Cooperation

"I believe the Stellaron Hunters went to such great lengths to lure you here for a reason that is certainly not simple, and I imagine the Astral Express would not be content to be manipulated as pawns by the Stellaron Hunters."

"Based on these points, our two parties have a nearly perfect foundation for cooperation. The only issue is trust, and just now, even that has been perfectly resolved, has it not?"

"To that end, I would like to invite Miss Xiao Xi to represent the Mutual Hope Association and act as a witness for both our parties, witnessing the cooperative relationship between the Luofu Xianzhou and the Astral Express regarding this incident. What do you all think?" Jing Yuan proposed solemnly.

After a moment of thought, Xiao Xi deferred the decision to Welt; after all, she could not be both the witness and the decision-maker.

"Agreed. The Astral Express still trusts the reputation of the Luofu. Furthermore, having a third-party organization act as a notary minimizes any potential crisis of trust. The Astral Express has no reason to refuse this invitation to cooperate," Welt said earnestly after a brief moment of reflection.

"Very well, then it is settled. I will grant you all the authority to act as you see fit on the Xianzhou, and I will notify the Cloud Knights to cooperate with your actions as much as possible. If there is anything else you need help with, feel free to let me know." With the cooperation established, Jing Yuan's actions were swift and decisive. As for any further assistance needed...

"Do you have any specific intelligence on the Stellaron Hunters on the Xianzhou? For instance, what they have done, where they have been, or what their objectives might be..." Stelle asked.

"We do have some of that... though much of it is classified as top-secret information of the Xianzhou. How about this: you may ask whatever you wish, and I will answer depending on the circumstances. How does that sound?" Jing Yuan proposed.

"That is an excellent solution. We agree."

...Having learned quite a bit of information about the Stellaron Hunters from Jing Yuan, the group finally walked out of the gates of the Palace of Astrum.

They had only come to meet the Shipmaster, yet they had ended up meeting the General of the Luofu himself. It seemed the Luofu had come prepared this time.

"Phew, it's finally over. I didn't dare to chime in while you were all discussing things earlier, for fear of saying something wrong," March 7th said, stretching her arms and letting out a long sigh of relief once they were outside the gates.

"But we didn't come out on the losing end this time, and the result is decent enough. By the way, Xiao Xi, what do you think of this General Jing Yuan's strength?"

"The strength of every Xianzhou General is undoubtedly at the Emanator level. Although I can utilize all the power of the Path of Hope, it also depends on my performance in the moment. After all, the favor Lan of The Hunt shows the Xianzhou is known to everyone."

"I see. So, what should we do next? What exactly is General Jing Yuan's intention?"

Welt analyzed the situation calmly, "Jing Yuan's initial goal was most likely to stall us and prevent us from leaving, then use a mix of soft and hard tactics to pull the Astral Express into the Xianzhou's camp. It's just that we didn't follow the conventional path."

"With Xiao Xi's intervention as the Association President, the General chose a cooperative approach on the fly. But no matter how the plan changes, his objective of guiding us to meet the Stellaron Hunters remains at the core."

Xiao Xi nodded in agreement, "Jing Yuan doesn't actually trust us completely; this entire operation is also a test for us."