In the dimly lit corridor, Yaj, who had a grave expression after leaving Lumoluki's line of sight, inadvertently caught a glimpse of the proud smile of the black-haired young man beside her. Feeling irritated, she frowned slightly and said, "Congratulations on getting what you want, Sir Lisheng. In that case, shouldn't you fulfill the agreement with our Golden Velvet Flower Trading now?"
Upon hearing the unhappiness hidden behind the woman's calm tone, Zhang Lisheng was at a loss for a moment. However, he did not have the mood to explore it, so he directly took out a thumb-sized demon god's wooden carving with a human upper body and a snake lower body from his arms and handed it to the woman. "Miss Yaj, this is my promise."
"Your token is quite barbarian style." Yaj took the wooden carving and looked at it before carefully putting it away. Her mood turned better as she said in a well-educated manner, "The fleet sailing to the Nutao Sea will depart seven days later and I'll personally lead the team.
According to the custom of the Sea Haines City, we'll hold a dinner the night before departure. As a companion going to the sea together, you must come by that time. "
"I'm looking forward to it." Since the host had tactfully asked him to leave, the young man was naturally happy to bow politely and bid farewell. "I'll take my leave today, Miss Yaj." Then, he turned around and left.
Looking at Zhang Lisheng's back that quickly disappeared at the corner of the stairs, Yaj opened her folding fan silently and covered her mouth. With a deep gaze, she muttered, "This pig Lumoluki is becoming more and more presumptuous towards me. I can't always rely on Adalu's name to suppress his dirty thoughts, so I must think of a way to solve this once and for all.
This Sir Zhang Lisheng doesn't seem to be simple either. A scholar from a foreign continent who is obsessed with pioneering biology? Hmph, how does that businessman face of his who's good at acting look like a scholar? There are so many strange animals in the Green Leaf Mainland, but he just has to spend so much effort to go to the Nutao Sea. What's so strange about this … "
Even though she prided herself on being smart, the intricate relationships and confusing people's hearts still made the woman at a loss. After pondering over it, she could only helplessly hold on to the mentality of 'we'll cross the bridge when we get to it' and try her best to do the work that she should do. As a result, three days later, a huge caravan composed of more than 200 merchant ships was actually gathered by her in the harbor outside the Sea Haines City.
After another three days, exquisite gold and silver utensils, beautiful works of art, fragrant spices, luxurious armors, and other valuable goods were loaded onto the cargo ship in batches. The Golden Velvet Flower Trading had completed the preparations for the long voyage at the last moment according to the plan.
That night, a grand banquet was held at the Golden Flower Terrier Manor.
This was a joyous party for the Sea Haines City's major merchant families to celebrate the Feast of Wealth in advance. Regardless of whether they were qualified and had the connections to follow the Golden Velvet Flower Trading's caravan to the Nutao Sea to make a fortune, as long as they had some weight in the city-state, they would be invited.
Those who thought that they had some status but were not invited would also try their best to appear in the banquet.
Contrary to those who tried to curry favor, Zhang Lisheng, who was staying in the Raphanus Hotel, waited until it was almost evening, but he still did not see any invitation sent by Yaj. He secretly rejoiced that he did not have to deal with this seemingly luxurious but actually boring social interaction.
To his surprise, when he rang the bell to call the waiter and wanted to order dinner, a young man with delicate features wearing a golden short robe came up to the waiter and said in a clear voice, "Sir Zhang Lisheng, I'm ordered by Miss Yaj Mishen to invite you to the banquet. The carriage is waiting outside."
"Oh." The beautiful dream of a quiet night was shattered. The young man sighed and stood up. "I didn't expect Miss Yaj to be so thoughtful. Let's go then." Under the envious gaze of the hotel waiter and the guests, he walked down the stairs and went outside.
The air in Sea City in the evening was unusually humid and salty.
A gust of slightly chilly breeze blew through the city where the lanterns were just lit, cooling one's head. At once, one could feel that the surrounding bustling scene was even more vivid.
Zhang Lisheng took a deep breath of the cool air and jumped into the carriage that the young man had opened respectfully to drive to the suburbs. More than ten minutes later, he arrived at the brightly lit Golden Flower Terrier Manor that was lit with tens of thousands of thick white candles that exuded a pleasant fragrance.
At this time, half of the guests had already arrived. When the luxurious carriage painted with golden velvet stopped in front of the mansion's wide entrance hall, and a black-haired unfamiliar young man walked out of the door, many well-dressed guests could not help but show a surprised expression. Only a few wealthy businessmen who had enough status to know the inside story politely smiled gently at the young man and nodded to greet him.
At the same time, Yaj, who was wearing a blue low-cut dress full of the foreign world's style, with a necklace inlaid with a fiery ruby embellishing her snow-white chest, who was fluttering like a butterfly to welcome the guests, walked up to Zhang Lisheng together with a silver-haired, thin old man. Stretching out a hand, she greeted with a charming smile, "Good evening, Sir Lisheng."
"Good evening, Miss Yaj. Who's this?" The young man showed the good manners that he had trained in the social circle of New York's upper class. After kissing the girl's middle finger according to the common etiquette of the Green Leaf Mainland, he turned his gaze to the old man by the side and asked.
"I'm Darren Mishin, Yaj's father, the owner of the Golden Velvet Flower Trading. Welcome to the banquet tonight, Sir Zhang Lisheng.
Your arrival brings light to the Golden Flower Terrier Manor, "the silver-haired old man replied directly. Even though his words were polite, his attitude was naturally very domineering. With just a glance, one could tell that he was someone who had been in a high position for a long time.
"You're too polite, Sir Darren. I should be the one thanking you and Miss Yaj for their kind invitation." In the face of such a host, Zhang Lisheng, who had no intention of showing off his edge, smiled modestly and politely.
Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and no longer remained polite. "I'm sorry, Sir Lisheng. I saw a few old friends coming, so I'll take my leave first. I wish you a pleasant evening." Then, he walked towards the few gorgeous carriages that had just stopped together on the stone road.
"To be honest, you should wear formal attire to attend the banquet. You can't dance in a long robe. If you want to change into a formal attire, go look for Butler Sakni." Yaj looked at the fat robe on the young man and said in a low voice before following behind her father to greet the other guests.
Zhang Lisheng, who had regained his freedom, would, of course, not look for the butler to change into a formal attire. He felt that he had already shown enough goodwill by attending the banquet according to the custom. Then, hiding in an inconspicuous place to enjoy the wine and food of the foreign world while waiting for the banquet to end was the smart choice.
When the young man thought of this, he quickly walked into the manor's hall and took a glass of red wine from the table. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he walked through the crowd and walked to a corner before leaning against the wall and quietly tasting the wine.
The tree may desire peace, but the wind would not stop. Due to Zhang Lisheng's unique appearance and his special identity of holding the trading right of the Hellfire tribe, he would inevitably attract attention even though he was hiding in the corner in the beginning. Not only that, a few wealthy merchants even deliberately went to talk to him.
However, as the banquet progressed, the joyous atmosphere became more and more intense. When the four opening dances were over, it was time for them to freely invite others to dance. At once, the side of the young man, who had always been very unsociable, became quiet.
Zhang Lisheng, who had his wish fulfilled, leisurely turned around and placed a few pieces of pastries on his dining plate. Standing at the corner of the hall, he coldly watched the mainlanders who were dancing under the accompaniment of the soothing music of the band 30 to 40 meters away. A greedy smile unconsciously crept upon the corner of his mouth.
Once he had unified the Hellfire Archipelago, his next war goal would naturally be the Green Leaf Mainland. In this case, after the war began, the first place to bear the brunt would be the Kattaman City State that was facing the sea in the west. When the young man was thinking about the future, a few familiar figures suddenly entered his sight, causing him to be stunned.
After snapping back to reality, Zhang Lisheng frowned and muttered to himself, "I can't believe I actually encountered the Atlanteans and the US spy at such a critical time. How unlucky!
If I knew this would happen, I would've let that empty-vessel merchant die during the tsunami … "He wanted to hide, but unfortunately, the color of his clothes, skin, and hair was just too unique in the ball. Before he could even move, he was already seen by Allison, who was looking around.
Hiding had become unrealistic now. Zhang Lisheng sighed quietly and pretended to look into the eyes of the federal intelligence officers just now. He walked up to them in shock and whispered first, "Madam Someril, Miss Allison … It's been a long time since we last met. How are you guys? I heard from Mr. Luqi that the two of you have been traveling …"
"Mr. Lisheng, a very serious accident has happened on Earth. We're here to look for you," Allison interrupted the young man's words and said with an unusually solemn expression, "The mission to explore the Shrimp World No. 2 has been lifted. According to the new order, we must return to Earth in the shortest time possible."
"The mission has been lifted?" Zhang Lisheng asked with a dumbfounded expression. "What does this mean? We've spent so much effort and so much time …"
The black female officer interrupted Zhang Lisheng's words for the second time. "The Atlanteans have split up. The White House has terminated all cooperation plans with them and ordered all personnel who are carrying out missions in the foreign world to return to the nest immediately. The instant her words left her mouth, Someril, who was by her side, corrected her," Allison, we're not split up. It's just that some people have a biased view of the foreign world.
I was the one who passed the order to you to return to the nest, wasn't I? The Atlanteans and the Earthlings are still comrades … "
When Zhang Lisheng, who had always held a negative view of Atlantis' selfless help to the Earth, knew that he had guessed it right, he did not feel proud at all.
When he thought of the power of Atlantis, his body stiffened. With a grave expression, he looked at the outstanding aliens and unintentionally placed his hand on the animal skin bag tied around his waist. "Alright, Madam Someril. I don't care whether the Earthlings and the Atlanteans will be enemies or friends in the future. I just want to know how is the Earth now?"
"We don't know the specific situation either. I'm sorry, Mr. Lisheng," Someril replied in a low voice. It was apparent that her mood was also very heavy.
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