Chapter 66 – Negotiation
While waiting for the food, Xie Xu placed a palm-sized black box on the table.
The top of the black box had three dots, one of which was flashing red.
This must be the signal jammer.
Tu Ran glanced at the communicator on her wrist. A faint light flickered in one of its tiny holes—sure enough, the signal was jammed.
“Let’s have a talk,” Xie Xu began.
“Sure, Researcher Xie, what do you want to talk about?” Tu Ran smiled.
“The previous Tu Ran was very important to me,” Xie Xu said, staring at her.
Tu Ran nodded.
Of course, she knew that the original Tu Ran was his right-hand woman, as important as Li Wenchuan.
She also knew that Xie Xu had bought off more than just the original Tu Ran and Li Wenchuan.
In this regard, his secrecy was impeccable. Besides knowing Li Wenchuan was also his person, she didn’t know who the others were.
The two dozen research institutes Xie Xu privately established could develop as they had, largely because half of the data was collected by the original Tu Ran. She even captured several alien species and secretly sent them over.
The original Tu Ran was undoubtedly the number one among all his subordinates.
Now that she had taken over the original Tu Ran’s body, it was as if Xie Xu had lost half of his private research institute’s data source.
No wonder he was anxious.
So today, he invited her to dinner, probably wanting her to continue working for him.
“But I am not her. I now just possess her memories. It’s like me telling you a story where the protagonist can do everything—sing, dance, and master all the languages of the entire Federation. Now, after hearing this story, can you also sing and dance and converse fluently with people of any race?”
“You name your price, I can give it to you.” Clearly, Xie Xu thought this was just an excuse.
Was he trying to buy her loyalty? Anything she wanted? How generous.
Unfortunately, no amount of money was worth it if she couldn’t stay alive. Right now, all she wanted was to survive.
Tu Ran lowered her eyes. “I can’t even reach half of her peak combat strength now. Surviving in the wilderness is already a challenge. Even if I wanted to help you, I lack the strength to do so.”
Polite words—what mattered was that they sounded nice.
Xie Xu fell silent. During this time, the robot brought their dishes. Each dish was exquisitely prepared. After arranging all the dishes, the robot politely said, “Enjoy your meal,” and left.
Once again, only the two of them remained in the private room.
The dishes on the table were still steaming, and their aroma was mouthwatering. For Tu Ran, who already had a keen sense of smell enhanced by the superpowers of the chicken monster and had trained all afternoon, just looking at the food without being able to eat it was torture.
“You can eat,” Xie Xu said, glancing at her and immediately understanding her intentions.
Tu Ran smiled, picked up the chopsticks beside her, and said, “Then I’ll start.”
The dishes were worth more than her monthly salary combined, and their deliciousness was beyond compare to the vegetables and shredded potatoes she usually cooked.
She ate happily while Xie Xu showed no intention of picking up his chopsticks. One hand rested on the table, his long fingers lightly tapping.
Having interacted with him a few times, Tu Ran had a hunch that this gesture indicated he was deep in thought.
She didn’t bother reminding him to eat.
At this moment, he was surely contemplating how to persuade her to join them, leaving him no appetite for food.
As expected, just as Tu Ran was halfway through her meal, he spoke.
“I can teach you.”
Tu Ran’s chopsticks paused abruptly.
“?”
