Wu Liang didn't answer directly, but reached out and gently lifted Reina's chin.
This action was full of aggression and insult. Reina's face changed instantly, and just as she was about to lash out, she met Wu Liang's deep, bottomless eyes.
There was no desire in those eyes, only pure scrutiny and control, as if she were not a living person but a piece of merchandise waiting to be appraised.
"The things I want are many."
Wu Liang's voice was soft, but it struck Reina's heart like a heavy hammer.
"For example, I want a fleet that can traverse the four seas. I want nautical charts leading to every port on the continent. I want all the intelligence regarding Storm Dragon Island."
He paused, leaned in close to Reina's ear, and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"I also want... you."
Reina's body stiffened suddenly, her pupils constricting instantly.
Reina felt this man was crazy. Did he know what he was saying?
"Me?"
She shoved Wu Liang's hand away, the color draining from her face, replaced by a layer of frost and offended fury.
"Lord Wu Liang, please show some respect! I, Reina Martinez, am a special envoy of the Commercial Federation, not some prostitute you can humiliate at will!"
She thought Wu Liang was like those other lords blinded by wealth and power, wanting to possess every beautiful woman they saw.
However, Wu Liang's reaction was beyond her expectations.
He didn't fly into a rage, nor did he continue to press in. He simply took a step back, sat back in his seat, and maintained that playful smile.
"Miss Reina, you've misunderstood."
Wu Liang said leisurely.
"For the time being, I don't have that much interest in your body."
"When I say I want you, I mean I want you—the person—to work for me."
"Work... work for you?"
Reina was stunned, her mind unable to wrap around the idea.
"Exactly."
Wu Liang nodded, leaning forward with his fingers interlaced on the table, an aura of authority naturally emanating from him.
"I've taken an interest in your abilities. Your shrewdness, your ambition, your business acumen. These are far more valuable to me than your decent-looking body."
"I want to establish a vast commercial network in the south and dump my products across the entire continent."
"I need an agent, a local who is familiar with the rules of the Commercial Federation and can help me handle all the dirty and tedious matters."
"And you, Miss Reina, are the most suitable candidate."
Reina listened in dumbstruck amazement.
This man's ambition was much larger than she had imagined!
He didn't just want to sell some goods to make money; he wanted to control the economic lifeline of the entire south through commerce!
Moreover, he actually wanted her, one of the heirs of the Martinez Family, to be his agent? This was simply preposterous!
"Lord Wu Liang, aren't you overestimating yourself?"
Reina let out a cold laugh, regaining her merchant's shrewdness and pride.
"Work for you? Do you know who I am? I am of the Martinez Family. Our family's wealth could buy ten Western Territories! What makes you think you can?"
"By this."
Wu Liang snapped his fingers.
The curtains of the reception room were pulled open from the outside, and blinding sunlight streamed in.
Reina subconsciously squinted. When she adjusted to the light and looked out the window, she was completely petrified.
On the vast open space outside the window, a train pulled by a steel behemoth was slowly starting up.
The black locomotive spewed white steam and emitted a deafening whistle, pulling over a hundred carriages behind it, advancing steadily on two parallel iron rails.
Every carriage was piled high with neatly stacked steel ingots, shimmering with a cold luster in the sunlight.
"What... what kind of monster is that?"
Reina's voice was trembling.
"I call it a train, a means of transportation. It can pull tens of thousands of tons of cargo at a time and travel a thousand miles a day."
Wu Liang explained calmly, as if speaking of an insignificant trifle.
Tens of thousands of tons... a thousand miles a day... Reina's head was buzzing.
She knew what this meant.
On the continent, the largest merchant caravans, employing thousands of pack animals and tens of thousands of porters, couldn't transport this much cargo at once, and they moved as slowly as snails.
But the thing before her called a train completely overturned her understanding of transportation!
This was no longer just a commodity; it was a strategic weapon! It was a power capable of changing the world's structure!
"How... how did you do it?"
Reina turned her head with difficulty and looked at Wu Liang, her eyes filled with horror and incomprehension.
"Want to know?"
Wu Liang smiled.
"Work for me, and not only will you know, but you'll also be able to control it with your own hands."
Reina fell into deep thought.
"I..." Reina's lips moved.
Her eloquence and negotiation skills were useless in the face of absolute power.
Seeing her soul-shaken state, Wu Liang knew the timing was about right.
He stood up and walked to her side. This time, his tone was much gentler.
"Miss Reina, I'm not forcing you. I'm giving you a choice."
"You can choose to refuse, then return to your Federation with my stockings and mirrors to earn your decent profit.
And then, watch helplessly as I support another agent to gradually eat away at your family's market with my goods, eventually making the Martinez name a speck of dust in history."
"Or..."
Wu Liang's voice was full of temptation.
"You can choose to accept. Become my partner, my sole agent. I will provide you with a continuous supply of goods capable of subverting the entire continent.
Glass, clocks, trains... these are just the beginning. Future, there will be even more things you can't imagine."
"You will no longer be Reina of the Martinez Family; you will be the Queen of the entire southern commercial world.
You will possess a hundred times, a thousand times the wealth and power of your family. Whatever you want, I can give you."
Wu Liang's words were like a devil's whisper, every word precisely striking Reina's ambition.
Commercial Queen!
The term made her whole body tremble.
In the Commercial Federation, although her status wasn't low, there were still her father, uncles, and countless competitors above her. She had a long way to go to truly control the family.
But now, a shortcut to the heavens lay right before her.
The price was to swear allegiance to the man before her.
"I need time to consider."
Reina took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. This matter was too big; she couldn't decide hastily.
"Of course."
Wu Liang agreed readily.
"I'll give you three days. During these three days, you can walk and look around Tiee Fortress as you please.
"My guards will protect your safety, three days later I need an answer."