Taking Life and Death Lightly

Hua Xiezhi heard that and couldn't help muttering under her breath, "If they can lend us warships, then silver notes and Energy Blocks..."

Qu Jianlei felt she had a point. He had never wanted the other side to write an IOU.

Three United Company had written one before because they had no other choice, but Flying Eagle gave him the impression of being far more troublesome than Three United.

Since they wanted to negotiate terms for the deal anyway, asking to borrow some money on the side should not have been too difficult.

So he mentioned it to Keynes, who agreed readily enough.

However, Qu Jianlei had not expected that this request would play right into the other side's scheme.

Keynes went to negotiate the exchange for a starship, and the entire process was anything but smooth!

In terms of the density of Armed Merchant Ships, the Asteroid Belt ranked among the highest in the entire Empire. They could be seen everywhere.

But then again, seeing them everywhere also meant demand was strong. Without sufficient benefits, who would be willing to hand one over so casually? Keynes had no choice but to explain to Qu Jianlei again and again that he was indeed trying his best to negotiate and asked for a little more time.

By the time he requested an extension for the third time, more than four hours had passed since the half-hour deadline he had set.

Qu Jianlei and Paranoid remained expressionless, but Hua Xiezhi's face changed. "How about we leave first?"

Qu Jianlei said nothing. Paranoid, however, asked with interest, "Why?"

"They might be stalling for time." Hua Xiezhi looked at him in surprise. "Didn't you notice?"

"Heh." Paranoid laughed and jerked his chin at Qu Jianlei. "Look at your boss's expression."

Hua Xiezhi turned to