There was no question as to the validity of what the Bureau Chief had said. He had no reason to lie. It seemed that Hong Dali was like a porcupine now, untouchable!
They were not afraid that they would meet with some misfortune and died. But if they were to be completely humiliated like Itra and Salon, they were better off dead!
“What do we do, then?” asked An Yangxu anxiously. “Do we just stare at the treasure trove in front of our eyes without doing anything? It’s a real treasure trove! A mountain of gold! A mountain of gold! How can we possibly enter a Gold Mountain and return empty-handed?”
“At the moment, that looks like all we can do.” The Bureau Chief spread his hands helplessly. “To put it simply, we cannot hit or scold the little brat. All we can do is to pacify, spoil him, and make sure he doesn’t get pressured. What I know is that he would be welcomed by the heads of whatever state he wishes to go to now. If there was a worldwide popularity chart, he might be first.”
“It’s a good thing he has been very satisfied with our State up till now and has been having fun.” The mysterious man smiled. Toward Hong Dali, he was very satisfied. At least the little brat seemed to be rather considerate and it could be observed that he was patriotic. It was obvious from the fact that he had not rejected the request to borrow the Mechanical Holy Garments when he heard that it was for the military parade.
This was, however, not the most important thing now. What was important was how they could attract and hold on to Hong Dali’s attention. “The crux of the matter lies in how to let Hong Dali better… yes, better squander. Does anyone have a good idea?”
“What other ideas can we have for someone whom we can neither hit nor scold?” An Yangxu sulked. “If only the little brat was interested in military weaponry. We could at least get some soup if he eats meat, gain something from his research.” It was not easy to make An Yangxu say something like that.
The one speaking had no other intentions, but the one listening had his own ideas. As An Yangxu continued grumbling, the Bureau Chief had an idea. “Wait. Old An, what you said gave me an idea. Why don’t we collude with Hong Dali and have him research military weaponry?”
Upon hearing what the Bureau Chief said, everyone paled. An Yangxu shouted, shocked, “What? You mean, ask Hong Dali to dabble in military weaponry? The State will support him?!”
It was unheard of for the State to support an individual in dabbling in military weaponry. Who did that? Were you not afraid of the little brat leveling the entire Tianjing City with an atomic bomb or something?!
“I think that will work.” The mysterious man thought the idea was worth considering. “He might not cause any major problems If Hong Dali researches military firepower. After all, he’s just having fun. Yes, we can let him have the one hundred and forty kilometers of desert to the north of Tianjing City. He can test whatever weaponry he invents there. It will be okay as long as he doesn’t make an atomic bomb.”
The Bureau Chief had been working with him for many years and knew immediately what he was thinking. He winked and said, “Boss, we can pull him into the army. Give him an army rank and show him some military set-ups whenever. With his fun-loving character, he’s bound to like it! Once he likes it, he will have the urge to develop things. If we add Lin Chuyin to that…”
As they listened to the two, everyone else looked at one another and started laughing sinisterly.
They looked nothing like high ranking officials at that moment. Their grins were sly like old foxes. “That’s settled, then. Later, when everyone goes back, remember to embellish things it to seem more fun. Let’s pull him in slowly. I think military set-ups are infinitely more fun than civilian set-ups.””Right, right, right. We can do this, too. Didn’t he buy two aircraft carriers? Let’s set up the military gear and equipment in them. I don’t believe he won’t be swayed.””Hahahaha. We’ll do just that.”
…
“Dali, you think, that… erm. What do you think Grandpa Mysterious and the other men are discussing?” Tang Muxin repeatedly took fugitive glances at the men with her pretty glistening eyes before turning back to Hong Dali.
Tang Muxin knew without a doubt the identity of Grandpa Mysterious. In truth, everyone present knew, too. It was obvious Hong Dali was just feigning not knowing. Now, they were off to discuss something. That was a group of very powerful old men. It would not be a joke to say that if they stamped their feet, the entire State would quake.
“Let them discuss whatever they want to…” Hong Dali popped a Dali Bean into his mouth nonchalantly and giggled. “They can’t do anything to me, anyway. By the way, Xinxin, when the fish pond become ours, what do you think we should do with it? It’s open sea, all water… maybe we can see if there’s a dragon or something to catch.”
“I think I will go look at something else.” Tang Muxin was troubled. Why did Hong Dali think everything was so simple? Catch a snake in the East Ocean? Did he really think it was the East Ocean Dragon Palace from the legends?
“Why do you always not believe what I say?” Hong Dali scratched his head. “Live in limitless imagination—actually, I would prefer a giant Kraken. If we caught one of those we could make a movie. I’ll call it ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’”
Yes, catch a giant Kraken and add that to the two aircraft carriers. Pirates of the Caribbean Modern Prodigal reboot. It actually sounds good!
“You, I really wonder where all these ideas you get in your head come from!” Tang Muxin reached out a long slender finger and tapped Hong Dali’s head. She originally thought he was just a lucky prodigal, but as the time she spent with him increased, she realized that he had a limitless imagination. Gazing upon Hong Dali’s smiling countenance, this little wastrel’s image rose up to that of Super Prodigal in her mind. The most accomplished person at school could only claim to be good at basketball, first place in the exam, or perhaps win a silver medal in the Olympics. No one else thought of going out to catch a Kraken on aircraft carriers and then filming a movie.
“The dreams of humankind will forever be limitless!” Hong Dali parted his lips and clean white teeth shone through them. “Squandering is an art unto itself. Strategy! Need strategy!”
The two of them were chatting when the mysterious man’s voice said, “Hurhur, what strategy? Are you discussing a strategy for squandering again?”
Hong Dali turned his head and saw that the mysterious grandpa, together with the military chiefs, were walking back smiling.
“Ah, we were talking about what we would do after we go out to sea.” Hong Dali smiled and said, “I intend to catch a big Kraken and make a movie. I wonder if we can meet one of those that have tentacles tens of meters long. Of course, it would be even better if it were a few hundred meters…”
“Catch a Kraken that has tentacles a few hundred meters long just to film a movie?!” The mysterious man was visibly shocked by Hong Dali. Tentacles that were a few hundred meters long! To catch something like that just to make a movie… All right, anyway, it was impossible there was something like that in the sea…
That thought made the idea more acceptable. The mysterious man smiled and said, “Oh right. Dali, we had a little discussion just now. We will need to take this car of yours away for a while so we can study it. We will just study it, not take it away for good. If we manage to find something, that’s good. If we don’t, we will return it to you. It will not take too long, the latest being just after the national day parade. What do you think?”
Just then, the car arrived. No matter how they looked at it, it did not look like something Hong Dali modified himself.
The modifications on the exterior of the car were plausible. The defense system, however, stuck out like a sore thumb. It was probably made along the same lines as the Mechanical Holy Garment. Simply put, the technology was surreal. The mysterious man naturally did not expect to be able to get blueprints from Hong Dali.
“Ah, okay. Take it if you want. Just take it as a gift from me to show my respect to you, Grandpa Mysterious!” Hong Dali grinned mischievously at the mysterious man. “Oh right, that, that fish pond…” Only a fool would not discuss terms and conditions at a time like this. Hong Dali was not a fool.
“Yes, we have thought about the fish pond.” There were no outsiders there, but the mysterious man still took careful looks left and right before continuing softly, “There’s no problem in letting you have that piece of ocean. However, you must not tell anyone about it. There can be no written proof. I say, you listen, and we all know in our hearts. If you encounter any problems there, you can contact me and I guarantee I will help you settle it soonest. What do you think?”
This was him giving in as much as he could.
To let Hong Dali have the entire East Ocean and let him call it a fish pond even though it was not really a fish pond, this matter could only be known to the two of them. If there was proof, if news somehow got leaked out, there would be a great debacle.
“That will do. Actually, all I want is a title. If you agree, it’s a deal!” Hong Dali did not really want the East Ocean for himself. He was just having some fun.
The matter was almost settled by now. What was left was the most important part.
The mysterious man said, “Dali, we have discussed it among ourselves and we feel that giving you the honorary title of Master of the East Ocean is not enough in exchange for the Mechanical Holy Garments and this car. After all, what you are giving us is tangible, but what you are getting is just a title which cannot be publicly acknowledged. It would seem as if we, this bunch of old men, are bullying you. So, we thought, why not give you a military rank? Major General. What do you think?”
The rank of Major General! Although they were all mentally prepared, the various military chiefs were still so agitated that their eyebrows jumped up and down when the mysterious man finished speaking. One must know, the Heavenly State military was split into three classes and ten grades. General Officers: General, Lieutenant General, Major General; Field Officers: Colonel Commandant, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major; Company Officers: Captain, 1st Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant.
Major General. That was already a general officer level post. Any higher and he would be at the same level as them old men.
Hong Dali managed to get the rank of Major General just by squandering. This…
Forget it. Let’s just pretend we heard nothing. That would make it easier to bear…
