Chapter 724: The Flotilla Arrives

“What’s the matter?!” Zhao Xinggang set the newspapers on the chessboard and huffed angrily, “Hell has just released news about their plans to support the light industry and the manufacturing industry!”

“No raw materials. Furthermore, the source and lifeblood of the manufacturing industry and the light industry are both truncated from upstream. No matter how many times Hell attempts to stimulate our economy with these stopgap measures, it’s all going to be useless unless the root of the problem is addressed. Entering the market now is no different from starting a dying business.”

Meng Zhiming’s gaze shone brightly.

What was more important was the fact that the seaport was finally opening up. As businessmen, they knew full well the importance of networks. The greater the network and connectivity of the port, the higher the returns. This was the true nature of running a business predicated on demand and supply. Besides, who is to say where the equilibrium of demand and supply for such raw materials would lie in just a few months’ time?

Furthermore, he knew full well that the state was directly involved in some of the sectors out there. How deep were state resources? Take a look at the state-funded enterprises out there in the mortal realm. Could private enterprises truly compete with those giants and behemoths out there? No! They could easily price them out on the pretext of governmental policies! In other words, the pie to be divided was only going to shrink as time went by, because the government would no longer need any boost offered up by the private sector!

In other words, now was the best time to enter the industry and secure themselves the first movers’ advantage! Meng Zhiming’s pace quickened, and his breaths grew ragged. Ten minutes later, he finally stopped and picked up the papers once more.

Divine Crane Plume: Tropical specialty trees, can be used to replace rubber. Cargo: 500,000 tons. Carrier: Headless Hyena I.

Morningstar Beans: Recreational use, coffee substitute. More aromatic than the ones in the mortal realm, and brings about warmth to its users. Cargo: 700,000 tons. Carrier: Moses IV.

So many… Meng Zhiming skimmed through the inventory list of the ships and identified over 20 key materials that included gum, steel, recreational use goods, cloth, seedlings, and so on and so forth. It wasn’t hard to see that Hell’s efforts were finally paying off. The influx of these goods was most certainly going to stir the lukewarm hearts of the Yin spirits once more.

“Given our mortal realm resume, we’ll probably be given top priority when it comes to our business. This is a huge opportunity, Old Zhao!”

“Entertainment supplies, raw materials, factory equipment, shipping routes… Hell has done far too much to kickstart the whole manufacturing industry! And this is the final cog in the machinery! They’ll never let these gears stop turning!”

The total loan came up to 50 million HL!

Meng Zhiming arrived at the docks in no time. As soon as he did, he immediately saw the Yin spirits that the government had summoned to the docks. What’s more, he could see the monarch beasts bowing deeply on the ground with great respect. Meanwhile, the rest of the Yin spirits around were all doing the final cleanup work and clearing up any construction garbage in sight for the grand opening.

That said, he was relieved.

Hell had truly outdone themselves this time. Unfortunately, this was also the classic case of the boy crying wolf, and there were too many past instances when Hell promised much, but delivered a lacklustre performance, including the Qin Gardens, the distribution of entertainment amenities, the Hungry Ghost Festival, and so on and so forth. Each of these instances had stirred up great hype among the citizens, only to become a huge letdown when the dust settled.

Those who were here were probably the wheat among the chaff who were able to discern an opportunity when they saw one. In all likelihood, they might even end up becoming rival companies in future as well. Thus, after a brief moment of eye contact, nobody said a word.

But before he could even finish speaking, a group of people suddenly rushed into the pavilion. Everyone froze at once, and then scattered to the sides.

Hell’s military force. The ancient-style armor on their bodies made them easily identifiable. In less than five minutes, the Yellow Springs Pavilion was completely cleared of all people, and the ones who had earlier been processing their documents were all taken to the second floor for the time being. Following that, a second group of people entered the Yellow Springs Pavilion.

There were still 10 days until the grand opening of the port, when international sea trade would officially be launched. The Ministry of Communications was already in full swing, preparing for the grand festivities to take place at the launch event. Right now, Ashmound Port was of the top priority, not only because it would trigger a revival in the languishing industries of Hell, but also because it would form the foundation upon which Hell’s negotiations with the mortal realm would take place.

They sat on both sides of the room, while their scribes sat behind them. Following that, Xu Changan sighed softly, before walking down the long aisle with a hexagonal crystal in his hands and offering it gingerly to Qin Ye with both hands.

At once, the shattered bits coalesced into a circular frame, upon which the Yin energy in the room converged. Three seconds later, a screen appeared suspended in mid-air, on which a projection was displayed.

It was the image of the seas, filled with raging waves. But right there, in the middle of the waves, was the silhouette of a behemoth with eyes blazing with golden netherflames. Most of the behemoth was hidden underwater, but the surface of the seas continued to be illuminated with splendid netherflames, making it difficult to see beyond the reflections on the surface of the water. Apart from that, one could vaguely see a group of buildings hovering above the waters, spanning a thousand meters from end to end, and lit brightly with netherflames as well.

This was the arrival of the Russian flotilla!

“What’s this?” Qin Ye frowned. Mothership? An aircraft carrier? No… It looks more similar to an amalgam of Yin energy, a biological lifeform, and artificial construction. It almost appears to be something right out of one of the animes I’ve seen. Besides, if the Harken knows of it, then it must mean that this thing has existed since a hundred years ago! I guess my understanding of the might of these first-rate underworlds is still far too lacking…

Zhao Yun adde, “As far as I can recall, the Pyotr is 50 kilometers long and 18 kilometers wide, larger than most of the main Cathayan cities back in the mortal realm! It was one of the main reasons the Russian Underworld was even propelled into the ranks of first-rate underworlds to begin with. In fact, I recall that in the last international weapons development conference I’d attended, the Pyotr was ranked joint first together with the Argosian Underworld’s mothership. This… can practically be considered a deployment of their strongest military force.”

“No.” Qin Ye crossed his legs and sipped his tea placidly, “The collapse of their plans to develop Forbidden Arts must have caused the nameless god of death to face terrifying pressures back in the Russian Underworld. The overflowing wrath and rage in his heart must already be sufficient to fill the ocean several times over. Add war reparations to the equation, and it’s not difficult to understand why he would be doing what he’s doing.”

He raised his hand, and the image in the air vanished at once, causing the shattered crystal to once again reunite together to form a hexagonal crystal. He held up the crystal in his hand as he continued to explain, “Their war reparations are probably also loaded on this flotilla. They’re daring us to take it from them. After all, Hell has only sent a single Yin spirit to deal with them over the course of the entire Forbidden Arts incident, so they’re still suspicious of our reserve might. So… they’re trying their luck.”

Just then, Qin Ye suddenly looked up at the Harken, “Are you able to sink the Pyotr?”

Qin Ye nodded, “I thought so. If this had happened just a little while ago, then we might really have no choice but to abandon our war reparations. After all, this thing can probably come and go in our territorial waters, and there wouldn’t be anything we could do against it. But now…”

He glanced at Zhao Yun and smiled faintly, “They’re simply courting death.”