Chapter 400: "Borrowing the Car Is Not Impossible.

Now that we’ve gotten this far, let’s dispense with the pleasantries.

’If President Pan and his group kept beating around the bush, Shen Lu was seriously considering abusing her admin privileges and kicking them out.’

President Pan clenched his fists, then exhaled. "Alright. Since Boss Shen has put it that way... we’d actually like to borrow your vehicle."

"Borrow my vehicle?" Shen Lu laughed. ’Do they take me for a fool?’

"The three of us need to borrow it. We have a shipment of goods that urgently needs to be sent to the Shanghai Survival Base." President Pan dropped the pretense of representing the Commerce Association and honestly explained the situation. "Boss Shen, as you know, around the Imperial City, the sandstorm season brings raging sandstorms and volatile weather. It doesn’t let up until you get past the Qinling region."

"Regular cargo trucks can’t handle it. Only a military armored vehicle can."

Shen Lu narrowed her eyes. "How much cargo in total?"

Mr. Sun replied, "Fifty tons in total."

"My armored vehicle can haul half a ton at most in one trip."

"We know. We can make multiple trips. We just need to get the cargo past Qinling. We have a transport team on the other side. The trip from the Imperial City to Qinling takes three days at most. If all goes well, a round trip could be done in four."

Shen Lu pressed her lips together and said nothing.

President Pan was getting anxious. "We’ll cover all the fuel costs and any subsequent maintenance. We’ll also pay you for the trouble. Boss Shen, if there’s anything else you feel we’ve overlooked, please just say the word."

Shen Lu glanced at the time, her lips parting slightly. "So, all those times you pestered me to ’contribute’ my vehicle... it was all for this?"

President Pan looked awkward for a moment. "Not at first."

Before the merchants from Shanghai placed their order, someone had reminded President Pan that Shen Lu owned a military armored vehicle. He’d thought of acquiring it for the Commerce Association and keeping it under his control, just in case he ever needed it.

But Shen Lu had flatly refused, so he’d dropped the idea.

He wasn’t as ruthless as Boss Jin, who had to obtain anything he set his sights on. By comparison, his way of doing business was considered quite fair.

It was this quality that had led to him being elected President of the Commerce Association.

But when he needed to ship the goods urgently, President Pan had no choice but to set his sights on Shen Lu’s vehicle once more.

But a man in his position has his pride. All the back-and-forth had led to the current stalemate.

The main issue was that President Pan hadn’t expected Shen Lu to be such a tough nut to crack, completely unyielding.

Mr. Sun gave a hollow laugh. "We’re all from the Lower City District. We should stick together and help each other out. If Boss Shen helps us today, then if she needs anything tomorrow, we’ll be honor-bound to assist."

Shen Lu couldn’t help but snort with laughter. "Has Mr. Sun already forgotten about competing against me the other day? I’ve never seen ’sticking together and helping each other out’ quite like that."

Now it was Mr. Sun’s turn to be embarrassed.

General Manager Chen complained under his breath, "It’s not like we wanted to compete. Boss Jin forced us."

Shen Lu said, "Oh? So you feel wronged?"

Mr. Sun stepped on General Manager Chen’s foot, signaling him to shut up. "There’s nothing to feel wronged about. We lost fair and square. Boss Shen was simply a cut above."

Shen Lu smiled faintly, pressing her lips together without a word. The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

President Pan looked from Shen Lu to Mr. Sun and General Manager Chen, his heart sinking lower and lower.

They had tried everything from gentle persuasion to thinly veiled threats, but Shen Lu remained completely unmoved. It seemed they would have to cancel the order and pay the penalty.

President Pan winced at the thought. The profit from this one order was secondary; the real prize was establishing a connection with the merchants from Shanghai.

Just as the three of them had all but concluded that Shen Lu would refuse and were about to give up, she suddenly spoke.

"It’s not out of the question to lend you the vehicle."

In perfect unison, the three men looked up, their eyes shining like light bulbs.

"However, my conditions must be met." A devilish smile played on Shen Lu’s lips. "Fuel, a driver, and maintenance are your responsibility, of course. Those don’t even count as conditions. As for the rental fee... let’s calculate it by the day. A minimum of one hundred thousand Star Coins per day."

"Furthermore, I want half of the profits you make from this deal. And, should I need it later, you’ll have to provide me with an introduction."

"If you agree, you can take the vehicle today. If you don’t, I need to get back to work in the kitchen."

"I’ll give you ten seconds to think about it and make a decision."

"Ten... nine... eight... seven..."

"Wait a minute! You’re not doing anything but flapping your gums, and you want half the profits? This is highway robbery!" Mr. Sun’s face was twisted with anger. ’When I was young, I was never as shameless as Shen Lu! Do young people today have no principles at all?’

"Six."

"Boss Shen, we can talk about the other terms, but half the profits is... At that rate, we won’t make any money at all." President Pan quickly ran the numbers. If they really agreed to Shen Lu’s terms, they wouldn’t just fail to earn a single cent—they’d end up losing money.

"Five."

Mr. Sun slammed his hand on the table. "Shen Lu, you’re going too far!"

Shen Lu was smiling, but her eyes were devoid of warmth. "Four."

President Pan pleaded, "Let’s negotiate. Please, we can negotiate. Half is really impossible. How about 25%?"

"Three."

"You!" Mr. Sun’s eyes bulged with rage, and he looked ferocious enough to leap across the table and tear her apart.

"Two."

"Fine! We’ll do it your way!" President Pan finally caved. ’Who can I blame? I’m the one asking for a favor, so I’m at a disadvantage.’

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried to pull some strings with the military to see if he could borrow a vehicle.

He’d spent the money and sent the gifts, but the middleman just threw up his hands, said it couldn’t be done, and didn’t even return the money or the gifts.

Reality was that cruel. Never mind being the President of the Lower City District Chamber of Commerce; even the President of the Upper City District’s association couldn’t necessarily forge ties with the military.

The military was a third-party power, independent of both the government and the Royal Family.

It wasn’t just a single survival base’s force, but a unified command structure for the militaries of all four major survival bases, which maintained a peculiar harmony with the various factions within each base.

"Pan Dao Yong! Are you insane?!" Mr. Sun roared, refusing to accept it.

President Pan shot him a cold look. "If Mr. Sun is unwilling, he doesn’t have to agree. In any case, I’ve accepted Boss Shen’s terms."

’As long as his own cargo got to Shanghai on time, it was no concern of his whether Mr. Sun’s and General Manager Chen’s shipments made it.’

Mr. Sun was so infuriated he felt like he was about to have a stroke, and Shen Lu just had to rub salt in the wound. "That’s right. I’m not one to force a deal. If Mr. Sun feels this transaction isn’t worth it, it’s fine not to agree. I don’t hold grudges."

General Manager Chen rolled his eyes. "And you call that not holding a grudge?"

’If she didn’t hold a grudge, she wouldn’t be demanding such an outrageous price. The woman was clearly vindictive.’

Shen Lu smiled faintly. ’You certainly have a knack for stating the obvious.’

In the end, President Pan and the other two had no choice but to agree to Shen Lu’s demands.

Shen Lu first collected a compensation payment of one million Star Coins from President Pan. Then, she collected a deposit from each of them equal to half of their projected profits. The remainder would be settled after the delivery was complete.

Mr. Sun felt a sharp pang of financial pain. After all this work, not only was he not making a profit, he was actually losing money.

’Why did this feeling of suffering a double loss seem so familiar?’