I Became the Progenitor Vampire-Chapter 305 - 307 Return to Dawn City (5600 words)
Chapter 305 -307: Return to Dawn City (5600 words)
Chapter 305 -307: Return to Dawn City (5600 words)
Although Dawn City still had many matters awaiting Lide’s attention, particularly the extraordinary plant that cost over a million Gold Pucks to cultivate, which made him extremely curious,
he still stayed in Green City for three days before leaving.
The Crimson Mage Tower and the Dark Contract had accumulated many issues in these past few months that required his decision-making.
Especially now, as the productivity of Dawn City had surged noticeably, bringing notable changes to the two powers.
Weaponry equipment had now become the Dark Contract’s main product, starting to dominate Green City’s vast weapon market with economically priced, high-quality gear produced by their factories.
Lide determined two main development paths for the two intertwined forces.
The Crimson Mage Tower would specialize in magic scrolls, focusing on producing high-level magic scrolls in the future; low-level magic scrolls would be produced by Dawn City and then transported to the Crimson Mage Tower.
As a supplement, high-level weapons and other items with high profit margins.
The Dark Contract would focus on selling weapons, striving to capture Green City’s weapon market. Secondary to this would be magic scrolls paired with exceptional spirits such as strong liquors, whose profits were not necessarily much lower than the weapons equipment; it was only that Dawn City had not yet started production on a large scale.
The markets for weaponry and magic scrolls were definitely the most profitable in all of Glory.
As long as one could capture a certain share in either market, they could make a fortune.
This was precisely the case for the Crimson Mage Tower.
Now that Dawn City possessed powerful productivity, it could involve itself in both markets.
That’s why Lide unabashedly drafted this dual-flourishing plan.
Both the magic factory and the weapon factory fundamentally represented sparks created from the collision between modern production methods and the magical world.
Under Vina’s leadership, the magic factory of the Crimson Mage Tower had already developed far beyond the original one established by Lide.
Now, the magic factory had its own research and development department, dedicated to the research and improvement of magic scroll production, and had also begun to attempt the development of new magic scrolls.
The manufacturing process had been upgraded at least five times compared to the initial one; the magic factory had truly become Glory’s own, rather than a crude copy imported from Earth.
This was Lide’s greatest confidence because he mastered a level of productivity unattainable by this world.
And more crucially, as Dawn City continued to develop and grow, even though he was now earning more and more money, there was always a deficit.
City construction, army maintenance, mage training, research funding, educational expenses, daily urban maintenance, and employment expenses for City Hall… not one aspect did not require money.
Therefore, the source of economic income had always been Lide’s primary focus.
After setting future development goals and directions for both powers, on November 6th, Lide took his leave on Castro, who had returned to Green City from Death Cemetery ahead of time, back to Dawn City.
Groth and Stanley, on the other hand, stayed behind in Green City.
The Shadow Plan of Dawn had been lurking for several months now, and only with Stanley in control did Lide feel assured of this plan that could influence Dawn City’s future.
Another essential point was that Green City was the central city in the southern province, a gathering place for various forces.
If the intelligence command center wanted to grow, it was necessary to build a complete intelligence network there, and with Stanley overseeing the initial stage of network construction, the situation was bound to improve.
Castro possessed the bloodline of the One-eyed Giant and the Ancestor’s Bloodline and was not afraid of sunlight, thus Lide chose to leave in the morning.
Under this nascent king’s supersonic flight, it took less than two Sunshine Hours to fly back to Dawn City.
“Good day, Clan Leader.”
The somewhat androgynous Harrison, upon seeing Castro landing in the backyard garden, immediately rushed down from the second-floor office to greet him.
“Good day, Harrison,” Lide responded with a slight smile to his right-hand man, as Castro, with a wingspan of 16 blades and donning extraordinary armor, abruptly transformed—schwoop—into a palm-sized miniature bat flitting its wings to land on Lide’s shoulder.
After greeting Harrison, Lide headed directly to his office.
It had been three months since he had last returned to this city of his.
In the third-floor office, Lide sat on the plush sofa, comfortably closing his eyes.
“Is the first phase of the new district construction completed now?”
“Clan Leader, the completion is expected to be mid-this month,” Harrison stood by Lide’s side, respectfully replying.
“Mid-this month? The new district was supposed to be completed at the beginning of the month; why the delay?”
At these words, Harrison’s expression tensed slightly, his voice low, “You had the construction department expand the artificial lake by threefold… So many buildings had to be replanned.”
Lide’s eyes cracked open slightly; it seemed he had indeed said that, and at the time, he had mentioned offhandedly that they could also breed a few mermaids in the widened lake.
“No matter, a little delay is fine, as long as it doesn’t affect the whole.”
He laughed it off before swiftly changing the subject, “How is the population acquisition plan going?”
This was already the third time Dawn City was undertaking a population acquisition.
The first time they acquired population was when Lide arrived in Glory and officially implemented a sustainable development strategy, setting a direction for the future.
The second time was last year, the fast-developing year of Dawn City, when the population of Dawn City had surpassed the 50,000 mark during the Frost Month.
This year’s Frost Month is the third time.
How next year’s development fares largely depends on whether more population can be plundered this year.
In modern times, technology is the first productive force, but in Glory, it’s the population that’s the first productive force, and this statement couldn’t be truer.
Dawn City is now lacking in population, and it’s a significant shortfall.
One should know that the Moonlight Plain has not been fully developed yet, and behind it lies a vast expanse of land stretching over hundreds of kilometers.
That area is still virgin land covered with wild grass and dense woods, waiting to be cultivated by outsiders.
So Lide isn’t lacking land, only the population to cultivate it.
Additionally, what’s pressing for Lide is that by this time next year, players will have arrived.
His next attempt at plundering population might not go as smoothly.
Nobody can be sure what will happen after the game’s public beta, after all.
Even the internal test also had only 100,000 players, with perhaps 30,000 to 50,000 online at the same time, but with the public beta, this era-defining “game” might see an influx of tens of millions all at once.
Such an exaggerated number bursting in suddenly would be enough to change many established patterns.
Although players will be at the bottom of Glory in the short term, and will have to endure countless beatings before they can grow,
but with their immortal nature, even if their growth is slow, they will eventually become stronger.
This is destined to be a great transformation, and if Dawn City wants to take the lead in this transformation, it must become even stronger.
Now, Lide, in the real world, hardly needs to eat anymore; surviving just on the blood he consumes within Glory is sufficient.
Moreover, he could now feel an increasingly powerful force within his body, and if Earth had magic, he would have been able to conjure Fireball Technique by hand.
This game could change the entire human world, and the secrets hidden behind Glory could shock the populace.
He could only strengthen himself harder in the face of the unknown impact.
Before achieving Transcendence, there is no way he could rest easy.
“Clan Leader, the Beastmen stationed along the border have made no moves. Although they occupy most of the frontier land, Chaos has already broken out last year, and this year has been unusually stable,”
Harrison shook his head and explained, “In order to plunder population, we have targeted the areas north of Green City.
The north has been invaded by Undead, and many areas still cannot grow crops to this day, so there are still a large number of refugees stranded there.
While Green City’s aid ensures they don’t starve to death, no one pays much attention to these refugees.”
Lide nodded slightly; Stanley had told him this before, just not in much detail.
“Have we started the plunder yet?”
“Since this operation will involve Green City, it’s still in the preparation phase.
According to the previous intelligence, there are quite a few Nobles and City Lord army spies among these refugees.
So we have formulated a plan that is different from the past.”
At this point, Harrison’s eyes gleamed with a hint of excitement, “After we begin plundering the population, within three days, we will bring back all fifty thousand people the new district can accommodate.”
“Three days to plunder fifty thousand people?”
Lide’s eyes showed some amazement.
That was no small number.
And plundering fifty thousand people is different from killing fifty thousand people. Killing is easy; you just eliminate them and then leave.
But plundering population requires appeasement, suppression, and then transportation back. After bringing them back, one also needs a complete logistical support for their clothing, food, housing, and transportation.
It sounds easy, but the difficulty is absolutely astronomical.
Especially in logistics support, currently, Dawn City has a population of 50,000; to immediately take on double that population would put an unbearable pressure on the logistics department.
Providing for the needs of 50,000 people compared to 100,000 is not just one more step, the difficulty could rise by at least three to five times.
Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.
The more people there are, the greater the logistical pressure grows, which is why those large cities in ancient times did not grow too big.
They could not afford it.
It’s the same for Dawn City, there is a threshold, and exceeding that threshold would mean facing immense pressure.
The previous plunders, although they also captured many people, were under the condition of a smaller base, and they took place over three to four months, with a period of buffer after each plunder.
This time, directly taking 50,000 in three days, even Lide was surprised by Harrison’s bold move.
“Are you sure logistics and public order can keep up?”
Harrison’s expression held a touch of pride as he heard this. “Clan Leader, we’ve prepared for this plan for two months, there definitely won’t be any problems.”
“And the geographic location of the north dictates that we cannot plunder populations as recklessly as we did on the Beastman Border.
Prolonged actions would inevitably expose our existence, so we must be swift and decisive, resolving the issue in the shortest time possible.”
Lide looked at Harrison’s confident demeanor with a gratified smile.
He had nurtured it for so long, and Dawn City had finally grown.
For logistics support to materialize for a population of fifty thousand on a whim was even more terrifying because this represented the depth of the city’s resources.
Although Dawn City was still weak compared to the powerful forces of the outside world, it was different now.
“Good, proceed with the plan as you have already determined.
You must ensure absolute safety and must not allow Dawn City’s location to be exposed.”
The peaceful development of Dawn City can be attributed to more than Lide’s strong arm and great foresight; its most important aspect was its sufficient secrecy.
No one could disturb him; he could develop with peace of mind.
If Dawn City’s location were exposed, its greatest advantage would be gone, something Lide absolutely could not tolerate.
Currently, Dawn City could at best be considered to have only produced one piece of equipment, far from the Six God Equipment, nowhere near ready for recklessness.
One Transcendent from Green City alone could pin them to the ground and rub them in the dirt, so stabilizing development was the correct path.
“Yes, Clan Leader,” Harrison naturally understood, replying respectfully.
“When will the plan start?”
“Once the intelligence department has thoroughly investigated everything and the Think Tank has ensured there are no flaws in the plan.”
“Alright, go ahead with it,” Lide said with satisfaction, nodding. He wasn’t afraid of Dawn City developing rapidly, as long as they weren’t rashly moving forward without proper planning.
“Clan Leader, about that merperson Katerina…” Harrison’s expression became somewhat troubled at this moment.
“Oh? That half-breed mermaid?” Lide’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. “Have you discovered any new information?”
He certainly hadn’t forgotten about that mermaid, noted by the system to conceal a secret capable of altering the continent’s balance of power.
By night a mermaid, by day human, ineffably mysterious.
Whenever this name came up, Lide’s mind conjured the image of those serene, indifferent eyes akin to a priest who had prayed in the church for decades.
A deep impression.
“The Bloodline members have not discovered any useful information on her,” Harrison said with a wry smile, shaking his head.
“Although she worked at the City Hall before, her daily tasks were very busy, yet she seemed to possess a special magic power that naturally calmed people down.
So she probably didn’t say more than thirty words per day…”
Lide frowned, “Then why do you bring her up?”
Harrison, seeing the puzzled look on Lide’s face, felt slightly relieved. It seemed that the mermaid had no ties to the Clan Leader.
“Because the construction department needs people. They require Katerina’s assistance in building a new district, so I’ve assigned her to the construction department.”
Lide’s expression turned peculiar.
What use could a mermaid be to the construction department??
He thought for a moment and said somewhat uncertainly, “Water supply?” It seemed that only for this kind of project would a mermaid be of use.
Harrison nodded affirmatively, “Exactly, the water supply.
The first phase of the new district construction can accommodate fifty thousand people,
not to mention equipping every household with water, but certainly every floor or even each building needs a water supply.
However, our current water source is no longer sufficient.
The streams flowing down from the surrounding mountains of Dawn City are inadequate for the massive demand.
Especially when the second phase of the new district construction starts, the problem will become even more severe.”
“Katerina seems to have a natural sensing ability towards water currents, and she can help the construction department locate underground rivers, hidden rivers in the mountains, and even offer suggestions on how to construct the channels.
This is incredibly valuable for the construction department.”
Lide couldn’t help but chuckle at this, it was a case of darkness on one side and light on the other, he had not expected this half-breed mermaid to possess such abilities.
He originally had a very grand Epic Plan for the water supply construction—diverting water from the south to the north.
He planned to create artificial rivers on the mountains surrounding Dawn City, redirecting water from these peaks into Dawn City itself.
The region where Dawn City is located is like a slice of cake with a piece cut out in the shape of a gourd, surrounded by mountain peaks as high as three thousand blades, with unending mountains of the same height.
Dawn City’s position is smack in the middle of a long mountain range, the range only indents slightly, but the surrounding mountains still tower above.
Hence, this magnificent project is highly feasible, the only problem being the immense difficulty.
To look for rivers that haven’t frozen over at an altitude of three thousand blades, blanketed in snow, and then to redirect them to Dawn City,
the construction difficulties are simply stratospheric.
Yet, as tough as it may be, Lide wouldn’t give up, for only this grand plan could resolve the issue of water scarcity in Dawn City.
The water resources in Dawn City are not abundant, it’s manageable with a small population, but if the population exceeds 100,000, it would become a very big problem.
At this moment, the words from Harrison stirred him somewhat—utilizing the abilities of hybrid merfolk would definitely greatly reduce the difficulty of the project.
“Harrison, do you remember the south-to-north water transfer project I mentioned to you before?”
“Of course, only later the construction challenges were too great, and Dawn City had too many projects needing resources, so it got delayed.”
Harrison immediately nodded, directing countless rivers from the surrounding mountains for Dawn City’s use; the project was of such a grand scale, he remembered it well.
But a grand plan also signified extremely high construction difficulty; at that time, when the plan was proposed, Dawn City didn’t have the capability and resources to commence.
Now…
“Clan Leader, are you saying we can now commence this project?”
Lide affirmed with a nod.
“After the construction of the new district is completed, we’ll enter the cold winter season. We can postpone the second phase of construction until the start of spring.
During this gap, we can initiate this epic project.
We don’t need to complete it in a short period, start with the preliminary preparation work first.
With the help of hybrid merfolk, we can definitely conduct on-site detection and then evaluate the construction difficulty.
If the construction department cannot complete this project on their own, we can use all our power to assist the construction department.
Mage Tower, King’s Blade, Weapon Factory, Alchemy Factory, they can be deployed at will.”
Hearing Lide’s tone, Harrison knew that he was resolute this time.
“Yes, Clan Leader, after the construction of the new district is completed, I will immediately arrange for the construction department to conduct detection, and have them come up with a plan in the shortest possible time.”
“Mhm, while this matter is under way, we mustn’t relax our surveillance of the hybrid merfolk.
Cassina is under the responsibility of the Intelligence Command Center; I need you to establish a top-secret department, specifically to collect information on Cassina,
down to every little detail, even how many bites she takes for breakfast must be recorded.”
Lide’s deep eyes flickered.
As a power holder, what he must abandon is indecisiveness. Cassina being marked by the system is self-explanatory in terms of importance; if he can’t control her with the power of faith, then he must monitor her in other ways.
Because the secrets carried by this hybrid merfolk could easily influence the fate of Dawn City.
If he neglects this, he would be irresponsible to both himself and Dawn City.
As the king of a race, the sovereign of Dawn, wielding immense power, he must shoulder the heavy responsibility of tens of thousands of lives.
Harrison naturally understood the importance of this matter, “Your Majesty, you needn’t worry. I’ve already discussed this with the Intelligence Command Center; currently, three teams are monitoring Cassina.
Blood-colored Blade is the most deeply hidden, in addition to newly trained human intelligence personnel, and then there’s the outermost layer – those city hall employees and Cassina’s neighbors who don’t know they are helping us surveil that hybrid mermaid.”
Lide nodded slightly, not dwelling further on this matter.
Although the system hinted that Cassina hid secrets that could change the continent’s landscape, secrets, especially ones of such importance, are clearly not simple to uncover.
He was just making sure to cover all bases.
“You arrange this matter.”
Having said this, he suddenly seemed to recall something and continued, “Lady Nilo, she has discovered an extraordinary plant?”
Then, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, “I heard that recently you’ve purchased nearly two million Gold Puck worth of magic crystals…”
An ordinary magic crystal is worth a million Gold Puck—goodness, this is like buying two whole magic crystal ore veins.
Hearing this question, Harrison’s eyes revealed an excitement he could hardly contain.
“Clan Leader, Lady Nilo has cultivated a remarkable extraordinary plant; it even possesses its own intelligence, and the fruits it bears can evolve the bloodline…”
A plant with its own intelligence,
And…fruits that can evolve the bloodline?!
