Chapter 560: The Central Pine Valley’s Declaration
Translator: TYZ Editor: X, TYZ
When An Chouchou saw Qiao Meiqi walk out from Ai Hui’s office with a complicated look on his face, he felt slightly pleased with himself. Qiao Meiqi’s largest business was the snow lava. It was normal to be distressed after losing such a huge piece of pie.
An Chouchou had done some research before. More than half of Thunder City’s profits came from snow lava. This was also why An Chouchou came alone this time around.
Why wasn’t Newlight City powerful even though its population was so huge? It was because it wasn’t rich. Whether it was inheritances, elemental traces, or the God-subduing Peaks, the expenditure of resources was astronomical. The aristocratic families controlled a powerful economy. Meanwhile, the new citizens were the low and middle classes of the Avalon of Five Elements. How would they possess such powerful wealth then? Even though Yuchi Ba was an Elder in the Elders Guild, he still couldn’t be compared to those well-known Elders from aristocratic families.
The snow lava could bring about huge profits. If Newlight City could ally with the Central Pine Valley, their economy would skyrocket.
An Chouchou had the confidence that he would be able to bring qualitative changes to Newlight City within the next few years.
After a while, Ai Hui walked out as well. Then, he nodded his head at An Chouchou, "Brother Chou, I’m sorry for making you wait for such a long time."
"Brother Ai, are you ready to make the announcement?" An Chouchou smiled with a calm look on his face.
"Ah, yes." Ai Hui turned around and spoke to everyone, "Everyone, I’m sorry for making all of you wait for so long in this desolate place. I am really sorry. However, since this issue is related to snow lava, I had to be prudent about it. Now, I have two announcements to make."
Everyone became excited on the spot. Were the announcements ready?
Wen Yongming and the other reporters began recording.
Suddenly, Ai Hui said to An Chouchou, "Brother Chou, please stand beside me."
An Chouchou gave a confident smile and stood beside Ai Hui. Even though he knew all this time that he would be able to convince Ai Hui, he still felt extremely excited when the moment arrived. Back in the day, when he took over the construction project of Newlight City, no one held him in high regard. However, he still completed the project perfectly.
The success he had this time around would be the starting point of the rise of Newlight City.
And because he came alone on this mission, his name was destined to be remembered by Newlight City forever.
He was extremely confident.
Beside him, Ai Hui opened his mouth and began speaking, "I have taken note of the numerous discussions regarding pagoda cannons and snow lava. Moreover, Brother Chou has travelled a long distance to come here and discuss this issue with me. Newlight City is a huge city and Brother Chou has great foresight. I have benefitted a lot from the discussion we had. I am also very glad that everyone supports the pagoda cannons. The Central Pine Valley’s resolution in opposing the Blood of God has never changed. From the day the blood catastrophe broke out in the Induction Ground at Central Pine City, we have been doing this. Our most important mission now is to fight against the Blood of God. Having a brave, responsible and powerful partner is more important than securing a victory on the battlefield. Therefore, I have two announcements to make…"
An Chouchou tried his best to restrain his emotions, but his lips still curled into a smile eventually.
Success!
…..
Skyheart City.
Xiao Lin was reading the battle report that was sent to him. He flipped through and finished the first few pages with a glance. Suddenly, he stopped flipping the pages as a cold glint flashed across his eyes. His ordinary-looking face turned fierce and sinister all of a sudden. At this moment, Xiao Lin looked as if he had become another person. His body emitted a chill, resembling a poisonous snake that was hiding in the dark.
He picked out a few pages from the battle report file and placed them within his robe. Subsequently, he turned back to the ordinary-looking man.
Following this, he walked out of his room. After making several turns, he set foot on the street.
There were not many people on the street. Skyheart City was no longer prosperous like it was in the past. After the Bloody Night of Guillotines, Skyheart City had declined significantly. Madam Ye did her best to govern the city. She disliked extravagant and excessive behavior. The reputable aristocratic families had already cut down on their indulgences by quite a bit.
However, there were still a lot of criticisms against Madam Ye. The most widely spread and impactful were Le Buleng’s words.
On the surface, Le Buleng was talking about the three central divisions. However, who didn’t know that those words were targeted at Madam Ye in reality?
Xiao Lin knew where the problem laid.
Until now, Madam Ye had not personally orchestrated a victory. This was why people lacked confidence in her. In many people’s eyes, Madam Ye was more interested in engaging in internal strife than fighting the blood elementalists. Furthermore, Madam Ye’s brainchild, Master’s Glory, had yet to be completed. Everyone had misgivings about the Master’s Glory program.
Among the higher-ups in Skyheart City, Xiao Lin had heard them complain about Master’s Glory more than once. They said that if the resources spent on Master’s Glory were used to build God-subduing Peaks, they would have a lot more God-subduing Peaks, and the situation wouldn’t be so grim now. With a few more God-subduing Peaks, the Wall of North Sea also wouldn’t have collapsed so easily
Xiao Lin knew things weren’t that simple. However, he did not think about doing anything.
What Boss told him that day made sense. They were just a knife. They had no say in when they were use or how they were used. It was enough for them to complete the tasks that the higher-ups gave them.
Right now, he was completing the task that the higher-ups had given him.
After walking past a few blocks, he came to the entrance of a news village. He walked into it, appearing as if he was very familiar with this place.
A reporter who was currently refining some mirage bean pods turned around. A faintly discernible look of disdain flashed across his eyes, but he quickly became all smiles. "Sir, you can just ask us to go over. There’s no need for you to come here personally."
Shen Jin was around 50 years old. He looked like a honest person, but one could tell he was actually a profiteer.
No matter how good Shen Jin tried to hide his look of disdain, Xiao Lin, who was specialized in observing body language, could still see it clearly. However, he did not care about it all. So what if this fellow disliked him? He was fine with anything as long as he could complete his task.
He took out the few pages of the battle report from his robe and placed them on the table. Then, he said plainly, "It’s all right. I want you to take a look at these few pages."
When Shen Jin picked up the battle report and read the first line, his facial expression changed slightly.
"Do you know how to write?" Xiao Lin asked indifferently.
"Sir, please guide me," Shen Jin stuttered.
Xiao Lin did not beat around the bush and bluntly said, "Many combat divisions have failed even though they have pagoda cannons. After investigation, we realized these combat divisions lacked snow lava. They used a low-grade fire liquid blend that caused the power of the pagoda cannons to be greatly reduced."
Shen Jin’s facial expression changed again. He of course knew what these words implied.
Upon seeing the worried look on Shen Jin’s face, Xiao Lin said plainly, "Don’t worry, there will be many people supporting you."
Shen Jin knew he had to comply with Xiao Lin today. Therefore, he added, "Should we also say that the Elders Guild will pay a handsome sum of money to buy the refinement method for the snow lava from the Central Pine Valley? We can also say that the combat divisions at the front line were sacrificed in vain because they lacked snow lava."
A look of admiration flashed across Xiao Lin’s eyes. Just as he was about to speak, someone barged in and yelled, "Old Shen! Old Shen! Big news! Big news!"
Shen Jin’s facial expression changed. Before he could react, that person had already barged in.
The person only realized there was a guest after he barged in. He did not know who Xiao Lin was. He felt slightly embarrassed and said, "Old Shen, I’m sorry. I don't know you had a guest. I will come and find you later."
"What’s the big news?" Xiao Lin suddenly asked.
The person thought Xiao Lin was Shen Jin’s friend and hurriedly said, "Absolutely hot news! It just came out this morning, and I just bought it. I am shocked…"
"The main point please," Xiao Lin interrupted emotionlessly.
The person looked slightly embarrassed. However, he quickly started talking with excitement again, "The Central Pine Valley has made two important announcements. Let me tell you, when I first saw it…"
When Xiao Lin heard the three words "Central Pine Valley," his mind jolted. He turned around abruptly and appeared in front of the person. "Hand the mirage bean pod over!"
Xiao Lin’s suddenly display of might froze that person in an instant. He subconsciously handed the mirage bean pod over to Xiao Lin.
Xiao Lin returned to his original position and crushed the mirage bean pod.
Ai Hui was entirely covered by bandages with two red crystal chips over his eyes, resembling a red-eyed mummy. He looked extremely comical, but Xiao Lin knew how scary this mysterious man was. Ai Hui was truly a ruthless individual.
When Xiao Lin clearly saw who the fat man beside Ai Hui was, his eye pupils dilated abruptly.
An Chouchou!
The mayor of Newlight City, An Chouchou, who was also known as the "Ugly Idol." An Chouchou handled things firmly and carefully. He was honest and sincere as well. With the addition of his body size, he was affectionately known as the "Ugly Idol" by the citizens of Newlight City.
The Central Pine Valley and Newlight City were going to ally with each other.
Xiao Lin felt as if he had been struck by lightning. This result was what Madam Ye least wanted to see happen. He could almost imagine how angry Madam Ye would be when Boss meet her later!
"I have taken note of the numerous discussions on pagoda cannons and snow lava…"
"Our most important mission now is to fight against the Blood of God. Having a brave, responsible, and powerful partner is more important than securing a victory on the battlefield…"
Eh? Xiao Lin was stunned all of a sudden.
"Therefore, I have two announcements to make. The first one is that the Sword of Lightning will be going to the battlefield to fight alongside the Spear of Heavy Cloud. The second one is that we have decided to open up snow lava and the technology behind the pagoda cannons to the public in order to put up a better fight against the Blood of God and to find like-minded comrades. We will form a brand new Pagoda Cannon Alliance. We will provide free snow lava to the members of the Pagoda Cannon Alliance and will share with them our research on pagoda cannons. Our requirements are very simple. First, only those combat divisions that fight long-term on the front line will be provided with free snow lava. We feel that the combat divisions at the front line need the snow lava more urgently. Second, all combat divisions that wish to join the Pagoda Cannon Alliance will have to undergo our assessment and possess enough military experience as well as tenacious willpower…"
In the mirage, An Chouchou’s facial expression was frozen. The confident smile on his face had disappeared as his face began to turn ashen.
At this moment, Xiao Lin wanted to burst out laughing. An Chouchou had been fooled!
However, this notion of his was soon gone.
He stared at the red-eyed mummy in the mirage. He wished he could tear the bandages off Ai Hui’s head to see the ambitious look on his face.
They had discussed the possible responses that Ai Hui would come up with, but they had definitely never thought of this response.
How ambitious did he have to be to choose this method?
Did he really think that he could use the snow lava to make everyone listen to him?
A sneer appeared on Xiao Lin’s face.
Naive!