Two Realms Shuttle Gate: Don't Call Me a Demon!-Chapter 663 - 401: Return to Blue Star_2

Su Jie smiled and said, "You're not the first one to encounter the double standards of the Beautiful Country; they have always been like this. They're used to opposing me. But now that even India is joining the fray, it seems that this canal really does stir up huge interests, making them all restless. The more they oppose, the more we must build."

"We call the shots in Siam now, and all they can do is vent at the United Nations Security Council. Any opposing proposal they make is just a piece of waste paper if we don't sign it."

Liu Yingying nodded. In the past, Siam wanted to build the Kra Isthmus Canal, but on one hand, they truly didn't have the money; constructing a canal requires an investment of at least tens of billions of US Dollars. On the other hand, they couldn't withstand external pressure.

Because such international waterways are strategic, small countries have difficulty maintaining control if they build one. The most obvious example is Panama, where the Panama Canal built on their land is actually controlled by the Beautiful Country.

However, after the Jieke Group became the hegemon of Southeast Asia, it could ignore these pressures.

The things Siam didn't dare do, the Jieke Group didn't care about at all. Jieke Group had plenty of financial resources, and in terms of military force, they could make the Southeast Asian countries shiver.

Su Jie was very satisfied with Liu Yingying's remarks; she was increasingly showing a strong woman's temperament. He smiled and said, "When the canal is pierced through, I'll let Xiao Qian... ahem, the underground machinery complete it. You arrange for manpower to speed up the infrastructure construction in the canal's ports, roads, railways, service stations, logistics, and so on."

The thousand-hand centipede lurking within his sleeves perked up when it heard Su Jie calling for it, blinking its eyes; it didn't know yet that it had been assigned to tough work.

Su Jie was simply taking advantage of the fact that the thousand-hand centipede wouldn't ask for a salary, embezzled the entire few hundred billion dollars allocated for the canal excavation.

"I'll give Xiao Qian an extra meal later on."

Thinking to himself, Su Jie knew that the control of the Malacca Strait still resided with the Beautiful Country and that was intolerable for Jieke Group, the hegemon of Southeast Asia.

If it came to war with the Beautiful Country's navy, just one blockade at the Malacca Strait would prevent the Jieke Group's navy from passing through, and logistical adjustments would be impossible.

For instance, Lanhai No.1, which Su Jie planned to equip Jieke Group's navy with, if deployed in the Chan Country's Andaman Sea, couldn't pass through the Malacca Strait to enter Siam Bay, limiting its influence over An Nan, Siam, and other countries, and facing significant threats at sea.

Conversely, if Lanhai No.1 was deployed in Siam Bay, it wouldn't be able to affect the Andaman Sea, which would be a severe lack of sea deterrence power for the Chan Country, the Jieke Group's headquarters.

It's not like they could circumvent the Malacca Strait by taking a more southerly route through the Indian Ocean—that was a complete fantasy. The distance and the expedition were too long, and the time spent would be too much, which was utterly impractical.

If they wanted to unite the naval forces around Southeast Asia, the Malacca Strait was like a bone stuck in the throat for the Jieke Group, making the construction of the Kra Isthmus Canal imperative.

As they conversed, the car had already arrived at the Jieke Group Headquarters Building. Su Jie got out with Liu Yingying and walked into a meeting room.

A group of people who had been waiting there represented Siam, An Nan, Lancang, and Zhenla.

"There's something I need all of you to accomplish next!"

As Su Jie took the main seat, his gaze swept around the room, and he began, "Due to various reasons, Jieke Group needs a large quantity of human blood. Thus, those of you here, inform the governments behind you to carry out a blood donation campaign. This is a demand from Jieke Group."

After speaking, Liu Yingying, acting as Su Jie's secretary, took out a stack of documents clearly outlining the related plan.

When the representatives of these countries saw the first line of the document, a flicker of shock passed through their eyes.

"Mandatory blood donation for every adult, at least twice a year, Mr. Su, isn't this blood donation a bit too radical?"

The An Nan representative couldn't help but speak up when he saw this demand; forced national blood donation was unprecedented anywhere in the world.

The other country's representatives also wore expressions of surprise; they speculated that Su Jie's demands might be related to Super Soldiers.

Because the Super Soldiers of the Jieke Group had to undergo blood transfusions to maintain bodily functions after taking Strengthening Pills, this was no longer a secret worldwide.

Some Strengthening Pills had leaked due to various factors, and many countries conducted experiments and attempted replication. Although the replication wasn't successful, they had come to understand the effects and side effects of the Strengthening Pill.

Su Jie waved his hand and said, "Finish reading before you comment."

The representatives from the countries continued to look over the document, but soon they discovered that Jieke Group wasn't planning to freeload the blood.

"Blood donation tax credits, cash rewards, education for children, employment and retirement benefits..."

With every line they read, the faces of the representatives from the various countries in attendance became increasingly uneasy.

Because the document clearly stated that as long as the citizens donated blood, they could choose one of two direct ways to benefit.

One was tax exemption, according to the number of times and the amount of blood you donated, a portion of the taxes you were supposed to pay would be waived.

The other was simply brute cash rewards, with the most straightforward incentive being offered—more blood donated naturally meant more money.

If you were wealthy or from a well-off family, most would choose the former, tax exemption, as it could yield greater benefits. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

The latter was the choice of the majority of people. Jieke Group would set a clear price for the blood, paying exactly as much per milliliter as it was worth.

Of course, to avoid various nefarious forces from coercing blood sales, a series of regulations was implemented, such as requiring the person themselves to be present at the blood donation.

Furthermore, based on the cumulative amount of blood donated, citizens would be conferred with titles such as Blood Donation Model, Blood Donation Angel, Blood Donation Hero, etc. Those holding a blood donation certificate could enjoy preferential treatment in employment, school admissions, tax reduction on house purchases, car purchase benefits, loans, civil service exams, and many other aspects.

When they had finished reading, the representatives from the various countries had the same thought simultaneously—was Jieke Group so flush with cash it had nowhere to spend it?

They couldn't fathom why Su Jie would propose such an outrageous demand.

The combined population of their few countries was over two hundred million. Even when setting aside minors and the elderly, sick, and disabled, the number of people eligible to donate blood was still staggeringly large. This presented a colossal financial burden on the governments.

Assuming only a hundred million people met the blood donation requirements, based on the blood donation incentive scale that Su Jie had set up, the annual cost of the blood donation rewards and the operating maintenance expenses could add up to a trillion dollars!

"What do you think, can you do it?"

Su Jie tapped on the table, looking intently at the representatives from the various countries.

"Um, I want to ask, is this blood donation subsidy provided by the Jieke Group?"

The An Nan representative tentatively inquired, as they couldn't afford it if the subsidy came from their own country.

"The blood we, the Jieke Group, need will naturally be paid for by us, Jieke Group. However, as for the money, well, it can be deducted from your war indemnities."

Su Jie, in order to ensure their utmost effort, didn't oppress them too harshly. He wanted to avoid them obeying superficially while opposing him in secret—after all, the "Manchester Treaty" indemnity was set in stone.

"This... we, Siam, agree."

Upon hearing Su Jie's words, the representatives from the countries exhaled in relief. The first to accede was Siam, Jieke Group's number one lapdog. Siam had already been subdued by Jieke Group and took the lead in this matter without hesitation.

"And you?"

Su Jie then turned his gaze to the others.

"We, An Nan, are willing!"

"We, Lancang, are willing!"

"We, Zhenla, are willing!"

Representatives from country after country nodded in agreement, consenting to implement the blood donation plan issued by the Jieke Group.

After all, they only needed to provide manpower; Jieke Group had already taken on the financial burden, so they had no cause for concern.

"Very well, you can go back now. Soon our Jieke Group will send a supervisory team to organize the blood donation plan."

Su Jie dismissed the representatives from the various countries, watching their retreating figures with a meaningful smile at the corner of his mouth.

They thought Jieke Group was spending money for no good reason, not realizing that this blood was critical to Su Jie's cultivation of the Blood Sea Devouring Sky Demon Technique—whether this Cultivation Technique could be successful depended on massive amounts of blood.