You're worth quite a lot

Outside the research area of Interastral Peace Corporation, Flender looked at Lin Yuan in front of him, remained silent for a moment, and finally spoke first.

"Your His Highness the Holy Son, we're here today for Tang San. After yesterday's match, Little San did do something he shouldn't have, and Shrek won't deny that. Since you say you can ransom him, then just state your conditions. How can you release him?"

Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, and the others stood behind Flender, their eyes fixed on Lin Yuan. Xiao Wu, in particular, had been restless ever since she learned that Tang San had been imprisoned, and now that she finally had the chance to bring him out, she naturally didn't want any more accidents to happen.

Lin Yuan didn't deliberately keep them in suspense; he simply raised three fingers.

"It's very simple, just three conditions."

"First, Tang San must publicly apologize for his sneak attack on Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan after yesterday's match. Losing the match isn't shameful, but to try and sabotage them after the referee has already declared the match over is a different matter altogether. Tens of thousands of people were watching; this can't be ignored."

Flender did not refute.

He was there yesterday, so he naturally knows what Tang San did. Even if he is the dean of Shrek Academy, he can't just turn a sneak attack into a normal battle.

Lin Yuan continued, "Secondly, compensation. As the victims of the attack, the Golden Generation suffered considerable psychological trauma due to Tang San's actions and needs to pay compensation for emotional distress. Furthermore, their unauthorized use of force after the match severely disrupted the competition's Order, requiring them to pay for maintaining Order. As for his use of dangerous Hidden Weapon, which necessitated additional security personnel, they also need to bear the cost of handling the public security situation."

Flender's expression grew increasingly grim as he listened.

Lin Yuan took out a file that had just been prepared and handed it over naturally.

"The three fees combined amount to one million Gold Soul Coin."

Flender had just taken the file when he heard the number, and his hand almost trembled.

One million?!

He suddenly raised his head, his face already showing uncontrollable pain.

"Your His Highness the Holy Son, Tang San's Hidden Weapon wasn't actually launched, nor did it harm anyone. Isn't one million Gold Soul Coin too much? Shrek is just an academy, not a top-tier sect. We simply can't afford that amount."

Lin Yuan stared at him for a few seconds, as if he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh."

"I almost forgot."

A glimmer of hope immediately appeared in Flender's eyes.

Lin Yuan continued, "Dean Flender has been running Shrek Academy for so many years, and his most notable trait seems to be his extreme stinginess. Asking you to come up with a million at once is indeed a bit difficult for you."

Flender's face darkened.

What does it mean to be extremely stingy?

That's called being thrifty and managing a household well!

Lin Yuan knew perfectly well how poor Shrek Academy used to be. If he hadn't been so careful with his money, the academy would have gone bankrupt eight hundred times over.

However, being under the eaves, he forced himself to endure it.

"Since Your His Highness the Holy Son is also aware of Shrek's situation, then regarding this compensation..."

"A little less is fine."

Flender's eyes lit up immediately.

"How many?"

Lin Yuan readily agreed.

Nine hundred and ninety thousand.

The air grew quiet.

Flender's expectant expression froze.

Flender stared intently at Lin Yuan, his chest heaving several times.

Is 10,000 less considered a little?

What's the difference between this and not having less?

Lin Yuan seemed oblivious to his expression and continued with the third condition, "There's one last thing. Interastral Peace Corporation is currently researching the Martial Soul system, and information on Twin Martial Souls is extremely scarce. Since Tang San possesses two Martial Soul, he'll need to cooperate with the company for a complete testing after he's released."

Flender frowned immediately.

"Are you going to use Little San as experiments?"

"Detection."

Lin Yuan corrected him.

"We'll draw blood, scan the body, Soul Power, and the structure between the two Martial Soul, and record the data on the Twin Martial Souls. There won't be any dissections or missing limbs. The company will cover all examination costs, and Tang San himself will provide the research materials free of charge."

Flender's expression softened slightly upon hearing that Tang San wouldn't be harmed.

Twin Martial Souls are extremely rare, so it's not surprising that the company would be interested in Tang San.

Just as he was about to continue bargaining with Lin Yuan, the communication terminal in Lin Yuan's pocket suddenly rang.

Lin Yuan took it out and glanced at it.

Lady Herta.

As soon as he answered the call, a familiar voice came from the other end.

"Hey, Little Linzi."

Lin Yuan's forehead twitched.

Who taught her to call me that?

Herta on the other end of the communication clearly didn't give him a chance to correct his form of address, and continued, "Ruan Mei has finished reviewing that guy's file, what's his name, Gang. She now needs two other people who can form Martial Soul Fusion Skill with him to cooperate in the experiment, one with a bird-type Martial Soul and one with a dragon-type Martial Soul. You should know who they are."

Lin Yuan looked up at Flender.

Flender inexplicably took a half step back.

Herta continued, "Also, Ruan Mei is on her way. She wants to personally observe the complete formation process of that Golden Sacred Dragon. Get her here as soon as possible, so we don't have to wait for her after she arrives."

The call ended abruptly.

Lin Yuan stared at the black screen and remained silent for two seconds.

This woman has always been so direct on the phone.

He hung up after saying that.

They didn't even say goodbye.

He put away the terminal and looked at Flender again.

Flender grew increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze and couldn't help but ask, "Your His Highness the Holy Son, why are you looking at me like that?"

Lin Yuan looked him up and down a few times and suddenly realized that the Shrek Academy Dean in front of him was indeed quite valuable.

"Four-Eyed Cat Owl."

Flender was taken aback.

A smile gradually appeared on Lin Yuan's face.

"I suddenly realized that you're quite valuable."

Flender looked completely bewildered.

He instinctively protected his Storage Soul Tool.

"What's the meaning?"

Don't be nervous, I'm not planning to sell you.

Lin Yuan briefly recounted the contents of the previous communication.

"Several geniuses in the Genius Society have recently become very interested in Martial Soul Fusion, and the Golden Iron Triangle of you, Liu Erlong, and Yu Xiaogang can form the Golden Sacred Dragon through the Trinity Martial Soul Fusion Skill. This kind of fusion method, which transcends Martial Soul types and even directly changes the Martial Soul level, is extremely rare."

Flender's confusion gradually turned into wariness.

Upon hearing Yu Xiaogang's name, he immediately asked, "Why are you suddenly researching the Golden Iron Triangle?"

"The company has always been researching Martial Soul."

Lin Yuan remained composed.

"Since you were able to create a Golden Sacred Dragon, you are naturally a priority sample. As long as you and Liu Erlong are willing to cooperate with a safety test and perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill according to the research requirements, I can decide to reduce the compensation Shrek needs to pay to 500,000 Gold Soul Coin."

Flender's eyelid twitched violently.

The number dropped directly from 990,000 to 500,000.

490,000 Gold Soul Coin.

Just by doing one experiment, the cost can be reduced by almost half.

For Flender, who always valued every single Gold Soul Coin, the temptation was simply too great.

But he didn't agree immediately.

"What kind of organization is this Genius Society' you just mentioned?"

"A group of researchers in the universe."

Lin Yuan answered casually.

Flender for a moment.

The Genius Society.

The name sounds impressive.

They sound like just a group of scholars who like to study strange and unusual things. Compared to behemoths like the Interastral Peace Corporation and the Xianzhou Alliance, they shouldn't be considered any particularly outrageous forces.

Thinking about this, his guard actually lessened considerably.

"The testing won't harm us?"

"No, not under normal circumstances."

What does "under normal circumstances" mean?

"If you don't act recklessly, there won't be any problems."

Flender's lips twitched.

He glanced down at the compensation of 500,000 Gold Soul Coin, then thought of Tang San who was still imprisoned inside, and finally gritted his teeth.

"Good!"

I agree.

"I can cooperate with your research. I'll talk to Erlong; as long as she doesn't harm us or affect our Martial Soul foundation, we can cooperate with you."

Lin Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

"The other 500,000 doesn't need to be paid in full at once."

Flender immediately looked up.

This time, I finally heard some really good news.

"Can I pay in installments?"

"Can."

Lin Yuan said, "You can discuss the specific number of periods with the Spirit Hall's finance department yourself. As long as you repay on time, we won't take you into the academy."

Flender let out a long breath.

While 500,000 still pained him to the point of almost bleeding, it was at least not as unacceptable as the initial 1 million. Plus, with the option of installments, Shrek wouldn't be forced into bankruptcy just to redeem Tang San.

The two sides quickly agreed on the terms.

Tang San issued a public apology.

Shrek paid 500,000 Gold Soul Coin in compensation.

Tang San provided research data on Twin Martial Souls.

Flender and Liu Erlong collaborated on the Golden Sacred Dragon experiment.

Once these steps are completed, the person can be taken away.

Flender didn't want to stay there any longer, so he turned around and told the Shrek members to prepare to leave. They would first go find Liu Erlong, and then try to find out where Yu Xiaogang was.

The group had only taken a few steps.

Lin Yuan suddenly spoke.

"Etc."

The Shrek team stopped.

Flender turned around. "Your His Highness the Holy Son, are there any other conditions?"

Lin Yuan didn't look at him.

His gaze passed over Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong, finally landing on Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu's body stiffened inexplicably.

Lin Yuan pointed at her.

"And you."

"Little bunny."

"Let's go together then."