Farian's and Liu Shu's talks were neither complicated nor difficult. Farian was at an absolute disadvantage, and toward people who lived off of making others miserable, Liu Shu was not kind. Therefore, Liu Shu forced Farian to make two concessions.
The first concession was straightforward: From now on, they would use their resources and connections to fully cooperate with the Golden Sap Empire and help expand into nearby Solar Systems. Moreover, knowing that these bandits were most likely not the only ones, Liu Shu asked to tell her all information about nearby bandit or mercenary groups so that she could take over.
There was a chance that Farian made her take over a bandit group with strong bandits and provoke the revenge of someone strong. That's why Liu Shu's second forced concession was the most important.
Farian looked at Liu Shu with a complicated expression. "Are you telling me that you want all our non-combatants to move to Ceperet?"
Liu Shu's wooden avatar, sitting on one of the only not destroyed chairs due to the sudden vacuum in the room, looked at him calmly. "That's right. Your wife, being pregnant, naturally falls into this category. So, with her as the leader, all non-combatants will straight away take one starship and move to Ceperet."
Hostages.
Farian was quite sure that her reasoning for this condition was such, and Liu Shu didn't hide it. She was basically suggesting. 'You want to screw me over? Sure, go ahead. However, the price will be your family members.'
This was dangerous since some people might truly go for a Hail Mary and decide to just burn together. So, Liu Shu added. "My empire is an exceptionally good place for young people. You must've heard about it through your connections, but I have the ability to give incredibly powerful buffs."
Liu Shu was not tooting her own horn randomly. If she reserves her fruits for children, basically, all of them would have a guaranteed A Tier talent and an 82.5% Cycle Completing rate with ridiculous stats, purifying, and elemental affinities. Such numbers were usually reserved for military elites, yet Liu Shu could basically mass-produce that type of elite soldier.
Farian, while he knew he was not in a position to negotiate, still decided to bring out some courage and speak. "...proof. Give me some proof."
Liu Shu blinked and waved her hand. Space before her twisted violently, tensing them up. A second later, from that ominous and powerful space fissure, a gorgeous fruit basted with a bunch of nice-smelling fruits plopped onto the half-torn table.
Farian and his wife, Amira, blinked, stupefied. Farian looked at Liu Shu strangely. "Is this… a housewarming gift?"
'What are her intentions? Is she trying to bribe us with gentleness or something?'
Meanwhile, Amira had picked one of those fruits, the one that was catching her attention, and tentatively scanned its effects.
***
***
A gasp with an exclamation-filled scream escaped her. "W-What!?"
Farian almost jumped in surprise at his wife's scream. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Amira, her eyes trembling as if an earthquake had struck her, constantly scanned and reread the effects of the Cerulean Bloodfruit. Her heart rate spiked, and her breathing became ragged. An incredible desire to just put the fist-sized fruit into her mouth surged within her, but at that moment, Liu Shu's voice cut that desire.
"So, how is it? Are you tempted?"
Farian was still confused. 'Tempted by fruit?'
Yet, strangely, Amira jumped into the conversation. "L-Lady Heavenly Willow! May I ask something?"
Liu Shu glanced over and nodded calmly. Farian, seeing his wife, who had been trembling in fear, look so excited, didn't interrupt. Amira spoke with a stutter. "T-This type of treasures… H-How many can Lady Heavenly Willow produce?"
Liu Shu glanced at her and smiled. "Cerulean Fruits? I, myself, produce around 370,000 of them monthly. My children, of course, produce a bit more than I do, but overall, I alone account for around 30% of the total berry production in my Golden Sap Empire. Of course, if we speak not of numbers but of fruits of that Tier, then I alone produce around 92% of them."
That was a terrifying number, as there were quite literally hundreds of thousands of
Amira's eyes widened, and then, she gulped. 'If each of the fruits in that basket is different, she can produce 14 types of absurdly strong fruits.'
"Farian, accept this deal."
Farian wanted to check the berries as well. However, for some reason, Liu Shu was currently pressuring him with her Force Essence manipulation, warning him not to make a move.
Liu Shu glanced at him, her blue-glowing eyes curious. 'How much do you trust your wife? Are you willing to make the decision even without confirming with both your eyes the worth of my fruits?'
This was not a random fling. She was currently assessing the strength of the leash she was about to put around Farian's neck. Farian, while he was a ruthless mercenary and had committed several atrocities, was surprisingly a caring family man.
If he weren't, Amira wouldn't have shown such reliance and worry toward him. Those small details had fallen into Liu Shu's observant eyes, hence the current small test.
'...Amira and I have been together for a long time. Moreover, this World Tree is looking at me indifferently, but I know there is no way she would be committing just a mischief by not allowing me to check personally.'
Being a Level 210 person, someone who had survived and created a base almost from scratch, his intelligence was naturally not lacking. Therefore, he quickly came to a conclusion. '...A test? Is she testing how much I trust Amira? Why?'
His head was still a bit muddled from Liu Shu's soul attack. Still, he could tell the direction Liu Shu wanted things to develop, even if he could not pinpoint the reason as to why yet. So, trusting his gut, Farian glanced at Liu Shu's blue-glowing eyes and nodded. "Understood. We will follow you from now on."
The pressure on him disappeared, and Liu Shu's wooden yet strangely soft-looking lips arched. In that gesture, there was an inherent charm that even made Amira dazed for a moment.
"Good choice. Take that basket as my welcoming gift. I'll give you two weeks to gather everyone who is not essential personnel for the base. Then, I want to see a starship depart after those two weeks. Am I clear?"
Farian nodded, and after he did, Liu Shu did not linger. Her wooden Avatar unfolded like threads, merging into the root once more. As if this had only been a nightmare, all of Liu Shu's roots disappeared into their own sub-dimension, merging into nothingness as if sinking into water.
Such ease of spatial control left Farian reeling once more. 'What a monstrous creature.'
He knew that most World Trees were specialists in spatial control to some degree, but that seamless merging into the dimension from which they came was spine-chilling. 'Is she a space attributed World Tree? Space and Soul? If that's the case, it is terrifying.'
Amira felt relaxed, and a second later, her face lit up with joy and relief as she looked at Farian. Jumping into his sturdy frame, the woman sobbed a little. "I was so scared. When she carried you back, your eyes were dazed, as if your soul had left only a husk behind for a body."
Farian hugged her, patting her back. Then, he asked, unable to contain his curiosity. "Are the fruits that strong?"
The woman thumped his chest with her fist. "Here I am, wanting some comfort, and you go straight to formal matters?"
Seeing Amira sulk, he laughed and kissed her. The woman chuckled. "It's ticklish."
The man smiled, and then Amira presented him with the fruit. "Here, check it."
Farian did, and even his usual stern face became laced with stupefaction. "...Is the System broken?"
Amira laughed. "Now you know. So, you'd better listen to what Lady Heavenly Willow says! If our child can eat these fruits in the future, what else would we want?"
Farian blinked, thinking that Amira made quite a bit of sense. "Still…"
Amira shook her head softly. "Don't worry. The fact that she has not killed you before taking over speaks of Lady Heavenly Willow's character."
"Isn't it because she wants a pack leader to guide those bastards below me?"
Amira snorted. "With her strength, how much can we help her? Moreover, are we the only bandit group hidden among the nearby structures? You know that's not the case."
When Amira said "nearby," she was speaking in terms of star distances. So, something near could be from 5 to 20 light-years away.
Farian grumbled, but seeing the usual stern eyes looking at him, he sighed. "Alright, alright. I guess that's our only option. Let's go along with her."
"Not her! Lady Heavenly Willow! Be respectful to your future leader."
Farian, not being accustomed to being under someone, could only scratch his beard with some annoyance. "I understand. I'll try not to slip."
Amira laughed, kissing his bearded chin and then spitting a hair. She frowned. "Have you not groomed your beard lately? There are loose hairs!"
Farian looked at her, exasperated. "I just fought a battle I can't even remember. Do you think my beard would remain groomed?"
"What fight!? You got knocked out in a single strike!"
"...Did I?"
Amira, seeing that Farian truly didn't remember, frowned in worry. "You don't recall? There was some kind of Anima Energy surge, and then, you became limp without even a scream."
Farian's face turned solemn.
Liu Shu, who had retreated but had kept observing, hummed in interest. 'To think that someone whom the other people in the base have described as bloodthirsty and ruthless acts so meek… It's quite cute?'
She shook her head with a sigh, setting personal feelings aside. 'I can not let my first impressions guide me. He is a ruthless character who's just good to his family. These are usually the most dangerous, but also the easiest to handle. Treat their families well, and they will work for you until their bodies collapse. However, if their families suffer even a little, they can become a disaster.'
Thankfully for Liu Shu, Amira didn't seem like someone who would abuse her authority. Since the beginning, she had shown quite a gentle personality. So, treating her well was not a problem. 'With Farian at the lead, I might be able to unify all nearby bandit groups into a mini vanguard army. One where it won't hurt as much if there are casualties.'
It was a ruthless thought, but she valued her ant sisters—who usually acted as the vanguard or martyrs—more than these people, so there was nothing she could do.