It felt incredibly comfortable.
This kind of unspoken understanding, conveying what Chen Yu wanted to say in the regional channel without the need for extra words, greatly improved his impression of Jiang Yaqing.
She knew precisely what Chen Yu was about to say.
How to elaborate.
Everything unfolded exactly as Jiang Yaqing had anticipated.
What Chen Yu needed most at this moment was to steer the conversation away from the invitation cards and towards his efforts in fighting monsters. It wasn't that the invitation cards were less important than fighting monsters.
In terms of priority, the invitation cards were undoubtedly higher than monster subjugation.
The issue was—
Chen Yu had already clearly stated what he intended to convey. Continuing further would be a waste of time and difficult to conclude in a short period.
In a regional channel where tens of thousands of people could speak.
Did anyone think their questions would be single digits?
There were no identical leaves in the world, nor identical people. Everyone had their own way of thinking and aspects they considered, so their questions naturally varied.
However, if Chen Yu brought up fighting monsters proactively, it would seem abrupt.
Of course, there was one more crucial point to all of this—
"Is Big Brother Chen Yu not in the city-state?"
"I wanted to ask Big Brother Chen Yu to help negotiate, to see if the price could be slightly increased. It seems this idea has to be dashed now."
"Is the city-state's pricing high or low?"
Messages scrolled by in the channel.
Seeing this, Chen Yu couldn't help but reveal a slight smile.
This was the most crucial point.
He didn't need to bear any additional responsibility.
The cave dwellers would not know that Chen Yu could contact the natives of the underground world. Therefore, Chen Yu could no longer negotiate prices with the city lord on their behalf.
This kind of matter was actually thankless toil.
Raising the price.
Then he would have to bear the economic losses.
On the surface, the city-state was held by Kailin, but in reality, he was the holder. Acquiring even one extra copper coin would mean losing countless copper coins later.
If negotiations failed, his standing among the survivors would be affected.
No matter how he acted, it brought him no benefit.
However—
This was just one aspect.
Since Chen Yu was currently not in the city-state, he could shift all responsibility to the city-state. Even if the truth was revealed later, he, not being in the city-state, would not be resented by the survivors.
He wasn't there!
Simply put, his absence from the city-state at this moment was to completely sever his ties with the acquisition matter.
He had already done everything he could.
In order to allow the survivors to gain higher profits, he had proactively proposed the acquisition to the city-state. But if any issues arose later, he was truly sorry, but he was unaware.
Even if they wanted to shift blame, it wouldn't fall on Chen Yu.
"Alas!"
"There's nothing I can do."
Seeing the survivors hesitate, Chen Yu feigned helplessness and sighed.
"I've done my best to secure benefits for everyone, but regarding price negotiations, even if I were in the city-state, I wouldn't really have much say."
"Ultimately, I am merely a guest here."
"Regarding the invitation cards, I truly have no authority. To be honest, I don't even know the city-state's acquisition price right now, and I'm powerless!"
"Consider it, I am also a survivor, just like you. We are outsiders in their eyes."
"Why should I interfere with the city lord's decisions?"
"Don't you agree?"
"And besides—"
"When I came out to fight monsters, I was also acting under orders."
After sending the message, Chen Yu followed up with several sighing emojis to emphasize his current sense of powerlessness.
Appropriate displays of weakness could elicit sympathy.
Chen Yu did not aim to establish an image of an absolute powerhouse. A powerhouse would create a sense of distance. The current Chen Yu needed to portray himself as still an ordinary person, perhaps doing slightly better than others.
Not significantly better.
They were all walking on the edge of life and death. Only by appearing this way could he foster empathy. Otherwise, it was easy to sow seeds of jealousy.
Jealousy in people.
It was a terrifying thing!
As for whether he would establish an image of a strongman or a dominator in the future, that was a matter for later. At least for now, his image was that of a brave individual.
As expected—
As soon as he said this, the tone of the people in the regional channel immediately shifted.
"Alas, Big Brother Chen Yu has already done more than enough for us. Let's not trouble him further. We'll consider the invitation card acquisition ourselves."
"That's right. Besides, Big Brother Chen Yu said it's reliable, and that's all that matters."
"Who's arguing? Anyway, we won't be able to explore it all, so wasting it is still a gain. Even if the city-state offers a low price, it's still a profit for us."
"Exactly, exactly."
Seeing the shift in the channel's sentiment, Chen Yu felt the time was ripe and lightly tapped the screen.
"Regarding the invitation cards, I can guarantee with my integrity that they are absolutely reliable. The city-state will not shortchange anyone their copper coins; it's just the price that I can't influence." After sending the message, Chen Yu immediately changed the topic. "While there are many people here now, I actually have something to ask of you."
"Go ahead, Big Brother!"
"Big Brother, you say that, but what kind of request is this? It's our fortune to be able to help you. You've taken such good care of us; tell us anything you need us to do."
"You say!"
Unsurprisingly, everyone was very willing to help Chen Yu.
It was simple.
Chen Yu's status in their hearts was extremely high now, perhaps even bordering on sainthood. Not to exaggerate, but at least over seventy percent of the people in this area had received benefits from Chen Yu.
Without Chen Yu's food, they would have starved to death long ago.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a life-saving grace!
Now that Chen Yu had a request, anyone with a shred of conscience could not refuse.
"Alas, you all flatter me," Chen Yu said, offering a brief polite remark. "The favor I'm asking of you is not difficult. You know I was dispatched to fight monsters, and I also volunteered for this mission. You also know that it's not easy for outsiders like us to get by in the underground world. My achievements are nothing in the eyes of the city lord. To have a voice, one must possess value, right?"
The crowd responded in agreement.
Seeing the screen full of affirmations, Chen Yu tapped the screen again.
"This monster subjugation is also an opportunity for me to demonstrate my value to the city lord. But in this vast underground world, it's quite difficult to encounter monsters. Even if I do, I might not be able to handle it if the danger level is too high. I was thinking, among you all, if anyone has encountered monsters, perhaps some of lower difficulty, could you share their coordinates with me?"
"I will attempt to subjugate them."
"If it's successful, I can speak up for you more with the city lord in the future. I wonder if you would be willing to help."
"Chen Yu thanks you!"