Talent Kidnapping Plan

The "Earthly Heaven" of the Southern Highlands drew in refugees and small tribes struggling to survive from all across Colchis. Population—the most basic "asset"—was expanding at a visible rate.

New, sturdier houses spread through the planned zones like fungal colonies. The use of "Colchis Clay" made construction far more efficient than the old method of stacking stones. Repaired and further improved windmills drove more millstones and simple machinery, producing a steady, reassuring creak.

New wells personally planned by Lorgar and dug with his ability to sense underground water currents provided a far cleaner and more stable water source than before. Under Zhou Beichen's guidance, some potato-like tuber plants with low sunlight requirements had even begun stubbornly sprouting green shoots in the newly opened "farmland."

Everything appeared to be bustling and thriving.

Yet Zhou Beichen stood in his "command post," now upgraded into a sturdy stone house, staring at the increasingly complicated settlement layout map and production reports drawn in charcoal on the wall. His brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

"A bottleneck has emerged." He tossed aside the clay tablet recording material consumption and spoke to Lorgar, who had just returned from an inspection. There was a faint, barely noticeable irritation in his voice.

Lorgar's tall frame nearly filled the doorway. He patted the dust from his arms, his violet eyes sweeping over the piles of reports and crude models in the room. "Father, you mean?"

"People, but not merely people." Zhou Beichen walked to the layout map and jabbed his finger hard at several areas. "Here—only Old Buck knows even a little about maintaining and improving the windmill transmission system. He could work himself to the point of coughing blood and still not keep up with the breakdowns. Here—the workers mixing the proportions for the 'clay' do everything by feel. Three out of ten batches fail, wasting enormous amounts of fuel and time. And here—the people recording supplies coming in and out and managing distribution can't even do basic addition and subtraction properly. The holes in the system are everywhere!"

He turned around, his gaze sharp as he looked at Lorgar. "What we lack are people who can read, do arithmetic, understand some basic mechanics or chemistry, or at least possess basic organizational and management skills! What we have right now is an abundance of 'physical capital,' but a severe shortage of 'intellectual capital' and 'management capital'!"

Lorgar listened in silence. He understood what his father meant. The settlement had already grown beyond the point where religious fervor and brute strength alone could keep it running efficiently. Every work stoppage caused by mechanical failure, every wasteful mistake in a formula, every unfair distribution caused by management chaos was draining the settlement's potential and its hard-won cohesion. He recalled the previous dispute over ration distribution. One of its root causes had also been crude management and a lack of capable people.

"We need to establish a school." Zhou Beichen's tone was decisive. "A school unlike those Covenant Church seminaries that only know how to recite ancient scriptures. We need to teach literacy, arithmetic, basic physics and chemistry, even management and logic! We need to train our own craftsmen, technicians, clerks, and administrators!"

A gleam flashed through Lorgar's eyes at the idea. The spread of order and knowledge had always aligned with a certain inclination deep within him. "That is a... grand vision, Father. Knowledge is the foundation for building a more stable heaven."

"Grand my ass." Zhou Beichen snorted, breaking some of the heavy atmosphere. "The vision is full-bodied, but reality is skeletal. Who are we going to get to teach? You? Me? I can teach them stock charts and capital operations, maybe, but aside from being a human crane and a human geological detector, can you teach them how to foresee the future?"

Lorgar pressed his lips together slightly and did not argue. It was true. One of them possessed a niche and ill-timed body of knowledge, while the other's abilities came from a bloodline that could not be replicated. Neither could handle systematic basic education.

"So," Zhou Beichen lowered his voice, "we need to 'bring in talent.' Or rather, 'borrow' it."

He went to the table and spread open an even cruder sketch map of the Colchis region, marked with several major settlements.

His finger tapped a marker roughly one hundred and fifty kilometers from their highlands.

A relatively large circle had been drawn there in rough lines, with a name written beside it—Ralte.

"Ralte." Zhou Beichen tapped the name with his fingertip. "One of the largest settlements in this region under Covenant Church control. It supposedly has more than five thousand permanent residents, a relatively complete market, and... a small Covenant Church seminary."

Lorgar's gaze froze on "Ralte." Understanding flickered deep in his violet eyes, followed by gravity. "You want to... 'borrow' the people we need from the Covenant Church?"

"Exactly." Zhou Beichen did not evade the point. "Ralte has the greatest concentration of talent in this region—skilled metalworkers, people who understand irrigation and construction, descendants of pre-civilization survivors who can read and write well enough to serve as clerks, perhaps even people with some basic medical knowledge. Most importantly, it has ready-made, educated low-ranking Covenant Church priests and scholars."

He looked at Lorgar, his gaze cold and pragmatic. "Training them ourselves is too slow. We can't afford to wait. The Covenant Church won't willingly hand its talent over to us. So the most efficient method is to take them."

"How?" Lorgar asked. He needed to know his father's plan and assess its risks and costs.

"Two options." Zhou Beichen held up two fingers. "First, infiltration and inducement. Send people into Ralte to contact technical experts and low-ranking priests who have failed to advance, been pushed aside, or are dissatisfied with the Covenant Church's current state. Use the better living conditions here, along with the appeal of you as the 'divine son,' to recruit them."

"The success rate would be low, and it would take a long time." Lorgar immediately identified the key issue. "It would also be easy to alert them."

"That's why I prefer the second option." Zhou Beichen lowered one finger, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. "We go to Ralte ourselves."

He walked over to a locked metal chest and opened it. Inside were several relatively intact gray coarse-cloth Covenant Church robes seized from Korfalon's attendants, along with metal insignias representing their identities.

"Disguise ourselves and infiltrate Ralte." Zhou Beichen took out a robe and held it up against himself. "Use our abilities to get a clear picture of their talent pool. Then find an opportunity—create chaos, or use your precognition to avoid risks—and 'invite' back the 'key assets' we need: the finest craftsmen, scholars, and especially young priests in the seminary with reformist ideas."

He had used the word "invite," but the meaning in his eyes could not have been clearer—if necessary, they would abduct them by force.

Lorgar fell silent. He looked at the Covenant Church robes that carried an unfamiliar air, then at Zhou Beichen's calculating, decisive eyes. He knew that his father's decisions were often the most efficient under the circumstances. Going to Ralte to "borrow" talent carried enormous risks, but if they succeeded, the rewards would be equally immense. It would greatly accelerate the construction of the Earthly Heaven and solve their most pressing problems.

"We need those people, Lorgar." Zhou Beichen's voice softened somewhat, carrying an almost seductive pragmatism. "Without them, our development will soon hit its ceiling, or even collapse because of internal management chaos. By then, forget the 'Earthly Heaven'—we may not even be able to keep what we already have. The Covenant Church won't give us time to develop slowly. We have to move fast. Faster!"

Lorgar closed his eyes. In his mind flashed the anxious craftsmen whose tools had broken, the minor conflicts caused by unclear distribution, the believers who suffered and died because there was no effective medical care... He took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, his violet gaze had become calm. The trace of confusion had been suppressed, replaced by the steadfast resolve of someone accepting responsibility.

"I understand, Father," he said in a low voice. "For the stability of heaven, necessary... procurement is essential."

He walked to the chest and picked up the largest robe, though it still looked somewhat tight on him. "We need a detailed plan—our disguises, infiltration, identifying targets, and... escape routes and ways to handle unexpected situations."

"Of course." Zhou Beichen brightened at Lorgar's agreement and began laying out the preliminary plan he had devised in detail, including how to forge identities, how to use the Covenant Church's internal information extracted through interrogation from Korfalon's attendants, and how to use Lorgar's precognition to avoid major risks.

The two discussed in low voices inside the stone house for a long time, until the glow of the Colchis Twin Stars outside the window began to dim.

Once the initial outline of the operation had been finalized, Zhou Beichen began packing. He carefully concealed the crucial laser pistol and several high-energy batteries, then prepared a few small items for trade or bribery—several refined blocks of salt and a small bag of glittering "glass" fragments.

Lorgar quietly put on the somewhat ridiculous Covenant Church robe. The hood hung down, concealing most of his face and those overly conspicuous violet eyes. His massive body was wrapped in coarse cloth, giving off an air utterly different from his usual sacred majesty—an air of hidden danger.

The preparations proceeded in silence, and the tense atmosphere before battle spread through the stone house.

Zhou Beichen checked the equipment one final time, then looked up at Lorgar, who was ready and waiting like a lurking beast.

"Ready?" he asked. His voice was calm, but the light in his eyes carried an adventurer's excitement.

Lorgar pulled his hood lower. Shadows completely concealed what remained of his face, and only a deep voice emerged from beneath the cloth.

"Ready to depart at any time, Father."