"Let's get down to business first. I'm in the wasteland now, and I've found Terasque. But the situation here is a bit complicated, and it's not something I can handle alone."
And so, Hayden, through the spiritual connection established via prayer, quickly explained the situation regarding the demi-humans to Karen.
“I’m well aware of your style. I’ve managed to appease these demi-humans for now. There are only about twenty or thirty households in total, not many people. If you build a small camp here for purification and gathering, they should be able to live in peace. It shouldn’t be a big problem.”
However, after Karen listened to Hayden's explanation, the blue lotus that had been floating in the sea of consciousness spun around in place for a while, as if it were thinking about something, and did not immediately agree.
"……What's wrong?"
Hayden immediately had a bad feeling.
"You're not suggesting that these demi-humans and this place can't make money, and that protecting them would be a waste, are you?"
【ha? 】
Karen immediately retorted coldly.
How dare you say that to me? Who do you take me for?
That’s right.
In terms of compassion, a sense of justice, and the will and power to improve the world, Karen far surpassed Hayden. Hearing this, Hayden immediately felt a sense of relief. It seemed his premonition had been wrong.
I'm just thinking about the specific methods.
The blue lotus flower spun around and said...
[You just mentioned that demi-human tribe, the nearby town, the depleted ley lines, and the abandoned old mines, right?]
"Yes what's the matter?"
However, for some reason, Hayden's strange premonition grew stronger and stronger.
You're really hopeless at this; you have absolutely no talent for farming.
Karen, however, criticized him mercilessly.
[Don't you realize that this entire region has far greater potential value for us than a mere resource camp? The ley lines and mineral veins there are simply depleted. All we need to do is control this place that society has abandoned, then use Angela's power to revive the ley lines, and we'll have a perfect independent base!]
Hayden was speechless.
Of course, this kind of thing can't be rushed. If Angela were to resurrect the dead ley lines with a single breath, it would surely alert the other gods. We need to proceed slowly and secretly—that's why we should seize ownership of that town, that tribe, and the entire abandoned mine right now!
噫
Hayden couldn't see Karen's face now, since it was only a telepathic exchange. However, his imagination was rich, and he knew Karen well, so Hayden could imagine that Karen's eyes were now burning with a world-changing will.
However, it sounded like a good thing anyway. So Hayden nodded and said, "It just so happens that every household in that town worships your father. We might as well borrow the name of the Peacock King, pretend to be doing regional environmental purification and waste recycling, and then secretly use Angela's aura and dream flowers to purify the pollution little by little and revive the depleted natural resources."
If we proceed slowly, the other gods won't easily discover the ghost here. Modern arcane technology can indeed purify pollution and heal barren natural environments; it just requires money and time.
[That's right. We want to build a shelter and base here that can escape the gaze of other capitalists, while also gradually growing and expanding.]
Karen, having spoken so righteously and sternly, suddenly changed the subject...
I will personally handle the negotiations and resolutions with Shuainan Town, since I know you dislike dealing with roundabout administrative procedures.
"...However, the work of healing and adjusting the ley lines in that area, as well as managing the primitive tribes, should be entrusted to you, right?"
噫
Hayden finally understood what those strange premonitions he had just had were all about!
Karen, you tricked me!?
"You don't expect me to stay in the mountains and forests long-term to regulate the earth's veins, and then be responsible for babysitting these demi-humans, do you!?"
It's not as exaggerated as you say!
Karen immediately retorted and added her own comment.
[But, putting aside the demi-human tribes, you're probably the only one capable of regulating the ley lines in this area and healing nature's wounds, right? Besides, there must be nodes of ley line tributaries on that abandoned mine. Don't you want to build your own mage tower at a ley line node, like those great mages of ancient times? If you really want to do that, it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to also take charge of managing the demi-humans in the vicinity, would it?]
Hayden was speechless.
Find a spiritual vein node in the wilderness, build a tower, live alone inside, and incidentally subdue nearby wild monsters as subordinates—this is indeed an ancient magician's, uh, tradition.
"...I can manage the earth's veins, but I don't think I'm capable of managing these demi-humans."
But Hayden never shouldered such a heavy responsibility—no, it should be said that he never wanted to shoulder such a responsibility.
Hayden despises anything related to organizations or management. He neither wants to be managed nor wants to manage others. This is why, when he dealt with Alastor six months ago, he felt they were not the same kind of people. Alastor wanted to create organizations, but Hayden simply didn't enjoy doing that.
Even when the remaining students of [Bo Xun] fell into Hayden's hands, he didn't want to organize or manage them, but instead left them to Angela to handle. Let alone being a member, Hayden didn't even want to be the leader of any complicated organization. He preferred to be free to tinker with various things on his own.
...Of course, this doesn't mean he doesn't need any social interaction or interpersonal relationships, or doesn't want any emotional connection. Otherwise, why would Hayden have created Angela in the first place?
You're just lazy and afraid of trouble.
Therefore, Karen spoke without any politeness.
[Same reason you backed out elsewhere. You don't want the responsibility, so you simply don't do it in the first place. Tch, coward! A spineless coward!]
Ugh, that woman's words are really venomous.
The benefits of having the opportunity to manipulate and control a ley line are self-evident, and it would be an excellent learning opportunity for your research into life magic. However, responsibility, obligation, and power are all interconnected.
[Besides, really, does that demi-human tribe really need you to manage it? They've survived this long enough; why would they need you to manage them? I just hope that while you're learning their magical knowledge, you'll also teach them some common sense about modern society, so they can integrate into society more easily later. I'm not asking you to be their chieftain.]
As Karen's blue lotus flower spoke, it swayed slightly deep within Hayden's consciousness.
"Right now, the only one capable of playing the roles of 'prophet' and 'messenger of the gods' in that demi-human tribe is you, the fake 'white wolf.' They're probably still afraid. Just having you there will surely make them feel more at ease. After all, the reputation of the gods isn't that great."
Of course, I know they'll need a lot of supplies and food over there. Leave that to me.
In short, have confidence in yourself! You are someone I approve of, and you definitely have the ability! Be confident!
To be honest, Hayden really wanted to retort, "Aren't you overestimating me?" At least that thought crossed his mind for a fleeting moment.
But now that Karen has put it this way, how could Hayden possibly utter such a cowardly remark? Whether it's to a partner walking the same path of ideals with him, or to a friend who trusts him, Hayden simply can't bring himself to say such things again.
"...Alright. But I'm just keeping an eye on these demi-humans for you, not because you said that I'm giving in."
"What the heck?" Karen immediately retorted, "Men being arrogant is disgusting."
Hayden immediately made a secret decision: one day he would hold this young lady down and give her a good spanking.
...In order to achieve this small goal, he really has to become stronger.
[Speaking of which, there's another matter that might require your investigation.]
Karen suddenly changed the subject at this point.
Have you noticed that the environment in the wasteland has been deteriorating recently?
indeed.
This is indeed something that has been noticed by residents of towns and even sub-people.
Environmental pollution on barren land is becoming increasingly serious.
118: Those monsters in the sky!
Whether they were residents of Shuainan Town or sub-people in this tribe, they had all mentioned one thing to Hayden:
Environmental pollution on barren land is becoming increasingly serious.
This wasn't just some random chatter from the primitive tribes; the storms of disaster on the wasteland were becoming even more ferocious, and so on. In fact, even the mayor of Shuainan Town had told Hayden before that the climate and environment had recently worsened, pollution had become more severe, and the tourism industry was about to become unsustainable.
However, for Hayden and his fellow city dwellers in New Seattle, this was a very strange thing. Recently, the city's climate had been improving significantly; even in the slums, the sun and blue sky were clearly visible during the day. The air was cleaner, and acid rain had disappeared.
If that's the case, why has the natural environment in these rural areas, which no longer have industrial productivity, deteriorated recently?
This doesn't make sense.
"Technically speaking, is it possible to transfer pollution from cities to the countryside?"
Hayden never hesitated to speculate about large companies with the utmost malice, and immediately put forward an assumption.
[Technically, it's certainly possible, but why would the Mitra Group do something like this?]
Karen countered,
Even if we simply used a weather control system to collect all the pollution from the slums and dump it outside the city, it would require a huge amount of energy, and we couldn't expect the slums to pay the company for it.
Even if the Mitra Corporation wanted to sell air purification services in the slums, it would be pointless if no one bought them. Even large companies can't force every poor person to pay for air purification... well, okay, they could force them, but if they really wanted to squeeze money out of the poor, there were obviously cheaper ways.
Wouldn't there be other ways to make money faster?
So that's probably not the case.
This environmental pollution and the "huge storm that's about to come" that my father mentioned earlier are probably not the same thing. But I'm always worried that there might be a connection between the two.
The blue lotus flower rolled around for a while before continuing.
Of course, I can't let you do this kind of investigation alone. I'll also keep an eye on various developments in the city. But the firsthand research on the wasteland is naturally left to you.
Hayden nodded in understanding.
In terms of alchemy, Hayden was indeed inferior to Karen. However, even with only four hours of sleep a day, Karen still had countless things to handle personally. Given her overwhelming workload, it was impossible for her to personally stay in the wasteland long-term to investigate the environmental pollution and whether any secrets lay behind it.
Therefore, Hayden, with his slightly inferior alchemy skills, was naturally assigned to the task.
Let alone Kallen, who can't even be considered a god, even those god-like figures in the financial world can't truly be in multiple places at once to handle everything personally. Therefore, even god-like figures in the financial world need organizations, subordinates, and allies.
However, Hayden was not Karen's subordinate, nor even an ally. They were like-minded comrades who wanted to improve the world, and of course, they couldn't shirk the work that only they could do.
"...It sounds like I really need to find a node on a ley line tributary and build a mage tower or something."
If we could carefully study the changes in the spiritual veins in this area, we might be able to understand more clearly why environmental pollution in this wasteland has become increasingly severe recently.
Keep it up! If you need any help, just let me know. Please list the resources you need and I'll ship them to Shuainan Town as soon as possible.
The blue lotus flower rarely uttered a gentle sound.
Hayden, I believe you can do it.
--------------------------
After ending his communication with Karen, Hayden restarted his beast transformation magic, reverting to his giant white wolf form. He wagged his tail and strolled back to the village.
However, the situation in the village now seems to be somewhat beyond his expectations.
"Okay, then let me see your symptoms... Good, that's how you're cured."
Angela was actually blowing on those demi-humans, healing their injuries and illnesses.
Some of the older demi-humans were initially reluctant to accept treatment: "Goddess, compared to an old man like me who is about to die, there are sick young people in the tribe who need treatment more..."
Angela smiled and replied, "Please don't worry, I will heal everything. It's just a matter of time."
The subhumans stared in astonishment: "Healed them all? Our tribe has nearly a hundred people! Such a miracle must have consumed a lot of your divine power!"
However, we all know that the word "exhaustion" is almost non-existent for Angela. Even though she occasionally shows signs of mental fatigue, such as a cooldown period, she has never actually used up all her energy.
In this way, whether it was tribal hunters who had been seriously injured in the hunt or seriously ill patients who were so weak from illness caused by environmental pollution that they could only wait to die, all of them were cured by Angela's breath. They were able to get up, cry tears of joy for their bodies being able to move again, hug each other excitedly, and cheer loudly.
When Hayden returned to the tribe, this was the scene he saw. Many demi-humans even knelt in a circle before Angela, their expressions filled with immense reverence.
"Great wolf god!"
A demi-human saw Hayden return and even ran over to ask him questions.
"Could this goddess be the daughter of the gods you spoke of, the goddess of purification?"
噫
This is a bit awkward.
Although Karen probably wouldn't mind, it felt strange if these demi-humans started worshipping Angela.
"No, no. I'm talking about another god, who hasn't arrived yet."
Then Hayden quickly found a moment to call Angela back and asked her privately, "You don't usually treat people casually, do you? Why the sudden change of heart today?"
"I suspect that you will need to build up enough prestige in this tribe. So I'll lay the foundation for you first."
Angela tilted her head, revealing an enthusiastic smile.
"You and Miss Karen seem to be having a very pleasant conversation? Although you look like you're afraid of trouble right now, it's clear that you've made up your mind."
Tsk, nothing can escape Angela's notice.
“That’s right. We’ll be stationed around here for a while. First, we’ll find a suitable ley line node in the abandoned mine, then build a tower… or have these demi-humans help us build a temple. They should be willing to do that.”
Hayden rubbed his chin with his wolf paw, seemingly lost in thought.