Desert Special Operations

Su Ming's eyes flickered. "So, rather than the problem originating from the source, it's more likely that something was tampered with during transport?"

"The current investigation results do indeed lean towards this view." Xialike sent over a list of the chambers of commerce involved.

Su Ming glanced at the list; he wasn't familiar with the other names, but he recognized the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce.

Of course, the Blue-Eyed Chamber of Commerce of Zijin was also on the list.

Su Ming suddenly realized a problem.

"Why is the supply volume of the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce so small, given that it's such a large chamber of commerce?"

Xialike summoned the quartermaster in charge of procurement.

After bowing, the quartermaster quickly explained, "Your Majesty, Chairman Su, the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce's offer is too high."

"That's why the purchase volume is small, only accounting for a small portion of the total."

Su Ming pondered for a moment.

"If I were a problematic chamber of commerce, I would involve myself in the supply chain."

"This makes it easier for me to intervene in the transportation chain, warehousing nodes, and inspection processes."

"Naturally, it also makes it easier to target goods from other chambers of commerce."

He paused.

"I might also deliberately under-supply."

"This way, you're on the 'victims list,' appearing just as unlucky as everyone else."

"And because it's not very big, it won't attract attention immediately."

Su Ming's gaze turned cold. "This can be interpreted as a strategy of hiding one's strength within the forest."

It even deliberately hunched its head, making itself appear shorter than the other trees.

Xialike's brows furrowed immediately.

"Now that you mention it, they really are suspects."

Su Ming suddenly thought of something.

"Has the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce been secretly selling off its assets in the Star Empire lately?"

Xialike obviously wouldn't care about such things, but the quartermaster, who had heard about it, immediately replied, "Yes, there's that news circulating in the market."

Snap!

Xialike reacted quickly, slamming his hand on the table.

"Arrest all members of the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce immediately!"

"Wait!" Su Ming quickly called out to stop them, "We can't alert them!"

Xialike was taken aback.

"It's just a chamber of commerce. Let them continue to cash out, and it doesn't matter if some members escape."

"We can't reveal that we already know about this!"

A light flashed in Xialike's eyes, and he quickly understood.

"This approach makes sense."

He turned to the quartermaster, "Everyone who knows anything about this today must keep quiet. This batch of plague oil" will proceed as planned and be transported to the front lines!

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the quartermaster replied immediately.

"Don't worry, I'm not short of patience at all," Xialike said, turning to Su Ming with a smile.

Su Ming chuckled upon hearing this.

Since the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce has revealed its true colors, there's no need to rush to deal with it.

Using this information to find the true strategic priority is to locate the Plundering Clock's main body and lair in the desert!

****

After hanging up the call, Su Ming immediately ordered someone to investigate Charles's movements.

The news quickly came back that the person had left the country and their whereabouts were unknown.

"That was quick."

Su Ming let out a breath.

This guy is clearly very cautious.

At the next agreed time, Su Ming connected with Jielusi via radio.

At this moment, Jielusi was hiding in a secluded grove of trees, with a makeshift antenna tied to a crooked poplar tree.

She sat leaning against the tree roots, with Ruixiuli guard nearby.

Despite being more than a thousand kilometers apart, the communication quality remained stable thanks to the Divine Eagle Drone relaying the signal at high altitude.

"Four Directions Chamber of Commerce?"

Jielusi opened her notebook and turned to the section on the Chamber of Commerce's information.

"This chamber of commerce has a very low profile in the desert." She glanced around. "You rarely see them; they only come to conduct a few large transactions during the annual Gravel Market in the rainy season."

A newly delivered report was also spread out in front of Su Ming.

"Xialike has discovered that the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce's front in the desert is the Brocade Scale Chamber of Commerce."

"We deduce that both Sifang and Jinlin are direct affiliates of the Plundering Clock."

"Understood, I'll check the Jinlin Chamber of Commerce."

Jielusi.

"Yes, be quick," Su Ming instructed.

"Receive."

****

After the call ended, Su Ming had just put down the communicator when Kekelai walked in with a new report.

"Guild Master, Pulilade, the person in charge on the goblin side, has replied." He handed over the documents.

"The Four Directions Chamber of Commerce has indeed reached a cooperation agreement with their 'Gemstone Eye' Trading Association."

Su Ming took it and opened it.

The Four Directions Chamber of Commerce and Gem Eye reached an "Equity Swap Joint Venture Agreement".

The two parties swapped half of their shares, forming a cross-shareholding structure, integrating industry resources, and achieving joint development.

At first glance, it looks quite presentable.

But Su Ming guessed Charles's plan just by looking at the title.

"He's trying to drag the goblins down with him."

Kekley nodded, agreeing with this assessment.

"The Four Directions Chamber of Commerce has been involved in too much intelligence work, and it has many hidden dangers. Sooner or later, it will be exposed because of something."

"And if something goes wrong, all related parties will be liquidated."

Given that Gray Ridge borders Dragon Valley, the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce is unlikely to truly covet properties located in goblin territory.

Charles wanted to stir up trouble, make use of the situation, and reignite the war between the dragons and goblins that had already subsided.

"Unfortunately, we are the actual controllers of Gray Ridge now," Kekley sneered.

Su Ming suddenly felt that this process was somewhat familiar, involving equity swaps and cross-shareholdings.

"Something's not right!" His eyes narrowed. "The Four Directions Chamber of Commerce's assets might be problematic!"

"Investigate their actual debts and assets immediately!"

He quickly made the arrangements.

"Don't spread it out too far."

"Check the inventory, equipment, and mortgage status of the nearest mines, as well as their cash flow over the past few months."

"Yes!"

Kekley turned and walked away.

****

After a while, the preliminary report was sent back.

When Kekley entered, his face had already darkened.

"President, you guessed right."

Su Ming took the report and flipped through it page by page, almost laughing in anger.

The mines under the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce appear to be operating normally, but in reality, they are just empty shells.

Suppliers were in arrears with large sums of money, external borrowing snowballed, and the ore inventory was completely transferred through related-party transactions.

Even more outrageous is that many of the factory buildings and production equipment had already been sold off, and the actual ownership was no longer in their hands.

A closer look at the books reveals that the actual assets are less than one-tenth of the total, and the company is even insolvent.

Su Ming couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, this Charles!"

Move everything movable, sell everything that can be sold, mortgage everything that can be mortgaged, and finally, with the empty shell that hasn't completely crumbled, trick the next person into joining the ship.

Su Ming asked Kekelai, "How much did Pulilade lose?"

Kekelai was taken aback. "Guild Master, how did you know the goblins were affected?"

He handed over another attachment. "Several Goblin Chamber of Commerce, including Gem Eye, were swindled out of millions of gold coins worth of goods by Charles using these empty mines as collateral."

Su Ming shook his head upon hearing this. Luckily, he managed to intercept Chu Xu's sale.

"Asset transfer, fraudulent mortgaging, and even selling shell companies."

Kekley was genuinely impressed.

"One fish, three ways!"

Su Ming was also convinced.

Charles's demeanor is no less impressive than that of the capitalists in his hometown!

"Who is the president of the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce?" Su Ming asked.

Charles, who has been constantly jumping around in the outside world, is only the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce.

"I looked it up, and it seems she's a farmer from the Pearl Duchy. Charles gives her three gold coins a year to keep her on the payroll."

Well, with such a clever mind, no wonder even goblins fall for it!

Su Ming ordered the establishment of a special task force to conduct a secret investigation and make preventative arrangements against the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce's direct and crony organizations within the Chuxu Republic.

"The principle remains the same—do not alert the enemy before we achieve a breakthrough in the desert battlefield!"

Even if it means giving up some assets, even if it means watching the people involved run away first.

Su Ming's tone turned slightly somber.

"But conversely, once the time is right—"

"I don't want the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce to exist for even a second longer."

"Yes!" the person in charge replied loudly.

Su Ming turned to Kekelai.

"The Ministry of Commerce is tracking the movement of unusual alchemical materials, especially those that can be used to spread disease, pollution, or other harmful substances, to prevent the Plundering Clock from planting a plague within the country."

"Understood." Kekley nodded.

"Furthermore, order Stacy to break the 'Time Plague' spell used by the Plundering Clock as soon as possible."

The name was given by Stacy.

In response to the potential plague tactics employed by the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce, a combination of prevention and treatment was adopted.

Ainuobia reported, "Research on the 'Time Plague' is already being carried out jointly with the Star Empire."

"Okay." Su Ming nodded. "Send all the intelligence we've gathered here to the Star Empire."

"Yes," Lilishan replied.

Within the territory of the Chuxu Republic, there are actually not many Four Directions Chamber of Commerce organizations.

Their core industries are mainly located in the Star Empire and the Pearl Duchy, which are the real battlegrounds.

However, let the Star Empire handle this matter; those who are capable should take on more responsibility.

****

The orders were issued one by one, and everyone dispersed to carry out their tasks.

The footsteps faded away, and the room fell silent.

Su Ming raised his hand and pressed his temple.

This wave of emerging threads is too numerous to count—the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce, the Gravel Scale Desert, and the Plague—all intertwined.

Everything needs to be handled carefully.

He was feeling a headache when a pair of cool fingers massaged his temples with just the right amount of pressure.

Su Ming was slightly taken aback, then leaned back, his head sinking into something soft.

"Are you done with the government matters?"

Their division of labor was that Zijin would be in charge of administration, Su Ming would be in charge of external affairs.

Although the administrative framework of the Chuxu Republic has been established, it is not yet operating smoothly.

The personnel, authority, responsibilities, and processes of each department need to be refined.

"That's about it."

Zijin chuckled as she rubbed his temples.

"Keep an eye on the heads of each department and delegate tasks layer by layer."

"Just watching them fulfill their budget, scheduling, quota, and execution processes is enough."

With the head of state absent, the responsibilities of oversight and coordination must be assumed by someone.

"Thank you for your hard work," Su Ming said.

"It's alright," Zijin said casually. "It's just a lot of meetings, nothing as intense and exciting as things here."

Su Ming shook his head.

"I know you don't like this kind of thing; you'd rather be like Stacy, immersing yourself in the lab and working with technology."

Zijin sighed softly.

"There's no way around it; I bear the responsibility of being the Holy Maiden."

"Once the situation stabilizes a bit more, I'll begin decentralizing power."

She glanced down at Su Ming, a slight smile playing on her lips, "Besides, you don't seem to like these things much more than I do."

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just that it's too bad."

Su Ming said frankly.

"When it comes to commerce and trade, I'm probably just a sucker who gets fleeced."

"If it weren't for the support of the Dodder, I wouldn't be qualified to go up and arm wrestle."

Zijin chuckled upon hearing this, "It's already quite good that you can control the situation and carefully analyze the problem."

She said she gently wrapped her arms around Su Ming from behind.

Su Ming looked up at the girl, "Why does it feel like you're the one taking care of and comforting me now?"

Zijin lowered her head, the ends of her hair brushing against the side of his face.

"Is that not allowed?"

Su Ming smiled and thought of another topic.

"Once we're done with this busy period, let's go on vacation."

Zijin was somewhat surprised, "A vacation? Where to?"

She thought for a moment, then gave herself the answer, "The Arctic?"

"Luxury cruise ship, Arctic journey," Su Ming said seriously.

Zijin immediately debunked the claim, "They're clearly going to do some work, launch a satellite."

"Launching satellites is fun too."

Su Ming's reasons were sufficient.

"A pure, snow-covered world—it's been so long since I've had a chance to relax and simply do this kind of technical work."

Zijin couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Okay, then I'll accept your date request."

****

While Su Ming and Charles were engaged in a war of words over the business.

Deep in the desert, Ruixiuli spread out a map, his finger landing on the area circled in red.

"The Jinlin Chamber of Commerce's office is located in Hongshapo."

It's about 200 kilometers from our current location, which isn't a short distance.

The two buried any unused equipment and empty food wrappers in a safe place and began their journey at a brisk pace.

The sky and earth are vast, and the wind carries fine sand as it blows by.

The two barely spoke during their journey, only exchanging information about terrain landmarks when necessary.

As night fell, they arrived at the wind-eroded pillar forest, forty kilometers outside of Hongshapo.

All around were stone pillars of varying heights, riddled with holes from years of wind and sand erosion. The wind whistled through the pillars.

This place is far from the various settlements and is sparsely populated, making it a temporary stop for them.

Ruixiuli carefully surveyed the area, confirming there were no traces of humans or lizardmen, before taking out the signal transmitter and pressing the switch.

Before long, a faint whistling sound came from high in the night sky, so light it vanished in an instant.

It was Divine Eagle Drone flying overhead.

Jielusi looked down and opened her wrist screen; lines of messages were quickly pushed to her:

Tactical supply packs have been deployed.

The Hive unmanned outposts have been deployed.

The Y-3X loitering munition folding unmanned aerial vehicle system has been deployed.

High-altitude reconnaissance of the target area has been completed.

Tactical map updates are being pushed out.

Wishing you both great success in your martial arts endeavors!

Once the progress bar was complete and the map download was finished, the digital signal quickly disappeared as the drone flew out of communication range.

Ruixiuli switched the signal transmitter in his hand to receiver mode and, following the echo signal, quickly found three drop packs with small parachutes attached not far away.

One of the packages was opened, containing food, water, two sets of black combat uniforms, and a sand sled.

The other two are equipment.

The two hid the excess supplies and radio communication equipment deep within the wind-eroded pillar forest, properly camouflaging them.

After changing into combat gear and organizing their weapons, they dragged their sand sleds and equipment and made their way to the vicinity of the Red Sand Slope.

This is a trade zone with many chambers of commerce stationed there.

Using night-vision binoculars, Jielusi carefully observed the surroundings and located the Jinlin Merchant Guild's office.

It was an unassuming two-story wooden house, lit by an oil lamp, with people working inside.

Like other merchant guilds, Jinlin was treated the same as the Gravel Scale Tribe and was prohibited from entering the more central desert area ahead.

Transactions can only be completed at the temporary market surrounding Hongshapo.

"That was quite a convincing performance," Ruixiuli murmured.

Under the radar detection of the Divine Eagle, there is a stone-built basement beneath the Jinlin Office, which is seven or eight times larger than the ground level.

Jielusi pulled down her hood and examined the area carefully, but found nothing more unusual.

The two exchanged a glance and began to "infiltrate".

Nighttime is the working time in the desert. They put on linen cloaks, carry their bags, and pretend to be a pair of traveling merchants, approaching each other naked.

As they passed the Jinlin Chamber of Commerce, the two suddenly opened the door and rushed inside.

Just as the person inside was about to scream, Ruixiuli slit his throat with a single sword strike.

Ruixiuli supported the other man, letting him gently collapse to the ground.

Jielusi followed him in and closed the door behind him.

"Who!"

The people in the basement had obviously heard the noise and asked a question.

Ruixiuli sensed that there were three people below, all of them ordinary staff.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then swiftly rushed in through the entrance under the floor and finished cleaning.

Ruixiuli had intended to keep one alive for interrogation, but when the other party sensed something was wrong, he tried to activate a runic item on his body.

He had no choice but to use all his strength to kill him.

With the situation under control, Jielusi first searched the first and second floors, finding mainly living quarters and no information worth searching.

The two then met up in the basement.

The situation here is completely opposite to the problem upstairs.

There were business ledgers, delivery slips, and all sorts of miscellaneous documents everywhere.

The two men simultaneously unpacked their backpacks, took out the kerosene inside, and then began selecting important documents to put back in.

They prioritized maps and records of correspondence, followed by logs and various trade documents.

The documents in the box were all emptied out and selected.

The two worked swiftly, completing the task in seven or eight minutes.

Ruixiuli slung his backpack over his shoulder, then unscrewed the kerosene and splashed it everywhere.

The Jinlin Chamber of Commerce would be unaware that their data had been stolen if they burned the place to the ground.

Jielusi also searched the bodies, taking the coins from them.

To stage a robbery.

"They're gone."

This time, the two stopped hiding and came out of the house, running towards the edge of the red sand dune.

People from other chambers of commerce saw them, but no one made a move—what business was it of theirs what the Jinlin Chamber of Commerce was?

Besides, these two don't look like people to be trifled with; they should consider whether they're fit to meddle in other people's business.

Flames erupted from the Jinlin Chamber of Commerce's small hut, spreading rapidly along the wooden frames and clutter, engulfing the entire office in the blink of an eye.

Thick smoke billowed and swirled, carrying the stench of blood and the smell of burning paper into the air.

****

The two left quickly, but after only a few kilometers, Ruixiuli suddenly frowned.

"Someone's following us!"

The fact that the person was treated as a "person" by Ruixiuli means that the newcomer is very strong, at least the kind that cannot be shaken off.

Jielusi looked around and sighed, "Let's fight here."

They all threw down their backpacks and assumed a defensive posture.