Chapter 614
Chapter 614 - 594: Minor Trouble
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8 min read
The arrival of foreign guests in the Klei Desert Kingdom was both accidental and inevitable.
They were outsiders, refugees who had lost their homes and had to submit themselves to the local official’s management... no matter how they tried to disguise themselves, their nature as refugees who had lost their homes couldn’t be hidden.
At this time, submission was inevitable, and trying to cause trouble was tantamount to courting death. No matter how vast the Earth, there was no room for a person from the Exotic Races with ill intentions.
The only choice they had was to comply with the policy of being divided and managed and try to remain humble and obedient.
Developing their own small town or community? Even a tribe of the Exotic Races with a population of just 50,000 would attract vigilant eyes.
The most obedient approach for them was in accordance with the suggestion of some managers to find a large city with millions of people and dilute their own population within it.
There weren’t many large cities with millions of people in the entire Changping State...
"So it turns out that the ’crowded’ characteristic of the ancient city, which has nothing good discovered other than its shortcomings, has actually become an advantage this time?"
In addition to the ancient city, the Prince of Nan Liuzhi had a few other options, but none of them were necessarily better than the ancient city... The ancient city was now ranked in the top three large cities in Changping State and is known as a "sub-capital" of a provincial capital.
The disadvantage of the ancient city is its strong old industrial atmosphere, and the average level of its industries is still stuck in one to two decades ago. The advantages are its obvious education, medical care, and other infrastructure, and its human resources are actually quite abundant.
All these factors combined form a distinct characteristic... the local people have a good education level but very low wages, serious internal competition, and fresh college graduates struggle to find jobs. The city suffers from a severe brain drain and cannot support quality large enterprises due to the vicious cycle.
Now, even large churches and enterprises are reluctant to lay out their plans in this old city, and there are not even many large church branches, making it a typical example of an old city.
At this time, the investment plan of these foreign guests made the high-level officials of the ancient city, who were eager to turn things around, tempted and resulted in this nearly highest-level reception.
Both parties had obviously done their research, and when both had their needs, sincerity naturally emerged, and so did the patience for interaction between the two sides.
Before Lu Ping’an arrived, the two parties had already used their awkward exchanges to introduce their respective advantages: one side introduced their advantageous industries and massive capital from their country, while the other side introduced their local human resources, trading resources, good public order, and the special resource secret realm called "Trading Land"... When Lu Ping’an heard of that last one, he was utterly shocked.
Lu Ping’an was not actually the first "translator" and "receptionist" to be approached, but in terms of results, he was clearly the best performer.
He was neither flatterer nor intimidated by the supposed powerful presence, he had a cheerful conversation with the most troublesome General Dragon... among the high-level negotiators, General Dragon was the ultimate decision-maker. When a person can single-handedly push away an entire city, their words are always persuasive.
In a sense, this was also a bargaining chip for the foreign guests... when the entire foreign tribe was striving to integrate into the ancient city, General Dragon would naturally become a force of resistance to the city. Having a Rule-level strongman to maintain order would save the local security a lot of trouble.
"I heard the General hasn’t gotten married yet? Ha, hasn’t married?"
"Oh, only fifty years old? Young and promising, young and promising." The high-ranking official who accidentally stepped on a landmine was sweating and trying to smooth things over.
Ms. Jiang Hei was just over fifty years old, and she had only recently come of age according to the standards of her race... When Lu Ping’an first found out she was a woman, he was a bit bewildered. He had genuinely seen the low-voiced, stoic Dragon man as a male general.
From the feedback of other negotiators, he seemed not to be the only bewildered one.
"Speaking of youth, the talented newcomer here is also very young. He succeeded in hunting dragons at such a young age and has such a strong yet gentle life force. He’s truly a genius! Heh, I actually smelled the taste of Sun Holy Fire, and he even managed to digest the most precious specialty of our world... I think with this young prodigy’s talent and growth rate, he’ll eventually step into the Truth-level."
However, General Black’s "honesty" and sharp eyes also caused some trouble for Lu Ping’an.
On the spot, Lu Ping’an saw the eyes of the Bureau of Anomaly Management’s high-level official light up... perhaps he knew of Lu Ping’an before, but he didn’t expect his progress to be so fast already.
If someone said before that Lu Ping’an had the potential to be Rule-level, it could only be taken with a grain of salt, as the ancient city people saying this couldn’t possibly be Rule-level themselves... but now, a genuine Rule-level saying this was a completely different matter.
And in a certain sense, this brought Lu Ping’an a new trouble...
"To be honest, the local tourist attractions are old and run-down, not much to see."
"Hehe, perhaps that’s how it looks in the eyes of Mr. Lu, who’s used to seeing these places. But for us outsiders, each foreign landscape brings us different feelings and thoughts. The civilization and functionality of various buildings and facilities make us contemplate..."
It’s undeniable, this Six-fingered Prince is really good at talking.
Although it’s clear that the ancient buildings are old, shabby, and designed to coax money from tourists, even the locals are sick of them. He could show interest in touring and occasionally express admiration.
He maintained control of the conversation throughout, was interesting, and observed proper etiquette—one could say that he pushed the goodwill meter to its limit.
The sincerity and earnestness in his speech made Lu Ping’an question if he was serious. Did he truly appreciate these local attractions the locals would never visit and that special con tourists?
"Fine, I’ll take you seriously. Is there anything else you’d like to see? I’ll take you there."
Lu Ping’an’s "excellent performance" inadvertently brought him new work, and it seemed there was no escaping this reception duty.
Since he couldn’t avoid it, he adjusted his attitude and decided to do his best to spend some time on it.
General Jiang didn’t follow them, instead choosing to rest in the hotel. It was already a great honor for her to show face in the previous stage of showmanship. It was not necessary for her to personally lead in these survey matters.
Along the way, the Prince observed and spoke a lot, analyzing and understanding the local customs through feedback from his fellow travelers and local people.
He was always observing, gauging the friendliness of the local people towards foreigners, assessing the industrial capabilities displayed by the local structures and transportation facilities, and watching the combat standards of the professionals they encountered along the way... Yet he always maintained a safe boundary and did not embarrass Lu Ping’an and the other Bureau of Anomaly Management agent.
Even without asking too many questions, Lu Ping’an could tell that this was a true product of royal education and diplomatic aptitude.
Lu Ping’an felt that if he didn’t take action, he wouldn’t be able to see through the person in front of him. Nevertheless, it seemed that the other party could analyze his emotions and thoughts from his actions and expressions... as a result, Lu Ping’an stopped bothering to pretend and focused on doing his job as a worker and slacker.
𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
The communication became more straightforward, and the other party thanked Lu Ping’an for his honesty and trust... If this wasn’t an act, the persistence of their warmth and optimism alone felt quite impressive.
"Wow, this seems much better than the royal mansion. Is this a real member of the royal family who might succeed the throne?"
However, Lu Ping’an’s subconscious inquiry of "is there anywhere else you want to go" was met with a delighted response from the other party.
"Is any location okay? In that case, I’d like to visit the legendary Holy Land, the Trading Land where even Abnormal Abilities and talents can be traded!"
— End of Chapter 614 —