The Dagger Revealed?
The Dog-Headed People's argument was reasonable; the freedom of trade was a concept they had developed after learning from humans. However, the Interstellar Transaction Market remained unmoved by the Dog-Headed People's claims, insisting that the Dog-Headed People sell Sentient Life forms.
Moreover, their rhetoric became increasingly vehement, implying that they wouldn't let him leave unless he sold it.
Especially when talking about creations of Level 4 Civilization, his words revealed a clear threat.
The Dog-Headed People Commander was now in a bit of a predicament, because he could clearly sense the change in attitude from the other side of the Interstellar Transaction Market.
He just couldn't understand why an Interstellar Transaction Market would resort to such threatening tactics to force people to buy. Was this actually a black market? Or was it not an Interstellar Transaction Market at all?!
If this were the behavior of a normal civilization, the Dog-Headed People Commander would be thinking about how to leave this star system first, but the Dog-Headed People are not a normal civilization.
Therefore, the Dog-Headed People Commander is now considering whether to agree to the Interstellar Transaction Market or to feign compliance and then find a way to tell the humans about what he has encountered here.
"How far are the Kuntai People from here?" After weighing the options, the Dog-Headed People Commander asked the crew of the warship.
"Commander, according to the plan, it will take them about three more years to arrive here!" a Dog-Headed People replied.
"We're almost there." The Dog-Headed People Commander pondered for a moment, then said, "Immediately have the fleet form Space Broadcast Array to send Electromagnetic Wave Broadcast toward the Kuntai People Fleet. At the same time, activate the Neutrino Communication Device and send another message to inform the Kuntai People of our situation."
The Dog-Headed People Fleet didn't have a Star-Class broadcasting system, but the Kuntai People weren't too far away, so receiving a broadcast shouldn't be a problem. The only concern now was the jamming devices deployed at the Interstellar Transaction Market.
When the Dog-Headed People Fleet arrived, they had already discovered that the Interstellar Transaction Market had deployed a number of Interstellar Broadcast arrays and Electromagnetic Wave Interference Array within this Star System.
The use of Neutrino Communication is also to prevent interference with Electromagnetic Wave Broadcast.
After issuing a series of orders, the Dog-Headed People immediately sent a communication to the Interstellar Transaction Market: "Okay, you're right, we do need Life Elixir, but we simply can't afford one with a five-thousand-year effect. If we hand over our current personnel to you, then a portion of our fleet will be without enough pilots."
Interstellar Transaction Market: "You can sell your warships to us as payment for the Life Elixir. If you're willing to accept this offer, then 300,000 Sentient Life forms plus 1,000 warships will suffice."
That's quite a nice idea. They want both Sentient Life forms and warships. Are they trying to analyze something from the warships?
"Sorry, our warships are not for sale," the Dog-Headed People Commander replied firmly.
He seemed to care more about the warships than his own people, but what he didn't expect was that humanity had put a lot of effort into anti-reverse technology, and even if a civilization obtained a complete human warship, it would be difficult to obtain human technology from it.
"Is that so? Then let's trade it for 500,000 Sentient Life forms!" The words in the Interstellar Transaction Market were full of hostility.
As soon as this news reached the Dog-Headed People Fleet, the Interstellar Transaction Market quickly noticed that the Dog-Headed People Fleet was changing its formation, so they sent another message: "Huh? Guests, what is your fleet doing?"
"We have warned you that within this trading market Star System, all warships must sail according to our requirements. If the fleet needs to change formation, it must inform us in advance. Guests, what you have done has already violated our agreement, and we have the right to take countermeasures against you!"
Seeing the Interstellar Transaction Market react so quickly, the Dog-Headed People Commander, who had originally intended to have the fleet form a broadcast array to send Electromagnetic Wave Broadcast towards the Kuntai People, immediately stopped the fleet from doing so and instead activated the more covert Neutrino Communication to send messages towards the Kuntai People.
At the same time, he replied, "Sorry, we overlooked this. We will stop the fleet formation change now."
However, to the Dog-Headed People Commander's surprise, his act of sending out neutrino signals was detected by the Interstellar Transaction Market's detection array.
Then, an even sterner warning followed. "Dog-Headed People civilization, you have violated Article 125 of our Interstellar Transaction Market. We have the right to take countermeasures. Please restrain your behavior and return to normal trading. Otherwise, we will consider your behavior as an act of armed aggression."
"Huh, they haven't even made a move yet!" the Dog-Headed People Commander exclaimed in surprise. He quickly replied, "Yes, it was all a misunderstanding. We will abide by the agreement between the two parties and return to normal trading."
"So, about the Life Elixir trade?" asked one of the Interstellar Transaction Market.
"Following your suggestion, we'll exchange 500,000 of our Sentient Life forms. I just remembered, we still have a batch of Sentient Life forms in hibernation, which would be perfect for this transaction," said the Dog-Headed People Commander.
The Dog-Headed People Fleet does have some personnel still in hibernation, but not as many as 500,000; it's probably only around 100,000. Therefore, it still needs to be replenished by Dog-Headed People on board.
"We do need this batch of Life Elixir, but this involves personnel selection on our side, so your trading market will probably have to wait a while," the Dog-Headed People Commander added.
Upon hearing the Dog-Headed People' agreement, the Interstellar Transaction Market's attitude immediately changed. "Time is not a problem. Your choice is wise, and it is a pleasure to cooperate with you."
The Dog-Headed People knew that if they didn't agree to the deal, things would be difficult to resolve amicably. So, in an awkward atmosphere, the two sides eventually settled the matter.
If things go according to the usual pattern, the moment the transaction is completed is also the moment the two parties tear up the ticket.
However, to the surprise of all the Dog-Headed People, after the handover was completed, the Interstellar Transaction Market not only did not launch an attack, but also politely inquired again whether the Dog-Headed People needed any other goods.
After the Dog-Headed People Fleet said there was nothing left to buy, the Interstellar Transaction Market did not attack them, but instead unusually told Dog-Headed People Fleet to leave freely.
In fact, after completing the transaction, the Dog-Headed People Commander was prepared to sacrifice himself for humanity, but things never go as planned.
"Do you think there's something wrong with this batch of Life Elixir?" The Dog-Headed People Commander looked at the Dog-Headed People with some doubt.
"Commander, although our fleet does not have top scientists accompanying us, our Main Civilization has installed some biological detection equipment within the fleet. We have already had our staff test this batch of Life Elixir, and the results show no problems," a high-ranking Dog-Headed People replied.
That's strange!
They looked like they were about to start a war, but now they're all getting along so well.
The Dog-Headed People Commander couldn't figure it out, so he chose to stop thinking about it. He believed that what he should do now was to lead his fleet out of the Interstellar Transaction Market and deliver the Life Elixir to humanity.