Coastal Chamber of Commerce, VIP Outdoor Area
Shopkeeper Qian bowed and extended his hands, saying, "Sir, four distinguished guests, please come in, please come in."
Four figures walked into the VIP room at a leisurely pace. The one in the lead was none other than Lin Chen, with Bibi Dong and Shui Ningrou following behind him. The last figure, a beautiful woman dressed in a red outfit, was Huo Feng.
Shopkeeper Qian's heart pounded, because he realized that even the Governor-General of Vast Sea Province Shui Ningrou, was just a figurehead. Based on his decades of experience in reading people, it wasn't hard for him to guess Lin Chen's identity.
So young, yet holding such a high position—who else could it be but the Emperor of the Spirit Hall Empire?
Shui Ningrou gently explained, "My lord, the Coastal Chamber of Commerce is one of the largest civilian chambers of commerce in our Vast Sea Province. They handle more than half of the shipping business in coastal cities. Our navy also bought two giant ships from them before."
Shopkeeper Qian smiled broadly, "Not at all, we're just small-scale operations. It's all thanks to the empire and the governor's office's support. Without such a stable environment, we wouldn't have been able to achieve this."
"Hehe..." Lin Chen sat down in the chair and said calmly, "You're quite the smooth talker."
Shopkeeper Qian respectfully replied, "I wonder what instructions you gentlemen have for our chamber of commerce? We will do our utmost to fulfill any request that is within our capabilities!"
Lin Chen pondered for a moment, then said calmly, "There is indeed a small matter. I want a giant ship, the bigger the better, and the stronger its defenses the better. Also, please take one of your merchant guild's treasured sea map."
"Uh..." Shopkeeper Qian was slightly taken aback.
"What, is there a problem?"
"No... no problem!" Shopkeeper Qian quickly replied, "Please wait a moment, esteemed guests, I'll take care of it right away!"
In a cheap mansion somewhere in Vast Sea City
Tang San, his face grim, hid in a room with Tang Chen and the others. The Shopkeeper Qian's disdain was still fresh in his mind. As the chosen one of the Douluo Continent, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?
Lin Chen was one thing, but now even a nobody like Karami could look down on him, and he didn't dare to make a move for fear of exposing his identity. It was extremely frustrating!
"Great-grandfather, what if we can't buy a giant ship?"
Tang Chen sighed softly, "Since we can't buy a giant ship, we'll just have to buy an ordinary one."
An elder of the Clear Sky Sect whispered, "Ancestor, we can't even afford an ordinary ship."
Tang Chen frowned. "Can a living person die from holding their pee? Third brother, you and fourth brother go to the sea, catch a few Soul Beast that are seventy or eighty thousand years old, and then exchange them for gold coins to buy an ordinary ship."
"Ancestor, this will probably take some time."
Tang Chen said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do about wasting time. Otherwise, how are we supposed to get there? With your Soul Power, you probably can't even fly to the Central Sea region."
"All right."
In a magnificent hall of the Coastal Chamber of Commerce
Several elderly men in brocade robes sat on either side, while Shopkeeper Qian stood respectfully in the center of the hall. He was merely the person in charge appointed by the Coastal Chamber of Commerce; the real power lay with the president and the council of elders, who were all at the level of Soul Saint or Soul Douluo.
"Little Qian, you're saying the Governor-General himself came to the Chamber of Commerce? And the other guests might even be the Empress and the Emperor?"
"That's right, it's very likely the Emperor and the Empress. After all, the Spirit Hall Empire is so young yet has such status and strength; besides the Emperor and the Empress, I can't think of anyone else!"
Just then, the middle-aged man sitting in the main seat spoke up, "Little Qian, your reaction is good. Even if it's not the Emperor, the Governor-General alone is worthy of our attention. In that case, let's just give them the Long March and the collector's edition map. You've said it well; we might need the Governor-General's mansion's help in the future."
"Yes, Chairman!"
After a short while, in the VIP room
Shopkeeper Qian bowed and scraped, saying, "Governor Shui, distinguished guests, the giant ship Long March is ready and can set sail at any time. The map is also here; please take a look."
Lin Chen took the map and said casually, "Hmm, not bad. How much?"
Shopkeeper Qian quickly replied, "Oh, young master, how could we dare to ask you for money? Consider this giant ship and map a gift from us, as our contribution to maintaining stability for the Emperor."
"Hehe..." Lin Chen chuckled lightly, "Nice attitude, but we still have to pay, otherwise we'd be bandits, wouldn't we?"
" Feng'er ~"
Huo Feng slowly rose, took out ten large wooden boxes from her Sumeru Ring, and opened them with one hand, revealing a dazzling golden light.
"One box contains 10,000 gold coins, and there are 100 rows in total. Each row contains 100 Gold Soul Coin. You can count them."
Shopkeeper Qian hurriedly said, "Young master, what are you doing? You and the governor came to our chamber of commerce to buy some 'little things,' and we're asking you for money? The president and elders will say I'm being unreasonable!"
"Take it. Just say we forced you to pay." Lin Chen said calmly, "You can do business as long as you don't violate the ironclad laws of the Empire. I guarantee no one will target you through official channels."
"Oh, thank you so much, young master, thank you so much, Governor Shui."
Lin Chen stood up and waved, "Let's go~"
Shui Ningrou, Bibi Dong, and the other two girls got up and followed, behaving very obediently.
Coastal Chamber of Commerce, in a certain main hall
The guild leader, seated at the head of the table, said calmly, "It's perfectly normal that the Emperor and the Governor-General don't accept them. I had some doubts about their identities initially, but now I can confirm that, apart from the Spirit Hall Empire, no one could be indifferent to 100,000 gold coins!"
The Grand Elder explained, " The Emperor's refusal indicates he doesn't want to be associated with us. Otherwise, if we come to him for help in the future, the Governor's Office wouldn't be able to refuse us outright."
The president sighed, "Yes, these days having money is nothing; what's truly impressive is being able to give money to whomever you want."
As night fell, the Governor's Mansion
In a blue boudoir, a wooden bathtub was emitting wisps of white steam, with dozens of red petals floating on top.
Splash splash splash...
Lin Chen rested his hands on the edge of the wooden tub, his eyes slightly closed, enjoying the soft caresses. Huo Feng and Shui Ningrou were pressed against him from the front and back, their jade hands roaming over his body.
" Rou'er, what's the deal with the North Sea Raiders that you and Dong'er talked about during the day?"
Shui Ningrou's beautiful face flushed slightly, her blue hair loosely draped over her shoulders, her large, watery blue eyes gazing at him intently. "Husband, rest assured, I have found a way in. After a few days, once I pinpoint their location, I will directly request the navy to annihilate them."
"Yes, report any trouble directly to Ling Yuan and the others."
"Don't worry, my husband, I can handle this little matter. Besides, Dong'er has handed over control of the Vast Sea Navy to Sister Feng and me, so we won't have to worry about not having enough manpower in the future."
Lin Chen opened his eyes, raising an eyebrow. " Dong'er transferred Elder Pufferfish back?"
Shui Ningrou chuckled softly, "Yes, from now on, Sister Feng'er will be the commander of the navy, and I will also hold a commander's position."
"Hehe... It seems my two little wives have both been promoted. In that case, I'll reward you properly tonight!" Lin Chen grabbed Shui Ningrou's plump, round thighs and kissed them deeply.
A moment later, a series of violent splashes of water echoed in the room...