Desert Operation

It was a square columnar crystal with sharp edges and corners, and its surface still retained the fine lines formed during growth.

"It's raw zircon!" Magelaili's eyes lit up immediately, her voice full of surprise.

She immediately dug several more times on the riverbank.

They soon discovered that this substance was everywhere in the surrounding mud and sand.

Some are white and transparent, while others are tinged with a light blue.

They were scattered densely, like fragments of stars carelessly tossed by the earth.

That's why I brought you here today.

Su Ming explained, then issued the order, "Hurry up and complete the mining and washing of one thousand tons of zircon as quickly as possible!"

"Yes!" Magelaili immediately accepted the order.

Millions of years of river deposition and transport have long since worn away the impurities and fragile parts on the surface of these zircon stones.

So this kind of work couldn't be easier.

"Oh, right," Su Ming added, "Regarding Silver Moon Forest, reduce their fertilizer payment by two million gold coins."

O

Queen Ghostly Flower certainly didn't arrive in a "rush".

When Su Ming checked his watch, he wasn't checking the arrival time of the barge, but rather calculating how much longer it would take for the Queen to arrive.

The fact that the contract was signed so smoothly and the matter was resolved in a single day owes much to Queen Ghostly Flower's persuasion of the dwarves.

"Don't make it too obvious on paper; just let the Silver Moon Forest know about it privately," Su Ming instructed.

"Okay," Magelaili replied.

****

When Su Ming returned to the Western Continent, he found that the situation at Brilliant Airport had worsened.

The residents had long since figured out the general pattern of the Kunpeng flight; whenever it landed, they would gather in large groups.

This place became a large market, and its fame spread far and wide.

Even if the flight is delayed or even canceled for various reasons, it's okay, just treat it as coming to a market.

Su Ming was speechless about this and had no choice but to order a market area to be specially planned and built on the side of the airport.

Otherwise, he really couldn't imagine what kind of moth-like forms this airport could take if it continued to develop.

This time, the dragon Hongyao came to pick him up.

The two stood on the dragon's back.

"President," Lilishan suddenly leaned close to Su Ming's ear and whispered, "Elder Hongyao's wife just laid an egg."

"Congratulations on your birth—" Su Ming paused, "... your precious egg?"

"Hehe!" Hongyao laughed smugly, "My wife said that your egg-hatching assistant speaker is really useful."

It's a smart device that uses a highly sensitive microphone to capture subtle sounds from inside the eggshell, thus alerting the user to the current state of the baby inside.

As for timed reminders, temperature and humidity monitoring, and guidance for beginners in hatching eggs, these features are naturally included.

However, because it requires charging, it can currently only be used within the radiation area of Celestite Hydropower Station.

"President, could you expand the area covered by that electric grid?" Hongyao asked. "Many dragons are asking about it now."

"Let's talk about that after we've finished conquering Eden," Su Ming replied. "For now, the war should be our priority."

****

Inside the Sainte's office at Saint Lan Cathedral.

"You want to allocate one million gold coins?"

Su Ming went inside and asked Zijin.

"And the reason is—to hold a wedding?"

Zijin raised her finger, made a shushing gesture, and waved the door shut.

"I was using this as an excuse to embezzle public funds to purchase materials for the 'Red Spider Lily' project."

The dimensional portal, or dimensional passage, has now been officially named the "Other Shore Flower" project.

As the project progresses into the experimental exploration phase, the demand for materials has also been put on the agenda.

"You made me so happy for nothing," Su Ming teased. "I thought you were hinting that I should propose to you."

"It's not impossible," Zijin smiled. "Maybe I'll agree if I'm in a good mood."

"Is it really not because there are too many suitors proposing to me lately, that you're using this as an excuse to spread the word?"

Su Ming exposed him.

In response, Zijin covered his mouth with her lips.

After a while, the two parted ways.

"Is there a large shortfall in procurement funds?" Su Ming asked.

"The main problem right now isn't funding," Zijin replied, sitting back down in her chair and casually straightening her clothes and hair.

She pressed the office phone on the desk.

"Have Kekley come over here."

Su Ming vaguely recognized the name, but couldn't quite place it.

"My apprentice, the one who runs the Blue-Eyed Chamber of Commerce," Zijin reminded you, "I mentioned him to you before."

Su Ming then remembered.

Seventy years ago, Zijin took Kekelai as her apprentice, but the latter did not have enough talent in this area, so after studying for twenty years, he turned to business.

With Zijin's investment, the Blue-Eyed Chamber of Commerce was founded.

In these battles, the Blue-Eyed Chamber of Commerce provided intelligence and coordinated supplies on numerous occasions, making them unsung heroes behind the scenes.

Kekelai arrived quickly and began explaining the issues in the procurement to Su Ming.

"We use a lot of various materials, so we need to plan ahead and activate the related production capacity of the industrial chain through orders and other means."

Upon hearing this, Su Ming changed his approach.

"In other words, how much we can ultimately buy isn't just a matter of money,"

"To a large extent, it depends on how much the world itself can produce?"

"Yes," Kekley nodded, "And the whole process must be gradual, so that the prices of the relevant products don't fluctuate too much."

"Funding is the backbone of this process."

This is the key work that Klein has been responsible for recently.

Su Ming nodded.

"Teacher." Kekele turned to Zijin and handed her a manuscript.

The manuscript cover reads "A Preliminary Study of Dimensional Teleportation" (Preliminary Edition).

"You're researching this?" Zijin, somewhat surprised. But when she opened it, she found it was almost entirely nonsense.

"Recently, speculators have been targeting us," Kekley said. "They've caught wind of it, and now they're buying whatever we buy."

Indeed, speculators exist in every world.

Su Ming didn't understand for a moment.

"What does this have to do with you writing a fake paper?" he asked.

"I didn't write it; the teacher did."

Kekley explained, "I've already arranged for several 'front companies' to stockpile the materials mentioned in this paper in advance."

"Once the paper is published, these Hyena will jump right into the pit."

"At that time, they will drive these materials up in price, which will also lead to manufacturers actively investing in expanding production."

Su Ming understood now.

Because there is also a "stock market guru" on Earth who really likes to hand-draw candlestick charts like this.

"Then you'll choose a suitable time to 'retract' the paper?"

"Exactly!" Kekelai laughed. "When that time comes, and the market price collapses, all these goods will be stuck in the hands of these speculators."

He continued.

"Then, we'll buy them at a lower price."

"Please wait a moment." Su Ming felt a little dizzy from hearing this.

After going through all this trouble, the goods still ended up in their own hands in the end?

He glanced at the paper in Zijin's hand.

Is the material mentioned in this paper real or fake?

"Of course we'll need it!"

Kekley said matter-of-factly.

"Otherwise, why would we go through all this trouble? Just to make money?"

After all the twists and turns, the ultimate goal is, of course, to acquire more materials.

Su Ming raised his hand and gave a thumbs up.

"Sharp!"

"However, you published and retracted the paper in the name of academia," he turned to look at the Zijin.

"Isn't this a bit against academic ethics?"

"Oh, it won't be officially released."

Zijin skillfully signed her name and affixed her personal seal to the draft of the thesis.

"Just put this little notebook on my desk, and in a few days, copies of it will be in the hands of those merchants."

Su Ming was very surprised to hear this. "Our internal network has been infiltrated to this extent?"

"It's just a few staff members who have been dishonest."

97

Zijin explained.

"It's a new house, so it's normal to have mice."

"This time we can catch them all in one fell swoop."

"And incidentally, let the people behind them suffer a huge loss."

Su Ming raised his hand.

"Okay, I have no further questions."

This group of people had clearly never suffered at the hands of Belladonna, so they still retained a certain innocent naiveté.

But that's alright, Zijin has never been impatient when it comes to educating these people.

****

Su Ming recalled what had happened at sea.

"I remember you were planning to do something similar to Charles of the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce before, weren't you?"

"Are you planning to trick him into buying a bunch of practically worthless alchemical materials?"

Zijin rolled her eyes at him.

"At least Charles reminded us that Yexiya was there before we went to Water Chestnut Island."

"Am I the kind of person who repays kindness with ingratitude?"

"Fortunately though."

She sighed with emotion.

"As our business grows, everything comes in handy in some way."

"Half of that batch of alchemical materials was used for all sorts of random purposes afterward."

As the two were reminiscing about the past, Kekley interrupted somewhat inappropriately.

"The Four Directions Chamber of Commerce you mentioned."

"While I was organizing some transaction records from previous years, I discovered that the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce had also purchased a lot of related alchemical materials in the past."

"The varieties involved overlap significantly with our current needs."

"How tall?" Su Ming frowned.

"At least seventy or eighty percent," Kekley said.

These transaction records are usually kept by the respective chambers of commerce.

"I only came into contact with a part of it because of my current identity."

Today, Kekelai is not only the president of the Blue-Eyed Chamber of Commerce, but also Chu Xu's newly appointed international trade representative, and is participating in the overall framework building of the "trade community".

This includes drafting international trade rules and trade dispute arbitration procedures.

He is a very popular figure.

Su Ming began to ponder.

Is this a coincidence that the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce is involved?

After all, Charles had always been friendly towards them.

However, there are some things we must be wary of.

"Continue investigating this matter," Su Ming instructed. "Keep a close eye on them during this time."

"Yes, Chairman!" Kekelai replied.

****

The following day, Zijin organized a grand gathering in the square outside the church and officially announced the establishment of the Republic of Chuxu.

She also announced the personnel arrangements for the first government, including the prime minister and cabinet members.

Then comes the public oath of office, the kind where one faces the God of Light directly and questions the Divine Heart.

Next came the meeting between the new leader and the public, followed by a series of parades and celebrations.

The whole city was immersed in a lively atmosphere.

Twenty kilometers outside the Radiant Holy City, the atmosphere was completely different—solemn.

The Final Bone Mad Machines Force and the Dragon Force stood in neat rows, their military bearing impeccable.

Su Ming hovered in mid-air, surrounded by amplification spells that propelled his voice in all directions.

"Soldiers!"

"Everyone performed exceptionally well in the battle that just ended!"

"Together we accomplished a miracle—landing on the Meiladas Tidal Flats and capturing the Radiant Holy City in a single day!"

"Honor belongs to all of us!"

A deafening cheer erupted from all around.

Su Ming paused, his tone turning slightly somber.

"But next, I have some bad news to tell you all."

"At the other side of the plane, deep within the spatial rift, lurks a group of evil enemies!"

"I don't know why they call it the Plundering Clock, but it doesn't toll time, it tolls destruction; it doesn't bring dawn, it brings darkness!"

"Destroy them!!"

All the troops roared in unison, their shouts rising to the heavens, "Destroy the Plundering Clock!"

"Very good."

Su Ming nodded slowly.

"The smoke of battle has just cleared; your blades still bear the blood of the enemy, and your armor is still etched with the glory of victory!"

But we are about to embark on another journey!

"We are the most powerful force in this world, and naturally bear the fate of this entire plane!"

"This is a heavy responsibility, but also an unparalleled honor!"

Su Ming suddenly raised his arm high.

The next moment, all the human warriors raised their weapons in unison, while the dragons pounded their chests with their Dragon Claw, creating a series of deep, thunderous booms that instantly brought the entire scene to its climax.

"Damn it, the president has the nerve to say that."

On the ground, a Bone Machine Battalion soldier cheered while muttering complaints under his breath.

"Our First Battalion fought a Griffin Legion battle, but I was a beat too slow and didn't get a single kill."

"Hey-hey."

The members of the Second Battalion immediately smiled.

"We've wiped out the enemy cavalry legion, and we still have Death Knights available to summon!"

"You guys are really lucky." The soldiers of the First Battalion looked on with envy.

"It's a pity they only played one game."

The man sighed.

"In the battle against the ascetic legion in the center of the Holy City, those guys from the Third Battalion took all the best firing positions."

"Why? They were the ones who started the Griffin Legion!" First Battalion said indignantly.

"That is."

****

In the air, Su Ming was quite satisfied with the effect of his speech.

Then he began announcing the awards.

The first thing distributed was a "Commemorative Card for Participation in the Radiant Holy City Battle," which everyone received.

As for the doodle on the card, Su Ming couldn't recognize what it was, even though Qiluo insisted that she had drawn the Radiant Holy City.

Fine, let's keep it abstract.

Along with the cards, corresponding material rewards will also be distributed, with the specific rewards allocated based on combat performance.

Regarding the commendation of outstanding troops -

To be honest, the operation was too short, leaving no room for the troops to demonstrate their "heroic spirit" and "hard fighting".

If we have to talk about hardship and exhaustion, it's actually the logistics staff who suffer the most.

After much deliberation, Su Ming finally awarded the Dragon Force a collective "Civil Engineering Vanguard" badge.

Then, with a wave of his hand, he announced the start of the dinner party!

This can be considered as making up for the all-meat feast he initially promised.

This sparked another round of cheers, but this time it was clearly dominated by the roar of dragons.

After the mobilization meeting ended and he returned to the command room near the camp, Su Ming picked up a fan and fanned himself vigorously.

This weather is really too hot.

"We're about to head to the desert, and water really is a crucial issue," Su Ming remarked.

"Can't we finish this quickly this time too?" Bowers asked.

Su Ming has never fought a battle that lasts longer than three days.

Everyone has gotten used to this style.

"I can't beat him," was Yise's reply.

"Desert ecosystems are fragile; a single area cannot support a high population density, let alone a long-term stay."

Therefore, the lizard people and humans in the Gravel Scale Desert do not have cities in the traditional sense.

"Their settlements can be moved immediately by simply pulling out the stakes and rolling up the tents."

"Didn't Jielusi and Ruixiuli already go to the desert to investigate?" Bowers asked again.

Su Ming shook his head.

"We went, but we haven't yet located the exact positions of the higher-ups of the Plundering Clock."

As he spoke, he picked up a large glass of water and drank it down in one gulp.

"Yise, Bowers."

The two immediately stood up straight.

"You will be in charge of leading this desert operation!"

"Yes!" they both replied simultaneously.

This mission is divided into three phases.

Su Ming began to explain the details.

"In the first phase, the Bone Machine First Battalion and Second Battalion, along with the Transport Battalion, will escort 5,000 Feather Race engineering troops into the heart of the desert, laying simple roads along the way."

"Then, at a distance of 500 kilometers, establish an advance camp to solve the supply problem."

"After that, the main force of the Star Empire will advance from their side and meet us at the forward camp."

"The second phase will involve continuing the search deeper into the desert, relying on the forward camp."

"If necessary, more forward camps will be established to squeeze the enemy's operational space."

"Once the main force of the ' Plundering Clock ' is found, the final battle will begin."

"This tactical plan is called 'beating the grass to scare the snake.'"

"Stirring up the grass to scare the snake" is the thirteenth of the Thirty-Six Stratagems.

When in doubt, seek confirmation; observe carefully before acting; repetition is the means to conceal one's true intentions.

"Our penetration into the desert is insufficient, and our intelligence on the enemy is also inadequate."

"So we took the initiative to force the enemy to make a move."

Su Ming finished his explanation.

"This is probably also to cooperate with Jielusi and her team's reconnaissance," Yise said. "Only by disturbing the enemy will they have more opportunities to capture enemy movements and intelligence."

Su Ming nodded.

"There will be many variables in the second phase, and subsequent plans will be constantly adjusted. We'll discuss that later."

He officially announced, "The first phase of Operation Desert will begin tomorrow!"

"Everyone must proceed cautiously and remain vigilant against attacks from the Plundering Clock."

"Understood, Chairman!"

Yise and Bowers, along with a group of officers, responded in unison.