Chapter 760: Embezzlement
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Greater Rat Underground Kingdom, in a s.p.a.cious courtyard outside the city.
The fire in the courtyard was red. A strong man with a tough and stocky build was bending his head to smelt a strange piece of metal. From time to time, a ‘clang clang’ sound was heard.
In the courtyard, a row of iron tanks was placed against the wall. If not for the light yellow logo saying ‘Concentrated Vitality Tank No. 97’ printed on it, uninformed people would have thought that it was a gas tank.
While working, the man looked up from time to time and sighed.
Before long, the stone gate of the courtyard was pushed open, and a young man entered.
The hammering sound stopped immediately.
The strong man straightened up, took one look, and quickly greeted him.
“Lord Nie? Your presence here brings light to my humble dwelling. Is there anything I can help you with?” The strong man was extremely courteous.
“Haha, Brother Hu Fen, you don’t have to be so polite. We used to work together under Cang Lang, we have camaraderie.” Nie Yuan said amiably.
“Ah, the times have changed. You’re now a Lord with ten thousand square kilometers of underground land, while I’m just an ordinary blacksmith. I can only rely on my workmans.h.i.+p to put food in my mouth and drag out an ign.o.ble existence in this Greater Rat Kingdom. I can’t compare to you…” Hu Fen’s tone concealed a trace of jealousy and envy.
“That’s just charity from others, and can be withdrawn at any time. What’s there to be envious of?” Nie Yuan shook his head.
“Hm, you’re right. Ever since Lord Cang Lang went missing, we lost our backer. Some people said it was suppressed by Vigilante A in the Draconic Realm, but they don’t know if it’s true or not. It had been several months since we lost contact with it, and the Demon Alliance has also been torn apart.” Hu Fen shook his head and sighed.
Nie Yuan smiled, “Brother Hu sure is modest. You’re now the capable person under King Bai. You’re highly valued and responsible for creating weapons. It’s not a job that ordinary demons can do.”
“Hmph, what’s so important about that? I’m just doing labor. That King Bai only believes in those rats beneath him and let them serve as ministers. He’ll only use demons like ourselves.” A trace of dissatisfaction flashed past his face before he suddenly realized something and apologized, “I’m sorry, Lord Nie, I forgot that you came from the Rat Demons.”
Nie Yuan was not embarra.s.sed at all and continued smiling, “No worries. My relations.h.i.+p with that person broke down long ago, and we’ve never come into contact with each other for a long time. He schemed with that person to usurp the position of the Elder Ancestor, but he bowed to the human race. He’s truly a vile demon.”
“Hiss…” Hu Fen looked around and hurriedly said, “Please guard your tongue, Brother. This is the Kingdom. Who knows if there are any monitoring networks put up for that hypocritical King?”
“Haha, don’t worry, Brother Hu. I’ve already completely blocked this place off before entering. Not a single sound will escape.” Nie Yuan waved his hand.
“That’s good. However, Lord Nie, let’s go inside and talk more instead.” Hu Fen relaxed and warmly invited.
The two people walked in tandem into the living room to talk.
Nie Yuan glanced around and saw that the decorations were quite simple. There were only a few pieces of furniture. It was clear that life was obviously not that good.
Ordinarily, it would seem that this Brother Hu usually spent too much.
He immediately knew what was going on, and a pocket that was glittering inside appeared in his hand.
“Hiss… Lord Nie, what’s the meaning of this?” Hu Fen’s eyes brightened.
“Haha, it’s just some Elemental Sand. I just happened to come across it, and it can be used to refine weapons. It’s not much, but it’s a little gift for visiting for the first time. Please accept it, Brother Hu.” Nie Yuan said faintly.
“Oh, how do you use this?” Although that was what he said, Hu Fan grabbed it and said fervently, “Lord Nie is too pa.s.sionate, I truly feel unworthy. Please, take a seat. I’ll get some wine and dishes right away. We’ll talk over drinks.”
“Very well.” Nie Yuan nodded. This tiger demon was indeed a small person who would forget morality when seeing a profit. He could be bought over with just a little treasure.
However, humans were the same as well. Humans could buy votes with money, so he could also buy people with treasures, as well as a ticket to a certain person.
…
At 1:30, the tiger and rat were already very familiar with each other, as if they were long lost brothers.
“Brother, you must have some purpose to come here. Why don’t you just say it?” Hu Fen drank a cup of erguotou 1 and said boldly.
The Greater Rat Kingdom did not have a brewing industry. It was all imported.
After all, compared to the mature liquor industry the humans had, it would be too troublesome to start all over again. It was better to import directly.
“When I came, I saw those vitality tanks placed in your house. Those troublesome things shouldn’t have been needed before, right?” Nie Yuan slowly revealed his true purpose.
“I know, right? Since vitality suddenly withered up and those dogsh*t vitality nodes popped up, I have to buy a large amount of these vitality tanks if I want to make weapons, otherwise, I won’t be able to refine. Fortunately, those old rats are in responsible for the budget, but if I want to sell some weapons in private, I’ll have to go through a lot of trouble. Those vitality tanks are the most troublesome. The vitality isn’t better than others, and the consumption is large. It’s also annoying coming and going…” Hu Fen complained.
“Haha, I have reliable information that these troubles are all caused by collusion between King Bai and the immortals from the Upper Realm.” Nie Yuan waved his hand and an image appeared in the air.
In the image was exactly what Bai s.h.i.+xin showed to Fang Ning before. The other side cooperated with immortals from the Upper Realm to create spatial cracks and absorb the vitality of the planet.
“That’s despicable. How could they do something like that?” Hu Fen started to angry, and then became relieved, “Right, he’s just a weak scoundrel too feeble to even truss a chicken. He can only rise to the top with the support of Bai s.h.i.+fu and his group. How would he have the guts to refuse immortals from the Upper Realm?”
“That’s right. If Elder Ancestor or Lord Cang Lang were here, something like this definitely wouldn’t have happened. As you know, ever since vitality started withering up, the birthrate of our demonkind on Earth has greatly decreased. Furthermore, many demons are on the edge of degeneration, and are powerless to defend themselves. After all, they’re born with sapience. Unlike humans, they’re born by relying on vitality slowly permeating, while humans are beings completed by natural evolution. When vitality decreases, humans won’t lose their intelligence, but we demonkind will return to the state of being wild animals.” Nie Yuan made a show of bemoaning the state of the universe.
Hu Fen fiddled with the bag of Elemental Sand but was noncommittal about this, and remained silent.
Seeing this, Nie Yuan understood where he went wrong. This one would not worry about the overall situation of demonkind. He would only worry about whether he would achieve benefits.
Thus, he then said, “If we find Elder Ancestor or Lord Cang Lang and put things right, I believe that at that time, Brother Hu Fen will also be promoted to a high official position and enjoy endless wealth…”
“Oh, is that so?” Hu Fen’s eyes brightened and he quickly asked.
“Of course. The humans’ prosperity is nothing. At that time, a large number of resources will be at Brother Hu’s disposal. You won’t have to skimp on refining materials to make a living anymore.” Nie Yuan said.
“However, how are we supposed to find those two people?” Hu Fen shook his head and did not harbor any hope, “If they could be found, why haven’t they been found already?”
“Haha, today is different from the other days. The time has come. I believe that person will definitely release Elder Ancestor.” Nie Yuan said confidently.
“Huh? He was the one who personally suppressed Elder Ancestor. Why would he release him? How are you so confident?” Hu Fen drank another cup, still not believing.
“As long as you follow me, you’ll see.” Nie Yuan said faintly.
“Well, I’m incompetent and virtueless. I wonder why you chose me to follow you?” Hu Fen shrunk back slightly.
‘Hmph, you are incompetent and virtueless. However, you have treasures…’
Nie Yuan said in his heart.
He then said, “Brother, don’t belittle yourself. I heard that you’re building a weapon for King Bai, and I want to give that to that person as a condition for releasing Elder Ancestor. What do you think?”
“Hiss… That’s embezzlement. It’s a crime worthy of death!” Hu Fen hurriedly waved his hand, the liquor completely scared out of him.
“Haha, don’t you know? The materials and equipment you’re using now used to be the Elder Ancestors. Isn’t it natural that the treasure created should be exchanged for the Elder Ancestor’s freedom? How could that be considered embezzlement?” Nie Yuan said glibly.
“Well, if you put it that way, you’re right. It’s said the foundation of the whole Underground Kingdom was painstakingly created by Elder Ancestor Bai. Alright, I’ll follow you, Brother. I don’t want to continue doing this labor anymore.” Hu Fen gritted out.