Chapter 9: Visiting the Neighbors
Within the energy storage device of the stronghold, 750 units of living ore were stored. This method of storage was quite common, allowing for the instant conversion into high-purity living ore at any time.
Regarding the purity of living ore, the Vassal Alliance had strict requirements. The ore mined by the pig-headed men from the shafts was called "crude ore," which had to be washed and initially refined before it could be absorbed by the stronghold.
After that, the stronghold would perform a secondary refinement to obtain living energy. This living energy could both maintain its own operations and condense into living ore.
For such a behemoth, if it didn't move, the consumption of living energy was manageable. But once it moved, there had to be a clear goal; otherwise, the losses would be severe.
According to Li Xiniwei, given the current state of the mine vein, each pig-headed man could mine about 0.3 to 0.4 kilograms of living ore per day.
There were a total of 643 pig-headed men, with 6 of them no longer mining, meaning a daily yield of 223 kilograms of living ore.
Did you think this profit was small? Not at all. Out of those 223 kilograms, 80% had to be handed over to the "Vassal Alliance," leaving only 44.6 kilograms as the daily profit.
After deducting the rental fees for the stronghold, as well as the salaries of the Vassal guards, overseers, and staff, the 44.6 kilograms were further reduced. In the end, Li Xiniwei could net about 3.5 to 4 kilograms of living ore per day.
This stronghold didn't belong to Li Xiniwei; he had rented it from a large company in the stronghold city under the jurisdiction of the "Watchtower." Now that he was under the wing of the "Vassal Alliance," he naturally mined on their territory.
Regarding the rental issue, that large company hadn't tampered with the stronghold city but was confident that Li Xiniwei wouldn't dare to play any tricks. The facts proved this to be true.
"Producing 223 kilograms of living ore a day, and you get less than 4 kilograms? You've got it pretty tough too."
Baha spoke with a hint of emotion, which made Li Xiniwei's nose sting. He wanted to say, 'Compared to earning little, meeting you all is the greatest misfortune of my life.'
"How often does the Alliance come to collect the ore?"
Su Xiao wasn't ready to fall out with the Alliance yet; it wasn't the time.
"Three weeks to a month. The Alliance people come to collect once. Yesterday, they brought you here and took away the tribute share."
Li Xiniwei took a sip of strong tea to calm his nerves. He had noticed earlier that the tea tasted quite good.
Su Xiao looked at the stronghold core in his hand. As his mental energy flowed into it, he found he could issue commands to the stronghold, but only a few types, such as move, stop, drill mine shafts, and full deployment.
The Alliance people had just come to collect the living ore. This was both bad news and good news. Although the starting capital was reduced, there would be no need to pay taxes to the Alliance for the next three weeks.
As for food reserves, they seemed sufficient but weren't. There were 142.7 units of inferior food and 50 units of superior food.
One unit of food could feed 100 pig-headed men for a day. 142.7 units of inferior food would last the current pig-headed men about 20 days.
Since he planned to develop the pig-headed men as a fighting force, he needed to improve their meals. Even if it wasn't the standard of top-tier food, he should at least provide superior food. The standard for superior food was: more than half meat in a meal, plus grain staples, two or more types of vegetables, and fruit after the meal.
Su Xiao had led wolf cavalry into battle and knew one thing well: if money could buy loyalty, never be stingy.
Why were the wolf cavalry so fierce in the early stages? Because Su Xiao spent money and war spoils on them. In the mid-stage, after reclaiming their original territory, their morale remained constant at 93 to 95 points. In the later stage, with just one command from Su Xiao, the wolf cavalry would charge in unison.
It wasn't just about food; the stronghold also needed renovations. Su Xiao wasn't worried about the pig-headed men developing independent thoughts or forming cliques. No, he wanted them to form cliques.
This would help boost their cohesion. Besides this, Su Xiao also planned to go to the stronghold city under the "Watchtower" to buy a batch of female pig-headed men, making the number of males about ten times that of females. This would likely lead to fights over mating rights.
Su Xiao intended to use the male pig-headed men for battle. Them fighting among themselves was a good thing. What was terrifying wasn't mutual conflict, but numbness.
All male creatures, whether intelligent beings or beasts, had one trait: they would compete for mating rights. Female pig-headed men would also likely prefer stronger males.
Su Xiao's setup wasn't for the pig-headed men to reproduce, but to give the males a goal. With a goal, they would yearn for the future. Once they yearned for the future, they would need freedom.
If any pig-headed man gained freedom, the Vassal Alliance would absolutely not allow it. By then, without Su Xiao having to say anything, those pig-headed men seeking freedom and a future would willingly pick up weapons. Even without weapons, they would bare their tusks and bite.
Sometimes, the most painful thing isn't having nothing, but having something and then losing it. That's even more painful. As the saying goes: 'I could have tolerated the darkness if I had never seen the sun.'
What Su Xiao was doing now was letting the pig-headed men see the sun, and then making them realize that the Vassal Alliance could shove them back into those narrow, stuffy, cramped sleeping slots at any moment. Want to resist? Great, come get your weapons.
Su Xiao wasn't good at impassioned speeches, but he excelled at using other things. If a male pig-headed man had his own dwelling, a loved one, and abundant food every day, as long as he had a bit of blood in him, he would try to defend it all.
Suppose out of 1,000 pig-headed men, 400 were like this. The others would develop herd mentality. Moreover, pig-headed men were only oppressed; they weren't stupid. They would naturally envy those with homes and mates, and make that their goal.
With this kind of preparation, there would be a lot to buy. The 750 kilograms of living ore in hand were clearly insufficient.
Su Xiao also needed to buy more male pig-headed men, both to supplement reserve combat power and to speed up mining.
Everything needed at this stage was available in the neutral stronghold city under the "Watchtower," provided there was enough living ore.
"Xiniwei, you have two choices. One, cooperate with me. Two, pretend nothing happened today and walk out of here."
Su Xiao pointed to the door. Unbeknownst to them, Hausman and Steel Fang were already standing outside, each holding a large meat cleaver.
Seeing these two, Li Xiniwei swallowed his saliva and put on a 'smiling' face as he said, "Of course I'll cooperate with you. What's our cooperation project?"
"Mining living ore."
Hearing this, Li Xiniwei's eyes lit up. In his view, if Su Xiao was after money, that was great.
"I'm good at this."
Li Xiniwei thought of something, which made his long-held anxiety ease. This was the territory of the "Vassal Alliance." Across the border was the "Watchtower's" territory. The neighbors of these two were the "Aurora Council."
It could be said that two-thirds of the continent's territory was controlled by these three major Vassal forces. As a human, and having been sentenced for a serious crime by the Vassal Alliance's tribunal, Su Xiao was no longer convenient for resource mining or trade on this land.
After connecting these dots, Li Xiniwei confirmed the situation. He knew he was still alive because the person across the table needed a Vassal spokesperson.
"Since it's business, we need to be clear. How much of a share do I get?"
Li Xiniwei suddenly stopped panicking. Although his reputation outside was one of cruelty and morbidity, that was just a cover he wanted. He was a very pure businessman.
"You get ten percent."
Su Xiao made an offer, though he had no intention of paying.
"At least sixty percent. I'm risking my life here. Whether I arouse your suspicion or the Alliance finds out I'm cooperating with you, my end is death. For a bachelor over 40, dying like that is too pathetic."
"Twenty percent."
"Deal!"
Li Xiniwei lightly pushed up the glasses he had somehow put on, revealing a businessman's smile.
"Xiniwei, you're not planning to find a chance to escape, are you?"
Baha spoke. Hearing this, Li Xiniwei immediately denied it:
"Absolutely not. I'm a businessman. How could I..."
"It doesn't matter if you escape," Baha said, taking a small crystal vial from the team storage space. Placing it on the table, he continued, "Keep this. By 10 PM tonight at the latest, you'll urgently need it."
Baha didn't say anything else. Li Xiniwei's expression changed slightly. He thought he might have been poisoned with a slow-acting toxin, but he didn't say it out loud. Some things, knowing in your heart was enough. Saying them would mean burning bridges, leading to a different kind of negotiation.
"Welcome aboard."
Su Xiao tossed a cigarette to Li Xiniwei and lit one for himself.
"Since you're on board, you need to invest."
Su Xiao's words made Li Xiniwei's expression stiffen. He considered for a moment and said, "Shouldn't we focus on stable development first?"
"Not necessary. We need to expand. Buy at least 1,000 more pig-headed men."
"1,000 or more pig-headed men? That would cost at least 2,000 kilograms of living ore! If we buy good-quality ones, the price could go up to 3,000!"
Every expression on Li Xiniwei's face screamed that he was poor and couldn't spare a single grain of living ore.
Su Xiao closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat to rest. Seeing this, Baha signaled Hausman and Steel Fang. The two stood behind Li Xiniwei, placing their large hands on his shoulders. Li Xiniwei's expression immediately became interesting.
In the end, Li Xiniwei was robbed... ahem, he invested 1,275 kilograms of living ore. In truth, he had no choice. These living ores were hidden in several secret locations on the third floor of the stronghold.
After renting the stronghold and working hard for over half a year, his assets were about to hit zero. Li Xiniwei felt both hatred and worry.
He was very worried that something might happen to Su Xiao. If so, his investment would go down the drain. For now, at least he was still in the stronghold and could participate in some decisions, which meant there was profit to be made.
If Li Xiniwei was a small bank, Su Xiao was a client who owed that bank billions. In this situation, the bank would be more concerned about his safety than he himself was.
"Bai Ye, the tribunal just sent you here yesterday. Don't leave the stronghold for a while. Even if you have to go out, wear a mask or a hooded cloak. You must be very careful. Don't go..."
Every word Li Xiniwei said came from the heart. Other things could be fake, but the 1,275 kilograms of living ore he had 'invested' were as real as it got.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. Although he now had 2,025 kilograms of living ore, it was still a bit short of the scale he wanted to develop.
As the saying goes, a man without ill-gotten wealth won't get rich, and a horse without night grass won't get fat. Even if he wanted to develop, he needed a good foundation. The current foundation wasn't good. Developing through snowballing would take too long, and Su Xiao didn't have that much time.
Su Xiao already had a target for this ill-gotten wealth. His Melee Grandmaster skill had reached Lv.60. In terms of kicking techniques, one kick could definitely break through the outer armor of a T5-class stronghold. That's right, Su Xiao planned to go to other T5-class strongholds to rob living ore. Since everyone was no good, he wouldn't bother pretending to be a good neighbor. It was quite tiring.
This was also why Su Xiao had summoned Tide Hunter. With Tide Hunter as long-range suppression, things would be much easier.
Su Xiao had already chosen the members for the 'hunting' expedition. Besides himself, there were Bubu Wang, Baha, Tide Hunter, Hausman, Steel Fang, and Li Xiniwei.
The soon-to-arrive Amu would be responsible for guarding their home base. With Amu's strength, he could both control the stronghold's interior and defend against external attacks. His ice ability could form a second layer of armor-level defense for the stronghold.
"Xiniwei, are there any other T5 or T4-class strongholds near us?"
Su Xiao extinguished his cigarette. Hearing this, Li Xiniwei's heart tightened. He tentatively asked, "What are you planning?"
"Just visiting the neighbors."
"And... if those strongholds don't open their doors?"
"Then I'll kick the door down."
"Kick... kick the door down?"
Li Xiniwei made a very strange expression. He felt that Su Xiao hadn't understood his meaning. In reality, it was he who hadn't understood Su Xiao's meaning. The 'kicking the door down' Su Xiao mentioned wasn't a figure of speech, but a verb.