Cadaver Starch

Henry was genuinely looking to buy.

The Alloy Plasteel material itself, along with the individual vests crafted from it, had already shown him the potential for massive profits.

Back in his hometown of Trash Town, he was just a traveling merchant, true. But he had grander ambitions; he was chasing the status of an "Agent."

Trash Town was a place of chaos, but it was also a holy land for business: rich in resources and teeming with people.

If you could run a large enough business there, command enough men, and wield enough force, you could gain sufficient influence to become an "Agent." In the chaotic political ecosystem of Trash Town, it was the Agents who called the shots. Each of them controlled a unique business, forming monopolies, competing with one another, and occasionally forming alliances; their power was immense.

Henry didn't have enough men, and his business wasn't big enough. But if he could truly secure the Alloy Plasteel trade, he would have a unique business of his own. As long as he had the backing of the Waste Mine Society to allow him to monopolize it, he could quickly rake in vast profits.

The remaining issue was money, and that was easy enough to solve.

The status of an Agent was already beckoning to him.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the Waste Mine Society was backed by that Governor, he would have turned around and left by now. He would have found a way to assemble a team, wipe the Waste Mine Society clean, and firmly seize the production capacity of the Alloy Plasteel for himself.

Unfortunately...

But it didn't matter; as long as he could secure the exclusive agency rights for this business, that would be enough.

Henry spoke solemnly to Patel: "I want this entire shipment, and I will give you the best possible price. We can even sign a long-term cooperation agreement. Believe me, I can definitely help you make these treasures a bestseller across the entire wasteland! We will be the best of partners, as long as you sign an exclusive agreement with me."

"Wait... hold on a second."

"?"

Henry's brow furrowed tightly: "Do you have any other conditions? Just name them!"

Patel quickly waved his hands: "I don't have any conditions, but I'm not the one who makes the call on this!"

Before Henry could speak, he continued: "Everything here belongs to the great Governor. I wouldn't dare promise you anything on my own. Without the Governor's nod, not a single piece of Alloy Plasteel can be sold."

"The Governor..." Henry calmed down, his head beginning to ache.

Tricking Patel might not be difficult, but tricking the Governor...

He had heard a few things about the Governor named Gu Hang. He was a maverick; after landing, he hadn't taken over the power of The Alliance government, but instead ran off to the wilderness to focus on construction.

Could construction save the entire Nuxiao Planet?

Henry didn't believe it.

Even if the Waste Mine Society had undergone earth-shaking changes under that Governor's rule in a short time, such changes were still far from enough to alter the ecosystem of the entire Nuxiao Planet.

In two years, Governor Gu would probably be dealt with by the Imperial tax collectors, just like his predecessors.

But until then, he was the Governor, the nominal supreme ruler of this planet.

What capital did a small-time traveling merchant like him have to swindle an Imperial Governor?

Seeing Henry's hesitation and struggle, Patel had no idea what kind of mental gymnastics his "old friend" was going through. He just grinned and offered reassurance: "The Governor is a very good man. As long as you serve him with sincerity, you will surely receive generous rewards."

Patel sounded very earnest when he said this. But for some reason, Henry vaguely felt there was an underlying meaning:

"If you aren't sincere enough, then you're done for."

It must be an illusion; how could this Patel have so many hidden thoughts?

Henry took a deep breath and said firmly: "I will go meet the Governor right now!"

The great Governor Gu Hang was currently studying a corpse.

Its shape was barely recognizable as a biological entity; it had four limbs and appeared to walk semi-upright. It looked a bit like a headless ape covered in abscesses, with completely disproportionate limbs and an exceptionally swollen chest cavity.

It was fast, incredibly ferocious, and possessed sharp claws on all four limbs. After completing a hunt, it would tear the prey's corpse apart and then, through the abscesses on its body, corrode and dissolve the chunks of prey, "melting" them into its own body.

The locals called this thing an "Abscess Monster," a common creature in the wasteland.

He had been taking a nap in his room when he suddenly heard a commotion outside. Then, Zhang Chao reported to him that over a dozen Abscess Monsters had appeared at the expansion site on the outskirts of the camp and attacked the workers.

Although the soldiers guarding the camp arrived quickly and wiped out the pack of monsters, three workers had still lost their lives.

Casualties were, of course, a terrible thing.

But this was the wasteland.

Gu Hang didn't dwell on what had already happened and could not be changed.

He looked at the monster corpse before him and asked a soul-searching question:

"Is this thing edible?"

"Uh..."

Yan Fangxu didn't understand what the Governor was thinking, but he was deeply shocked.

Gu Hang was a bit dissatisfied with Old Yan's shock and emphasized: "In the wasteland, the most important thing is food! Every time I open my eyes, I have to think about how to feed the several thousand people in the three camps. Just sitting around eating our supplies won't work; we have to find a way to explore every source of food. I think this thing has potential. I've heard there are many of them in the wasteland, along with things like zombie dogs. If those could all be eaten..."

"Governor, please wait a moment..." Yan Fangxu said helplessly, "These monsters are covered in highly corrosive abscesses. How does this look like anything that can be eaten?"

"How would we know without trying?" Gu Hang remained persistent. "Of course, I don't mean for our people to eat it directly. I've heard that on most Hive Worlds, there is technology capable of breaking down all organic matter into food. They call it... Corpse Starch? In any case, it's starch blocks. I don't know if Nuxiao Planet has this technology, but the Quintet definitely does. We must try our best to get our hands on it."

Yan Fangxu felt even more helpless.

Big brother, I've eaten starch blocks too!

That thing is essentially a product of food chemistry; it can take recycled organic waste—including old clothing and other textile scraps, waste wood, industrial organic waste, and even plant fibers, animal remains, and a whole series of other items—and break them down into small molecules, refining and processing them into synthetic starch blocks.

Although some Hive Worlds that are particularly resource-poor and densely populated really do recycle the bodies of the dead, and even recycle excrement, leading to the mocking, derogatory nickname "corpse starch," you really shouldn't say that out loud!

After all, for the most part, the composition of synthetic starch is still normal...

Except for that small, trace amount...

As long as we don't talk about it, we can still be friends.