Hayden nodded and finished the sentence for Red Leaf: "You are a mixture of natural spirit and undead. You are more convenient and adaptable to the environment there than I am, and you are less conspicuous."
Although it's not immediately obvious from her appearance, Kureha isn't actually a normal living person. Everyone knows she's a tengu, a yokai... however, "yokai" is a very broad concept. The spirits of nature in mountains, forests, lakes, and seas can be considered yokai, as can the spirits of the dead and monsters.
Japanese tengu are exactly like that. They are both the spirits of ancient mountains and forests and the souls of the dead; both mountain gods and vengeful spirits. At the same time, as a descendant of the ancient god Mara, Momiji also has some fallen angel blood—although it is very shallow, after all, even Mara himself was only a hybrid.
Thinking about it this way, Hongye's identity is actually quite suitable for participating in this mission, because South America is indeed a place related to the Old Gods, and where the cycle of life and death is intertwined. Moreover, Hongye is not a god, which makes her less likely to be targeted, allowing her to carry out some of the covert missions in the Hayden Plan... provided that Hongye doesn't cause problems because of her personality and stubbornness.
But seeing Hongye's hesitant yet eager expression, Hayden found his own nagging rather ridiculous.
"We're doing long-term intelligence work this time, so we probably won't have a chance to come back for a while. If you're sure, go and pack your equipment."
So he said that. These words immediately made Hongye's eyes widen, and hope shone in them.
"As ordered!"
She immediately slipped into the shadows and happily began her preparations.
After so long, it was finally time to see her with such a radiant expression, which made Hayden quite emotional. He couldn't even remember the last time.
After making sure she had left, he turned back and said, "You know what, Angela? Sometimes I think I'm really lucky to have gathered these companions."
Angela shook her head: "On the contrary, Master. I can give you power, and the fate of meeting people may be predetermined—however, what kind of relationship will ultimately develop after the encounter, whether it will become friends or enemies, is something you must choose and create yourself. How to judge people, how to treat people, this choice is everything."
Hayden was speechless.
Actually, Angela had said something similar to him a long time ago. That was back when Hayden had just met Alastor.
Who are your friends, and who are your enemies?
Some people can be friends, and the more friends the better. But some people just seem unable to become friends, no matter what.
This is something Hayden must do next.
————————————————————————————
Meanwhile, in Bogotá, in northern South America, the goddess Mikt was not so lucky.
Hayden wasn't the only one busy these days. The New Yatu incident revealed many things to the gods worldwide. Many gods became deeply vigilant afterward and began making their own preparations. Miktikashiva, the goddess of death with the Smoke Mirror, because of her close relationship with Hayden, noticed this trend even earlier than many other gods and began making preparations sooner.
However, starting preparations earlier doesn't necessarily make things easier. Sometimes, when a huge, old machine starts running at full capacity again, you discover that some of its parts have unknowingly rusted and rotted. Repairing and replacing these parts will also require a considerable amount of effort.
So, Goddess Mikkelsen is very busy lately. She's a goddess, she's a vampire, so she won't be "tired," but she is indeed very busy.
Then, just when she was very busy, Mickert's secretary walked into the office and said to her, "Boss! Mr. Hayden has sent a message asking if you have time to meet with him now."
Mikter's current secretary is Ms. Echo, who was once her administrative assistant but was demoted to a skeleton because of the Tyranitar behemoth incident. Her current promotion back to a high vampire position, and even to the position of Mikter's secretary, is partly thanks to Hayden.
Despite being busy, Goddess Mikket paused for a moment after hearing Ms. Eko's words, then smiled slightly: "That's really good news. Tell him I'll be free in an hour, and then help me move all my other plans for today to tomorrow."
Ms. Aiko nodded, waving to pass on the message, and asked curiously, "Boss, is making Hayden wait another twenty minutes just to make a show of respect for him?"
“A small part of it. If I immediately arrange a meeting with him after he sends me just a message, I would seem too eager and cheap.”
Goddess Mikkelsen smiled.
"On the other hand, I also need to prepare my appearance and change my clothes."
Boss, I think you're already in a bit of a rush by needing to prepare in advance?
Ms. Aiko thought to herself, but unfortunately, she didn't have the guts to say it aloud. Those bastards at Smoke Mirror Company really could make you wish you were dead if an employee said something careless.
Besides, Eko and Hayden have a good relationship. If it weren't for Hayden's help, she wouldn't even be able to remain an undead creature, let alone be promoted to Mickett's senior secretary.
So she quickly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, boss, there's still a lot of disaster damage to be dealt with in Changqing Prefecture. What brings Mr. Hayden here to see you? If it's an important new contract, do I need to help prepare the signing paperwork beforehand?"
“What else could it be? You can see the current state of the world, and you know that young man’s personality. He needs more power and needs to gather allies around the world. I am the strongest god he can find immediately, but he already owes me a lot of favors.”
So the goddess Mikkuri looked quite pleased, even expectant, as she gently licked her own fangs and blood-red lips.
"So this time, I can get something I've been longing for from him."
304: Are you really crazy?
An hour later, Hayden led Angela into the reception room of the goddess Mikt.
This was Hayden's first time visiting this place; he had previously visited the goddess Mikt who seemed to be eating.
However, the goddess Mikkuri's reception room is still quite interesting. It is a large, luxuriously decorated room with a huge black table running across it. On one side of the table is a large, luxurious leather chair, while on the other side is a simple wooden chair.
Where is the goddess Mikkelsen? She hasn't arrived yet. She wants Hayden to wait for her here for a while.
It seems this "reception room" was actually a place where the goddess Mikkhot used to intimidate her guests. Hayden couldn't help but think ironically to himself, wondering if Mikkhot had another reception room for other gods of higher status.
But Miktikashiva's way of "receiving" Hayden was indeed reasonable. The last time Hayden came to see her, she had intended to give her something she wanted, but instead ended up owing Miktikashiva a large favor. And a creditor can always force a debtor to do something awkward.
Especially when the debtor wants to borrow more money or seek financing, the creditor has every right to give him a hard time and teach him a lesson about his position... This is true in both feudal and capitalist societies. It was probably even worse a few hundred years ago.
But wait a minute.
Is Hayden really here to borrow even more money?
In any case, after only a short interval, Mikttikashiva entered the reception room.
Despite posing, Goddess Mikkelsen's attire clearly showed she was in a good mood and had made special preparations. She was wearing a sleek, long silk gown with a night-sky sheen, the hem embroidered with moons and stars in silver thread, perfectly complementing her dazzling golden hair.
Her features were perfectly proportioned and beautiful; her skin was snow-white, and her blood-red eyes were like the finest jewels. She looked at Hayden with a smile on her face and gracefully and skillfully sat down in her leather chair.
Then she spoke first: "Long time no see, Mr. Hayden. I remember our last meeting. Last time, you didn't bring me what I wanted. So today, I'm even more excited to see you than last time."
Even so, she still wanted to give Hayden a warning (in fact, this was part of the warning). She wanted to remind Hayden with a smile that he already owed her a lot, because she desired a great deal from him.
And Hayden did fall for that. After all, good people are easily threatened. When others offered to lend him money, Hayden didn't want to be a deadbeat.
Even worse, Mickett knew Hayden was susceptible to this. So she was eagerly anticipating what Hayden would bring her today. Would he genuinely bring her some new technology she wanted, or would he come empty-handed to raise funds, ready to be taken advantage of?
Regardless of the outcome, the goddess Mikkelsen will be very happy.
But then she saw Hayden calmly looking at her face. Hayden then replied, "To be honest, I am here today to sell you something new."
...Selling? Selling financing projects?
Hayden's reaction... seemed somewhat different from what the goddess Mikkelsen had originally predicted.
But she still blinked and said, "That sounds interesting. What new thing did you bring?"
"a chance."
Hayden looked at his creditor's face.
"An opportunity for further collaboration with me."
…………ah?
If Goddess Mikket was only slightly surprised before, now she was starting to doubt her ears. The unexpected turn of events even gave Mikket the illusion of being betrayed.
Who is the creditor?
Who is the top-tier master?
Who is in a stronger position and wants to give the other side a hard time?
Mr. Hayden, are you awake?
However, just as Hayden had the revelation of a prophet, the goddess Mikheth also had the intuition of a beast. Her intuition told her that Hayden was very serious about what he was saying.
The atmosphere in the reception room has changed.
"You must be crazy. Adam Smith's affair has just put you under Mitra's watchful eye, and Evergreen State is in dire need of rebuilding. You can't give me anything right now, and you need my help instead. And I am the second-in-command of Smoke Mirror Company, the highest-ranking executive. Your growth rate is admirable, but at least for now, you can't compare to me. You should be bowing your head and begging me to continue investing, instead of talking to me with this arrogant tone."
The vampire goddess raised an eyebrow at this point.
“But I’ve never thought you were a fool. So either you’re really crazy, or you have something really amazing new. In any case, this is still my territory. Let’s end this guessing game and tell me.”
Who started this kind of trick, Lady Vampire?
Hayden grumbled inwardly but nodded nonetheless, because he no longer needed to pretend to be a mystery.
"Adam not only brought me trouble, but he also left me something. If we use these things to advance the life magic technology that Smoke Mirror Company already possesses, we can elevate your power to an unprecedented new level."
These words did not elicit any joy from the goddess Mikt. Instead, she frowned: "Are you really going to try and convince me with this kind of sales pitch for health products? Let me be blunt."
"Do I really need to be so blunt?" Hayden raised an eyebrow. "You saw what Adam brought out. Nearly a million Brain Gods created overnight, his technology for perfect biological bodies, and the [Skill Chip] technology that we all know is very likely to fall into my hands... I'm not just making empty promises, ma'am, you've seen all of this. If we combine them with the biotechnology that Smoke Mirror Corporation already has, you know better than I what we can do."
Of course.
The goddess Mikt was also one of the gods who observed the event from afar. Just hearing Hayden's words, she could imagine how Adam's technologies would be used and predict what new things she could accomplish with them. After all, Mikt Tikashiva was already a supreme deity. She was only a step away from becoming a "chief god."
She had expected Hayden to bring some new technology related to the "Unborn," but it turned out to be something else entirely. But that's fine too. With these things, she could easily climb higher up the food chain!
“Very good. Mr. Hayden, I really like what you brought me today.” So Goddess Micket smiled even more happily, “Give me the main text other than the introduction, and our previous debts will be settled. Moreover, I will continue to invest in you and cooperate with you further.”
Hayden shrugged. "No, friend, you misunderstood me. What I just said was that I would offer you an opportunity to work with me further. My proposal is that our debts are settled. Now we can talk about what terms you would use to trade with me and work with me."
These words plunged the entire reception room into a brief silence.
Then the atmosphere grew even colder. The vampire's narrowed eyes flashed red, and he said coldly, "So you're really insane, Mr. Hayden?"
“That’s called fairness, my friend. The favor you did me last time was just getting Panya to bring me a bunch of peripheral technical data.”
Hayden said it casually, without even blinking.
"After acquiring Adam's technology, I didn't seek out others, nor did I approach the weaker, more easily manipulated gods within the Smoke Mirror Company. I immediately came to you to openly discuss cooperation. This is already my reward. Now I want a deeper, fairer cooperation plan. Because what we need to do from now on is more important than anything before. I just want you to know... I hope we can cooperate more closely and trust each other more in the future. This way, I can share the new knowledge I've gained with you."
Admittedly, Hayden's words were not entirely unappealing to the goddess Mikkelsen.
But she still found it very unbelievable.
“What if I refuse your so-called fair opportunity?” she couldn’t help but ask. “You have less money than me, less power than me, weaker strength than me, and more trouble than me, yet you dare to say such things to me.”
Hayden shrugged: "Then I'll go find other gods in the Smoke Mirror Company to collaborate with, some smaller ones who are harder to refuse me. As for the debt I owe you, I'll pay you back in cash."
"And my friend Mikt, I must remind you of something. You say I have more trouble than you, but that's not necessarily true. The Bodhisattva Mithra recently demonstrated his entirely new and different great magic to us. I don't need spies to know how many gods are worried about this. The rules of the game are changing; the gods are drawing new lines for themselves, preparing new plans, and forming new alliances. You can choose not to play the game fairly with me, or you can reach the top with my help... and all you have to do is pay a small price."
The vampire goddess nodded, as if she had finally heard a word she knew well: "Price, very well. So what is this price?"
She had to admit that Hayden's words were indeed persuasive. The events of New Yatu had truly shown the gods of the world a great deal. Many gods had become deeply vigilant afterward and began making their own preparations. Miktikashiva was no exception—but even so, she had no intention of being unilaterally pushed around by Hayden. She needed to make decisions; she needed to find a way to gain control of the cooperation.
“Before we talk about the costs, I want to know,” Hayden said calmly, “what plans you have for preparing for the coming world war, and what you are already preparing for.”
Goddess Mikkelsen couldn't help but glare at Hayden.
If he was a corporate spy, and his long-winded speech was just a ploy to trick her into letting him peek at her current setup, then she should first applaud Hayden's creativity before killing him.
"I am expanding the military."
A few seconds later, Mickett finally spoke.
"Run my undead biological factory at full capacity, increase the collection of corpses from ordinary people, and recover their past debts. Those who cannot repay will be turned into undead to increase military power and industrial productivity. That's what I'm doing right now."
Hayden rubbed his temples. "That's what I'm most worried about. And then what? What are you going to do after you expand the army?"
"Of course, we must overthrow the Smoke Mirror—our beloved chief god Tescatlipoca."
The vampire goddess said, rolling her eyes slightly.
“Mr. Hayden, even without your proposal today, I was already planning to climb to the top. My power has increased considerably in the last two years, and now the world is in chaos and order has collapsed. So it’s time. I intend to take the throne myself and become the new supreme god.”
Hayden sighed: "That's something I'm also worried about, though not as much as the first one."
“To be honest, I simply can’t understand what you’re worried about.” Miktikashiva shook his head. “You don’t want me to fight? I originally thought you were planning to win me over and cooperate in resisting the impending hegemony of Mithra Bodhisattva. If that’s the case, overthrowing Teskatlipok (the Smoke Mirror) first is inevitable. It’s not a god you can cooperate with.”
“That’s not it. While I do want to fight, it’s really not because of that.” Hayden rubbed his temples again, looking a bit of a headache. “Alright, my friend Mickett, here’s the price I’m going to pay you—you’ll stop the undead bio-factory that’s been running at full capacity lately, and the forced turning of ordinary people into undead.”
"...What?" The vampire finally froze. "What's wrong with you? I know you've always been compassionate, but we're going to war! Without increasing military strength, without mandatory conscription, and without fully converting civilian industrial capacity to military industry, how can I possibly win a war?! If you don't understand that war has its costs, then there's no point in us cooperating deeply. I have no intention of joining forces with a compassionate ally to fight Mithra!"
To be honest, Miktikashiva was even getting angry. She hadn't expected Hayden to be so unreasonable, so oblivious to the "price" he was expected to pay. It was utter stupidity, and Miktikashiva was deeply disappointed in Hayden. She had always thought of him as a more "interesting" and intelligent person. However, if such a weak person were to lead people into war, he would only bring destruction upon his allies as well.
But Hayden shook his head again: “No need for that kind of price. The only price you need to pay now is to stop tormenting the people and stop all of this as soon as possible. Then, with the power I give you, you won’t need to eat people, sacrifice the living, turn a bunch of people into ghosts to serve as soldiers, or pay any other price—and you can still defeat Smoke Mirror.”
Miktikahiva stared at him, her eyes wide. The word "confusion" barely even begin to describe her expression.
"It sounds great, but how can you expect me to believe such nonsense?"
“That’s the problem, my friend,” Hayden said dryly. “Are you willing to believe me and stop all these cruel things you’re doing? Or do you not believe that such good things could exist? Let me remind you, people a thousand years ago never imagined there would be anything as good as cell phones and smallpox vaccines, and today we can even fly to the moon and Mars. If you believe me and do as I say, I can truly work with you and give you unprecedented power to do things you think are impossible.”
"But if you don't trust me, I can't lessen the price you have to pay now and in the future, nor can I lighten your burden."
For a moment, the goddess Mikkelsen was truly at a loss for words. Hayden's words... sounded incredibly strange.
"I need to think about it."
So that's what Mickett said in the end.
“I understand.” Hayden nodded. “I’d like to travel around South America for a while now. But don’t think about it for too long. Things are changing all the time, and people are suffering and dying all the time. Other things will continue without your involvement. If I get too impatient, I might prioritize cooperating with other Smoke Mirror Gods.”
Mickett couldn't help but think of this as a trap.