Three days quickly arrived. This time, there were three fighter jets and two transport planes. Everyone boarded the aircraft, and after more than an hour, the five planes reached the opposite shore of the Zi City. The attack plan was similar to the previous one—seize an island, with fighter jets leading the way before landing. The Courage Alliance dispatched over seven hundred people in the first wave, boarding a warship that set off first. Halfway there, the fighter jets began their operation.
The Illuminati had established a base on the previous island with over two hundred garrison troops. When the three fighter jets appeared, alarms immediately sounded across the island. "Enemy aircraft! Quickly activate the anti-aircraft missiles!" shouted one of the island's defenders. Moments later, five missiles launched from the base. With a loud "boom," one of the Courage Alliance's fighter jets was shot down. Alena was on one of the ships. Seeing this, she urgently called out, "Everyone, full speed ahead!" No sooner had she spoken than there was another tremendous "bang," and the warship slowly came to a halt. Shortly after, a soldier ran over to her and reported, "We're in trouble! Our ship was hit by a torpedo and is sinking." At this point, the ship was still over two hundred meters from the island. Alena immediately ordered everyone to abandon ship and swim ashore. De Silva cried out anxiously, "But I can't swim!"
"Brother, just put on a life jacket and paddle forward with your hands," Alena replied.
"Then I'll stay right behind you. Please look after me."
"Alright!" Alena agreed. The ship was in chaos. The lower deck was already flooding, and many soldiers jumped into the sea without even putting on life jackets. De Silva, terrified of sinking, vigorously paddled with his arms while staying close behind Alena. The Illuminati forces had positioned themselves on the beach and were firing at the swimmers. Those who swam faster were already shot dead. Alena stopped, specifically waiting for De Silva to catch up. "Brother, can your spider robots swim?" she asked.
Breathing heavily, De Silva replied, "I don't know."
"We might as well try. Release them now." The spiders were kept in a box. When opened, the small creatures circled around once before swimming forward. Alena exclaimed happily, "Daechir is truly remarkable to create such intelligent things." She ordered everyone to stop swimming forward and wait in place for five minutes. Shortly after, screams could be heard from the beach.
Simon led the remaining seven hundred troops aboard the transport planes. They were prepared to parachute onto the island, assuming the enemy's missiles had been destroyed. Behind the warship that had been hit earlier, five submarines were following. Upon learning that the Illuminati had installed missiles on the island, they landed quietly from different locations under the cover of the warship and quickly destroyed the enemy's missile launchers. Caught in a pincer attack, the Illuminati garrison troops soon chose to surrender. After the Courage Alliance occupied the island, over five hundred logistics personnel also landed to set up operations.
The next day, the Illuminati requested peace talks. A bespectacled man in his forties crossed over to the island, followed by two female assistants. Simon and Alena received them, and after exchanging pleasantries, the formal negotiations began. Simon spoke first, "Since you've proposed negotiations, you should show some sincerity. I want to know when you'll withdraw from the city-state."
The bespectacled man smiled, "Sir, I think you misunderstand. My coming to negotiate doesn't mean we've admitted defeat."
"Oh? Then why are you here?"
"To discuss terms, of course. If the conditions satisfy us, we can withdraw from the city-state." Alena suddenly stood up, "What right do you have to negotiate terms?"
The bespectacled man looked up at her and said slowly, "Beautiful lady, there's only three kilometers between our islands. A single missile could easily reach either side. Why haven't we done that? Because we don't want mutual destruction."
"What are your conditions?" Simon asked.
"I need you to pay fifty billion shillings as the price for reclaiming the Zi City."
"That's impossible," Alena immediately refused. Simon also frowned, "How could we possibly have that much money?"
"I can give you enough time to raise the funds." After the bespectacled man left, De Silva came in and asked, "How did the negotiations go?"
Alena shook her head, "Not well." A moment later, she asked, "Could they be stalling for time?"
Simon agreed, "That's very possible. We must organize an attack immediately." De Silva interjected, "Think about it. If both sides launch missiles, the Zi City will be reduced to ruins. Is that what you want to see?"
"Then what should we do?" Alena asked.
"I suggest we prioritize negotiations. If that fails, then we can resort to military force."
"Brother, why don't you come with me this time?" De Silva thought for a moment, "Alright. It's been a long time since I've been back to the Zi City." As the leader, Simon wasn't suited to go to enemy territory for negotiations.
That afternoon, the siblings took a boat to the Zi City. They were greeted by the same bespectacled man, who smiled and said, "Beautiful lady, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon."
"Just call me Alena."
"What a lovely name."
"Sir, you're quite the smooth talker."
"Please call me Kurt." After they introduced themselves, Alena pointed to De Silva and said, "This is my brother." Kurt nodded slightly in acknowledgment. The negotiations were set in the administrative building in the northwest district. This was Alena's first visit to the Zi City, and she looked around curiously. For this negotiation, besides the bespectacled man, there was also a woman in her fifties who was now the highest official in the Zi City. After everyone was seated, the woman began, "I've been in the Zi City for more than a decade, and I really don't want to see it destroyed. That's why I proposed these talks. I hope everyone can be frank and open this time."
Alena nodded, "That's precisely why we're here."
"I know you can't raise that much money right now. To show our sincerity, I'm reducing the price to thirty billion, which you can pay over ten years—three billion annually. But you must acknowledge this arrangement publicly," the woman said.
Alena smiled, "Madam, we've been living as refugees for years. We simply can't produce three billion."
"Three billion annually is our minimum requirement. We who are leaving the Illuminati need to survive too." De Silva suddenly spoke up, "Since you want to leave the Illuminati, why not join the city-state?"
This time the bespectacled man answered, "We've certainly considered that. But since we entered the Zi City, there have been frequent cases of people disappearing. Many don't want to stay here, so we have to leave."
"Why are you telling us this?" Alena asked.
"I just want you to know that we're not leaving because we've been defeated, but because we're choosing to withdraw."