Chapter 112: Big Business
Divine Favor City · Mid Ring · Qiyin Avenue · Back Street District.
The carriage stopped in the courtyard. Although it was less than half a kilometer from the bustling Qiyin Avenue, the courtyard felt quiet and close to nature.
Su Xiao stepped out of the carriage, and the scent of flowers drifted over. The courtyard he was in, though not large, was meticulously maintained. Flower beds, rockeries, an ornamental pond, and other features were all present. There were also two jujube trees in the yard, their fruits already showing a hint of red.
Symmetrical to this exquisite courtyard was a three-story mansion. Even from a modern perspective, this mansion was flawless.
"Doctor Bai Ye, there's a curfew in the inner city after 7 PM every day. Don't go out casually. Even if you are a distinguished guest invited by Lord Sea God, being detained by the night patrol would be very troublesome."
Life Priest Sophia poked her head out of the carriage and said this. Then she gave orders to the two simple-minded sea beasts pulling the cart. Shortly after, the carriage left the courtyard. Sophia was probably going back to report to the Sea God.
Su Xiao hadn't received any invitation or anything. After arriving at the main city, Sophia hadn't mentioned the Sea God wanting to see him, as if just coming here was fine.
Su Xiao pushed open the door and entered the mansion he would be temporarily staying in. After Bubu Wang and Baha checked all the rooms on the first, second, and third floors, they found no surveillance methods.
This represented the Sea God's attitude. He welcomed Su Xiao's arrival but was not enthusiastic about it, and had no plans to meet with Su Xiao in the near future.
In Su Xiao's view, this was a very wise approach. If he were trying to recruit someone and had plenty of time, he would never contact that person immediately. Instead, he would observe for a while, then use covert means to create friction between that person and his own hostile forces, preferably making them enemies.
At that point, he could step in to protect that person, making the opposing side uncomfortable while also making the recruited person more loyal.
This was just a very conventional method, forcing that person to pick a side and preventing them from being arrogant about their talents.
In Su Xiao's view, the Sea God was currently trying to 'entertain' him with this method.
The main city was huge, far beyond the concept of a normal city. Its area was close to that of a province in the real world, with a population of around ten million.
The main city was divided into many administrative districts, with areas like the Agricultural and Pastoral District and the Outflow District being the largest. The biggest characteristic here was the sparse population, which meant there were few multi-story apartments.
The reason it was called a city was mainly due to the hundred-meter-high walls at the edge of the territory. It was certain that this was not built by human labor. The amount of work involved was N times that of building the Great Wall. Given the situation in the World of Paintings, being able to withstand beast plagues was already good enough. This kind of historical construction project was absolutely impossible.
Even with supernatural power, creating the walls at the outermost edge was an astonishing feat.
Within the main city's boundaries, there were mountains, rivers, forests, etc. The areas enclosed by the walls were definitely noble districts or wealthy districts. If you found yourself climbing a mountain road with buildings on both sides, you needed to be careful. You had likely wandered into a slum. Whether you could get out alive depended on your strength, clothing, etc.
Either be exceptionally strong or exceptionally poor, otherwise don't go to the slums, and especially don't go to one of the several slums called the Wolf Spider District.
The refugees there were like wolf spiders hiding in the eaves of shacks. Upon entering the slums, you would see children starving to skin and bone, old people dying by the roadside. It was a lawless place, with hallucinogen trading, brothels, exotic beast and organ auctions, etc.
Compared to the several slums, the Agricultural and Pastoral District was a different scene. Even if the people there weren't wealthy, they had enough to eat and wear. As long as you settled down, farming was the absolute daddy, and the second daddy was livestock breeding.
The Wolf Spider District and the Agricultural and Pastoral District—one was a dark criminal zone, the other a place of simple laborers. The contrast between the two was too great. In fact, this revealed a situation: the Sea God's control over the main city wasn't as absolute as imagined.
Su Xiao had thought of this before. If the Sea God had absolute control over the main city, he wouldn't have let the seven outer Sanctuary Cities govern themselves. These were all hidden dangers.
Su Xiao guessed that the Sea God's intention was to first stabilize the situation in the main city, and then, when he had the strength, deal with the seven outer Sanctuary Cities.
The current situation was likely that the Sea God was at a stalemate with the hostile forces within the main city. Both sides' power structures were deeply entrenched within the city. A large-scale chaotic battle was impossible because even if they won, most of the main city's territory would be reduced to ruins.
Without external supplies, the main city would become very poor, and it would stay poor for a long time, taking centuries to recover.
So the two sides were deadlocked, with constant conflicts, but these were limited to individuals. There would never be a large-scale clash. Or rather, in the struggle between the Sea God and that big shot, the subordinates on both sides would not obey orders to start a large-scale battle.
Although the main city was large, it was underwater. Their home was their life plus the lives of their entire family. Compared to the safety of their home, the orders of those in power took a back seat. Losing their home meant the whole family dies. Disobeying an order meant only they die, with a small chance of their whole family dying.
Su Xiao felt that the current situation was very good. Before coming, he was worried that the Sea God would be the sole dominant power. That would have been difficult. Now it seemed that the Sea God had an opponent. Although that opponent couldn't be evenly matched with him, he still made things unpleasant for him, at the very least a thorn in his side.
This meant the Sea God's subsequent actions would basically be: first, not meeting with him; then, letting him inadvertently offend the Sea God's opponent; and finally, protecting him.
This way, the Sea God both dealt a blow to his opponent and forced Su Xiao to pick a side, while also saving a large amount of the 'loyalty fee' he should have paid Su Xiao. One move, three gains.
Su Xiao had come to the underwater world. Although his mission wasn't to kill the Sea God, he was here to find the Scroll Fragments and to fleece him. If the Sea God didn't let him fleece him, it would be a huge loss.
Thinking this through, Su Xiao decided to cooperate with a professional in the area of fleecing. He took a gold coin from his storage space.
Don't underestimate this gold coin. It was obtained when Su Xiao led hundreds of thousands of Wolf Cavalry in battle on the Canglong Continent. A Wolf Cavalry squad, while carrying out a blockade mission behind enemy lines, had looted it from a high official in the Royal City and then presented it to Su Xiao. It was said that this coin was minted in ancient times by a certain Grand Duke, and only 99 existed. Su Xiao wasn't sure about the specifics, but although this item had no attribute description, it was an item that could be taken out of the Canglong Continent.
Ding~
The Grand Duke's coin was flicked into the air, landed with a crisp sound, and the next second, a shoe stepped on it.
"My dear friend, do you have business to discuss with Kaiser?"
Kaiser appeared, sitting opposite Su Xiao. This guy bent down, picked up an apple from the fruit plate, and also swiped three jujubes, stuffing them into his back pocket with a natural and skilled motion.
Su Xiao did have a big business deal with Kaiser, but he first needed to know Kaiser's identity in the main city.
"Kaiser, how long have you been here?"
"Today is the fourth day."
Kaiser didn't hide it. Calculating this way, Kaiser had arrived here while Su Xiao was still in the ancient castle within the main painting world.
"And your identity here?"
"Alchemy Master."
"Cough-pfft~"
A stream of cola shot out of Bubu Wang's nostrils, and the test tube in his mouth fell to the ground.
"Bubu, you don't believe in my skills, do you?"
"Woof?"
Bubu Wang was confused, very confused. He had always felt that Kaiser was inferior to him in alchemy.
This wasn't arrogance on Bubu Wang's part. Back in the Demon Sea, after Su Xiao cooperated with Kaiser, he agreed to teach Kaiser some alchemy and potion knowledge. As he taught, Kaiser didn't learn much, but Bubu Wang, who was watching from the side, learned it.
In Su Xiao's team, apart from Amu who knew nothing about alchemy, the others understood a bit from constant exposure. However, the gap between them and Su Xiao, who had deciphered the Alchemy Codex, was enormous.
"So, the Sea God thinks you're an Alchemy Master?"
Su Xiao's words made Kaiser raise his chin slightly and say seriously, "What do you mean 'thinks'? I am."
A hint of a humble smile appeared on Kaiser's face, but unfortunately, he didn't have the temperament for it.
"How did you fool him?"
"Uh~, I used the leftover potions you used in the Sun Church."
Kaiser's expression was normal. With his level of shamelessness, being exposed on such a small matter didn't bother him at all.
Hearing this, Su Xiao stopped caring about this aspect. As long as no other alchemist showed up, it wouldn't disrupt his plans.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I had a conflict with the Sunbird earlier, so I had to stew it and give it a try."
Su Xiao took out a lunch box. Inside was Sunbird stewed with mushrooms. Kaiser swallowed his saliva, then waved his hand, indicating he had no appetite and wouldn't eat. This guy had obviously guessed something.
The reason Su Xiao said Kaiser had been waiting long was because he realized that Kaiser disguising himself as an Alchemy Master to come to the main city had a hundred harms and no benefits. If exposed, all kinds of trouble would follow.
The reason Kaiser did this was that he was certain Su Xiao would come to the main city of the underwater world. This wasn't hard to guess. The Sea God possessed a large number of Scroll Fragments, and as a participant in the Scroll Fragment competition, Su Xiao would naturally come here.
Since Su Xiao was coming, Kaiser disguising himself as an Alchemy Master was equivalent to preemptively securing the trademark. The implication was that he was voluntarily joining this time.
Kaiser had arrived three days early. In those three days, with his methods, he must have established a large network of contacts and channels. The problem was, he only had the contacts and channels, not the genuine skill.
This was Kaiser's cleverness. When cooperating with anyone, he had to ensure that his own role was irreplaceable. For example, before in the Sun Church, could anyone else have replaced Kaiser as the quartermaster in the plan? The answer was absolutely impossible.
Now Kaiser was making himself irreplaceable. By disguising himself as an alchemist, he could not only gain a lot of benefits through alchemical potions but also avoid the risk of exposure. Kaiser was on the surface, handling contacts, channels, sales, etc.
Su Xiao urgently needed [Divine Blood Crystal]. The 15 grams he had obtained before were like a drop in the bucket for the [Divine Judgment] ring. Not to mention 15 grams, even 150 grams or 1500 grams wouldn't be enough. Therefore, [Divine Blood Crystal] was the top priority resource to acquire.
Su Xiao could act as a doctor who could suppress beastification disease to earn [Divine Blood Crystal], plus the potion business from Kaiser's side and the channels derived from it.
This was the short-term goal: earn 10 jin of [Divine Blood Crystal]. How to deal with the Sea God also needed to be planned.
In this regard, Su Xiao would not join forces with Wood or Zuiyasi. They would target the Sea God separately. Even if one side was exposed, they wouldn't all be wiped out. One could escape first, and the remaining two would continue to deal with the Sea God, coordinating from inside and outside.
In dangerous moments, they could even sell each other out, sacrificing the pawn to save the general. The one making more progress would be the general, while the other would take the blame and run, allowing the plan to continue.
To deal with the Sea God, a breakthrough was needed. Su Xiao's current target was Sophia. She was the Sea God's eldest daughter. First, make this woman doubt her life, then follow this thread to start dealing with the Sea God.
Sophia was Breakthrough 1. There was another breakthrough: the leader of the hostile forces within the main city opposing the Sea God. This was Su Xiao's personal speculation; he didn't know if such a person existed.
"Kaiser, in the main city, is the Sea God the absolute ruler?"
"Yes, he has the most power, but he rarely shows himself."
"Is that so."
Su Xiao felt a bit disappointed inside. Maybe his previous inference was wrong.
"Actually, that's not entirely accurate. The Sea God does control the entire main city, but the big nobles in the city won't let him push them around either. More importantly, there's Oss Conard. That guy is especially ruthless, daring to go against the Sea God."
Kaiser said this, pulled out a handful of melon seeds from somewhere, and after cracking two, he dumped them on the table. The seeds were stale.
"Oss Conard?"
"Yes, Oss Conard. He's the only one in the main city who dares to challenge the Sea God."
"Who is he? That impressive."
Hearing Baha's question, Kaiser smiled mysteriously and said, "He's the Sea God's eldest son. He has a dream: to kill his father."
Baha suddenly understood. So he was a filial son.