Negotiations (1)
The next morning, the sun rose as usual, and the ordinary people at the base went to work or school as usual.
If it weren't for the helicopters not landing until midnight last night, and if someone hadn't witnessed Tao Qiu and the others fighting the mutated monster, and if there hadn't been so many unfamiliar faces near the base's official departments today, everyone would have thought it was just another ordinary and peaceful day.
The adults vaguely sensed that something big must have happened, but the children were completely unaware.
The three kids were the class's little stars. When the students noticed their seats were still empty by the end of the first period, they went to the teacher to ask if the Tao siblings had asked for leave.
The teacher who taught this class was Bai Huan. He knew what had happened, but he couldn't tell the students, so he made up an excuse that the kids had family matters to attend to and needed to take a few days off.
At this very moment, the Eldest Cub Second Cub were sitting at the negotiating table with their two fathers and Uncle Lou Quan, opposite them were representatives from the Shen, Bai, and Zheng families.
As for the Lou Family, the person who came this time was beyond Lou Quan's expectations; it turned out to be Lou Yu's father Lou Qing.
Lou Qing chose to sit on their side.
Last night was far too chaotic. Everyone who fought the mutated monster was injured to varying degrees. Lou Quan took them all to the hospital while dealing with the various companies that came to investigate. It wasn't until dawn that he managed to get a short nap in his office because he had to attend negotiations in the morning.
Lou Quan cannot deny that the reason the other three companies were willing to cooperate in negotiations was either because they immediately seized control of him and all the senior executives of the Yong'an Base and openly began robbing them, but because Lou Qing was there to oversee things.
He and Lou Yu both share the surname Lou, and to some extent, while the Yong'an Base is ostensibly state-owned, it's actually managed by the Lou Family in private. Calling it the Lou Family's territory wouldn't be entirely unreasonable.
If the other three companies were to seize the Yong'an Base, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to the Lou Family?
Even if Lou Quan and Lou Yu have kept so many valuable things hidden from the main family, this is still a family matter for the Lou Family. It's not too late to deal with the external troubles first, and then talk about family matters.
And fortunately, it was Lou Qing who came this time, not those few old guys from his hometown.
The guys from their Lou Family brothers for their own selfish interests, or even sacrifice some of the Lou Family's interests, but Lou Qing won't.
Lou Qing wields significant influence within the Lou Family and serves as its current representative because he is capable, shrewd, and ruthless—a perfect candidate for head of the family and the most steadfast guardian of the family's honor and interests.
The only woman who could make him have an affair was his ex-wife, Bai Yan. Because of his emotional entanglement with Bai Yan, Lou Qing had some friction with the Lou Family's higher-ups.
Even so, Lou Qing strictly controlled the impact of this incident to be a personal matter, and it did not cause any negative damage to the Lou Family as a whole.
Rumor has it that he initially refused to become the head of the family because taking that position would entail certain responsibilities, such as arranging marriages to expand the family line—one of the ways to strengthen the clan.
Lou Qing didn't want to take on that responsibility, so he simply didn't sit in that position.
Even without the title of head of the family, Lou Qing's status within the Lou Family was comparable to that of the head of the family.
Lou Quan heard from his subordinates who had come with Lou Qing that the other three families had originally intended to secretly arrive at the Yong'an Base ahead of time, without informing the Lou Family, in order to launch a preemptive strike. However, the news was leaked back by spies planted by the Lou Family within those families.
The helicopters from all three families had been off for an hour. Several of the Lou Family's men were in a hurry to catch up, but Lou Qing stopped them all and took their place. The men tried to resist, but Lou Qing's men subdued them.
While they were chasing the three families, Lou Qing received a call from Bai Yan. This was the first time Bai Yan had contacted Lou Qing since their divorce.
Bai Yan said that if Lou Qing couldn't guarantee the safety of the Lou Family brothers, Tao Qiu, and the three children, Bai Yan would stab Lou Qing with a knife when Lou Qing returned, and expose all the Lou Family's dirty deeds to the public.
Before Lou Yu was even born, the only friend Bai Yan knew in the Lou Family, and the only person who stood by her side, was Lou Quan's mother Lou Hua.
Lou Qing and Lou Quan's fathers are brothers, Lou Hua is their adopted daughter.
When Bai Yan was first imprisoned in the Lou Family, Lou Hua became pregnant out of wedlock. She refused to reveal the father's identity, which angered the Lou Family elders so much that they stopped speaking to her, making her situation in the Lou Family precarious.
Two women who had encountered setbacks in their love lives found solace in each other and gradually became friends. Lou Hua had even tried to help Bai Yan leave, but unfortunately, he held little real power in the Lou Family. After Lou Qing noticed this, he proactively reduced her interactions with Bai Yan, leaving her powerless to help.
Before Lou Hua's death, Lou Quan, because of his mother, also showed great respect and love to Bai Yan. After Lou Yu came to the Yong'an Base, Lou Quan did protect Lou Yu, whether out of self-interest or kinship.
Therefore, Bai Yan also added Lou Quan to her requirements for Lou Qing.
The subordinate told Lou Quan to relax, assuring him that Lou Qing would protect the three families to the end, at least in front of them.
Bai Yan gave the order: even if Lou Qing had no feelings for his own son, he would not allow him to be bullied by the other three families.
Lou Quan relayed these words to Lou Yu and Tao Qiu, and during the negotiations, he even specially arranged for the two boys to sit next to Lou Qing.
Both children bear a resemblance to Lou Yu, while some of these similarities are Bai Yan.
His own grandson looks like Bai Yan, and unlike Lou Yu, he didn't become a rebellious son and offend his father early on. Even if Lou Qing has a heart of stone, shouldn't he soften his stance towards the child?
Before the meeting started, Lou Quan secretly instructed Eldest Cub Second Cub that if they wanted to be safe, they had to cling to Lou Qing's coattails for the time being and behave themselves in front of Lou Qing.
The two kids were smart enough to know that the three villains were there to capture their father and the others, and that they were going to the Central Base to rescue their sister. From the adults' conversation, they overheard that their grandfather, Lou Qing, whom they had never met, was very powerful in the Central Base and not the kind of greedy, evil person.
With his help, their personal safety can be guaranteed, and it will be much easier for them to operate in the Central Base.
Therefore, they all felt it was necessary to please him.
If it's inconvenient for the adults to do this, then let the children do it.
They say you shouldn't argue with kids, right? Even if they're not young anymore, and they did something wrong, it probably won't affect the overall situation.
Therefore, even though Lou Qing looked intimidating with his cold face during their first meeting, neither of the Second Cub Eldest Cub showed any fear or resistance towards him. Instead, under Lou Quan's arrangement, they obediently called him "Grandpa."
Lou Qing looked at them expressionlessly and gave a curt "hmm".
This meant that Lou Qing at least didn't dislike them, and Lou Quan, Eldest Cub, and Second Cub breathed a sigh of relief.
Erzai, being the most cunning of the Second Cub, overheard Lou Qing's subordinates saying that Lou Qing hadn't eaten breakfast. He then secretly slipped a few of the candies the adults had given her the night before to calm Lou Qing nerves.
Lou Qing's eyes showed a hint of surprise. He looked at the candy in his hand, then at his granddaughter who was smiling sweetly at him. After hesitating for a moment, he finally put the candy in his pocket and said thank you to his Second Cub.
When arranging the seats, the two boys sat between Lou Qing and Lou Yu, with the Eldest Cub closer to Lou Qing.
Under the table, the Eldest Cub gently tugged at Lou Qing's sleeve, but Lou Qing didn't pull away.
After the meeting began, the three companies sent Zheng Family as their representative to severely criticize Lou Quan for concealing the research results of the Awakening Reagent, Tao Qiu's existence and his identity as a mutated monster, and the special effects of the crops grown by Tao Qiu.
Despite its absurdity, from a legal and institutional perspective, the satellite base is subordinate to the Central Base and is subject to its control and management.
In terms of military strength, the satellite base was also unable to resist the control of the Central Base.
Therefore, all the major satellite bases are secretly plotting independence. Even the Yongkang Base, which has the strongest overall strength, does not dare to openly challenge the Central Base.
Logically speaking, the entire satellite base belongs to the Central Base. Therefore, Lou Quan and his group's private research on Awakening Reagent and concealment of Tao Qiu and the existence of special crops, if taken seriously, would be considered a disrespect to the Central Base and a criminal act.
The reason these three entities dared to come and demand answers, and even claimed that Lou Quan wouldn't listen and had already ordered the dropping of bombs on the Yong'an Base, is because they were waving this banner and possessed law enforcement authority.
Regardless of whether this right is reasonable or not, having the title is enough.
From last night to this morning, they witnessed Tao Qiu transform from Snow Bird into a human form, reviewed most of the research institute's data on awakening experiments, and met eight other ability users besides Lou Yu.
Of course, the special crops in the fields didn't escape their clutches either; this morning, they even personally tasted the food made from the actual special crops.
After eating the food and experiencing its flavors and the extreme comfort it provided, the representatives from the three families gave a real-time demonstration of what it means to be green with envy.
At this moment, the group was incredibly grateful to the informants. If it weren't for them, who would have imagined that such a small Yong'an Base actually held so much treasure!
But they were still very disappointed that they hadn't kept it from the Lou Family. If Lou Qing hadn't come, a battle would have broken out last night, and Lou Quan and the others wouldn't have had the chance to sit here and negotiate with them.
The three representatives' subtle, yet palpable, hatred all fell upon Lou Qing's face. Lou Qing, seemingly oblivious, remained seated upright, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
After listing Lou Quan's crimes, the three families also discussed the punishments he should receive, which were nothing more than imprisonment and exile.
"As for all the results of the awakening experiment, as well as the mutated monster Tao Qiu and the three cubs, they should all be classified as the public property of the Central Base, and managed and distributed by the Central Base."
After giving them a show of force, the three families revealed their true intentions, their greedy gazes undisguisedly fixed on Tao Qiu and the children.