Chapter 58: Sealing the Deal: Ownership of Mountain 49

At last, they reached the crucial part of the negotiation.

With her heart pounding, Xia Qing wiped her palms on her knees beneath the table before solemnly accepting the certificate of use for Mountain 49 and the two contracts.

The certificate looked identical to her own lordship papers in every way—material, size, even the seal. No doubt about its authenticity. The document listed exact coordinates and area. The only difference: her Territory Three and Highland usage rights had no expiration, while Mountain 49‘s were valid for a hundred years. Her territory covers 7,500 mu, but Mountain 49 sprawls across 180,000 mu. Her name was on her own land deeds, while Mountain 49 belonged to Azure Dragon Unit.

With those precise coordinates, Mountain 49 stretched twelve kilometers east to west and ten kilometers north to south, totaling 120 square kilometers—so, 180,000 mu. Its main peak towered nearly 2,000 meters high. The mountain’s actual surface area must be much greater than just its base.

She was about to become the owner of this mountain for the next century. Would it really belong to her until she turned one hundred and twenty-five?

Certificate in hand, Xia Qing still felt none of it was real. She passed the document to Yang Jin and asked, “Captain Yang, this must’ve taken a lot of work. How many points did it cost you all?”

Yang Jin smiled. “We traded supplies for the deal. If you convert it, it’s about 1.1 million points.”

How… how much?!

Xia Qing’s eyes went wide in shock.

Yang Jin reached out and refilled her teacup. As the gentle trickle of tea brought Xia Qing’s shattered soul back to her body, he continued calmly, “Of those points, 300,000 were because the Base made things hard for Azure Dragon Unit. That part’s got nothing to do with you. So, the real price of Mountain 49 is 800,000.”

Eight hundred thousand… that’s still a fortune.

Now, the reality of what was happening settled over Xia Qing like a heavy weight—she was about to become a mountain owner, but she would also owe 800,000 points.

Catching her expression, Yang Jin broke it down. “Eight hundred thousand for a hundred years. That’s 8,000 points a year. It’s pretty cheap.”

Is it cheap? Xia Qing used to make just five points a day with the Construction Crew. Still numb, she nodded. “Thank you, Captain Yang, for the reminder. Shall we sign the contract now?”

Yang Jin’s smile deepened. “Luo Ge, could you record this on your phone?”

The recording part was Xia Qing’s own idea.

She was the weaker party here, so she needed more than just a contract. Having video evidence of Azure Dragon Unit selling her the mountain would be her insurance. If they ever tried to go back on their word, no one at the Base would believe her contract wasn’t forged—unless she had the video.

With the recording, everything changed. She could simply release the video and see Azure Dragon Unit’s leaders lose everything.

On camera, Xia Qing signed both the purchase and sublet contracts, then exchanged documents with Yang Jin. They each signed, then Xia Qing held up the contract to the camera.

She signed and stamped her side, while Azure Dragon Unit had Yang Jin, Xie Yu, and Luo Pei sign and stamp theirs. Once everything was done, Luo Pei saved the video to a flash drive and handed it to Xia Qing.

With paperwork done, Xia Qing dove right into business. “Captain Yang, can the price for food you buy from my territory be set according to Safe Zone market rates?”

Yang Jin agreed. “That works for me.”

“What about Spring Water? How do we set that price?” Spring Water was in huge demand and never traded openly. Xia Qing remembered Yang Jin had once traded with Huo Fenghuang from Hui One Base to get two cases of pure Spring Water to help cure Luo Pei.

Since there was a trade, a price must exist—at least as a reference.

“We can use the price Blaze Fire Unit at Hui One Base lists for Spring Water as our reference. Does that sound fair?”

Just as she expected, Yang Jin’s answer matched hers. Xia Qing nodded. “Captain Yang, is my Spring Water better quality than what Blazing Fire Unit offers?”

Yang Jin didn’t hesitate. “Yours is better.”

The quality of Spring Water depended on two things: first, the level of Xiang elements and radioactive materials; second, the amount of Yi elements and other beneficial minerals. The less of the first and the more of the second, the better the Spring Water is for growing crops and curing Xiang Synthesis Poison.

Xia Qing named her price. “If mine’s better, my Spring Water should cost more than theirs. But I don’t have Blazing Fire Unit’s influence, and I need Azure Dragon Unit to help keep this a secret. So, I’ll price it twenty percent lower, and for now, I’ll only sell to you. Is that all right?”

Yang Jin’s mesmerizing eyes locked onto hers, but Xia Qing kept her cool and refused to be swayed. “That’s my price. Not a point less!”

Any less and she’d be paying back those 800,000 points until the end of time.

Sure, good looks were tempting—but they couldn’t buy her a single point or a grain of food. Xia Qing knew which she’d rather have.

Yang Jin had planned to pay the Blazing Fire Unit price but now grinned from ear to ear. “Blazing Fire Unit’s Spring Water is 180 points a liter right now, so yours will be 144?”

“That’s fine.” Xia Qing cast her eyes down, her mind fuzzy from Yang Jin’s charm, and found she couldn’t figure out how long it’d take 800,000 divided by 144.

Yang Jin helped her out. “At that rate, 800,000 points is 5,555 liters of Spring Water.”

Five thousand five hundred fifty-five liters? Xia Qing quickly did the math.

That amount was about twenty-eight days’ worth from her spring. It was a third of what Luo Pei needed for his cure. And a whole mountain’s worth of water…

So Luo Pei’s poison would take the Spring Water from three entire Mountain 49s to heal!

And the guns, nine hundred rounds of ammo, eight Green Lamp Saplings, and ten security guards she got from Yang Jin last time—all worth the Spring Water from three mountains!

Thinking about it like that, the mountain didn’t seem worth that much after all. Eight hundred thousand points… maybe it wasn’t such a crushing debt.

Her back straightened, shoulders loosened, and she couldn’t help but smile in relief.

Yang Jin’s grin only grew as he kept talking business. “Once Luo Ge leaves your territory, can we trade for 300 liters of Spring Water with you every first of the month? If anyone in Azure Dragon Unit gets Xiang Synthesis Poison again, we’ll negotiate the amount separately.”

Her spring produced 300 liters a day. Yang Jin’s request for 300 a month was perfectly manageable. Xia Qing nodded. “Sure. If it’s for curing poison, the most I’ll ever allow is what Luo Pei needed this time.”

Not everyone was worth such drastic measures from their enemies. Yang Jin agreed. “Of course—not a drop more than we used for Luo Pei. Also, if you want to trade your vegetables, grains, or seeds, I hope Azure Dragon Unit can be among your trading partners.”

“Deal,” Xia Qing agreed. For now, she was intent on keeping a low profile, and trading with Azure Dragon Unit was the best way to do that.