Chapter 245: Fraud and Trade

Just as the dreamscape was about to collapse again, Zhang Wenda had a flash of inspiration. "Wait!" he shouted. "I have a way! This isn’t military intervention, it’s business outsourcing! If people can run scams from abroad, then we can do trade from abroad!"

The sudden shout stopped Kopan dead in his tracks.

"Business outsourcing?" Kopan’s two retracting hands paused once more. A trace of confusion emanated from the black mist. "What do you mean?"

Zhang Wenda sat cross-legged on the bed, adopting the air of a senior project manager, and began to spin his inscrutable pitch.

"Look, Kopan. First, we need to be clear about the principal entities involved. You’re worried about the Mayan Pantheon, acting in its capacity as a divine power, militarily intervening in the internal affairs of another nation, which would violate that... what’s-it-called... Hague Agreement No. 3, right?"

"That’s right."

"But what if we were to change our status?" A slight smile played on Zhang Wenda’s lips.

"You, Kopan, will no longer be acting as the ’Maya War God,’ but as... let’s see... an ’independent third-party provider of supernatural technical services.’ And I, Zhang Wenda, won’t be hiring you in my capacity as a Third Line combatant, but as a private developer—a sole proprietor, even—procuring your technical services!!"

Kopan’s black mist swirled for a moment, as if he were thinking.

"Independent third-party... technical service provider?"

Only he knew whether he was pondering the meaning of these terms or the merits of the proposal itself.

"Exactly!" Zhang Wenda slapped his thigh. "Not long ago, the Big Circle did something similar. They procured a batch of Angel Engines. It was clearly an act of aiding the enemy, but they managed to disguise it as a simple transaction. If they can do it, why can’t we?"

"Think about it—the United Nations protocols govern the actions of Pantheons and nations. What I’m doing now is a personal act. I’m seeking technical consultation from you, just like when I bought the Sacrificial Knife from Ahava. It’s a transaction of goods and services between individuals. At worst, you could call it cross-border e-commerce, which falls under the WTO, not some UN military agreement! This is what’s known as ’mitigating principal-entity risk’!"

Kopan’s eight fingers tapped against one another, making a faint, clicking sound. He was clearly intrigued by this novel angle. "Interesting... But the fundamental nature of my power hasn’t changed."

"The fundamental nature of your power may not have changed, but the application scenarios and contract terms can!" Zhang Wenda continued, drawing upon the wisdom of his past life.

As a battle-hardened corporate drone, he could reel off this sort of jargon with practiced ease.

"We’ll sign a ’Personal Technical Service Agreement.’ It will clearly stipulate that the ’capability support’ you provide will be used exclusively for my personal ’security,’ ’problem-solving,’ or ’the elimination of specific targets not oriented toward a state-level mission.’ If a target is related to the national level, then that would count as ’military intervention.’ We’d have to negotiate a separate price for that, or you could simply refuse the job. Everything else... that all falls under the ’personal security’ umbrella or ’civil disputes.’ In those cases, your actions would be classified as ’providing security services’ or ’assisting with the resolution of personal matters.’ This is what we call ’blurring the lines of business’!"

The more Zhang Wenda spoke, the more he got into the swing of it, rattling on without a care for whether Kopan could even understand him.

"And what’s more, we can use a tiered pricing model based on ’number of service calls’ or ’target value.’ Say, one soul for a regular target. For someone with a few abilities, two souls. If the target is particularly tough and has a high-quality soul, we can even negotiate a ’project bonus’! I guarantee it’ll be more profitable for you than the old fixed rate of one soul per Sacrificial Knife activation, regardless of the target’s strength! We’ll be implementing an optimized performance evaluation and incentive system!"

Kopan was clearly tempted. The black mist pulsed, shrinking and expanding, and his voice was tinged with excitement. He seemed genuinely swayed by Zhang Wenda’s pitch. "Tiered pricing... project bonus...? This does sound... somewhat interesting."

’Holy crap, he’s actually buying it? He’s even more gullible than that damn cat.’

Seeing his chance, Zhang Wenda decided to up the ante.

"Before, I was just using the Sacrificial Knife to get your services for free. It was completely one-sided, and you were getting totally ripped off, you know that?"

"Obviously! Of course I know that!"

"But things are different now! Now, we have a win-win partnership! I’ll be responsible for finding ’high-quality clients’ and assessing their ’soul value.’ You’ll be responsible for providing the technical solutions, and we’ll split the profits according to the contract!"

"I can even help you expand the business! For example, I could introduce you to other colleagues at Bureau 507 who have similar needs. Of course, we’d have to sign a separate agent agreement for that, and I’d take a commission. We’ll be establishing a sustainable partnership and a channel distribution network!"

After this masterful pitch, Kopan was utterly convinced by Zhang Wenda’s wisdom. He now seemed filled with bright hopes for the future.

Zhang Wenda decided to add more fuel to the fire. "You’re not exactly well-liked in the Mayan Pantheon, are you? Everyone looks down on you, right?"

"Once we make it big and build our empire, you can return home in glorious triumph! Then you can let those other gods get a good look at what it means for the tables to turn! Never underestimate the little guy!!"

Kopan’s hands danced with excitement. "Yes! Let’s do it!! Outsider, you are a genius!"

"Oh, it was nothing. Standard operating procedure." Zhang Wenda waved his hand humbly, though inwardly he was blooming with delight.

Not only had he resolved the issue of Kopan’s hostility, but he had also acquired a "cheat" he could summon on demand and pay for by the job—and the payment would be covered by his enemies. He had struck gold.

At this thought, Zhang Wenda immediately extended his right hand. "Then here’s to our fruitful partnership!"

Kopan’s eight-fingered hand hesitated for a moment, then solemnly reached out and grasped Zhang Wenda’s.

"A fruitful partnership, Zhang—"

Zhang Wenda grasped Kopan’s hand with both of his and began to shake it enthusiastically. "Xiaozhang! You can just call me Xiaozhang from now on. When we start the company, we’ll be family. No need for formalities."

"Alright then, Xiaozhang. In that case, I..."

"You’re our company’s core competitive advantage! You’ll have to hold a key position! How about this... your official title will be Company Legal Representative!"

Whatever Kopan’s reasons for coming had been, he left in a state of utter joy. And when Zhang Wenda woke up, his eyes opened to a face wreathed in smiles.

He flipped over and stood up, quickly pulling out Kopan’s dagger.

Following Kopan’s earlier instructions, he gripped the dagger and made a light cut on his arm. The instant the blade of the Sacrificial Knife drew blood, he felt a familiar, watching gaze descend from above.

The tattoo on Zhang Wenda’s wrist instantly dimmed, and his body was inverted, landing squarely on the ceiling.

"It worked!" Zhang Wenda cried out excitedly. Now, not only could he call upon Kopan’s rule-negating ability at any time, but more importantly, he wouldn’t have to pay a thing for it.

Zhang Wenda happily put the dagger away. "Kofar People, this one doesn’t count. We’ll just call this a trial run of our service, so no soul for you."

"But don’t you worry. Once our business really gets going, you’ll have as many high-quality souls as you could possibly want!"

As he spoke, Zhang Wenda trailed off and stroked his chin thoughtfully. ’Huh, why does that sound so familiar?’