Chapter 281 - 281: Tit for Tat

This was a secret meeting.

There were no underlings in the hall, nor any members of the press.

Besides the tables and chairs facing each other on both sides, there were also mediators like Bartley, as well as some spectators from Lucia, Britain, and France.

The two main parties entered last.

On the left were America's Marianne, Edward, and Victor.

On the right were Carmen Lopez, Domino, and Mang Wenshan from the Homo Sapiens Company.

Bartley, acting as the temporary moderator, checked the time. "Everyone, since both sides have arrived, let's begin this meeting. Ms. Marianne, please begin."

Opening a file, Marianne said with a sharp gaze, "Your Homo Sapiens Company's malicious provocations are pushing the entire world to the brink of apocalypse. This is something the entire world will not permit, and it is an extremely irresponsible act."

Domino cut her off directly. "Ms. Marianne, have you gotten something wrong? I don't have time to listen to your platitudes. Let's get straight to the point. How do you plan to compensate us for our losses?"

"We should be the ones saying that," Marianne immediately retorted sternly.

Domino sneered. "What a joke. You don't actually think we wouldn't dare to annihilate the Fifth and Seventh Fleets, do you?"

"Ms. Bai, a nuclear war will only lead to mutual destruction," Bartley quickly reminded her. "Let's all try to discuss this calmly."

The Duke of Windsor from Britain also quickly spoke up to guide the conversation. "Why don't both sides state their conditions first, and then we can continue the discussion."

A corner of Carmen's mouth lifted. "OK. Our demands are very simple. First, the administrative rights to Changi Base, Guam Base, and Diego Garcia Island Base are to be transferred to us.

Second, the United States Army must withdraw all military forces from the Pacific Ocean west of the International Date Line, and simultaneously remove all military forces from Oceania and the eastern Ceylon Ocean.

Third, America must guarantee continued free and open trade with the Homo Sapiens Company and not establish any trade barriers.

Fourth, America must not tarnish the image of the Homo Sapiens Company.

Fifth, America is to pay us 500 billion US Dollars for emotional damages..."

Before Carmen could finish, Edward slammed the table and shot to his feet. "Fuck you! Do you think America is a defeated nation?"

"What do you think, Mr. Edward?" Carmen retorted fearlessly.

Edward replied through gritted teeth, "If that's your attitude, then we might as well all go down together."

"Then bring it on!" Carmen shrugged nonchalantly.

Marianne's face was frosty. "State some realistic conditions. There is no way we will agree to what you just proposed."

"Not agree? If you won't agree, then what's there to talk about? We might as well just start fighting. In any case, we know the exact location of those fleets," Carmen said, her gaze filled with a cold indifference.

The palpable tension between the two sides was giving Bartley, the Duke of Windsor, and the others a massive headache. They quickly urged both parties to take a step back.

Edward spoke up. "Withdrawal and compensation are impossible. We can maintain the status quo."

Carmen laughed coldly. "Hahaha, what a joke. We can destroy the Fifth and Seventh Fleets right now. Whether they withdraw or not is no longer up to you."

"Then let it be mutual destruction!"

As they spoke, the two sides started arguing again.

After more than an hour of talks, the American side finally made a small concession: they agreed to give up Changi Base on Xing Island.

After all, the base was already crippled.

Even while agreeing to give up Changi Base, America was still playing games.

"Heh, return it to Xing Island's administration? OK. The Malacca Strait is quite shallow. Who knows, it might just get blocked again one of these days," Carmen said, unconcerned.

Everyone understood Carmen's underlying threat.

If Xing Island didn't agree to hand over management of Changi Base to the Homo Sapiens Company, then the Malacca Strait would surely have problems every other day. In any case, the Homo Sapiens Company had the Kra Canal and didn't need the Malacca Strait at all.

This was also why America chose to give up Changi Base.

The base was right under the Homo Sapiens Company's nose, and with terrain that was very easy to blockade, it would be child's play for the Homo Sapiens Company to ruin Xing Island.

Whether America agreed or not couldn't change the fact that the Malacca Strait was effectively under the Homo Sapiens Company's control.

Bartley quickly said, "OK, then this point is settled. Does either side have any objections?"

Carmen continued, "Guam and Diego Garcia Island must be handed over to us..."

"Impossible!"

The two sides continued their war of words.

However, the Homo Sapiens Company held the initiative. With the Seventh and Fifth Fleets in their grasp, and the ability to directly threaten the great families of the City of the Council, the American negotiation team had no choice but to make some concessions.

The Homo Sapiens Company also knew when to quit while they were ahead and didn't provoke America excessively.

After more than ten hours of intense negotiations,

the two sides finally, reluctantly, reached an agreement.

The terms were that America would abandon Changi Base in the Malacca Strait and Diego Garcia Island Base in the middle of the Ceylon Ocean, and guarantee not to establish any military bases in Oceania.

At the same time, the Luzon Sea was designated a special buffer zone. American warships and submarines passing through this sea must notify the Homo Sapiens Company in advance.

In return, the Homo Sapiens Company would allow the Seventh Fleet to leave the Malacca Strait and rendezvous with the Fifth Fleet in the Ceylon Ocean.

As for the other points like free trade, normalization of relations, and not tarnishing the Homo Sapiens Company's image, neither side took them seriously. After all, in this world, might ultimately makes right.

As for the status of the Homo Sapiens Company, America and the other powers chose to tacitly accept it.

In America's eyes, the threat level of the Homo Sapiens Company had already become terrifying.

April 28, 2022.

A little after two in the morning, having just concluded the negotiations and signed the secret agreement, both parties boarded planes and left Persia that very night.

Although the conflict concluded with America's concessions, everyone involved in the negotiations was acutely aware of the implications.

After today, the world was bound to enter an even more intense period of confrontation.

Neither the battered and humiliated America, the suddenly ascendant Homo Sapiens Company, nor the other major powers would remain idle.

Meanwhile, the keen-nosed news media, though they hadn't obtained the specific details of the meeting, were already filling the airwaves with speculation based on rumors and shadows.

In response, the Homo Sapiens Company, America, and the other major powers all remained silent, clearly intending to give the matter the silent treatment and let it cool down.

The Homo Sapiens Company didn't provoke America further, either. Instead, they returned to prepare for the swift takeover of the two bases.

Furthermore, with the Homo Sapiens Company's official debut on the world stage, it now had to manage its special relationships with its regional branches in places like Luzon, Siam, Hongsawaddy, and Ceylon.

On a side note, although America did not pay any monetary compensation to the Homo Sapiens Company, it did agree to sell all of its holdings of Ceylon's sovereign foreign debt to the company at the current market price.

Similarly, the Homo Sapiens Company would also repay all of Ceylon's 47% non-sovereign foreign debt loans to the respective parties, completely clearing up Ceylon's foreign debt issue.

Just as the talks in Persia concluded and all parties began to act according to the agreement,

there was one biggest loser from this meeting who was, at this very moment, descending into extreme panic.