Chapter 262: Chapter 189: The Big Fish Bites the Hook

Looking at the new private message, Lin Lan’s expression turned a bit strange.

Opening his mouth and the first thing he wants is the bionic maid Lin Lan had dragged out of the dungeon with so much effort?

The legion under the Blood Vulture Duke had obviously been infiltrated by the Apocalypse to the point it was leaking like a sieve, yet this Man not only had no self-awareness, he was still daydreaming.

The Ark Kingdom was stepping into its next major development stage under the influence of the Mechanical Servants; the skyscrapers of Ideal City would sooner or later all be relocated, and every day the workers were learning, under the guidance of the Mechanical Servants, how to build all kinds of city high-rises.

Right now, the Space Ladder had been completely sealed off by the enraged swarm, and the Ark Kingdom only had a handful of bionic Mechanical Servants; the knowledge stored in them was absolutely priceless for the Ark.

Seagull: "You treating me like an idiot?"""

Blood Vulture: "Hmph! If you won’t sell, forget it."

The Man flew into a rage for a moment, and right after that, new messages popped up.

Blood Vulture: "Let’s talk business, Seagull. The Empire needs the Ark’s means of information transmission. I think the aid I’m offering is enough to exchange for your Messenger tech."

Blood Vulture: "I advise you to take the cooperation opportunity provided by the Empire seriously."

Even though the other party’s attitude was as nasty as ever, the corner of Lin Lan’s mouth still hooked up in a hard-to-suppress smile.

The big fish finally bit the hook!

You had to know, behind the Messenger Block stood the Sun Divine Kingdom that mortals could hardly comprehend.

And this True God realm was deeply bound to the Ark; once the Empire fully accepted the protection of the Foreigners and the Eternal Fierce Sun, it would mean Lin Lan had firmly tied the Empire to the camp opposing the Apocalypse!

In fact, Lin Lan wished he could just give the Messenger tech away for free.

But of course he couldn’t handle it like that. Lin Lan knew very well that if you shamelessly delivered benefits with no conditions, people would only think you had ulterior motives.

Seagull: "I do have that in mind, but you should’ve guessed, researching Messenger tech is not some simple task. In reality, the resources we’ve poured into this are beyond counting..."

Blood Vulture: "Tsk, you greedy bastard... I get what you’re hinting at."

Blood Vulture: "Relax. As long as the tech is solid, the new Empire won’t shortchange you. We can negotiate the follow-up aid conditions."

Seeing the other party’s response, Lin Lan nodded in satisfaction.

With an Imperial Duke’s reply in hand, the Ark could smoothly knock on the Empire’s door. This was a massive resource exchange, and Charles had long been itching to expand the Ark’s commercial influence.

Seagull: "Then it’s settled."

Seagull: "As soon as the Ark’s seafaring ships roll off the line, I’ll immediately send people to the Empire to build a stable and reliable information bridge for both sides."

Seagull: "And I can also share this technology with the Empire’s scholars. By then, you might be able to produce Messenger Blocks on your own turf."

Just lay it on thick with the big promises and you’re done.

Lin Lan typed briskly, looking like he was in a great mood, and just like that, he casually laid the groundwork for cooperation with the fearsome Duke whom the world held in awe.

Blood Vulture: "Hmph, at least you know what’s good for you."

Blood Vulture: "I’ll let your move of putting Count Margaret under soft house arrest slide, though she was in the wrong first. Just don’t be too hard on that inexperienced youngster. I’ll send you some private compensation."

Maybe because he was very satisfied with little brother Seagull’s tact, this Imperial Duke’s wording actually softened a bit for once.

Blood Vulture: "Since the outcome’s decided, this conversation ends here."

Seagull: "Hold on, there’s one more thing I have to ask you clearly."

At that moment, Lin Lan’s expression grew a bit more serious. Even though he knew the exchange to come might affect their future cooperation, he still intended to give the Blood Vulture a personal warning.

Even though Lin Lan was shearing wool off both Imperial Dukes at the same time, he always had his own firm stance.

—Foreigners always stand on the side of civilization.

Seagull: "Blood Vulture, in your eyes, is Frost Falcon a stumbling block to the Empire’s progress?"

The Imperial Duke on the other end clearly fell silent.

Blood Vulture: "Quit beating around the bush, Seagull. My technicians aren’t here to carry your pointless chatter. Just say what you want to say."

Seagull: "The merchant ship Frost Falcon sent to the Ark Kingdom was massacred—no survivors. Before they died, his people sent back critical intel: it was your legion that did the deed. Blood Vulture, was that your order?"

Lin Lan didn’t bring up the Apocalypse Believers yet; instead, he first tossed out the contradiction on the surface.

Sure enough, the other side reacted immediately.

Blood Vulture: "Impossible! I’d never do something that stupid! This must be Frost Falcon’s slander!"

Seagull: "I don’t care about the grudges between you. What I see is that the Ark Kingdom suffered a very real loss. Blood Vulture, I need a reasonable explanation."

Lin Lan’s attitude was unusually tough.

This was his tacit coordination with Frost Falcon: if Frost Falcon himself questioned Blood Vulture, it would definitely plant seeds of suspicion in both their hearts, which was probably exactly what the Apocalypse Believers wanted.

But if Lin Lan, a third-party partner, ripped the facts open, it would leave space for both sides to cool down.

After receiving Seagull’s message, Blood Vulture clearly calmed down some as well.

Blood Vulture: "In any case, I won’t sabotage the Empire’s future just to achieve my goals. I think this is probably the Civil Servant Group’s doing..."

Lin Lan narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Civil Servant Group...

Just a moment ago, the Frost Falcon Duke had also mentioned this clique at the top of the Empire.

Seagull: "These people can actually ride on the heads of you Dukes? Spell it out."

Seeing that Seagull refused to let it go, Blood Vulture finally replied, very reluctantly.

Blood Vulture: "Heh, you think the new Empire is as crude and simple as a few Dukes ruling everything? The Empire isn’t some piss-sized Small Island you can run with a couple of administrators!"

Lin Lan: ...

This Man really didn’t bother sugarcoating anything.

Blood Vulture: "In practice, we have to rely on a massive civil service body to push through the policies set at the top. Inevitably, that means there’ll be some rotten bastards with darkness in their hearts."

Seagull: "Can’t you just get rid of them?"

Blood Vulture: "Easy for you to say. Even the Mad Emperor couldn’t really touch those ancient families, and he paid the most tragic price for provoking them."

Blood Vulture: "In truth, I’m one of them too. During my time in power I only purged a small number of decadent, useless trash, and that alone got me branded as a cold-blooded butcher..."

Lin Lan even picked up a trace of helplessness in his words.

As Blood Vulture grumbled his way through the explanation, a rough picture of the Empire’s internal situation formed in Lin Lan’s mind.

Got it.

Translated, what Blood Vulture was saying was: the Civil Servant Group was the network of old-family clans whose roots sprawled through the entire Empire, and these old nobles controlled everything from the shadows.

Lin Lan’s lips twitched.

Don’t be fooled by the Empire being an old seafaring power; it had all the same classic problems, not missing a single one. Ironclad old families, Emperors flowing by like water, right?

The wildest part was that this Civil Servant Group also monopolized key resource allocation and shipping routes. Even the treasures found along the Nightmare route were dug up by them and then offered to the Empire’s top brass.

Good grief, this was already way beyond your average noble clans. Now that the Emperor was dead, these people had clearly grown even more rampant in their ways...