Maria and the Jellyfish

The woman seemed to have noticed them and slowly turned her head away.

His cool, aloof face carried a hint of coldness as he silently watched from dozens of meters away.

His calm gaze seemed to pierce through the entire space!

Even women have to admit that they feel a flutter in their heart when they first see the other person.

After several breaths, she finally came to her senses in surprise, as if waking from a deep dream.

My back feels slightly warm.

Something's not right... This woman... I don't feel right about her!

The woman immediately became alert.

What made her despair was that her subordinates seemed somewhat dazed and confused.

It's not that they've lost their ability to think for themselves... in fact, they remain calm.

But the invincible, elite aura they had when they first assembled was gone.

In just a few short moments, they found themselves at a disadvantage in terms of momentum.

"Hello."

Maria spoke calmly, then slowly moved to the sofa and sat down gracefully.

Her composed demeanor made it seem as if she were the true owner of the place.

The woman remained silent for a moment, then decisively switched to a fake smile and silently sat down in front of Maria.

Behind her, the soldiers stood in a line.

Behind Maria, there was only a servant dressed in ladylike attire and the infamous leader of the Yeti Squad.

"Hello..." She nodded and spoke first, "I am Candela Sanchez, the mayor of Dossoles."

"Maria, the current leader of Yharnam."

Maria was not being arrogant at all; on the contrary, her words were very polite, sounding almost too composed.

It's completely unimaginable that such a person would have forcibly entered Dossoles' territory not long ago without any prior notice.

This made Candela think for a moment that Maria would be an easy person to talk to.

But clearly, as the mayor of a turbulent city, Candela would never negotiate based on her feelings.

She quickly came to her senses and looked at Maria intently.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Maria."

"Although it may be presumptuous to ask now, but... Yharnam, which country is she from?"

This is the one thing Candela most needs to be certain of, as it determines the nature of Yharnam's operation.

In her understanding, there were indeed many neutral organizations that did not belong to any country roaming Terra, but clearly, no single organization had the capacity to undertake the transfer of a mobile platform.

As for the size of Yharnam... while it can't be called enormous, it's clear that it's not something a simple neutral organization could build.

If it's an individual organization, then it can be explained that it's the first time they've made contact, and many procedures are unclear, so it can be left ambiguous.

And if a nation stands behind her... that's enough to justify a declaration of war.

Dossoles is already in enough chaos; she doesn't want any more.

"We do not belong to any country, or rather, our leader is Lady Maria."

Beside her, the Doll quietly explained to Maria.

She knew that Maria's straightforward nature wasn't suited for negotiation, so this trip was mainly to have Maria act as a mascot.

Of course, if she's called a mascot, she's the most powerful mascot in all of Yharnam, and also the most distinguished person. So at this meeting, she and FrostNova stood at the back, while only Maria was allowed to sit.

"Individual organization?"

You can understand it this way.

"That really surprised me." Candela didn't say much; she just smiled for a while.

Is it really that important for Maria to have powerful backers?

It wasn't important to her; all she needed was an answer.

Whether that powerful backer is there or not doesn't have much impact.

As long as Maria acts as an individual or organization, many things become much easier to explain.

"I'm delighted to meet so many new friends on this joyous occasion. To be honest, your initial actions did make us quite nervous, but given it's our first time meeting, we can all understand... For the sake of the collective good, I'd like to ask, on behalf of Dossoles, Yharnam, if you have any suitable items prepared for the trade?"

"I won't let you down."

The Doll bowed slightly and took out a small box.

As the box was opened...

A yellow ore appeared before everyone.

The soldiers standing nearby tensed up instantly, instinctively wanting to rush forward and surround their leader.

But Candela remained remarkably calm at this moment.

She waved her hand, stopping the soldiers behind her from protecting her. After turning to confirm it was safe, she carefully lifted the box and looked at the raw stone inside...

Then...

Her pupils suddenly contracted!

Extremely high... one could even say ridiculously high.

Even artificially refined Originium is extremely difficult to achieve this level.

With just a simple assessment, Candela was able to determine that even as fuel, this substance was an extremely luxurious item.

This one, no bigger than a fist, provides the same amount of energy as if they bought several tons of Originium elsewhere!

It's this big, enough to power an entire area for an hour!

Not to mention the difference in pollution levels between the two.

"You intend to sell this as a commodity?"

Candela took a deep breath, then looked up, her eyes serious.

When it comes to energy, there's no such thing as being unable to act.

Especially such pure Originium... even the Pure Originium refined from it is considered top-grade.

But that's not the point.

How much of this stuff is there in Yharnam!

"The quantity may exceed your expectations."

The Doll stood to the side, speaking softly and neither humbly nor arrogantly, its calm eyes revealing no hint of a joke.

"Perhaps you've underestimated Dossoles' purchasing power." Candela smiled upon hearing the Doll's words.

Although Dossoles cannot compare to those true commercial centers, as a large tourist city, it generates almost one-tenth of the Bolivar's annual profits!

In one country, one-tenth of the tax revenue comes from a single city.

This shows how prosperous the area is.

It's fair to say that if they wanted, they could easily expand Dossoles several more times to meet their needs.

They didn't choose to expand only because of certain business needs.

That's why she was somewhat dismissive of the idea of Doll.

But the Doll simply squinted and chuckled softly.

"Perhaps..."

Chapter 246 Maria and the Jellyfish

"Ms. Candela? Ms. Candela!"

Inside the office, a scantily clad girl called out a few times, waking the other person from their daze.

Seeing the other person's slightly stunned expression, Ch'en Hui-chieh felt a little helpless.

During the short meeting, she drifted off more than ten times. To be honest, she began to doubt whether her supposed vacation was even real.

It seems like the other party doesn't really value us.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Candela was somewhat helpless as the little dragon girl before her brought her back to her senses.

The scene Maria had shown her not long ago was still lingering in her mind.

Almost a mountain of high-purity Pure Originium.

Even though she wasn't as knowledgeable as a professional in this area, she could visually sense with her own eyes how terrifying the energy was hidden beneath that enormous crater.

Seriously speaking, once those Originium are activated and detonated, not a single intact flat piece of land will be found in the entire Dossoles!

And this was only the tip of the iceberg, which was truly hard for her to believe.

Even more unbelievable is that Maria's offer was the same as that for ordinary Originium...

What does that mean?

This means they can purchase dozens or even hundreds of times more energy at the original price!

This is something I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams.

But it happened.

According to Maria, these things were simply byproducts extracted during the operation of their city, and were considered garbage...

The stark contrast left a lasting impression on her.

The only pity was that she couldn't find out from them where their operating technology came from.

But that's enough.

That's why she couldn't help but drift off when she met the girl in front of her.

She simply couldn't imagine the enormous profits those Pure Originium would bring her once they were in her hands.

It feels like a dream...

"I understand your situation, Nephew... We have arranged guides for you, and we hope you have a pleasant time during this trip."

As Candela spoke, she rubbed her temples, her emotions fluctuating somewhat unnaturally.

Ch'en Hui-chieh naturally noticed this unease, and as a former police inspector of Lungmen, she frowned slightly.

But compared to these...

"What do you mean by 'you guys'?"

Ch'en Hui-chieh hesitated.

She came alone this time, didn't she? She didn't have any companions.

The woman simply smiled at this.

"It's not just you; Lungmen also sent someone over..."

"There's another person? Swire?"

Ch'en Hui-chieh was taken aback for a moment, but then gave a question.

Swire was an important figure in the Lungmen Guard Department when she was in Lungmen. After Swire resigned, she was the most likely person to take her place.

"No..."

Candela shook her head.

"That... Hoshiguma?"

Although Hoshiguma's identity is somewhat problematic, her competence has always been evident. Her being dispatched here... is a bit strange, but understandable.

"No, not either."