Chương 891: The Weight of Lignified Trees. Deal Complete!

Deal Complete!

After hearing and evaluating Liu Shu's offer, Sarlos secretly spoke with a few advisors at the side and began his counteroffer. He believed that Liu Shu could go up from what she had just said.

"We believe your offer is interesting. Nevertheless, the last point you've made is ambiguous. We would like you to specify what this residential area is for you to give it that much value." Liu Shu nodded and stretched her hand into space once again. Inside there was a promotional video and a long video showing a family's day-to-day and the usefulness of the <Lignified Trees>. Neither side was in a hurry, so they sat down, got tea from Liu Shu, and started the video.

Sarlos took a sip, and suddenly, a System message popped up. [Congratulations! <Eternal Tea (S Rank)> effect has triggered!] [You've gained 6 months of lifespan!] [Your <Physique> is increased permanently by 0. 01%!] [Your <Phoer> regeneration is permanently increased by 0. 012%!] [Your resistance to impurities is increased by 20% for three months.] [Temporary buffs applied to you will be lengthened by 10% for three months.] Sarlos's motions froze, his eyes trembling as he read through the list of benefits that popped out from nowhere. He quickly hid his reaction, trying his best not to show it. Sadly for him, that momentary pause was very familiar to Liu Shu, so she caught it straight away. It wasn't just Sarlos; around 50% of the people present reacted after drinking, and the others were just satisfied with the deep, refreshing taste. Liu Shu pondered.

'Is my <Destiny> stat affecting the probability?' While she usually didn't bother with it because it was an uncontrollable force, that didn't mean she had forgotten just how absurd her <Destiny> was compared to others. Liu Shu was approaching 30, 000 <Destiny>, while the rest of the people at her level usually had around 5 to 6 thousand if they had high <Destiny>. Those with low <Destiny> had from 3 to 4 thousand.

So, in essence, Liu Shu had around five times the <Destiny> even when compared to those with high <Destiny> like Flor, Ignatia, and similar cases. Though since it triggered, Liu Shu would naturally take advantage.

"I hope you are liking the tea we prepared. It is a local specialty and quite expensive. At least the high-level one you just tasted. Like with most things, we have variety ranging from C Rank, this time, to SS Rank." Sarlos looked at Liu Shu, trying his best not to show anything on his face, and asked with a surprised tone.

"SS Rank? That's a <Tier> of legends. To think you'd have something of that quality hidden away. May I ask why you have not revealed it before?" Liu Shu smiled and slightly lowered the value of the tea with words. Overpraising a product when it was not what you promoted would only cause backlash.

"In truth, the permanent effects are hard to come by. Temporary ones happen quite often and can be stacked well enough as long as you drink <Eternal Tea> for breakfast daily. So, while it is a powerful item, it is not as extraordinary as you are imagining it." Here, she flipped her tune slightly. You couldn't just push down your product, after all.

"Everyone living in the <Lignified Trees> has easy access to lower-rank <Eternal Tea>, though. These darlings can produce it themselves, so getting them in large enough quantities to share is easy. For high-tier Eternal Tea, though, you need special permissions." Sarlos listened attentively and looked down at the teal-colored beverage. It was colored very light blue, like a cloudless sky. It was also somewhat transparent with sparkling white lights inside. At first, he had thought it looked quite fancy.

Now, he knew that it didn't just look that way; it was fancy through and through.

"I understand. Thank you for being truthful." Inside, though, Sarlos was gritting his teeth.

'She is truly an old fox. Adding this information now that we are even watching these videos is a hit almost no one can resist." Lifespan, permanent buffs, and even temporary buffs that can become semi-permanent as long as you drank it? Eternal Tea was a high-quality elixir camouflaged as tea. Liu Shu had even mentioned that everyone in the residential area could get it. So, around 100 million people could be given these buffs, from children to the elderly.

Just this tea's existence made the value of the residential area shoot up.

'And we have yet to see these videos.' A sigh almost escaped him.

'What a sudden yet effective attack. No, perhaps I am just unlucky. She did say it didn't trigger often. Regardless, I got got.' If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. The short video lasted for around 10 minutes, while the long video of the day-to-day lasted for four hours. Of course, Eternal Tea happened to be present in many of the scenes, constantly reminding them about it.

Seeing the people work in large offices with that kind of tea being abundant enough to feed the plants caused those who got the buffs to feel their liver hurt from anger.

'Why are you feeding that precious thing to plants!? You are feeding gold to the pigs! Argh!' Those thoughts changed mid-way to the long-video's progress.

'Wow. Lignified Trees are so useful… they even help take care of your family. Help you with work. They can prepare food, clean the house, you can even modify certain areas of the building at will…' And that was only the beginning.

'They are born with evolving <Runic Fields>? They can go through <Ascension> and develop depending on what they have been? They even have the ability to respec every century or so into another type of building, substituting most skills and titles?' The most impactful part was when the <Lignified Tree> in the video attacked. It was a school situation, and someone had entered to attack the children with evil intent. The one who entered was a Level 190 powerhouse as well, so casualties were basically guaranteed…

Or so they thought. BOOM! A massive root burst from the ground, blasting that person to the sky from the force. Once above, the branches around the school's structure gathered monstrous amounts of Aether Mana and shot several elemental spells, creating a firework show that blasted the assailant into pieces. Other similar situations happened one after another. A woman being dragged to an alley, only for the Lignified Trees to entangle and deliver the stalker to authorities.

A boss abusing their authority, only to be dragged out of the building with proof. A child being abused by their nanny, only for the Lignified Tree to protect it. A war situation where attacks fell from the sky, only for the canopies of the Lignified Trees to act as shields and prevent all damage. Several situations happened one after another during the long video, making it feel like a movie. No one spoke during the entire video, completely engrossed in the utopia-like life the individuals in that city lived.

At the end of the video, a voice spoke softly.

"<Lignified Trees> are more than our house. They are our protectors, our teachers, and our gentle caretakers. They grow with us, and we grow with them. Truthfully, I can't imagine a world without them anymore. Thank you for protecting us. Thank you for helping us when we are at our worst." The video ended, and the room sank into absolute silence. A moment later, some people began clapping softly, having forgotten that they were currently in the middle of negotiations.

Sarlos coughed, snapping those people out of their reverie. When they realized what they had done, they all felt flustered and awkward. Liu Shu laughed.

"There is no need to feel bad about it. Your reactions during the movie were much more informative than the final clapping sounds." Sarlos rubbed his forehead.

'Sigh… I came thinking it would be a small skirmish, and was met with a full-on war. I am completely unprepared. Let's admit it, the Heavenly Willow has completely crushed us this time around. Now I need to try and salvage the situation. Thankfully, since this was the Heavenly Willow's first offer, they should have some leeway to increase what they are offering.' Reaching that conclusion, Sarlos turned to look at Liu Shu's wooden Avatar and pondered.

Truthfully, he just wanted to ask her to give them their highest offer and shake hands. But if he asked that, he would not be getting the most out of this situation. So, he began speaking.

"I am now convinced. Nevertheless, as I said before, it is not enough. I want to expand the residential area to cover at least five city-sized locations. These locations must also have the <Temples> you spoke of. Additionally, I want you to give 200 free berry allocations and 2, 000 discounted berry allocations in each <Lignified City>.

Naturally, all the other discount offers will be effective as well, and the Golden Sap Empire must open at least one large mall in each of these cities with the top-tier products shelved within them." Liu Shu listened and pondered for a few moments. Sarlos had given up on engulfing an entire Capital World of <Temples> and, in exchange, asked her to create five <Lignified Cities>.

He also over tripled the berry resources Liu Shu had initially offered and focused them as quotas for those living in the Lignified Cities. This showed just how much Sarlos has come to like the residential area. In terms of resources, what Sarlos asked for was much more than what Liu Shu initially offered. However, Sarlos had failed to recognize one thing due to all the shocks he received. These zones were not constructed just for the sake of it. Liu Shu was accustoming the population in those areas to herself.

'When I start dealing with the Shattered Ring and other Globular Star System Empires, these cities will become my anchor point.' Truthfully, Liu Shu wanted to agree to Sarlos's offer straight away. However, if she did so, Sarlos would become suspicious. Therefore, Liu Shu made a counteroffer that made sense.

"I will reduce the Lignified Cities to four instead. In terms of berries, you asked a touch too much. I will offer 150 free slots and 1, 500 at a 30% discount per city, for a total of 600 free and 6, 000 discounted allocations. That's double my initial offer, and I still feel it is going a touch overboard." Sarlos didn't have anything else to say.

"If you can build these cities in different Solar Systems, the deal is on." Liu Shu smiled and extended her wooden hand.

"Deal." Sarlos did the same and grabbed the soft wooden hand.

"Deal." The contract would also include clauses stating that Lignified Trees must be treated with proper respect and care. After all, these trees were Liu Shu's children. Any secret experimentation would give the Golden Sap Empire justification to take down the cities and take further actions depending on the damage. She still had it burned in her mind how some people abused her dears early into the Golden Sap City's development, and she wasn't going to go through it again.

'I won't make that mistake twice… Never again.' Meanwhile, while Sarlos smiled, he was surprised to notice that Liu Shu's wooden Avatar had a fleshy feeling. Her hand was soft, squishy, and even a touch warm. Very different from what he initially expected. Regardless, that was a passing thought, nothing with extra meaning.

'I am quite eager to live in this city.' With this, Liu Shu finally got her hands into the Interstellar Teleportation Technology while also planting a seed in a Globular Star System Empire. How this seed would germinate was still to be seen.