Chapter 558

Ah, I...

The poor seventh son of the Lion family was thus played with by Ji Ming, being duped by the other party's twisted logic: "Although the difficulties you face far exceed your abilities, isn't it your fault if you don't just smash your head against it?"

His mind turned to mush, he panicked and ran in circles, finally only able to blurt out a single question.

Divine Chosen Sir, may I ask what I should do now?

Ji Ming showed a kind smile.

Well...

Although Little Lion envisioned that the Lion Heart Kings of all ages should employ the classic Jiajing method, turning into a loud, clanging non-stick pot.

But for Jiajing to serve as a non-stick pot, he needed a large number of eunuchs and secret agents keeping him confined to the palace, allowing him to maintain strong surveillance over the entire capital, even the whole world.

Moreover, Jiajing himself was smart enough, relying on ample information and absolute military power and authority, could control a horde of subjects sharper than monkeys.

In other words, since he's the only one who can overturn the chessboard by force, he can of course leisurely play chess with any opponent, completely at ease.

But even this smart Jiajing ended up having his halo pierced by Hai Rui's Memorial on Peace and Order, and with the line "As Jiajing said, every household is clean but lacks wealth," he was cast into the ranks of virtuous rulers, only to become a laughingstock for the ages—what more could be said of Giuseppe's descendants?

Although the ability gained from the high-pressure environment provided a safety net, royal power had never waned, but after the storm that swept through almost the entire kingdom, royal power was no longer the sole supreme authority.

Therefore, unlike the Hui Guang Kingdom, which constantly maintains a tug-of-war between two factions, the environment of the Shen Lin Wang Guo is quite complex.

Royal power, the Northern Border, and the Church are three major powers locked in a stalemate, while local nobility abound, with everywhere showing a vibrant scene of life flourishing and all things competing to grow.

Why, then, should Deep Forest be as stable as Mount Tai, while the Radiant Light, which maintains the balance, is spun like a top?

Because, in terms of military strength, royal power does not match the Northern Border, making it hard to command them with absolute authority; it can only issue a dignified royal summons.

Accordingly, to guard against invasions by northern nomadic peoples, the Northern Border dare not act recklessly or betray the rear, thus always maintaining decorum with royal power.

Although the Church's grassroots control exceeds royal power, the people are ultimately ruled by the local nobility, and even by the nobility's master—the Lion Heart King.

To prevent his subjects from being incited by the Church, the Lion Heart King created a super debuff that could plunge the world into chaos, yet he must also maintain respect and support for the Church.

As for the Northern Border and the Church, whether in the north or the east, they share a camaraderie of fighting side by side, which serves as an objective basis for peaceful coexistence.

Moreover, in name they are all supposed to be subordinate to royal power, so to prevent any Lion Heart King from going mad, they likewise cannot break faith with each other.

So, since these three bigwigs stand in a tripartite balance, greeting each other with smiles, the local nobility—these little fleas—naturally can only learn to be honest and keep a low profile.

Therefore, despite the Shen Lin Wang Guo's internal power complexity far surpassing that of the Radiant Light, it actually achieved a delicate balance, even allowing friendly competition and reasonable involution, worthy of being called a marvel of the sun and moon.

But for Ji Ming, this is hardly good news, since even if he's already drawing on both sides, he's frantically mixing sand into the porridge of the Deep Forest people.

Yet Rose's path leans toward royal power, Dandelion's toward the Church, and even Kristin's path can barely be counted as leaning toward the Northern Border!

After scrambling to build a sufficiently complete underground intelligence network, he couldn't even hold up a single rough piece of cloth.

Therefore, his suggestion to A Qita was to become more active upon returning, to put on an appearance of eagerness for progress, and at the same time emphasize that he is from the West.

Huh??

A Qita was left dumbfounded, and hurriedly asked.

Sir, it's possible, but what's the point of doing this?

Ji Ming naturally has his own considerations, for in the coming period, players will surely flock, with the new version's launch, in large numbers to the Lingxi Kingdom overseas, west of the Deep Forest.

Under Ji Ming's direction, Rose, as the Deep Forest's Chief Pioneer, will directly launch into a wailing mode, everywhere lamenting, 'Oh damn, how terrible the Pioneers are!'

According to the current Deep Forest version, under heavy public opinion pressure, whichever side among the three must dispatch personnel to strengthen the Western Front's defense, otherwise it would be considered ill-intentioned.

Then it was Archbishop Ke Te Si, A Qita's direct superior, who had to act; given his position, even if he couldn't directly appoint, giving a nomination to his superior was obviously unproblematic.

So, having shown a strong desire for progress, with his base already in the Western Border, A Qita, who can seamlessly transition work, is undoubtedly the best choice.

Upon arriving at the kingdom's west, whether gathering information on local nobility or researching which beach suits thousands of clean-shaven young fishermen for beach landings, this young royal offspring has ample authority to push the investigation forward.

But from Ji Ming's perspective, wanting to run this logic chain, to have A Qita leave the dangerous central Deep Forest for the west where the Church's influence is relatively weaker, can be said to entail no difficulty whatsoever.

But as the parties involved, with A Qita's life and livelihood already in peril, and lacking any knowledge of Ji Ming's underground intelligence organization's existence, he would surely not readily believe such an outlandish suggestion.

So after hesitating a bit, he still raised his own doubts.

Sir, with my sincerity, I am certainly very willing to believe you, but...

A Qita's hesitation is not surprising to Ji Ming, or rather, if he were a simpleton who would blindly follow after just a couple of persuasive words, that would truly be disastrous.

Thus Ji Ming merely smiled faintly and teased.

Well, I didn't expect you to be the type who won't act until seeing a rabbit—i. e., someone who needs concrete incentive.

Divine Chosen Sir, I...

No rush, I'm a good person, I won't deceive others (classic); what's more, you came to me with sincerity.

Well...

Come, look at this.

Although Rejuvenation IV has almost become a necessary good medicine for nearly all players, due to game system limitations, its formula has still not been leaked.

But now that players have become a major force, clutching this medicine tightly for fear of leakage and backlash is simply lacking confidence.

Thus Ji Ming handed A Qita exactly the secret formula for Rejuvenation IV, along with the privilege to privately brew that potion and earn funds through underground channels.

Of course, he only has the rights to brew and sell, and must do so secretly, ensuring that those who shouldn't know—especially the Deep Forest Church—remain unaware.

If this were to invite disaster, even investigation...

Since Ji Ming can defuse bombs in others' minds, he can naturally plant them there as well.

At that point, this knowledge in A Qita's mind will be directly and forcibly erased, and regardless of the outcome, he will be dismissed on the spot and never rehired.

However, for A Qita, compared to this extremely costly secret formula that could easily make one rich, this little price is truly minuscule.

Sir, I am willing to offer my loyalty!

Naturally bowing his head, he let Ji Ming feel the tremor of Long Aotian's tiger body.

Great, then follow me.

After that, he proceeded under Ji Ming's guidance to conduct a trial production of Rejuvenation IV on the spot.

But from Ji Ming's perspective, wanting to run this logic chain, to have A Qita leave the dangerous central Deep Forest for the west where the Church's influence is relatively weaker, can be said to entail no difficulty whatsoever.

"d district! Divine Chosen Sir, is this really the formula for the fourth generation of Rejuvenation?"

Yes.

Cough cough, to be frank, I also bought some Rejuvenation Elixir on the black market... d area, the taste is definitely different from this one.

Just get used to it.

After multiple optimizations by Ji Ming and the players, the production process of the Rejuvenation Elixir is now much better than before.

Looking back, Ji Ming always stirred the pot with a death-defying attitude when brewing medicine; now, tsk tsk...

These youngsters nowadays really can't endure hardship!. jpg

But Aqita, who participated in the dung-boiling project for the first time, really found it hard to persevere, risking his life, and only then managed to barely reach the point where hard work pays off.

Eh, this is the taste!

After taking a sip of the self-brewed Rejuvenation Elixir Fourth Generation, there were no more complaints.

Thanks for the guidance, Divine Chosen; if there's any need in the future, just give me a word and I'll go through fire and water...

After making repeated promises, feeling that his dreary life finally had a glimmer of hope, Aqita let out a long sigh of relief.

Sigh, although I don't know what the Divine Chosen's purpose is in making me active, but with such a major investment in hand, they surely won't abandon me, right?

Farewell!

And while Aqita left the garden happily, going to find him—though I didn't know it, but he was actually the doubly meaning superior, Archbishop Kesite, fawning and putting on a show—this three-day diplomatic visit finally neared its end.

During these three days of hectic exchanges, the Radiant side and the Deep Forest side fully exchanged opinions, readily reached many consensuses, and expressed blessings and hopes for the peaceful development of both countries' futures.

In short——yeah, really nothing was discussed at all!

However, while there was indeed nothing to show for on the official level, on the civilian level, the Deep Forest merchants who arrived with the tour group to Radiant still managed to discuss some things behind the scenes.

After all, Deep Forest is mountainous and the north is still bitterly cold; even with the help of the Dense Forest Church, food supplies are still somewhat strained, otherwise they wouldn't need to go down the mountains year after year to seize grain and plunder.

Whether it's the players or the Radiant side, they can still have some surplus in grain after setting aside strategic reserves; taking a little out for international trade is not a bad way to generate income.

Of course, since it's a seller's market, neither the transaction volume nor the amount is something Deep Forest people can decide; overall, it's the Radiant side that has fiercely taken a bite.

Waa waa waa, after all these years, I finally see the money coming back!

But since the Radiant people are satisfied with this trade, it shows that the Deep Forest people are extremely dissatisfied with it!

Your Highness Prince, I...

Shut up!

Looking at the list, at least for Deep Forest the price is so high it's unacceptable, and the Third Prince is practically fuming.

But following his father's orders, no matter what he must find a way to bring back more grain on this trip, expensive as it is, he can only endure.

Moreover, since the deed is done, if he goes to settle accounts with those damned merchants, he might push them away from his own camp!

Sigh, being a prince is really not an easy job; Yage Luo can only swallow his anger, lower his head, and accept this number.

Get lost.

Thanks for your understanding, Your Highness, thanks for your magnanimity!

Although the Third Prince was very angry, when the delegation was preparing to leave Qixia City, the atmosphere was actually not bad at all.

Haha, Old Hejiang, I really hope we can meet again someday.

Hehe, I'm still fairly sturdy, should be no problem!

Although they are enemies, Hejiang and Xiguang these two old fellows chatted quite happily, and even at the moment of parting they were still delighted.

Unfortunately, the friendship of a couple of high-ranking officials can't alter the trend of deteriorating relations between the two countries; under the bleak sunlight, those two white-haired heads actually become all the more ironic.

Sigh.

It also lets those who can see through this situation and don't want the two sides to really tear faces and fight, inevitably let out another sigh.

Before parting, Ji Ming and Ke Li Si Ting also met again in private.

This exchange was relatively brief; mainly, Ji Ming, following his new arrangements, proposed a series of survival suggestions for her.

In short, whether now or in the future, no matter which side you want to stand on, at least geographically you should try to stay as far north as possible.

That way, if something unexpected happens, whether it's your second uncle or me, we can at least more easily pull you out, rather than just leave you stuck in there.

Still on that same bench, Ji Ming cleared his throat.

Also, I hope that when we meet next time, we can still sit down and talk calmly like today.

Ke Li Si Ting's face flushed with a red blush as big as a bowl's rim; she excitedly curled the corners of her mouth, revealing a row of white teeth bigger than mahjong tiles.

Mm, I will strive for that!

……

Hard to persevere.

After a moment of silence, Ji Ming still stood up.

Well then, goodbye.

Ke Li Si Ting's face changed, she blinked, as if she still wanted to say something.

But in the end she just gave a light cough.

Mm, goodbye.

……

Um... you mean you want me to go first? Then I...

No!

Ke Li Si Ting hurriedly called out to Ji Ming, who had already turned away, propping up her horse legs, she rose up like a rising mountain.

She walked up to him and took a deep breath.

Um, I remember that the last time we parted, we hugged once, right?

Hug...

Ji Ming's heart suddenly felt a chill, after all the outcome of being tricked into a hug by her last time is still vivid in his mind.