"Lau Wei really isn't afraid of getting sued! The only thing this island is missing is a Mickey Mouse or a statue of some Magic Princess standing on it..."
Looking at the information in hand about the castle and village, Ansheng was thoroughly astonished, completely unaware that the Lau Wei headquarters was truly this enormous.
Imprisoning over eighty thousand people to play house, although it seems a bit absurd at a glance, such a thing is indeed within Ansheng's realm of understanding.
Blue Star is only so big, and many islands are inhabited by indigenous people. Previously, the indigenous could launch guerrilla attacks on navigators and scalp them, but now Vimal can naturally fly planes to infiltrate, capturing the indigenous people like monkeys for training.
What truly shocked Ansheng is that Peace Island is not an isolated deserted island but is positioned at the edge between the Island Country and another nation. Although its location seems quite remote from the sea chart information, it is still within the domain of human activities.
The massive Magic Princess castle just stands upright on the island, which is simply a spectacle. However, there is not a single piece of related information about this magical castle on the internet, as if it's invisible.
And what is happening on the island is simply absurd beyond measure.
The Toras organization issued a special holy scripture to all the natives, recording that the nobles living on the island are the "agents of God", and all natives must have faith and regard the nobles as demigods.
The most devout natives, after passing the trials of faith, could receive divine favor.
The so-called "divine favor" is actually about gene-editing the natives, turning them into dead soldiers, or workhorses for the Toras organization.
The natives have barely escaped the wolf's den before signing indenture contracts to join the organization as workers. Before clearing their debts, the natives are corporate property, and even if they want to run an errand, they must pay the corresponding wear and tear fee to the company.
And the so-called nobles do not directly refer to the Toras organization's board members but refers to creatures capable of freely coming in and out of Peace Island, known as "nobles."
The reason is that ferocious spirit beasts are raised in the forest outside the city and in the sea, and creatures with no skills cannot freely enter or leave "Peace Island."
The number of nobles is not fixed, allowing the Toras organization's board to entertain friends, letting them enjoy playing roles on Peace Island. Even without company, they needn't worry about anything.
In the Earl's document, a piece of text was deliberately bolded: [Do not turn on the milky-white fluorescent light.]
Master Fuli put down the information in hand, showing a peculiar expression, raised his paw, pointed at himself, and said:
"So… even if we go to Peace Island, we will be regarded as nobles by the natives?"
And as Master Fuli spoke, Spiritual Particles suddenly surged from Lin Zhe, but this layer of particles was very thin and soon retracted, as though some unknown change occurred within him.
Lin Qi shifted his gaze from the phone screen to Master Fuli and said with a smile:
"It's certainly not that simple, for there are Beast Warriors and many researchers on that island. Even uninvited guests who are lucky enough to enter the city are pursued by defense forces."
"They will use machine guns to sweep, rat-a-tat-tat..."
Old Lin's face was all smiles, and he joyfully imitated the sound of bullets leaving the chamber, very mocking.
In a sense, the weapons and bullets used on Peace Island were all sold there by Old Lin himself.
The arms trade has a market globally, but some countries with backward industries buy finished products, and some with a profound industrial base will procure raw materials.
Xia Country's single production task involves purchasing raw materials of a billion-ton scale. When companies receive orders, they purchase raw materials from the market, and some intermediaries help gather global raw materials, earning some margins.
This business is very stable, and Lin Qi is one of the overseas suppliers. For this, he has specifically navigated international relations and formalities through intermediaries to sell products.
When Xia Country has production tasks, it sells raw materials. Without production tasks, he transports guns and bullets to sell to small countries.
The weapons on Peace Island come from Japan, and the Seventh Fleet is situated there, serving as the distribution station for the transport line. Lin Qi has every reason to suspect that the heavy defensive firepower on Peace Island... might have been sold by his own company.
The bullets sold went full boomerang; knowing this, he should have charged more initially.
"Don't you think Old Lin's smile seems to carry some strange meaning?" Ansheng nudged Lin Ying's arm, looked at Lin Qi, and spat out.
Old Lin's smile was very sly, but the expression on his cheeks seemed somewhat helpless, overall very contradictory.
"Peace Island's weapons, Great Grandfather sold them. He sold the stuff to Vimal and made a profit, now he can go there and reclaim the goods, making another profit while eliminating commercial bidding enemies for even more gains." Lin Ying responded with a slight smile as she hugged Master Fuli:
"The last time Great Grandfather enjoyed such profit might have been when he robbed a bank in his youth to establish authority? Normally, business requires costs; it's impossible to make a profit without capital."
"?"
Ansheng's face turned dark as he looked at Old Lin, so there was something about you involved here too? No wonder the smile is so sly.
"Give me some——"
Ansheng thought for a moment, stretched out his hand, and opened it in front of Old Lin.
"Hmm?" Old Lin looked puzzled.
"Transfer money, deposit half a million dollars to my bank card as an early New Year's bonus. I'll buy some cola with it next year."
Lin Qi: "......"
Although it sounds a bit absurd, I like how you never miss an opportunity for profit, my dear old man...
Lin Ying's actions are commendable, aligning with the Lin Family style.
...
After sitting in the hotel for a while, Lin Ying picked up Master Fuli and left early. She shot videos in a business car, then went to another chain hotel, opened a suite, drew the curtains, and shot another video session, including one in the bathroom.
When everything was done, Lin Ying, full of apology, sent a video to Ah Qing and then called her to inform her that the little fox seemed to have hidden in the car while playing hide and seek, and she hadn't noticed... Now it was already on the highway.
Ah Qing: [Shocked Doge.jpg]
Ah Qing: [...Sister Lin, when are you coming back to Xia Dong? Is it far? Why don't you send me the address, and I'll buy a ticket to come over in a bit.]
[Going to Lingnan to attend a charity auction banquet, I'll be back at the office by tomorrow morning at the earliest, or at home by the evening at the latest.]
After chatting with Ah Qing for a while, Lin Ying raised her hand, patted Master Fuli, and moved her phone screen over, smiling as she said, "The moment Ah Qing heard I was taking you to the neighboring province, she didn't even think of eating, and immediately planned to buy a ticket to wait for us at the Lingnan terminal."
As she said this, Lin Ying seemed to remember something and looked over at Lin Bingyun, "I remember the company shot back a pair of lychees, have they been eaten?"
"The green-husked lychees from the ancient tree? No, they should be stored in the freezer now along with the ones from last year." Lin Bingyun thought for a moment and confirmed with Lin Ying.
The green-husked lychees Lin Ying mentioned have a special significance in Lingnan. In ancient times, for the sake of eating the freshest lychees, an emperor did not hesitate to exploit the people, making them contribute money and effort, which oppressed the locals to the point of rebellion, and in anger, they cut down all the green-husked lychee trees.
After that turmoil ended, the locals were surprised to find that one lychee tree had survived.
Over time, although the fruit from that surviving old tree did not match new varieties in taste, every year, Lingnan people would harvest premium fruits for auction.
The lychees worth fifty-five thousand dollars came from it, and the auction proceeds are used for charity, much like the sky-high-priced mother Dahongpao tea trees before, where the auction proceeds were also largely for charity, belonging to a kind of public welfare behavior.
Lin Ying buying lychees was not out of greed but to show her face slightly in front of the local business community, accompanied by friends from the Min merchant group, to connect with local wealthy merchants.
Saying she would bring the little fox to Lingnan for the banquet, Lin Ying felt it was essential to take some local specialties as evidence.
"Lychee..."
Master Fuli showed a pondering expression, looked down at his "lychee," and couldn't help but chuckle.
Amidst casual chatter, they arrived at the location previously discussed with Li Wenkang on WeChat.
A small abandoned dock located on Changle River, in Futiantown. As the black business car drove in, they were stopped by a checkpoint even before entering the Futiandock.
Master Fuli poked out his fox head, spoke human words as a greeting at the checkpoint, and was granted passage.
"Hmm? You all... what are you doing here?" Upon arriving at the small dock and getting out of the car, Master Fuli noticed the river, and that aircraft-like black steel giant beast, as well as Miyel and the Treasure Tree on the shore.
Seeing this unexpected person and tree, Master Fuli displayed a surprised expression.
"I just had them airlifted over." Li Wenkang's figure emerged from the actual Ground Effect Vehicle, looked at Master Fuli, and said, "The tall one over there is for dispersing innocent people. Our little Treasure Tree, of course, is the main act, meant to destroy everything on Peace Island."
The Treasure Tree's characteristic is regeneration. By consuming Spiritual Particle-related items, it can rapidly regenerate its trunk.
And on Peace Island, the castle and the church, with their stored Spiritual Particle Plants, are all food for the Treasure Tree, wiping out all traces of Spiritual Particles.
"What do you mean by 'that tall one'? I have a name." Miyel looked at Li Wenkang and silently grumbled in her heart.
Of course, she only dared to grumble internally. With the prior general education at the camp, now whenever Miyel sees Master Fuli, Li Wenkang, or Wu Qingqing, she subconsciously tenses her butt, experiencing a burning phantom pain.
It's no longer a matter of endurance; it's a physiological reflex.
Li Wenkang demands money, Wu Qingqing demands life, and Master Fuli is the most straightforward, resorting to beating without a word.
In Miyel's dreams now, there are still occasional appearances of fire rings and lighters, leaving her with psychological shadows from the ordeal.