I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early-Chapter 578 - 422 We Look a Bit Like Fools_2
Chapter 578: Chapter 422 We Look a Bit Like Fools_2
“Moreover, once we leave this place, the ‘Ancient Insect’ will be besieged by the army of the Insect Race…”
“We should prioritize purchasing other knowledge…”
These guys, all talking at once, hesitant and indecisive.
“Hmph, you’re just afraid of spending money. The Humans have confidence in their information, yet you give up on it outright!” The Minotaur Chief, his bull eyes wide, began to scold, “The Ancient Insect is truly blinded by insect oil, using its last bit of Life Force to protect you.”
“It would be better to just watch you die; at least that way it could live a few more years!”
Everyone was sprayed with scolding, leaving them extremely embarrassed.
...
The room fell into silence.
“It’s not that we are ungrateful, it’s just that we are considering the alliance’s well-being.”
“Pah! I am ashamed to be associated with you!”
Finally, an Elder from the Cross-eyed Clan spoke up, “My suggestion is that we must treat the Ancient Insect… This isn’t just about the interests of civilization, it’s also our spiritual pillar, the totem of the Underground Alliance. The friendship that was established under the Ancient Insect’s protection is why we are able to sit here and have a harmonious meeting.”
“However, we should also temper our expectations for the treatment of the Ancient Insect.”
“The injuries it has sustained could very well have been caused by a Catastrophe Level Anomaly.”
“If we spend the money and it still dies, at least we have given the people an explanation…”
This speech made quite a lot of sense.
The Underground Alliance is not a dictatorship; considerations for public sentiment also matter.
If the Ancient Insect really does die, it would be easy to pass the blame onto the Humans… cough, after all, politics is all about shifting the blame.
Following this, a Snake-man Governor asked, “If the Humans indeed start treatment, how much money should we spend at most? We can’t just pour money into it endlessly like a bottomless pit.”
“Keep in mind we already have limited resources, and there is still so much knowledge we haven’t purchased…”
This question was somewhat difficult to answer.
Past, present, future – which is most important?
No one can say for certain.
The Ancient Insect truly is a life-saving benefactor.
If the Ancient Insect is cured, the Underground Alliance gains a powerful heritage, one that can’t be bought with Spirit Essence… That is an Anomaly left from the Ancient Era!
But the fear is the effort will have been for naught!
It’s like a critically ill patient in the ICU; life and death are predestined, wealth and honor are in the hands of fate. Money is spent, but if the person doesn’t survive, the family ends up in debt – such tragedies are all too common.
The Craftsman Master Furnace Wheel, listening to their discussion through the earpiece, could not help but snort coldly, feeling somewhat annoyed.
These politicians are so calculated, with a bit too much rationality and too little warmth.
“Let’s just limit our payment to the cost of one piece of Legendary Equipment…” The Chairman knew Furnace Wheel’s temper well, squeezing out a sentence through gritted teeth, “We’ll do our best.”
“We have too many places in need of money, and that’s assuming the Humans really can provide a treatment plan, and that it’s not a mere scam.”
Furnace Wheel has forged three pieces of Legendary Equipment for the alliance, all of them weapons.
One is for trade, in a bid to say “I want it all!”
A few thousand Spirit Essence can buy a lot!
Of course, not now. We need to start with some smaller trades to build strategic trust and then proceed slowly with inspections.
Another piece to cover medical expenses if the other party truly has the capability!
The last piece… really cannot be sold anymore; after all, such a large alliance still needs some items to suppress the Qi Fortune.
The representatives of the many Races all agreed.
“Then it’s settled… we will first transfer that item to the Humans.”
An expert retrieved a delicately-made safe from the lab.
As the safe was opened, a burst of cold air hit them, forming a pale green frost.
Inside was preserved a piece of the ‘Ancient Insect’!
A greyish glow was seen swirled around the chunk of flesh, along with a foul stench, as pus continuously oozed from it.
There is no way to target this kind of decay; even freezing it with liquid nitrogen can only slow its speed of rot.
“If humans can’t even deal with the Mind phenomenon in this piece of flesh, then there’s no point talking about treatment!”
…
…
The negotiations up ahead were temporarily stalled at the “Ancient Insect treatment” hurdle, and everyone started to chat about some other topics.
Topics like “The Insect Race’s Precious Mushroom Encyclopedia,” “Oil Extraction and Smelting,” “Coal Mining,” “Controlled Nuclear Fusion,” and so on.
Ideal Technology can be exchanged, as can Material Technology.
Controlled Nuclear Fusion is very difficult, uranium mines are scarce, it seems that the previous dynasties mined them out…
“How does your civilization solve its energy problems?” the humans asked.
“Of course, with oil and coal… The geological structure in a radius of ten thousand miles has been severely damaged, so there’s probably not much oil, but the amount of coal is endless…”
“My Dark Steel Civilization has developed a series of coal chemical processing techniques.”
“Excavator, do you need it? Our excavator is both quiet and efficient.”
“No, no, no…” The humans declined, the work of mining coal can be done by the Insect Race, but they could indeed buy some coal chemical machines.
The geology of Pangu Continent is indeed more volatile than that of Earth; volcanoes and earthquakes occur frequently.
Therefore, the reserves of petroleum are not as high as on Earth, and coal chemistry is a necessary path for development.
Dadao Gang then asked: “How does your civilization cross the oceans? As far as I know, the ocean in Pangu Continent is shockingly large, without sufficient supplies, one might die halfway… haha, I’m just asking casually, if it’s inconvenient to answer, no matter.”
The humans looked at them as if they were looking at fools.
Everyone felt a bit awkward.
Finally, it was the seasoned Diplomat, Fu Leyi, who coughed and said: “Ahem, this is actually common knowledge. One can find the answer in any civilization’s relics.”
“Seeing as we are trading partners, I’ll inform you for free… Nearly every civilization builds gigantic Floating Cities, the entire civilization relocates together, so there are no issues with supplies, nor worries about hurricanes, tsunamis.”
“Floating Cities are very massive, they just require a large amount of Pandora Crystal Stone to float.”
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
Dadao Gang’s face changed slightly, and he involuntarily let out a gasp: “Ah?!”
…
Inside the conference room in the rear, there was also a silence.
This seems to be a cognitive blindspot of the Underground Alliance.
A typical surface civilization, as soon as they discover “Pandora Crystal Stone,” there would always be someone smart who thinks, can cities be made to float? Can an entire people relocate?
But the Underground Alliance would not, even if they discovered Pandora Crystal Stone veins, they are fixed in their way of thinking… because all of them live in Grotto Heavens!
“We should have dug out Pandora Crystal Stone long ago… How come we never thought of it!”
“How come it feels like we’re lacking everything!” The Bull Chief kept pounding his chest, “Are we even missing common sense? Is there any hope for us?”
“None of the races were much smarter than our Bullhead Clan!”
The Minotaur began to take a perverse joy in the calamity: “Is it too late to change sides now? I wonder if Commander Lu needs a mount?”
In a conference room somewhere in Grotto Heaven, there had been so many surprises that everyone had become somewhat desensitized.
An Elder of the Cross-eyed Clan said irritably: “Enough, your race can only be accepted by our Underground Alliance… If set loose, you’re not even fit to be slaves!”
“You’re looking down on us, I challenge you to a duel! Moo!”
The scene turned chaotic.
Seeing the morale destabilizing, the Chairman could only expel the nonsensical Bullhead from the conference room.
Then, speaking slowly and deliberately, he said: “Gentlemen, we really do seem a bit like fools…”
“So… let’s lower our posture a bit, catching up on common knowledge is more important! Even if we suffer a loss during trade, it’s better than being dead…”
“Also, we really need to form an expedition team, sticking to the underground is like a frog in a well.”
Speaking of this, the Minotaur standing at the door of the conference room once again filled with confidence, believing he could be the captain of the expedition team.
“My Bullhead Clan is the best at enduring hardship! The Cross-eyed, not suitable!”
