan has a long heritage. Intelligent beings eating intelligent beings? The proud nature of the Dragon Clan would not allow them to do so easily… Well, key point: easily.

Dragons not eating Humans does not mean they never eat them… Not just Humans, but Alien Races that can speak—the Dragon Clan basically does not consider them food. Or rather, anything that can speak falls into this category. As for intelligent Magical Beasts?

Oh… they cannot speak? Then it is fine~ Those who cannot speak are just smarter beasts or Magical Beasts in the eyes of the Dragon Clan!

Back to the main point, the key word is “easily.”

Even Humans have cases of cannibalism, let alone Alien Races like the Dragon Clan. Dragons do not have human aesthetics; if they really wanted to take a bite, their psychological burden would be much lighter than that of Humans. Therefore, from that one detail, the Chief Supervisor confirmed that Zheng Yichen’s strange aesthetic sense for a dragon was not fake. For this, she had specially changed into a different outfit to come here.

“What do you mean ‘get involved’? The reason I can be with her is all because of you Humans.” Zheng Yichen curled his lips. The Chief Supervisor thought for a moment and actually nodded in agreement.

“Indeed, those people who died at the hands of… the Cursed Witch deserved it. Let’s not talk about that anymore; let’s discuss business.” The Chief Supervisor frowned slightly, irritably pinching the hair on her forehead. “We all need time, so I will just ask directly: your minimum acceptable price. I can decide to increase it by one-fifth.”

“Tsk, even so, you would still make a profit, right?” Zheng Yichen clicked his tongue softly. 120% of the psychological price? Be reasonable—when discussing business, unless encountering someone exceptionally skilled, who would easily reveal their psychological price? So, 120% of the minimum psychological price?

How about 200%?

Could it be even higher?

So this woman was quite cunning too. He should have just dealt with the other supervisors of the Quarantine Camp. With those, Zheng Yichen could probably negotiate a very suitable price. But this one… starting off with suppression.

“That depends on how you think about it.”

“Oh, then make it one and a half times higher. I will not say much more. Even if the price you estimated is lower compared to this, I will accept it. How about that?”

The Chief Supervisor looked at Zheng Yichen for a while. She had started with suppression, and this was Zheng Yichen’s counterattack. Well, since they had already said they wanted to save time, further haggling would seem “insincere.” To put it bluntly, she held a very strong, very strong grudge against Zheng Yichen. Some people in The Church disliked him because he chose the wrong path.

As for her grudge… it was prejudice!

Prejudice aside, some matters still needed to be discussed properly. “Fine, quote your price.”

Since she was being so straightforward, Zheng Yichen naturally had little objection. He quoted the price. Listening to Zheng Yichen’s quote, the Chief Supervisor’s eyelids twitched slightly. She had thought Zheng Yichen was already quite cunning, but he turned out to be even more so than she had expected. Though compared to some merchants, he was much better, it was still a case of the pot calling the kettle black—not much better.

In some aspects, he was even more cunning than those merchants. At least, many merchants often did not dare to cheat The Church, but Zheng Yichen dared to!

“With such a price, does that mean the previous items…”

“That is different. These things are specially designed according to your needs, so charging extra is only natural. As for those previous items, clearly those were promises made by The Church themselves. What does that have to do with me? Syringes? Those are definitely fine. Have you not seen them already on sale in my Online Store? The price is correct too—all wholesale prices!”

The Chief Supervisor looked at Zheng Yichen, who flatly denied everything. This time, let it be. In the future, as long as the Containment Zone did not disappear, this down-to-earth dragon would definitely not miss many opportunities to make money. This transaction would serve as a reference for redefining prices.

After all… a donkey needs a carrot to run fast. Zheng Yichen needed to taste some sweetness to produce better things. As for… his relationship with the Witch? As long as the things he made had no connection to the Witch, it was fine.

Anyway, these were all daily-use items, currently used in the Containment Zone. After the incident here was resolved, these things would not be of much use. By then, they could research these items in detail, but they definitely would not be used outside of daily life. Who made these things were produced by Zheng Yichen?

They were not hostile now, but if they faced the Witch in the future and used these things, who knew if Zheng Yichen had left any loopholes in his designs?

After finalizing the business deal, Zheng Yichen still left feeling somewhat unsatisfied. Tsk, a whole bunch of proposals, and he ended up with this woman losing most of them. Though these were just casual works, they still required brainpower, okay? Yet, a whole bunch of them got shelved!

“And also…”

“And also?”

“Regarding those previous designs, let me take them back for reference first. When there is a need later, I will actively contact you.”

“Oh? How embarrassing, making you run back and forth over such a distance…” Zheng Yichen pretended to be polite as he handed over those design documents to the Chief Supervisor.

The Chief Supervisor took them with a stiff smile. “If you feel embarrassed, you can come to me instead.”

“Well, it is only about a ten-minute trip. Just bear with it and show some consideration for us brainworkers.” Zheng Yichen’s tone immediately shifted, speaking bluntly without a hint of shame!

She did not say anything, silently watching Zheng Yichen. She had somewhat underestimated this dragon’s shamelessness. Brainworker? Using your dragon head to break through city walls?

“Alright, some of these designs are temporarily not needed. Right now, there are enough personnel in the Containment Zone. If the situation becomes more complicated later, they can be used. I have a lot of things to do, so I will take my leave now.”

The Chief Supervisor put away the document folders and said plainly. This was also a kind of statement, letting Zheng Yichen know that his designs were not completely rejected but were just not suitable for the current timing, serving as a preparatory measure to avoid more trouble later. This was to prevent the dragon from becoming passive and negative due to the previous cold treatment… giving him a bit more hope for making money, this greedy dragon!