Chapter 127: A Preliminary Agreement Reached

Under the watchful eyes of those in the conference room, Captain Dong’s voice sounded once more: "Your Excellency Dragon King, to demonstrate our sincerity, I would like to visit the valley in person to speak with you face-to-face and discuss potential cooperation. If you are willing, please nod."

Cooperation... Humans want to cooperate with him? Was he sure this wasn't a trap to capture him? Hearing the words transmitted through the drone, Lu Chen felt a sense of absurdity. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Perhaps he could use this opportunity to learn more about the current state of Blue Star from them. Of course, if the humans had ulterior motives, Lu Chen wouldn't mind staining the Hot Spring Valley with a bit of blood. However, he believed they wouldn't be so foolish; after all, he had already fully demonstrated his strength when he hunted the Black Bear King.

A few minutes later, a helicopter appeared over the valley. The cabin door opened, and a stern, middle-aged man emerged. He spoke loudly: "Your Excellency Dragon King, I am Dong Mingjun, the one who contacted you earlier. I am coming down now!" With that, he suddenly leaped from the air, clutching a black suitcase as he jumped toward the ground.

*Thud!*

With a dull impact, Dong Mingjun landed steadily on the ground. *Crack, crack...* A series of faint cracking sounds emanated from the earth beneath him. Interesting. Was this a show of force, or a deliberate display of his own capabilities? Lu Chen was indifferent to the man's strength, but he could see the tip of the iceberg and immediately understood that mutants had emerged within human society as well. Given the sheer scale of the human population, there were likely many such individuals.

"Your Excellency Dragon King, before we begin our discussions, I have brought you a gift to show my sincerity..." Dong Mingjun said, wearing his most amicable smile. Lu Chen could sense a slight tremor in his voice; it was clear the man was not as calm as he appeared. Under Lu Chen’s gaze, Dong Mingjun slowly opened the specially crafted black suitcase. Inside, neatly arranged, were several spirit stones—especially the one at the very top, which glowed as red as a flame, devoid of any impurities.

The pure energy fluctuations made Lu Chen’s beastly pupils spark with excitement. This quality was far superior to the one he had unearthed in the Foggy Jungle; it was at least a Grade 3 stone. It seemed the humans had invested heavily to win his favor.

"Your Excellency Dragon King, this is the gift I wished to present to you. I hope it is to your liking." Seeing the expression on the beast’s face, Dong Mingjun smiled again.

"I... like it. I am... very satisfied," Lu Chen suddenly articulated in the Xia language, his voice stiff and laborious. He then tapped his claws against the ground, and a massive muddy limb extended to snatch the suitcase and pull it to his side. He dared to seize the case only because he sensed no danger emanating from it.

"You... you can actually speak human language!" Dong Mingjun’s expression changed drastically. Not only him, but everyone in the conference room gasped. Although Professor Wu had speculated that the creature might be capable of understanding the Xia language, none of them had truly believed it. It was preposterous; even the most intelligent animals had their limits. How could they possibly be compared to humans, the supposed spirits of all things? Human language, in particular, was complex and refined. Even people from different countries required years to master a new language. That this mutated Saltwater Crocodile could understand them was already shocking; to think it could actually speak...

It turned out the old professor had been right all along. This creature was truly monstrous; its intelligence was likely on par with that of a human. Or rather, humanity had subconsciously underestimated the animals in the wake of the Great Change.

"Since I... can understand human language, is it... so strange that I can speak it?" Lu Chen countered with a strange, unnatural cadence. His soul was originally human, so he hadn't forgotten his native tongue. However, his current physical structure was different, making his speech sound odd. Lu Chen hadn't intended to hide it; if he just kept nodding, there were many things he could never discuss in depth. Since he would likely be dealing with them in the future, it was better to adopt a simpler method of communication. Of course, more importantly, with his current strength, Lu Chen didn't mind revealing that he could speak.

"This is indeed quite a surprise to us." Dong Mingjun’s mental fortitude was strong, and he quickly regained his composure. "The situation is this: we wish to establish a cooperative relationship with you. If the human world encounters an insurmountable danger in the future, we hope you will assist us if it is within your power. Naturally, we will provide compensation based on the circumstances."

Interesting—cooperation? Trading spirit stones for his assistance. It seemed the humans had guessed his urgent need for spirit stones. Lu Chen had no reason to refuse. First, he was desperate to evolve into a Level 6 beast. Aside from high-quality flesh, the best way to do this was by consuming large quantities of spirit stones, especially those of high grade. Relying on his own mining was too time-consuming and inefficient. While his compressed energy blasts could shatter surface rocks, they couldn't create stable mine shafts, leaving him helpless against high-grade stones buried deep underground.

If humans provided the stones... based on the Grade 2 stone he had previously obtained, a single Grade 3 spirit stone could provide at least 40,000 energy points. He would need fewer than 300 of them to accumulate the 10 million energy points required to successfully evolve into a Level 6 Saltwater Crocodile. Of course, Lu Chen knew that was impossible for now. The fact that they could produce even one was a sign of great sincerity. He believed that even with modern mining machinery, the number of Grade 3 stones humans currently possessed was likely very low. Even Grade 2 stones were probably scarce.

Most importantly, he could always go back on his word. The humans had no way to constrain him; at worst, he could simply retreat into the different dimension and never reappear. Thus, after a brief moment of thought, Lu Chen agreed.

He had other considerations as well. With the dawn of the Great Change, humans were no longer his enemies. Or rather, they shouldn't simply be viewed as enemies; there should be both cooperation and conflict. If they made a move against him, he would kill them without hesitation. If an invincible beast were to appear on Blue Star in the future, he might need human strength. Perhaps that was exactly what the humans were thinking when they approached him for this partnership.

"I wonder if Your Excellency Dragon King has any plans to reside in the Tiannan Mountains? If so, we are willing to provide all conveniences... we could even designate the entire reserve as your territory..." Now that he understood the beast could speak, Dong Mingjun was much more cautious, treating him as an equal.

"No interest. I... will return to Madura..." Lu Chen replied. Compared to the endless primeval jungles of Madura, the Tiannan Mountain reserve was far too small, and the foggy space wasn't suitable for long-term habitation. Besides, he was planning to establish a crocodile civilization. If he chose the Tiannan area, he would inevitably come into conflict with humans sooner or later.