Chapter 2259: The Prince's Request

Instead, the most common people on the streets were the distinctively featured Mulan. Xia Duo noticed this strange phenomenon at a glance, so he raised his doubts to Jiamu, only to be met with a burst of laughter from Jiamu.

"Mage Asuosi, so that's what it is! You may not know this, but although the Mulan race lacks the talent to become craftsmen, they are quite adept at purchasing and management. Most craftsmen have their own affairs to attend to, so they send their Mulan slaves out to make purchases; this is a perfectly normal phenomenon."

So that was it!

But this answer did not completely resolve the doubts in Xia Duo's heart. However, as they were about to enter the city, he was not foolish enough to force Jiamu to explain everything right then and there; he would see for himself later.

……

The procedure for entering the capital was quite different from the previous cities; the biggest difference was the addition of an inspection process, which had not existed before.

Of course, specifically for Xia Duo's group, the guards of Yinnupulasi only searched the Magic Ship inside and out, without inspecting the personal belongings of Xia Duo or Poche.

During this time, a small interlude occurred. Jiamu thought he was being very discreet, but in Xia Duo's eyes, it was as clear as day; this guy was actually privately reminding the guards to inspect the Floating City after it had changed its form.

The result, of course, was that nothing was found; the Floating City was merely considered a rather strange ornament on the Magic Ship.

Although this was just a small interlude, through this incident, Xia Duo also understood one thing: the attitude of Yimaska toward outsiders like them was not welcoming, at least not treating them as guests.

They were merely regarded as objects from which profit could be extracted!

After entering the city, Jiamu did not arrange accommodation for Xia Duo's group, merely assigning a temporary docking plaza for the Magic Ship, and afterward, he was often nowhere to be seen.

Although Xia Duo had complaints about this, it was not appropriate to say much on someone else's territory. Just then, Poche came over:

"Lord Xia Duo, we may be staying in Yinnupulasi for two or three days. I need to represent His Majesty Yilise'er to discuss some matters with the Emperor of the Yimaska. During this time, you can stay on the ship, or have Jiamu take you around the city. We will depart as soon as we finish our talks."

"Councilor Poche, if you have official business, please make your own arrangements; there is no need to worry about my opinion. However, that Tax Official Jiamu has disappeared as soon as the Magic Ship docked; how am I supposed to find him?"

"I will help you find him before I leave. Without a Yimaska escort, we outsiders are not allowed to appear in other places."

"Sigh! If I had known it would be this troublesome, I wouldn't have come."

This was, of course, just a grumble, but Poche took it seriously and kept trying to contact the Yimaska side. However, Jiamu did not know what urgent matter he had, and he did not appear despite multiple attempts to contact him.

For a moment, a human and an elf felt a sense of shared indignation for the first time.

……

A certain unknown dimension.

Jiamu, who was full of airs outside, was currently standing respectfully before a young man, awaiting his inquiry.

"Do you know why I called you here?"

"Your Highness the Prince, this lowly one does not know."

In fact, Jiamu was also feeling suspicious at this moment. Normally, it was not yet time for him to report, and even if it were, he would not be reporting to Prince Aben.

He and Prince Aben clearly had no prior interaction, and now that the other party had suddenly sought him out, he was truly feeling a bit panicked.

"This—"

Prince Aben pulled out two azure Gemstones the size of a little finger joint from somewhere, waved them in front of Jiamu, then put them away and asked:

"Any impression?"

"This—could it be the Energy Gem traded from the outsiders earlier?" Jiamu was suddenly shocked. Although he was also a craftsman, he had only just entered the field and was far less profound in his attainments in this area than Prince Aben.

Could there be something wrong with that kind of Gemstone?

Before Jiamu could think it through, Prince Aben continued: "Good that you remember. Now tell me the entire process of the transaction for this kind of Energy Gem!"

"Your Highness, is there something wrong with this Gemstone?" Jiamu asked tremblingly.

"There is nothing wrong with the Gemstone itself; the problem is that there are too few of them. You haven't answered my question yet!"

"Yes, yes."

Hearing that there was nothing wrong with the Gemstone itself, Jiamu let out a long sigh of relief and then recounted the entire process of his previous Gemstone transaction with Xia Duo.

After listening to Jiamu's account, Prince Aben could not help but frown, "The other party brought out this kind of Gemstone just to exchange for some worthless Slaves?"

This was tricky. Previously, Commander Faerman of Meituo City had presented this kind of Gemstone, and after testing, he discovered that this Gemstone was perfectly suited for a Great Plan the Empire was currently undertaking.

And if a decision were made to replace them, then given the huge demand for this kind of Energy Gem for that Great Plan, even if all the Slaves in the country were exchanged, it might not be enough.

"Jiamu, I ask you, besides being interested in Slaves, what else is that outsider interested in?"

"He is also interested in the Empire's materials. He seems to be looking for some specific materials and for this reason even bought most of the material samples in Meituo City."

"Materials? Do you know exactly what materials the other party wants?" Prince Aben continued to press.

"I don't know about that; the outsider didn't say in such detail."

"Then besides materials? What else is the other party interested in?"

"The other party also wanted to obtain puppets that can manufacture puppets, but this belongs to the core interests of the Empire, so I have already refused him."

"Puppets that manufacture puppets, isn't that a Creation Secret Tool? No, this is absolutely out of the question! Is there anything else?"

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"There is also the Intelligent Puppet."

"This is also not allowed. The Intelligent Puppet relates to the inheritance of the Empire; just for some Energy Gems, it is not worth using this for an exchange."

Prince Aben was in a bit of a bind now. How could this outsider be interested in either Empire secrets or worthless things? How was he supposed to gather enough Energy Gems!

After pondering for a moment, Prince Aben seemed to have made up his mind and said to Jiamu: "I authorize you to open the material list of the Creation Secret Tool Research Institute to that outsider. Find out as soon as possible what materials they actually want!"

"The material list of the Creation Secret Tool Research Institute?"

Upon hearing this, Jiamu's heart jumped, but facing Prince Aben, he dared not refuse directly, only expressing his opposition in a roundabout way, "Your Highness, the transaction list with outsiders was determined personally by the great Master of Craftsmen, the Grand Emperor Omanode. If we open the material list of the Creation Secret Tool Research Institute, do we need to ask for His Majesty's permission first?"

"You are right to remind me; I was too impatient. However, after you go back, you can first inquire about what materials they need, or other needs that do not involve Empire secrets. After I report to His Majesty, I will notify you whether to continue."

"Yes, yes. Then this lowly one will take his leave first. With no one watching those outsiders, I am worried they might cause unnecessary trouble."

"Then go. Remember what I instructed."