NOVEL WEB Meal Merchant II
One week later.
In the span of a short time, the food situation had grown desperate.
The number of beggars on the streets had increased threefold, and food suddenly became almost as valuable as gold.
Crime ran rampant as an effect of the remaining food supply dwindling dangerously low.
Ms. Moto—The Female merchant‘s stock had run to less than one-quarter of its original size. She had sold it due to the prospect of insane profits.
And while her pockets were full and then some, her stomach was not. She had been forced to ration every meal.
If she spent her Penn on food, all the profit would suddenly become chump change. She wouldn’t even be able to get a notable sum of it.
All these problems culminated in a decision to immigrate to a different country, one where foodstuffs were still readily available even if crop bugs infected it.
The only logical decision was the Kingdom of Thucia
All the other countries would cost too much money to venture, as she was at the edge of the country, making travel unnecessarily drawn out. That would cost Penn, and currently, her wealth was directly tied to her survival. Even with an unaddressed hatred growing in her heart, she would still retreat into Thucia.
Except there was only one issue.
Information through the dark market informed her that the guards at the border had gone corrupt, making passing the border without giving a substantial bribe almost impossible.
Like that, essentially the poor’s fate had been sealed.
But for the wealthy, such as herself, she could buy knowledge. Through this, she learned of a secret passage through the Dragon Mountains. Yet this came with a caveat.
The Dragon Mountains were some of the harshest environments on the planet, and if the wild animals didn’t take your life, a high-level cultivator would. The Dragon Mountains were an excellent place for extremely rare treasures and materials, as well as ambitious & greedy characters willing to do anything to get them.
Hiring a True Qi Master, who was both a cultivator & bodyguard from one of her many connections, she began her journey.
In the upper part of a warehouse laboratory, overlooking a pitch-black interior, pinpointed in the mainland of the Salvation Provenience.
A familiar hunchback was exchanging conversation with a group of lab-coated scientists.
“What’s taking so long for a simple bug exterminant?” The hunchback asked angrily.
“Sir. Tanto’s on my ass, and you lot said that the bugs would be contained within regular wheat fields. The Holy fields were meant to be safe.”
“Well, yes sir, but as we’ve said the only way for the Qi-bugs to adapt that quickly to an environment would be to ensure aggressive mutations in place of actual evolution”
“I hate to say that that stuck up elite’s right, but did you idiots not think to keep ourselves from shooting us in our own foot? In any case, why is it taking so long”
“Ah yes,” Another scientist interjected.
“That would be because an Elite that ranks higher than Sir. Teiji Tanto requested we turn our full attention to Project T”
The hunchback looked on dumbfounded.
“One of our only renewable sources of food is gonna get wiped out, and we’re focused on failed experiments? I thought we gave up on those lumbering giants. Didn’t every single one of them go rouge in the past?”
“I would love to tell you more, but that’s currently classified information. What I can tell you is that keeping the subject’s source of reason is the main issue that caused them to lose their mind. Well that and just overall weak test subjects”
“Where are you even getting the funds for this operation…” The hunchback trailed off.
And he was met by silence.
“It would appear that he is awake” A leader-like lab coat suddenly said, breaking up the silence.
The entire group’s gaze focused behind the hunchback. The hunchback turned around quickly.
Through a large window, an uncannily sized eyeball, unblinking, filled the view.