Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 587 - 457: Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Qu Jianlei nodded, answering calmly, "Yes, it's all set."

The Guard Captain stared in disbelief for a moment, then swallowed, "So... someone is willing to make a move?"

"Guard Captain, what you just said..." Qu Jianlei looked at him helplessly, "Are you suggesting it's just a joke?"

"No!" Hertman shook his head constantly like a rattle, "It's just, just..."

"Just a bit surprised," Qu Jianlei responded without hesitation, then sighed, "You originally didn't have any expectations?"

No need to clarify what he didn't expect, it was clear enough.

"A little," Hertman nodded, facing such a person, he really didn't dare to have any little thoughts anymore.

He and his boss had deliberated for quite a while; their main goal was for Kushnier to be too afraid to act.

The conflicts between planet governors are complicated, but there are some relatively simple bottom lines.

But now, there's nothing to discuss; they've already found someone capable to act.

Seeing Panda's expressionless face, Hertman felt his scalp tingling.

He coughed twice, daringly asked, "I need to confirm, have you found an Executor?"

"You can assume I haven't," Qu Jianlei replied disinterestedly and pushed the order list back.

"I don't need this; payment of a hundred thousand silver coins for breach of contract, should that be fine?"

Hertman froze for a moment, then jumped up with a shiver, "Breach of contract... Why would I breach it?"

Qu Jianlei just watched him like that, saying nothing, with a bit of helplessness and coldness in his eyes.

"Sorry," the Guard Captain took a deep breath and sat down again, "I just didn't expect you to be so efficient."

Qu Jianlei snickered humorlessly, "Didn't expect, or didn't think?"

Hertman paused for four or five seconds, then sighed, "Sorry."

There was really no way to explain, but he understood better that if this person truly let go, his boss's predicament would remain.

Even worse, he'd totally antagonize Panda.

Not only wasting previous efforts, but also offending a force capable of assassinating the Supreme!

So now... truly the arrow is on the string and must be fired; not killing Kushnier is not an option.

The Guard Captain is also a decisive person; he steeled his nerves and said, "Please state your demands."

"It's not my demand," Qu Jianlei shook his head slowly, "I'm just passing on the message."

"Yes, it was a slip of tongue," Hertman nodded constantly, "Please tell me, what kind of requirements?"

Qu Jianlei spoke in a deep voice, "One hundred each of A-level and B-level Crystals, ten million Silver Notes..."

The Guard Captain kept nodding; these are hard currency, even the Supreme does not live on air.

However, "Still need B-level Crystals?"

"Should require cooperation," Qu Jianlei calmly explained, "Since they've accepted the order, they should act with full force."

"That's right," Hertman nodded again, feeling much more assured, "What else?"

"Further, how many Cultivation Techniques and Techniques can you provide?"

The Guard Captain frowned and expressed distress, "Can you define a range?"

Qu Jianlei looked at him with an odd expression, "Do you think I'm negotiating with you?"

"I don't mean that," Hertman shook his head hastily, thinking why is this person so temperamental?

But he still explained seriously, "I can't immediately provide many Techniques; if you have specific targets..."

Indeed, if he desired certain Techniques, he could work towards that direction, with a decent chance of success.

But aimlessly collecting Techniques is quite difficult; in his position, there are too many potential directions for effort.

Qu Jianlei sighed and looked at him helplessly, "Guard Captain, do you think the Supreme is easy to kill?"

Hertman's mouth slightly opened, now he fully realized: killing a Supreme... is not a normal costly affair.

Then he decisively nodded, "Alright, I will do my best to arrange it."

Qu Jianlei nodded satisfactorily, "Try to collect as much as possible... that's all, I think the price is reasonable, right?"

"Is that all?" Hertman looked at him surprised, "The price is indeed not high."

"If you show sincerity, we reciprocate," Qu Jianlei lazily replied.

"If I offer too high a price, you might suspect we're endlessly greedy... demanding continuously after the event?"

Hertman heard this and fell silent; he and his boss indeed had such concerns.

Spending a fortune to hire an assassin to kill the Supreme, the assassin then exploits their vulnerability, asking for money again and again.

To prevent such situations, they also devised some contingency plans; whether they were effective, it's hard to say.

Now, Panda unexpectedly brought up this topic, forcing the Guard Captain to take it seriously.

In the end, he gave a slight smile, "Discussing this seems distant; both our parties have a presence, neither wants things to escalate."

So what if we hired an assassin? You are still the murderers!

It's like a stick hitting both ends of fear onto the wolf.

Therefore, the Guard Captain emphasized: We have official positions; your organization is also not small; everyone has status and stature.

"That's the logic," Qu Jianlei nodded calmly, "so we are also sincere."

"This... is really a bit embarrassing," the Guard Captain was truly surprised.

He was prepared for the other party to make a high demand, but unexpectedly, they offered an unreasonably low price.

The matter of the Cultivation Technique was indeed somewhat troublesome, but they really weren't asking for much in hard currency, "Why not add a bit more?"

The person hiring the assassin voluntarily raised the price, showing a sincerity that is truly unmatched.

"It's just a Supreme, that's all," Qu Jianlei replied indifferently, "just remember to coordinate properly."

Hertman was stunned by his words, "Panda, you mean... there's a precedent?"

"Haha," Qu Jianlei chuckled, "Go about your work, pay half in advance... the Cultivation Technique and Technique need to be provided first."

Paying half in advance was fine, the Guard Captain thought it wasn't a big problem, but, "Collecting the Cultivation Techniques takes a process."

"Then make it faster," Qu Jianlei replied casually, "the quicker you act, the faster we react."

After returning, the Guard Captain met with the boss and recounted the negotiation process.

"That's how it should be," Hoyel nodded, he was indeed quite worried about the other party grabbing hold of their weaknesses.

"Since they are sincere, we should be too, pay half first... and when it's done, double the final payment."

The grand vision of a big figure, indeed, such amount of hard currency seemed insignificant to him.

Hertman nodded, "The boss is generous, but how do we handle the Cultivation Technique they require?"

"Try to find a way as soon as possible," Hoyel committed, "you find a way, I will find a way, we can also mobilize everyone..."

"My requirement is to get hold of all possible Cultivation Techniques within three days, and also to ensure confidentiality."

Hertman thought for a moment, "Mobilizing everyone... maintaining confidentiality would be difficult."

Hoyel shot him a glance, "You're my Guard Captain, if it were easy, why would I need you?"

Hertman laughed and nodded, "Rest assured, boss."

Hoyel paused briefly and recalled another matter, "You mentioned paying half to Panda, is he reliable?"

A hundred A-level, a hundred B-level, ten million Silver Notes, worth over thirty million in total.

Paying half upfront still amounts to over ten million, not a small sum.

"It should be fine," the Guard Captain replied thoughtfully, "we already gave him a Vortex."

Hoyel shook his head, the Vortex is a specialized device, indeed hard to acquire, but it's not really hard currency.

But with the Guard Captain so certain, Hoyel was too embarrassed to doubt Panda's character, he could only say, "If someone else targets it..."

Hertman understood his boss still suspected Panda might run off with the money, just unable to say it outright.

He could only laugh, "That guy's capable, but the key is... there's no other choice now!"

Hoyel paused, shook his head, and sighed lightly, finally saying nothing more.

On the third night, the Guard Captain personally drove to Qu Jianlei's small courtyard.

Besides bringing half the deposit, he also brought over three hundred Cultivation Technique and Technique books.

After setting down the books, he pondered and asked, "Are you going to keep these books?"

These Cultivation Techniques and Techniques were not easily collected and, being confidential, reproduction was out of the question.

Thus, many books were originals, and if the other party wanted to keep them, he would really have a hard time explaining back home.

But he didn't dare to take the initiative to make demands, always waiting to see what the other agenda was before responding.

Qu Jianlei shook his head, "It's just a matter of a day or two, if any Cultivation Technique is favored, I'll just replicate it."

"That's good," Hertman nodded upon hearing this, a trace of relief appeared on his face, "Shall I come to retrieve them in a few days?"

"Sure," Qu Jianlei nodded, "then I won't see you out."

Once the Guard Captain left, he began to browse through the catalog of Cultivation Techniques.

This time, there were indeed some he hadn't collected, like the Dark Attribute, and the Poison Attribute for instance.

However, for the Spiritual and Light Attributes... they were still unavailable.

Nevertheless, what delighted him the most was surprisingly finding three Transformation Techniques!

One was a Wood Attribute Transformation Technique, one was Water Attribute, and another was Fire Attribute. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

He had never discovered Transformation Techniques before, this time he got three at once.

So he called out, "Xiao Hu, time to get to work!"

The Baofeng Terminal's screen lit up, booting automatically, a cartoon butterfly gently twirling, "Master, the Vortex is ready for pickup!"

Qu Jianlei shook his head amused and exasperated, "You say it over a hundred times a day, aren't you tired? I've already told you there's a plan!"

"Then hurry up," Xiao Hu mumbled softly, and immediately, a scanner beside them lit up.

Ever since obtaining the Baofeng, Qu Jianlei bought quite a few peripheral devices, such as this multi-thread high-speed scanner.

The associated costs were four or five ten thousands, definitely pricey, but indeed convenient.

With more than three hundred books, they could be scanned in one night, crucially without requiring his attention.

An upgraded Xiao Hu may be somewhat roguish but undeniably useful.