Chapter 1 The Unexpected Guest

The next morning, around seven-thirty.

The Dragon City delegation was already up, washed, and following the diplomatic officials who came to pick them up to the administrative building.

They arrived at the negotiation venue, where a simple banner read, "Welcome Dragon City Delegation."

Blackwater Legion guards, armed to the teeth, stood inside and outside the venue, their cold eyes fixed on the members of the delegation.

The entire welcome ceremony felt desolate yet solemn.

Bruna, wearing the executive director's coat, stood at the center of the crowd. Around her were the core leaders of the Bana City administrative faction.

Bo Ang, in a wheelchair, was also present, surrounded by military representatives of the Blackwater Legion.

As the two sides met, Fei Pingsheng, as usual, smiled and extended his hand, "Long time no see, Director Bruna."

Bruna smiled and was about to shake Fei Pingsheng's hand.

"Wait a moment."

Just then, an officer in full uniform walked over from beside Bo Ang, stepped forward to block Fei Pingsheng, and sternly reminded, "Mr. Fei, before you is the Executive Director of Bana City, Her Excellency Bruna Bernardo! Your actions do not conform to Bana City's diplomatic etiquette."

With that, the officer placed his arm across his chest, leaned forward slightly, and gave a very standard Bana City ceremonial bow, "You should do this, Mr. Fei."

Fei Pingsheng was taken aback for a moment, but quickly nodded and said, "Alright, alright, I was being presumptuous."

Then, Fei Pingsheng bowed to Bruna in the Bana City style.

Bruna frowned slightly but said nothing, returning the bow lightly.

Next, the officer solemnly introduced Bo Ang beside him, "This is the highest military commander of Bana City, His Excellency Bo Ang Bernardo! You should salute him, Mr. Fei."

Hearing this, Jin Maohui frowned and stepped forward. Fei Pingsheng stopped him with a hand, then, drawing out his tone, said to Bo Ang, "To the Honorable Commander of the Blackwater Legion, the highest military commander of Bana City, His Excellency Bo Ang Bernardo, I, on behalf of Dragon City, express my highest respect!"

With a snap, Fei Pingsheng gave an extremely standard Bana City salute.

Bo Ang glanced at him, nodded slightly, and said nothing.

Bruna watched coldly from the sidelines, her gaze stern, also remaining silent.

After Fei Pingsheng saluted twice, the group entered the conference room.

Jin Maohui didn't say a word, a hint of displeasure flashing between his brows, his mood also very complicated.

Just a few months ago, when Bo Ang met him, he would address him with respect. But in the blink of an eye, the other party was aloof, ignoring him.

This change had come too quickly, proving once again that politics had no emotions.

Jin Maohui tried to adjust his emotions and remained silent.

Everyone came to the table, took their seats, and began the day's negotiations.

At the meeting, the Bana City side presented a large number of new alliance terms, one by one, to Fei Pingsheng and his team.

Throughout the process, Bruna hardly spoke, with the administrative chiefs under her command and military representatives such as Bo Ang negotiating with the Dragon City delegation.

The terms listed were similar to the report that Bruna had seen last time.

The most important of these was the issue of profit distribution from the Bana City Canal. According to the new terms, Dragon City's profits were slashed severely, reduced by almost two-thirds compared to the previous share.

At the same time, Dragon City's right to station troops in Bana City was also revoked. All troops could only be stationed in some less important towns outside the city, and the number of personnel and military equipment were strictly limited, making it almost impossible to form an effective force.

In addition, the scale of the Chinese Association in Bana City was also restricted. Not only that, but the association's personnel, scope of activities, and schedule had to be reported to the Bana City Administrative Office.

In terms of economic trade, there were clear quantity regulations for how much cargo and military supplies the Old Triangle region had to transport to Bana City each year, and all of them had to be increased.

Among these terms, the point that Jin Maohui cared about the most was Bana City's proposal to reduce the number of foreign officials by eighty percent.

In the beginning, when the Lao Li team, the An faction, and the Chinese district helped the Bernardo family stabilize their regime, they had discussed the number of foreign officials, with the main official positions to be given to the Chinese side by forty to fifty percent.

Jin Maohui and Fei Pingsheng were both clear that this adjustment to the number of foreign officials was only the first cut made by Bana City.

Before long, they would continue to reduce them until Bana City no longer had any foreign officials.

Faced with these conditions, from an objective and fair point of view, these terms were undoubtedly oppressive.

After all, given Bana City's precarious political situation at the time, Bruna and Bo Ang were able to secure their regime thanks to the considerable efforts and sacrifices made by the Lao Li team, the An faction, and the Chinese district.

The originally shattered Blackwater Legion was rebuilt with the help of the three forces.

As a result, in less than three years, Bana City wanted to be completely independent, which was equivalent to tearing up the original treaty, with a hint of betrayal.

But from a regional and national perspective, Bana City's actions were understandable. After all, no ethnic group or regime liked being a colonial government.

During this period, Bruna's face showed some guilt, while Bo Ang looked quite calm.

However, the one thing that surprised them both was that despite Bana City's aggressiveness, the negotiations proceeded surprisingly smoothly, without the expected tension.

Throughout the negotiations, Jin Maohui and Fei Pingsheng both showed a very friendly attitude.

Especially that old Fei, he was simply a slippery old fox. When faced with these oppressive terms, he hardly raised any objections or rebuttals. On the contrary, the words he said the most were: "I agree."

Fei Pingsheng even offered Bo Ang cigarettes several times in the middle of the meeting, but the latter refused.

In this somewhat strange atmosphere, the negotiations ended surprisingly smoothly.

At four-thirty in the afternoon, the meeting adjourned, and Bana City began preparing for the dinner.

Bo Ang controlled his wheelchair and walked out. His chief of staff walked beside him and couldn't help but whisper, "Your Excellency Bo Ang... I feel that these negotiations went too smoothly?"

Bo Ang said expressionlessly, "There is an old saying among the Orientals called 'a delaying tactic,' do you understand?"

The chief of staff nodded thoughtfully.

...

The dinner officially began at six o'clock in the evening.

The Dragon City and Bana City delegations both attended the dinner, with various local delicacies of seafood placed on the tables for the guests to enjoy.

Seemingly because of the smooth negotiations, the atmosphere at the dinner was relatively harmonious.

Especially Fei Pingsheng, who was unusually active at the dinner. After a few rounds of drinks, he even took off his military uniform and, red-faced and thick-necked, put his arm around Bo Ang and said, "Your Excellency Bo Ang, to be honest, as a soldier, I admire you very much! At such a young age, you have created the Blackwater Legion, a force that inspires fear, a model for us all! I want to learn from you!"

Old Fei's words were a bit cheesy, and Bruna, who was sitting next to him, frowned repeatedly, holding her forehead, speechless.

Jin Maohui pretended not to see and let Old Fei do his thing.

The most uncomfortable person was Bo Ang, who was a bit at a loss when facing such an old brother of society. He was very uncomfortable with the other party's Jianghu (martial world) air.

In the end, he could only perfunctorily drink two glasses of wine with Fei Pingsheng and chat casually.

When everyone had eaten enough, Fei Pingsheng suddenly cleared his throat, walked to the stage in the venue, picked up the microphone, and said, "Everyone, look at me!"

Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. Fei Pingsheng held up his glass and said with a smile, "Our negotiations were so smooth this time, it's a great thing. It promotes the friendship between our Dragon City, the Chinese district, and Bana City. At such a beautiful moment, I must announce an even more wonderful thing, to bring you an unexpected surprise!"

Everyone was a little stunned, wondering what Fei Pingsheng was up to.

Fei Pingsheng paused, glanced at everyone present, and said loudly, "Now, please let my surprise make a brilliant debut!"

"Pa!"

The venue door was suddenly pushed open, and a guard wearing a Dragon City uniform walked into the hall with somewhat frivolous steps.

Under the gazes of everyone, the guard reached out and took off the mask on his face, revealing a somewhat pale face—it was Bai Hongbo.

"Bang!"

Bruna pushed open her chair and stood up abruptly, her eyes fixed on Bai Hongbo, her eyes instantly turning red.

Bo Ang, on the other hand, revealed a hint of astonishment between his brows, looking at the man who suddenly appeared, somewhat at a loss.