Chapter 760 Negotiation

Cars drive through the town along the road in St. Louis. Judging from the sparse pedestrians on the streets, there are not many residents in St. Louis. According to Ishabel, there are probably less than 2,000 residents. Therefore, the highway looks empty, and most of the people who can live in this city are head and face. They are absorbed by the Dark Brotherhood, most of whom are the most peripheral members.

But their families are already qualified to live in this elegant city, and under the protection of the Dark Brotherhood, there will be great security for living here. Of course, these members can't contribute without any contribution. They must donate their property to the Brotherhood, which has a clear hierarchy.

The more property members donate, the more levels they will have. More levels represent a power circle closer to the upper layer of the pyramid. Therefore, those who are ambitious will plunder as much wealth as possible from the outside world, and then use donations in exchange for higher levels.

Zero sat in the car and listened to Ishabel explain all this. It is not difficult to see how much wealth the Brotherhood has concentrated. No wonder they will become the invisible kings of this continent.

Paul's feelings are deeper than zero, and every person in power will not want another invisible boss above his head. In particular, this boss also has the ability to exempt you from power at any time, which is as uncomfortable as an invisible dagger hanging around your neck at any time. Paul didn't say anything on the surface, but some meaningful light kept flashing in his eyes.

If it was before, Zero and Paul would not have heard these secrets. But now is the time when the Dark Brotherhood is unprecedentedly fragile. The day of the cataclysm caused most of the important members at that time to die in the disaster, and then in the next decade, the Brotherhood gradually condensed an invisible force. Then, by supporting Sauron in exchange for more benefits, to help this ancient organization recover as soon as possible.

It can be said that these practices of the Brotherhood did not do anything wrong due to the circumstances at that time. But in order to develop rapidly, we have to absorb fresh blood from outside. For example, Ishabel and Solomon, who had a retreating heart. However, who are also outsiders, Ishabel's family obviously has a shallow foundation in the Dark Brotherhood, so it is at the end of the table.

Although the fresh blood from outside has accelerated the development of the fraternity, it also makes it difficult for the ancient traditions and purposes of the fraternity to be carried out as unimpeded as in the old times. Outsiders bring wealth as well as different ideas, which creates differences in high-level power circles.

The biggest difference lies in Sauron's performance. Judging from the situation in recent years, Sauron has deviated from the original intention of the fraternity and has signs of getting rid of the control of the fraternity. Sauron's situation made a high-ranking member like Solomon question and retreat. The impact of the second of the seven-member committee member is huge. Once Solomon withdraws from the fraternity, it also means that the seven-member committee will be reshuffled, thus bringing various previous non-obvious contradictions to the surface.

Brothers will have the idea of absorbing Zero. First of all, they should like the strength of Zero itself, which is enough to contain Sauron or even replace him. More importantly, it is used to fill the vacancy after Solomon's withdrawal, but as for the ranking after zero addition, it is still a last known.

But based on zero strength, even if it can't replace Solomon as the No. 2 figure, he must be a candidate within the top three. Therefore, while Mendelisa and Joseph supported Paul, Isabel also stood on the side of the zero camp, so as to hold the big tree tightly, hoping to get rid of the embarrassing situation.

All these reasons are complicated, and how can one or two sentences be made clear? But Isabel casually said a few confidential news inside the fraternity, but has given enough information to Zero and Paul. For the two of them, it is another plan.

First of all, Zero has no intention of joining the Brotherhood at all. Gao Li, the first person of the seven committee members, can turn the whole organization over and become another force under Zero, which is naturally different. But this is impossible at all, and even if Zero replaces Solomon as the number two, Zero is unwilling to be subject to others. What's more, if you join the fraternity, you must donate, so that the property can be jointly distributed in the name of the organization.

Zero self-question is not generous enough to give everything to each other, so it is impossible to reach a consensus with the fraternity on the most fundamental issues.

The second is Paul, who doesn't want to follow Sauron's path. With the support of the Brotherhood as a puppet king, he will be together with Zero, hoping to cooperate with the Brotherhood from a relatively equal standpoint.

When Solomon withdrew, Mendrisa and Joseph supported Paul, plus the momentum of zero. Once the two of them work together, they are indeed qualified to be on an equal footing with the Brotherhood. As for Isabel, it is another idea. If Zero is willing to join, she can naturally be promoted through his big tree; if Zero is unwilling, then there will inevitably be a conflict between them and Gao Li, and Ishabel intends to try to use Zero's power to force Gao Li down. As long as he can force Gao Li to step down, then there is a zero branch. Hold it, she can sit on the throne of the first person.

At that time, she will be able to cooperate with Zero as an ally, and Zero will certainly be willing to see this.

So with their own ideas, the car drove through St. Louis and finally arrived in the east of the city. Here, a high concrete wall stretching nearly kilometers separates the city. The sentry tower and barbed wire on the high wall are completely different from the elegant style of St. Louis, but completely iron-blooded military style. Fully armed soldiers are in the sentry tower, and the distribution of dozens of fire points covers the area within 100 meters in front of the high wall.

There are no buildings in this area, and a clear vacuum belt is formed between the high walls and the blocks of St. Louis. Obviously, this is not a casual place to approach. When a dark red gate retracts and opens from both sides, it appears in the zero eye and a square, and behind the square is a medieval-style castle.

The castle is square, and there is a tower at each corner with soldiers on duty. The four towers ensure that there is no dead angle of observation in the castle, and the two * holes evenly distributed on each wall can quickly counterattack when the enemy invades.

The style of the castle is slender, towering, pointed, typical Gothic style. The main building of the city is almost connected to the top of the mountain, and the outer wall is decorated with complex sculptures and patterns. The two secondary buildings next to it are only half the height of the main building, which shows that there is a difference between the main and secondary buildings. The main entrance of the castle has a fence and a suspension bridge. When the car drove up to the square, the suspension bridge was hanging down.

When the suspension bridge was lowered, a team of people came out of the castle.

Zero and others got out of the car. Ishabel took them forward and whispered, "The man in the middle is Gao Li. Alvin."

Looking up, Gao Li, the first person of the seven members, walked in the middle. He is tall and well-proportioned, energetic and smiling. A long blonde hair was neatly combed behind the head and braided into a braid to hang down to the waist. He is wearing black colored underwear, a wide shading robe, and the robe is decorated with gorgeous patterns. A dark red belt tightens the robe, and the belt is obviously raised, emphasizing the image of Gao Li.

He opened his hands and laughed, "Welcome, Your Highness, and the brave leader of the Nepto. Welcome to St. Louis. On behalf of the Brotherhood, I sincerely welcome you.

I have to say that Gao Li is full of appearance, his voice is loud, and his tone fully shows the enthusiasm he should have as a master. First impression alone makes it difficult to hate him. Zero saw him stride forward and deliberately fell one step behind and let Paul walk ahead. Paul felt something and strode to meet him.

Gaoli looked in his eyes and secretly pay attention to it. On the surface, it was still full of enthusiasm. After hugging each other affectionately with Paul, he shook hands with zero force, and then said, "You two have come a long way. It's been a hard journey. Please come in. I have prepared a room for you to rest. After you have a rest, I have arranged a welcome reception in the evening. Please be sure to enjoy it.

There is no objection to his arrangement. Then Gao Li introduced others to Paul, two of whom were members of the Seven Committee.

Senma is like a shrewd businessman. He wears a felt hat, a double-breasted cap, a pocket watch hanging on his chest, and his striped trousers are tied in his pointed high boots, and his eyes are constantly looking up and down.

Another noteworthy committee member is a short man wearing dark close-fitting clothes. Although standing there, it gives people the feeling of flashing at any time. His name is Xifeng, which should be a disguise. He is nominally one of the seven committee members, but in fact, he is Gao Li's minions and confidants. Xifeng has an assassination group in his hand, which is an eighth-level capable person and the only capable person among the seven committee members.

As for the simple information of these people, Ishabel gave a general idea to Zero on the way here. It's just that when the information is compared with the real person, their image is firmly imprinted in Zero's mind, and they can't forget it.

The absent committee members are naturally Mendrisa, Joseph and Solomon, the second person. It is not surprising that the retreating committee members are not present.

After greeting the two committee members, Gao Li asked people to take Zero and Paul and other entourage to the arranged room to rest. In the evening, a welcome party was held in the hall of the castle. There are not many people participating in the reception, but under the introduction of Ishabel, it is not difficult to find that those who can stand here have a certain status in the fraternity, or their contributions are only less than a few members.

These people talk elegantly, but when they talk, they all test the style of Zero and Paul. Long before their arrival, the two privately decided to keep their wishes shut before putting the matter on the negotiating table, so those who wanted to inquire about the wind in advance in order to wait and see were all failed.

At the reception, Gao Li looked at the two people silently from beginning to end, and his eyes fell on Ishabel next to him from time to him. At this time, there was a man in the back: "It seems that our Commissioner Ishabel is very enthusiastic about the two distinguished guests."

No need to look back, Gao Li also knew that this was Senma's voice. He said with a sip of red wine, "His Royal Highness Paul and Mr. Zero are excellent men. Should Ishabel be attracted to them?"

"Ishabel is moved, but it shouldn't be a matter for men and women. That woman is very ambitious. Senma has something to say.

"Soma, I have to remind you that it is a felony for members of the fraternity to suspect each other, especially us members. If even we can't trust each other, then it's time for the Brotherhood to be dispersed. Coldly left this sentence, and Gao Li turned around and left.

Senma smiled and shook the glass in his hand and said, "Don't be so noble. You don't have the idea of a dominant family..."

Suddenly, the face of the west wind flashed in the reflection of the wine glass. Senma felt amazed and swallowed the unfinished words back into his stomach.

The reception ended at midnight, and both Zero and Paul received several invitations to the private reception. The two gave these things to Ishabel very tacitly, and she picked out who was worth dating and which ones needed to appear. After arriving in St. Louis, Isabel seemed to have become the personal secretary of the two, but the female commissioner did not complain about the change. On the contrary, I am still very involved in this job.

The next day, a formal meeting was finally held in the conference hall of the castle. It is said to be a meeting, but in fact, it is similar in nature to negotiations. Zero and Paul have reached an agreement in this regard. In order to highlight the importance of Paul, Zero gave the young pope the right to speak throughout the meeting. At the same time, it also conveys a clear meaning to the Brotherhood that Zero and his Nephen are on Paul's side.

In addition to Mendeza and Joseph, Paul's weight is very important. As for Ishabel, who did not point out his position, but gave Paul solidarity in many ways, it is not difficult to see what the female commissioner meant.

In contrast, Gao Li's side seems to be weak. Solomon was absent, and Semir was ambiguous, and only the west wind unconditionally supported Gao Li. But for the two committee members, they can't get much benefit from this negotiating table.

Paul played his amazing eloquence at this time. His Royal Highness started with the benefits of bringing down Sauron, and then talked about the distribution of interests, the pattern changes, and did not forget to occasionally hint at Sauron's hostility to the Brotherhood. It is pointed out that if the Brotherhood is unwilling to cooperate with them, Sauron may also be a candidate for short-term cooperation. His Royal Highness's goal was clear, and he was coerced and lured in several places, which made Gao Li smile bitterly.

Although he has imagined today's situation, he has never thought that the vigorous Zero will stand on Paul's side without hesitation, which made his plan to contain Paul's side by pulling in Zero fall, resulting in an absolute downfall at today's meeting. Zero took a step back on the surface, but in fact, he took an extremely sharp move, forcing Gao Li to be powerless, which shows the cleverness of the means.

But Gaoli is not a good target, although he was forced to cooperate only by Paul and Zero's alliance on the general trend. But there are a lot of articles on how to cooperate and where to cooperate. In these places where you can advance and retreat, an inch of land will be contested. Paul was also unwilling to fight for the interests of him and Zero everywhere, so a large conference room turned into a war between Paul and Gauri.

Zero can't help but be glad that Paul came together. In this regard, Paul is obviously more qualified to negotiate than him.

The meeting ended at noon, but the two sides have not reached a consensus in many aspects, let alone signing a specific agreement. According to Ishabel, it is estimated that they will stay in St. Louis for a few days. And these days, they don't have time. In addition to meeting with Gao Li, they have to visit the senior members of the fraternity in order to win their support.

On the morning of the third day of their arrival in St. Louis, a fleet suddenly arrived in Turin. Turin is one of the big islands in the Pearl Corridor Island Group and the location of the only military base of the Pontifical Council on this island group. Before dawn, Major General Simon, the head of the military base, woke up the adjutant and hurried to the dock to greet him.

Because the fleet was under the banner of Sauron himself, although surprised how Sauron suddenly visited Turin at this time, Simon did not dare to neglect it. Shortly after he arrived at the dock, the fleet began to enter the port. Simon wondered that there was only one building ship that entered the port, and the other warships were still on the distant coast and seemed to be ready for a long voyage.

Without time for Simon to think, the ship was moored, and Sauron walked to the dock under a team of silver guards. Simon and the adjutant quickly greeted him and didn't have time to speak. Sauron immediately asked Simon to go to the office to talk secretly, saying that he had something important to discuss. This surprised Simon and did not dare to refuse, so he led Sauron to his private office in the base.

As soon as the door closed, Simon saw Sauron standing in front of a map. On the map is the island group of the Pearl Corridor. Sauron said lightly, "Recently, I have received some information that some sighted rats are hiding under an island in the Pearl Corridor. They are right under your nose, Simon!"

Simon's heart thumped and said, "Lord Sauron, this is impossible. All the islands in the Pearl Corridor are under our control, and no one can sneak in under our eyes.

Tron didn't say anything and suddenly changed the topic and said, "Simmon, have you heard of the Dark Brotherhood?"

Simon's body shook slightly and immediately replied, "I haven't heard of it, my lord."

"Real?" Sauron smiled and turned around and said, "It is true that no one can hide in the pearl corridor under our eyes. Only one situation can do this, that is, the manager on the Pearl Corridor, my dear Major General Simon, personally cover for these rats. Am I right? Simon!"

For a moment, Simon's mind went blank.