Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West-Don't Look Down on Me Just Because I'm Poor!

Too small, too small. Your ambitions were far too small.

The Prompt Device scoffed at the host's thoughts.

You should pursue Megumin right now, marry into the Raikou family, eliminate Anti-Entropy's radical faction, take control of Anti-Entropy, and then transfer Anti-Entropy's assets into your own name.

"Ah... aren't you overestimating me a little?"

Looking at the simulator's message, Russell felt his teeth ache.

He was considered part of the Deity race.

The godfolk of Terra had a certain resemblance to the inhabitants of another Terra world.

Taking a twenty-centimeter steel pipe head-on, leaping ten or even dozens of meters, and wielding all manner of powerful Originium Arts were basic operations for them.

It made one wonder if they were essentially a bunch of biological weapons.

But biological weapons were still living creatures. Anti-Entropy's leader was the Herrscher of Reason, who could crush Dongfeng missiles with his bare hands.

Herrschers were things far closer to gods.

Although Walter Yang was already half-dead, a half-dead god was still a god.

If he got caught embezzling Anti-Entropy's assets, he'd probably be stripped clean, kicked all the way from North America to Europa, then from Europa to Asia.

Tsinghua and Peking University were nothing compared to having guts! Why not give it a try? What if he didn't get caught?

Damn it.

Why didn't it say what would happen if he got caught?

"I think it'd be better to earn more Lungmen Dollars and take better care of beast-eared girls."

Russell rejected the system's suggestion and stretched out a hand to feel the temperature of the air.

Mm, not bad.

Russell nodded, then glanced at the dining table beside him.

Laid out on the table was a proper Russian meal: borscht, dumplings, caviar, and large chunks of stewed meat.

There was nothing especially extravagant, since Lord Russell was actually rather strapped for cash at the moment.

Feeling that the temperature had risen to a level where humans could move about, Russell opened the chat group and called his friends over.

"Guys, come experience Ursus's specialty cuisine!!"

"Is it time to eat?!!"

Huihui, who had deliberately skipped a meal for this feast, struck first. She swiftly activated the traversal function, her eyes as sharp as a husky staring at an empty food bowl!

Based on her previous experiences traveling through worlds, activating the traversal button would open a Portal in front of her, and all she had to do was step inside to... to...

Amid Huihui's baffled expression, a huge hole suddenly opened beneath her feet without warning.

"Ah!!!"

"Why is this traversal method different from before?!!"

She screamed as her whole body turned into a falling Crimson Mage, plummeting from the Portal that had opened in Russell's ceiling!

Did this chat group seriously send people over by throwing them straight down from the sky?!!

Russell watched the mage hurtling directly toward his head, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Damn, move!!

He instinctively wanted to dodge, but the Prompt Device flashed at the corner of his vision.

Above you is your precious means of production. As a successful mine owner, how can you tolerate the risk of your means of production being damaged in a fall?

Russell's expression changed dramatically at those words.

The leg that had been about to step back was suddenly flooded with strength. He leaped up like an ape, stretched out one hand, pulled the witch into his arms, and landed steadily.

"Are you hurt?"

The young man gently comforted the means of produ—ah, no, the adorable witch in his arms.

"N-no, I'm fine."

Huihui answered haltingly.

The gaze of a certain someone in her field of vision was simply too intense. Honestly, being stared at by a member of the opposite sex with such burning eyes would probably give most women goosebumps.

It was easy to think of a pervert.

Yet Russell's eyes were so clear, without the slightest trace of lust.

Ah...

What was going on?

For a moment, the girl didn't know what to do.

"If you're all right, go rest over there first. There are prepared fruits and stewed meat."

The young man gently set Huihui down, as if he were caring for some precious treasure.

After doing all that, he fell into deep vigilance.

There seemed to be something wrong with the chat group he had joined. Its method of transportation wasn't very reliable.

He had to stay alert and catch every group member.

Especially Naruto Uzumaki and Megumin.

The former was his labor force before he acquired the Shadow Clone Army, while the latter was a genuine rich girl. He was still counting on her to reclaim ME Corp and help fund his ventures...

While Russell remained on guard, another girl indeed fell from the sky.

It was Megumin.

He leaped up, swift as racing lightning.

The young man once again landed safely with the girl in his arms.

"Are you okay?"

He asked the girl in his arms, a Paladin-like professional smile appearing on his face.

"I-I'm... fine."

Megumin said so, but her slender fingers were gripping Russell's collar tightly, and her little face was deathly pale.

She truly hadn't expected so-called traversal to mean a hole opening beneath her feet and airdropping her into another world.

"It's fine, it's fine."

Russell comforted Megumin and prepared to get up to catch the next group member.

But before he could turn around, his expression froze.

"Awwooo—"

Naruto Uzumaki's scream came from behind him.

Damn, why was the falling speed getting faster too?

"Are you okay, Naruto?"

Russell hurriedly sent Megumin to the side and ran toward Naruto, his expression grief-stricken.

What the hell was with this shitty chat group's traversal method?

It just threw down his precious means of production like that. Wasn't that too much?!!

"I-I'm fine. By the way, Brother Russell... how do you know the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

The unlucky ninja shakily climbed to his feet, pointed at Megumin, and asked.

"Are you a ninja too?"

Russell: "..."

Megumin: "..."

Huihui: "..."

Skadi: "..."

Wait, where did Skadi come from?

Russell stared blankly at the silver-haired woman who had abruptly appeared beside him.

"You didn't fall from above?"

The woman was equally stunned.

"Didn't everyone come through the Portal?"

Good grief, had the chat group's transport system fixed itself when it came to Skadi?

Russell clutched his head, both saddened and delighted.

He was delighted because he didn't have to perform an aerial whale catch—Skadi's weight might be rather terrifying. If he failed to catch her properly, he might go from Mr. Russell to Miss Russell.

He was saddened because the chat group he had joined seemed unreliable at times.

"Mm, everyone, let's eat first."

Russell sighed and stopped thinking about the chat group.

It was the first gathering of everyone in the group. This wasn't the occasion to think about such frustrating things.

"After we eat, I'll send you the information you're interested in, then introduce our company's future industries."

As he spoke, everyone in the group turned to look at the food on the dining table.

"Yeah, yeah. Nothing is more important than eating."

Huihui, a true food lover, swiftly picked up the prepared utensils and served everyone a full bowl of meat and dumplings.

Russell habitually sat on the side closest to the garden.

The view from this seat was excellent. Through the window, he could see the snow outside, the silver-white conifer forest, and the Reunion Movement's banner.

Wait.

The Reunion Movement's banner?!!

Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West of the River—Don't Look Down on Mr. Luo Because He Is Poor!

The Reunion Movement.

An organization composed entirely of the infected.

The Terra world's civilization was built upon the universal energy source—Originium.

The so-called infected were patients who had been harmed by the energy substance Originium and contracted Oripathy.

Those infected by Originium had a theoretical mortality rate of one hundred percent. Upon death, they could spread infection and posed potential dangers, so society despised them.

The infected of the Reunion Movement were extremely xenophobic. They hated the ordinary society that had once oppressed them, declaring that "the infected should be proud of their identity and actively obtain and use the power that belongs to them."

In short, they were a bunch of thugs.

However, when this organization was first established, it did not have all sorts of bizarre ideas.

It could even be considered a rather progressive organization.

They were friendly toward the infected, friendly toward serfs, and hoped to gain recognition from petty citizens and middle peasants.

But unfortunately—

Russell's current class identity was that of an aristocratic mine owner.

He was completely outside the scope of their unity.

No, rather than saying he was outside their scope of unity, it would be more accurate to say that he was the kind of person whose death would make the infected cheer, "Nice, pop the champagne!"

Russell looked at the groups of infected outside and sucked in a sharp breath.

Holy shit!!