"Talk? What do we have to talk about? Stick out your neck, and I'll give you a quick end!" Yu Jin's first sentence choked Regrator speechless.
"The price you can pay." Yelan looked at the stunned Regrator, barely suppressing a laugh as she took over the conversation.
She could tell that the two individuals before her were likely two Harbingers of the Fatui. The opportunity to negotiate while they were at such a disadvantage was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
However, all of this depended on Yu Jin's intentions, as he was the fundamental cause of the current situation. As for herself, she was merely adding icing to the cake.
"Heh heh, what if this Katheryne's functions remain normal?" No sooner had Regrator finished speaking than Marionette continued:
"Normally, Katheryne's automatons are forcibly scrapped after suffering violent intrusion, but I can expend some cost to keep her intact."
After listening to Marionette and Regrator, Yu Jin waved the great spear in his hand and said, "I like to negotiate. Talk, everything can be talked about!"
Then he delivered another horizontal slash, and a massive light blade flew out, carving another large gash into the distant mountain wall.
A small snake on a patch of grass looked at the floating snake skin before its eyes and felt that its luck today was not very good.
"But those words just now, why did they sound a bit like a threat to me?" Yu Jin looked at Regrator and Marionette before him, his tone somewhat unfriendly.
"Is that so? It seems I was impetuous." Regrator made Marionette emit a stiff laugh; it seemed this fellow was quite unyielding.
Yelan tossed a die she had pulled out from who knows where, saying with a hint of sarcasm, "Mr. Regrator, we've given you the chance to resolve this incident privately. Don't take it for granted."
"I've collected ample evidence of the recent attacks and deliberate destruction. Considering the protection agreement signed between Liyue and Snezhnaya, I'm willing to talk with you."
At this point, Yelan sneered a few times, "I'm not sure why Liyue would sign such a 'protection agreement' with Snezhnaya. But I think Snezhnaya probably needs it more than Liyue does."
Although Yelan didn't know the deeper meaning behind the protection agreement between Liyue and Snezhnaya, as a special intelligence officer for Tianquan, Yelan was well aware of Liyue's strength.
With Liyue's strength, it didn't need Snezhnaya's protection at all. It was likely that this agreement also involved a game between the Archons.
"Gentlemen, what would happen if I reported your actions today to the Qixing?" Yelan said, pinching the die with a half-smile:
"Fatui Harbingers Second, Seventh, and Ninth, without permission, illegally entered Liyue, venturing deep into Tianqiu Valley. In cooperation with the Eleventh Harbinger within the territory, they attempted to instigate a Dragon Scourge, causing topographical changes in the Tianqiu Valley area..."
"Hmm..." Yelan stroked her chin, looked at the large lake in the depression, her eyes lit up, and she continued:
"Attempting to raise the ground of Tianqiu Valley, causing the lake water to flood into the Lingju Pass and Qingxu Pool water systems, raising the water level to achieve the goal of submerging Liyue."
"Does this brief report, in your opinion, fit your status as Harbingers?" Yelan smiled as she looked at the two people in front of her.
This report was full of information, and judging by the extent of the damage to the ground in Tianqiu Valley at this moment, it also strongly supported her claims.
Marionette glanced at Regrator; even if she didn't understand politics, she knew how much impact this report would have on Liyue and Snezhnaya.
Moreover, the gathering of four Harbingers in Liyue was, in an intangible way, irrefutable proof.
After hearing Yelan's words, Yu Jin felt that this person was truly formidable, able to twist a group fight into an attempted destruction of a nation.
"Haha, there's an old Liyue saying: 'It's better to see once than hear a hundred times.' Today, I, Pantalone, have truly experienced it." Regrator let out another dry laugh.
This intelligence officer was not simple. Originally, he thought he could fool Yelan and Yu Jin, but now it seemed he could only strive to minimize losses.
"Tell me your conditions." Now it was a matter of how much Yelan wanted to take and how much he was willing to give up.
As for Yu Jin? Sorry, he wasn't paid attention to. In Regrator's view, the next part was his and Yelan's main stage. Yu Jin and Marionette, people who didn't understand politics and negotiation, could go wherever it was cool.
"Oh no, are they going to fight again?" Yu Jin leaned against a large tree, watching Yelan and Regrator, who were spitting words at each other from a distance, and felt that these two might start fighting again.
"Hey! I ask you, do Katherynes share a single consciousness or do they each have their own?" Yu Jin looked at Marionette, who had her eyes closed, and asked aloud.
As an Adventurer, he felt he should learn more about his colleagues.
"They are just automatons, why care so much?" Marionette simply said faintly, and then there was no more to it.
Yu Jin felt bored, so he turned to look around. He rubbed against the tree behind him, not expecting to rub it broken.
He turned his head to look at the tree behind him; it had been full of life not long ago, but now it had turned into rotten wood.
"I say, why do you bother?" Yu Jin looked around. Under the influence of the Doctor, this land had now become a dead zone.
Marionette opened her eyes, and then she saw Yu Jin planting and fertilizing the land.
She only felt her vision blur, and then there was a pit and saplings on the ground, and these saplings had also been fertilized with organic fertilizer from who knows where.
Yelan and Regrator were engaged in a war of words, Yu Jin was busy with ecological restoration, and Marionette watched Yu Jin perform ecological restoration.
Soon, more green appeared on the desolate land. Marionette saw Yu Jin walking over and instinctively took a step back.
"Didn't touch it." Yu Jin stretched out his hand; there were no traces of organic fertilizer on it.
Marionette retreated even further.
Yu Jin looked at Marionette. He hadn't thrown Chocolate (feces) at anyone since he came to this world, and this fellow in front of him seemed like a good target.
However, Yu Jin looked at Marionette. Well, she was using Katheryne's body. So, he decided against it. Miss Katheryne had helped him a lot.
As boredom set in, the sun began to set.
Yelan and Regrator's verbal battle finally ended, and the two slowly approached. Judging by their expressions, Yelan seemed to have gained a slight advantage.
"Tell me your conditions, Yu Jin." Yelan walked over to the squatting Yu Jin and said to him.
Her discussion with Regrator just now was more of a preliminary negotiation concerning Liyue and Snezhnaya, and Yu Jin, a clearly unaffiliated individual, was naturally not considered in that discussion.
Yu Jin stood up from the ground, looked at Regrator and Marionette, pointed to the saplings behind him, and then said:
"First, you Fatui will take care of these saplings behind me. You made this mess, you clean it up!"
Everyone followed the direction of Yu Jin's finger and found that at some point, the previously damaged ground had been tidied up, and many saplings of unknown species were planted on it.
"No problem, of course." Regrator suppressed the urge to complain in his heart and agreed to the request. Just sending some people, a simple request.
"Second, given that no lives were lost, I'll be magnanimous. Apologize to me, and I'll grudgingly forgive you." Yu Jin crossed his arms, waiting for Regrator and Marionette's apology.
"My apologies, for causing you trouble."
"S-sorry."
Regrator only felt his scalp tingle. This request was simple, but he always felt it was terribly strange. Could such a thing be resolved with just an apology?
Then Yu Jin saw Yelan run off into the distance, and from the faint laughter that drifted back, she was very happy right now.
"Third, I want you to guarantee Katheryne's safety. This is also my final request." Yu Jin nodded, accepting Regrator and Marionette's apology.
Regrator looked at Marionette, and the latter showed no reaction. He then understood that this request probably couldn't be met.
However, Regrator didn't pay too much attention to it. This negotiation was originally only to reduce the impact of this incident on the relationship between Liyue and Snezhnaya.
Compensating Yu Jin was just a side note. If it weren't for Yelan, he and Marionette would have long since abandoned these two automatons and transmitted their consciousness back to Snezhnaya.
"No problem." Regrator agreed to Yu Jin's final request.
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