From the curse back, I started to eat the clone's soft rice

For now... let's put it aside for now.

And just like that, a week passed.

On this day, a figure in a black coat arrived in the imperial capital, Londinium.

Looking at the magnificent city before him, Enthiodis Shivaash, also known as SilverAsh, who is also the chairman of Kalan Trading Company and the current patriarch of the Shivaash family, took a deep breath.

Although Kjerag is often teased for not having internet access, unlike some countries that are still in the tribal era, Kjerag still has progressive people like SilverAsh who are more motivated and eager to make their country more prosperous.

The Kalan Trading Company was established based on this concept, but the international situation on Terra is complicated, especially in the past six months. The sudden rise of the Holy Terra Empire has made SilverAsh, the chairman of the company's foreign trade committee, dare not act rashly in the short term.

But now, the international situation has become clear, and the Holy Terra Empire has demonstrated its overwhelming strength to all countries. This also made Boss Yin determined to come to Londinium, the capital of the Holy Terra Empire, intending to look for opportunities to cooperate with the empire.

Walking through the bustling streets of Londinium, Silver Gray observed how the city's residents had changed compared to the previous Victorian era.

Although the streets of Londinium were equally prosperous during the Victorian era, most of the residents on the streets looked hurried and tense. Everyone was like the gears that kept the city running, as if they could not stop for a moment.

Now, the streets of Londinium and the residents on the streets have a more peaceful atmosphere than before. This feeling is hard to describe in words, but what can be seen is that the expressions on the faces of the vast majority of Londinium residents are much more relaxed than in the Victorian era, and their eyes are filled with anticipation for future life.

But the change in atmosphere is secondary. If we talk about the most intuitive change...

boom...

A steam mecha that was seven or eight meters high flew through the air, and the people around it all looked as if they were used to it.

As early as a week ago, the imitation steam knight mechas that were deployed in large numbers had gradually been assigned to patrol the streets of various cities in the empire. Feeling the momentum coming from these huge mechas, Silver Gray remained silent and just quickened his pace.

He didn't remember steam knights patrolling the streets of Londinium or even other cities during the Victorian era. In other words, only the Holy Terra Empire today had the power and confidence to use steam knights to maintain public order.

Chapter 208: The Empire is the Beacon of Civilization, Boss Yin: I want to make progress so much

Crossing the street, Silver Gray came to a very famous high-end restaurant in the city center.

Naturally, he was not unprepared when he came to the Empire this time. As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Moreover, in front of the Empire, whether it is SilverAsh himself, the Kalan Trading Company, or even the entire Kjerag, they can only be regarded as small characters.

Therefore, long before arriving in Londinium, he had already made connections and made an appointment to meet with an imperial official who was related to the management of foreign trade industries.

Now, after arriving at the restaurant where the meeting was to take place, Silver Gray walked straight in without hesitation.

After revealing his identity, a waiter in the restaurant quickly led Yinhui to the private room that had been reserved in advance.

"excuse me."

Pushing open the door of the box, what caught Silver Gray's eye was a young man with black hair, sitting on a chair, with no discernible racial features, and a woman named Feilin standing behind him, with a gloomy face and a very cold expression.

Seeing this scene, Yinhui's eyes suddenly changed.

Before approaching the box, he looked at the room number clearly. This box was indeed the one he had reserved in advance. However, Yinhui was very sure that the two people in the room were not the imperial officials he had an appointment with.

Because according to his understanding, the imperial official he had an appointment with should be an older male Filin. The two people in the room now did not match in race, gender, and age.

So, what went wrong?

"Due to reports from the public, some Imperial officials have abused their authority to embezzle and accept bribes. They have been dealt with by the Imperial Assassination Squad. The person who was waiting for you here was one of those dealt with."

I only heard An Xiu speaking while sitting on the chair.

Just as he said, the imperial official originally in the box had been dealt with by the imperial assassination team, and he was dealt with in front of An Xiu. For such guys who had the power and treatment given to them by the empire but were not loyal, An Xiu's attitude has always been only one, that is, to kill.

It is carried out by specialized personnel from the Imperial Assassination Force. After secretly investigating and collecting evidence, they will take action directly. There is no need for any nonsense throughout the process, and even the trial step is omitted.

"I see."

In this regard, SilverAsh did not express any attitude, or as an outsider, he knew very well that under the current circumstances it would be best for him not to say anything on his own initiative to avoid making any mistakes.

"Enthyodis Shivaash, that's the name, right?"

"This matter is an internal affair of the Empire and has nothing to do with you, so there's no need for you to be so nervous. The Empire has already investigated your original purpose. If you don't mind, please take a seat."

An Xiu said Yinhui's name lightly, pointed to the chair opposite him, and motioned for the other party to sit down first.

SilverAsh did not refuse. After nodding to Anxiu and Kal'tsit behind Anxiu, he sat down opposite Anxiu.

Again, whether it is SilverAsh himself, the Kalan Trading Company, or Kjerag, they are all just small characters in front of the Empire.

Even in Kjerag, SilverAsh, as the current patriarch of the Shivaash family, was already one of the country's top figures. But to the Holy Terra Empire, he was just a high-level leader of a small, remote country. Any powerful official in the empire was enough for SilverAsh to treat with caution.

Not to mention that An Xiu currently doesn't seem to be just some powerful official.

Looking at An Xiu, who was sitting opposite him in a chair with no discernible racial features, Yinhui always felt that the other person was very familiar, as if he had seen him before on some very important occasion.

After thinking carefully in his mind, Silver Gray soon seemed to have thought of something, and the expression on his face became more tense.

He remembered that long before the Holy Terra Empire was established, SilverAsh had watched the coronation ceremony of Tallulah, who was about to become the new Emperor of Ursus, in Victoria. If he remembered correctly, the man in front of him seemed to be one of the people who followed Emperor Tallulah at that time.

In other words, in Yinhui's eyes, An Xiu in front of him can be regarded as the true founding father of the empire.

Although he didn't know what position the other party held in the empire later, the fact that he was able to accompany Emperor Tallulah at the coronation ceremony was far beyond the reach of a trading company boss like him.

"I'm deeply sorry about this incident. Although I did spend a small amount of money to build connections, I absolutely have no intention of encouraging such evil practices."

After sitting down, Silver Gray spoke carefully, choosing his words.

"Don't worry, the Empire won't blame outsiders for this kind of problem. Besides, Mr. Shivaash has done nothing wrong."

"It must be quite difficult for a mere foreign trade company owner to establish connections with Imperial officials. Our Empire doesn't dislike knowledgeable individuals like you who are eager to make progress."

"Regarding the cooperation you originally wanted to discuss with the Empire, you can still speak up now. If it's appropriate, I can directly make the decision and agree to it."

An Xiu said calmly.

After hearing An Xiu's words, although Yinhui's expression remained calm, he couldn't help but feel a little excited in his heart.

In fact, he had not originally expected to be able to negotiate a trade cooperation between Kjerag and the Empire in one go. After all, as a remote small country, cooperation with Kjerag would not bring huge benefits to the Empire. As the most powerful country on Terra today, the Empire has countless market options that are better, more convenient, and can bring greater benefits than Kjerag. Compared with those more mature international markets, Kjerag does not have any big and obvious advantages.

In order to convince the imperial officials with whom he had connections to give in, SilverAsh had already prepared for a protracted war and to stay in the imperial capital of Londinium for a long time.

When SilverAsh first learned that the official he had contacted had been dealt with, he had actually prepared himself for the possibility that the cooperation would fail and that he would have to pay some price to save himself. Unexpectedly, judging from the current results, it seemed that he had turned a disaster into a blessing and met a better partner.

"Thank you very much for your tolerance. To be honest, whether or not we can reach a cooperative relationship with the Empire is truly important to me."

As the most powerful nation on Terra today, the Holy Terra Empire can be said to be a beacon of civilization for a small nation like Kjerag.

As the most active person among the senior members of the Kjerag families in contacting the outside world and the one who is most eager to develop his country, if he can reach a trade cooperation with the Empire, it will not only enable Kjerag to develop rapidly, but also avoid the covetousness of other countries and thus obtain security.

So it’s no wonder that SilverAsh was so excited. Just like An Xiu just said, he really... wanted to improve.

...

PS: There is one more chapter before noon.

Chapter 209: Rhodes Island's Dilemma, Amiya's Arrival

Without hiding anything, SilverAsh stated his purpose directly.

In short, he intended to vigorously promote trade between the Empire and Kjerag, improving the living standards of Kjerag's local residents while using trade cooperation with the Empire to increase the exchange rate of Kjerag's local currency and its influence in the international market, thereby indirectly improving Kjerag's international status.

To show his sincerity, SilverAsh promised that if Kjerag could truly reach a cooperation with the Empire, he would be willing to spend a huge amount of money to build a trade route directly to Kjerag for the Empire, thereby facilitating circulation between the two countries' markets to the greatest extent.

SilverAsh wasn't worried that his actions would draw the Empire's attention to Kjerag. To put it bluntly, without the Empire's cooperation, a remote and impoverished village like Kjerag wouldn't offer any benefits worth pursuing for the Empire. And once they successfully established cooperation with the Empire and developed to a certain scale, the Empire, already the biggest beneficiary, would be even less likely to abandon more efficient means of gaining benefits and resort to the most primitive violent plunder.

Moreover, even if the Empire really had some intentions towards Kjerag, a trade route wouldn't change anything. After all, the Empire was simply too powerful. Even if they didn't build trade routes and cut off all connections with the outside world, thereby minimizing the possibility of a large-scale invasion by the Empire, the Empire only needed to send a few of the giant Wendigos that had recently ravaged Lethania to fly around Kjerag a few times to wipe out all resistance.

Faced with such a huge gap, there is no need to worry unnecessarily. Frank cooperation is the best option for Kjerag.

The Empire, or rather Anxiu, really had no special thoughts about Kjerag. Just as SilverAsh thought, it was a barren land, at most a bitterly cold place that was slightly better than the Ursus Snowfields. Even if it was conquered, there would not be much benefit in the short term. Instead, it would cost extra money to improve the living conditions of the local residents and alleviate poverty.

In that case, it would be better to let the other party pay for it out of their own pockets through trade cooperation. At least according to An Xiu's understanding of Boss Yin and Kjerag, after improving the country's economic situation with the help of cooperation with the empire, the living conditions of Kjerag's citizens should really be improved.

After all, with Yelagund, a veritable behemoth, watching over Kjerag, Kjerag shouldn't have a situation where the upper echelons are so corrupt that all the wealth flows into the hands of a few, while the lower-class citizens are further exploited.

Even through in-depth cooperation, the Empire might be able to peacefully annex Kjerag without bloodshed. As long as the people of Kjerag can live a better life and the Empire's positive image is promoted, and all Kjerag citizens hold a referendum, Yelagund should not mind Kjerag's incorporation into the Empire.

By that time, the Empire might be able to pull the giant beast Yelagund to serve as the Empire's thug. Although with the giant Wendigo, the Empire is actually not short of giant beast-level combat power.

Soon, after communicating with An Xiu for a while and getting An Xiu's affirmation, Yinhui took his leave and went back to work out more detailed details of the cooperation. An Xiu told the other party that he could go directly to the palace to meet with the relevant person in charge.

After Boss Yin left, An Xiu continued to sit in the box and showed no intention of leaving.

After all, the real purpose of An Xiu's trip was not to meet Boss Yin. The reason why An Xiu appeared here and met Boss Yin was just a coincidence. The main reason why An Xiu left the palace and appeared here was related to Kal'tsit, who had not said a word since Boss Yin entered the room.

Not long ago, Kal'tsit, who was Anxiu's personal maid in the palace, suddenly found Anxiu and told her that she had to leave the palace temporarily to meet someone.

Anxiu asked a few more questions out of curiosity and found out that it was people from Rhodes Island who came to Londinium to look for Kal'tsit.

Due to plot changes, Anshu took the doctor away from the sarcophagus in Chernobog in advance, and Kal'tsit stayed with Anshu as a maid for a long time for various reasons. The plot related to Rhodes Island can be said to have become completely unrecognizable.

The main reason why Rhodes Island sent people to find Kal'tsit this time was that Rhodes Island was almost unable to survive.

There is no way. Without the Doctor, the big father in the original plot, and Kal'tsit is away on business for a long time, the only person who can take the lead in the entire Rhodes Island is Amiya, and at most Warfarin.

Under such circumstances, it would be good enough for Rhodes Island to maintain basic normal operations.

But to make matters worse, due to its philosophy, Rhodes Island has been rescuing infected people for a long time, and its overall economy is already in a state of deficit. When Kal'tsit was still there, it could still rely on the favor and connections of this guardian of the earth to lobby for sponsorship among various countries, and send some operators abroad to earn some extra money. But now, due to the drastic changes in the international situation caused by Kal'tsit's departure and the sudden rise of the Empire, the already difficult days have suddenly become even more difficult.

Given Amiya's character in the original plot, it would be impossible for her to come to Kal'tsit for help unless she really couldn't hold on any longer.

After learning about the situation, An Xiu immediately decided to come along to join in the fun and see if he could see the little rabbit and some familiar operators from his previous life.

As for the meeting place, it was also chosen in this restaurant. Because he discovered a team of imperial assassination troops appeared here and looked ready to act, he came to check out the situation. After looking through the intelligence collected by the imperial assassination troops, he found that the person who had an appointment with the dealt with imperial official was a familiar face, Boss Yin, so the scene of the previous meeting with Boss Yin appeared again.

"According to the time, the people from Rhodes Island should be arriving soon."

An Xiu looked at the time on the clock hanging on the wall of the box and spoke.

"We've already informed the service staff beforehand. If anyone comes looking for us, we'll change the meeting place to this private room. I think there shouldn't be any mistakes."

In response, Kal'tsit, who was standing behind Anxiu, also nodded.

"Amiya is always punctual and serious. She won't go to the wrong place."

Just as Kal'tsit said, soon after the two of them finished speaking, a knock on the door was heard outside the box.

"Dr. Kelsey, are you there? We're coming in..."

With the sound of a door being pushed open, a cute girl who looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a dark blue uniform with the Rhodes Island logo and black stockings, and a pair of rabbit ears on her head, walked in, looking a little nervous.

Behind the girl followed a blonde Kuranta girl and a white-haired female Sarkaz holding a long sword. They were the two Rhodes Island operators responsible for protecting Amiya's safety, Lin Guang and Shining.

Chapter 210: Flying Hakikai, a potion that can completely cure oripathy?

"Dr. Kel'tsit, and you should be Mr. Anxiu, right? Dr. Kel'tsit mentioned you to me when we were in touch before."

After approaching the door of the box, Amiya first glanced at Kal'tsit who was standing behind Anxiu, and then greeted Anxiu very politely.

"Then you must be Amiya, right? Kal'tsit often told me about you during the time she was my personal maid."

I just heard An Xiu speak with a smile.

"Huh? So Dr. Kal'tsit was working as your maid while she was away from Rhodes Island?"

"Yes, didn't she tell you?"

"No, no, Dr. Kelsey just told us that she was doing something very important..."

"I see, that's true. Being my personal maid is indeed a very important thing. At least it's more important than most things in this world."

Listening to the conversation between Anxiu and Amiya, Kal'tsit's originally gloomy face did not change at all.

Are you kidding me? How could a thick skin cultivated over tens of thousands of years be so easily broken? And how could staying by a pure-blooded human's side to monitor him be a minor issue? What if, without her watching, this man suddenly went crazy and dragged the doctor along to wake Prissus, then turned Terra into a match for civilization?

"Well, Mr. Anxiu, let's get down to business."

However, although Kal'tsit didn't care about it, Amiya noticed Kal'tsit's expression and started to change the subject. Anxiu nodded in agreement, and then Amiya, Anxiu, and Kal'tsit started talking about Rhodes Island.

"I heard from Kal'tsit that Rhodes Island is almost unable to continue operating now?"

"Indeed, due to several consecutive months of fiscal deficits, even sending more operators out to earn commissions still cannot make up for the continuous shortfall in funds. Without external economic intervention, given Rhodes Island's current situation, it is estimated that within two months at most, all inventory and funds will be in urgent need of emergency funding."

At that time, there was no need to say much about Rhodes Island's fate. As an openly pharmaceutical company, the most direct consequence of the broken capital chain was a shortage of medical supplies and a complete halt to business, which led to forced dissolution.

In response to this, An Xiu nodded in understanding, while Kal'tsit on the side frowned in thought.

Kal'tsit was quite troubled by the situation in Rhodes Island. After all, Rhodes Island was in this situation not because of external enemies, but purely because of its own poor management.

Although she has tens of thousands of years of experience and is known to know everything, it is obvious that Kal'tsit is not good at running a business. After all, if she could really make Rhodes Island prosperous, it would be impossible for Amiya to be forced to come to her door after only being away for a few months. This situation only shows that Rhodes Island's financial situation was already a mess before she left.