Chapter 497: The World Is so Incredulous…Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The building of the Heavenly State"s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was located at the southeast corner of Hongwu Road at Tianjing City South Second Loop. The building took up a total land area of 61,000 square meters and the building itself took up about 128,600 square meters. Based on its exterior, the structure appeared to be like a gray arc. It not only displayed the beauty of Heavenly State"s cla.s.sic architecture style, but it also allowed a place of seriousness and tranquility amidst an urban city of prosperity and bustle. Advanced modern means were utilized to ensure the regular and effective operation of the building"s interior.
The building"s interior consisted of a few segments, namely the Moogle Hall to welcome guests, press conference hall, international conference hall, talk rooms, parlor and negotiation halls, etc.
Today, the place that Zhu Tianguo, the amba.s.sador from Jaban State, and Merika"s amba.s.sador visited was the negotiations hall!
The negotiation hall was in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the building. As suggested by the name itself, it was a venue for diplomatic negotiations and other related foreign affairs.
At this moment, the lamp overhanging the negotiation hall radiated a warm glow. Yet, within a great hall of 300 square meters, sat only three people—Jaban State"s amba.s.sador, Merika"s amba.s.sador, and Heavenly State"s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yin Weimin.
Even though a gentle glow emitted from the lamp, the air among the three was instead not too amicable.
“What you mean is for us to let go of our island in exchange for our technology and people?” Yin Weimin, Heavenly State"s Minister of Foreign Affairs, sneered. “Your schemes are thoroughly planned to your own advantage. You really think that the people of the Heavenly State are idiots?”
“Mr. Yin, you can"t speak that way.” Zhu Tianguo, the amba.s.sador from the Jaban State, said lowly, “Sakana Island has always belonged to the great Jaban Empire. In Jaban"s geography textbook, it has been indicated as such. The fact that our emperor is willing to exchange the technology of the Mechanical Man for Sakana Island has already displayed our sincerity. We sincerely seek Mr. Yin to reconsider.”
After the Jabanese Amba.s.sador finished his words, the Merika Amba.s.sador encouraged at the side. “Yes, as long as your country agrees, we can hold an international press conference to formally introduce Sakana Island, aka Sea Turtle Island, to be under Heavenly State"s rule. Additionally, the key thing is…” The Merikan Amba.s.sador gave Yin Weimin a look with a smile on his face. “This deal will be kept strictly confidential. Only the few of us will know; the public will be kept unaware. As long as your country agrees to our conditions, then we can guarantee that your country will receive Sea Turtle Island openly with pride. By then, your country will gain face and we also promise not to disclose this to the public. Isn"t this arrangement the best of both worlds?”
“Best of both worlds my foot!” Yin Weimin slammed his hands on the table before pointing at the Jabanese Amba.s.sador"s big nose and berating. “The both of you are so thick-skinned. You dare to lay a hand on our territory! Sea Turtle Island is yours? Rubbis.h.!.+ An island in exchange for two people? Are you r.e.t.a.r.ded or do you think that the people of the Heavenly State are r.e.t.a.r.ded to use our citizens to exchange for territory? Can"t believe you all thought of such an idea!”
“We"re sufficiently sincere.” The Jabanese amba.s.sador narrowed his eyes before saying slowly, “You have always claimed that Sea Turtle Island is your territory, but it hasn"t been recognized globally, right? Our emperor, his majesty, has definitely expressed his sincerity. After all, it"s just using two people"s freedom for the exchange. There is no need for your excellency to be so worked up, right?”
“You really think that we are so foolish? Which country dares to do such a thing, can its citizens still have trust in the country? Today, I use two people to exchange for an island. Tomorrow, I can use one million people to exchange for an ocean that was originally ours, to begin with!” Yin Weimin was so angry that his face was flushed. “I was still wondering why both of you visited. It turns out that you were planning such a sinister scheme!”
Seeing Yin Weimin flushed with agitation, the Merikan amba.s.sador quickly acted as the peacemaker. “Mr. Yin, please don"t be so agitated. We can still negotiate further on this matter. The two of us did visit with sincerity.”
“Our Heavenly State is an important player in the international community. The world and the Heavenly State need to understand each other more.” Yin Weimin said slowly, “As long as one has a true friend, he is close even when far away. Our Heavenly State is willing to become a good friend and partner with various countries around the world. However, that definitely does not mean that you can treat us like idiots. Let me emphasize once more, Sea Turtle Island is ours. In the past, currently, and in the future! Don"t use that rubbish of some textbook to bluff me. Otherwise, do you believe that we will draw the entire island of Jaban as the Heavenly State"s territory on the textbook in the future?”
“Does this mean that there is nothing left to negotiate?” The Merikan amba.s.sador grinned. “Your Heavenly State has Mechanical Men, but our Merika has Iron Warriors. It seems like the dispute over Sea Turtle Island will persist. Sigh, what a pity to miss this opportunity. It"s just two people and we Merikans already possess the technology of the Mechanical Man. I believe that your country has watched the video as well. If we desire to have the technology, it"s only for exchange purposes.”
“What Iron Warriors, I don"t know about them!” Yin Weimin icily humphed. “Plus, so what if you do? Perhaps you can be smug about it for now, but I can guarantee that with Hong Dali"s standard of technology, our country"s Mechanical Man can be ma.s.s-produced very soon! Don"t think I"m unaware of your intentions. You"re scared, scared that our Hong Dali will invent something even more impressive. You"re afraid that our Mechanical Man will be ma.s.s-produced! Hehe, what exchange of technology, those are just excuses.”
“Afraid? Sir, perhaps you are overthinking.” Yin Weimin took out a small laptop that he carried on himself and entered YouTob website fervently. The first video that appeared was the video of Iron Warriors. The Merikan amba.s.sador immediately opened up the video and pointed at the image before smiling. “Mr. Yin, you can take a look and see for yourself that the power of my country"s Iron Warrior is comparable to your country"s Mechanical Man? One strong blast for one tank, how about that?”
Yin Weimin sucked in a deep breath as he looked at the image shown on the video carefully.
The power of Merika"s Iron Warrior"s weapon was indeed quite formidable. With just one shot, a tank was turned into a pile of useless metal. Regarding this, Hong Dali"s Mechanical Man indeed did not have too big an advantage.
“How is it?” The Merikan amba.s.sador said smugly, “Our Iron Warrior is pretty good, right? Hence, using Sea Turtle Island for an exchange of each other"s technology is a pretty profitable deal. As for Hong Dali and Hong Weiguo, they are just subsidiary and incidentally mentioned.”
“Even though it"s undeniable that your Iron Warrior does indeed possess some formidable power, but so what?” Yin Weimin changed the subject of the conversation. “What you have, is what you have. At most, let"s call it even. As for exchanging technology, there will absolutely be no need for that! Let me emphasize once more, Sea Turtle Island was originally ours. Even if you flatter me, there"s still no reason for us to take something of our own and set it as a condition.”
“In that case, let"s wait and see!” The Merikan amba.s.sador said angrily, “Let"s see if our Iron Warrior is better than your country"s Mechanical Man!”
His words were already considered a threat, and Yin Weimin listened on as he clenched his teeth in anger. At that moment, Xiao Li, the secretary, rushed in suddenly. He crouched next to Yin Weimin and whispered a few words to him. Upon hearing them, Yin Weimin"s expression suddenly brightened with joy, replacing his previous look of anger. He grinned broadly as he faced the Merikan amba.s.sador and said, “Aye, don"t feel anxious first, Sir. My secretary just told me that he discovered something new. Can you lend me your laptop?”
Perhaps there was a turn for the better? The Merikan amba.s.sador quickly pa.s.sed the laptop to him. “It"s just one laptop, no big deal. Use it as you please.”
“Thank you.” Yin Weimin took the laptop and entered the So Cool video-sharing website. Afterwards, he selected a video and began to watch it. He became happier as he watched on and pushed the laptop back after finis.h.i.+ng the entire video. “Ah, Sir, I"m done watching the video. I suggest that you watch it too, as this video has explained everything comprehensively.” Upon finis.h.i.+ng his words, he did not forget to sigh. “Ah, this world is so incredulous…”
After listening to what Yin Weimin said, the Merikan amba.s.sador began to feel curious. Ultimately, he saw the caption of the video and was momentarily stunned in astonishment.
“Discussing the Truth About the Iron Warrior, Comprehensive a.n.a.lysis on the Emergence of Iron Warriors (Merika"s computerized special effects are pretty good indeed)!”
The video began with a fast-forwarded video of the Iron Warrior. However, that was not important. What was important was that the video provided explanations that played afterward! Before the first image appeared, there was a black screen and a female narrator could be heard. “At first, I thought that this video was real. However, I found that although the image is blurry, it did not shake at all. IF it was filmed using a mobile phone, it would definitely shake a lot. Hence, we utilized some technology and it ultimately became this…”
Just as the female"s voice subsided, the image became clear momentarily. The female narrator said, “Ah, we greatly admire Merika"s CAPTCHA technology. Luckily, our methods are still pa.s.sable…”
Then, the video was entirely changed to a high-definition. Then, the image stopped at the image of the Merikan soldier attaching his face mask. The female narrator explained, “The mechanism of the Mechanical Man is entirely automatic. Yet, this Iron Warrior has to use its hand to attach his face mask. Why is that so? Everyone, please take a close look here. Did you discover anything? Yes, the face mask of this Merikan Iron Warrior is entirely made of two pieces of metal skin without any wires on the inside. That explains why they had to attach their face masks on personally.”
The second image was of the Iron Warrior raising its hand, and then it was circled. “Everyone, look at this. There wasn"t any perfection in the movement of its joints as compared to the Mechanical Man. It looks very flexible, as if a few pieces of metal skin were just plastered onto the body.”
The third image was when the beam of light was shot. The female narrator explained, “Everyone, let"s compare this beam of light to the one released by the Mechanical Man to see if there is a difference—yes, that"s right. At the location of where the light beam was emitted from the Mechanical Man, there existed a smaller beam of light within. Yet, it"s absent in the case of the Iron Warrior. Hence, it"s safe to conclude that this beam of light is different from that of the Mechanical Man"s. However, it appears to be the same with one look. I"m curious as to why the same weapon could appear differently upon release?”
Of course, these things were still acceptable to a certain extent. However, after watching the last segment of the a.n.a.lysis, the expression of the Merikan and Jabanese amba.s.sadors changed completely…