Meanwhile, Lina forcefully calmed herself.

’Impossible,’ she thought immediately.

Only one year had passed since the apocalypse began, yet global communication systems had almost entirely collapsed.

Satellites were damaged, networks were unstable, and most countries had lost contact with one another long ago.

How could these people possibly communicate internationally?

Because of that thought, her confidence gradually returned.

Silas rolled his eyes lazily as if he could already guess what she was thinking.

"Sure," he said mockingly, "keep convincing yourselves that we’re bluffing."

After saying that, he casually turned toward Ivy.

Ivy immediately understood his meaning and gave a faint nod toward the nearby security personnel.

The guards instantly stepped forward.

Seeing their calm and confident behavior, Carter immediately realized something important.

They were not lying.

His expression darkened slightly.

Before the guards could move any closer, Carter quickly raised his hand.

"Wait," he said hurriedly.

The security personnel paused.

Carter took a deep breath before forcing a diplomatic smile onto his face again.

"We can renegotiate the terms."

Hearing that, Silas gave a satisfied nod.

"Good," he replied calmly. "First of all, neither the technology nor the research behind this base will ever be handed over."

The moment those words were spoken, both Carter’s and Lina’s expressions darkened again.

After all, the technology was precisely what they wanted most.

Without it, many of their grand ambitions would become impossible.

However, they also understood another cruel reality.

If Ivy refused to cooperate entirely, then their country would never truly recover from the zombie crisis.

Taking another deep breath, Carter tried calming himself again.

"Fine," he said slowly. "Then how about this? We won’t ask for ownership of the technology anymore."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"However, we would still like exclusive cooperation rights. In exchange, we can provide Ivy with thirty percent of the profits."

The moment those words fell, Silas immediately burst into laughter again.

The mocking sound instantly made Carter’s face stiffen. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"It looks like we’re still not on the same page," Silas said coldly.

He leaned slightly forward, his gaze sharp and dangerous.

"Even if Ivy decides to sell her technology someday, who exactly gave you the right to decide she only deserves thirty percent?"

Carter’s expression instantly turned ugly.

The veins near his temple visibly twitched.

It was obvious he considered his own proposal extremely generous, yet Silas treated it like a complete joke.

Meanwhile, Ivy quietly observed the situation while lightly swirling the tea inside her cup.

"If President Carter truly isn’t interested in proper negotiations," Ivy said gently, "then perhaps it’s better for this meeting to end here."

Her voice remained soft and elegant, yet the meaning behind her words was perfectly clear.

Carter immediately clenched his fists beneath the table.

After several seconds of silence, he finally forced himself to compromise again.

"Fine," he muttered through gritted teeth. "I won’t ask for the technology anymore."

He leaned slightly forward.

"But I still need your protection systems for the military base."

His voice grew heavier.

"I need resources to rescue remaining citizens, secure cities, and suppress zombie outbreaks. None of that can happen without capital."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"So let’s discuss something else instead."

The room fell silent again.

"Provide us with a loan," Carter finally said. "Something similar to a gold-backed resource loan. Once stability returns, the government will naturally repay everything."

The moment those words were spoken, Silas laughed once more.

This time, however, there was no amusement in his eyes at all.

Seeing his reaction, Lina immediately frowned.

"If you refuse to help us," she said coldly, "then you’ll be the ones left carrying the burden of rebuilding everything."

Silas immediately looked at her like she had said something ridiculous.

"We’re the unreasonable ones?" he asked mockingly. "Have you actually listened to yourselves from the very beginning?"

He slowly leaned back against the sofa before continuing.

"Right now, the government already owes massive debts to countless factions and wealthy families. Yet you expect people to trust you?"

His smile became colder.

"A government with a terrible history of repayment."

The expressions of several officials instantly changed.

Silas continued mercilessly.

"Not to mention the fake corruption charges, political framing, forced confiscations, and countless other dirty tricks your people have used over the years."

Ivy quietly lowered her eyes.

Truthfully, she already knew exactly what kind of government they were dealing with.

If given the opportunity, those people would absolutely seize everything they could.

In the past, wealthy families often provided enormous loans to the government during crises.

However, once the government stabilized itself, those same families would suddenly become targets.

False corruption accusations would appear overnight, assets would be seized, reputations destroyed, and eventually those families would either disappear or be forced into silence.

The debts themselves would conveniently vanish alongside them.

Silas, having already involved himself in politics before the apocalypse, understood those dirty games perfectly well.

Meanwhile, Carter’s expression became increasingly ugly.

Suppressing his anger, he finally asked coldly, "Then what exactly does Mister Silas suggest?"

Silas looked directly into Carter’s eyes before smiling faintly.

"Simple."

The room fell silent.

"You can purchase the antidote at a discounted price," Silas said calmly. "Ten percent lower than the normal market rate."

Several officials immediately looked shocked.

Silas continued speaking before anyone could interrupt.

"That alone guarantees the government at least a ten percent profit margin during redistribution."

Carter’s expression turned grim.

However, Silas was still not finished.

"Other than that," he continued, "once civilization stabilizes again, the government must legally guarantee Ivy complete protection from political targeting."

Lina frowned deeply.

Silas ignored her and continued.

"Unless she commits an actual heinous crime, she can never be imprisoned."

The room instantly became completely silent.

"No fake corruption cases," Silas said coldly. "No political framing. No fabricated evidence."

His eyes sharpened dangerously.

"And if any such actions are attempted... then we reserve the absolute right to sue even the government itself."

All of those conditions were eventually written directly into the contract itself.