CHAPTER 691: CHAPTER 17 THE TRUMP CARD

After Zhou Kai left, Li Yu did not immediately head to Bratis, but sat in his office for a while longer.

Gazing at the cup of tea in front of him and watching the green tea leaves undulate beneath the surface of the water, he couldn’t help but become lost in thought.

To tell the truth, until he submitted the application last night, Li Yu was still hesitating.

Ever since he learned of the potential invasion of Bratis by the Wing Tribe, he had been pondering subsequent countermeasures.

Green Field had by then unveiled gunpowder technology, the discovery of iron ore and the establishment of steel factories had provided the necessary raw materials for the production of modern firearms, and Li Yu had followed this up by setting up an arms factory.

But there was still quite a distance to go before mass production could be achieved.

The firearms the Double Rest Sect currently had were actually created by cutting corners, either using seamless steel tubes Li Yu had brought back or directly printed by 3D printers.

However, such tactics could only be justified once or twice, and from the perspective of cost, they were unsustainable.

According to the estimate of factory manager Ge Lipeng, the arms factory would not be able to independently produce firearms before at least six months, and even then, the initial output would not be high.

Li Yu was not sure if those from the Wing Clan would give them that time.

Although the strategic importance of the Western Territory was not too great, and by reason should not become the main target of those from the Wing Clan, the problem was that the Lady had incurred too much of their wrath.

Before the Wing Clan’s army had even arrived at Bratis, Miss Rabbit had already killed three Wing Clan scouts in Green Field and slain a dragon from their side, and then she had foiled the Dwarfs’ conspiracy to swallow up the Western Territory.

This time, the Wing Clan Warrior named Shajia who came seeking revenge on the Lady was the best proof, and according to the intelligence sent back from the Royal Capital, this Shajia had a rather complicated identity.

He was roughly equivalent to a prince on the Bratis Continent and also bore the title of the first warrior.

Given the full preparations of the Arias family and the Double Rest Sect, the fate of him and his fifteen companions in Green Field was as good as sealed.

Therefore, it was estimated that the hatred value on the Lady would have to surge even higher.

Li Yu had to prepare for the worst and had begun contemplating adopting more aggressive and effective measures before the annual meeting.

Ironically, it was the news that mad cow disease was causing international beef prices to rise that inspired him.

Bacteria and viruses, like steel and firearms, have deeply impacted human civilization and even altered the course of history.

The lives claimed by epidemics exceed those taken by wars.

The Antonine Plague, the Justinian Plague, the Medieval Black Death that swept through European countries, the smallpox epidemic of the sixteenth century, the Spanish flu of the nineteenth century, AIDS...

Each name has brought endless disasters, tragic losses that the people of the time could not recover from, most of which rage on Earth to this day.

Some of the viruses had even been weaponized in the past.

But it was precisely for this reason that Li Yu had to be more cautious.

As a modern person, he was acutely aware of the terrifying destructive power of bacteria and viruses. Once Pandora’s box was opened, it could never be closed again.

This was a one-way road.

And now, Li Yu stood at the crossroads, hoping that this ultimate measure would not have to be used.

That in the meantime, a new way to defeat those from the Wing Tribe could be found, or the arms factory production could go smoothly enough to allow him to muster a sufficiently large force of flintlock gun troops in the shortest time possible.

He led the Bratis Continent into the era of execution by firing squad ahead of time.

But if, just if... all of this didn’t materialize, Li Yu still needed to ensure he had one last trump card up his sleeve.

Therefore, he ultimately decided to use one employee wish to obtain a batch of avian viruses, hoping that if Ireya could capture some Wing Clan captives for him, he would have the samples he urgently needed.

He would then be able to start testing his hypothesis to see if those avian viruses were indeed effective in affecting those Wing Tribe members.

However, even if the experiment truly succeeded, the consequences of using the virus would not be limited to the infected Wing Tribe members.

Li Yu now only hoped that he would not need to press that red button that represented destruction.

Even though deities were not only benevolent, they also had an inviolable majesty.

...

The ambush that occurred at Teacup Castle, due to the limited number of participants and the short duration of the fight that took place deep into the night.

So, for the time being, it didn’t cause any noticeable impact, not only in the West Land but most of the New Town’s residents also didn’t know that Wing Tribe members had stealthily infiltrated the castle planning to assassinate their lord last night.

The next morning, Miss Rabbit still went with Li Yu to inspect a new bathhouse in the city, and the bathhouse owner was also an acquaintance of theirs.

After his previous entrepreneurial failure with roasted snacks, Niu Xiangui didn’t get discouraged and started looking for other business opportunities.

He first toured the mining area because that’s where most people were, thinking about maybe selling boxed lunches there, but after a complete survey, he concluded that although there were many Dwarfs, they were all poor.

Moreover, the mine provided meals, and the Dwarfs worked hard every day just to earn Alcohol Exchange Vouchers.

Therefore, Niu Xiangui thought about engaging in food delivery in New Town, a fiercely competitive industry on modern Earth that was still an utterly untapped blue ocean in Green Field.

It just so happened that he found writing algorithms was right up his alley, but the reality proved that some oceans are blue for a reason.

Nevertheless, after hitting a few walls, Niu Xiangui luckily stumbled upon a realization... why was he obsessing over innovation? Isn’t it risky to be a pioneer? Isn’t it sweeter to imitate?

Prophet Li Yu had already written down the correct answers and laid them out in front of him.

Niu Xiangui noticed that Green Field was like China in the 70s and 80s; simply hopping on the fast train of reform and opening up meant that doing practically anything could make money.

So as long as he dived into whatever the Double Rest Sect was promoting and followed governmental policies, how could he possibly fail in getting a piece of the action?

Having an epiphany, Niu Xiangui borrowed some start-up funds from other transmigrators and began establishing bathhouses in New Town, even recruiting and training a batch of bath attendants, highlighting service with a commitment to glorify northern style bathing on the new continent.

He also planned to turn it into a chain brand, intending to bring his Seafloor Bathhouse beyond Green Field, through the West Land, and onto the world stage.

Miss Rabbit thought the name of the bathhouse was a bit odd but felt refreshed after an intense scrubbing session and felt rather invigorated upon leaving.

The Lady even promised to help Niu Xiangui with free promotion among the nobility, encouraging everyone to come and soak in the Seafloor Bathhouse.

On the way back to the castle, the young lady asked Li Yu, "Do you think that Solomon will send assassins to kill me again?"

"For now, he probably won’t, because it would take Solomon at least a month to realize something happened here in Shajia," Li Yu said, "The bad news is he probably didn’t pay us much attention before, and this incident will likely increase his vigilance towards us.

"And considering Shajia’s special identity, even if Solomon doesn’t want to move against us right now for strategic reasons, he will probably have to show some response to the death of Shajia and the others.

"Let’s wait for the new information from Kieren. He and Silver Hand seem to carry quite a bit of weight in Solomon’s eyes right now, if Solomon makes any new moves later, they should be able to catch wind of it."