Blessed by Abundance, Scourge of Terra

Shi Huaiya's old face could barely hold up—his actions had been seen through so quickly, like he was dealing with some calculating monster.

"Could this be some new type of agricultural fertilizer?"

"I do have a fertilizer formula, but this test tube is far more precious than any fertilizer, Mr. Beatrix. You know how many new Originium Infection cases have popped up in our association lately, don't you?"

"Of course. If you ask me, these young people have no regard for their lives. What is Originium? It should only be used in machinery, not on people. Our bloodlines are ordinary—once you catch this thing, you've got at most twenty more years to live."

Thinking of this, Shi Huaiya wore a look of deep regret.

In this middle-aged man's eyes, life was the most important thing; wealth and everything else came second.

After all, only with life could one enjoy what they had. Contracting Originium Infection meant losing the second half of your life—even if you won, you wouldn't live to savor the victory.

"This can suppress Originium Infection, turning twenty years into twenty-five or even thirty. The effects might be a bit exaggerated, but it does work."

Huang Cao poured the liquid from the test tube into a small coffee cup, mixing in some hot water.

"I'm sure Mr. Shi Huaiya has relatives at home suffering from Originium Infection. This is very precious—be careful not to spill it. Just drink it directly."

In truth, it wasn't precious at all.

This Originium Inhibitor was the product of extreme dilution, and its effects weren't as good as advertised.

Under extreme conditions, it could extend life, but those conditions were limited to just after contracting the infection.

For severe cases, this diluted Originium Inhibitor would at most let them linger on for another half year.

And 'linger' was the key word—they might kick the bucket in a few days; there was an element of luck involved.

"I understand, but please don't tell anyone else about this secret."

Shi Huaiya carefully tucked the coffee cup into his chest, terrified of spilling even a drop.

"Mr. Beatrix, opportunity lies between you and me, and also among the masses. I know the value I hold, but I'm not afraid of their coveting. At worst, I'll just leave."

"But your chance might slip through your fingers."

Huang Cao saw greed in Beatrix's eyes.

That wasn't a good sign. Desire could cloud reason, and reason was a necessary prerequisite for future plans to succeed.

Hearing this, Beatrix snapped awake, his tone turning respectful: "As expected, the new generation never disappoints—truly bold. Wait for my good news tomorrow."

They chatted a bit more, and after about half an hour, both left the table.

But tonight, someone was bound to have a sleepless night.

Whether Beatrix or Huang Cao, both were anticipating the shift in circumstances tomorrow or the day after.

Chapter 36: A Mutually Beneficial Deal

Early the next morning, Huang Cao savored a cup of rich coffee while waiting for news from Mr. Shi Huaiya.

The Shi Huaiya Family wasn't exactly royalty, but they were a strong hand among the newly risen nobles. With his help, Huang Cao could avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Sure enough, before long, Mr. Shi Huaiya arrived at Huang Cao's residence with a large black briefcase, looking mysterious.

"Old pal, you're about to get rich. I can invest my entire family's savings—just give me a small cut of the profits."

Huang Cao chuckled softly, unhurried. "You're not in a rush to leave Victoria, are you?"

Mr. Shi Huaiya shook his head. "I was planning to have my grandson or granddaughter lead the family out of Victoria, but now I want to build up some more foundation for my descendants. Leaving now would be too soon."

Shi Huaiya now saw the youth as a treasure trove. All he wanted was to squeeze more benefits out of him—dignity had long been tossed aside.

Doing business in Victoria meant having no shame.

More importantly, Mr. Huang had made it clear last night: if he wanted to leave, he could go anytime, and he wouldn't hand the opportunity over to Shi Huaiya.

This was the legendary opportunity—when it came, there was no warning at all.

The key wasn't when it arrived, but whether you could catch it.

"Don't make it sound so serious. I never shortchange friends. 15%—that's the profit I'm willing to give you, but only from the medical side."

"That's more than enough, my friend. From now on, you are the most honored guest of the Shi Huaiya Family."

Huang Cao pondered for a moment, glanced at the man, and said after a few seconds:

"But this friendship only lasts for your generation. Your body has at most another forty-plus years."

"You can rest assured on that. The Shi Huaiya Family is the most trustworthy and righteous in all of Victoria."

Faced with the man's assurance, Huang Cao thought that loyalty wasn't something you could trust based on words alone.

If you doubt someone, don't use them. If you use them, don't doubt them.

Huang Cao pulled a seed from his sleeve. "Eat this. Let me witness your righteousness, and I'll ensure your family is spared from future calamities."

Without a shred of suspicion or hesitation, Shi Huaiya swallowed the seed, no bigger than a soybean, in one gulp.

The moment he swallowed it, his memories were instantly merged into the Originium Database by Huang Cao.

At the same time, with a single gesture, Huang Cao could turn the man into a plant that only knew how to bask in the sun, no matter the distance.

By this act, Shi Huaiya had essentially handed his life over to Huang Cao.

Huang Cao hadn't expected the man to be so decisive—he suddenly felt this guy might have a few screws loose.

"Doing business in Victoria is a gamble to begin with. Facing those lofty nobles, I risk assassination at any moment. At least taking this lets me see the danger directly in my sight, rather than having it lurking in the shadows, ready to stab me in the back."

"And for now, I only need to consider one thing: whether this so-called danger is willing to trust me."

"Mr. Huang Cao, do you think my sincerity is enough? Before I leave Victoria, I can have every member of my family swallow the seed I just took."

Faced with such a desperate request, Huang Cao naturally couldn't refuse.

He just couldn't understand what indescribable benefit could have made Shi Huaiya decide so decisively, staking everything on a gamble with no warning signs.

Mr. Shi Huaiya spoke with relief:

"You must not be an ordinary person, sir. Your lifespan is far longer than someone like me."

"Using my own life and my entire family's to trade for the protection of an Immortal—in my eyes, this is a very fair and equal exchange."

Shi Huaiya took a sip of water and continued, his tone utterly calm: "But I have one request: can your protection only last until we leave Victoria? This land is not where my family can settle..."

If conditions allowed, Shi Huaiya didn't want to get involved in any power struggles. Unfortunately, his position left him no room to retreat.

It wasn't that he was incapable, but Victoria was too vast, with too many experts and too many schemes.

Even if he could hold on while alive, after his death, his descendants might not be able to.

Who knew if his offspring would have normal intelligence?

So to keep his family from being manipulated, the best way was to move to a smaller place. But he hadn't found such a place yet—that was the real reason he refused to leave Victoria.

"Agreed. If your family ever faces extinction, I will find you a place to settle and thrive."

The man's request was reasonable, at least Huang Cao saw no scheme in it.

Besides, the other's memories were in his hands, leaving almost no room for concealment.

"There's no need for everyone to swallow it. Just have your heir take the seed from now on. I'll keep my promise—once your family leaves Victoria, the seed's effect will naturally fade."

Shi Huaiya nodded. Some might ask if this was foolish, but he actually thought further ahead than most.

Because in this tiger's eyes, the youth now chatting so casually with him was definitely no ordinary spice merchant.

Instead, he was a far more mysterious existence, with a lifespan far beyond what Shi Huaiya could imagine.

Cooperating with Huang Cao wouldn't just greatly strengthen the family's power—it would also secure a final trump card.

Now, the noble struggles in Victoria were intensifying, with assassination plots springing up everywhere.

What the rising nobles lacked wasn't wealth—it was historical depth, such as the protection of a powerful being.

After all, an old saying circulated among certain ancient families:

"Elves last forever, one passes through the ages."

Now the Shi Huaiya family also had the protection of an Immortal. No matter what happened, they wouldn't end up with their entire clan wiped out.

Shi Huaiya's gamble had almost certainly paid off, because Huang Cao was also a man of his word.

And Huang Cao did need a trustworthy local power to handle some matters for him.

"From now on, you're my company's agent, handling the public sale of my potions. The split stays the same—you get 15%."

Shi Huaiya and Huang Cao continued their discussion for a while longer, intending to hash out the remaining profit issues. Perhaps because they'd already clarified their positions on matters of principle, the rest of their conversation went exceptionally smoothly.

"Beyond that, Mr. Shi Huaiya, what's your impression of the noble members of the Victoria Commercial Association? Are there any who are extremely dissatisfied with the old aristocracy?"

"There are, in my impression."

Shi Huaiya answered after a few seconds of thought. "And quite a few at that. Is there something about them worth your attention?"

There will be another update this afternoon.

Chapter 37: Speedrunning Victoria in One Month

"How's the stock market in Victoria? On the surface, it's booming, but in reality, it's like a leaf floating on water—a slightly bigger wave can flip it over."

Huang Cao glanced at the bustling, neon-lit streets outside and said this.

Mr. Shi Huaiya was baffled. "Isn't it doing well now? Development everywhere, people's lives are passable, they even have spare cash to invest."

"Without a doubt, this is a golden age," Shi Huaiya said.

"This so-called golden age hides the biggest crisis of our time."

"Mr. Shi Huaiya, you're a smart man. Haven't you noticed the strangeness of Victoria?"

"Brother, please speak plainly."

"Wealth seems to be just wealth—it hasn't turned into anything real. There are tens of millions of gold coins in the market, but have you ever seen those coins reach ordinary people's hands?"

"The rich's income keeps increasing, and more and more goods are produced, but have you seen how many people can actually afford to buy them?"

"If they can't buy them, they can't buy them..."

Shi Huaiya suddenly realized a key point. If people couldn't afford these things, what was the point of producing them?

"Mr. Shi Huaiya, I think you understand now. This is the crisis Victoria currently faces."

"Columbia has been making quite a stir lately. I'm sure your family's business has been affected too. As one of Victoria's biggest markets for dumping goods, if that place were gone..."

Huang Cao continued, "In my view, Columbia's independence is inevitable. Victoria has already considered withdrawing its troops, but in the short term, it still wants to maintain its rule."

"But the Victorian nobles have more ways to shift blame than a thousand-legged bug could count—at worst, they'll pin it on the infected, since those wretches can't stir up any real trouble anyway."

Hearing this, Huang Cao shook his head again. "First off, the infected are far too weak right now to amount to anything in the short term. By the time they react, we'd be waiting until the cows come home."

"The nobles' wealth is their most glaring weakness—that's where I plan to strike a fatal blow. As the vice president of the Victoria Commercial Association, the people you know are our greatest weapon."

"The difference between the new nobles and the old nobles, aside from vision and mindset, comes down to material terms: the former lack land."

"Factories and the like generate plenty of profit, but after a catastrophe, the losses are devastating."

Shi Huaiya lowered his head. "Likewise, land hit by a disaster can neither be farmed nor used for factories."

"But the nobles hold vast tracts of land, and the losses they suffer from disasters are minimal. The raw materials the new nobles need for their factories almost all come from—and must come from—the old nobles."

Tell me that isn't infuriating.

The new nobles don't have no land—they just have pitifully little.

Land prices have long been driven sky-high by the old nobles. It's not that the new nobles lack the means to buy; it's that having the means doesn't mean they want to be taken for fools.

This is a contest of dignity and cost-effectiveness.

So the new nobles fear Victoria's decline more than anyone. They're desperate for a way to break the deadlock.

"So can these new nobles be content? They've had their eyes on the top spots for ages. Their strength is enough to shake the entire structure of Victoria, but they've never found a figure capable of uniting them all."

"Even within the Victoria Commercial Association, most people join just to expand their networks. If mutual help were genuine, there wouldn't be unanswered notes on the bulletin board."

Shi Huaiya naturally knew what the other man was driving at, so he followed along: "But how do you plan to make these lofty figures listen to you?"

"I can solve their land problem. Let them stop relying on the old nobles' land and raw materials."

Huang Cao pulled a small tin can from his bosom. Inside was black soil. He casually dropped a wheat seed into it, and within just a minute, the seed sprouted and ripened.

This thing was, of course, a part of his body—the power of Abundance.