The Shooting Incident

"The trouble is huge. More than twenty countries have already rejected our request. They won't allow us to build underwater bases in their territorial waters, and they're also banning Merfolk from entering their waters to collect organisms." Secretary Xiao Liu pushed open the door and came in, her tone urgent.

Then, a detailed report was placed on Chen Zhao's desk.

Chen Zhao was in no hurry. He slowly finished the remaining black tea in his cup.

Only then did he pick up the paper and read its contents.

The rejection replies from every country and region had been printed out, along with the numbers and locations of the underwater bases that could no longer be built as a result.

Under the original plan, the first batch would consist of forty underwater bases, with two Merfolk assigned to each one. This would allow them to rapidly collect genetic information on marine life around the world.

But now, twenty-six underwater bases could no longer be built. Many of the selected sites lay within the territorial waters of various countries, and those countries would not accept Chen Zhao's request.

Secretary Xiao Liu was so anxious she did not know what to do. "Boss, what do we do? The materials and personnel for building the bases are already in place. Should we cancel them?"

"Cancel them? Why would we?" Chen Zhao remained utterly calm. "Their refusal is nothing more than an attempt to squeeze some benefits out of us. Send people to sound them out and ask whether there's anything we can do to strengthen cooperation."

Xiao Liu's eyes widened, as though she had suddenly been enlightened. She nodded. "Okay! I'll handle it right away!"

She turned to leave, but Chen Zhao called her back.

"Wait. If we let them name their terms, they