44: Chapter 44 A Battle of Wits at the Negotiation Table

As the morning light crept over the edge of the bluestone terrace, Chen Wuwang stood before the flow diversion device, adjusting the angle of the third conduit.

He wore no Mechanical Prosthetic Eye, nor did he tap his dagger; he simply watched the glowing numerical figures appear above the container from the three clear streams: 8.7 Grade, 93%, Grade A.

It was as stable as it had been last night.

Footsteps echoed from the mountain path, and not just from a single group.

He looked up to see over a dozen figures appearing in his field of vision one after another, wearing robes of various colors; they were all leaders of the small clans surrounding the Eastern Wasteland.

Some wore grim expressions, others had shifty eyes, and a few walking at the back had unsteady gaits, clearly having traveled through the night to arrive.

They stopped ten paces away, and no one spoke.

Chen Wuwang turned around, resting his hands on the bronze device, his voice neither high nor low:

"After the envoys from the Zhao, Wang, and Li families returned, did they make things clear?"

"They made it clear," an elder of the Zhao clan stepped forward, his voice dry. "We have seen the terms. We are not here to bargain."

"Very good," Chen Wuwang nodded. "Then let us discuss the rules directly."

"Wait," the Clan Head of the Wang Family suddenly spoke, his brows furrowed tightly. "You ask us to sign an agreement, but is this water real or fake? You say it's purified to 8.7 Grade, but who will verify it? You say three hundred liters daily, but could it become three hundred drops tomorrow? You set a machine on the ground, and we are supposed to believe you are our savior?"

The crowd stirred slightly.

Chen Wuwang did not get angry, nor did he offer an explanation. He raised his right hand and pointed to the first storage pool on the left.

"It is now the second quarter of the Chen hour, and the first batch of water supply is beginning," he said. "You may send three people in to test the water quality, measure the flow rate, and record the time on the spot. If a single item does not match, I will immediately end this meeting today."

No one responded.

Instead, a leader of a small, thin clan in the back row moved forward two steps: "We… we are willing to try."

Chen Wuwang looked at him: "State your name."

"The Sun Family, Sun Wulang."

"Granted," he waved his hand.

Three Cultivators walked into the restricted zone, each pulling out a Spirit-Measuring Disk, a water-measuring ruler, and a timer hourglass.

One of them even bit their fingertip and dripped blood into the spring water—this was the most primitive method of verifying authenticity; if there was any deception in the water, the blood would instantly coagulate and turn black.

Over a dozen pairs of eyes were fixed on their movements.

A moment later, the Cultivator who had verified the water with blood looked up, his voice trembling slightly: "The purity… is indeed above 8.7 Grade. The Spiritual Qi flows smoothly with no residual Impurities."

Another person held up the Spirit-Measuring Disk: "The output is constant, exactly fifty liters every quarter-hour, with an error margin of less than half a breath."

The third person closed the hourglass: "From the start until now, exactly one quarter-hour, not a minute off."

The square fell silent.

Sun Wulang swallowed, then suddenly said loudly: "Our Sun Family is willing to sign! As long as you can supply this water, we are willing to open our trade routes and purchase components from the Chen family!"

Chen Wuwang looked at him and finally revealed a hint of a smile: "Welcome."

He immediately turned to the others: "Who else wants to verify? You may come up at any time."

No one moved.

But the atmosphere had changed.

Just a moment ago, it was a collective standoff, but now it had become a situation of observation and weighing options. Some lowered their heads to whisper to each other, while others stared fixedly at the three clear streams, as if afraid they would disappear in the next second.

A tall man stepped out of the ranks, draped in beast-bone armor; he was the Clan Chief of the Jiang family from the Northern Ridge. He had the loudest voice:

"Head of the Chen Family, you say this water can be supplied for thirty days, but what then? What happens if it cuts off after thirty days? Once we become dependent on it, and you decide to raise the price, we won't even have the strength to resist!"

This remark struck at the deep-seated worries of most people.

Chen Wuwang looked him straight in the eye: "That is why I want to establish the 'Eastern Wasteland Mutual Aid Alliance'."

"What Alliance?"

"A resource coordination organization with the participation of all clans." He clapped his hands, and two clan soldiers brought out a newly made wooden plaque with six large characters carved upon it: "Eastern Wasteland Mutual Aid Alliance".

"From now on, all water supply distribution, component trading, and emergency scheduling will be publicly recorded and archived under the name of the Alliance. On the first day of every month, each clan may send representatives to audit the accounts and supervise the processes. If there are any violations, they will be exposed on the spot, and those who breach the contract will be expelled from the Alliance."

He paused, scanning the crowd: "I will not claim the power of the Alliance Leader, only serve as the first steward. The term is three years, after which a successor will be elected by the clans. If you cannot trust me alone, can you not at least trust your own people?"

The crowd stirred again.

This time it was no longer fear, but hesitation.

The Clan Chief of the Jiang family frowned: "It sounds good, but what if you change the rules halfway through?"

"The rules will be written into a Jade Slip, in twelve copies," Chen Wuwang took a crystalline jade piece from his sleeve. "We will imprint our Divine Sense on the spot; if anyone changes a single word, the Jade Slip will self-destruct. Each of your clans will have a copy, and a duplicate will be buried underground, locked by a Spirit Array, to be opened once every ten years."

After speaking, he turned the Jade Slip into a stream of light that shot into the ground, sinking into the rock layer with a boom.

"Now," he looked at the crowd, "who will be the first to sign?"

Still silence.

But this time, it was hesitation, not resistance.

Sun Wulang gritted his teeth and stepped forward: "I'll sign! Our Sun Family will be the first to join!"

He took the pen and pressed his blood print at the end of the agreement.

Immediately after, the Zheng family of the Western Slope and the Wu family of the Southern Forest also stepped out one after another to leave their prints.

Seeing that five clans had already signed, the Clan Chief of the Jiang family suddenly sneered: "You are certainly in a hurry. But don't forget, the Chen family only yesterday used vibration chips to ambush three clans; who knows if they might tamper with the water today?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere that had just eased grew cold again.

Chen Wuwang, however, was not annoyed; instead, he smiled: "You remind me well. Therefore, I have decided—from today on, all water supply Systems will have their internal control chips removed and replaced with external remote controls. The password will be held in rotation by the twelve clans of the Alliance, changed daily, and can only be activated when unlocked by three or more people simultaneously."

He waved his hand, and the figure of Chen Xiaodao appeared on the wall—but his body was surrounded by restrictions, making it impossible to see his full appearance, only his movements.

That person took off a black square box from his waist and crushed it in public: "The tracking chips implanted last night are all void. From now on, trust will rely on the System, not on coercion."

The crowd below was stunned.

Even the Clan Chief of the Jiang family was taken aback for a moment.

They had originally thought Chen Wuwang would take the opportunity to consolidate control, but they hadn't expected him to turn around and throw away his sharpest blade.

"You… are you really not afraid that we will unite to counter you?" The Clan Chief of the Jiang family's voice dropped a few notches.

"I am," Chen Wuwang said candidly, "but I am more afraid that you will never dare to trust me."

He pointed to the five agreements already signed on the ground:

"They dared to trust because they saw the water. You are still asking 'will it change' because you haven't seen your own names written on it yet. Now the opportunity is right before your eyes—will you sign, or will you not?"

The wind swept across the square, blowing the red silk on the wooden plaque.

Finally, the Clan Chief of the Zheng family spoke: "Our Zheng family… will also sign."

Then came the Wu family, the Liu family, the Qin family…

One blood print after another was pressed down.

The Clan Chief of the Jiang family stood where he was, fists clenched, and finally let out a long sigh: "The Jiang family… will join."

By the time the last person had pressed their print, the sun had already tilted to the west.

Chen Wuwang did not celebrate, nor did he make a speech. He walked to the plaque of the Mutual Aid Alliance and personally placed the twelve agreements into a stone box, sealing it with a Spirit Array.

"At this time tomorrow, the first batch of components will be delivered," he said. "The water supply will continue as usual. If there are any problems, we will discuss them before the hall of the Mutual Aid Alliance."

After speaking, he turned around.

His pace was not fast, but each step was steadier than the last.

Behind him, the leaders of the various clans left one after another; some whispered to each other, some looked back frequently, and some stared at the three clear streams, remaining motionless for a long time.

Chen Wuwang walked past the end of the bluestone terrace and looked up toward the direction of the Artifact Refining Workshop.

He knew that the next matters could not be delayed any longer.

The blueprints for the filtration System were not yet finished, the false markings on the flow diversion device would be discovered sooner or later, and the real test was the day-after-day that began today.

He stepped forward, his fingers unconsciously brushing across the edge of the dagger at his waist.

Beads of blood seeped out and dripped onto the stone steps, like a crushed dewdrop.