After the battle, the company employees were still a bit uneasy, as they had never seen such a scene before.
Zhou Yi simply explained the situation to them.
"...In short, the sea pirates who launched a violent attack against our company have been sunk by Jade City, and the company will also return to normal."
Ajin and A Feng, the simplest of the lot, were reassured after receiving the notice and went back to their respective jobs.
However, Gong Zheng sought out Zhou Yi privately and said, "Chairman, the Knight Order is the most concentrated and largest armed organization of human enhancers. They may not have succeeded this time, but they will not rest easy."
"I heard when I was an apprentice, the Dead Sea Knights have the most warships in the Knight Order. They are active in the Dead Sea all year round, and they might retaliate later, which could become a long-term issue."
He was worried about the constant threat of thieves.
If the company ever found itself temporarily vulnerable or its forces dispersed, it could be attacked again by the Dead Sea Knights.
A passive situation would exist in the long term.
However, in Zhou Yi's view, this way of thinking about solving the problem was wrong.
Zhou Yi told Gong Zheng, "The company will not choose to be defensive, we will take the initiative, strengthen our control over the Dead Sea Zone, and expand our scope of operations. In the long run, we will definitely enter the seas of the Dead Sea."
"If the Dead Sea Knights want a fight, we'll give them one, as long as it takes, until we win completely. If they dare bring a few warships, I will sink them."
Zhou Yi looked towards the distant fog sea, waving his hand, "Principles and order are fought for."
Ten years of battling at the sea floor had clarified the matter of confrontation for him.
One must not avoid battles.
The more frightened you are, the more you bind your own hands and feet and make compulsory errors, the easier it is to be suppressed.
Only by daring to fight tough battles and being able to do so, can you put pressure on the enemy, making them, instead, dare not act rashly.
Zhou Yi's strategy was, if the Dead Sea Knights' ships were few, then bombard and kill as much as possible, if there are many ships then pull back to land for guerrilla warfare. Nearby the Mushroom Forest, Death Dune, and Oasis Side are all good places for ambush.
As long as the enemy lands and comes inland, with the vision from the Red Kestrel, the Samurai Crab Army can unleash their true prowess in close combat.
If that still doesn't work, then retreat back to the sea floor, continue to recruit and train crab soldiers, waiting for the moment to strike back.
See who outlasts whom.
Zhou Yi's words left Gong Zheng with a somewhat dazed and struggling look in his eyes.
He finally sighed, "You're right, that's the mindset of the strong. I've been too weak-minded for many years, always thinking about how to protect myself, how to avoid offending others... and in the end, becoming more and more tentative, even punishing myself for things I haven't done and not daring to argue."
"Now that I think about it, it's really not a good feeling."
Gong Zheng spoke earnestly, "I believe, with you, Wasteland Development Company, and Jade City, things can only get better here! As long as we become strong enough, even the Dead Sea Knights will have to come and negotiate with us respectfully."
Zhou Yi smiled, patting the shoulder of the young man with crutches, "That's right."
"Chairman, I'll go and organize and test the company's inventory equipment now."
After a busy half night, Zhou Yi returned to his home on the 31st floor and had just fallen asleep when the night patroller, Ye Zhao, came to report that someone wanted to visit.
Zhou Yi looked at the three people standing outside the door, yawning and covering his mouth, "It turns out you know each other. And who is this?"
The three outside were Tianjin Knight Cui Mao with a square backpack, the arms dealer Qiansu wearing red round glasses, and a strange young boy carrying a large box.
Cui Mao smiled and greeted, "Mr. Zhou, I met Qiansu on the road, so we came together."
He pointed to the boy beside him and introduced, "This is my knight guard, Chen Hao."
Chen Hao bowed politely, "Mr. Zhou, hello."
Zhou Yi also nodded to him, "Hello."
Previously he had learned from Cui Mao that there weren't many official knights in the Knight Order, the majority were logistics personnel followed by knight guards.
Knight guards are assistants to the official knights.
They usually undergo certain combat training, possess the necessary basic knowledge, follow knights to learn, participate in combat and pursue, and obey the knights' commands on a daily basis. Knights and guards, somewhat similar to the relationship between police and auxiliary police.
The difference is, guards have a closer relationship to knights, almost like an apprenticeship, and can be promoted to official knight.
Suddenly Cui Mao looked at the young girl beside him, "Didn't Qiansu want to discuss important matters with Mr. Zhou?"
Qiansu smiled, "It's about a business secret, I need to speak with Mr. Zhou one-on-one, could everyone please step aside for a moment."
Cui Mao walked outside with Chen Hao and closed the door.
Ye Zhao also tactfully stayed outside the door.
It left Zhou Yi and Qiansu alone in the room.
Zhou Yi sat on the couch, "Sit down, tell me, what's the matter?"
The young girl lifted her head and cast her gaze through her glasses, "Will Mr. Zhou be staying here for a long time?"
Zhou Yi nodded, "Unless there are uncontrollable factors, the Wasteland Development Company will operate here long-term."
"Since that's the case, does Mr. Zhou require any business services?"
Her remark quite hit the sore spot.
Zhou Yi had previously focused on eradicating the Antlions in Death Dune in order to clear the road to Sand Port, laying the foundation for future trade.
As the saying goes, if you want to get rich, build roads first; without convenient transportation, it's hard to get people and goods moving.
Red Kestrel had purchased a machine stack that connected to Recursive City, which indeed provided an online channel.
However, Zhou Yi was still exploring the specific situation there.
According to Red Kestrel, the local resident, transportation costs in Recursive City were high not to mention the long waiting periods. Due to the city's lack of transport-capable electromechanical life, it is best to trade locally. The source of this content ɪs novel-fire.ɴet
Zhou Yi asked the glasses-wearing girl, "What are the charges?"
"Here's the product catalog, please take a look."
Qian Su pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it over.
Zhou Yi took it and saw that the front listed items for sale and the back listed items for purchase, with transportation costs calculated below.
Normal delivery was free, but the time could only be guaranteed within a month.
Express delivery cost 10 Light Seeds each time, and overweight items required double the transportation fee.
Qian Su had charged him by this rate when she sold him two Light Blockers.
The declaration stated that delivery services were not provided to extremely remote areas, dangerous areas in the Dead Sea, warzones, and places hit by natural disasters.
After scanning the summary, Zhou Yi's gaze returned to the start of the list.
"Qiansu's Shop, mission guaranteed."
Using the two partners as a promotional slogan was indeed self-explanatory.
"If there are items not on the list, I can also source them from other traders, no need to worry about that; it just takes some time to arrange and turn over."
Qian Su was more proactive than before, with added restraint and a spirit of service.
Zhou Yi thought, it seems that sinking the Organ Piano had an effect.
He said, "Help me handle some things and see how much they can sell for."
Zhou Yi took Qian Su to the adjacent box-style warehouse.
Inside were stored a damaged four-wheeled motorcycle, a flintlock pistol, a sniper rifle with a scope, and a metal spear, whose name and use were unknown.
After briefly inspecting, Qian Su gave a price one by one.
"Damaged modified four-wheeler, 2 Light Seeds."
"Knight Firearm, muzzle-loading pistol, 1 Light Seed."
"Knight Firearm, mid-range long firearm, 12 Light Seeds."
"Spear of Chaos, 90% new, 70 Light Seeds."
Zhou Yi sold all these spoils of war.
He pocketed 85 Light Seeds.
This slightly alleviated his current financial strain.
After completing the transaction, Qian Su said, "I will be going to Jin City to stock up soon, and it will probably take about a month to return. I will come back here then. If Mr. Zhou needs anything, you can preorder with me."
Zhou Yi thought it over and didn't really need anything.
Three sets of Light Blockers were enough for now.
The young girl's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just smiled and bid farewell, "Then I'll go stock up. I wish Mr. Zhou all the best."
Qian Su had not mentioned the Dead Sea Knights from when she arrived till she left, as if she had forgotten all about it.
After she drove away in the big truck, Cui Mao dismissed his knight guards and said with a serious face, "Mr. Zhou, I don't know if you are aware that this Miss Qian Su is a Heavenly Country Citizen."
Qian Su had mentioned this when she introduced herself.
"She is one of the agents of the Heavenly Kingdom."
Cui Mao spoke in a low voice, "After returning to Sand Port, I found out through my squadron that Ji Zhang is a Star Core Elector.