The Deal of a Thousand White Zetsu

Land of Stars, Wind Prefecture, the great desert.

Two years ago, this place had still been a barren land the locals called the "Death Sand Sea."

Once, there had been only rolling dunes, wind-eroded rocks, and the occasional dead poplar, like the dried bones of the earth, silently telling of this land's cruelty beneath the blazing sun.

But now, everything was different.

A broad green corridor stretched out from the core region of the Land of Stars like a giant's arm, running through what had once been desert.

On both sides of the corridor stood neatly arranged windbreak forests. All kinds of drought-resistant plants thrived under specially developed soil-improvement technology and regular artificial rainfall, forming a green belt that stretched for hundreds of kilometers.

Deeper in, the desert had been transformed into an oasis.

Not a small patch, but oasis after oasis.

Artificial lakes shimmered under the sunlight, and orderly irrigation channels had been built along their banks, delivering precious water resources to every inch of land that needed nourishment.

In the newly built farms, improved sandy-soil crops were sprouting and growing, patches of tender green especially striking against the yellow sand.

In the distance, there were even rows of new solar-panel arrays, providing a steady stream of electricity for the entire transformation project under the desert's abundant sunlight.

But that still was not the most astonishing sight.

In the middle section of the oasis corridor, a brand-new city was rising.

The city's layout followed the ancient Bagua Formation Map, its streets arranged in circular, radiating patterns. At the center was a vast urban park, and at the center of the park was a pair of artificial lakes shaped like yin-yang fish eyes.

And at the positions of the yin-yang fish eyes, a modern high-rise building stood on each side.