Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 314 Mission: 04-5 Final decision
"We [Salamanda] haven't agreed yet."

Suddenly, Mandela spoke coldly, interrupting the verbal battle between Hamel and Wuming, and the atmosphere in the meeting room became solemn.

In reality, [Salamanda] was one of the two main players in this negotiation. [Nameless] was merely invited, and shouldn't have made decisions without their permission. Izayoi's rash approach, as if tacitly agreeing to surrender the dragon bone and the sovereignty of the sun, was quite excessive.

Stunned by his proposal, Ren belatedly stopped Izayoi and whispered to him, "These things can't be easily promised to the other party! Izayoi, you don't know much about the Little Garden yet. Shiroyasha holds more than half of the Little Garden's solar sovereignty. If we hand it over, the other party will not only be able to summon more than a dozen solar beasts with strength approaching four digits, but also control the movement of the sun, or open the Little Garden's zenith... The latter approach could lead to the mass extinction of species that fear the sun!"

"So important?" After the explanation, Izayoi realized that this time it was really his problem.

"Oh?" Pest narrowed her eyes. "Does that mean you don't agree?"

"That's right. Salamander will never agree to trade the remains of our ancestors for the sovereignty of the Sun, even if the price is the annihilation of the entire army."

The atmosphere became tense again. Pest made a move to stand up, causing Izayoi and Jin to scratch their heads, wondering how to stop her.

"But there's still room for consideration for the latter proposal." Sandra's words after calming down made the two of them breathe a sigh of relief. Their tense muscles softened instantly as they listened to how Sandra planned to negotiate.

"The ten days mentioned just now are subject to other conditions. Don't forget this." Nero reminded Sandra coldly opposite her.

"Don't worry about that," she said. "We can agree to the new terms, but they themselves need to be standardized. When a contestant's overall physical ability drops below 30% of normal, they're considered 'subjugated by the organizer.' However, this rule won't take effect until the organizer wins, and until then, these people can't interfere with the game."

"In this case, how much concessions are the organizers willing to make?"

"...Fifteen days, no more."

This figure seemed to be a comprehensive calculation based on the odds of winning and the casualties among the contestants. The extra days allowed were to ensure that the necessary personnel would not die in the plague.

What else can be used as negotiation material?

Izayoi's mind raced. Fifteen days was still a bit too long. Historically, the Black Death had an incubation period of only one to three days, and a lethal period of one to three days as well. Even with the best medical care, a large number of deaths were inevitable after a week. So, no matter what, they had to keep the game open within a week.

Do we need to add more disadvantage clauses to the game?

"But on the other hand, if you are willing to add one more condition, we can start the game again in ten days."

Izayoi suddenly raised his head: "What?!"

Ren, Sandra, and Mandela were equally surprised. Why was Pest suddenly so easy to talk to? She even took the initiative to reduce the time again?

But on the other hand, this also indirectly proves how beneficial the clause she plans to add is to her side: "There have been many plagues in history, and in the most tragic cases, they have wiped out one-third of the population of the entire continent."

She smiled coldly and outlined what she called "new clauses." "Then let's use this as a basis to recreate the original history. Based on the previous treaty, if only one-third of the total number of contestants withdraw, it will be equivalent to a direct defeat."

This effectively adds a time limit to the previous one: if more than one-third of the players become ill or seriously injured, the game ends immediately, and the organizer automatically wins. It's a very tempting proposal, but ten days won't do. After ten days, not only will the bodies of the earliest deceased patients have been exposed for three days, but their bodies could also become a source of infection for even more people. Furthermore, a new wave of patients will emerge, further pushing the organizer closer to victory. This is far too advantageous for the organizers.

Even if you accept this condition, the best time limit is still seven days.

What can I exchange for these last three days?
"Three days..."

Ren Russell muttered to himself, his eyes scanning the expressionless faces of the three people sitting opposite him, searching for inspiration to break the deadlock.

He was unwilling to accept this. The organizers were clearly more experienced at the negotiation table, seizing on a flaw revealed by the contestants at the outset and continuously eroding their own interests. Ren believed he had made no mistakes, yet he was unable to regain the initiative in the negotiations.

Hamel's side could almost be considered a complete winner at the negotiation table. Ren even had a vague feeling that the current situation was the outcome the organizers had hoped for.

Even... maybe these last three days are reserved for bargaining.

Thinking of this, a flash of lightning seemed to flash through Ren's mind.

It's true that the contestants wanted to postpone the game until a week later, as that was the limit before the plague would cause deaths. But they knew this, and so did Pest, the plague-spreading party.

They were…waiting for Jen Russell to bargain. Pest's expected closing price was actually seven days, but she'd deliberately called out ten days to see if she could squeeze out even more profit.

Therefore, Ren actually didn't need to continue to make concessions. On the contrary, he should show a tough attitude now.

"no!"

So, he slammed the table, stood up, and said in a tough tone: "This condition is too unfair!"

Sandra and Mandela looked at him in astonishment, wondering how this seemingly weak and frail short man could suddenly become so tough.

"So what do you think is fair?"

Sure enough, Pest's answer confirmed Jen Russell's opinion. Ten days wasn't the limit she could accept.

"The winning conditions can be changed like this, but because of this change, the organizer's time advantage is further magnified."

Ren took a deep breath, looked at Pest, and said slowly: "So, the start time cannot be later than the seventh day."

Pest looked into Jen Russell's eyes.

"……Okay, it's a deal."

(End of this chapter)