Chapter 100: Chapter 99: User Privacy and Service Agreement

"A cry for help?"

Zog breathed out a small jet of flame, re-crisping the potato chip in his claw.

He popped it into his mouth and wiped his claws.

The climate in Twin Tower City was a little too humid; if you left chips out for even a little while, they’d go soft.

"What about the Magic Crystal Stone?" Zog asked curiously.

’Logically, the bandit gangs in the Northern Domain shouldn’t be a threat to Figxin. She’s a highly skilled Barbarian Professional, and she has a high-level Zete Mage with her, even if he isn’t good at combat.

Besides, she’s a Princess of the Sutton Kingdom. With her own Personal Guard and resources, even if she couldn’t take on another professional army, how could she possibly lose to a bunch of poorly equipped bandits?

With that kind of status, as long as she didn’t try to wipe out all the nobles in the Northern Domain, they wouldn’t dare touch her.

And judging from the achievements she’s completed on that Northern Domain-exclusive game console, the major goal of improving public safety is about to be met. It’s almost time to review her progress in the North.

Don’t tell me that reckless Princess went straight from fighting bandits to smashing the local gentry.

I mean, there’s no need to be so radical. The problem of nobles being a privileged class can’t be solved until the forces of production reach the next stage.

Of course, even reaching the next stage won’t solve it. It’ll just take a different form—a little better than nobility, but not by much.’

Still, if Princess Figxin was truly in danger, Zog had to do something to help.

The Northern Domain was his chosen site for a future production base, and he needed a collaborator to manage it on his behalf.

Figxin was a good candidate, far more reliable than the other vermin-like nobles.

As the Zog Group’s scale of production continued to grow, placing the assembly lines in Twin Tower City was becoming increasingly cost-ineffective.

Once the goblin population reached a certain size, they would descend into uncontrollable chaos, causing their efficiency to plummet.

Not even the threat of "Nine-Clan Elimination" could control them, because they started playing the elimination game amongst themselves voluntarily.

It was probably some kind of population control mechanism written into their genes.

The Zor were too few in number, and the Beastmen couldn’t handle delicate work.

The Group was now employing a considerable number of Human workers.

The employees in Twin Tower City were expensive, and shipping raw materials to Twin Tower City was also expensive.

The Northern Domain, however, was different. It possessed vast mineral deposits, various other raw materials, and an abundant supply of cheap labor.

Okay, that last advantage was admittedly a bit grim.

In junior high, he would have proudly recited the answer to a geography question.

Locational development advantages include cheap natural resources and labor.

After growing up, he realized he didn’t really get to enjoy that advantage; on the contrary, he was a part of it.

Sad!

But the situation in the Northern Domain was different. No matter how you looked at it, tightening screws on an assembly line for a stable wage was better than freezing in the bitter cold, never knowing where your next meal would come from.

And the Zog Group actually provided overtime pay and holidays.

He was a proper Ancient Red Dragon with a pure bloodline and an impeccable pedigree. Greed was one thing, but his moral standards hadn’t sunk *that* low.

In short, Zog’s plan was to keep the R&D team in Twin Tower City and move the production lines to the Northern Domain.

He also planned to see if he could develop a tourism economy there.

Bitterly cold places had their own mysterious allure; with a little marketing, it could very well become a popular tourist destination.

Conveniently, he also owned the most influential propaganda channels available.

Elsa brought over the Magic Crystal Stone that had been sent from the Northern Domain.

Judging by the abundance of Magic Power contained within the Magic Crystal Stone, it must have been teleported over right after the recording was finished.

He activated the Magic Crystal Stone, and an image projected onto a screen.

Unlike the usual achievement confirmation videos, this one featured a woman with skin so pale it was bloodless, speaking with a solemn expression into the camera.

’Albinism?’

Zog watched the person in the image.

’I can see why this condition is considered an ill omen in Feilin.

It really is a bit... dragon-chilling.

Still, while the lady looked a bit frightening, her condition hadn’t made her ugly. She had the potential to be a character actor.’

"Respected Master of the Zog Group, I am Gerda Arundale, eldest daughter of the Arendelle Clan."

’When she mentioned her clan, she seemed to force the words through her teeth. She must hold quite a grudge.

But no matter how deep the resentment, you still have to state your family name first when conducting official business.

That’s because here, family honor is far more important than any individual. Mentioning the family first is a kind of guarantee, like swearing an oath on a flame.

Though the guarantee is only worth so much.’

"I am also an advisor and dear friend to the Lord of the North, Figxin. I am willing to offer all the wealth of Winterfort in exchange for your protection of Princess Figxin. She is currently in danger of being assassinated by the other children of the Royal Family."

Zog twitched the muscles on his brow. It was the equivalent of raising an eyebrow, but since a Dragon has no eyebrows—only scales—a dry twitch was all he could manage.

’I’m a bit confused,’ he thought. ’I know how the Sutton Kingdom’s competition for Crown Prince works, but the Northern Domain’s current level of development shouldn’t be a threat to anyone else.

It’s just an improvement in public safety. If anything were to be a threat, it would be after the Zog Group establishes a presence there.

Are the other royals really that ruthless? To strike preemptively at the first sign of a threat?’

The video immediately provided an answer.

The scene, once again shot with an artfully composed angle, showed Figxin publicly denouncing a bandit chief.

The bandit chief was bound on a stage, with a dense crowd of onlookers gathered below.

Figxin was allowing anyone who had been oppressed to come on stage and recount the bandit chief’s evil deeds.

When the crowd’s fury reached its peak, Figxin personally sent the bandit chief to the Louis XVI Happy Fun Slide.

’Up to this point, I don’t see any problem. These were all moves right out of the achievement system’s mini-guide.’

Then, Figxin delivered a concluding speech on the success of the anti-bandit operation.

"This is the fruit of everyone’s hard work"... "The Northern Domain is becoming a better place, built by our own hands"... "This land deserves a brighter future"...

It was all encouraging stuff like that.

Until the end.

Figxin declared with impassioned fervor, "Our lives are so hard not just because of these degenerates who prey on the weak, but also because of those blood-sucking parasites who live in luxury!

"Not just in the North, but in the South, the West, the East—in every corner of the Sutton Kingdom, lives are being trampled! Someone is corrupting the Kingdom! Someone has blinded my father and deafened him to the truth!

"One day, I will purge these marrow-sucking traitors and restore justice to our Kingdom!"

"HSSSS—"

Zog scratched his head.

’So, she didn’t actually declare war on all the nobles of the Northern Domain... she aimed for the entire country instead.

Why does this rhetoric sound so familiar?

Oh, right!

Isn’t this just "cleansing the sovereign’s side to pacify the nation"?

So your name is Zhu Di, is it?!

By declaring that so publicly, even if she doesn’t want to vie for the position of Crown Prince, everyone will assume she does.

And they’ll see her as the most radical contender of all.

It’d be a miracle if the other royals *didn’t* make a move against her now.’

Although Zog wasn’t particularly interested in who ended up ruling the Sutton Kingdom, having Figxin in charge did seem more suitable for his own nation-building plans.

Zog thought for a moment, then asked Elsa, "Doudou has already established the live broadcast signal to the Northern Domain, right?"

"Yes, it’s established. The camera currently in the Northern Domain can transmit its feed back in real time."

"Then activate it."

"Is that really a good idea?" Elsa looked troubled. "It feels like we’re spying. It’s a bit creepy."

"I’m doing this for her safety, you know. Besides, she agreed to the real-time monitoring."

"Huh? When did she do that?"

"When she started up the game console. It’s a clause in the user license agreement."

"You mean that agreement that’s over two hundred pages long? Who reads all of that?!"

"Then who’s to blame? Everything that needed to be written was written. You should learn from this. An educated scoundrel is the best kind of scoundrel."

"Who calls themselves a scoundrel?!"

"Oh, right. And contact Master Xiao Xiong. I have something I need his help with..."