Negotiations
"Who?"
The man holding the megaphone did not react at all. He was completely bewildered.
Li Bai immediately realized that the other party was merely a small fry who had no idea that negotiations over a deal were taking place inside the base.
He called toward where the man was hiding and said loudly, "Aren't you negotiating with the Saint's Association over the technical data? Why don't you ask your leaders? Then you'll know."
"Oh, wait! Stand right there and don't move! I have machine guns here—more than one, and they're really dangerous!"
The man who answered hurriedly reported to his superiors. The news that people from the Saint's Association had arrived outside the checkpoint was passed up the chain and soon reached the negotiation site.
The Human Gene Technology data held by the defectors from the Nine Provinces Xuan Association was extremely important to the "Saint" Jaharlal Choudhury. Unwilling to entrust the matter to anyone else, he had personally led a team over to negotiate.
Because the amount of money involved was enormous, both sides had been haggling back and forth. One demanded an outrageous price while the other offered miserly counterbids. The drawn-out negotiations had already lasted two or three days.
The defectors urgently needed a large sum of money to maintain and expand the functions of this three-defense base. Jaharlal Choudhury, however, was penny-pinching and unwilling to spend a single cent more than necessary. Their differences were particularly pronounced.
However, neither side wanted to see the negotiations collapse. As a result, they occasionally reached an impasse and needed more time.
"Mr. Jaharlal, eighty-three million nine hundred fifty thousand dollars. This price cannot go any lower. We paid an enormous cost for this technical data, so please understand our difficulties!"
Following the principle of equal status, the