How Am I Still Alive?-Chapter 1358 - 1344: The Unexpected Participant
"....The Eastern Country and the Salvation Army have officially established diplomatic relations, becoming our nation’s 1321st ally. At the same time, both countries have officially signed an alliance agreement...."
When the official news announcement appeared on television, it signified that the overall situation had been settled.
Watching Premier Song sign the agreement on screen, Lu Ping’an couldn’t help but smile.
It seemed that the final outcome was much better than expected. Perhaps it was due to the "cultural example" effect, the face of Lin Nu’s Church, or maybe just luck that there was no more important work that day, but the national leader’s personal appearance allowed this signing to successfully be broadcast during the prime time news slot, bringing unexpected popularity.
As an advertisement, this was probably worth more than gold can buy, and the fact that the leader, not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed it, meant that this alliance agreement would receive recognition at a higher level..... theoretically, as long as the Salvation Army and Mercury 42 didn’t go insane, this agreement, which was merely an expression of "friendliness," couldn’t be arbitrarily dismissed.
"With this alliance agreement, it’s enough to report back....."
Lu Ping’an still carried the trust and delegation of the quasi-gods from Lin Nu’s Church.
At this point, with an agreement of this level, he could directly return and report back.
"...Next, it’s time to have face-to-face talks with the specific big shots."
While he already had a passing score, if he really wanted to save that dangerous world, it seemed that Lu Ping’an held the most important vote in his hands.
"...The Central Luo Heavenly Kingdom wants to talk to us? They have two legions, and two eighth-tier along with one quasi-god....politely decline."
In fact, "churches" had already come knocking, the advertising effect was indeed quite good, especially with the re-emergence of the "pseudo-named Kleris, the Balance Disaster Beast," which attracted attention in the domain of high-level combat power.
But with other churches and forces still hesitating and weighing their options, those who came knocking to talk about cooperation might not necessarily be a good thing.
"Just tell the Central Luo people that our temple is too small to accommodate....uh, let’s change the phrasing, just say that our side has too few Easterners, and until we get immigration up and running, it’s best not to waste their strength."
The Central Luo Heavenly Kingdom isn’t a church or a company, but a "charitable organization"... Its full name is the "Central Roman Land Heavenly Kingdom Association," a registered type of "academic institution," but in reality, it is a special organization with extremist ideologies written all over it.
Just by the name, one could guess their charter of actions; in fact, they indeed challenged the spread of "human glory" and caused some trouble in the Foreign Domain.
Lu Ping’an didn’t have any extra sentiments towards various "ideologies"; rather, considering the current situation on Mercury 42, he worried that these people would exacerbate the conflicts between each other.
"An anonymous ’Ocean God’s Church,’ eh, we need a Sea God over there..."
"Refuse, there aren’t many Ocean Gods on Earth; coming up as anonymous, it’s 90% that ’Guardian of the Storm and the Indian Ocean,’ It also has a side-job as a destroyer, and what It loves most is the theocratic rule of gods over mortals....."
This is like having an elder....a treasure at home, in such high-end environment consultations and communications, Big Cat’s experience was invaluable.
Especially with her many years of experience as a cult BOSS, her ability to identify various kinds of its kind was extremely powerful.
"This Military God Church is actually not bad..... But It is a single new god with limited power and can’t be included in the first-line trade list, but we can communicate privately."
"This one is interesting, the ’Winter Solstice God Church’... a front for the Red Star Republic, are they interested in Mercury 42?"
Foreign participants could be involved too? Lu Ping’an was somewhat surprised.
"There’s no rule saying it’s not allowed.... But it’s unlikely to represent the official stance of the Red Star; it’s probably some big force or company over there. Let’s talk to them first, they should offer a pretty good price."
In this aspect, the Long Hand Clan like Lulu was most interested, even if they had signed an alliance with the Easterners, they were still somewhat worried.
But after really communicating and identifying the god behind that church, even Lu Ping’an felt a bit uneasy.
".....Which Moon God is it....." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
It was indeed an old acquaintance; the Moon God’s forces were actually interested in Mercury 42 as well.
"The Red Star Republic... in terms of extremism and ethnic nationalism, the Central Luo Heavenly Kingdom doesn’t even come close to the level of extremism within their internal organizations."
Although it was frustrating, it seemed these issues were inescapable.
Unlike the thriving Eastern Country, the Foreign Domain development plan of the Red Star didn’t seem to be progressing smoothly, especially since they appeared to be in intense conflict with their Earthmates in several worlds.
Economic downturns, poor environmental conditions—right-wing and extremist groups can easily rise to power, and since that Moon God was one of the Main Gods of the Silent Mountain Range World, her followers and people were mostly the Saphire people.
"So, it’s quite possible that conflicts arose... She might have had some connections with the Eastern Country all along, but it’s impossible for her to jump directly there; that would immediately lead to a serious diplomatic incident. But if she left Earth and regained her freedom of life... In that case, she might see Mercury 42 as a stepping stone?"
Lu Ping’an and Lulu were excited even though they were supposed to be negotiators with no loyalty.
After all, strength was the most important... This once Main God, despite having faced significant setbacks, still had a terrifying foundation. If she were to join Mercury 42, she could directly affect the final outcome.
"...But she doesn’t plan to sign a ’Divine Right,’ she’s talking about ’temporary cooperation’....."
"I heard that she was deceived by the Red Star side initially; the conditions they agreed upon were not fulfilled. Perhaps they genuinely lacked the ability to fulfill their promises?"
"From what I understand about those guys..... they never planned to deliver from the start; the promise was probably impossible to realize from the beginning."
"Is that even possible?"
Lu Ping’an was shocked. Could someone really play the "I want to pay, but I truly don’t have the money" game within a deity’s contract?
"Haven’t you realized? This world is essentially a huge amateur troupe..." Big Cat’s explanation made Lu Ping’an feel subtly unsettled, but this was probably the harsh reality.
Regardless, the sudden entry of this figure brought considerable joy to Lu Ping’an and his party.
If they could really strike a deal, this would be a big catch.
After the "Covenant" and "License" were finalized, more big shots, churches, and companies finally started to consider getting involved.
Lulu and Lu Ping’an began to get really busy... so many things had to be negotiated in person to be settled.
And if the strength wasn’t enough, weaker ones didn’t even have the right to raise their heads in front of Quasi-Gods and eighth-tier beings... Even if the big shots weren’t underhanded, it was just a matter of how much they would earn when dealing with almost "transparent" negotiation partners.
Yet, when it came to sensitive and dangerous negotiation conditions like "land cession," "exclusive operating permits," and "priority in population settlement," banter between the big shots in person was probably the only way to reach an agreement in a short term.
During this process, Lu Ping’an met quite a few big shots and managed at least to be treated seriously, but then...
"Where’s your daughter?"
Every big shot he met would ask him this question, which left him feeling rather exasperated.
So, the next day before going to work, Lu Ping’an simply decided to bring Kitten with him, but then...
"Little Kleris? Where’s your mother?"
Okay, at that moment, even Lu Ping’an felt the person opposite him was somewhat asking for a punch.
