Lynch's Rhetoric

When Lynch realized the importance of the ancient city of Zur-Baha-Sahr, he began to consider approaching Chairman Grant.

It was not just Chairman Grant, but also the Archaeological Association and the Governor's Office.

Other minor factions were negligible, but these three had to be taken seriously. The Archaeological Association, in particular, was a civilian organization with little political power, but a rank eight Soul Severer was the strongest combat force in Rhine; everyone else could only look up to him, so no one dared to slight his stance.

Previously, due to the existence of an evil god's avatar, the Valente family and the hillmen had to prevent Zur-Baha-Sahr from being excavated, leaving no room for compromise. But now, there was no need to stop it. Excavating the ancient city was actually beneficial to them, and the location of the ancient city was beneath the Valente family's fief, while the specific coordinates were only known to the hillmen.

Naturally, this was a rare commodity. The current problem was how to help the sellers, the Valente family and the hillmen, maximize their benefits. If they did not fetch a good price, Lynch felt it would be an insult to his status as a transmigrator, and even more so to the thousands of years of unscrupulous tactics accumulated in his past life.

He wanted to make this heartless capitalist bleed profusely.

Therefore, Lynch suppressed his anger, offered a cold smile, and said, "It seems we have fundamental disagreements on certain matters and it is difficult to reach a consensus. But that does not matter. I did not come here to make friends today, so let us talk business directly."

"Business? Since when did we have any business to discuss?" Chairman Grant sneered. "Since you have already stood on the other side, there is no point in talking. Unless you are willing to cooperate with us, otherwise..."

"Hmm, we are indeed willing."

"Otherwise, our conflict cannot be reconciled... wait? What did you say?"

Chairman Grant's mind did not turn for a moment. He stood with his mouth slightly agape, staring blankly at Lynch and Miss Valente.

"Less nonsense. If you really thought there was nothing to talk about, you would not have come to the appointment today. And Bru, he must have come too, right?"

"He is eating and does not intend to see you. I can represent his opinion."

Damn it, I should not have chosen a cemetery. I forgot about the ghoul's diet.

"Fine, then I will be blunt."

Lynch lit his pipe and took a deep breath of the calming grass's aroma to make his mind even calmer. While recalling the business war movies he had watched in the past, he turned all his thoughts over in his mind before saying slowly and unhurriedly:

"As far as I know, the Bester Mountain tunnel is a matter of life and death for you, and it is also extremely important to the ghoul tribe. The ghouls need to use this to excavate Zur-Baha-Sahr and obtain archaeological and historical evidence to gain legal status as living beings. And you, Mr. Chairman, you have staked your life and wealth on the tunnel project because you are responsible for the project's logistics support."

"Normally, it would not be this serious. The logistics production tasks should be distributed among the major factory owners in Rhine, with everyone working together to supply the needs of the tunnel project. That way, if there were any slip-ups and the project was canceled, the losses would be shared and within an acceptable range. But you are too greedy. You were unwilling to share even a penny with others and wanted to hold everything in your own hands. You almost single-handedly took on the logistics supply task, and for that, you did not hesitate to expand production by any means necessary to ensure the schedule."

Chairman Grant pursed his lips and remained silent, his face becoming increasingly gloomy.

"Heh, I once heard a saying: hoarding food alone will give you a stomachache, and you clearly do not understand that truth." Lynch smiled mockingly. "Your greed caused you to lose the opportunity to spread the risk. Once there is a change in the project, even if it is not canceled but rerouted to pass through the periphery of other cities, all your preparations will be in vain. You will go bankrupt immediately, and everything you have now will be lost, leaving you with nothing. That is why you knew how terrifying it might be to induce the awakening of Zur-Baha-Sahr, yet you still cooperated fully with the ghoul tribe at any cost. Am I right? Unfortunately, greed is an original sin, Mr. Chairman."

"This is a government project led by the royal family, and all the initial preparations have been completed. It is impossible for anything to go wrong. I would not make a decision casually without seventy percent certainty." Chairman Grant lowered his gaze and said coldly, "The entire project is coordinated by the eldest prince from the capital himself, symbolizing his prestige. If there is a slip-up, it is not just a railway project issue. Think about what you are opposing; you cannot stop it."

"Heh, but that is the entire railway project. No one stipulated that the tunnel must pass through Bester Mountain. There are several alternative plans." Lynch exhaled some smoke from the calming grass and sneered. "Risk always comes from unexpected angles. That is business, sir."

Chairman Grant was silent for a long time before muttering, "So? You have changed your attitude? Are you not afraid of that thing waking up?"

"Heh, thanks to you and Chief Bru, something happened a while ago, and we happened to find a special method to avoid this problem. It is troublesome and the cost is high, but it is not impossible to achieve. Since the conflict is not irreconcilable, then everything is naturally up for negotiation."

Grant lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "Continue."

Not bad. He is interested, which means I have already succeeded halfway.

Lynch smiled, secretly wiping the sweat from his palms, and said calmly, "We will be responsible for smoothing out everything and ensuring that the tunnel project has no flaws. You will provide the logistics supplies and cooperate with Chief Bru's plan to excavate Zur-Baha-Sahr. As for you and Chief Bru, you must pay a price that satisfies us. The price will be very high, perhaps so high that you will not make any profit from the entire project and might even lose money, but at least it will not bankrupt you."

"Are you talking in your sleep?" Chairman Grant laughed in anger. "What do you think your status is? Just a representative of the Valente family and the hillmen, and you dare to make such a guarantee? Do you have the qualifications? And you want me to pay a price? I admit that the alliance between the Valente family and the hillmen is indeed tricky, but that is all. If I really have to pay such a high price, I could use it elsewhere, and it might not be impossible to solve the problem."

"Qualifications? What do you think my status is? A representative of the Valente family and the hillmen? That is this lady's status."

Lynch narrowed his eyes. An old joke from his past life appeared in his mind, and a reserved, arrogant smile appeared on his face as he gestured toward Miss Valente:

"And I am not. Standing before you is the highest combat force in Rhine City, the plenipotentiary representative of the Archaeological Association President Olei, as well as the secret envoy of the Duke of Vane, the highest controller of Rhine City's politics and economy, representing the Duke's will as well."

Hmm?

Miss Valente's eyes went a bit blank as she listened, but Chairman Grant fell silent, appearing not at all surprised.

Seeing Grant's reaction, Lynch's mind raced, realizing the problem. He said naturally, "Heh, it seems Mr. Chairman is not honest either. You have many eyes and ears; you must have noticed that President Olei visited my house secretly seven days ago, right? In fact, you misunderstood. Even before that, he had already authorized me to be his plenipotentiary representative. Do not forget, I came from the archaeological system. Our relationship is much closer than most people imagine."

That is right, a close relationship of freeloading knowledge without giving monthly tickets or recommendation votes; I am not lying.

Muttering in his heart, he looked at Grant's dark expression. Lynch knew his guess was mostly correct. This bastard was indeed monitoring him. After thinking for a moment, he added, "As for the Duke... heh, it seems there is no need to say more. You also have eyes and ears in the Governor's Office and have realized those little secrets between the Duke and me."

Ambiguous words made the big factory owner, Chairman Grant, look even uglier, but Lynch no longer looked at him and said leisurely, "So, Mr. Chairman, what do you think my status is? Am I qualified to make these promises? But do not worry. After I come to an agreement with you, I will definitely arrange for the Duke and the President to meet with you. You can consider it slowly then."

Hearing the final words, Chairman Grant finally poked the ground in anger and gritted his teeth, saying, "What exactly do you want? Speak!"