Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - The Unequal Treaty (Part Four)

"This... this isn't right! If our strength is restricted so severely, wouldn't Yu He be able to kill us with ease?! Even with Little Butterfly as leverage, this contract is just too unfair!"

"So Yu He also added restrictions for himself, but since they were clearly stated in the contract, he didn't write them down."

Haoyue laid the original contract out in front of me and pointed to the last few words with her finger.

"Until Party B is able to use its true strength, Party A will not personally intervene in Party B's battle."

"..."

In other words... Yu He won't personally intervene until we've saved enough money?

But what's going on here? He went through all that trouble to kidnap Little Butterfly and drafted this ridiculous contract, weakening us to this extent, yet he doesn't take action himself?

"Don't forget, Xiao Ye, Yu He is a businessman. He will weigh the pros and cons... If he doesn't impose restrictions on himself, this contract will be entirely disadvantageous to us, because we will not only lose Little Butterfly, but also be unable to protect ourselves with Yu He's personal intervention. Think about it, Xiao Ye, if we really have to face such a suicidal outcome, would you still sign the contract?"

"... I'll probably just give up entirely."

That's right. If that were the case, I might do something like, "Since Little Butterfly is going to die anyway, I might as well just go and fight Yu He to the death."

"If things really develop like that, it will be completely detrimental to Yu He, which is why he took a step back and added this restriction that can put our minds at ease for the time being. Now we have nothing to hesitate about."

"... If he doesn't personally take action, then his subordinates will be responsible for fighting us, right? Did he prepare all this just to 'defeat us at the lowest possible cost'?"

That damned swindler... Heaven knows what kind of weirdos his men are! He doesn't even lift a finger, just uses a huge group of his men against us when our strength is limited. It seems like our risk has been reduced, but in reality, it's still an overwhelming disadvantage for us!

"And... Xiao Ye, it's not over yet. What if we fail—"

Haoyue's expression suddenly changed, from slightly gloomy at first to full of anger, her eyes seeming to spit fire.

There was one last page in the contract, on which Yu He made his final condition.

"If Party B is defeated, then Miss Ye, Party B's representative, must dedicate everything she has, including her body, spirit, soul, and strength, to Party A."

"Huh--?"

Miss Ye? Me?

If I lose, will I have to give everything to Yu He? Will I become his possession?

What are the conditions for this seemingly low-class, shit-feeding NTR (Netorare) story?

Haoyue's voice trembled.

"Xiao Ye... I think you don't need to... force yourself... Little Butterfly Die certainly wouldn't want you to..."

Her eyes were filled with anger, but she looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

"Calm down, Miss Haoyue! As far as I know, Yu He is a guy who never gets close to women. He doesn't care about anything but money. He says he wants everything from A Ye, there must be some hidden reason! Maybe this can be our breakthrough!"

"Shut up! What do you know! Xiao Ye will become someone else's woman! I... I... no... I can't agree to it... I absolutely, absolutely will not hand Xiao Ye over to anyone!!! What could an idiot like you, who interfered in the process, possibly know!!!!"

"I told you to calm down! Do you think you're the only one who cherishes A Ye? Do you think my love for A Ye will lose to yours? Do you think the whole world revolves around your love? Don't be ridiculous!"

"You--"

"Shut up, all of you!!!"

They were forcibly stopped.

It's so noisy.

I'm already annoyed enough, can't you guys just be quiet for once?

I looked down at the contract, at the signature field.

To sign or not to sign?

If you don't sign

Little Butterfly is probably... doomed, or worse. Yu He had previously said he had no intention Jili handing Little Butterfly over to Ji Li, so it's not surprising that he did anything to Little Butterfly. Sending her the hair this time was the beginning of a warning.

Once we sign, there's no turning back. We'll have to fight against Yu He's subordinates with limited strength, within the rules Yu He's set. If we win, all will be well; if we lose... that's our death. And he wants 'everything I have.' Heaven knows what he's thinking? What does he want to do with me?

In the former case, we can survive, Yu He will likely lose, but Little Butterfly will definitely die.

The latter, though more dangerous, still offers a glimmer of hope that we and Little Butterfly will all survive and successfully defeat Yu He in a happy ending.

"... There's no time to hesitate anymore... You bastard!"

I spat angrily and took the lead in writing my name in the "Representative of Party B" column.

Business Capital, Yu He's office--

"You gave them to them? Thank you for your hard work, senior disciple."

"It's alright... but those brats are really something, they have absolutely no respect for their elders... Ah, thanks."

Yu He poured a cup of tea for his disciple, who slumped wearily in his chair and sipped it slowly.

"Should we let the main body stay here for a few more days? The Gray Starling Group will provide top-notch tourism services."

"No need, I have too many things to do. There are some things I can't put my mind at ease without my physical presence. Sigh..."

"Ha, then welcome back next time!"

"I'll come again next time... No need to see me off, I can walk by myself."

The doorman put on an old padded jacket and walked towards the office door, then suddenly stopped.

"Hey Yu He, I have something on my mind..."

"Please speak."

"What was the last clause of that contract? If she loses, she has to give you everything she has..."

It means exactly what it says.

"... You suddenly have the leisure to want to train sex slaves?"

"Hey, hey, hey, what do you take me for?"

Yu He smiled wryly, swirled his teacup, and took a sip.

"So... you want to add a prized possession to the underground black market for human trafficking?"

"No, although she could certainly fetch a good price, don't you think that would be a waste?"

"Then... wait, no way?"

The disciple stared wide-eyed at Yu He in disbelief.

"You little rascal—you wouldn't happen to have fallen for her!?"

The disciples were utterly bewildered, wondering if the world was about to end. Yu He! That shrewd businessman who loved nothing but money! That Yu He who once half-jokingly said things like, "It's much more enjoyable to rub myself with banknotes Yu He to go find a woman to sleep with!"—a crude joke that never elicited a laugh!—had actually found a woman he fancied?! This was huge news!!!

And Yu He--

"Puff--!!!"

--He spat out all the tea he was drinking.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Don't, don't make me laugh, senior! I? Like her? What is there to like about her? How much money can she bring to me? How much economic benefit can a romantic relationship or a physical relationship between a man and a woman bring? Love, happiness, and the pleasure of sex are just complex chemical reactions and biological currents! They are not worth half a dime!! So the assumptions you made are completely - completely - invalid!!!"

Yu He wild laughter, leaving his disciples stunned. It was the first time they had ever seen Yu He like that.

"Then... what exactly do you want?"

"How so? Of course, it's because she's extremely useful to me! And she plays a role that no one else can replace, which is why I need her so much!"

As he spoke, Yu He looked at the wall on the other side of the office.

The wall appeared to be empty, but the gatekeeper knew there was a hidden passage leading to another heavily guarded and locked door. Even he didn't know what lay inside.

Yu He was still muttering to himself.

"That's right... Ye... Only by using her can we possibly succeed... Therefore... the Extra Weapon must not fail!"

Let's go back to the present--

There are indeed many frustrating things in the world, such as your beloved daughter, whom you wish you could hold and cuddle every day, being kidnapped by the boss; being subject to others after signing an unequal treaty; having your companions all wearing grumpy faces like they're having irregular periods... It's all so annoying.

But let's focus on the immediate problem.

"Ready, we're going in!"

"Wait aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The enormous maw of the Sea Beast drew ever closer, with countless tons of seawater gushing in, and all the merchant ships and cargo ships were swept into its mouth by the current. The maw was completely black, without a single ray of light, resembling the entrance to hell on the storm-raging sea. Compared to them, our small passenger ship looked like a toy.

"I should have just abandoned ship and gone to Sea Forest Tower!" Little Ying cried out in despair, while the Sick Spider glared at her fiercely.

"If someone hadn't messed around and blown up the protective membrane shielding the ship, we wouldn't be soaked to the bone now!"

"I was just... wait, little spider, aren't you a sweet, gentle kid?"

"Screw you! I'm not putting up with you anymore!"

"Eh?!"

Indeed, for those who wanted to keep their ships and thus traveled to the lower levels of the Business Capital by means of transportation (the Sea Emperor Clan), the protective membrane for the hull was very important, just like the one in the Sabaody Archipelago. However, at someone's suggestion, "The atmosphere has been so dull along the way, let me put on a Fireworks show," the protective membrane was beautifully destroyed by bubbles.

I don't know who made that rule, but in monster disaster movies, whenever something happens at sea, a violent storm is bound to follow, and there will always be at least one goofball in the main characters' team, so we're all soaked to the bone.

"Xiao Ye, couldn't we build a very large and sophisticated layer of blood crystal to encase the ship?"

"I can only use the power I had back in the capital! I couldn't have built such a large and intricate project back then!"

If we could just use our true strength and have some fun, any one of us, including Little Ying, could easily wipe out this bunch of ugly Sea Beast. But right now, we're just so frustrated! Yu He, you just wait!

"It's our turn to go in!"

"Hey, hey, hey, it's just going to be swallowed like that!? Won't it be digested?"

"These Sea Emperor Clan have all been modified by the Gray Starling Group; they are highly reliable, super-large vehicles!"

"Who would believe that!"

"In short, there's no need to worry about it being digested! However, without the protective membrane, the hull is very likely to be damaged—"

The gaping maw, hundreds of meters wide, kept expanding, and I could clearly see the barbed teeth along its edges, each tooth as big as a bus.

They went in. They left.

Rumble...

Thump thump thump--

Along with many other ships, we were swallowed into the giant mouth of the Sea Emperor Clan.

... Hopefully, this beast won't just suddenly decide to practice his trilled 'r' sounds.

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