Chapter 1068: Throwing Meat Buns at a Dog, Who Cares Which Dog You Hit

..."Furthermore, the Great Xuan side has never given us any definite answer, nor anything that would help us."

"Everything is just us being overeager and forcing ourselves on them."

"I believe no one likes to be the one forcing themselves on others, or to put it bluntly, this is nothing but groveling."

"Besides, all of this was voluntary on our part; the Great Xuan never forced us."

"Or maybe they simply look down on us. Our strength is insufficient, so we have no say before them. If we insist on clinging to them, we might end up paying the price without getting anything in return."

Although these words were the truth.

But still.

"Many things can't be calculated that simply, Elder Shui."

Elder Shui looked at him: "Then tell me, besides getting some experiences that we might not even obtain, what else can we gain from establishing diplomatic relations with Great Xuan?"

"Great Xuan and Great Han are far apart."

"Strategically, they cannot offer us any help. Even if they could cross the vast distance and come to help us resolve the current crisis, how much would that cost?"

"Great Han doesn't necessarily have to beg others to solve its current predicament."

"If we must ask for help, wouldn't it be better to directly seek assistance from Lü Mountain in Demon Continent!?"

As soon as Elder Shui said this, the people in the meeting room immediately cast surprised looks at him.

"Elder Shui, have you already established connections and relationships with Lü Mountain in Demon Continent?"

Elder Shui shook his head: "No."

The crowd fell silent: ........

They thought to themselves, then what are you talking about?

It's already difficult to establish relations with Great Xuan.

Let alone Lü Mountain in Demon Continent—that's even farther and even harder.

We would like that too.

If only we could establish relations with Lü Mountain.

We wouldn't have to deal with all these troublesome matters.

We could simply offer the highest price that Great Han can afford, ask Lü Mountain to act, and kill those bastards!

But this can't be done, so what you're saying is useless.

However, Elder Shui shifted his tone: "But we have already acquired a talented individual who has connections with Lü Mountain."

"However, due to various reasons, this talented individual is temporarily unable to return to Lü Mountain. So my proposal is to take the resources originally allocated for establishing relations with Great Xuan and use them as funds to open a path into Demon Continent, sending this talented individual's news in."

As soon as these words were spoken, the leaders in the meeting room all looked at Elder Shui with strange expressions.

Someone asked tentatively: "Is it Lu Ding?"

Elder Shui: ?????????

Shook his head: "No."

"How could you all think of Lu Ding?"

Although Lu Ding was already very strong now.

Elder Shui felt that he still needed protection and couldn't be casually revealed.

Better safe than sorry, right? Only the top few people needed to know.

However, the leaders present were either Elder Shui's comrades who had fought alongside him or juniors he had watched grow up.

Elder Shui himself wasn't someone skilled at disguising his feelings or hiding his thoughts.

Who didn't understand him?

The way his mouth slightly curled up when he said 'talented individual.'

Just that subtle facial expression was enough to make them understand that ninety-nine percent of the time it was Lu Ding. The remaining one percent was just a special case, a conservative estimate.

Seeing that everyone was still staring at him with knowing, half-smiling expressions.

Elder Shui was somewhat annoyed: "I said no!"

In an instant.

Everyone withdrew their gazes.

"Oh oh oh, no, no, please continue."

"Since it's not Lu Ding, then who is it exactly? Oh, so hard to guess."

"Can't guess, absolutely can't guess. I didn't know that Great Han had such a 'talented individual'."

Elder Shui sat in his wheelchair.

"You little bastards, I'm going to get you all! We're in a meeting here, what the heck..."

Secretary Qiu moved swiftly and stepped forward to cover Elder Shui's mouth.

It was only because he had a good relationship with Elder Shui that he dared to do this. Anyone else would have died eight hundred times over.

"Elder Shui, we're in a meeting, a meeting! Mind the image."

Black lines crept up Elder Shui's forehead. He forcibly swallowed the curses aimed at the other leaders and spoke again: "Anyway, that's the matter. State your opinions."

Another leader asked: "Can we be sure that this connection is reliable?"

Elder Shui replied bluntly: "No, we can't."

The top leader of the dove faction also asked: "And if it fails?"

Elder Shui answered irritably: "Throwing meat buns at a dog—who cares which dog you hit?"

Secretary Qiu: .......

Although your words are crude but true, you're a bit too crude.

He quickly made amends: "What Elder Shui means is, with Great Xuan, we clearly know that even if we pay the price, it depends on their mood. Even if they're in a good mood, we won't get anything particularly useful, just a vague and insubstantial diplomatic relationship."

"If we want to get something real, we'd have to spend a lot more to maintain that insubstantial relationship. The cost is very high."

"But opening a path to Lü Mountain, although uncertain, whether it succeeds or fails, it's a one-shot deal. There won't be any additional follow-up costs."

"After all, either we have the connection or we don't."

"But with Great Xuan, they can dangle the possibility in front of us. It's like how young people date nowadays—they can accept gifts but that doesn't mean they agree. And we can't say anything because we're in a weak position and we volunteered. If we say too much, it makes us look petty and fussy."

After Secretary Qiu explained it that way.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Then someone from the military raised their hand first.

"I agree with Elder Shui's plan!"

Then came a chorus of: 'I agree with Elder Shui's plan.'

And thus.

The diplomatic mission plan to Lü Mountain in Demon Continent was initially established.

Although that place was dangerous.

The matter still had to be done.

Over in Hanjing, they were still busy enriching and fleshing out the rough plan for the diplomatic mission to Lü Mountain.

On the other side.

Lu Ding was returning triumphantly. The moment he set foot on western soil again.

Lu Ding felt that the air itself was sweet.

Awesome!!!

No more having to huddle in that cramped tent at Black Phoenix Gathering.

He could go back to the 749 Bureau and stay in his own large flat.

Looking at the team welcoming him.

Fu Xinghe was at the head.

Lu Ding walked up to him.

"You've worked hard during this time."

Fu Xinghe adjusted his glasses: "Not hard. Life is hard."

He was also learning to joke now.

Lu Ding patted his shoulder and pointed at Yan Feifan: "From now on, let Feifan handle the construction work at home."

Feifan listened and silently straightened his chest, as if to say, leave it to me.

Fu Xinghe: "Forget it."

A man who couldn't find his way with money—he wouldn't dare entrust the entire western region's finances to Yan Feifan. He'd never know when it went into the red.

Yan Feifan: "Hey, Brother Lu, what does he mean? He looks down on people."

Laughter broke out.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment, allowing Lu Ding to fully enjoy the relaxation brought by his leisure.

But over at Baoji Kingdom, bad news came one after another.

...

Writer's block, too much block, dear readers. I wrote and deleted, let me sort out my thoughts.