The Black Snake Begs Master Huang for Alms / The Truly "People-Loving" Old Black Snake

Moreover, the current True Dragon hasn't encountered any major problems yet; it's far from being incompetent, just slightly muddled.

We don't even know if they've been infected with Originium Infection yet.

Wei Yanwu entered the palace with his sword in 1062, so the current True Dragon is still in his prime.

"But why were there already reports of incompetence several years ago? The timing is wrong."

Huang Cao felt that his thinking seemed to have fallen into a misconception, because he had heard rumors several years ago that the Yan Country's lineup was gradually becoming incompetent.

When he heard the news, he thought the big one was coming soon, but there has been no news since.

They even prepared Jie's life-saving tools well in advance.

"Goodness, I just remembered the timeline now."

After thinking for half a day in the office, Huang Cao finally slapped his forehead and remembered the plot he had seen in his previous life.

"So there are still 30 years left, then how did these rumors start? And how did they even reach me?"

It seems necessary to investigate this further...

After searching the Originium Database, Huang Cao found no relevant information. In the end, he had no choice but to send his well-trained intelligence agents to the distant Yan Country to gather information.

Half a month later, Huang Cao personally drove to the chaotic Lungmen.

For Master Huang, the rare opportunity to travel abroad without his army was a particularly novel experience.

Thanks to the rapid development of commerce, Utopia has fixed asset investments in various countries, and products such as bank cards have long been common tools for economic development.

Therefore, there is no need to carry so much money when going out, since Master Huang's country has not yet developed such a heaven-defying technology as a spatial ring.

After arriving in Lungmen and withdrawing some money from the bank, I spent half a day wandering around the Huang Cao before I finally understood why the Lower City Lungmen in the story was so chaotic.

Even decades ago, in what is now Lungmen, there was no distinction between the upper and Lower City; there was only a pseudo-safe zone and an unsafe zone.

Why is it a pseudo-safe zone?

Because this is only relatively safe; hiding inside doesn't mean you can truly rest easy, as you might be assassinated any day.

Siracusa was considered to have better security conditions than Lungmen is now.

After searching around for a while, passing several corpses in the Huang Cao, they finally arrived at the teahouse where they had agreed to meet the Old Black Snake.

At this moment, the Old Black Snake, whose face was deathly pale, had already brewed tea and was waiting by the table for a long time.

"Greetings, Lord of Utopia, I have long admired your name..."

Koschei stood up and made a very elegant gesture of invitation.

Chapter 299 The Black Serpent Begging for Food from Master Huang

"Your Excellency Black Serpent, I think Utopia must carefully consider the possibility of cooperating with you at this time. This city is really terrible, even more chaotic than Siracusa."

"I really can't agree with your management skills."

The black snake, choked by the saliva, couldn't refute it; strictly speaking, it was indeed the result of its mishandling of the situation.

But this city is for fishing; making its residents live well is not its primary purpose.

"Can't you see that this city is far more alluring than you imagine, and it has an excellent geographical location, nestled between various major powers, while also having two major powers to rely on."

Huang Cao frowned slightly, immediately understanding the other party's unspoken meaning.

The city was not originally intended to be a war fortress, but rather a gateway to war.

Ursus is a nation driven by war. Although it has the largest land area in the Terra, no matter how large the land is, it cannot satisfy the appetite of this greedy giant bear.

Moreover, most of these lands are uninhabited, deserted areas.

"I suppose you invited me to this city not to spoil my mood with this filthy environment."

The Huang Cao seemed to cover its nose in disgust, and a fishy stench filled the air.

Who could have imagined that Lungmen, which became an economic center in just a few decades in the original story, would look like this now?

"This is my sincerity. I would like to exchange this Mobile City for the food of your utopia."

Heh, did you really think you could hide the truth about Lungmen from me?

This isn't how you get something for nothing.

And is the city of Lungmen yours?

You dare to give it to me on its behalf?

They probably wanted to sell it a long time ago, but just hadn't found a sucker to take advantage of them.

Why do I say that? Because Ursus used to have the resources to wage war, so it wouldn't have suffered a huge loss.

However, since becoming the loser in the War of the Four Emperors, Ursus has gained no benefits and is now focusing all its resources on defense.

I'm afraid the neighboring country might launch a major attack on me.

After its defeat, Ursus, a giant bear with all its teeth pulled out, lost the ability to launch an attack for at least thirty years.

Lungmen is a powder keg that could explode at any moment. Previously, the power to detonate it was in Ursus's hands, but now it has become Yan Country's.

How could this not alert the black snake?

Even if it means a huge loss, it must send the Lungmen powder keg out, and sending it to Utopia is just the right thing to do.

It would be best if the two countries went to war directly.

"Lord Black Serpent, don't think I don't know your true identity. The moment I call you Black Serpent, you'll know how wary I am of you."

"I thought it was because of my race, but you can also call me Mr. Koschei."

"The immortal black serpent, do I need to make myself clearer?"

The sound of the umbrella Huang Cao made Koschei's expression freeze for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal.

"It seems you know Ursus far more than I imagined. I'm very sorry, I was presumptuous just now."

"I'm angry because I genuinely want to do business with you, but it seems you don't feel my sincerity."

Huang Cao pretended to be angry and said, "You want to get something for nothing from me? You don't even want to pretend anymore. You want to turn your conflict with Yan Country into my conflict with Yan Country. You may not be able to swallow this fish."

Black Snake's expression remained unchanged, but a raging storm was brewing within him.

"I think it's all a misunderstanding, but I must apologize to you. I really didn't understand the current situation of this city, because I haven't been here for a long time."

After making up some excuse to gloss over the matter, Black Snake forcefully steered the conversation back on track.

Keep trying to fool people.

Her art of speaking is comparable to Theresia's; in just a few words, she has transformed Lungmen into a hotbed of investment.

However, there are still differences. Before her identity was exposed, Theresia's attempt to persuade Master Huang to invest in Kazdel was indeed a losing proposition with no profit.

However, given Lungmen's geographical conditions, this is not the case, especially since it is a relatively large Mobile City.

"Going against Yan Country, Black Serpent, tell me your opinion."

"Mr. Huang, I believe in your abilities and in Utopia's military strength. Besides, didn't you already make arrangements with the high-ranking officials in Yan Country, such as those high-yield Seed?"

"Your intelligence methods are quite unexpected; you were actually able to infiltrate such a place."

The Huang Cao wasn't blown out directly, but it was clear that the other party didn't want to reveal any more information.

Both were top-notch schemers; their words went beyond mere riddles.

Every word they uttered was a test of each other's intentions, but neither of them overturned the table.

So the two wealthy people in their respective countries occupied a seat for an afternoon and ordered only two cups of tea.

Even the shop owner was starting to lose his composure, but he didn't dare to say anything out of line.

Doing business in the chaotic Lungmen requires a keen eye; these two gentlemen are clearly people of considerable status. (Three plus)

As dusk approached, Koschei was the first to break down.

You're not my friend, are you going to argue with me over even a penny's worth of profit?

Black Snake couldn't hold back, not because he didn't want to continue.

Instead, he finished his drink and then talked a lot of nonsense, leaving him really thirsty.

"One price, 100,000 tons of unhulled wheat, I want this Mobile City!"

Huang Cao slammed his hand on the table, wanting the other party to make a decision quickly.

Black Serpent laughed, "Sir, wanting this Mobile City for just 100,000 tons is a bit too much. How many days would that amount of grain be enough to feed the tens of millions of people in Ursus?"

It's definitely a bit disrespectful; asking for 100,000 tons of unhulled wheat in exchange for Mobile City is an outrageous demand.

Five million tons of refined wheat would be more like it; at least Black Serpent would need to recoup the construction costs of this Mobile City.

Why doesn't the black snake just go and buy food?

Because international grain prices are controlled by Utopia, Master Huang not only controls grain pricing, but also grain production and sales, and even fertilizer and other aspects.

If Black Snake were only in charge of sales, he could still find ways to take shortcuts, but since Master Huang has taken control of the production channels, there's really nothing he can do.

So let alone 100,000 tons, Ursus can't even buy a single ton of grain through international channels now, unless there's a special relationship with an ally.

Why?

This country has too many enemies; all the surrounding areas are hostile countries, and there are no friendly countries at all.

Today, Black Snake finally realized that there really are people in this world who are even greedier than himself.

One hundred thousand tons of grain can only support the consumption of 300,000 people for a single September, which is far from enough to make up for the current shortage in Ursus.

"One price! Three million tons of finely ground wheat, that's my bottom line!" Black Snake said through gritted teeth.

"Are you dreaming?" Huang Cao mocked mercilessly.

Chapter 300 The True Story: The Old Black Snake Who "Loves the People Like His Own Children"

"Since we can't reach an agreement, there's no need for us to continue. Utopia doesn't need this Mobile City."

While Lungmen's geographical environment is indeed quite appealing, what kind of country is Utopia?

The big brother of imperialism!

So when do I have to reason with you?

Following the rules is civilized; not following the rules is simply one's duty.

At worst, we can spend some time building a Mobile City, and then, escorted by warships, directly storm into this area.

That's just how the great powers were.

Everyone hates the great powers, and everyone wants to become one of them.

Might makes right.

"It seems we can't reach an agreement today. Anyway, it's the Ursus people who are starving, not the Utopia people, so it's none of my business."

Huang Cao has always prioritized self-interest in the country's internal and external relations. Unless you have an emotional connection with someone, don't expect him to give you special treatment.

"It seems that I don't have enough chips in my hand."

Black Snake also expressed regret, but he still did not want to give up.

So he gave a very tempting reason. "I am willing to exchange a portion of the territory of Koschei and this Mobile City for 7.5 million tons of milled wheat in your country's possession."

Huang Cao had a sudden thought. "I believe this is definitely not an idea you came up with on a whim. You should have a map on you. Let me see it."

Black Snake took out a map of his territory from his sleeve and pointed to the area that had already been drawn with his slender finger.

"Thirty thousand square kilometers, a very substantial number, isn't it?"

Huang Cao pursed his lips. Although he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he was certain:

"I guess these tens of thousands of square kilometers of land are all permafrost, and the development difficulty is not as great as the Originium Land in Kazdel."

The black snake choked hard, and a sense of powerlessness rose in its heart.

Why is this person so hard to fool?

Just like an egg without any gaps.

Huang Cao said that this is already standard procedure.

Having been in this world for over a hundred years, he has long since become a mature leader.

Most conspiracies and schemes were child's play to him.