The Union Building, the office area of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is busy at the moment.

This has been the case for the most recent period.

As representatives of the Enterprise, Academy, and Legion gathered in Dawning City, more and more small and medium-sized settlements that smelled the opportunity to gather wool sent emissaries to the Alliance.

Of course, there are people who come with sincerity, but there are also many fakes, and there are even marauders who come to gather wool disguised as normal settlements.

There was a case not so long ago.

The survivors' settlement, registered in an abandoned city 200 kilometers away, is actually a looter farm for human traffickers and kidneys.

The merchants of the Free States saw the many business opportunities of the Emissaries of Dawning City, bribed the director of the Marauder Farm, set up a camouflage radio station for sending and receiving signals, packaged the settlement as a kind little white rabbit, and deceived the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in terms of signal location detection and callback verification, etc., and obtained the agency authorization of the base.

The merchant was gambling, and the gambling alliance couldn't spare so much energy to go to the scene to confirm the survivors' settlement applications one by one.

In doing so, he was able to obtain "diplomatic immunity" from the Coalition as a diplomat and reap the benefits of a community of survivors on behalf of a thousand-strong community of survivors.

It has to be said that he accurately judged the ability of the foreign affairs department of the alliance to work.

It is true that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Alliance does not have the ability to inspect the situation in the settlement offline, but there is still a special group of "players" in the Alliance.

It's clear that he underestimated the enthusiasm of players to explore new maps and new settlements.

On the same day, several players parachuted into the area, and after discovering that the actual situation in the area was different from the mission description, they immediately submitted a report offline through the official website.

While the area is far beyond the Coalition's law enforcement area and the Guards will not be deployed for this, the semi-official House of Outcasts will issue raider camp clearance missions and reward hostages for rescuing hostages.

At this point, the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is over, and then the work of the corps of the alliance begins.

It is said that the follow-up mission was carried out by the Silver Corps, and the whole battle lasted only half an hour before it ended.

The player who captured the Marauder's camp found the radio station in the stronghold that verified its interaction with the Alliance Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and brought it back to Dawning along with the captives captured during the battle.

Eventually, the Free State trader was arrested on charges of fraud, and became the second Free State trader to be arrested by the Coalition after Cindison.

In the face of ironclad evidence, even Foreign Minister Norege of the Free States, who participated in the meeting of the Adhesive Community in the Alliance, could not say anything, so he could only pinch his nose and admit this loss.

Since that incident, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strengthened its vetting procedures for survivor settlements from areas outside the province of the River Valley, and the workload of various departments has more than doubled.

As usual, Cheng Yan, the foreign minister of the alliance, sat in his office and reviewed the documents.

At this time, his deputy came in with a letter and pressed the envelope against his desk.

Cheng Yan stopped the pen in his hand and glanced at it, raised his eyebrows and cast an inquiring glance at him.

"What is this?"

"Protests from the Xilan Empire."

Looking at Cheng Yan with a surprised expression on his face, the deputy foreign minister made a helpless expression, took out a crumpled newspaper from the file bag and placed it next to the letter.

“…… The cause was this newspaper. ”

Cheng Yan didn't look at the letter, but directly picked up the newspaper and took a look, only to see that the photo of the headline was the one that had caused a lot of uproar recently.

“…… Goblin Observer? ”

The Deputy Foreign Minister nodded.

"Yes...... But it's not about the headlines, it's about the news on page 2, and you can see it at a glance. ”

"I'll see."

Leaving this sentence, Cheng Yan immediately turned to the second page.

Unlike the Daily Survivor, Goblin Watch is an unofficial, private "entertainment newspaper" run by Vault residents.

In the aftermath of the Cindison case, the coalition's council of delegates voted to pass the Media Accreditation Act, and the industry committee set out detailed regulations, but only required that current news should not be fabricated and subjective, and that news reviews must cite news from reliable sources.

Although it was suggested to the managers that the alliance authorities should review the qualifications of the media, the managers did not nod their heads on the matter, but pursued the same principle of "experts do things, and the public supervises", handing over the management to the industry committee composed of industry experts, and the supervision to the representative council representing the public opinion and voice of the alliance.

In other words, the foreign affairs department of the alliance cannot do anything to the newspaper in terms of procedure, and even if it wants to do something, it has to go through the representative council or the administrator......

The index finger pressed the center of his eyebrows, Cheng Yan looked at the deputy standing aside, and asked in an uncertain tone.

"Are they protesting that we're taking in the Luna refugees?"

The deputy foreign minister said with a sigh.

"It's not...... They protested against the fact that we called the Lunarians 'refugees', and then told some fables about the sacred cow of the Day. To be honest, I didn't really understand it, but they asked us to call them in derogatory terms like sinners or sinners, and then expel them for the sake of the Empire. ”

Cheng Yan couldn't help but move the corners of his mouth.

"Well, another bighorn deer god."

The deputy foreign minister gave him a helpless look.

"I told the guy that we respect their faith, but also ask them to respect that we are atheists...... However, that man was very tough, and even threatened us to fight us to the end at the slime mold research community meeting. ”

Cheng Yan looked at him in astonishment.

"This ...... What does it have to do with slime molds? ”

The deputy foreign minister shrugged his shoulders and whispered a grumbling word.

"The devil knows...... , I feel like the Willantes are behind the scenes, and I know those big noses aren't happy to pull these cerebral palsy into the Syndica! ”

"It cannot be said that the province of Borneo is also part of this land, and any progressive voice is to be encouraged...... Even if some of the survivors have not progressed so significantly. ”

Cheng Yan coughed, looked at his deputy and continued to ask.

"The important thing now is to solve the problem...... Is that all they want? ”

The deputy foreign minister hesitated for a moment, but still said truthfully.

"They're also going to summon managers."

Cheng Yan was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had misheard, so he asked again uncertainly.

"Summoned??"

Didn't these guys wake up?

The deputy foreign minister said with a displeased expression.

"Yes...... They think we're at fault first. ”

Cheng Yan's expression gradually became serious.

"This was brought up by the Duke of Galava?"

Deputy Foreign Minister: "I'm not sure, it was his entourage, a guy named Nyan, who delivered the written appeal to us. ”

Cheng Yan pondered for a moment and spoke.

"If anyone can meet with managers for such boring reasons, our managers don't have to do anything else...... I'll be free tomorrow afternoon, and I'll meet with the ambassador of the Xilan Empire. ”

The Xilan Empire can no longer be regarded as a small or medium-sized survivor force, and it still occupies an entire administrative division of the pre-war era.

Even if the other party's appeal sounded outrageous—even unreasonable, Cheng Yan felt that it was still necessary to listen to it.

Maybe there's some misunderstanding in this.

As managers always say, misunderstandings are due to a lack of communication, and many problems can be solved through communication.

The Slime Molds Research Community was founded in accordance with this principle.

If the survivors of the wasteland can put aside their age-old disputes and cooperate on issues related to the common destiny of humanity, at least in part, there is hope for a new era for the land.

For the sake of the future of human civilization, he felt that it was necessary for him to talk to this ambassador from afar......

……

The next day, Cheng Yan summoned the Duke of Galava and set the meeting place in Conference Hall 2 of the Alliance Building.

With an elongated face, the Duke of Galava walked into the chamber.

He didn't take his seat immediately, but glanced around the circular conference table, only to see that it was only a foreign minister sitting at the conference table, and the expression between his eyebrows suddenly took on a hint of arrogance and slackness.

At the meeting of the Adhesive Community, the people who met with him were also the managers of the Alliance.

What a foreign minister is.

You deserve to sit at a table with him?

However, considering diplomatic etiquette, the Duke of Galava patiently walked to the conference table and sat down, and tapped his index finger on the table.

"What about your managers? Let him talk to me. ”

Facing this Duke of Galava, who showed an aggressive attitude as soon as he came up, Cheng Yan just stared at him intently, and said without humility or arrogance.

"Our managers have been on a tight schedule lately, and it is difficult to arrange a private meeting with you anytime soon. But he told me to be as good as the host, to take care of the emotions of the foreign guests, and for me to listen to your troubles—"

"It's not an annoyance," Rudely interrupted him, Duke Garava squinted his eyes and said in a tone with a hint of menace, "I repeat, you're trying to stir up the Empire's wrath. ”

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Cheng Yan decided to ignore his rudeness for the time being, and continued patiently.

"I'm here to solve problems...... So the first thing I want to understand is, what is the contradiction between you and those Moon Clansmen? ”

As he spoke, he flipped through the notes on the table, picked up the pen and prepared to take notes.

However, as soon as his words fell, the angry protest of the Duke of Galava rang out in the conference room.

"They are sinners!"

"Why?"

"The Sacred Cow of the Sun—"

"That's enough, Mr. Galava, you know we don't want to hear that!"

Cheng Yan, who couldn't bear it, finally couldn't help but interrupt this guy's nonsense.

Looking at the Duke of Galava, who had a stunned expression, he raised his voice and continued.

"We want to know where your grievances are coming from, such as...... They killed someone, or they have committed theft, robbery, human trafficking and the like. You can think of this as a hearing, and we will listen to both of you at the same time and try to reach an outcome that is satisfactory to both of you, and it would be best if we could help you reconcile...... What do you think? ”

The Duke of Galava looked at him stunned, as if he were looking at a strange and exotic beast.

…… Reconciliation?

He suspected he had misheard.

With noble blood flowing in his veins, why should he reconcile with those lowly fellows who are only worthy of kissing his toes.

Instead of beheading them, the Empire was merciful enough to keep them in captivity.

But those who don't know what to do are the ones who have shamelessly fled from the province of Borneo, and who have cleverly excused their filthy bloodlines, pretending to be poor innocents.

This makes the survivors elsewhere think of the Empire!

Seeing that he hadn't moved for a long time, Cheng Yan reminded him solemnly.

"Mr. Duke Galava?"

The Duke of Galava suddenly calmed down and leaned back in his chair.

Just when Cheng Yan thought that he was finally going to communicate well, he put his right leg on the knee of his left leg and coldly threw down a sentence.

"It doesn't matter."

Cheng Yan looked at him in astonishment and was stunned for a while.

Unimportant?

"That'...... What's important? ”

"Your Majesty says that they are sinners, and they are, that is both Your Majesty's will and the will of the Sacred Cow, what do I need to explain to you?"

Duke Galava raised his head slightly, raised his chin, looked at the Foreign Minister of the Alliance sitting across the conference table with his nostrils, and continued unceremoniously.

"It's our own business, not your business!"

Make sure this guy wasn't joking, but really thought so.

Cheng Yan calmed down, glanced left and right at the secretary who was taking minutes of the meeting, then put down the pen in his hand and closed the notebook with his hand.

There is no need to do this anymore.

Seeing his movements, the other staff members who made meeting notes did the same, and closed the notes on the table one after another.

It seems that not only they think it, but even the foreign minister thinks that this is a waste of time.

Galava frowned slightly, unsure of what these people meant, only feeling that the situation was a little different from what he imagined.

Before getting up from the conference table, Cheng Yan cleared his throat, sat down and looked at him, and asked again solemnly.

"So...... Duke Garava, I would like to hear your plea again. ”

Galava frowned.

“…… What appeals. ”

Cheng Yan: "What do you want us to do?" ”

Galava said without hesitation.

"Expel those sinners at once! And apologize to the Xilan Empire in the newspapers! ”

He made some concessions.

It seems unrealistic to have the Emperor of the Alliance apologize to himself, but it should be okay to apologize in the newspapers.

In his opinion, he has given enough steps.

Cheng Yan nodded, indicating that he heard it.

Seeing him nod, Galava smiled pleasantly and leaned back in his chair for a long time.

"It's a lot easier to communicate, and that's how we should have been from the beginning."

I didn't expect the alliance to speak better than I imagined.

He just pressed a little harder, and the guys relented.

It seems that he still thinks highly of these people, and maybe he can be tougher next time.

"I think so too, from the beginning we should communicate in this easy-to-understand way," Cheng Yan said expressionlessly as he looked at the Duke of Galava with a smug face, "So...... What does this concern to us? ”

A smile froze on his face, and Galava stared at him dumbfounded.

"What did you say?"

Looking at the stunned Duke of Galava, Cheng Yan no longer hesitated, got up from the conference table, and tucked the untouched notebook under his elbow.

"You've said it all, it's your own business, let's be nosy."

"So what does this have to do with us?"

Galava: "??? ”

What is this called?

What does it have to do with you?

He opened his mouth, just about to reprimand angrily, but he couldn't think of how to refute it for a while.

Ignoring the stunned expression on this guy's face, Cheng Yan walked out of the conference room without looking back.

"Wait, wait—"

The Duke of Galava stood up and stretched out his hand to stop him, but no one paid attention to him.

Seeing that the foreign ministers were gone, everyone sitting at the conference table also got up and left the conference room.

In the blink of an eye, he was the only one left in the huge room, standing dumbfounded in front of the conference table.

Looking at the rickety half-open door, Galava withdrew his trembling fist and roared angrily at the empty conference room.

"You ...... Will regret it! ”

The roar echoed through the room, but no one paid attention to him, not even to hear him.

Unable to find anything to fall on the table, the Duke of Galava slammed his fist on the table and kicked the leg of the table with the tip of his shoe in dismay.

Holding back the pain in his toes, he chewed his anger and swallowed it into his stomach.

Just wait.

This humiliation—

He will give it back a hundredfold!

……

After the meeting, Cheng Yan, who had calmed down, went to the manager's office and found Chu Guang to take the initiative to report the situation of his meeting with the ambassador of the Xilan Empire, and reviewed his mistakes in work.

“…… Sorry, Mr. Administrator, I messed this up. ”

After reading the minutes of the meeting in his hand, Chu Guang didn't say anything after listening to his statement, but simply commented.

"Don't blame yourself, you just did what was within your duties, at least in my opinion you didn't mess up anything."

If you have to say it, you shouldn't have dealt with that guy in the first place.

For example, he himself, at the symposium on the agenda related to the sticky community, did not pay much attention to the waste that spoke without nutrition.

Originally thought that he would be criticized by the manager, Cheng Yan was stunned and hesitated for a moment to say.

"But...... You've said that you want to solve problems through communication as much as possible. ”

Chu Guang said patiently.

"I did say that, so we're going to communicate with all creatures that can understand people, even slime molds, but we can't do anything about it, so we have to communicate differently. You have to know that not everyone is able to communicate. And it's that they refused to talk to us, it's not that you rejected them. ”

Cheng Yan pondered for a long time when he heard this, and said respectfully.

"Subordinates understood!"

Seeing that he seemed to really understand, Chu Guang nodded approvingly.

He had heard about the situation in the Xilan Empire, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

Those were essentially nothing more than Willant's henchmen, and like most survivor colonies, they had no keen interest in tackling the threat of mutant slime molds, hoping to trade them for benefits from other areas of the Alliance and other ancient survivor forces interested in slime molds.

It's really nothing, after all, the cohesive community exists for this.

It is clear that the Legion promised some benefits to the Xilan Empire, both in terms of military support and economic benefits.

So whether the Alliance offends them or not, they will stand with the Legion.

This kind of vassal who has already stood in line has no value in wooing, even if it can't be negotiated.

As for their so-called threat, Chu Guang didn't take it seriously.

Not even the Legion dared to mention military threats, let alone these followers, and he didn't think these guys really had the courage to put revenge into action.

No matter what form of revenge.

Putting the minutes of the meeting aside, Chu Guang looked at Cheng Yan and continued to ask.

"Anything else?"

Cheng Yan nodded and said immediately.

"There's one more thing you need to decide, the Hump Kingdom has offered to set up an embassy in Silvermoon Bay."

Chu Guang asked suspiciously.

"Didn't we set up an embassy with them a long time ago?"

Outside of the Alliance, the Embassy serves as a channel of dialogue between the Alliance and other powers, as well as a save point for players.

Especially for factions that don't have a military base, the embassy is almost the only official save point other than the player's own save point.

"That's right, but said the ambassador of the Hump Kingdom...... There are far more of us active in Silvermoon Bay than in Camel City, and he wants us to at least have a dispute resolution office for the sake of the citizens of the Alliance. But I feel ...... The real reason for their request may be related to the recent military activities of the Xilan Empire in the area of Silvermoon Bay. ”

Hearing this, Chu Guang's brows furrowed, and he set his eyes on the map hanging on the wall of his office.

After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"This can be arranged."

Ignoring the Haiya Province in the hands of the Torch Church, Silvermoon Bay is the closest outlet to the sea from the Alliance, which is of vital strategic and economic importance.

Although the Alliance does not directly control the port, its economic interests in the region are no weaker than those in the Lion Kingdom or the Honey Badger Kingdom.

In order to avoid some blind guys from making small moves, it is better for him to make some expressions appropriately.

"Yes." Probably guessing what Chu Guang meant, Cheng Yan nodded in understanding, and turned around with the order.

Seeing the foreign minister leave, Chu Guang looked at the map hanging on the wall again.

I saw a railway line along the edge of the Djobar Mountains, through the battlefield where the Skeleton Corps had fought, to the fortress of Petra, the throat of the mountains.

Soon the railway will pass through there, into the rich Oasis No. 4 and the port of Silver Moon Bay, which will be connected to the sea route to the Baiyue Strait.

At first, the Hump Kingdom was wary of the Alliance's railroad, fearing that the events in Boulder City would be repeated in Oasis 4.

However, military pressure from the southwest forced the nobles and merchants of the Hump Kingdom to move closer to the alliance and seek closer cooperation in exchange for security protection.

Chu Guang actually didn't really hate this-stirring stick stretched out from the southwest.

Although this-stirring stick is annoying, it gives him more of a ridiculous antics than the actual harm, and it is not even as good as the rats in the north.

Besides, these guys have sent some gifts to the Alliance.

And it is a visible gift......