Chapter 490: Chapter 400 Initial Stabilization (Subscription Requested!)_1
Yangon.
In the conference room.
The room was once again filled with a haze of cigarette smoke.
"I believe they do not want to open up this passageway at all. They’re being inconsiderate of the bigger picture. The heavy casualties are nothing but an excuse. They surely want to squeeze money out of us," the Deputy Chief angrily criticized. Anyway, it didn’t cost him anything to grumble.
Kan Qin gave him a sidelong glance and said gravely, "It’s possible. But we can’t dismiss the fact that they may have suffered heavy casualties, are enduring internal stability issues, and are also in the position of holding off three adjacent powers, leaving them truly incapable of attacking anymore."
"So, what should we do then? We can’t wait until they are ready to take action. When will that be, in five years? Ten years? I suspect they are colluding with those people. They should all be eliminated," the Deputy Chief huffed.
Hearing this, Kan Qin truly wanted to know why the Mo Cai Family thought it was a good idea to promote this man to a leadership position. Did they want to add to the existing chaos? All he did was make constant, pointless noise.
Quality.
What happened to their vaunted quality?
"We can’t jump to conclusions so soon. Also, I don’t agree with your view that ’they are all in this together.’ They haven’t planted any flowers, and they indeed have got rid of other powers, even focusing on construction projects within their territory. They even prohibit gambling and strictly suppress it if discovered. There’s no forced conscription, among other things. So, please, restrain your imagination.
The most important point is, if they do not take the initiative, and we act unilaterally, the probability of successfully opening up the passage is less than second-rate. If we cannot succeed in the first try, it will be trouble next time," Kan Qin slowly explained.
Upon hearing Kan Qin’s reasoning,
Everyone present felt overwhelmed.
To fight or not fight is quite the dilemma.
If the other party doesn’t cooperate, and the passageway doesn’t open after the first try, there won’t be a second chance, and we will become a laughing stock.
If we do not attack,
We won’t be satisfied either. This opportunity is too good to pass up. If we miss it, we would have to wait until Ling is ready. Whenever that may happen - five years from now, ten years from now? We can’t wait that long.
"Do they only have Ling as the leader over there?" an old man suddenly asked.
The head of the Intelligence Department hurriedly tried to put his thoughts into words, saying, "Yes, Ling is the only visible leader. According to messages from Ge Dan, Ling is the one leading everything over there and is also the owner of the Myanmar Bank, as well as the highest-ranking officer. However, he rarely shows his face and usually stays inside the Comprehensive Service Center."
"How many confidants does he have under his command?" the old man continued to ask. Without any other options, he could only hope to win over another leader. This kind of power must have a lot of top-tier personnel. It’s impossible for Ling to be the only one. There should be at least a few generals, right?
However, his calculations were off this time.
The head of the Intelligence Department shook his head and said, "We don’t know. They are incredibly secretive about this matter. So far, we are still unclear about their internal organizational structure, what kinds of weapons they have, how many soldiers there are, where their camps are located. Every day, they broadcast warnings, saying that any leak of information relating to their soldiers is strictly prohibited. Ge Dan has tried to inquire several times, but every attempt has been fruitless. Their civilians don’t disclose a thing."
Pesky civilians.
This was the unanimous complaint of those present.
The big shots furrowed their brows.
What lay before them now was an unknown force.
They had initially thought to find ambitious subordinates under Ling’s command who could be turned against him. They were ready to lend a helping hand to overthrow Ling. But now they knew nothing, which made it impossible to take any action.
Everyone was left staring blankly.
Their strategies were exhausted.
It seemed the only choice now was to give up on this opportunity.
After a moment of silence,
The old man finally spoke up.
"Never mind, we shouldn’t stir up trouble now. Let’s allow them to regain their strength and settle their affairs, which could be beneficial. If they are unwilling to cooperate in the future, we must take all necessary measures to open the passageway and take over this place. I am sure that the hearts of the civilians are with us, as we are the rightful rulers.
For now, I want you all to prepare quickly. Even if they refuse to cooperate in the future, regardless of whether we try to persuade them or strike a deal, I hope we will be able to open this passageway when we are ready."
"Yes," a nearby elder dressed in military uniform promptly acknowledged.
"Oh, right. Tell them that if they need weapons, supplies, or any technology, we can provide it through Thailand. We can offer them a purchasing quota of one billion Asia Dollars," the old man added.
When a territory enlarges, its demands increase. As long as there is no falling out, they were willing to sell unimportant supplies at a low price. Even if their guess was correct and Ling didn’t want to open up the passageway, there were other methods.
We’ll give you money, manage this place well for us, don’t let others take it over. When the time comes, we will reclaim it without losing anything.
This was everyone’s train of thought.
This was their decision: maintain the current state of affairs, but prepare in secret. Whether through negotiation or force, they needed to be ready.
Thus, the relationship between the two parties entered a mutually ambiguous stage.
Everyone had their own thoughts.
The outcome would be determined by whoever played the better chess game.
...
Meanwhile,
Wangsa also received the news.
Having just gone to bed not too long ago, he nearly fell out of bed in shock.
He hadn’t expected that in just a day, with absolutely no signs beforehand, Ling would take over the two neighboring territories. Although the extent of the casualties was unknown, the situation was definitely within acceptable parameters. Hence, he quickly reported to his father.
"I’ve already heard. This morning, Myanmar declared the Asia Dollar issued by Ling as one of its national reserve currencies. It seems they’ve connected with Yangon. The condition for this exchange could possibly be taking over these two territories, but I’m not exactly clear about the contents of their transaction.
Don’t worry about it for now, just continue with our transactions with Ling as usual. We should observe how the situation unfolds. Also, your cousin will get engaged to the Clay Family next month. From now on, you should put effort into maintaining a good relationship with them. No matter what happens, as long as we’re in Thailand, nobody can harm us," said Wangsa’s father.
He couldn’t understand the current situation.
He knew the interests Yangon pursued, but he couldn’t understand Ling’s interests. The events that happened today were peculiar, with various parties behaving in ways that made their intentions unclear. Therefore, he had to plan in advance to avoid any trouble.
"Yes, father," Wangsa answered respectfully.
He hung up the phone.
Wangsa didn’t want to bother anymore, this had become a matter for those above, he himself had been reduced to nothing more than a ’pawn’. If someone without a background had reached his position, they would certainly do everything possible to become the one controlling the pieces, but his family were already one of the chess players. In Thailand, their power was immense and he had several brothers, he didn’t have that kind of ambition, given that he had a nearly invincible life, he believed he couldn’t go wrong listening to his father.
From then on, Wangsa went to sleep calmly and carefree.
That night.
Countless people couldn’t sleep due to today’s events.
In Yangon.
With Talents and surrounding forces.
Wangsa’s family.
Ge Dan.
And many people in the territory.
And the manipulator behind this -- Tang Qing, was hard at work in the training area, humming a little tune, listening to little songs playing on Little Two, picking big, plump red apples from the tree. These apples were like mutants, they had huge sizes, all comparable to small watermelons, a single one could satiate an average person, and not many could fit in a military backpack.
These were for his family to eat.
On the first of June.
The fruit and vegetable shop in Qingyan City officially opened for business.
The first day.
It was without many customers.
The second day.
Still few customers.
It was because everything inside was too expensive, ordinary people simply couldn’t afford it. Looking at all kinds of beautiful fruits and vegetables, many people thought they could buy some to taste if they were willing to spend a bit of money. However, when they saw the prices, they were scared silly. It wasn’t just a matter of spending a bit of money, it was a huge expenditure.
Take the apples for example, the ordinary price outside was two dollars a kilogram, but here it was twenty dollars a kilogram. With such huge apples, one could weigh three or four kilograms, which was scary. An apple costing fifty or sixty dollars, wasn’t this a joke or a rip-off? They would be scolded to death if they took these home.
Therefore, they left while cursing harshly.
So far.
The two fruit and vegetable shops hadn’t completed a single transaction.
In this era when the average daily wage was tens of dollars, spending so much money on an apple was something only the extremely wealthy could afford.
Of course.
This did not include Tang Qing’s family. They all had membership cards offered by Tang Qing, which allowed for a 90% discount. They were previously wondering whether selling items at such a heavy discount would lead to a loss, but all doubts were cleared once they saw the prices in the shop.
As a result, they bought quite a lot at discounted prices.
They left in the astonished gaze of neighboring vendors.
They didn’t flaunt their purchases.
After seeing the prices, they understood why Tang Qing had asked them not to talk about this matter and keep quiet, in order not to affect their friend’s business. Therefore, they were very low-profile while shopping and spoke softly.
Having tasted these fruits and vegetables that Tang Qing brought home in the past, they were genuinely won over by the taste.
Even Tang’s parents, who had some money, felt these prices were worth it.
The next day.
The fourth of June.
Without leaving his room, Tang Qing practiced his Nerve Telekinesis. He had completed the tasks of opening a bank and a branch, gaining two hundred Origin Qi Value, meaning in just a few days, he had reached the peak of the third-level Gene Lock and could unlock the fourth level Gene Lock soon.
However, the system told him not to unlock it too quickly. For safety, the time between each unlocking of the Gene Lock must be at least one week, so even though he had reached the required Origin Qi Value, he couldn’t unlock it immediately.
But Tang Qing was in no hurry.
Just a week.
No big deal.
And it would coincide with the days of the National College Entrance Examination.
Now at the peak of the third level, he could clearly feel the power of his Nerve Telekinesis after the upgrade.
Previously, he could only control small melon seeds and let them fly around.
Now, he could directly control a utility knife and insert it half a centimeter into the wall. The improvement of his Nerve Telekinesis was like that of his body values, not following a simple numerical increase, but growing geometrically.
This also made him discover a new skill... using his Nerve Telekinesis to carve wood. On one hand, it honed his control to be more forceful and precise, and on the other hand, it also practiced his carving skills.
However, his current Nerve Telekinesis wasn’t strong enough. He could only carve softwood, and it still looked a mess, which made carving quite difficult.
But Tang Qing still enjoyed it.
Therefore.
A utility knife was clumsily carving wood.
Another utility knife was circling around Tang Qing in the air, slowly increasing in speed.
PS: The second Chapter, there’s still one Chapter left.
Let’s celebrate the round number Chapter, four hundred Chapters already, can a thousand Chapters be far behind? The answer is... do you have an idea in your heart how far it is, author?
Dear readers, thank you for your companionship and support. Mouse will do his best to write this book.