Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 371 - 370: Equivalent Exchange, Fair Trade

Chapter 371: Chapter 370: Equivalent Exchange, Fair Trade

At that moment, the team of human diplomats was visiting the homeland of the Riley people—the World Tree Great Forest!

Yes, these so-called "World Trees" were indeed their homeland, and the plants were so huge that the largest one had a diameter of over 30 meters and a height of 200 meters. Moreover, the canopy at the top had a disc diameter exceeding one thousand meters, truly a miracle of life!

He had never seen such gigantic trees and was simply dumbfounded for a while.

Most Riley nobles resided in the top layer of tree hollows, while the poorer common people lived in the middle, and only the lowly slaves lived on the ground. An entire ecological system centered around the "World Tree" was both novel and fascinating.

Every biological organism here excelled at jumping and gliding.

The ground below, lacking sunlight and retaining moisture, was home to numerous shade-loving plants. The slaves were engaged in cultivating these plants for a living or went to even more distant prairies to grow crops.

Even if the World Tree died and fell, its decomposition was incredibly slow, making it exceptional building material. Ordinary common people just needed to carve a hole in these massive logs to comfortably settle down.

This kind of life sounded a bit like elves in a fantasy novel!

All the reporters were joyfully busy, clicking their cameras and exclaiming that the journey was worthwhile.

However, the appearance of the Riley people really wasn’t much to look at, rather resembling oversized bats. With leathery wings and eyes positioned on either side of their heads like birds, and due to their low productivity, many Riley people still exposed their bodies, and only some higher-ups wore clothes.

All Riley people saw humans and would fanatically prostrate themselves on the ground, yelling loudly.

Although he was initially quite embarrassed, no explanation availed, and the team could only let it be.

Experiencing the Riley people’s marvelous culture and bizarre religious rituals made this trip quite enjoyable. Wang Junpeng saw the surrounding reporters, writers, and artists marveling... Visiting a place more backward than humans could sometimes be quite joyful.

He knocked on the branches of these trees, hard as steel, particularly the core part, which was exceptionally tough.

"On Earth, the hardest wood is Iron Birch Wood."

"In the Soviet Union, Iron Birch Wood was once used to make spheres and bearings for speedboats, showing how hard it is. Another fantastic property of Iron Birch Wood is that due to its high density, once you put it in water, it sinks quickly and even after prolonged soaking, its interior remains dry."

"I wonder how these so-called World Trees compare to Iron Birch Wood in hardness... The key is that they are also very large and grow rapidly, showing great potential for use as a material comparable to metal."

Wang Junpeng saw a group of native Riley people processing the dead World Tree, its tree heart being the toughest part, widely used to make various cutting tools.

He picked up a tree heart as thick as a thumb and tried to break it with force, but it did not break, despite him wearing Power Armor!

Then, with another forceful attempt, he barely managed to bend it.

A nearby expert commented, "Without this natural material, the Riley people might still be living in the Stone Age. With these high-strength woods, they can essentially replace metal, and once polished, they can also be used as weapons."

"However, no matter how much you polish this material, it can never achieve a gleam. So, in the eyes of the nobles, it appears somewhat modest."

Of course, by now, humans didn’t need to envy these natural materials. Human alloy technology and nanomaterials had almost reached the upper limit of conventional materials and were far more robust than these natural ones.

But biologists continued to study this fascinating World Tree, seeing the plant as far more interesting than the Riley people themselves.

At that moment, several Riley officials hurried over, and it was apparent from their attire that they held high status.

"Esteemed Human Envoy, please come this way. Our King is ahead, inviting you..."

"Alright, no problem."

As Wang Junpeng walked, he organized his thoughts.

Upon meeting the other side’s King, he merely bowed slightly, in accordance with human customs—neither servile nor overbearing.

"Esteemed King, greetings. We are humans from a distant civilization, here with peace and goodwill. We adhere to the principles of equal and free trade. Everything can be bought and sold, as long as you can pay the corresponding price..."

"Human... Envoy, I have a great concern. What price must be paid to destroy other nations?" The King, without mincing words, expressed his worry. "Envoy sir, I wonder if other nations might propose such a trade, whether they would destroy our kingdom..."

Indeed, Wang Junpeng’s gaze flickered...

Concern?

This King was clearly testing whether such a demand could be made.

"This damned civilization would propose such messy trades to satisfy its own evil desires."

He couldn’t help but suspect that he was somewhat like a demon seducing others.

After pondering for a few seconds, he responded, "We humans follow the principle of equivalent exchange. If you can afford the price, this transaction would not be an issue."

Upon hearing his answer, all the nobles immediately gasped.

Wang Junpeng continued, "Of course, to us, life is equal. If you ask us to kill a noble from the Kasien Kingdom, as payment, we would randomly select one of your nobles and take his life... oh, to hand over to the demon. If you request us to destroy half the population of the Kasien Kingdom, as compensation, we would randomly destroy half the population of your civilization."

"We treat the Kasien Kingdom equally."

Jokingly, humans came here, certainly not for slaughtering or aiding one side in such a trivial war...

So, better get that out of your heads!

All the nobles began to breathe rapidly; they obviously could not afford such a price. Randomly selecting a noble to take his life— who knows if it would be themselves?

From his tone, it was clear that it wasn’t Heaven he was talking about, but Hell!

Wang Junpeng continued, "We are a civilization that advocates peace. We are here primarily to understand your country’s culture and history, not to wipe out other lives. Here, I have a trade list which you can consider... These are all items we need, such as exchanging one hundred different volumes for a metal knife, or the lives of one hundred slaves for a set of metal cutlery."

"Whatever you can provide, that’s what we will give you... This represents the great credibility of human civilization, whether primitive, low-level, or advanced civilizations, everything is based on voluntary principles; we do not coerce."

In this list, there were numerous trade items, all clearly priced, fair to both old and young.

"We are willing, all willing!" The King had barely glanced at the list twice, and his eyes were nearly popping out!