Everything that happened before was just a precursor for this moment. Now that Major Verle finally revealed his trump card, it was his turn to set the tone for this conversation!

Ves expected the major to list out a host of demands.

Yet despite holding the upper hand in this negotiation, Verle refused to press his advantage!

"I'm being serious." He spoke with a confident smile that belied his soft approach. "We don't want special treatment. As long as our unit can continue to maintain our martial tradition under the banner of your clan, we will be willing to serve as both Larkinsons and Vandals!"

"That.. is not what I expected." Ves muttered with amazement. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Is there something.. wrong.. with the life-prolonging serum you claim to have retained?"

"It's safe." Major Verle quickly clarified. "Only a handful of people from my inner circle are even aware of its existence. They have all kept their mouths shut as far as I can tell. Even if they have leaked the news, hardly anyone would believe it. Just to be sure, our fleet doesn't carry the serum. I made sure to stash it somewhere very secret and very secure."

Ves frowned deeper. "Just to be clear, are you actually offering the serum to me? As much as I acknowledge its worth, it's pointless for me to take it into consideration if it doesn't fall into my hands."

Certainly, he really wanted to obtain the serum. Seeing how even the oldest and wisest power players went crazy as soon as they believed they had a chance of obtaining it, Ves would be a fool to push it away!

While he was still at a very tender age, at some point he would grow old enough that his remaining lifespan became a very important concern.

Though Ves had some confidence that he'd be able to earn the merits to redeem a high-grade serum through his own efforts, he still needed to spend decades or longer in order to obtain it! If he could get one early, he would be able to make much better use of his time!

Major Verle should know that as well, so it was a mystery why he didn't play hardball.

The man seemed to enjoy the confusion he generated. His smirk grew wider.

"You have just explained your situation. Let me explain mine so that you can understand why I have decided to stick to my demands. First, it is not so simple to sell or auction the serum. Do you think we'd be able to keep our gains if we submit it to an auction or approach a black market organization?"

Of course not! Even Ves could see how those parties would instantly turn on the Vandals and steal the serum at any cost! It was simply too valuable to be left in the hands of a bunch of deserters!

"You can still leverage its value if you approach the right people such as myself." Ves retorted.

"That's true. I trust you to treat us fairly, and so far you have met my expectations. It is exactly because I trust you that I have modulated our demands with an eye towards long-term gains as opposed to more immediate benefits."

"You'll have to explain that, major."

"It's quite simple. If I demand special treatment, our Vandals will always be different from the rest of your clan. The other Larkinsons will no doubt question why you treat us with so much favor. Over time, this can be very harmful towards our integration into your clan."

While that sounded plausible, it wasn't enough of a reason to forgo the riches that the Vandals could receive in exchange for handing in the serum.

"What else?"

"According to the profile we've constructed of you, we can state with a reasonable amount of confidence that your gratitude is countless times more valuable than an astronomical amount of credits or a whole host of top-grade mechs. No amount of material benefits we can ask is worth more than your enduring appreciation!"

That is a very honest and revealing assessment. Ordinarily, people would hold this back. Not Verle. He deliberately exposed this reasoning in order to come across as transparent.

Ves happened to be very appreciative towards people who were open and didn't try to hide things from him. Despite knowing that he was being manipulated, he still gained a more favorable impression of the mech officer and his Vandals.

"I.. think I understand."

The major was betting on his honesty and goodwill. As long as Ves accepted the serum at little cost, he would definitely think favorably of the Vandals for a very long time!

This gift was so profound that Ves would feel incredibly guilty if he didn't do enough to take care of the Vandals!

This essentially meant that Ves would always find ways to accommodate the Vandals in various ways while making sure they weren't being mistreated.

While the Vandals still needed to pull their own weight, at the very least Ves would always make sure to keep them content.

Still.. Ves wasn't very comfortable about this proposal. Something about it smelled rather fishy, and he never liked it when someone else held the upper hand in a negotiation.

Verle recognized his concerns and tried to allay them. "Let me be clear. We won't be asking for an early retirement or anything like that. Our Vandals would just turn into useless leeches if we lose our edge. We will fight when necessary and won't shy away just because we have suffered some casualties. In truth, hardly anyone will know about this deal except for you, me and a handful of trusted Vandals. To everyone else, our relationship will appear normal."

Ves narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying you want to make a private deal?"

"Partially." The major admitted. "As much as I care about the Vandals, I have to look out for myself as well. I already explained that it is impossible for me or my Vandals to make use of the serum. I would rather trade it off to you and receive more attainable benefits in return. Aside from receiving your promise that you will take care of the Vandals, Captain Orfan and I would also like our lives to be extended by at least a single round."

This was a much more sensible demand to Ves, but still an unequal one as far as he was concerned.

A typical baseline human lived up to 130 years. Extending it to 230 years was fairly doable to most Seniors from a third-rate state.

Yet trying to prolong it further was at least ten times more difficult! The jump in lifespan from 230 years to 330 years was a much more ruinous price!

The serum that Senator Tovar made use of was even greater in value! As far as Ves was aware of, the Senator was close to 290 years old, which meant he already enjoyed two rounds of life-prolonging treatment!

This meant that the third round was astronomically more expensive, so much so that he didn't hesitate to sacrifice thousands of soldiers to be able to live up to 430 years!

"What grade is the serum, exactly?" Ves quizzed.

"Third round. You can live up to four centuries if you make effective use of it. We have already confirmed its authenticity."

So Major Verle wasn't exaggerating. Such a serum was truly a prize worth fighting for! Regardless of how prosperous Ves and the clan would grow into the future, obtaining this serum right away was a massive advantage!

He could use it for himself to ensure he would have enough time to realize his ambitions.

He could pass it on to Gloriana so that she wouldn't be burdened by her aging.

He could pass it on to his children or descendants if he thought they were worth such a lavish benefit.

He could even try and sell it in exchange for a factory ship and many other valuable goods and services!

Perhaps he could even find a way to convert it into MTA merits, thereby bringing him substantially closer to purchasing a fleet beyonder ticket!

Whatever the case, something with so much value that even the citizens from the galactic center would fight tooth and nail to obtain it was intimately valuable!

And all Major Verle asked in return was to extend his life and Captain Orfan's life by a modest century. Oh, he also wanted to make sure that Ves would maintain his gratitude towards the Vandals.

"Is my appreciation worth that much?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who thinks that way." Verle grinned. "Your future potential is very clear to see. Out of every Journeyman Mech Designer in this star sector, you are one of the most brilliant who isn't already a part of the MTA. Others may believe that you still need to prove yourself, but we have been observing your career for many years. We know that you are more than a flash in the pan. You are on the up-and-up. As long as we invest in you early, our gains in the future will definitely surpass the value of a mere high-grade life-prolonging serum!"

Ves understood. Major Verle took the same long-term investment approach as Calabast!

"Two great minds think alike." He muttered.

Similar to Major Verle, Calabast once gained a position of advantage over Ves. Instead of using her leverage to blackmail Ves or turn him into her slave or something, she settled for becoming his partner.

She made the right choice. If she pushed her advantage harder, she would only piss him off, thereby risking his retribution! Though she would doubtlessly gain amazing benefits in the short-term, his hatred for her would make her future very uncertain!

As it was, Ves had reluctantly gotten used to her presence. He didn't even object to her adoption into the Larkinson Clan.

Major Verle must be making a similar calculation. As a former member of Flashlight, he must be well aware of the tradeoffs between a short-term approach and a long-term approach.

Right now, the Vandals would doubtlessly benefit from either approaches. Verle just had to make a consideration if he wanted more modest gains in the short term or much greater gains in the future.

The fact that he chose the latter meant that he placed a lot of faith in Ves and his clan. Just like Calabast, Verle too believed that Ves would one day become a very great figure in the galactic mech community! The amount of analysis that Flashlight had conducted on Ves should have certainly hinted at such, but even with it Verle was shrewd enough to know what was best!

Two great minds think alike. Ves smiled sardonically at the surviving leader of the Vandals. People like Calabast and Verle were too astute!

"Alright." He eventually said. "I accept. Your offer is too attractive to me and your terms are very reasonable."

"I knew you would accept." Verle smiled in satisfaction.

The two men shook hands. For this type of agreement, there was no need to sign a formal contract. In fact, it was best to put as little in writing as possible, as Ves did not wish for the existence of the high-grade life-prolonging serum to be leaked!

As soon as they finished the handshake, they became comrades-in-arms once more! Ves felt strangely warm now that he gained another dependable group of helpers.

"Welcome to the clan." Ves announced as he deactivated his jamming device and stowed it away. "I will personally induct you all into the clan as soon as we make the arrangements. Your men will still need to be vetted, but I trust that they will pass all of our checks without problem."

"How do you plan to slot us into our clan?"

"I don't know yet. As I've already mentioned, the Battle Criers are already my preferred unit of fixers." Ves paused for a moment to think. "Perhaps you can find a new purpose for the Vandals after speaking to Calabast. I'm sure you are already familiar with her and her current role in the clan. Her Black Cats already makes use of the Swordmaidens as their muscle, but they aren't as versatile and sophisticated as your Vandals."

Calabast and Verle both possessed an intelligence background. Ves believed they would get along well for that reason.

Before they left the conference room, Ves didn't forget to ask a critical question.

"Where is the 'package'?"

"It's not here, obviously." Major Verle replied. "We'll have to go out of our way to retrieve it. I advise you to treat it with great care. You don't want it to suffer any accidents, do you?"

Ves idly waved his hand. "I'll tell Calabast to work with you to retrieve it. I'm sure the two of you will do what is necessary without incident."

Though Ves looked forward to receiving the valuable serum, he would not get his hopes up until it actually landed in his hands!