Hearing this, Cao Cao smiled.
"Then, Mr. Zheng, how would you feel if you were to see him lose face and swallow his own words?" Cao Cao asked, tempting Zheng Tianming with the thought.
"That's a very interesting thought. If I were to see that, it would make my day." Tempted by Cao Cao's suggestion, Zheng Tianming smiled and shifted his attention from the TV to Cao Cao.
"But I believe you didn't come here just for a casual chat, Mr. Cao. What does Mr. Emberweave want?" Mr. Zheng asked.
"Straight to the point? That's fine with me. What my lord wants is for Astral Tech Corporation's Sector Alpha City to become a recognized country," Cao Cao said.
Zheng Tianming looked into Cao Cao's eyes and saw no sign of deceit, so he let out a small chuckle.
"Hahaha... Then your lord might be disappointed. Doesn't he know that the Qing Empire is one of the five major countries of the UN? They can infinitely use their veto right. Don't you know they always want to unite Southeast Asia into their territory? Accepting Sector Alpha City as a recognized country would create a powerful opposition to their goal of uniting Southeast Asia."
What Zheng Tianming said was true. Accepting Sector Alpha City as a country would create a major power in the Southeast Asia region. If there were a fight between the Qing Empire and the people in the Southeast Asia region later, it would likely lead to a defensive pact like NATO, comprising the Southeast Asian countries.
Zheng Tianming knew that the Southeast Asian countries had won the Anti-Unification War, but they were not unscathed. They had paid a high price for their victory, losing one of their largest islands with dense forests and diverse ecology to heavy bombing by the Qing Empire.
That island still hadn't recovered, as all the plants and trees there had been poisoned, along with the water. Life there was harsh; the paradise full of vibrant greenery and animals had turned into a wasteland because of the anti-guerrilla tactics the Qing Empire used.
But it was a different case with Sector Alpha City and Astral Corp. Everyone knew about the US reclamation campaign and that the deciding factor for the US to unite and eliminate the Confederacy's old regime was the weapons that Astral Corp sold to the US back then.
They also knew that Astral Corp, which owned Sector Alpha City and had its own armed forces in the form of Astral PMC, was practically a country at this point. However, the number of people they could recruit to use those high-tech weapons was still very low.
The Sector Alpha City is just a small island the size of about a Manhattan after all.
And they also knew that Astral Tech was very selective when selling their products. They only sold to countries they were confident would be their allies, such as the US, where the rumor of Daniel being the lover of Victoria Goldwyn, who held massive influence in the US Congress, circulated.
"It's a deal then," Zheng Tianming agreed and shook hands with Cao Cao, thinking that he should have asked for more if they were agreeing so readily to 5 billion.
But he didn't know that Daniel already had a dedicated machine that could transmute other types of inferior metal into gold. Even if he asked for more, he would just receive more transmuted gold bullion from Daniel.
— Several days later - Sweden —
The conference had begun, and even though Sector Alpha City was listed as a participant, there was no seat assigned to them or the Astral Corporation.
Facing looks of mockery as he entered the venue without a designated seat, Daniel refused to play their game and walked out, followed by his entourage.
Daniel knew that the host had initially assigned him a seat, but due to strong protests, lobbying, and threats from the Qing Empire, under the pretext that Sector Alpha City wasn't a country, the organizers were forced to remove Astral Corporation's seat and send Daniel an apology letter later.
Within the vast and opulent UN conference hall, light streamed through towering windows, illuminating the polished mahogany tables arranged in a horseshoe formation. The walls were adorned with intricate tapestries depicting scenes of international cooperation and diplomacy, while a massive crystal chandelier sparkled overhead.
Each nation's flag hung proudly behind their respective delegates, creating a vibrant display of colors and symbols.
The conference was in full swing on its fourth day. There had been a minor hiccup on the first day when the US and Russia inquired about Sector Alpha City's seat, causing a bit of drama. However, the host quickly mediated and resolved the conflict.
With this incident, the world and the Qing Empire realized that two of the four major UN countries were already allied with Astral Corporation. The other countries, who were not permanent members of the UN, were divided into two camps. The first supported Sector Alpha City's recognition as a country.
This first group consisted of countries that Daniel had sent his people to lobby, as well as some who believed that recognizing Sector Alpha City would be beneficial to them.
The second group opposed Sector Alpha City's recognition. This group mainly consisted of countries under the Qing Empire's influence, such as the Seraphine Isles, considered a minion state of the Qing Empire in the Southeast Asian region.
While the conference discussed the global warming problem and potential solutions, whispers began to spread among the delegates in the back rows. They nudged those in front, and curious attendees turned around to see less prominent individuals looking at their phones and whispering amongst themselves.
This strange behavior was first noticed by the US delegation, followed by the other permanent members of the UN.
A member of the US delegation approached President John Malcomes and whispered in his ear. Malcomes responded with a cunning smile before glancing at Grand Chancellor Yan of the Qing Empire.