Then let them offer their loyalty!

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"What's more... I actually have one additional condition for our deal."

Qiu Tu's honesty relieved Shen Yuzhou of many worries.

Now that Qiu Tu had added conditions, his worries were immediately dispelled.

So he leaned back, looked at Qiu Tu, and asked, "What additional conditions?"

Qiu Tu said, "I want to be Shelter Number 1."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Shen Yuzhou was stunned for a moment, and then... he had only one thought in his mind: That's it?

To be honest, of all Qiu Tu's two lifetimes, his greatest skill and mastery lay in psychology.

Yesterday, he deliberately suggested that he should be the number one shelter, and Shen Yuzhou's first reaction was surprise and opposition.

As a result of yesterday's groundwork, when Qiu Tu brought it up again today, Shen Yuzhou felt that the "price was too low" and could easily accept it.

As for why Qiu Tu brought it up twice.

This is because his "conditions" were actually different on these two occasions.

His suggestion to "be number one" yesterday was just a casual remark; it was about expressing an attitude.

Shen Yuzhou initially objected, but later verbally agreed under Qiu Tu's pressure, but... this didn't actually have much effect.

Once the delegation's visit concludes and Shen Yuzhou returns to Shelter 3, he can easily renege on his promise. Alternatively, he can simply have Shelter 3 issue a congratulatory statement without coordinating with the other shelters.

It should be noted that although Qiu Tu had leverage over the Third Shelter, he did not have leverage over the other shelters.

Just like Li Feng yesterday, because Qiu Tu had no leverage over her, she didn't care about his attitude at all and directly voiced her opposition.

In such situations, according to normal political practice, Qiu Tu would need to spend real money and effort to lobby other forces and gain their support.

Then, they turn around and forcefully pressure or bribe other forces within the shelter, making them bow down, acknowledge their identity and status, and ascend to the top.

However, Qiu Tu's relationship with other shelters is not harmonious, only average. This will cost Qiu Tu a great deal.

To reiterate, Qiu Tu's foundation is too shallow, and his rise to power was too rapid. His forced move to number 2 has already attracted a great deal of criticism.

If someone tries to seize power when their position is unstable, it will require several times, ten times, or even dozens of times more effort and resources to maintain their rule.

Now, Qiu Tu is offering this as an additional condition to the Third Shelter, which will instantly save him a lot of energy and benefits.

What Qiu Tu needed to spend huge sums of money to accomplish, the Third Shelter could probably just be a matter of a few phone calls and a few communications—very simple.

Sure enough, upon hearing Qiu Tu's additional conditions, Shen Yuzhou hesitated for a moment before saying, "I can accept these additional conditions on behalf of the shelter for the time being."

He paused for a moment, then added, "But... that's assuming our deal can actually go through."

This matter was clearly far too important. So Shen Yuzhou considered it for a moment and said, "I still need to make a few more phone calls with Speaker Xing."

Qiu Tu was not surprised to hear Shen Yuzhou's words.

To some extent, Qiu Tu and the Third Shelter are "exchanging trump cards".

Qiu Tu used the two shelters he had just taken control of to exchange for the peak combat power of the third shelter.

This level of exchange is both a huge temptation and a great pressure for both sides.

Shen Yuzhou had no authority to make this decision; he had to ask his superiors for instructions.

Even the leader of the "lawful faction," the No. 1 of Sanctuary 3, the Speaker of the Criminal Division, would most likely not make a decision on his own when faced with such a big matter, but would instead have to conduct multiple rounds of discussions.

However, Qiu Tu could use this time to improve his strength—he hadn't properly trained since becoming Shelter Number 2.

Thinking this through, Qiu Tu didn't urge Shen Yuzhou, but instead said frankly, "No problem. Then let's wait for Speaker Shen's good news."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Shen Yuzhou got up and prepared to contact the 3rd shelter.

As a result, at that moment, Zhu Wu, who hadn't spoken since entering the room, finally spoke.

She looked up at her face, which was exactly the same as Shen Lingshuang's, and then blinked curiously, "Dad, am I going to have a new dad?"

Shen Yuzhou: ....

Qiu Tu: ....

It has to be said, these evil gods are indeed the kind of people who won't stop until they say something shocking...

...

After finishing his conversation with Shen Yuzhou, Qiu Tu saw Shen Yuzhou and Zhu Wu off at the villa.

The two were originally scheduled to visit and tour today, but it seems they weren't really in the mood for it.

After watching the two leave, Qiu Tu stood quietly at the villa's entrance for a while, his mind preoccupied with the reason he had sold Shelter No. 6 and No. 7 to Shelter No. 3...

The reason is actually quite simple.

The biggest reason is, as Qiu Tu just confessed: he developed too fast and his foundation was too shallow.

Now that he's suppressing the "Northwest Region," everything will be fine.

But once he leaves the "Northwest Region" and goes to the "Core Region," with the current strength of his confidants, he simply cannot protect the 6th and 7th shelters.

Leaving aside the behemoth that is the Kou family, even the Princess Xi, who now holds the moral high ground and is developing rapidly, can easily overwhelm Qiu Tu's confidants.

Therefore, rather than having one's trusted confidants confront them head-on, it's better to withdraw promptly after gaining sufficient benefits and preserve one's strength.

Leave these two tough nuts to crack to Shelter 3.

The clash between the three major forces might actually create opportunities for Qiu Tu's confidants.

Besides the lack of a solid foundation, Qiu Tu's second reason for selling the 6th and 7th shelters was Shen Lingshuang.

Shen Lingshuang is one of the women Qiu Tu is closest to in this world.

The two met when they were both struggling, and Shen Lingshuang provided a lot of help to Qiu Tu during his development.

Therefore, Shen Lingshuang can be said to be one of the most important people in Qiu Tu's world.

As Little Night Demon analyzed yesterday: because of the connection between Shen Lingshuang and Zhuwu, the conflict between the Third Shelter and Qiu Tu is almost irreconcilable.

Either Qiu Tu hands the "key" over to the 3rd shelter, or... he might as well just take the "car" for himself.

Clearly, the latter is more acceptable to Qiu Tu.

Besides these two reasons, there is actually one more crucial reason: the integration of the peripheral and core areas!

According to the information provided by Little Yaksha, in a few months, the "real world" and "spiritual world" of the "edge area" will be completely merged into one, and will be promoted to the "core area".

At that time, the "Northwest Region" and the "Western Kingdom" will be completely integrated.

At that time, without the obstruction of the "isolation mountain range" and without the limitation of strength, the various forces of the "Western Kingdom" will inevitably invade the "Northwest Region".

Back then, it wasn't a small-scale operation like the "Hidden Mist Society," where they would simply send one or two regional leaders to oversee things.

It will turn into a total war!

At times like this, the entire "Northwest Region" would definitely descend into chaos.

The "Western Kingdom" not only has ninth-order celestial gods, but also experts at the seventh and eighth orders.

Qiu Tu didn't think he could have protected the three shelters in time.

Therefore, shrinking the battle lines, shedding burdens, and letting the Third Shelter take the lead became the best option.

Of course, this is the most extreme scenario that Qiu Tu has simulated.

It would be even better if the various forces of the "Western Kingdom" did not launch a strong invasion of the "Northwest Region"!

Six months later, Qiu Tu will most likely be at the mid-stage of the 7th rank, or even the peak of the 7th rank.

Once the "isolated mountain range" collapses and the "Northwest Region" merges with the "Core Area," Qiu Tu, with his overwhelming power, can stage a triumphant return.

At that time, with him, Zhao Ji, and Zhu Wu, three experts at the 7th or 8th level, wouldn't they be able to unify the "Northwest Region"?

It is important to understand that the essence of power actually stems from the struggle of "violence".

When you have the ability to threaten someone's life and they succumb to your violence, you actually have "power" over them.

Just like yesterday, Qiu Tu used violence to force Li Feng and Shen Yuzhou to submit, so their fate is now in Qiu Tu's hands.

To some extent, Qiu Tu had the power to control them.

Even if Qiu Tu's strength was just self-proclaimed, as long as the two believed it, they were essentially relinquishing their power to Qiu Tu.

As for those "rules" that everyone follows, they are merely the order that emerges after a period of "violent competition" has reached a balance.

Therefore, when Qiu Tu returned as king, he possessed violence that even the human camp could not control.

Without him even having to say a word, the "Northwest Region" would be returned to Qiu Tu intact.

All the construction and development that Shelter No. 3 has done in the past six months will ultimately only benefit Qiu Tu...

It was precisely because of these considerations that Qiu Tu decisively offered up the 6th and 7th shelters in exchange for "Candle Dance".

To put it bluntly... this was originally a strategy to kill multiple birds with one stone.

Moreover, the information that the "edge area" would merge with the "core area" within six months due to the collapse of the "isolation mountain range" was known only to some evil god forces that had experienced the merging.

Therefore, Shelter No. 3 was unaware of this information.

This led to them analyzing the situation in great detail, yet still unable to figure out why Qiu Tu would let them get such a huge advantage for free.

This is... the importance of intelligence work. And this is also why Qiu Tu attaches such great importance to intelligence.

—To some extent, a single piece of crucial intelligence can be worth five divisions.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu gradually pulled himself out of his thoughts.

He withdrew his expressionless gaze, turned around, and went back to the villa.

Back in the villa's lobby, Secretary Tao Yaoyao was already waiting there.

Upon seeing Qiu Tu return, Tao Yaoyao quickly stepped forward and whispered, "Speaker, Princess La Riluo has arrived."

"La Ri Luo?" Qiu Tu was taken aback.

Tao Yaoyao responded and then said, "She is waiting for you in the study."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly and heading upstairs.

During this time, La Riluo hadn't been idle at all. Qiu Tu assigned her a tedious and complicated task—to build a "regional passage" in the "Boundless Heart Sea Area" of the three major shelters.

Thanks to the resource support of the three major shelters, several cities in the four states of Dongye are now connected to the 6th and 7th shelters, enabling rapid relocation.

This project, including the intelligence system that Qiu Tu recently had Guan Xiao establish, is actually preparation for the future recapture of the 6th and 7th shelters.

Now that Lariro has returned, she should have finished everything.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu stepped into the study.

The next second, Qiu Tu felt a blur before his eyes, and then a fragrant figure jumped onto him.

Qiu Tu reached out and cupped the figure's rear end, and then the figure let out a silvery laugh, "Hehehe, my Pope, did you miss me?"

Qiu Tu said with a smile, "Your Highness, you're being naughty again."

Clearly, the one who jumped onto Qiu Tu was the evil goddess La Ri Luo.

Holding La Riluo in his arms, Qiu Tu closed the study door and carried her to the desk.

Qiu Tu placed her on the desk, patted her head, and asked, "Is the passageway all built?"

Larilu nuzzled Qiu Tu's hand with a hint of enjoyment, and then said, "Actually, I finished building it all a couple of days ago."

"Oh?" Hearing La Riluo's words, Qiu Tu couldn't help but feel a little curious. "Then why didn't you come to see me the other day?"

Upon hearing this, La Riluo lowered her head and said mysteriously, "Of course it's because I went to get you a gift."

"A gift?" Qiu Tu asked. "What kind of gift?"

Seeing that she had aroused Qiu Tu's curiosity, the evil goddess girl chuckled, then opened her dimensional space and took out a packet of seeds that emitted a faint glow.

The seeds are about the size of peas, but flat. They are yellowish-brown all over, but have a very strong aroma.

Qiu Tu looked at the seeds with a bit of curiosity, then asked, "What are these?"

Lariel raised her head slightly, a smug look on her face, and said, "This is called 'Dragon Vein Seed,' a very precious material used in Cataclysmic Events. I specifically went to the 'Core Area' to buy it."

Qiu Tu blinked, somewhat puzzled.

Larilu said, "Didn't you advance to the 6th rank? After advancing, you need to develop your region and refine it, right?"

Qiu Tu nodded.

Larilu waved the seed in her hand and said, "This seed is called the 'Dragon Vein Seed.' It can not only help you develop your region, but also accelerate the speed at which you refine it."