Request

Humins glanced at Sarah's expression and, seeing that Sarah remained unmoved, subtly pursed his lips before continuing, "I have a suggestion, but I'm not sure if I should say it."

"I'd like to hear the details," Sarah said succinctly.

"I have quite a few connections within the clan and am fairly well-liked. If Your Majesty requires it, I can help you negotiate and strive for a result that is favorable to you," Humins, his long neck swaying slightly as he spoke with conviction.

"So, Humins, what do you need?" There's no such thing as a free lunch. Humins has no connection with the Swarm, yet he's come to offer advice now; he must have something on his mind. Sarah smiled coldly. She was going to help her dear Overlord see what this old man was really up to.

"Your Majesty is truly a man of character, which I admire. However, I myself have no desires whatsoever," Humins began with a flattering remark, before declaring himself a man of high moral character.

Sarah thought to herself, "What are you talking about if you have no ulterior motives?" Of course, she couldn't actually say that out loud, or both of them would lose face. But she was too lazy to argue with him and just quietly watched Humins' performance.

Seeing that Sarah didn't respond, Humins thought to himself that the Queen had really low emotional intelligence, but of course he couldn't just leave now, so he could only continue, "Although I myself don't need anything, there is a small matter at work that I would like Your Majesty to help me with."

Sarah nodded. "Please go ahead."

"Your Majesty may not know, but our race places great importance on assessments. Even I, as an elder of our race, am subject to assessments." Knowing Sarah's temperament, Humins stopped beating around the bush and continued.

"Although there are many foreign races in the Star Sea Alliance, they are all more or less influenced by our race in terms of technological development, so they don't have many technologies that they can exchange for. To be honest, when I heard that you had taken a unique path, I was overjoyed. I not only risked my reputation but also paid a considerable price to take on the task of signing an agreement with you."

Humins glanced at Sarah and found her still unmoved, merely staring coldly at him. He sighed inwardly, feeling as if eighty percent of his energy had been drained away in an instant, his voice even trembling with emotion.

"A century ago, I was sent here to invite nobles to join the Alliance. But time flies, and a century has passed. The nobles seem to have no interest in our clan's exchange list. Now, my assessment is approaching, but because of the nobles, I have gained very little. Losing face is a minor matter; I fear I will lose my position as elder."

At this point, Humins looked as if he was about to burst into tears. "I shamelessly beg you, nobleman, to lend me a hand. From now on, I will do everything in my power to help you with your affairs."

Unfortunately, someone as shrewd as him, who has lived for countless years, would never have reached his current position if his emotions were so easily swayed. Therefore, his performance didn't even faze Sarah.

"I'm sorry, Humins! The items on the exchange list are all our clan's secrets, of great importance. We will not consider exchanging them unless absolutely necessary."

Hearing Sarah's words, Humins touched the corner of his eye, which had no tears, and thought to himself, "We're already in such a sorry state, isn't it time to have no other choice? Once the rules of the Epoch Clan are revised, you will not only lose your territory, but also your face, and you will be isolated as thugs who oppress the good."

But of course, he couldn't say it like that, or he'd completely sever ties. So, feigning concern for the Swarm, he said, "Perhaps Your Majesty hasn't realized just how serious the crisis facing the nobility truly is."

Humins then launched into a dramatic and sensational account of the impending predicament facing the Swarm: "Your Majesty, the reason some villains dare to target the nobles is because the nobles are somewhat lacking in strength. The nobles exchanged their technology, not only helping me but also gaining points. Although the nobles' path differs from ours, the underlying principles are the same. Using points to exchange for these theories can also help the nobles strengthen themselves and deter villains."

Finally, Humins dropped another bombshell. "I am aware of the situation of the nobles. Thanks to my efforts, the exchange list has been updated. The nobles can find some technologies that do not involve their own secrets to exchange."

After saying that, he handed a new list to Sarah. Through Sarah's perspective, Rowan glanced at the list a few times, and wow, the contents had indeed increased considerably.

These newly added exchange items can be considered tailor-made for the Swarm, and they basically all involve fundamental knowledge. Most of them are the problems that the Epoch Clan faces when researching Life-Extending Plant. Rowan knows this better than anyone else, after all, he knows the progress of those laboratories like the back of his hand, and he would occasionally lend a hand by remotely mutating the plants to make them think that the experiments had made progress.

As for the rest of the content, it was almost all speculation about genetic issues. Some of these were things Rowan could solve, while others Rowan couldn't solve for the time being. However, these speculations also gave Rowan some inspiration and he gained a lot from them.

Humins's eagerness reminded Rowan of his previous speculation: the Swarm hadn't yet met the demands of the mastermind behind the scenes—was this a way to indirectly enhance the Swarm's strength?

Moreover, they could exchange it for some much-needed technology, making it a win-win situation.

Rowan began to understand the contradiction he had felt was there: Humins' actions did not align with his previous deductions about Hummings's objectives at each stage. This meant either Humins intended to take the benefits without delivering, or that there was more than one force plotting behind the scenes.

Rowan felt that the latter was more likely. He couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Good heavens, these guys are treating the Swarm like food, aren't they afraid of breaking their own teeth?"

After careful consideration, Rowan decided to refuse Humins's "kind offer." Firstly, those unique technologies, such as Primary Color Encryption and Gene Encryption, involved the very foundation of the Swarm and certainly wouldn't be exchanged. As for the issues related to the research on Life-Extending Plant, Rowan was willing to solve them all for them.

However, this would expose some aspects of the Swarm, and once this precedent is set, who knows how many troubles will follow. Moreover, Rowan himself doesn't want the Swarm to be openly associated with anything related to Life-Extending Plant. If those things utilize a large amount of Swarm technology, those civilizations might be hesitant to use them. What seems like accelerating their research might actually have the opposite effect.

It would be better if Rowan secretly helped them, making them believe that the method was reliable because it was developed by them.