Chapter 316: Plundering is Inferior to Husbandry; Colonial Trade

Ye Ming slowly raised his hand, and the enraged Erosion Bone immediately fell silent.

This showed the status Ye Ming held in its heart.

In Ye Ming's eyes, the request proposed by A Lan was equally laughable.

Without plundering, where would the resources needed for development come from?

Yet it still wanted to hear what the members of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce had to say.

"Your reason." Ye Ming's voice remained calm:

"Give me one reason not to plunder the Starfall Sea Region."

Unhurried, A Lan took out a self-made map of the Starfall Sea Region from his spatial bag and spread it on the ground.

The map displayed a relatively complete distribution of sea region resources, with every location marked in Earth script.

This included island resources, which race occupied them, and underwater resources surrounding the islands, among other things.

A Lan's finger traced across the map; pointing at it, he looked at Ye Ming and said:

"I cannot deny that plundering is the most efficient method of resource acquisition. The wealth and resources other races have hoarded for ten years, twenty years, or even longer spans of time can be taken in a single war, including even the flesh and blood energy hidden within the bodies of the living beings slaughtered during the plunder. However, from the perspective of development, there might be a more moderate and superior solution."

Speaking thus, A Lan pointed to a blue light spot on the map:

"This is Pearl Island, occupied by the Sea Demon Race. It hosts a breeding farm built by the Sea Demons themselves, producing eight hundred thousand Water Spirit Clams annually. A single plunder by you could seize twenty years' worth of wealth, but it would also mean this island would never again produce any breeding-related resources."

Then A Lan slid his finger to another island marked "Green Scale Island":

"This island is occupied by the Scale Race. The 'Tidal Spirit Fields' on the island cultivate a special spiritual plant called 'Moon Pattern Algae,' which can be harvested once every half year. If the Mist Fog Race forcibly occupies it, you could indeed plunder their accumulated stockpile in one go, but cultivating Moon Pattern Algae requires the 'Tidal Blessing' secret technique unique to the Scale Race. Once the Scale Race is exterminated, these spirit fields will degenerate into ordinary seaweed, ceasing to produce any spiritual resources."

Next, his fingertip moved to another sea region:

"This area I have circled is the 'Abyssal Whale Pasture,' managed by the Roaring Spirit Race. They tame thousands of deep-sea abyssal whales that produce Whale Spirit Marrow. The breeding technology is extremely complex; even if taught to your Mist Fog Race, it would be difficult to master, requiring substantial effort to maintain. If the Mist Fog Race slaughters the Roaring Spirit Race, this type of resource will no longer be produced."

Listening to A Lan's explanation, Ye Ming silently gazed at the map, seemingly calculating the gains and losses involved.

"General Ye Ming must surely understand what I mean. Decades are too brief for the Mist Fog Race. Rather than draining the pond to catch all the fish, it would be better to make this sea region a long-term granary for the Mist Fog Race."

"Keep them alive, and they can continuously create value for the Mist Fog Race. The Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce can establish a regulatory mechanism for you, requiring each race to contribute a certain percentage of their resource revenue in exchange for safety. This allows the Mist Fog Race to maintain stable and abundant continuous returns near its territory while engaging in external plundering wars."

Speaking to this point, A Lan seemed to think of something; after a moment of silence, he continued:

"I understand what plundering entails: converting resources into strength, and with greater strength, plundering other factions more rapidly, growing like a rolling snowball. The development model I provide might still seem less substantial than plundering in your eyes."

"But the Mist Fog Race has also faced bottlenecks in its development, such as the descent of the Death Whisper Race in the past. When external expansion stalls and internal resource production is insufficient, the result of a prolonged war is gradual decline. However, establishing a logistical support base centered on the Starfall Sea Region would grant stronger war sustainability when bogged down in conflict, providing the Mist Fog Race with a higher margin for error in warfare."

A Lan's words moved Ye Ming.

It naturally knew the series of shortcomings in the Mist Fog Race's development, so every word A Lan spoke struck home.

In fact, long ago, it had harbored similar thoughts.

To establish a logistical support mechanism, but the ones providing logistical services could not be outsiders; they had to be reliable members of its own clan.

The initial idea was to dispatch a batch of clansmen from the Homeland World to establish various resource development projects in the Monster World, including mining, farming, breeding, and so on.

However, before the plan could unfold, the invasion of the Death Whisper Race arrived.

Now, after hearing A Lan's account, it felt that having external races continuously produce resources might indeed be feasible.

Many racial factions in the Starfall Sea Region possess innate abilities that clansmen from the Homeland World could never learn; keeping them alive could allow for continuous revenue generation for the Mist Fog Race.

But whether this model was viable remained to be verified.

Ye Ming's fingertips lightly tapped the armrest of the throne, his voice carrying a hint of amusement:

"Asking the Mist Fog Race to abandon plundering is like asking a sea dragon not to eat meat; it is simply unrealistic."

A Lan said nothing, waiting for Ye Ming to continue.

"But what you said makes sense. An overly aggressive development model leaves little room for maneuver when encountering difficulties. Perhaps establishing a resource supply base is a good choice, but the plundering of the Starfall Sea Region cannot end here... Thus, compile a list detailing which races possess what value. For the races on this list, I can spare them."

Upon hearing this, the corners of A Lan's mouth twitched slightly.

What a cunning, old devil.

This list appeared to be a concession from Ye Ming, but in reality, it was Ye Ming's layout to maximize benefits.

Once the value of each race was specified, it equated to handing over the lifeline of the entire Starfall Sea Region's resources to the Mist Fog Race.

Even more insidious was that this completely cut off his possibility of secretly adding other races.

After all, every race had a specified type of resource output; adding races to the list was easy, but without corresponding resource outputs, one obviously could not get away with it.

"A list is fine, but the resource types produced by some races might overlap. In any case, I will give you a satisfactory answer."

"Good. Henceforth, the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce will have free passage throughout the Starfall Sea Region, and your safety will be protected by our Mist Fog Race." Ye Ming finally agreed.

"By the way, there is one more thing," A Lan continued.

Ye Ming nodded, signaling A Lan to proceed.

"The race I belong to is called the Player Race. Within our race, there are also multiple factions, some of which will operate near the Starfall Sea Region. They are not under the supervision of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce and might launch attacks against the Mist Fog Race."

"What are you trying to say? Are we not allowed to fight back if your race attacks ours?"

"If you suffer an attack from my Player Race, you may handle it however you wish, but do not drag the hatred onto the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce."

"This is no major issue; there is no problem."

"Happy cooperation. I will deliver the list in three days."

Just as A Lan rolled up the map and prepared to leave, Ye Ming suddenly spoke up to ask:

"Friend of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce, what is your name?"

"Shou Jili."

"Lord Shou Jili, as my Mist Fog Race returns to the Starfall Sea Region, we are currently unfamiliar with the nearby factions. In your opinion, in which direction should the Mist Fog Race expand and develop next?"

Faced with the inquiry, A Lan actually did not wish to respond.

The cooperation had already been settled; no matter where you develop, the Starfall Sea Region is destined to return to the players' hands in the future.

The Mist Fog Race is only temporarily managing this region.

But thinking that the Mist Fog Race would become a major client of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce, and that a portion of the resources plundered externally would be handed over to the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce for processing...

This was indeed a major matter concerning the development of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce, so providing some intelligence was no big deal.

After a brief moment of thought, A Lan took out another map from his spatial bag.

Then he extended his finger, pointing toward the Ascension Sea Region:

"According to intelligence from my Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce, the Death Sea Region to the north of the Starfall Sea Region is ruled by the Ancient God Race; their strength is unknown, but it is certain they possess a war force no weaker than that of the Mist Fog Race. To the southeast, the Ascension Sea Region does have two factions; they have been fighting each other for years and are already bogged down in a war quagmire..."

As A Lan spoke, Ye Ming nodded continuously, ideas already stirring in his heart.

But he would not believe A Lan's one-sided words; next, he would dispatch forces to conduct a detailed investigation into the factions of the Ascension Sea Region.

Returning to Emperor Tomb Village, A Lan opened the group chat interface of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce.

He began statistically analyzing the resource output information of each race based on the data in the plugin.

Only clans producing special resources could survive; this obviously did not align with the interests of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce.

But just as Ye Ming had said, the Mist Fog Race had just undergone a revival and needed massive resources to repair its damaged body; it was impossible to protect all races in the Starfall Sea Region.

Those clans unable to produce high-value resources could only serve as blood food and nutrients for the Mist Fog Race.

Nevertheless, A Lan decided to add some trade-friendly clans to the list.

Some conditions could be negotiated.

The Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce relied on the power of the Mist Fog Race to develop; did not the Mist Fog Race also need to rely on the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce for resource conversion?

Both parties were equals in this negotiation; the Mist Fog Race had to show some Iron Face at least.

As long as the additions to the list were not excessive, given Ye Ming's understanding, he surely would not choose to tear off the mask.

Subsequently, A Lan instructed the guild members in the group chat to depart collectively, heading to their respective linked trade races to negotiate protection agreements.

The specific plan was that for those races willing to remain in the Starfall Sea Region, the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce could provide protection, guaranteeing they would not be infringed upon by the Mist Fog Race.

However, they needed to contribute 60% of their annual resource output to the Mist Fog Race. The annual production volume would be supervised by members of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce, even involving on-site investigations.

Although this plan was difficult for the various races to accept.

Fleeing to other sea regions meant handing over their resource grounds on a silver platter, and they might still suffer plundering by the Mist Fog Race during the escape.

Going to the outer seas did not guarantee finding a suitable habitat.

Compared to extermination, barely surviving was obviously the optimal choice.

The future layout of the Mist Fog Race in the Starfall Sea Region would gradually shift from direct plundering to a colonial model.

Letting all alien races contribute to its development.

Under a stable environment, the development of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce would be secured, and it could also profit from the development of the Mist Fog Race.

Including the resources contributed by the various races to the Mist Fog Race, the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce would also extract a 10% profit from them.

There was no room for negotiation on this aspect; whether Ye Ming agreed or not, this was the bottom line.

Providing manpower, effort, and even establishing a resource management team meant these expenses could not be borne by the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce.

The Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce could offer various welfare conditions to its own players, even spending money to provide services for free, but there was absolutely no need to deliberately curry favor with alien races.

The Mist Fog Race was not yet qualified.

With his intentions clarified, A Lan began hastening his layout.

Over the next few days, the Mist Fog Legion under Ye Ming's command would also halt its expansion, giving him ample time for statistics and planning.

As for the races on the list, the primary targets would first be those clans capable of bringing high profits to the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce.

They were mainly divided into three categories.

Specifically: races possessing unique technologies, races owning special geographical resources, and races with high resource output volumes.

After explaining the situation in detail within the group chat, the members of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce set out to sea one after another to take action.

They would negotiate with the various races on behalf of the Mist Fog Race. As for whether to leave or compromise and pay tribute, the decision was left to these races themselves.

If they chose to leave, the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce already had full knowledge of the resources controlled by these races.

He will make these resource zones public on the forum, allowing any interested players to head there and mine them themselves.

They might even establish external resource extraction channels, much like the Arms Merchant Guild did.

……

Just as the Gold Coin Guild began its operations.

Players active near the Starry Sea had already clashed multiple times with the Mingwu Clan warriors.

As players, they had absolutely no intention of indulging the Mingwu Clan's reckless expansion.

This was precisely why A Lan had issued a warning in advance, explaining that the player faction he belonged to was divided into different schools of thought.

The Gold Coin Guild was merely a platform; it could not supervise every player, nor did it have the authority to force other players to act according to its wishes.

Inevitably, some players would come into conflict with the Mingwu Clan while exploring the Starry Sea.

By issuing the warning beforehand, A Lan would have a pretext to distance the Gold Coin Guild from any future friction between players and the Mingwu Clan.

At this moment, a large number of players had gathered along the Colorful Mist Coast.

Besides the fishing-focused players, many veteran players had rushed over from other regions.

Although the current difficulty level of the Starry Sea was higher than that of Emperor Tomb Village, players cared only about profits.

The backlash from the Earth-Nian Bullies, the Calamity City Walls, and a series of other tactics had kept yields perpetually low, making them arguably the poorest monsters on the entire map.

Their only advantages were their numbers and stability.

But the Starry Sea was different; the Mingwu Clan clearly lacked the methods of those bullies.

The profit gained from farming a single Mingwu Clan warrior far exceeded that from any evil spawn type in the Emperor Tomb Mountain range.

Wherever a region could generate profits, players would inevitably flock there.

Squads, teams, guild raids... the already bustling Colorful Mist Coast returned to its peak, attracting a massive influx of players.

During this period, many players from novice regions also came to the Colorful Mist Coast, hoping to join veteran teams and leech evolution points and sacrificial power.

Under the cover of night, the Colorful Mist Coast was illuminated by countless soul soul characteristics.

The densely packed players resembled a migrating school of sardines, spreading from the shoreline deep into the sea.

Veteran players generally rode flashy mounts: flame warhorses, mechanical pterodactyls, and even group transport immortal boats, weaving through the crowd above.

Many guild-made banners fluttered loudly in the sea breeze.

Nowadays, any guild with a bit of strength would craft its own banner.

They would wave them during every group event, acting like a moving advertisement to increase their guild's exposure within the player camp.

The regional voice channel was absolutely exploding with noise.

"Looking for a prayer-based healer; loot and other rewards will be distributed using the statistical plugin provided by the God King."

"Established guild recruiting! We provide potions and carry newbies. Applicants must have ranked in the top 10,000 in the first two newbie events; send screenshots of your rankings via private message."

"Does any veteran team need an accessory? This newbie can sing, dance, and perform crosstalk, guaranteeing a happy journey for you all."

"Any kind souls willing to donate 100 points of sacrificial power? Don't ask why; I'm a newbie, so I'm just asking outright. If you don't give, it's discrimination against newcomers."

"Get out of the way, hurry up! Bullying me for not having a flying mount, are you? I'm going to challenge the Mingwu Grand General to a duel; nobody block my path."

……

The liveliness of the Colorful Mist Coast far surpassed anything seen before.

The vast number of players had congested the coastline until it was completely impassable.

At this moment, flying mounts proved incredibly important, allowing one to bypass the crowded masses from above.

But for veteran players, flight was not limited to mounts; they could also achieve it through their own abilities.

Close-combat style players could burn their qi and blood to release gang qi, propelling their bodies into the air, while still flexibly adjusting their positions mid-flight.

Releasing gang qi to the left allowed flight to the right.

Releasing gang qi to the right allowed flight to the left...

The gang qi enveloping their bodies was as flexible as arms, assisting close-combat players in fighting effortlessly at high altitudes.

Actually, this flight Cultivation Mode had been proposed by players on the forum long ago, modeled after the flight style of the Champion Fighter.

It was just that back then, players' combat power levels were generally too low, and their qi and blood strength was insufficient to sustain prolonged high-altitude flight.

But now, veteran players were fully capable of doing so.

The flight methods of magic-system players were even more diverse.

The most popular method was activating the soul characteristic of "Void Grip," then controlling the Void Hands to carry oneself through the air.

Next was the telekinesis usage method shared on the forum by "Reborn But Still Can't Win."

It allowed converting spiritual energy into telekinetic force, which could be used both to kill enemies and to levitate one's body for flight.

The flight methods of close-combat and magic-system players each had their own advantages.

Close-combat excelled in speed; flying felt like a detonating engine, compressing gang qi and releasing it through specific methods, with each burst accompanied by the sharp shriek of rupturing air.

Their flight speed even surpassed the vast majority of mounts.

In stark contrast was the leisurely telekinetic flight of magic-system players, offering high endurance while generating a telekinetic wall in front, ensuring not even a hair got messed up during the flight.

However, the importance of mounts in the eyes of veteran players had not diminished.

As players explored the Monster World over increasingly vast ranges, they often needed mounts for long-distance travel.

Before mastering the ability of spatial leap, armed mounts would remain the primary functional auxiliary tool chosen by the vast majority of players for consumption.

As time passed, more and more players began venturing out to sea.

They engaged in fierce battles with the Mingwu Clan in all directions of the Starry Sea, hunting for profits and yields from the Mingwu Clan's hands.

Three days later.

A Lan appeared once again on Wuyindao.

Via location teleportation, he this time appeared directly before Ye Ming.

This truly startled Ye Ming, giving it a new understanding of the Gold Coin Guild's strength.

"Arrived as promised."

As the white light dissipated, A Lan looked at Ye Ming, smiled, and nodded, then took out a "Exemption from Plunder List" written on homemade paper from his spatial bag and handed it over.

The races listed above had all agreed to the Gold Coin Guild's conditions, securing the protection of the Mingwu Clan through future tributes.

Creating this list was not easy.

Essentially, this list was a map, marking the islands where the races willing to pay tribute were located, along with relevant information about each race.

The translation and writing of the text had been conducted entirely through research in the library.

Otherwise, if Earth characters were marked on the map, Ye Ming clearly would not understand them.

He had been busy non-stop these past few days, only now finally completing this map list.

Ye Ming took the map list and lowered its head to examine it.

After a long while, Ye Ming raised its head, eyebrows slightly furrowed:

"Many of the resource points for the races on your list are similar; for instance, regarding mining operations, the characteristics of the Cave Dweller Race and the Sky Helm Race are alike. One could easily assign the resource extraction of these two points to just one of these races. Given the size of these two races, either one alone would be sufficient to handle the resource points of both islands simultaneously; there is no need to keep both races, is there?"

Facing Ye Ming's challenge, A Lan, who had long prepared his explanation, immediately replied:

"In terms of resource output, these two races have no specialized expertise, and their mining methods overlap; however, in other fields, these two races might contribute to the development of the Mingwu Clan."

"First, the Cave Dweller Race: although they are not skilled in combat, having lived underground for generations, their intuition regarding mineral vein trends far surpasses that of other races. They can sniff out many special ores within mineral layers, easily grasping the output of those rare spiritual ores during the mining process, occasionally bringing surprises."

"As for the Sky Helm Race... their combat capabilities are weak, but they are highly skilled in constructing various buildings, which can provide some assistance for the future construction of your Mingwu Clan's territory. Even if you Mingwu Clan do not need them, my Gold Coin Guild does; this race holds value in the eyes of my Gold Coin Guild, so they must be kept."

Having said this, A Lan did not continue speaking.

Ye Ming fell silent for a moment, then finally nodded slowly:

"The Gold Coin Guild is now our ally; since you have a need, then let them continue to live."

Just then, Ye Ming changed the subject:

"But what is the meaning of the 10% resource commission marked on the map list?"

"The collection, supervision, transportation, and other links for all tribute items are the responsibility of my Gold Coin Guild. Should we not collect this 10% profit? The essence of the cooperation between the Gold Coin Guild and the Mingwu Clan is to earn profits, not merely to seek protection; the Gold Coin Guild requires no protection from any force."

Ye Ming did not press on this point, smiling and nodding:

"What you say is true; the Gold Coin Guild and my Mingwu Clan are in a cooperative relationship, so naturally, resource profits are needed. However, regarding the transportation you mentioned, my clan can handle that ourselves. For the supervision link, we only need to station a few of my Mingwu Clan warriors on each island. What you call 'taking responsibility' amounts to nothing more than tallying the resource profits at the end. This does not seem difficult; is dividing 10% of the profits justified based solely on this?"

A Lan's lips curled slightly upward; his fingertips lightly tapped the table, emitting a crisp rhythmic sound, yet a trace of sharpness flashed in his eyes:

"General, you seem to underestimate the weight of the word 'transportation.' Indeed, the Mingwu Clan can handle transportation and supervision themselves, but the Mingwu Clan is about to go to war with the Ascension Sea. Your main war forces will inevitably be deployed to the front lines. Do you think the two factions in the Ascension Sea will only respond passively in the future? Could they not launch active strikes to plunder the resources of the Starry Sea?"

"Once war breaks out in the future, both the Ascension Race and the Shu Yan Domain will investigate the Starry Sea. Regardless of whether it is the Ascension Race or the Shu Yan Domain, both factions possess spatial leap technology, allowing them to bypass front-line defenses and descend directly upon the Starry Sea to plunder the Mingwu Clan's transport resources."

Ye Ming's expression stiffened slightly, clearly weighing the pros and cons.

Seeing this, A Lan felt even more confident in his heart:

"The 10% profit buys not just transportation, but also the absolute security guarantee provided by the Gold Coin Guild."

"How secure?"

"As I said before, even if the entire Starry Sea is destroyed by external forces the next second, the resources stored by the Mingwu Clan in my Gold Coin Guild will still exist. When your clansmen from your homeland world return to the Monster World, they will still be able to inherit these resources from my Gold Coin Guild. This is the integrity of my Gold Coin Guild."

"Very well, I agree." This time, Ye Ming did not continue to make things difficult, decisively accepting the conditions.

"Happy cooperation."

With the conditions thoroughly settled, A Lan extended an invitation to Ye Ming:

"Ten days from now, my Gold Coin Guild will hold an auction on Dream Island. Many rare resources will be presented then; perhaps the General could come and take a look. There might be auction items among them that satisfy you."

Upon hearing this, ripples stirred in the mist surrounding Ye Ming, its interest immediately piqued.

(End of Chapter)