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The endless mineral crates are more helpful to the Duchy of Kosichä than the initial molten metal. This is because the molten metal can smelt things that cannot directly determine the course of a war, while the mineral crates, which refresh randomly every day, even if they are just iron ore, can gradually contribute to the development of the Duchy of Kosichä's industry.
Not to mention, what if one day you get incredibly lucky and find a whole box of uranium-235 inside? If Yang Hao remembers correctly, uranium ore is a mineral too! And even if you don't find that, you could at least give me some gem ore or gold ore, right?
Anyway, taking this thing first is definitely a good deal! He took the mineral box away from the House of Elegy with satisfaction, and it was after he left that Miss Elegy's usual disguise was completely removed.
She squatted on the ground, muttering with a mix of laughter and tears, "This electric shock feeling is so strange," while starting to look forward to their meeting next month.
While Miss Elegy was looking forward to meeting Yang Hao next month...
Back in reality with the suitcase in his arms, Yang Hao, who was wondering where to put it, received a message from the head maid: the United City will arrive on the outskirts of the city on June 20th for a friendly and commercial exchange with the Duke of Koschche.
Chapter 213
June 20th. This was arguably Yang Hao's most anticipated day—not for any other reason than that United City was about to arrive. He would soon be able to meet Jack and the others.
Since that day of parting, Yang Hao wondered how Jack and his wife were doing... He was very worried about their lives after that incident, since, judging from the data of the [Puppet Stage], the situation in United City was not particularly good.
[City: Union City]
Overall: Parliamentary electoral system
Urban population: ? ? ?
City stability: 90%
Urban resistance level: 0%
Urban Wealth: Moderation. They urgently need to find ways to restart the exchange of goods, either to sell their stockpiled resources or to buy high-value goods for trade.
Urban military: Not worth mentioning. Although the United City trained wave after wave of elite worker armies while fleeing the encirclement of various states in Columbia, their training level, combat effectiveness, and equipment were all inferior to those of the Duke of Koschche.
'A small town that can be found anywhere...but precisely because of this, it can easily disappear into the wilderness due to various accidents.'
Since its secession from the state of Columbia, United City has been in a precarious situation. While under the control of the state of Columbia, it enjoyed ample commercial and economic support, but now it has to fend for itself.
Fortunately, the leader of the United City—a young and capable military officer—managed the city fairly well. At least when he brought the surrounding area of the Duke of Koschie and formally issued the request for border access, Yang Hao noticed that the vast majority of people in that city were doing quite well, with smiles on their faces.
“I’ll take care of the rest of the work,” Kosic said, patting Yang Hao’s hand as he stood beside him. “I’ll handle the trade and cooperation with the United City. As for you—you should spend some time with your friends before you head to Saint-Germain for work.”
"Is this alright?"
"No problem. Don't worry, Monica will be following you, but she won't bother you—just don't forget, you have to go home tonight, understand?"
Yang Hao was flattered that his wife had taken on all the work just to give him some time to relax. But then he thought, wait a minute, doesn't this mean there's more trouble to come before he leaves for Saint-Germain...? Surely, after a few rounds of beers with Jack and the others, maybe I should come back and help out at work?
He made up his mind, but didn't tell Kosiché. He planned to give Kosiché a surprise quietly.
......
At 2 PM on the 20th, the United City officially bordered the Duchy of Cosiché. After the formal border was established, the United City's official diplomats boarded a train and, escorted by soldiers armed with Colombian weaponry, arrived at the Duke's residence to meet with His Excellency the Duke.
Koschke waited for them in the audience hall. While waiting, Koschke also pondered some things. After all, barring any unforeseen circumstances, her husband would be working at Saint-Germain-des-Prés for a while, and he would definitely need a strong and capable bodyguard to ensure his safety. She wasn't entirely at ease with just Monica accompanying him at all times.
“Monica, do you think the Deepsea Hunters are a reliable force?” she asked her maid, resting her chin on her hand as she glanced sideways at the empty throne that once belonged to Yang Hao beside her. “I need someone to ensure his safety… it’s really not enough for just you.”
“Deep Sea Hunters? Um… I’m sorry, Lord Koschche, although from my understanding they are very powerful warriors, that doesn’t mean they are trustworthy people? Although Lord Yang Hao trusts them a lot…” Monica replied, somewhat confused. She still didn’t understand why Yang Hao sometimes showed trust to strangers—but she believed in his trust. “But if Lord Yang Hao trusts them, then they must indeed be trustworthy, right?”
“I heard him say that they have a matter that they must ask him to do, a matter of life and death for their race… Alas, with the Serpent Scales, the Gauls, and the regular army unable to accompany him to the heart of the Ursus Empire, they can only go with him to protect his safety.”
"Yes. I can't guarantee that I can protect Lord Yang Hao if I'm the only person I can trust..."
"That's settled then. Please tell the Deepsea Hunter that I'd like to meet with her this evening."
"Yes."
Koschke was very worried about Yang Hao's personal safety on his way to Saint-Germain. Although he would definitely have soldiers accompanying him along the way, without the protection of snake scales and special soldiers, Koschke could only ask the deep-sea hunters to be on high alert to ensure his safety.
Of course, Monica will accompany him—possessing the ability to freely travel within the mirror world, she can go back and forth between Yang Hao's location and Koschche's location at any time. However, protecting just one mirror girl is still a bit too troublesome...
Ugh!
She sighed softly, and as the waiter entered the audience hall, respectfully relaying the words of the United City's leader who wished to meet with her, she waved her hand, indicating that the man outside could come in.
......
While working in Kosicche, Yang Hao, with only a few guards, took a rare stroll through the streets and returned to the street where his home used to be. He sighed at the familiar scenery.
To avoid being recognized by unimportant people, he dressed somewhat discreetly.
He surveyed the scenery around his home, finally looking at the intersection where the pipe leak and explosion had occurred. He sighed heavily, muttering, "Is it still not fixed?", and, under the protection of plainclothes guards, decided to go and check on Jack's neighborhood.
Just as he was about to take action, he suddenly saw a Fengti tribesman across the street, carrying a basket and presumably just buying groceries and heading home, scratching his eyes and looking at him.
"No way?" Yang Hao was stunned for a moment, looking at the Fengti tribesmen in the distance: "I've already been so far from home, and you..."
"Hey!! Yang Hao!!"
You rascal, you actually come to my house so often?
Yang Hao looked at the fat man who was running over excitedly, both amused and exasperated.
His old friends are truly reassuring.
He stretched out his arms, ignoring even the change in expression on the faces of his guards behind him as they tried to protect him. He ran ahead for quite a distance, then gave his old friend, who was rushing towards him, a heavy, powerful hug. The first thing this man, now a great figure, did for his good friend was—
Where's my beer?
I'm planning to go drinking with my best buddy.
Chapter 214
When the Duke of Kosiché received the diplomatic team from the United City—a team mainly composed of officers and supplemented by diplomats—she keenly realized that the talks might be much more troublesome than she had imagined.
For no other reason than that this was more like an army that owned a city than an army that owned a city. The officers held high positions, arrogant and haughty, while the diplomats were subservient and obsequious. This could cause numerous administrative problems, especially in administrative diplomacy, for both sides.
Koschei disliked dealing with settlements or cities where the military controlled politics, but she also knew that this was, after all, her husband's former city. Moreover, the arrival of the United City meant that the Duchy of Koschei and the Ursus Empire could reap more benefits—so, both morally and logically, she had to pull herself together and deal with them.
"Greetings, Your Excellency Duke Kosice."
Unsurprisingly, it wasn't a diplomat who first offered greetings, but a military officer. He bowed slightly, then slowly gave a deep bow before raising his head, displaying a soldier's composure as he prepared to get straight to the point:
"Our United City accepted your invitation several months ago and came here at your request. If the previous promise is correct, Duke Koschche, you wish to sign a business contract with us and have a brief business exchange, is that right?"
“That’s right. However, due to some special reasons, the promise to sell you weapons has come to an end. But, we should be able to reach an agreement on other goods.” Kosiché nodded. “And... what is your name?”
"Captain Glamorgan."
"...I understand. Then I'll get straight to the point, Captain Glamorgan—have you prepared a catalog for the exchange of goods?"
"Please rest assured, our diplomats are ready."
Captain Glamorgan glanced at the diplomats beside him, who nodded obsequiously, then took a document from their briefcases, respectfully handed it to a waiter, and had the waiter pass it on to Duke Koschche.
Kosichrie, however, was observing the interaction between the officer and the administrator—she suddenly realized that it was less of a superior-subordinate relationship and more like that of a supervisor and a prisoner...
Is it possible...
"Besides the usual exchange of goods, Your Excellency Duke Kosiché, we hope to sell some important intelligence in order to gain your support for our city."
Just as Kosichrie was pondering while looking through the catalog, Captain Glamorgan's words brought her back to reality.
"Important intelligence?"
"Yes."
Faced with the Duke of Kosiché's earnest question, he nodded:
"Information regarding...some kind of [operation] that Colombia is about to carry out against Kasimir."
...... ......
While working in Kosiché.
Yang Hao was visiting Jack's house after a long time.
Mrs. Mette, Jack's wife, the seemingly petite but actually strong enough to carry two Jacks on her shoulders for a couple of laps outside, was not home. According to Jack, Mette should be taking a walk in the nearby park right now.
“You wouldn’t believe it, not long after you left, a government formed by soldiers and workers took control of the city. We somehow ended up leaving Colombia, and then inexplicably started moving outwards. The new government even hired that Sarkaz mercenary group. Sigh. It was tough before, but since we came to Minos, our lives have become much more stable.”
As Jack prepared the skewers on the table, sprinkling them with cumin or barbecue sauce, he explained the recent situation in United City to Yang Hao. According to him, United City seemed to have gone through a period of chaos in the beginning. During that time, factories were closed and not operating, and due to the lack of commercial exchange, many necessities such as food were rationed—but fortunately, they had survived it, so they didn't have much to say about the hardships of the past.
Moreover, rather than recounting his own hardships, Jack was more concerned about Yang Hao's living conditions since arriving in Ursus.
"So, are you settling into life in Ursus? Those guys who were with you just now, they looked more like secret police to me." Jack tossed a bottle of ice-cold beer in Yang Hao's face, then curiously watched Yang Hao catch the beer and immediately open it. "I remember you didn't like the food in Ursus, did you? I used to go with you to eat that... big rye bread?"
"It's pickled cucumber."
"Oh right—I remember seeing you eat pickles before and the expression on your face was really contorted. Hey, are you really getting used to the food in Ursus? How about you bring some bread and marinated steaks from my place?"
"No, no, I'm quite used to Ursus food, it's just that I really dislike sour things." Yang Hao shrugged, his expression quite strange. "And I really wanted to ask you why you ordered such sour food... But speaking of which, aren't we waiting for Mette to come back?"
“We can eat first. Mette can’t eat barbecue or drink alcohol right now.”
"what?"
"She's pregnant—the doctor says it's twins."
"Pfft—!!? She's pregnant?! Congratulations!"
Yang Hao was happy for his best friend's happiness. He couldn't wait to grab a few meat skewers from the table and stuff them into his mouth. Then, he realized with a serious expression that the taste was wrong.
More like grilled kidney slices than meat skewers... and besides the kidneys...
Yang Hao frowned, carefully chewing the crisp vegetable or seasoning with a certain spicy flavor—wasn't that garlic?
Garlic, kidney slices...
“You know, she’s a Vayvan.” Jack sighed melancholy, listlessly eating his portion of roast meat. “You wouldn’t believe it, brother. Lately, Mette has been forcing me to exercise every day—but what’s the point of exercising?”
"You've lost a lot of weight, haven't you?"
"You think this is just me getting some exercise? Hahaha—do you know how many times Mette comes every night? Ten times! I have boxes and boxes of nutritional supplements under my bed. Seriously, if Mette hadn't gotten pregnant recently, I don't know if I could have kept up... Anyway, how have things been since you came over?"
"Ah, I'm alright."
Yang Hao nodded, swallowed the grilled kidney slices that were crucial for replenishing his best friend's energy, then took a sip of the cool, refreshing Colombian beer whose foam would slowly dissipate in his throat, and said with a wry smile:
"It's not that serious... but it might be more serious than you think. Sigh, I understand you now that we're married, bro."
"...So there's some truth to the saying that it's better for men to marry later. But speaking of which, Margarita?"
"She's training with Minos. Sigh... I don't know how far she wants to go, but she'll come back once she's figured things out."
"Oh oh."
The two best buddies chatted back and forth, taking turns sips of beer. Before they knew it, they had almost finished the meat skewers and can after can of beer. Even Mette returned from outside—her belly was already a little swollen, and she was very happy to see Yang Hao, but because of her pregnancy, she couldn't drink alcohol or eat spicy food.
Seeing this, Jack immediately prepared a meat porridge for his wife, nutritious yet not too greasy. The three of them sat at the table, eating and drinking heartily, and before they knew it, the conversation was getting increasingly strange...
"You know what? Ever since our city was renamed United City, all the state government people who used to work for the city government have been imprisoned!"
"Locked up? Oh—! Isn't that a good thing?" Yang Hao disliked the people in the state government, so he was naturally happy to hear this.
"Yes, yes, everyone's been fed up with them for a long time! I heard from a friend of mine who's in the army that after those prisoners were locked up, many of them didn't have time to turn off their communicators! So the state government kept broadcasting, and now the new government's soldiers have taken this opportunity to crack the frequency of the state government's communicators and have started eavesdropping on their intelligence..."
"Oh... But then again, is the military here so lax these days? As far as I know, this kind of classified information shouldn't be leaked, right?"
How could the military government of the United City have leaked such important secret information? Yang Hao was greatly puzzled, while Jack seemed quite used to it.
"You think the soldiers here are really dedicated?" Jack rolled his eyes, opened his third can of beer, and downed it in one gulp, ignoring Mette's eye-roll, with a satisfying gulp: "Ah—ha! Awesome! Uh... where were we? Ah, the soldiers... you think all the soldiers here are dedicated? The vast majority are temporary recruits! The core of the military police hasn't even trained enough qualified personnel yet. Expecting these new recruits not to leak information is like expecting the Columbia state government to arrest us right now!"
"That's true..."
Considering the current situation in United City, it seems there's no problem, right? Haha, having practical experience doesn't mean you'll keep it a secret~ So after a moment of surprise, Yang Hao chuckled and expressed his understanding.
Just as he was about to have another round of drinks before saying goodbye and going home to shower and rest, and Min-tian was going to help his wife with some work before coming over for another drink, Jack suddenly sneakily mentioned that he had recently heard a very strange "rumor".
"And have you heard? Colombia seems to be planning to take action against Casimir!"
As he said this, he didn't notice that Yang Hao's expression had changed drastically.
Chapter 215
...
That evening, a drunken Yang Hao was helped back by his personal guards. Despite his outwardly intoxicated state, while his body was physically unconscious, his mind was still sharp!
The reason he got so drunk was partly to avoid having to "pay his dues" when he went home—ever since Monica joined the fray, Yang Hao's "dues" had become doubled. Sigh, how bad for his health! So, faced with the choice between getting increasingly thinner and coming back every few days, he chose the latter. But even if he had to wait a few days, he needed a good reason, right? Being completely drunk was a perfect excuse.
On the other hand... because he knew that Monica would definitely check on his situation at any time, he could naturally be bolder and think about what his best friend was talking about regarding the "rumors".
"Sir, please get in the car first..."