At that question, Xu Yi immediately stopped laughing. After a moment's thought, he replied, "It's more or less settled. Elder Elusia, have you chosen your people?"
"Yes, I've selected a ten-person squad. They'll set out with you when the time comes, and I hope you can help make arrangements for them."
"No problem. Bring them over next time, and I'll take them to meet Noval. He's the commander of this deep-sea exploration expedition. He'll make suitable arrangements."
"All right." Elder Elusia nodded and smiled at Xu Yi. "President Xu, our Night Song Tribe has benefited from your help all these years, yet we haven't been able to offer much in return. I really do feel rather embarrassed."
Xu Yi froze, then his eyes widened in disbelief. He stared at Elder Elusia, carefully looking her up and down several times.
His scrutiny left Elder Elusia thoroughly uncomfortable, and she could not help asking, "President Xu, did I say something wrong?"
"No... nothing wrong... it's just..." Xu Yi wore a very strange expression. "Elder Elusia, that's exactly the sort of polite small talk we humans use. Hearing it come out of your mouth feels stranger than I can say..."
"Polite small talk?" Elder Elusia shook her head. "This isn't polite small talk. It's how I truly feel. We elves revere nature and balance. Receiving favors from others without being able to repay them really does make me feel deeply embarrassed."
Xu Yi rubbed his face speechlessly, then waved a hand. "All right, Elder Elusia, you really shouldn't take this so seriously. We discussed this a long time ago. I chose to help your Night Song Tribe simply because I wanted to bring the elves into the magic industry system I envisioned building. After all these years, you've developed splendidly and become an