Chapter 260: Chapter 253: Da Yu’s Way of Investment

Da Yu, Jiuzhou Platform.

Five high-ranking officials of Dragon Country sat together on one side of a square table, listening to Rong Bing’s report.

"These additional demands are within our expectations. We can agree to them."

"What do you all think?"

Elder Zhou was the first to give his approval.

"Elder Zhou, the Sea-Rising Cherry Root is a famous treasure on the list of wondrous items. It’s also related to the Great Black Heaven Dragon. Isn’t it a bit rash to just give it away? How about we swap it for other resources of equivalent value, or Contribution Points?"

Another Elder expressed his opinion.

"I don’t think so."

"The Xirang Branch has already achieved preliminary results from studying the Sea-Rising Cherry’s root. You’ve all read the report. Although an Awakened can ingest it to comprehend the Origin Power of destruction within, the Physical Strength requirement is simply too high. Even with Rong Bing’s and Li Jiuyuan’s abilities, they couldn’t digest it."

"Since it’s compatible with Shi Ming, we might as well use this opportunity to our advantage."

The third Elder’s opinion was consistent with Elder Zhou’s.

"Lighthouse is currently occupying the Fujing Mountain area. Knowing their style, they’re bound to cause some kind of major disaster. Da Yu needs to make its own investments and plan ahead. It’s too difficult to cultivate a new sapling right now. Shi Ming’s past few battles have revealed his principles and character. He’s worth Da Yu’s investment,"

Elder Zhou said.

The art of investment was quite the esoteric science.

Sometimes, a casual effort could yield a hundredfold return. Other times, a poor choice of investment could lead to utter ruin.

Only those with seasoned statesmanship and masterful strategy could glimpse a hint of its profound mysteries.

But Elder Zhou didn’t reveal the most critical point. As the wielder and user of the Destiny Golden Toad, he faintly felt that the blurry-faced, lost figure shown by the Toad bore a seventy percent resemblance to Shi Ming’s silhouette. And by an even greater coincidence, the last time he had used the Destiny Golden Toad was in Dragon Country’s Northeast Domain. Within its three-thousand-nautical-mile range, there were also traces of activity from the Wandering Ship, number 23333! This piece of information had been discovered by their mole inside the Black Society!

The importance of an information gap needed no explanation.

The one currently in the spotlight in the Endless Ocean,

was none other than Shi Ming!

"It’s settled then. But we must ensure that the Sea-Rising Cherry Root is used by him personally. It absolutely cannot fall into the hands of Lighthouse."

Elder Zhou made the final decision.

This meant that the commission was officially confirmed. All rewards would be given after the commission was completed. With the credibility of the King-level Wandering Ship Da Yu, they would not go back on their word.

"For now, the delivery of the reward is still a long way off."

"This expedition against the Moonlight Ripple Beast will be [Kunwu]’s most important mission in the last three years. If successful, not only will Da Yu gain another S-rank Awakened, but we can also use the Purifying Marrow to cleanse the smeared ink on the [Thousand-Mile River and Mountain Map], restoring that wondrous item to its peak. It’s killing four birds with one stone. We must give it our all."

"I will do my utmost."

"Alright, go and prepare. The Moonlight Ripple Beast’s danger level is at the highest. You need to have backup plans. [Beidou Star] and Zhao Li Luo will set out with you, but they will only provide support and will not appear on the battlefield. The entire subjugation will still depend on you."

"Yes, sir."

Rong Bing exited Jiuzhou Platform.

The high-ranking officials moved on to the next topic on their agenda.

...

...

...

Meanwhile, atop Fujing Mountain, the majestic King-level Wanderer Ship Lighthouse had been docked for nearly ten days.

In this cuckoo-takes-the-magpie’s-nest scenario, the remnants of the Renhuang followed alongside Lighthouse like a stray dog, wagging its tail and begging for scraps. It was a laughable sight.

The salvage operation for the general-level Wandering Ship, the Black Society, was also underway. When the ship was about to capsize and disaster struck, the Black Society’s crew made escape their top priority. Even the most loyal Samurai, not a single one was willing to go down with the ship; they all ran faster than anyone else.

As a result, there were no significant casualties.

However, half of Vortex Country’s foundation and a vast collection of treasures that were left behind in the hasty retreat were destroyed.

This included thirty years of research intelligence and samples on the Great Black Heaven Dragon. This research had originally been conducted by the Black Society, and a backup of the results existed on the Renhuang. Unfortunately, the backup on the Renhuang was formatted by the infiltrators Jia Ming and Shentu Kuo. Meanwhile, the Black Society’s primary data was soaked in seawater for two whole days. By the time it was salvaged with Lighthouse’s help, it was beyond recovery.

No matter how furious Lighthouse was, they could only start again from scratch.

They could only swallow the bitter pill of the Michael’s destruction, hoping that one day they could find the perpetrator and repay him a hundred, even a thousand times over.

[Lighthouse: Still no sign of Virus?]

Trellin asked in the [Let There Be Light] chat.

This "Virus," who possessed the 19th-ranked skill, had been missing for ten days. The Celestial Net System did not indicate that he was dead, which meant he was still alive and well. The possibility of Virus defecting was extremely low, so being missing for ten days must mean he had encountered an uncontrollable danger. Although traces of a battle had been found inside the volcanic chamber of Fujing Mountain, no body was discovered.

In Trellin’s view, it didn’t matter if Virus was dead. What mattered was that he couldn’t be recovered.

The "Infinite Matriarch" skill wasn’t obtained by bathing in blood, but by being infected with the Infinite Virus. As long as the Infinite Virus wasn’t neutralized, the next "Virus" could be cultivated, and that wouldn’t take too long.

But if he was missing, that was a huge problem.

[Jinshan: Sir, the Golden Pagoda has already searched throughout the Endless Ocean via various channels. There are no traces of Virus, nor is there any follow-up news on the mysterious Awakened who rammed the Black Society.]

[Lighthouse: What about Stone, the one who rammed the Pharaoh? I mean Shi Ming. Is there any recent news about him?]

[Jinshan: Shi Ming was awarded the Medal of the Honored Knight by the Twelve Stars for killing two S-rank sea beasts in the European Sea Region. He is currently suspected to be in the European Sea Region. This matter has been made public. Regarding the two incidents, both involving the ramming of a general-level Wandering Ship, analysis of the impact force and ship structures shows a significant difference in severity. We can rule out Shi Ming as the perpetrator.]

There were three main discrepancies. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

First, the force of the impact on the Pharaoh was far less than the force of the impact on the Black Society. The latter was destructive in nature, and there was even enough power left to ram the Michael a second time! It was clearly the work of a powerful Awakened who imbued their power into the ship, using it as a weapon.

Second, the appearances of the two individuals bore no resemblance.

Third, a ship’s structure is difficult to reconfigure. The ship that rammed the Black Society was not Shi Ming’s ship, number 23333.

The people on the Lighthouse had also analyzed the figures and ship exteriors of both individuals, and their results were consistent: It wasn’t him.

But fortunately, it was the Black Society that sank. Trellin wasn’t one to cry over someone else’s spilled milk.

There were more important matters at hand.

"Expedite the production of the optimized Lava Shuttling Capsules. Within ten days, enter the inner chamber of Fujing Mountain, obtain a tissue sample of the Great Black Heaven Dragon, and deliver it to the Holy Hall Research Institute for study."