Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 350 Negotiation
Zoe gripped the hem of her clothes, trying her best to suppress her inner panic—at least not to show it on her face.

She was currently in a wooden cabin. Although the room was simple, it was very clean.

This is already one of the best houses in the slum.

She turned her head and glanced at her side. Her mother-in-law was calmly drinking tea, and a little further away, Josh was also looking over nervously.

Although both are within the Blood Harbor area, this is the first time the three of them have set foot here—except perhaps for the old woman.

This is the territory of the Church of the Mother of Life.

The mother-in-law asked Josh to contact the Church of the Mother Goddess. Josh didn't have much hope, since both the Steam and Deep Sea Secret Orders were cults in Bloodharbor, but the Church of the Mother Goddess really hadn't had much of a connection with them.

The Secret Order has always developed discreetly and almost never actively expands its territory, while the Church of Mother Goddess, although actively expanding, mainly targets those people in the Upper City.

Furthermore, the Secret Order is mainly composed of refugees from the North, and there is little overlap between the believers on both sides. All of this combined resulted in the two largest organizations in Bloodharbor having very little contact.

However, it was not difficult to send someone to look for them. The territory of the Church of the Mother Goddess was very fixed. The refugees in the North spread the news a little and successfully made contact with Mira.

Everything went surprisingly smoothly.

So after taking on the task from her mother-in-law, the group arrived here together not long after.

To show their sincerity, Josh and Zoe visited together, which also served as a chance to demonstrate their relationship.

The Secret Order is already quite large, and with Castel's support, Mira will have to think carefully about whatever she's planning to do.

Of course, Josh was able to come here mainly because her mother-in-law would be with them—she assured the two of them that she could take them away if they encountered any trouble.

"The superhumans of the Mother Goddess Church are generally not good at perception, while my superhuman pathway is the strongest in terms of escape." She privately told the two that even if all the superhumans of the Mother Goddess Church were to mobilize together, they would not be able to stop them.

Therefore, this meeting took place.

Although Zoe was nervous, she tried her best not to show it. She would no longer be the team leader after the mission to save Connor, but Hughes still arranged for her to stay here as a diplomat.

One reason was that she was able to connect to the link and give Hughes firsthand information, but more importantly, she actually possessed a talent that she herself hadn't even realized she had.

She is very adaptable.

She had sensed it when Hughes sent her to teach the banshees to read. Although Zoe was terrified when she first went there, she quickly became friends with the banshees.

She seems to possess a kind of approachability that no one else has.

Whether it was the banshees or the islanders when the school was first established, their identities, backgrounds, and experiences were vastly different from Zoe's, yet she managed to maintain good relationships with them all.

This kind of person is really suited to be a diplomat.

The group didn't have to wait long before the door was pushed open.

Mira stood at the doorway and glanced at the group indifferently.

Her hair was like a clump of withered weeds, and she looked even thinner than when we last met, but her eyes were bright, as if they held a flame.

"Guys, I've been waiting for a long time."

She entered, nodded to the group, and a believer brought tea, which she personally poured into cups for the three of them. Sunlight streamed in, and wisps of steam rose. Mira sat in her chair, her gaze sweeping over her mother-in-law, pausing briefly on Josh, before turning to Zoe.

"I've seen you."

The last time they met, they were on the side of the port guards, and it was the prince who used the bolt-action rifles in the hands of the priests to force Mira and her party to retreat.

A fleeting look of embarrassment crossed Zoe's face, but she didn't say anything more. Trying to explain here would only show weakness, so she skipped the topic altogether.

“We come from Castel, which is the territory of Count Hughes, and we have come here on his behalf.”

Josh agreed without hesitation after she finished speaking: "Exactly."

Mira showed an interested look: "Aren't you secret society people from the North?"

“Castel has accepted the Secret Order,” Zoe continued. “Lord Hughes is a border Count, and we have a lot of vacant land that needs to be developed. Taking in refugees from the North is part of our plan. In fact, we welcome everyone.”

Mira glanced at her, and Zoe, suppressing her fear, nodded at her.

"Isn't Castel an island? How can it accommodate so many people?"

“Our production capacity exceeds your imagination—to show our sincerity, Castells is willing to provide Blood Harbor with a batch of food aid.”

After the Deep Sea War, Castells' previously strained food supply quickly became abundant, and in the foreseeable future, Castells will experience a surge in food production.

Zoe didn't know the specifics, but it was said to be from an accident, seemingly related to Ash. In any case, Castel wouldn't lack food.

These surplus grains can naturally be used as bargaining chips at this moment.

Sure enough, Mira's expression turned serious.

Food is a hard currency everywhere, especially in the chaos of Bloodharbor right now.

Castells' ability to provide food aid is proof of their strength—they could at least feed their people.

Although Mira's Church of the Mother Goddess managed to seize food from the upper city, this was not a long-term solution. If they only had food, they would eventually run out of it.

In fact, the prince was already implementing reforms. After the nobles were wiped out, Blood Harbor now has many more jobs, and everything is gradually recovering. If all goes well, these starving people may no longer go hungry in the future.

However, this would mean that Castells would not be able to meet his urgent need for manpower. So Hughes decisively sent people ahead of time to contact the Church of the Mother Goddess and try to lure these people back to the island!
As for whether the prince would be furious after intercepting this group of people, that was not Hughes' concern. Anyway, Bloodharbor couldn't provide any food, but Castel could, since he had brought them in through his own abilities.

If you can't afford to support a certain number of people, someone else will.

If the prince has any objections, he can raise them with the Guardians of the Church.

Mira's eyes widened when she heard about the food aid, and her gaunt face regained its brightness.

She stared at Zoe for a long time before reluctantly looking away, then pointed at Josh: "Shouldn't Castel be prioritizing recruits from the Secret Order? Why did he approach me?"

Josh was taken aback, then gave a wry smile.

He had thought he would never be able to return to Castel, but after talking with his mother-in-law, he learned that Hughes did not oppose his actions—in fact, he even seemed to subtly approve of them.

(End of this chapter)