Stephenson Love Story

Actually, the whole court proceedings were quite boring. Although the atmosphere was very heated, after the leading swearers were respectfully asked to leave by law enforcement officers, everyone realized the situation and began to keep quiet.

The atmosphere in the entire Great Hall was rather somber.

Those monks who hoped this trial would change something seem to have realized something as well.

Not to mention Xu Nan, who basically already knew the outcome.

After a perfunctory debate between the lawyers on both sides, the judge read out the verdict against the three industrial spies.

The corporate spy captured by Aurora Trees was deemed "unreliable" because he failed Stephenson's professional lie detector test during interrogation.

Even though he insisted that he was acting on orders from Lost Paradise, the judges merely considered it a slanderous accusation, and the jury's opinion was unanimous, suggesting he had been bribed.

Ultimately, the spy was sentenced to thirty years in prison, serving time at Seventh Deep Water Well —incidentally, Stephenson's penal code continued the tradition of the Arcane Empire, where these perverse wizards enjoyed turning prisoners into various animals to serve their sentences.

In order of severity from least to most serious, the animals are: donkey, goat, turtle, frog, and caterpillar.

Many serious criminals are permanently transformed into caterpillars by powerful magic and imprisoned in sturdy bottles for others to see.

The Deep Water Well is full of frogs, and this corporate spy is about to begin his thirty-year frog career in the Seventh Deep Water Well. Thinking about it carefully, it's actually quite cruel.

It is clear that the Stephenson government is still very averse to commercial espionage, but they are probably just struggling to find a solution, which is why they have temporarily tolerated Lost Paradise's large-scale infiltration.

The sentences for the other two spies were relatively more complicated.

According to the information provided by law enforcement agencies, they passed the polygraph test, so their statements should theoretically have a certain degree of credibility.

Their words implied that Lost Paradise had orchestrated their actions, and they expressed their willingness to cooperate with the prosecution in exchange for a reduced sentence.

However, thanks to the efforts of many powerful figures in the Council of Elders, the testimonies of the two industrial spies were deemed incomplete and contradictory, meaning that although they did not lie, they were certainly hiding something.

In such cases, their testimonies will inevitably be distorted, and therefore cannot be used as evidence.

Regarding the idea of some members of the public, filled with righteous indignation, attempting to use this information to initiate a diplomatic tribunal to sue Lost Paradise, the official firmly chose to reject it.

He then subtly indicated that the matter was outside his jurisdiction and that initiating a diplomatic tribunal would require the Stephenson of at least two of the Three Giants.

That's obviously impossible now.

Therefore, these two industrial spies were only sentenced to prison, and to the disappointment of many, the matter seems to have ended there, with no further developments.

They just blamed everything on corporate espionage and called it a day.

As Xu Nan watched the entire event, he suddenly felt as if he were sitting in the meeting room of the Lost Paradise branch in Stephenson.

No wonder Ophy wasn't worried about handling all this mess; apparently, he didn't need to do anything, and these people could handle it all on their own.

This is partly due to Ansu Li's will, and partly due to Lost Paradise's current strong influence in Stephenson.

Those alchemists at the bottom probably never imagined that the Sanctimonious officials and the jury members who always talked about democracy, freedom, and the rule of law... were all traitors within Lost Paradise!

Actually, upon closer reflection, this result is quite normal.

Xu Nan carefully reviewed the information Emma provided and found that only a small group of people, including Stephenson, truly opposed cooperating with Lost Paradise.

This group is represented by alchemists, since Lost Paradise has genuinely harmed their interests.

Most of the others were indifferent, but under Ansu Li's influence, they had to consider the Dharma Master's thoughts.

Take Roger, for example. He's a School of Shaping magician who studies the Evocation school of magic. If you asked him whether the knock-off from Lost Paradise or the original Stephenson's alchemical product was better, he definitely wouldn't be able to answer.

The only difference between the two is that Lost Paradise has many more things.

In the short term, many people actually benefit from the introduction of Lost Paradise's products into Stephenson; however, in the long run, such large-scale imitation is not advisable and will seriously dampen the original creative enthusiasm of Stephenson alchemists.

Many people are confused: is Ansu Li, who is in charge of Stephenson, really that muddleheaded?

Xu Nan was also one of those who were confused.

Although he was a beneficiary of the system, he always felt that Stephenson's higher-ups wouldn't be that stupid. Lost Paradise must have made some kind of sacrifice in other ways to gain Ansu Li's tacit approval.

But all of this is no longer his concern.

After the trial concluded, the Council of Elders House of Commons released its prepared statement. Despite the public outcry, no one dared to act recklessly given the prevailing trend.

After all, the boss has already set the tone, and the rest of the team has just carried it out.

It's worth mentioning that the Alchemist Association is also trying to put up a fight. They have joined forces with the vice president of the Protection School to try to link the Lost Paradise delegation's entry into Stephenson with the recent spate of corporate espionage incidents.

They strongly demanded that law enforcement agencies investigate the details of the Lost Paradise.

Xu Nan just sneered at this. These people are still too naive. Even if diplomatic relations are here, how could we, the people of Lost Paradise, be so easily detected if we are not clean?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he saw Emma obediently crumple a design drawing in her arms into a ball and swallow it.

The skill in those movements was so adept it was heartbreaking.

At this point, it was Xu Nan's turn to step forward.

After all, he was the nominal head of the delegation.

He submitted a document directly to Stephenson' official authorities, which included a written text and images recorded on an Image Recording scroll.

This document shows that the two commercial spies who disrupted the Centennial Ceremony of the Protection School actually had close talks with the vice president of the Protection School before the incident!

This information was like a bombshell, causing an uproar in Stephenson.

Xu Nan didn't actually want to smash it so quickly, but these people insisted on courting death, so he wouldn't hold back.

"Actually, I am quite compassionate. After all, Stephenson's alchemists have provided us with a lot of productivity. I didn't mean to do anything too bad."

"Pity..."

Xu Nan sighed.

This information is certainly authentic.

Although the Image Recording scroll cannot serve as conclusive evidence, discussions about whether the entire espionage incident was orchestrated by the Protection School and the deeper issues behind it have become the most popular topics at the end of Stephenson night.

Throughout the entire incident, Lost Paradise presented itself as a victim.

Xu Nan, as the head of the delegation, strongly condemned Stephenson's suspected internal sabotage and claimed that if such behavior was not severely punished, the cooperation between the two sides would be difficult to sustain.

These kinds of polite words are just meant to scare people.

However, the basic effects have been achieved, and the situation is gradually stabilizing. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, signing the White Paper should not be a problem within three days.

In this Diplomacy, Stephenson Sand's side might even be the first to back down, securing more benefits for Lost Paradise.

As for your question about where the crucial Image Recording scroll came from?

Hmm, do you think Xu Nan went back to Earth specifically to buy brand-name cosmetics from various shopping malls for the City Management Captain?

Mr. Launs' favorite servant is probably trying out the latest foundation right now, wearing some sunglasses.

As I said before, as long as you know their preferences, Ron Sorcerer is a professional when it comes to bribery.

The industrial espionage incident has temporarily come to an end. Everyone understands that cooperation with Lost Paradise is now the inevitable trend.

Some Alchemy Workshop owners have begun to worry, as the introduction of Lost Paradise products into Stephenson could have a huge impact on the existing market structure.

The only thing that comforted them was that the cooperation between the two parties was only in its initial stage, with few projects involved, and the first batch of Lost Paradise alchemy products entering the Stephenson market would not exceed ten types.

Ten kinds shouldn't be too many, right?

The real alchemists thought with a glimmer of hope.

Xu Nan, on the other hand, was not idle.

Although he was speechless at the group of shameless guys, since he was already in Stephenson, he might as well take a look around.

Anyway, the money from selling Tiamat's ashes has been received, and Xu Nan is now very wealthy.

Let's satisfy the shopping needs of the underground city residents and send out New Year's goods in advance.

He casually strolled through the women's accessories section, spending lavishly. He bought a lot of fancy underwear for Qin Lele according to the standards for A, and also bought face Facial Mask for Senior Jiang.

"This, this, this... let's pack some of everything."

With the White Paper about to be signed, Xu Nan was in high spirits and became somewhat carried away.

At this moment, a face with a half-smile approached, glanced at Xu Nan's shopping list, and said in surprise:

Why did you buy so many sanitary napkins?

She pointed to a large, exquisitely packaged bag in Xu Nan's shopping cart and asked.

Xu Nan forced a smile and said, "What's it to you?"

Then, without making a sound, he tossed the large bag of sanitary napkins back onto the shelf.

He saw that the packaging was so fancy, and it was mixed in with underwear, so who knows what it was?

Emma nodded thoughtfully.

"But this model is Jiang's favorite."

Xu Nan felt a chill run down her spine. Was it really such a coincidence? Of all the sanitary napkins in Stephenson, she just happened to buy the kind that Senior Jiang liked?

This is a bit awkward, and it's hard to explain.

He glanced at Emma and tried to change the subject. "Are you stalking me?"

Emma glanced at him. "Any man who goes on a shopping spree in the women's section will attract attention, you know?"

"I just stopped by to buy something."

Xu Nan coughed, preparing to take his leave, when Emma suddenly called him back, asking mysteriously:

Are you interested in Stephenson's most famous love story?

Xu Nan shook his head decisively. He really didn't want to spend any more time with this female mage who had a crush on Senior Jiang, fearing he might inadvertently betray Jiang Yuanchi!

As for those bullshit love stories, he has absolutely no interest in them!

"I know there is a Black Witch in the Sea of Curse. Her prophetic spells are incredibly accurate, surpassing all of Stephenson Sunley's spells."

Emma seemed not to have seen his refusal at all, and continued on her own:

"She can predict the future of any two people."

"I hear you're Luo Mang's apprentice, so you must have something of his, right?"

Xu Nan asked in surprise, "What does this have to do with my teacher?"

Emma frowned. "Stephenson's most famous love story is the unofficial romance between Ansu Li and Luo Mang!"

Xu Nan pondered for a moment and said:

Where is that Black Witch?

...!