Chapter 805: Chapter 805: Turmoil Sparked by a Batch of Weapons
A Goblin Brand Excavator in exchange for a Conqueror No. 10 tank, Mosquito thought he was offering a very fair deal.
Both are two tracks, is a one-for-one swap too much?
Not in the slightest!
He didn’t even consider depreciation.
Besides, the Army’s tanks are the kind of mass-produced, no-frills type, lacking any eye-catching high-tech, with the only highlight being their ludicrously thick armor.
The only use he’d have for it after buying it would be to sell it to the Poluo Province.
Except for a few military factions there, no one else would be interested in this thing.
However, to his surprise, the Weilante man didn’t appreciate it and angrily shook off his hand.
"Get lost!"
An excavator in exchange for a tank, and a Conqueror No. 10 heavy tank at that!
He saw this offer as a downright insult!
Seeing that the deal wouldn’t happen, Mosquito grew anxious, but didn’t give up. He quickly held him back and said.
"Brother, don’t rush to reject it. Let me analyze it for you. The cost of pulling this equipment from the front line to the rear is enough to create a new batch in the rear. Even if you don’t deal with me, it would be scrap on the spot, so why not seize the opportunity to make some money?"
Upon hearing this, the Centurion couldn’t help but laugh.
"What do you mean make some money! Tell me, how does trading a tank for an excavator make any money? Can’t I sell it myself?"
Mosquito chuckled and said.
"Ahem, but you have to have somewhere to sell it... You neither have ships nor railways, so you can’t transport it far, and who else would buy it besides me? Moreover, the excavators I’m trading to you are quality goods. Even if you finish the construction project here, you can take the excavator to another project site to dig earth; you’ll easily earn back the tank’s cost!"
Bewildered by this nonsense, the Centurion was momentarily stunned, unable to process it for a moment.
"...what do you mean take it to another project site to dig earth."
Mosquito’s mind raced, and he quickly explained.
"This other project site, of course, means another construction site... Ahem! The Alliance plans to build a port and settlement nearby, by then there’s definitely going to be paid work, and with people and construction equipment on hand, why worry about not having work to do? Even if you’re not interested in doing it yourself, you could rent the equipment to those in need and earn rental fees; it’s just a matter of how much you make."
Upon hearing the Alliance is planning to build a port and settlement nearby, the Centurion suddenly got it.
"This isn’t right... you’re with the Alliance, why should we help you with the work!"
Mosquito said in a mixed feeling of humor and helplessness.
"Why can’t your mind make that connection? What’s it got to do with whether we’re with the Alliance or not... Even if you don’t like us, surely you don’t have a grudge against money?"
Upon hearing this, the Centurion mulled over it in his head, and it did make a kind of sense.
Although the Alliance wasn’t likable, those shiny silver coins sure were, and one could buy a lot of good stuff with them.
Seeing the Centurion seemed to waver, Mosquito quickly pressed the advantage and continued.
"Look, the war is already over, those tanks and artillery are surely useless now, but you folks probably won’t be able to leave for a while and will have to stay here a bit longer, so why not earn a little pocket money to improve your living standards?"
The Centurion pondered for a moment and then said in a low voice.
"How much do you want?"
Suppressing his excitement, Mosquito smiled and said.
"I’ll take as much as you have! And it’s not just tanks; planes, artillery, even rifles... as long as they’re temporarily surplus to your needs, we’ll take them all. The price is negotiable!"
"I can’t make this decision.. but I can ask my superior for you. My name is Anthony, and you?"
"Mosquito! Haha, just call me Mosquito, almost all the Blue Jackets on the Alliance side know me," Mosquito said knowingly with a smile, deftly handing over the prepared money pouch to the Weilante man, "a small token of esteem."
The Centurion weighed the money pouch and a smile spread across his face; he happily agreed.
"Wait for my word!"
Leaving these words behind, he gathered up some teammates who had just come out of the ruins and headed toward their camp.
Watching him leave, Mosquito grinned, threw the cigarette butt to the ground, crushed it with his foot, and then walked over to the bulletproof off-road vehicle parked under an abandoned building.
This bulletproof off-road vehicle was a model manufactured by North Island Heavy Industries.
Ever since discovering that the car door of this thing could withstand an RPG’s armor-piercing round, he decisively ordered an entire fleet of them.
Sitting in the driver’s seat was one of his "followers" [Grim Reaper], who was holding the steering wheel, waiting for him with nothing to do.
When Mosquito opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, Grime Reaper looked helplessly and said.
"...I mean, we have our own products, why don’t we sell our own goods?"
The goblin technology’s work is more intense than the Weilante man’s.
But Mosquito seemed utterly unfazed and retorted righteously.
"The money earned from selling goods doesn’t have the allure of easy money."
Of course, he sells his own arms, but that doesn’t stop him from making deals with the Weilante man.
Besides, now that the war is over, it isn’t the right time to open new production lines.
Looking at the series of actions taken by the Manager in the southern sea area, outer space exploration is the answer to the next version!
To stay ahead of the version, you have to learn to anticipate!
Mosquito had it all planned. Pulling off this deal could easily bag him two or three billion silver coins without a problem!
He was planning to invest all of it into Goblin Technology’s new business—outer space equipment development!
While Mosquito was off in his dreamland, sitting in the driver’s seat, Grim Reaper felt something wasn’t quite right. Holding it back for a long time, he eventually couldn’t help but ask.
"...is this business reliable?"
Mosquito smiled and waved his hand dismissively.
"Relax, there’s a 90% chance it’ll work out!"
Looks like there’s still a 10% chance of failure...
Grim Reaper thought quietly to himself, then turned to continue asking him.
"Where to now?"
"To the port," Mosquito said confidently, placing the coordinates on the VM while chattering on, "I’ve already contacted the buyer, a representative of Tiger State’s warlord General Jieha. They’re waiting at the port on the Death Coast, so let’s not keep our esteemed guest waiting too long!"
Tiger State... isn’t that the state north of Jin Jialun Port?
Duoming, who had never been to Poluo Province, opened the VM map to locate that place.
Unimaginable.
Such a feng shui treasure far removed from all core crises on the Wasteland, could actually consume billions of silver coins worth of arms.
"What does the warlord there want to do? Wage war with an army?"
Mosquito chuckled nonchalantly.
"Who cares what they’re planning to do, even if they’re targeting the Burning Corps brothers, we still sell the equipment... just the right thing to keep those slackers busy."
Simply selling weapons does not violate the Player Manual; weapons are the bestseller on the Wasteland.
The only situation that might get you in trouble is selling weapons to forces declared hostile or embargoed by the Alliance.
However, the transaction target this time clearly doesn’t belong to that category, and not even a potential target for the Alliance’s watchful eyes.
"..."
Duoming silently glanced at the fellow, then turned his gaze back to the map.
There it was, clearly a larger "Oasis" than the Luo Xia Province, without any Lair, nor any Variants, nor Mutants or any other nonsense.
Although it was also part of the Wasteland, no place on the entire Wasteland was closer to paradise, or more suitable for farming than there...
Staring at that feng shui treasure for a long time, Duoming finally couldn’t help but exclaim.
"... Truly shallow water but lots of turtles."
...
In the opulent banquet hall of the North Island Hotel, guests dressed in their finest moved around the long table.
Most of those present are figures with status in both the Alliance and South Sea Union.
Among them are government officials, industry representatives, and academic bigwigs.
Such as shareholders of Baiyue Corporation, executives of North Island Heavy Industries, researchers of scientific expeditions, and so on.
Apart from them, some survivor forces having good relations with South Sea Union were also invited.
Such as the Mammoth State Authority, which has labor output relations with South Sea Union, and Jin Galun Port Authority, which trades closely with Southern sea area, and so on.
The guests at the banquet chatted with each other, discussing not only the new order in the wake of the War for Paradise and Southern sea area civil war, but also the ongoing site selection for the "Orbital-free Space Elevator" and other potential collaborations.
As the mysterious and wealthy magnate of Poluo Province, Duke Nihak was the star of the banquet.
The hosts initially had some misgivings about inviting Duke Nihak and representatives from Jin Galun Port together, but those concerns were soon discovered to be unnecessary.
Not only did Duke Nihak pay no mind to past unpleasantness, he generously gave Jin Galun Port an interest-free loan of 10 billion Weilante coins.
His lavish dispensing of wealth elicited exclamations and applause from the crowd, and the more attention he received, the more he basked in it, even the Camel Hump Kingdom snagged a hundred billion in loans.
Watching the radiant Duke Nihak, Old White couldn’t help but mutter from the corner of the banquet hall.
"... What is the largest denomination of Weilante coin? One billion?"
Fang Chang laughed and said.
"I think it’s 1000, but I can’t remember either."
Old White was silent for a while before shaking his head and saying.
"... Madness."
Although he didn’t know how many silver coins a Weilante coin was worth, he heard it was a 5:4 ratio with Gallon, and the latter had a stable exchange rate of about 10:1 with silver coins.
One hundred billion Weilante coins amounts to roughly 10 billion silver coins. This stuff isn’t just paper; it’s something that could be exchanged for real goods.
Watching Old White’s face of incomprehension, Fang Chang smiled faintly and said.
"Most Slave Owners are like that, after all, it’s not their own money they’re spending, ultimately the workers are the ones who pay back... does it bother him? If I were him, I wouldn’t care either."
Printing money crazily will continually dilute the debt tied to it, and as long as there’s a way to turn Weilante coins into silver coins or Dinars, borrowing is earning.
After all, it’s an interest-free loan.
Even if you don’t make any investments, merely converting to silver coins to buy some Alliance bonds for a safe investment, you could earn a pile of interest out of thin air.
As for future appreciation of Weilante coins leading to exchange losses?
At Duke Nihak’s rate of signing checks, even if the Empire’s serfs worked their sewing machines till they smoked, they couldn’t stop this downward trend.
The only two possibilities that could bankrupt these "speculative" little Sparrows like the South Sea Union and Camel Hump Kingdom would be if the Alliance bonds they bought failed to outpace Alliance inflation.
Or, if the Empire’s lower-caste serfs worked the sewing machines hard enough to produce an antimatter reactor.
This possibility isn’t impossible, but it’s likely only to happen in Duke Nihak’s daydreams.
However, despite the words, Fang Chang actually felt a bit envious.
Especially when he saw the envoy of the Camel Hump Kingdom getting a hundred billion interest-free loan merely with two flattering words from Duke Nihak, he was truly jealous.
These damned things have no skill at making the cake bigger, but when it comes time to slice the cake, each is more eager than the last.
The most absurd thing is, the cake being sliced is more eager than the knife slicing the cake.
Meanwhile, he, the baker, can only bake his flatbread diligently.
"No justice at all."
Fang Chang shook his head, sighed softly, and walked away, choosing not to see nor be bothered.
Little did he know, just as he shook his head and left, Duke Nihak’s eyes were fixed on him, a cold smile curling on his lips.
What a foolish fellow.
In just one banquet, he’s nearly bribed all of the Alliance’s partners, while the left-out Alliance remain oblivious.
As of now, Weilante coins are filling Waste Land Wanderers’ pockets, just as the Alliance once filled Waste Land Wanderers’ pockets with silver coins.
We’ll see.
This arrogant group will eventually lose because of their own arrogance!
While Duke Nihak imagined how the Alliance would collapse in ten or twenty years, the Manager of the Alliance was painting the picture of ten or twenty years to come with his underlings.
"...We can’t always rely on what was left from the Human Alliance Era. Only by returning to outer space and reclaiming the domains of the Human Alliance Era can we create a more magnificent epoch than the past!"
Warm applause surrounded Chu Guang, who stood in the crowd, appearing more like the protagonist than Duke Nihak.
An epoch more magnificent than the Prosperity Epoch!
This sounds not just amazing, but even somewhat dreamy.
Almost everyone’s faces bore expressions of excitement.
Of course, there were also some who showed concern and worry.
A minister from the Palace of the Camel Hump Kingdom raised his right hand, slightly bowed in salute after catching Chu Guang’s attention.
"Honorable Manager, I must admit, your plan is grand... But I have to ask one thing."
Chu Guang said kindly.
"Please go ahead."
The minister looked at him seriously and continued.
"When we reach that time you mentioned, where... or rather where will the people of the Spirit of the Sand Sea be?"
Whispers spread around.
Chu Guang’s expression remained unchanged, still gentle in tone.
"The New Epoch we envision is precisely the result of discussions among all the Peoples. You can remain wherever you wish, as long as it doesn’t affect others on the same ship. We will give enough time to those unwilling to enter the New Era to think about their place in the universe and decide when to take that final step... It’s not enforced."
After hearing Chu Guang’s answer, the minister visibly relaxed, bowed slightly and said "Thank you," and then retreated into the crowd behind him.
Compared to other kingdoms in the desert, the Camel Hump Kingdom is already quite enlightened.
Especially the residents of Silver Moon Bay, whose acceptance of new ideas is not at all inferior to that of the residents of the City of Dawn.
The Royal Family of the Camel Hump Kingdom is not worried about new ideas being born on the lands blessed by the Silver Moon Goddess, but worried that the flame of progress is too scorching, turning their prosperity into ashes.
However, from the Manager’s answers, it was clear that the Alliance had no such intention.
At least for now, they don’t need to worry about being scorched by this burning flame.
After chatting with some guests interested in the space elevator plan, Chu Guang suddenly felt a bit thirsty, so he moved to the long table and took a glass of champagne.
Due to unpleasant memories from his previous life, he didn’t really like alcohol, but he didn’t mind low-alcohol sparkling wine.
And just when Chu Guang was sipping alone, a young guy suddenly approached him, looking at him respectfully and said.
"Honorable Manager, I am Messenger Weilu from Mammoth State. May I take a bit of your time?"
Hearing the voice coming from the side, Chu Guang set the wine glass aside, glanced at the young man before him, unexpectedly seeing a bit of Shu Yu’s shadow in him.
Especially those bright eyes and the vibrant demeanor.
A bit fond of the polite young man, Chu Guang said kindly.
"Certainly, what’s the matter?"
Weilu took a deep breath and spoke respectfully.
"I want to market ourselves to you..."
Chu Guang raised an eyebrow slightly and said with a smile.
"An interesting way to put it."
"Since you find it interesting, let me continue," Weilu moved closer to Chu Guang, his eyes sparkling as he continued, "The trade route in Poluo Sea is an important external trade channel for the Alliance. Merchant ships departing from Silver Moon Bay deliver the Alliance’s goods to every coastline of the Central Continent... However, the Alliance only has one military base along the coast of Poluo Sea. Don’t you think that’s too few?"
Chu Guang looked at him with interest.
"What do you mean?"
Weilu continued without pausing.
"Mammoth State Authority can provide the Alliance with a coastal land as a strategic point on the north coast of the Eastern Province of Poluo! We won’t charge any fees and are even willing to cover part of your military logistics expenses locally!"
Goodness.
Is this trying to use borrowed force?
Hearing this surprising proposal, Chu Guang took another look at the young man.
"Is this your idea, or is it your collective idea?"
Weilu: "Of course, it’s our collective idea!"
Chu Guang smiled and said.
"I know what you want to do, but unfortunately, the Alliance’s army won’t assist you in your civil war, there are more important tasks to handle."
Despite hearing the refusal, Weilu did not give up, continuing to speak.
"We won’t ask you to participate in our war, not in any form, I can assure you that!"
"But if we want to maintain that military port, we have to ensure you don’t lose in the civil war, right?" Chu Guang quickly saw through his intentions and didn’t hesitate to expose them.
Yet the exposed Weilu did not show any embarrassment, his expression remained unchanged as he continued.
"Why not? We are obviously a better investment than the Empire of West Winds. The first thing we plan to do upon seizing control of Mammoth State is abolish slavery! We will write what we are doing into the constitution, and once we seize control of the entire Empire, we will immediately do the same throughout Poluo Province!"
"It sounds indeed good," Chu Guang nodded, "but have you considered that if we intervene, you won’t only face the Empire anymore?"
Once the Alliance intervenes in Poluo Province’s civil war, the Army will immediately step in.
The ultimate result would be nothing short of the Alliance and Army engaging in a proxy war in Poluo Province, which is the least desirable scenario for Chu Guang.
He has a lot to accomplish, including the development of the Tiangong and outer space, among others.
Engaging with the Army again would be detrimental to both the Alliance and the Sticky Community, and would only lead the Survivor Forces, who have barely united, back into internal strife.
Seeing Chu Guang’s disinterest in involving with Poluo Province, Weilu became anxious and couldn’t help but speak.
"I know you’re worried about the Legion’s involvement... but in fact, those Vellante people are already involved. They’re sending everything they can to our borders except for their troops! They’re even using your supply line for some of this!"
Upon hearing this key piece of information, Chu Guang gently furrowed his brows.
"My supply line?"
Weilu lowered his head and said in a somber tone.
"Exactly... They’ve used your railway to transfer a portion of the military supplies from the Weifu Wasteland to the Falcon Kingdom, then bypassed the Eastern Industrial Zone of the Great Desert to the northwest of Poluo Province, and finally delivered them to the Grey Wolf Army."
Chu Guang looked into his eyes.
"But I heard they plan to ship those supplies back to the Legion’s homeland."
Weilu immediately replied.
"Obviously they lied to you! They plan to use those weapons, sent to the frontline under the banner of ’fighting for the fate of all humanity,’ to arm the Empire of West Winds!"
The military supplies amassed in the Weifu Wasteland were astronomical, and leaving them there was a hassle, so when the Legion proposed using the Alliance’s railway to bring those supplies home, Chu Guang readily agreed.
After all, "providing convenience for soldiers returning home after the war ends" was also part of the Allied agreement.
He even gave a discount on the transportation resources the Legion occupied, with both parties sharing the freight costs.
However, it now seems that Mr. Bennott had pulled a clever trick, diverting the weapons within the Legion’s sphere of influence.
If that’s indeed the case, this issue is not limited to the Mammoth State alone.
Chu Guang pondered for two seconds and nodded.
"...I understand, I will look into the situation. If it’s true, we will offer you some compensation."
Upon hearing Chu Guang’s response, Weilu wisely refrained from further dispute and nodded respectfully.
"Thank you for your understanding... We look forward to your response."
Watching the representative from Mammoth State leave, Chu Guang first called Lu Bei, instructing the Guards Corps to verify the situation, and then found Vanus, who was also at the banquet, to recount what Weilu had mentioned.
Vanus lowered his head in deep thought for a long while and then spoke.
"This seems like something the Civil Official Group would do... They might have reached some agreement with the Eastern Legion."
Chu Guang furrowed his brow.
"...What kind of trick are those people trying to pull now."
Vanus hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked.
"Could it be because of... the space elevator issue?"
Previously, the Alliance leaked information at the Sticky Community meeting, planning to build a space elevator in the southern sea area.
Companies showed a lot of interest, the Academy was indifferent, and the Legion explicitly opposed the plan, thinking it shouldn’t be discussed at the Sticky Community and objected to the space elevator’s proposed location.
Chu Guang was actually quite agreeable, allowing those interested to participate, and those not interested, not to participate.
Anyway, the distribution of transportation shares and profit sharing later on would be based on the proportion of investment, effort, and technology contributed during the construction of the elevator.
However, despite this proposal, the Legion’s representative still expressed dissatisfaction and raised a series of questions to the Alliance’s Foreign Minister Cheng Yan.
The Legion’s large-scale weapon shipments to the Empire at this time cannot exclude the possibility that they intend to use actions to stop the Alliance from advancing the space elevator project.
After all, before the completion of the port at Death Coast and the railway connecting Haiya Province, Silver Moon Bay and Poluo Sea would remain important and the only maritime transportation hubs for the Alliance for a long time.
At this time, it’s easy to cause discomfort to the Alliance by extending the conflict from Mammoth State to the adjacent Silver Moon Bay.
The sea route between the two sides is just a few hundred kilometers, and the land route is only separated by a mountain range, making the implementation of this plan not too difficult.
Moreover...
This very much resembles something the Empire would do.
Realizing that someone was trying to irritate him using his own resources, Chu Guang’s brow immediately twitched, and he pulled out his mobile phone to call Lu Bei for the second time.
"How’s the investigation I asked you to conduct?"
Upon receiving the call, Lu Bei was also baffled, paused for two seconds before awkwardly saying.
"...Sir, this might take some time. We’re contacting the intelligence network within the Falcon Kingdom; only they can figure out where that batch of weapons went after being unloaded in the Falcon Kingdom."
Chu Guang nodded and continued to speak.
"You continue the investigation... Oh, by the way, stop the military supplies meant to be transferred to the Falcon Kingdom in the warehouse and don’t move them. If the Legion people ask, tell them there’s a fault with the train that needs repair, and they should come to me with any issues."
Upon hearing the order, Lu Bei didn’t ask further and accepted the order with firmness.
"Yes!"
In just five minutes after Chu Guang hung up the phone, the entire railway from the Weifu Wasteland of Brocade River Province to Bister Town of Falling Leaves Province seemed to have pressed the pause button.
Except for the trains already in motion, all military supplies en route to or prepared to be sent to Bister Town were transferred to nearby warehouses for storage.
The Alliance couldn’t use its railway to help the Legion transport weapons from one frontline to another. Until the situation was clarified, these weapons would not move an inch in any direction.
Later that day, Bennott, the Centurion of the Legion’s embassy to the Alliance, received the situation from the accompanying quartermaster and immediately jumped out of bed, furiously called Foreign Minister Cheng Yan of the Alliance, but only got the perfunctory response of "Train malfunction needs repair."
As soon as Bennott heard this response, he immediately realized that his clever trick might have been exposed, but the Alliance hadn’t found concrete evidence, so they resorted to this clumsy "tit-for-tat measure."
The military supplies left by the Legion at the Weifu Wasteland military base were more than sufficient to arm thirty ten thousand troops, and it was to the standard of the Eastern Legion’s regular army.
Currently, only less than one-sixth of the equipment had been successfully transferred, with a large pile still stranded at the Weifu Wasteland and the Alliance’s logistics transportation routes.
If the Alliance discovered the tricks involved, they would have to figure out how to dispose of these weapons on their own.
And thinking about transporting those mountains of weapons and equipment without relying on the Alliance’s railway at all made Bennott feel like his head was going to explode.
If he had known the Alliance would be so sensitive, he should have stocked the supplies within the Falcon Kingdom first, and only transferred them to the Empire once all the armaments were moved out of Brocade River Province!
However, it was too late for regrets now.
He could only telegraph the Falcon Kingdom, trying to destroy as much evidence as possible, while contacting Lucien, the Ten thousand Leader at the frontline, to see if the guy with the airship could also come up with a plan.
While the Alliance and the Legion were embroiled in a dispute over the transportation of armaments, Mammoth State, at the center of this vortex, welcomed a few guests with special identities.
And speaking of these guests’ identities, they had considerable connections with the Moon Clan Resistance Army...