Chapter 779.1: Human Nature...

Dawn City, Embassy Street, in the embassy of the Xilande Empire.

Personally pouring Liszt a cup of black tea, Garawa spoke with an earnestness that bordered on obsequiousness. “Mr. Liszt, please reconsider! I can assure you that none of the things you’re worried about will happen in White Elephant City.”

Yet after listening to him, Liszt merely sighed softly. “Then how exactly do you guarantee what you’re saying now?”

Garawa answered with burning conviction. “I can swear it before the White Elephant God, upon my family crest and my title!”

The corner of Liszt’s mouth twitched as he struggled not to laugh, but in the end he managed to keep his emotions in check and did not actually chuckle. Rather, he sipped his tea once before muttering, “Forgive me for saying so, but that is about the least sincere guarantee you could possibly offer.”

Garawa froze, and displeasure gradually surfaced. “You... You actually think that still isn’t sincere enough? Then may I ask what would count as a sincere guarantee?”

Liszt sighed lightly. “Let me give you a very simple example. In the New Alliance, doing business only requires obeying the law, and the law is something that can be negotiated. The Workers’ Union can negotiate about the rules, the Consumers’ Association can do so, and naturally we can as well...”

Before Liszt had even finished, Garawa’s face lit up and he eagerly interrupted. “We don’t have anything that troublesome!”

Looking at the stupid prideful expression on Garawa’s face, Liszt spread his hands. “That is exactly the problem.”

Not only did the man lack those safeguards, he actually regarded them as nuisances. He didn’t even realize that the more he flaunted his absolute authority, the more Liszt feared that the man would be able to do whatever he pleased without a care for the rules.

Some of the New Alliance’s new money might never have experienced it, but someone like Liszt, who had already built a sizable business back in the days of Boulder Town, understood all too well what it felt like to be someone’s dog. That was why, when the administrator invited him to become a person instead, he had thrown away the black card he had gone through so much trouble to obtain without a moment’s hesitation.

Events had proved that he had not misjudged the man. The administrator had indeed done everything he had promised, and beyond that, had refrained from doing anything unnecessary.

The latter was the most precious part of all. Liszt almost wanted to carve “Listen to the Administrator” into the family genealogy he had only recently begun compiling.

The damn asshole thought he could wave a delicious-looking bone in front of him and coax him into becoming a dog again! He was seriously underestimating Liszt.

From the very first moment he saw Duke Garawa, Liszt could tell that the man was cut from the same cloth as the nobles of the Inner City, perhaps even worse. At least Sid had possessed a certain restraint in how he wielded power, such as not personally stepping into the arena to make chips.

Garawa, on the other hand, practically had his desire to control everything written across his face. The more submissive and ingratiating he acted toward Liszt for the time being, the more arrogantly he would trample over him later.

If he did business with someone like that, he shouldn’t expect to bring even a single coin home.

Taking 10,000 steps back, when it came to a newly emerging market still in its infancy, Liszt would rather invest in a capable person than in the market itself. And the fatass before him was clearly not someone worth investing in. He merely happened to be sitting on an enormous pile of resources.

For someone who might collapse at any moment, Liszt was far more inclined to make a short-term deal than a long-term investment.

However, Garawa completely misunderstood Liszt’s unmoved attitude and assumed that man had once again interfered behind the scenes. A trace of resentment gradually appeared on his face as he muttered, “So it really was that person who said something to you?”

Liszt froze for a moment. Only after studying Garawa’s expression for some time did he realize what the man meant. This time, he couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. “Mr. Garawa, I hope you understand that our administrator really does not care very much about how we run our own businesses. He is far busier than you imagine. If conducting business in White Elephant City were profitable, naturally we would go there... But never mind profit. I can’t even find the settlement on a map.”

Come to think of it, his only impression of White Elephant City came from a column in an issue of the Survivors’ Daily, which had reprinted an anthology titled Red Earth.

Every indication suggested that it was still an impoverished place dominated by an estate-based economy. And as everyone knew, there was no point selling goods to livestock.

As for turning livestock into people, that was work for men like the administrator. No one could seriously expect a profit-driven merchant like Liszt to do something like that. He wasn’t even a shelter resident, much less interested in charity!

Speaking of which, Port Gallon had been developing rather well lately, and the local level of education had improved as well. Liszt had considered opening a branch factory there, perhaps producing batteries, turbines, inverters, or other products urgently needed in the South Sea.

But for the time being, it remained only an idea. There were simply too many uncertain risks for him to make a decision lightly.

Disappointment appeared on Garawa’s face, but he did not give up. He comforted himself that at least, Liszt hadn’t explicitly rejected him. Perhaps the chips on the table simply weren’t enough yet, and he would have to keep grinding away...

During the latter half of their meeting, both men tacitly avoided discussing business any further. They simply drank tea, chatted, and cultivated their relationship.

Although Liszt knew perfectly well what the duke was scheming, he didn’t mind maintaining friendly relations with him. It also helped Liszt better understand the situation in the Poro Province.

Once the meeting ended, Garawa courteously escorted him all the way to the entrance. Only after Liszt’s vehicle disappeared around the corner did he turn back inside.

Meanwhile, seated in the rear of his private car, Liszt had already put Garawa completely out of his mind. He casually picked up the latest issue of the Survivors’ Daily, which his secretary had bought for him beforehand, and began flipping through it.

The headline was a report on Coral City. The pearl of the South Sea had recently become one of Dawn City’s hottest topics. Quite a few people had even booked flights specifically to French Fry Harbor, intending to take submarines from there to see it for themselves.

Although most people regarded the place merely as a vacation destination or tourist attraction, Liszt understood what its true value was. Coral City had been constructed using a great deal of materials science and engineering technology recovered from the Heavenly Court. That underwater settlement would become the New Alliance’s bridgehead for developing spaceborne remnants of the Prosperity Era!

The New Alliance Scientific Expedition Team and Biological Research Institution had already begun moving, and several well-capitalized private enterprises were following one after another. If he could excavate something valuable from that opportunity and turn it into something the New Alliance society actually needed, there was no doubt his business could climb to an entirely new level!

While Liszt was thinking along those lines, his eyes suddenly caught a rather inconspicuous article near the bottom of page three.

“The Moon Clan Resistance Army has entered Mammoth City and announced its occupation of Mammoth State. At the same time, a spokesperson for the new Mammoth State government contacted the editorial office of the Survivors’ Daily in Port Gallon and issued a public declaration stating that Mammoth State would become the first slave-free state in the Poro Province. Resistance Army leader Laxi stated that he would abide by the rules advocated by the League and called upon enlightened people throughout the region to unite in resistance against the Xilande Empire’s tyranny.”

Mammoth State? What kind of place is that?

Liszt paused, then reached for his tablet, opened the world map, and took a look. Eventually, he found the region in the upper-right corner of the region that formed their religion from animal documentaries.

The Tassen River, far shorter than the Everflowing River, flowed through Mammoth State into the Poro Sea, while on the other side of the Tzobar Mountains lay Silvermoon Bay, the jewel of the Sunset Province.

“The location isn’t bad at all.” Liszt chuckled and shook his head lightly. “What a pity it’s occupied by a bunch of natives.”

If only the Baiyue Strait Development Company could take another step forward.

Thinking of it, he turned the page, only to find that the next page also contained news about Mammoth State reprinted from Port Gallon’s Survivors’ Daily.

According to the Resistance Army’s telegram, forces of the Xilande Empire had destroyed the Tassen River embankment, causing severe flooding across Mammoth State and displacing large numbers of survivors. Resistance Army leader Laxi stated that the Resistance Army would not abandon Mammoth State’s survivors. They would do everything in their power to carry out disaster relief, while also hoping that enlightened individuals from all sectors of Port Gallon could assist with reconstruction and help resettle some of the displaced survivors.

Meanwhile, former Mammoth State governor, Bamut, had already faced a public trial in the dockside plaza of Mammoth City. During the proceedings, he admitted to all charges and confessed that destroying the embankment had been his own idea, resulting in a million survivors being displaced.

With public outrage boiling over, the Resistance Army’s provisional military tribunal approved Xilande Empire’s Duke Bamut’s execution by firing squad on the same day the trial concluded.

Also executed were eight Resistance Army soldiers convicted of robbery and six convicted of rape.

Roger, secretary-general of the League in Port Gallon, stated in an interview that what was happening over in Mammoth City demonstrated Laxi’s determination to enforce military discipline.

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