Chapter 177: Chapter 177: The First Battle! Mo Yinhe Dominates Qu Gaoyang! 3
The Secretary-General thought he must have heard wrong. "Crown Prince Yinhe, what you are saying is simply preposterous. Yang Wanling is already dead. How can she tell everyone? Could her ghost possibly be summoned here now to reveal the truth of her suicide?"
"Who said Yang Wanling is dead?" Mo Yinhe asked coldly.
His nonchalant remark landed, sending shockwaves through the assembly!
Si Lisao and Feng Chonghua both fixed their gazes on Qu Gaoyang. Didn’t you say Yang Wanling was dead?
If looks could communicate, Qu Gaoyang would have thought at this moment: Of course she’s dead! Haven’t you seen the photos? On land, the citizens of A Country are in an uproar. The internet is ablaze with accusations against Ye Shen, and he has even been taken into custody! If I can’t even handle such a trivial matter as killing someone, what right do I have to be the Crown Prince of Gendaya Country? Do I deserve it?
However, at that very moment, three women suddenly entered from the left side of the hall. They were Ye Siyuan, Si Mingjing, and Yang Wanling.
Pushed forward by Ye Siyuan, Yang Wanling trembled as she took in the solemn grandeur of the conference hall. She didn’t want to come; she didn’t want to be here at all!
But the moment she saw Qu Gaoyang, Yang Wanling’s fighting spirit surged.
Yang Wanling rushed over to Qu Gaoyang and demanded bitterly, "Why? Why did you send someone to kill me? I had already done everything you asked! I had already lured Ye Shen to the hotel room, so why did you still send someone to kill me!"
Qu Gaoyang was stunned. "You... you... you’re not dead? How is that possible? This can’t be happening!"
Just a second ago, he had been smugly thinking, If he couldn’t even eliminate a mere Yang Wanling, how could he be fit to be the Crown Prince of Gendaya Country?
The next second, reality delivered a harsh slap to his face, one that resounded loudly, telling him: That’s right, you don’t deserve it!
Yang Wanling wept bitterly, questioning through her tears, "Are you disappointed to see me alive? You are my brother. Even though we are half-siblings, we still share our father’s blood! How could you actually order someone to kill me, to leave me for dead? Do you have no familial affection at all?"
Yang Wanling forcefully wiped her tears. "Brother, since you are heartless, then don’t blame me for exposing the truth!"
At this very moment, the entire conference hall was in chaos. Everyone stood up, staring at the resurrected Yang Wanling, their jaws practically on the floor!
"What’s going on?"
"Wasn’t she dead already? How did she come back to life?"
The Secretary-General rapped his gavel over a dozen times, but unfortunately, the entire hall had erupted into chaos.
"Let me tell you what happened!"
Tears streamed down Yang Wanling’s face as she recounted the entire ordeal. Finally, with righteous indignation, she pointed at Qu Gaoyang and declared, "It was him, my own half-brother, who made me seduce Ye Shen! He even prepared Ye Shen’s DNA for me in advance, telling me to have a backup plan: seduce him if possible, frame him if not! But I never imagined that his true goal was to fake my suicide to frame Ye Shen! If not for Miss Si’s superb medical skills, I would now be a vengeful spirit. I hate you, brother, I hate you!"
Yang Wanling yelled furiously, her body trembling with emotion, unable to calm herself.
Everyone in the room understood. This was a premeditated frame-up!
The delegation from Atlantis was incensed, boiling with rage!
"How dare Gendaya Country frame our Third Prince like this! We will not let this go!"
"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"
"If your country does not provide a satisfactory explanation, the warships of the Atlantis Empire will surely flatten every major city in your country!"
The Atlantis delegation now retaliated with a fury that matched the Gendaya delegation’s earlier vehement accusations.
Journalists, photographers, and live news media in the back rows recorded the entire process. The truth of this matter would undoubtedly spread throughout the Undersea World via their reports!
Qu Gaoyang had shot himself in the foot! He was unable to utter a word in his defense!
Si Mingjing followed Ye Siyuan to the delegation seats behind Mo Yinhe, where they found two empty spots and sat down.
Mo Yinhe looked back, his gaze deep as it met Si Mingjing’s, seeming to convey: Mingjing, I knew you’d come to my rescue. My dear Mingjing, you truly are worth more than an entire army.
She had effortlessly defused the crisis for him.
Si Mingjing felt a little flustered under Mo Yinhe’s intense gaze, but she never denied her own abilities. She met his gaze directly, her phoenix eyes seeming to reply: Mission accomplished.
The air seemed to crackle with electricity...
Qu Gaoyang felt as if his body wasn’t his own. Had he actually lost? So utterly defeated? He had come to shame Mo Yinhe, but instead, he was the one who had been resoundingly shamed, the situation now irreparable! What to do? What should he do now?
Qu Gaoyang looked beseechingly at Si Lisao. Crown Prince Lisao, save me!
Si Lisao glanced coldly at Qu Gaoyang. Truly more of a liability than an asset! He then closed his eyes, feigning meditation, clearly intending to stay out of it.
At this point, it was clear: Qu Gaoyang had lost this round.
In life, one must be able to accept victory graciously and defeat with dignity. Everyone was just playing the game. If your intellect wasn’t up to par and Mo Yinhe wiped the floor with you, then you had to concede and pay the price. These were the rules of the game, and no one would break them.
Receiving no help from Si Lisao, Qu Gaoyang could only turn to Feng Chonghua, his eyes pleading. Prince Chonghua, save me!
Feng Chonghua thought to himself, Even Si Lisao has closed his eyes and chosen to ignore this. Why should I, Feng Chonghua, stick my neck out?
So, Feng Chonghua also closed his eyes, feigning meditation.
The two Crown Princes both rested with their eyes closed for nearly an hour. During that hour, representatives from the Atlantis Empire and Gendaya Country negotiated the terms for resolving the incident.
The final outcome, predictably, was Gendaya Country agreeing to cede territory and pay reparations. However, this ’ceding of territory’ didn’t involve the actual handover of cities. The two nations were geographically distant, and Mo Yinhe had no interest in occupying any of Gendaya’s cities or territories. The ocean was vast, and there was plenty of land; Mo Yinhe had no desire for Gendaya’s territory.
Instead, Qu Gaoyang was forced to sign a unilateral trade liberalization agreement.
What did this mean? It stipulated that henceforth, goods exported by merchants from the Atlantis Empire to Gendaya Country would be subject to zero tariffs. However, goods exported from Gendaya Country to the Atlantis Empire would still be subject to the previously agreed-upon tariffs.
This agreement was for a term of ten years.
This was a predatory agreement, designed to bleed Gendaya dry! Qu Gaoyang would undoubtedly face the wrath and condemnation of his own people.
Meanwhile, Mo Yinhe once again ascended to godlike status in the eyes of the merchants of the Atlantis Empire. Zero tariffs! The sheer number of large, medium, and small enterprises in the Atlantis Empire that would benefit was staggering. The mere thought was exhilarating!