Chapter 149 Mortgage

Several days later, Silver City.

Li Xing and Mr. Luo sat opposite each other, sharing a pot of Longjing tea produced twenty years ago.

It was extremely rare, costing thousands of silver coins per tael—equivalent to two years' salary for an ordinary worker.

"This is fine tea indeed, with not a trace of staleness, yet upon the palate, it still carries a faint hint of having passed its prime," Mr. Luo joked.

"That's just psychological suggestion. This is entirely vacuum-sealed and hermetically packaged, absolutely dry and well-preserved," Li Xing sighed. "Getting your hands on fresh tea nowadays is no easy feat. The people in the south are single-mindedly focused on growing grain; who has the leisure to tend to tea trees? Every cup we drink now is one less left in the world."

"Indeed, people's hearts are still far from settled." Understanding the subtext, Mr. Luo shook his head and asked, "Can you still reach the Big Boss?"

"Yes. For some reason, Lin Zhongqing actually let it off the hook. Perhaps she deemed it beneath her to kill it, along with that Energy Entity and the Constructor..." Li Xing said casually, "Still, they aren't of much use anyway."

"That suggests she has grand ambitions. She intends to properly rule this world rather than just taking a quick thrill and leaving. Knowing that, I feel somewhat more at ease. Coupled with that previous letter, it seems we needn't worry excessively about her settling scores with us," Mr. Luo said, taking a sip of water.

"Ah, I've never worried about her. That woman is proud by nature; as long as we bow our heads and plead for mercy, she might mock us a bit at most, but she won't push us to total annihilation. My concerns lie elsewhere," Li Xing continued to sigh.

Gone was the ambition he had harbored just months ago to contend with Lin Zhongqing for supremacy.

"Quite right, we all share a much greater apprehension now," Mr. Luo nodded. "When she chased away that existence previously, could there be no one else standing behind it? Impossible. Our current situation is entirely analogous to the Americas during the Age of Discovery—drive away one wave, and another follows right after."

"Indeed, we are merely those indigenous people. Achieving a temporary victory only to be ultimately subjugated." Hearing Mr. Luo finally articulate the truth, Li Xing replied despondently.

He found it rather strange. Clearly, just recently, his fighting spirit had been soaring; he had wanted to match wits with Lin Zhongqing, and even harbored thoughts of biting back at the Big Boss.

Yet the moment she struck with full force and drove away the most formidable entity on Earth, a deep-seated dread had gripped him in return.

It was akin to having the ceiling above one's head vanish entirely. While it opened up room for ascent, it equally meant that wind and rain would now pour in unhindered.

"For the indigenous to survive, there is only one path: make themselves strong. Relying on the mercy of others is out of the question," Mr. Luo said softly.

"But how are we to grow strong in such haste? Does mister have any countermeasures?" Li Xing frowned.

As the person who had once stood closest to the mysterious realm of spiritual plasma, he understood all too well how deep those waters ran, and he did not expect Mr. Luo to provide any real solutions.

After all, the other's wisdom was forged in familiar domains, not in uncharted territories.

"I do, actually. I recently made a careful study of all of Lin Zhongqing's tactical operations, and I discovered something rather peculiar," Mr. Luo said leisurely.

"Please enlighten me, mister." Li Xing finally perked up.

"Before she dealt with the person from that mysterious manor, she suddenly went to the Nanling Chamber of Commerce and helped them eliminate three of their backers."

Without waiting for Li Xing to prompt him, Mr. Luo continued, "Her objective was simple: the spiritual cores valued at two billion! For the sake of that, she was willing to endure the hardship of a thousand-mile journey, and even incur the wrath of additional enemies."

"I see! She had been hoarding them in massive quantities beforehand. I assumed she was merely building up reserves for the long term, but looking at it now, she must possess a method to rapidly convert them into her own power!" Li Xing exclaimed in sudden realization.

"It could be some kind of secret weapon, perhaps an artifact capable of absorbing spiritual cores..." Mr. Luo suggested.

"Yes, yes, that must be it!" Li Xing sprang to his feet in excitement.

At this moment, his stance aligned completely with Lin Zhongqing's. Their past grievances and conflicts were internal matters; what he needed to do now was help her withstand the external pressures.

Of course, he could also attempt to betray Lin Zhongqing, but after much deliberation, he doubted the newly arrived overlord would deign to look at him—given that even the previously exiled entity hadn't thought much of him, let alone someone stronger.

With nowhere to sell out an ally, his only option was to huddle together for warmth.

However, had he known that Lin Zhongqing had already prepared an escape route long ago, he would likely be feeling quite a different sensation—a chill running straight down his spine.

"It seems President Li has made up his mind..." Mr. Luo took another sip of tea and smiled.

"Indeed. I am confident Lin Zhongqing will not refuse the terms I have to offer," Li Xing said with conviction.

Only children speak of likings and aversions; adults speak purely of stances. Shifting one's stance was entirely normal, especially since he bore no personal grudge against Lin Zhongqing.

Over the years, he had gained a very clear picture of the Silver Chamber of Commerce's true financial foundation, which was exceptionally wealthy.

That was because the Big Boss was a creature of thrifty habits who despised consumption.

It believed that consumerism was a misguided heresy!

The only truly useful application of resources lay in advancing technology, rather than squandering them on meaningless entertainment.

It was a pity that no matter how sound the Big Boss's philosophy was, plans could never keep up with changes; it would never again have the opportunity to execute them.

It was far better to hand those savings over to him to use—after all, that was for its own good. Who knew what kind of temperament the newcomer might possess?

Of course, he lacked the authority to make unrestricted withdrawals; powers to extract sums exceeding a certain limit remained firmly in the hands of the Big Boss. Still, he at least knew which banks held its reserves, and that alone was sufficient.

***

The following day, Copper Fortress.

Lin Zhongqing saw off Mr. Luo, who had brought her a piece of news: the Silver Chamber of Commerce's savings accumulated over many years—amounting to a staggering forty billion silver coins' worth of spiritual cores—were all held by the two heavyweights, the Constructor and the Energy Entity.

Forty billion was an immensely substantial sum, even for a major chamber of commerce controlling a territory thousands of miles across, because this represented pure surplus rather than fixed assets.

At current market prices, this implied a colossal reserve of roughly eight billion points of spiritual energy!

Less than a year ago, Fan Bei would have to toil painstakingly for a mere dozen points. If he knew of such a colossal reserve now, he would surely sigh with infinite emotion.

Sometimes, poverty truly did limit one's imagination.

"It seems there are quite a few smart people around. When we make our escape, take them along," Lin Zhongqing said, twirling her pen.

"Very well. Actually, with reserves of this scale, unless the incoming threat is beyond all imagination, we should be able to defeat it," Dongfang Yitong said earnestly.

"Keeping the Energy Entity and Constructor around turns out to have been the right move after all. If we had rashly killed them off, it would have been quite troublesome. I'll be right back," Lin Zhongqing said as she stood up.

Her figure grew ethereal, and she plunged straight into the spiritual plasma world, mindful that the enemy could arrive at any moment.

True to her word, she was back in no time—in about half an hour—returning with a trace of excitement.

"I've retrieved them. They're all stored in my spatial domain. Those two even claimed this was commercial deposit money and demanded that I issue a formal IOU and provide collateral of equivalent value. How laughable! I am eliminating pests for heaven and earth, what's wrong with borrowing a little money from them?" Lin Zhongqing said dismissively.

Dongfang Yitong, however, shook his head. "Uhm, actually, you really ought to have provided them with collateral. Oh well, a minor detail like this won't affect the bigger picture."

Lin Zhongqing paused inwardly. Only then did she comprehend the other's background, and a wave of regret washed over her—she shouldn't have said those words.

She had essentially committed outright robbery; borrowing things without offering collateral, what was that if not daylight robbery?

Let alone in the apocalypse, even in a peaceful world, defaulting on debts was hardly an uncommon occurrence.

Yet clearly, this action had displeased him.

It made her realize that no matter how lofty her status became, her beloved always remained steadfastly principled.

"Once I defeat this new opponent, I'll return the items to them," she promised instantly.

What was forty billion compared to a single word from her beloved?