After listening to Red Kestrel's report, Zhou Yi was very interested in the Panda Man named Tuo Zhu.

However, when he saw Zhang He who came to deliver the message for Tuo Zhu, his attention was drawn to this thin and small man.

Zhang He, twenty-six years old, with dark skin and a beard, smiled with a bit of restraint and shyness, seated with his hands appearing somewhat out of place.

Yet he had been a Slave Merchant for ten years.

Zhou Yi asked, "How did you get into that line of work before?"

Zhang He smiled out of habit, "At first, I was a slave. My parents died, I had nothing to eat, and I was only seven or eight, unable to find any work; adults bullied me when I ran errands. Later, a Slave Merchant named Zidog came along, saying that any child who was willing could follow him and have enough to eat."

"Then I followed him. Later on... thank you."

Assistant Yuan Xiao handed him a cup of tea.

Zhang He held the paper cup with both hands, "I was brave as a child, so Zidog had me help him with chores, running errands, delivering messages, watching over slaves, carrying things, fetching water, and cooking. When I was sixteen, he was shot dead by raiders, and I followed his lead and became a Slave Merchant."

"I know that being a Slave Merchant doesn't sound nice, but at the time I had nothing else I could do. If I hadn't got on that slave ship, I probably wouldn't have survived the winter. My hometown is a small mountain town; that year heavy snow sealed the mountain, and many froze to death. I had no money to buy firewood and couldn't survive there."

"So I'm very grateful to Brother Zidog. Following him, I learned a lot and managed to survive."

He was very candid about his past.

Zhou Yi nodded, "What is the income of a Slave Merchant like, and are there many practitioners?"

"Not many."

Zhang He shook his head, "This line of work requires one-on-one apprenticeship. How to find slaves, identify the real and fake ones, find buyers, which markets are more stable and safe, setting the right prices, how to deal with situations along the way, all these take a long time to learn."

"So Slave Merchants are more like Brother Zidog, who would pick a few from the slaves to be successors, to bring them up as he did me. Even if he hadn't died, he would have handed over the business and tasks to me."

Zhou Yi reflected, "Is this a tradition?"

"Yes, Chairman. In our slave trade, the money made is dirty, but the least we can do is give the slaves some hope. Although we can't do much else, at least we can show them that it is possible to become one of us. Many Slave Merchants were once slaves themselves; slaves understand slaves."

Zhang He now seemed more relaxed and took a sip of his tea, "Most Slave Merchants own a boat to go around buying those who are willing to sell themselves, to sell them as slaves where needed. It depends on luck and is quite a gamble."

Zhou Yi asked, "What about real and fake slaves?"

"Among those who sell themselves willingly, some are raiders in disguise, engaging in inside-outside collusion for fraud; some are soldiers pretending to strike at slave trafficking... and there are those with very dangerous identities who deliberately blend in to avoid being captured outdoors."

Zhang He snickered, "We're not good people, so we encounter no good people either."

"I'm already very satisfied that I could quit and save myself."

The image of the Slave Merchant became vivid in Zhou Yi's mind.

He raised a question, "As a Slave Merchant, in your opinion, why does slave trafficking continue to persist despite prohibitions?"

"Because of poverty."

Zhang He said unequivocally, "The key is poverty, there's no other way. People have to find a way to survive. Without anything, and with no guts or means to loot, one can only sell oneself."

"Slave Merchants, make money off the slaves. We're just the small cats and dogs; the real profiteers are some dignitaries and big merchants behind the scenes, but we are the ones who do the job."

"Although personally, I feel that slavery may never disappear... but in places like Sand Port led by a company, where there are jobs to survive and anyone can earn a living, the scale of the slave trade will be much reduced."

He looked at the paper cup in his hand, "As far as I know, there's hardly any news of slave trading in the Development Alliance. I think the primary reason is that everyone has become wealthier."

"Because there are other ways to make money safely, to support oneself, like gliders, refrigeration boxes, Mushroom Houses, etc... People wouldn't sell themselves cheaply."

"And those with power have more worthwhile investments and ventures. In this environment, personal prestige and credit are highly valued, and slave trading itself is despised here, due to a series of these reasons, so slave trading is almost unseen here."

"Ultimately, it's because everyone has money. Ordinary people have money to live, and the powerful can earn even more money and have better ways to make money."

Zhou Yi said, "Continue."

Zhang He chuckled, "Don't laugh at me. When I drove public cars and drove Hooked Horned Bulls, I still had some occupational habits, observing passengers and potential suitable slave candidates, or looking for customers."

"Then I found that people in Sand Port are always chasing new things. Even the old people picking mushrooms on the roadside talk about how to trade refrigeration boxes, or go to the hangar where the gliders are, to sell gloves, hats, and food to passengers. Everyone's mind is active, this is not the case elsewhere."

"I've also met a few wealthy people. Like Boss Sha, well-known in Sand Port, he often holds private parties, attracting talented people with beautiful women and wine. The purpose is to build connections and look for new business opportunities."

"Do you know what he is doing now?"

Zhou Yi remembered this person.

The former Sand Port Mayor's nephew, introduced by Qian Su at the time, said to be dealing in the black market.

When Boss Sha initially planned to develop the elderly care industry and wanted to come over to Jade City to open a silver bash, I rejected him, and he regretted it quite a bit.

"Let's hear it."

Zhang He revealed a strange smile: "Boss Sha, he's now invested most of his family fortune in Sand Port City, specifically to develop luxury gliders."

With that said, Zhou Yi remembered.

Because Sand Port also participated in the manufacture of gliders, Lord Sand Sea likewise obtained authorization and was engaging in research and development. However, their approach differed from the company's promoted universal direction; they pursued a more comfortable flight experience, belonging to the development of high-end models.

"Among the luxury gliders that have already completed test flights, the interiors are equipped with beautiful stewardesses, varieties of fine wines, freshly-baked gourmet food, and spacious and comfortable velvet beds... I was invited by them for a test flight, and I must say, the conditions were excellent."

"Now the merchants and sea lords from outside are all eyeing the luxury models to buy. Such luxury gliders fit their status, manifesting their identity, and also allowing them to entertain guests and conduct business."

Zhou Yi thought to himself that, to some extent, Boss Sha was still true to his original aspiration.

Only now, the silver bash had shifted from Jade City to the skies.

"Boss Sha runs to the R&D center every day, wishing he could personally screw in the bolts and plane the wood. I have to say, the company's changes here have been too significant."

"Other merchants are similar; some invest in neighboring Steel Refining City's refrigeration boxes, some invest in Tree Monster Territory to build carpentry factories. Many of the goods now produced by the company need wood as a raw material, demand is high and it's a guaranteed profit."

"Compared to these, the slave merchants in Sand Port have low profits and high risks; it's already an obsolete industry."

…

After Zhang He left, Zhou Yi contacted Duke Destructive.

"A Panda Man who got caught?"

"I need to check on this."

After waiting a while.

Duke Destructive said, "Found it. Indeed, it is under the control of Heavenly's Citizen Department. It's refusing to fulfill fertility duties and has repeatedly shirked mating service."

"Another thing, it applied for a special funding of 30,000 Light Seeds for construction design. But in the end, nothing was accomplished, and it was discovered that almost all of it was spent on food."

"Now, it carries the twin burdens of embezzling public funds and refusing to perform fertility duties. Preliminary estimates indicate that it will be sent back to the Panda Autonomous Region to serve a sentence of over five years, as well as facing travel restrictions."

Zhou Yi frowned: "Is there a way to get it out?"

"There is. First, settle the embezzlement sum of 30,000 Light Seeds. Then regarding the fertility duty, have it mate or pay a fine to postpone the duty."

"I don't quite understand. This performance of fertility duty, does it require Panda Men to marry and have two children? It seems they are quite reluctant?"

"Of course, they are."

Duke Destructive explained: "Panda Men have a physique that is not prone to pregnancy, so external technologies are needed to assist, using in vitro fertilization to cultivate offspring."

"Their duty is fulfilled by collection machines extracting the necessary sperm and eggs, and then combining them in a petri dish."

"This process requires multiple collections until it's confirmed that a normal offspring is born… The entire process will be observed and recorded by many doctors and officials from the Citizen Department to ensure every procedure and indicator is normal and the data is filed."

Zhou Yi hissed.

Panda Men have to be watched while masturbating and being videotaped... and many times at that.

Indeed, it's tough to bear.

"This is done by Heavenly Kingdom to ensure that the Panda Man population does not decrease, because they are a precious group."

Duke Destructive said: "They have only one ability, called 'Longevity.' According to cellular measurements, the average lifespan of a Panda Man is 300 years; if they break through to become a B-level, then their cells will mutate significantly, which can extend their lifespan to 600 years, and if they reach A-level, the lifespan limit will further increase to 1,000 years."

"In a certain sense, they possess the most powerful innate gifts. As long as they do not wish to die, they can live on forever."

"This group has survived since the divine eras to the present, perpetuating their existence in this world for at least eight million years. Their provided cell samples are important research materials to seek methods of breaking through lifespan limitations."

Zhou Yi listened with emotion.

Pandas are truly the chosen children of fate.

Regardless of the changing eras and countless heroes being washed away, their status remains unshaken and elevated.

Duke Destructive added: "However, one reason they receive such treatment is because the Black Emperor himself is a Panda Man, so Panda Men can be considered a royal lineage."

Zhou Yi thought, no wonder.

"The situation with Tuo Zhu is a bit sensitive. I can stabilize the people from the Citizen Department, but it would be best if you come over for a face-to-face talk," said Duke Destructive.

Zhou Yi said, "I'll set off right away."

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