Chapter 131: Negotiations and Breakthroughs

Tuoba was a little too agreeable.

It got to the point where Lin Yu started to wonder if he ought to have asked for some even more advanced technology.

But after thinking it over he decided to take it slow. There’d be plenty of chances down the road.

Getting their communication tech alone was more than enough to make him happy.

After all, the other party had interstellar-level communication technology—a perfect solution to the Federation’s current problem of low colonial efficiency caused by clunky communications.

“Alright, we’ll leave it at that for now. As for your encroachment into our territory, let’s consider it resolved.”

“Next is your proposal for trade and technological exchange. Before we talk about those, you need to understand one thing—and that is…”

“Know your place!”

“Did you really think you could conduct tech exchange directly with the Federation?”

Lin Yu’s tone was a little cold.

But Tuoba didn’t seem bothered at all.

Because this was only natural.

So-called technology exchange relies on both sides having something the other lacks. But when a Level Two civilization tries to trade with a Level Three, isn’t it just a one-sided win for the lower level?

Truth is, a Level Three civilization has no need for any tech from a Level Two.

At most, maybe they’d find it interesting to see a different approach—just for reference.

But then Tuoba remembered—hadn’t Lin Yu mentioned earlier that the star system they ceded would serve as the hub for all future trade and exchange?

So why the sudden change?

“Relax. Don’t give me that look. Direct exchange with the Federation is off-limits, but nothing stops you from dealing with Federation-affiliated civilizations.”

“It just so happens that this star system belongs to the Elven Race, a Federation subsidiary. They’ve got access to a lot of tech the Federation has released and can purchase Federation products for trade with you.”

So that’s how it worked—it actually made sense.

Tuoba nodded.

Even if they couldn’t go straight to the Federation, an affiliated civilization with a good amount of advanced Federation tech was still a fine deal.

Of course, this setup meant the Elven Race was acting as a middleman. But really, that just meant adding one more step—there were no restrictions otherwise.

“We have no objections!”

“Good. Once you get back, withdraw your personnel as soon as possible. I’ll send people to settle that system, and you should also prepare trade negotiators. We’ll arrive with an Elven delegation when the time comes.”

“No problem. I’ll see to it right away as soon as I return.”

——

Half an hour later, Tuoba and the rest had left.

Meanwhile, on the bridge, Mu Qingxue threw Lin Yu a long, thoughtful look.

“You know, being a fleet commander is totally wasted on you.”

“Just a few words and you snagged an entire star system—not to mention you wrung a full set of Level Two civilization comms tech from them.”

“And the best part? After getting shaken down, that guy looked positively happy about it…”

Mu Qingxue was genuinely impressed.

When she’d left Proxima Centauri V, she’d been braced for the worst.

But now…

“Well, if I’m pretending to be a Level Three civilization, I have to act the part. This is exactly how they treat Level Twos.”

“Maybe I should’ve acted even more aloof…”

Lin Yu shrugged with a smile.

“You really are something. So, what’s next?”

“It’s your show from here on. Trade negotiations and the rest—that’s on the admin side.”

“Alright, I’ll call a meeting with Ye Lan and the others soon, get the ball rolling. Oh, and Violet too—since we’ll need the Elven Race handling things in most cases.”

After a brief moment of thought, Mu Qingxue already had a rough plan.

Still, she’d need to gather the right people for a more detailed discussion. At the same time, the Elven Race—being the ones who’d represent them to Tuoba’s group—needed a careful arrangement.

Seeing Mu Qingxue already in work mode, mind abuzz with ideas,

Lin Yu decided not to disturb her. Instead, he contacted George.

He asked George to send the comms tech they’d just received over to Lu Bo’s research institute.

He also told them to prioritize these new technologies and push for quick results.

Once interstellar-grade communications were in place, humanity’s entire expansion effort would speed up dramatically.

Especially because…

A whole slate of issues that Federation brass worried about would finally have a real solution.

As for everything else, the Elven Race could represent humanity in future tech exchanges.

At that point, even if the Elven Race only produced Level One or Two tech, nobody would find it odd.

After all, Lin Yu had already said the Elven Race was merely a Federation affiliate…

The perfect closed loop.

Last came trade: what to exchange, how to do it, what everything’s worth—Mu Qingxue could handle those decisions.

As for Lin Yu, his job would be to take over Alpha Centauri in a few months.

He’d need to firmly secure control and set up a full defense.

——

Thanks to the extremely thorough materials,

Before a single month had passed—before Lin Yu even made it back to Proxima V—

Lu Bo had already mastered the communications tech and even built the matching equipment.

In fact, this technology was pretty similar to hyperspace tech. Both involved quantum applications and transmitting information through higher dimensional space.

Lu Bo called it ‘hyperdimensional communication technology.’

But while the underlying concepts were similar to hyperspace tech, in reality…

This technology could only transmit information. Unlike hyperspace tech, it was impossible to send actual objects into it.

The difference was like comparing dimensions themselves.

But that hardly mattered—for now, just having this kind of tech was reason enough to celebrate.

As for hyperspace technology, the Federation already had the full data set. Humanity simply lacked the foundation to actually build it yet.

“Lin Yu, I need a really fast warship to deliver all this data to the Solar System!”

“No problem—I’ll have a Zhulong-class ship handle it. No need to stop at Earth’s sector, either. Leave Proxima V, hit the Kuiper Belt in just over four months, then send the data straight to Earth’s sphere.”

Lin Yu nodded in agreement.

He knew that any other warship would take almost twice as long.

So, with Houyi off-limits unless absolutely necessary, sending a Zhulong-class was clearly the best option.

“Great. That means in half a year tops, we’ll have direct comms with Earth.”

Lu Bo was excited too.

Not because he missed Earth, but because…

He wasn’t a jack-of-all-trades—even he wanted to communicate with other top scientists now and then.

That hadn’t been a problem back in the Solar System.

But here at Proxima, it just wasn’t possible.

But as soon as a long-distance comm link was built between Proxima and Earth…

Well—

Everything would fall into place.