"Yes, sir, what are your orders!" The old miner bent down even lower, almost kissing Zhang Lei's shoes.
"Has the superpower been generated?" Zhang Lei asked.
Although almost everyone on Earth can develop superpowers, that applies to people with normal physical strength. Children or frail elderly people generally don't develop superpowers. Although this miner is considered young or middle-aged, his body has long since broken down, so he didn't have any superpowers in the past.
However, Zhang Lei had high hopes for him. Someone who could survive in such an environment for thirteen years must have exceptional physical attributes; after all, even five years is difficult for a normal person. If he grew normally, he might just become another champion.
That's why Zhang Lei treats him differently. If it were just about loyalty, any of those miners would probably be loyal if released. Why would Zhang Lei cultivate him?
"Sir, it's been produced, but I'm not very good at using it yet!" The old miner's head remained buried in the ground in front of Zhang Lei.
"Hmm, show me later, but it's not very convenient to keep asking you to feed me! What's your name?"
“Reporting to Your Excellency, my name is Abdullah-Rahishwat-Tutulajiko-…”
"Stop, stop!" Zhang Lei hurriedly called out. "I almost forgot that your names are often dozens or even hundreds of characters long. Fine, I'll give you a name. Hmm, let's call you Zheng Haowen!"
"Yes, yes, thank you for bestowing a name upon me, Your Excellency!" Zheng Haowen bowed deeply, but there was something he dared not say: "Actually, I also have a short name!"
Africans only use their full names when registering for someone they deeply respect, but Zhang Lei simply didn't appreciate it.
Zhang Lei was inside the room, enjoying the hand-operated electric fan provided by two guards, when Zhang Xunjie ran in.
"Brother, you were absolutely right! Those pirates are coming after us!" He still hadn't changed his address like the others, probably because he didn't want to be seen as being on the same level as them. He just didn't know just how dangerous it would be.
"Yes, good thing they came! I was worried they wouldn't come!" Zhang Lei stood up. It seemed his wish to be a pirate was about to come true, and he wouldn't even need to buy a ship himself.
These pirates weren't necessarily seeking revenge for King Bone Fish; they probably weren't that noble. They were likely after the bounty. They put in the effort but got nothing in return, and no one would be willing to accept that.
As for other things, they didn't want to consider them. Perhaps in their view, Zhang Xunjie had no choice but to submit to the combined forces of many pirates.
Episode 4: An Eye for an Eye, a Teeth for a Fist; Chapter 92: The Fish That Came Ashore (Part 1)
"Please sit down, please sit down. It's an honor for me that everyone is here today!" Zhang Xunjie led the pirate representatives into the hall with a big smile. On the hall's ceiling, Zhang Lei had already inscribed several large characters.
"Hall of Gathering Righteousness"
"Who is he?" The leader of the pirates looked very much like a pirate. He was of Western European descent and, whether he was truly blind or pretending, wore a black eyepatch over his left eye. He pointed at Zhang Lei and asked.
At this point, Zhang Lei looked completely different from the one on the bounty poster, so it's no wonder he didn't recognize him.
"Oh, him? He's from the same clan. The clan sent him to help me!" Zhang Xunjie glanced at Zhang Lei furtively, as if asking for instructions, then whispered, "He doesn't know anything, but he acts all high and mighty. He's just here to cause trouble. Don't bother with him!"
"Same clan? Family?" Although the pirate leader spoke fluent Mandarin, he didn't really understand this kind of thing that was very Chinese, just like how even if a Chinese person can speak English, they may not understand other people's customs.
"Yes, that's a Chinese tradition. If someone becomes successful, they have to bring along people from their own clan and lineage. It's fine if those people are agreeable, but if they're the kind you don't like, then it's annoying!" Zhang Xunjie's words were probably not unfounded. There was likely a lot of dissatisfaction with Zhang Lei behind them. However, the fact that he could say such a thing indirectly shows that he was quite bold and that he wasn't very patient. Hearing his words, Zhang Lei felt much more at ease.
"Sit down, don't be shy!" Zhang Xunjie invited them to sit around the round platform. This was the same platform they had used to entertain Zhang Lei last time. If they found anything amiss, it wouldn't be easy to launch a cross-platform attack.
Without Zhang Xunjie having to call out, the maids and guards automatically began serving wine and dishes.
"Forget it!" The one-eyed pirate waved his hand. "We've heard about your and Old Wang's methods. Zhang Lei seems to have been poisoned by your strange poison, hasn't he? So this time, we won't touch anything. Just give us a straight answer: how much of that 500 million do you plan to give us?"
"How could that be? Zhang Lei is alone, but you have a large group following behind you. If I really dared to do anything to you, those people behind you would tear me to pieces!" Zhang Xunjie waved his hands in front of him.
"Speaking of that five hundred million, please forgive me, everyone. Hey, don't be impulsive. It's not that I won't give you a share, it's just that I can't give you too much. You all know that once this money is received, too many people will want to take advantage of it! Naturally, each person's share will be smaller!"
Several pirates couldn't sit still any longer and slammed their fists on the table, shouting, "What did you say?!"
"Don't misunderstand, gentlemen. I'm not saying you're just freeloaders!" Zhang Xunjie stood up, his face full of sincerity.
Unfortunately, everyone knows he's just insulting the bald monk, but now that we want to extort money from him, we're just being patient with him.
"Once we get the money! Hmph, you won't know what we're capable of until we skin you alive!" Judging from the eyes of those pirate representatives, they probably all thought the same thing.
But for now, we still need to get close to this kid. Using both soft and hard tactics is the best approach. However, we can't touch the things on his table; if Zhang Lei gets poisoned by them, he'll die.
The price Zhang Xunjie could offer was far below the pirates' expectations. In their minds, with so many of them and having put in so much effort, they should at least receive half.
Unlike us, where four-digit numbers represent different price ranges, Westerners tend to use three-digit numbers, such as thousands or millions.
Half of that is 250 million, so do they understand the implication: "You can't expect us to have nothing at all, can you?"
################
"Alright! Stop bothering me!" After experiencing that kind of haggling, Zhang Lei realized that it wasn't as interesting as he had imagined. These people were just repeating the same few reasons, and the numbers they were negotiating were only tens of thousands at a time. At this rate, it would probably take ten days or half a month to finish negotiating.
Actually, this is normal. Even small businesses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars can't be settled in a day. If negotiations can be resolved in ten days or half a month, it means that both sides are very sincere. Otherwise, why would the North Korean nuclear negotiations need to be held so many times?
Zhang Lei just wanted to experience what negotiation felt like; he didn't have the patience to spend ten days or half a month here.
"Hmph, I knew this kid couldn't be just someone from your clan. Who exactly is he!" The one-eyed pirate stared at Zhang Xunjie.
"You go out first, leave this to me!" Zhang Lei waved his hand at Zhang Xunjie.
"Yes!" Zhang Xunjie turned around and walked out.
"Stop!" Several pirates tried to stop him, but Zhang Lei stopped them instead.
Zhang Lei wore a kind smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, even though he's gone, I'm still here. Can't you see that I'm the one truly in charge here?"
"You? We don't care who's in charge, the money that's due is non-negotiable!"
“Well said, that’s what I think too. Fifty percent, do you have any objections?” Zhang Lei pulled up a chair and sat down by the door.
The pirates looked at Zhang Lei as if he were an idiot. When they were negotiating the price with Zhang Xunjie, they had already lowered it to about 40%, but who knew that this fool would immediately raise it back after taking over.
"Alright, it's settled then. Fifty percent. If you're being idiots, we'll be idiots too!" Seizing the opportunity, the lead negotiator immediately made the decision.