Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Diplomacy was a troublesome affair. Noldrei's choice to come to China was indeed the right one.

He had guessed that Fu Hua wouldn't have the skill to reconcile such conflicts. If she had, she wouldn't have met her end in the northwest when facing the Honkai back then.

If Fu Hua had such capabilities, she would have long ago established a holy dynasty and become the founder of a new order in the East, an Otto of her own. The disciples she taught didn't even form a proper sect; in terms of personal power, she was less influential than a Nascent Soul elder from a web novel.

"Fu Hua, oh, Fu Hua, you shouldn't always think about having others help you in the name of humanity. It's been so many years, and you haven't grown at all. If you were like Rita, a young woman in her twenties, it would be understandable. But you're so old. Even according to Otto's philosophy, without relying on the progress of civilization, you could have used your experience and knowledge to create your own faction by now."

Noldrei had always felt that Fu Hua was a pity. She was a very useful person, just a bit stubborn in her thinking, often less knowledgeable than a young person.

"Rita, if you could live for several thousand years, what would you do?"

Rita glanced at Sirin, remembering the faceful of water she had received.

The first thing that came to her mind was to properly teach this little brat a lesson.

Rita said matter-of-factly, "Of course, I'd do whatever I want."

Fu Hua looked at Rita in shock. Who knew the little maid had such ambition?

"See? Even Rita thinks so. I bet she'd probably make herself empress and keep a stable of boy toys."

Noldrei's words made Fu Hua's composure crack. She couldn't do something so contrary to human morality. And to be honest, Fu Hua didn't think she could ever do such a thing, especially since she had even "slain the crimson dragon" after becoming a MANTIS. She didn't have the typical troubles of a woman.

"I can't do that, and it's not a good thing, is it? A warrior who fights the Honkai ends up thinking about ruling humanity. Although you say the downfall of the Previous Era was due to insufficient and unstable rule, I really can't change my way of thinking in such a short time..."

Fu Hua sighed. She wasn't the type of person who liked to step on others to get ahead.

"The problem isn't just that. I'm not forcing you to do this, and you're not suited for this kind of work. I was thinking of using you as a catalyst to open the door to China."

Noldrei actually didn't much like Overseer Otto's way of using people.

Fu Hua felt a little dejected. She felt she hadn't done a good job with her work and was even holding back humanity's overall progress.

But in Noldrei's new society, with the lowered cost of individual learning, Fu Hua could choose not to do this kind of work, but she couldn't lack the ability to do it. She had to go back to studying and strengthen her organizational skills.

Fu Hua smiled bitterly. "No wonder people in China always say that all the talented people go into politics. To control others and not be controlled by them... so that's how it's used."

Damn it all, they're using the art of war to figure out how to be officials, aren't they?

"So, in that case, our Academy City is actually using benefits to compete with the local Chinese government for the right to govern?" Fu Hua finally realized why the Chinese government had asked her so many questions.

Clearly, the Academy City's approach was quite good, but the issue of governance was not something that could be easily conceded.

"That's more or less it. The Academy City can accept a contracting system. That is, we expand the acceptance of the Academy City's genetic ideals, and they, as the contractors in the middle, earn the difference in profit."

Noldrei's words made Fu Hua frown slightly. She hesitated, "That sounds a bit like a comprador."

"Not 'sounds like,' it is! Whether you're a comprador or not isn't a matter of whether you want to be, but whether you can produce enough to meet your own needs. Right now, the Academy City's Stigma production is unique. Any political power in the world that wants to access the power of the Stigma will become a comprador of the Academy City."

Noldrei explained calmly, "I've studied China's history. In the old industrial era, you absolutely couldn't be a comprador because the most important things in the industrial era were industrial energy and raw materials. These things are objective and unchangeable. They are also closely tied to land. Once you became a comprador, you essentially sold out your own land."

"But the compradors of the Gene-ism era are different. The key point in the Gene-ism era is the people. Energy and raw materials can be created through Honkai Fission Bombs to produce Honkai crystals. This means that land is no longer tied to energy and raw materials. The issue of national territory, which people once valued most, is now relegated to a secondary position."

Rita listened, deep in thought. She understood why Noldrei was so confident in his diplomacy. In fact, this was clearly reflected in the industrial information age, just like the public ownership of information in an information society. In the old industrial era, information exchange was troublesome, and the circulation of information belonged to private organizations. That was an era of private ownership of information.

In the new era, information exchange had reached its peak, creating a society of public ownership of information. The key in this society was not the information itself, but the materialized flow of information—traffic. It was an era of private ownership of traffic, a new era of private network services.

This was the key point in the book on power that Noldrei taught in the Academy City. Unknown power would initially exhibit certain characteristics of public ownership.

Fu Hua still didn't get it. She asked doubtfully, "What does this have to do with us letting the Stigma organization into China?"

Sirin immediately showed a contemptuous expression. Even she understood what Noldrei was saying, but this Fu Hua was still clueless. How did she live to be so old?

"You idiot, it means that countries will be dismantled and disintegrated through practical means! Nowadays, there's no longer a need to occupy the so-called origin of energy and raw materials. The conflicts between countries will be reduced to a visible extent. How can you not understand this? It's like if North America could produce cheap oil on its own, would you still think they'd send fleets out to rob others? There's absolutely no need to waste that money."

Sirin's explanation made Fu Hua suddenly understand. No wonder Noldrei was so confident in his actions. She asked excitedly, "Does that mean the upper limit of the population that traditional industrial cities can support will also be completely broken?"

Ms. Fu Hua wasn't completely clueless after all. She immediately understood some of the consequences that would follow.

After hearing Noldrei's explanation, Fu Hua was enlightened. Even her smile brightened. She immediately opened another bottle of Tsingtao and chugged it down in celebration.

This was a problem Fu Hua had never considered before.

No wonder someone as seemingly unreliable as Noldrei could become a leader, while she could only be a worker. It was all due to the difference in their level of understanding.