The first negotiation came much quicker than expected. On the afternoon of the second day after the delegation arrived in the Imperial Capital, following an audience with His Majesty the Emperor, the first negotiation was initiated.

Although it was termed the first negotiation, it wasn't entirely a negotiation. It was more like a process of understanding each other's demands.

The Federation presented a list, and Gafura also presented a list. They exchanged these lists, and each item on them represented the demands in this negotiation, hoping for the other party's cooperation.

In fact, these lists only contained a part of it. The real core content was still not disclosed—those were the real topics to be discussed.

Everyone was reviewing these lists, including Lynch, who was sitting at the second to last seat on the right side of the negotiation table, flipping through the list in his hand. From time to time, interesting expressions appeared on his face.

Gafura is a monarchy, where people don't yearn for freedom as fanatically as those in the Federation—even to the point of dying for it.

What Gafura people are passionate about is loyalty to the Emperor. From primary school to university, the entire education system consistently instills these concepts into every student—the Emperor is the most important person and the symbol of this nation.

There is never any praise for freedom here. They even link "freedom" with "indiscipline" on certain occasions, which makes many people dislike the word "freedom" because it represents a lack of discipline.

However, the people here are not unappreciative of true freedom. Under the national consciousness, people do not openly discuss these matters, but at the bottom of their hearts, there might still be some curiosity and longing for freedom.

Throughout the cooperation list, there is almost no exchange regarding social culture, reflecting Gafura's ruling class's fear of the Federation's "freedom."

They fear that such ideas from the Federation might bring unnecessary troubles, so they don't mention cultural exchanges at all.

Gafura's main demands are still concentrated in military and technology fields. They hope to cooperate in these areas, including metallurgy.

"What do you think of this list, Mr. Lynch?"

The person sitting next to Lynch, at the far right of the center, whispered this question to Lynch.

Other people seated around the table were also discussing, including those opposite. They saw the Federation's list and began quietly discussing some of the content's nature.

Everyone was engaging in discussions, and the person seated at the far end on Lynch's right also felt compelled to say something.

After all, he was seated at the negotiation table. If he said nothing throughout the process, wouldn't it be a wasted trip?

So he looked at Lynch and asked, "I feel some of the demands are... somewhat unreasonable," trying to exchange opinions with Lynch.

Lynch glanced at him, nodded slightly, and signaled for him to continue.

This young man, who seemed to be in his late twenties, pointed out the demands he found unreasonable and provided his reasons. In short, he was very invested in participating in this negotiation.

In the end, he looked at Lynch with some expectations. By saying so much, he was essentially seeking a sense of participation and recognition.

"Very good thoughts, I find them very valuable!" Lynch did not hold back his praise. "Your thoughts are very constructive; maybe you should talk to the team leader in private. You might provide some enlightening help!"

"Do you really think so, Mr. Lynch?" the young man talking with Lynch felt somewhat flattered.

In fact, there was no need for him to feel that way. Being under thirty and able to follow the diplomatic mission abroad for trade negotiations means that as long as he doesn't make mistakes, his future is promising.

He didn't need to care about a merchant's opinion; Lynch was neither his superior nor a government official.

But he valued Lynch's opinion a lot, which is a characteristic of the Federation, where the power of capital is omnipresent, even within the authorities!

If government officials lack the support of capital, they cannot surpass their opponents and will ultimately be eliminated by the voters.

Officials who are not in ruling positions cannot do without the support of capitalists either. Without the capitalists' help, it's hard for them to stand out from the many similar government officials and become prominent.

It's even less likely that they frequently appear on TV to let people know and understand their views and thoughts, preparing them for future election campaigns.

Of course, the promotion of officials is also related to capitalists. Capitalists can lobby high-level officials on their behalf, showing them their efforts...

The Federation's government and officials are inseparable from capitalists, so when Lynch expressed approval, the young man showed such delight!

He can later tell others, "Mr. Lynch highly supports my views," or "On some issues, Mr. Lynch's thoughts align closely with mine."

Thus, in his future work, considering "Mr. Lynch's influence," when selecting officials for promotion, he is more likely to become the lucky one—because he knows Mr. Lynch and appears to have a good relationship with him, His superiors might have the opportunity, through this subordinate, to connect with Lynch at a higher level, seeking cooperation or assistance.

Amid the conversation, the team leader coughed softly, drawing everyone's attention. He placed the Gafura list on the table, pointed to a specific item, and said, "This is not within our considerations."

Lynch glanced from afar, in the metallurgy category, he opened the corresponding page in his own document and saw the project for which cooperation was refused—the special metal formula.

Seeing Lynch's expression was somewhat curious, the young man beside him embodied the idea of knowledge, offering a brief explanation.

The special metallurgy formula denied by the team leader is currently used for the Federation Navy's submarine hull metal.

This metal requires very high hardness yet must also have sufficient toughness and ductility to handle various conditions and extreme environments, in summary, it's crucial.

Lynch was not very familiar with the metallurgical formulas, as many of them are core national secrets, and it's impossible to have in-depth cooperation and development in terms of formulas.

The team leader's tone shifted, "However, we can offer these metal products at a low price and send engineers to guide you in processing the products..."

In such a process of occasionally raising objections and then providing alternative methods, this non-negotiation negotiation session wrapped up before dinner.

Everyone behaved quite gentlemanly, and Gafura people even invited the Federation delegation for a meal, but Lynch left first.

Because Jenia had come to find him again.

Upon seeing this woman, Lynch knew his plan was largely successful.

From the start, he knew this woman approached him with a purpose, like trying to extract information he knew.

And he's willing to spar a few rounds with this woman also with a purpose—he needs this woman to relay some information to those gathering intelligence.

Now that she appeared again, it meant she had completed the first phase of her mission well and was now entrusted by the people behind her with a second phase. After bidding farewell to the team leader, Lynch left with Jenia.

"There is a very special restaurant in the Imperial Capital, and I have reserved a place there," Jenia said naturally, holding Lynch's arm. She smelled very fragrant, not like the scent of perfume that people can distinguish is a chemical blend, but a natural fragrance, coming from nature.

Gafura's Imperial family and some nobles still use the oldest methods to make themselves smell fragrant. They would place the clothes they need into a fragrance room the day before, then, through various methods, extract the plant fragrances and attach them to the clothes via steam.

This scent is very natural, but the downside is its brevity.

However, for the Royal family and nobles, this was not an issue. Changing clothes every two hours was the most normal practice. Sometimes during a dinner party, they would change three or four sets of clothes to suit different times and proceedings.

Gently twisting a strand of hair, Jenia looked at him and asked, "What's the matter?"

"You smell very nice..."

Upon hearing this, Jenia did not, like those shy, young girls, respond with a "You're annoying" or anything like that. Instead, she asked, straightforwardly, "Do you like it?"

Lynch nodded, "I can hardly wait (I wish time could skip to the next phase)."

"You have such a sweet mouth!" Jenia was in a good mood, complimented by such a handsome, rich young man, also indicating she still had charm. "But we have to eat first!"

Soon, they arrived at the very special restaurant Jenia mentioned. Unexpectedly, the restaurant owner turned out to be Jenia's uncle.

In other words, the restaurant operator is a member of the Imperial family, and also the Emperor's uncle.

"Not everyone is enamored with power!" Jenia, sitting by the dining table, seemed to explain to Lynch, "For instance, me, I really like movies, I love playing different roles in different stories, experiencing different lives—that's what I pursue."

"And my uncle here, he loves cooking. It's said that the previous Emperor, my grandfather when he was alive, only ate dishes made by this uncle."

"I really envy him. He has consistently followed his interests and lives more freely than anyone!"

Lynch didn't provide any comment on this; whether it's liberation or helplessness, only they know themselves!

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