141: Chapter 141 Jiang Ruowei's Hint

It was too generous.

This proposal was even more exaggerated than he had previously imagined. Five privileges, each top-tier, and when combined, they were practically the entire net worth of a medium-sized family. The other four proposals combined might not even compare to this single one.

However, there was a specific word within it that Qin Ce caught.

North.

A mountain pass leading to the North.

The North.

Wasn't that the Wang Family's territory?

He subconsciously glanced at Wu Xuhang.

Wu Xuhang was lowering his head to drink tea, his posture composed. Seemingly sensing Qin Ce's gaze, he looked up and gave Qin Ce a slight smile. That smile was kind and friendly, but his eyes were completely stagnant, like a pool of dead water without any warmth.

That look said: We both know the conflict between us. This most generous reward is indeed the work of our Wang Family. There's definitely a trick inside.

How will you choose?

Qin Ce withdrew his gaze and looked back at the proposals.

Five proposals, five fortunes.

At this moment, ripples of doubt rose in Qin Ce's heart.

Is this really a fortune?

Would the vested interests of any world truly allow a newcomer to share their profits?

If Qin Ce were a commoner of this world who had won such immense honor and rewards relying on talent and Pet Beasts, he would probably only marvel: The world of the nobility is so damn extravagant. I'm about to strike it rich!

But standing here right now was the Qin Ce who had transmigrated from Earth.

Although Qin Ce had only been a researcher at a scientific institution in his past life, in that era of highly developed information, he had seen too many games between great powers and secret economic wars on TikTok. He understood one truth very well—

What you cannot get on the battlefield, you can never get at the negotiating table.

Therefore, no person and no power would be so generous as to carve up their own interests for a commoner.

Behind such generosity, there were only two possibilities.

One is that what they give you is something you can never actually obtain; it's just a pie in the sky.

The other is that while it's yours in name, it also belongs to them, and in the end, it's still theirs.

That said, where was the real problem among these five proposals?

Qin Ce, who didn't understand the basic operating rules of this world, couldn't see through the traps for a moment.

If he couldn't find the real trap, he had no way of judging which of these five proposals he could actually swallow.

What should he do?

Just then—

Knock, knock, knock.

A sudden knocking sound came from the door of the conference room.

Everyone's eyes turned toward it.

The brows of Zhao Junshan and the other two furrowed simultaneously. This was the core conference room of the military, and a top-level allocation of privileges was underway. There were guards stationed outside, and it was impossible for unauthorized personnel to even get close. Who was so bold as to knock at a time like this?

The door opened.

A beautiful figure behind the door made Qin Ce's eyes light up.

Jiang Ruowei.

Jiang Ruowei in a military uniform.

She wore a well-tailored deep blue military uniform with brand-new insignia pinned to her epaulettes and a standard-issue longsword at her waist. She looked heroic and spirited, a far cry from the cold-as-frost City Lord's daughter she usually was.

"Apologies, Chief of General Staff. The Supervisory Special Task Force is late. By order of the City Lord's Mansion, we are here to supervise this privilege allocation matter."

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear and powerful, echoing in the quiet conference room.

The brows of Zhao Junshan and the others did not relax; instead, they furrowed even deeper.

Of all the people who had investigated Qin Ce, who didn't know that Jiang Ruowei was one of the people most closely related to him?

From their first contact at the opening ceremony to the bet in the Elite Class, and then to when Jiang Ruowei used the City Lord's authority to help him appeal when Qin Ce's transfer order was rejected during the beast tide.

The relationship between these two could no longer be summarized by the simple word "classmates."

What her arrival meant was self-evident.

At this moment, the expressions of all those who had been very friendly to Qin Ce earlier turned rather unsightly.

Director Zhou pushed his glasses; his smile remained, but the curve of his lips had clearly stiffened a bit.

Wu Xuhang set down his teacup, his fingers lightly stroking the rim, and a ripple finally appeared in those stagnant eyes.

Even on Zhao Junshan's scar-covered face, a flash of imperceptible displeasure crossed.

This, instead, allowed Qin Ce to see the clues.

Good grief—could the atmosphere everyone just created have been for the sake of numbing him and coaxing him into signing one of these privilege proposals?

He recalled every detail from just now: Zhao Junshan's encouragement, Director Zhou's friendliness, and Wu Xuhang's kindness.

The three of them came from different powers and should have been checking and balancing each other, being wary of one another, but during that time just now, their performance had been surprisingly consistent.

There was no argument, no disagreement, and not even a single person raised a question about his choice.

This was not normal.

Qin Ce's heart sank abruptly.

So, could every proposal here contain calculations from different powers?

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the three big shots in the main seats couldn't possibly be from the same power.

Zhao Junshan represented the military's Zhao Family, Director Zhou represented the Chamber of Commerce Alliance's Zhou Family, and Wu Xuhang represented the Wang Family.

The interests of the three families were all different; it was normal for them to argue until they were red in the face during military meetings.

But today, their performance tended to be identical.

This could only mean one thing.

The three of them shared a common interest in the matter of "getting Qin Ce to sign a certain proposal as quickly as possible."

What could that interest be?

It could only be the allocation proposals themselves.

Jiang Ruowei didn't care when she saw that no one spoke.

The newly established Supervisory Special Task Force possessed extremely high authority; supervising a privilege allocation was well within their remit.

Every high-ranking official present knew this, so no one spoke up to stop her.

She closed the door, walked to Qin Ce's side in her military boots, and looked down at the five privilege combinations spread out on the table.

The first one, the proposal for the West.

After glancing at it, a barely perceptible curve rose at the corner of her mouth.

That curve carried a hint of understanding, as well as a hint of a mysterious smile.

Then she skipped it directly, without even lifting a finger.

Qin Ce noticed that she spent the shortest amount of time on the first one—almost a mere glance.

Next, she looked at the second one.

Red Sand Mine.

A mature mine, a complete refining factory, producing fire-element weapons that were in high demand on the market.

Everything was written beautifully, a one-stop production, supply, and sales chain; one could make money as soon as they got their hands on it.

Jiang Ruowei's gaze lingered on the document for a moment, and then her finger lightly tapped on a certain line of small print in the "Manufacturing Factory" column.

She uttered one word.

"Lin."

Qin Ce was stunned for a moment.

Zero?

What did that mean? Production was zero?

Jiang Ruowei didn't explain further and looked directly at the third proposal.

Moon Condensation Dew.

A rare recovery potion that was in short supply on the market.

The proposal was written very enticingly: exclusive formula, mature production line, three shops, and a stable customer base.

The corner of her mouth curled disdainfully, and her finger tapped on the supply chain clause between the "Shops" and the "Factory."

She uttered one word.

"Zhou."

Zhou?

Qin Ce was starting to hate people who spoke in riddles.

Jiang Ruowei didn't stop and looked at the fourth proposal.

Spirit Spring.

Processing of supplied materials.

The core selling point of the proposal was a military trade route leading to Lianxing City in the East. The transit permits were already processed, and the convoy could pass through without obstruction.

This time, her finger heavily tapped on the "Military Trade Route" and "Transit Permit" column.

This time, the word she uttered was:

"Zhao."

In Qin Ce's mind, these three words began to link up.

Lin, Zhou, Zhao.

The Lin mentioned here was actually the Lin of the Lin Family.

Plus the Wang he had just detected.

So, these proposals were respectively the intentions behind the five great families of Wind Ridge City?

...