Wasteland: My Items Can Be Infinitely Upgraded-Chapter 369 - 190: Oasis Memories, Bishop Zhang Hui, Striking a Deal
"Of course, the final result was his defeat; otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up in this situation, becoming the pitiful Deputy Bishop of Oasis."
"Thus, the Oasis Battleship leaving the Holy City Settlement was definitely not because of overpopulation or resource scarcity. Even if there were such factors, they absolutely should not come to the borders of the Forbidden Zone, where the environmental harshness is several times that of the wasteland wilderness ahead..."
"The temperature year-round is forty to fifty degrees. With the slightest carelessness, one could be engulfed by the Scorching Sun Forbidden Area behind, constantly walking the edge of death, much like being exiled to the frontier."
Lin Feng nodded in agreement with Li Mingquan’s views on this point.
Oasis Town is too close to the Forbidden Zone. Even on Holy Spring Day, the furthest distance is only forty to fifty kilometers, with only two days of spare time.
Living here is equivalent to giving yourself a twenty-four-hour countdown to death every day, only able to move forward tirelessly, physically and mentally exhausted, unable to find peace.
At this point, Li Mingquan sighed softly:
"Back when Zhang Hui lost the election and was exiled here, he began executing the Moonlit Ceremony, gathering intelligence on the Scorching Sun Forbidden Area for the Holy City."
"Actually, this task could be completed by any convoy, but the collected data wouldn’t be as detailed and accurate as using an entire Oasis Settlement as a lead and the Oasis Battleship as an observation lens."
"That’s why the Holy City supports Oasis, sending large amounts of supplies with each Pilgrimage Convoy to provide resources."
"This has indirectly promoted our development, allowing Oasis Town to support more than ten Tier Two Evolvers, almost becoming a medium-sized settlement."
"But precisely because of this, Oasis’s value has increased, leading to reduced support from the Holy City in the past century, and the goods we produce have to pay high commercial tariffs when sold to the Holy City, with the local Church first scraping a layer off."
"Essentially, our photovoltaic panels and batteries, as well as downstream products from the Rock-Horned Horse Industry, are taxed three times."
"Locally in Oasis to support the Upper District, we have to pay money. Upon reaching the Holy City, we pay money, and after completing the trade, we pay another piece relative to the transaction amount."
"What’s most brutal is the portion siphoned off to support the Oasis Upper District, almost consuming half of our entire industry’s profits."
"But we endured, continuing to work hard for Oasis Town, so much so that I’ve been a Tier Two Evolver for many years, stuck at Level 22, unable to gather enough Evolution Agent to step into Level 23."
"Finally, in recent years, a breakthrough occurred."
Lin Feng squinted slightly, already guessing what Li Mingquan referred to as the breakthrough would be.
Without pacification from the Holy City’s archdiocese, their local families wouldn’t dare challenge the authority of the Holy Spring Sect a hundred times over.
Even though Oasis Town’s diocese is already extremely weak.
"Is it that the Holy City, seeing Oasis Town developing so well, wants to reclaim it for themselves?"
Li Mingquan looked at Lin Feng, surprised, nodding affirmatively:
"Correct, in fact, the day the Deputy Bishop chose to seriously govern and develop Oasis Town, it was destined that he would eventually be watched by someone with designs."
"An Oasis Battleship that can reliably provide intelligence from the Flame Forbidden Area, a medium-sized force capable of supplying resources needed by ten Tier Two Evolvers..."
"Upon achieving absolute control, it has the full ability to cultivate a Tier Two Late Stage, Level 29 Evolver, further developing one or two; supporting a Tier Three King isn’t impossible either!"
"Therefore, those in the Holy City have set their sights here, wanting to reclaim the Oasis Battleship."
"But the key to seizing is having a suitable opportunity to intervene. If they come directly for rescue, even if they eliminate us, it would only make Deputy Bishop Zhang Hui’s control even more stable."
"Even mobilizing full support to cultivate the next generation of successor, the current Father Su An!"
At this point, Lin Feng fully understood the cause and effect of the whole matter, exclaiming:
"When sandpiper and clam fight, the fisherman gains; the Holy City’s archdiocese wants to let you fight till mutual destruction so they can intervene honorably and effortlessly take over the entire Oasis Town."
Turning the conversation, Lin Feng looked at Li Mingquan:
"Then you Li Family are just willing to be used by the Holy City? They definitely can’t promise to let you rule Oasis Town, can they?"
Li Mingquan laughed heartily.
The reason behind it was naturally unspoken; that was the Li Family’s biggest secret, with silent support and direction from another large organization, the Life Farm, in the Holy City.
Therefore, what he introduced to Lin Feng were some trivial old matters, that anyone who spent a day in the Holy City could find out more or less.
Nowadays, most of Oasis Town’s leadership is aware.
"Under the eaves... Forced to bow."
Li Mingquan sighed twice, continuing:
"The Holy City’s will is irresistible."
"We don’t have a choice: either be suppressed by Lord Bishop, never to overturn, or make a bold move to seize control of Oasis before the Holy City reacts, commandeering the battleship and swiftly leaving."
"Either way is death; rather than being exploited even more harshly when the Holy City arrives, it’s better to bet once."
"At worst, the family collapses, becoming Wanderers, starting anew; if we win, we can directly rule a medium-sized settlement, cultivating multiple Tier Two powerhouses, ensuring the family’s legacy never dies, lasting thousands of years!"
"Leader Lin and I are alike, both achieving greatness young."
"If it were you, what would you choose?"
Lin Feng paused, not hesitating:
"Of course, I would gamble!"
Li Mingquan laughed heartily:
"Seems Leader Lin is a sensible person; hence, you will surely make the right choice."
With the conversation this far, if Lin Feng persisted with his previous views, it would indeed be more unreasonable.
He then smiled and said:
"What you said is correct, but one shouldn’t be faithless, especially since I collaborated with the Church first..."
"But I won’t completely follow the Church’s arrangement, as everything prioritizes self-interest, otherwise, I wouldn’t have sold grenades to various families."
"Now, as long as Village Chief Li agrees to the trade, and both parties smoothly exchange grenades and Essence Dried Meat, I can guarantee I won’t interfere with any actions on your part on the Oasis Battleship."
"Neither will I step onto the battleship once even should the Church call for help!"
Li Mingquan squinted, pondering secretly:
"Leader Lin won’t take advantage of our absence to attack the villages of the three families, will he?"
Lin Feng shook his head; Nongzhuang Village is already targeted by the Salvation Army, so he doesn’t need to take action:
"Father Su An entrusted me to protect Holy Spring Village, without requiring any action against Nongzhuang Village."
"However, when the time comes with no leader, I’m guessing many ruthless individuals may take desperate chances..."
"Perhaps the villages will still need my protection."
Li Mingquan’s mouth twitched; the man before him is even more audacious, somewhat inflated.
If not for the circumstances forcing everyone to pull him in, how could he possibly humble himself to seek out this rootless upstart?
After squeezing out a smile and nodding, Li Mingquan said:
"So, Leader Lin agrees to neutrality?"
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow, waving a hand:
"After the matter in Oasis Town ends, I will lead my convoy to develop in the Holy City."
"Unlike Village Chief Li, who can advance or retreat."
"So I’ve always stood by the Holy Spring Sect."
"As for who represents the Holy Spring Sect, Village Chief Li should know better than I do."
Li Mingquan gave Lin Feng a deep look and nodded:
"Alright, as Leader Lin said, tomorrow morning, we’ll exchange two thousand standard grenades for seventy Level 10, thirty Level 14, and ten Level 17 Tier One Evolution Agents."
"Regarding Enhanced Meat and Evolutionary Meat, with Oasis Town’s prices surging rapidly, prices have doubled; accounting for the doubled price, the remaining 100,000 points translates to six tons of Enhanced Meat and one ton of Early-Term Evolutionary Meat, what do you think?"
Lin Feng calculated.
The original price of Enhanced Meat was five points per kilogram.
The original price of Level 10 Evolutionary Meat was twenty points.
Doubling the prices just matches those figures; Li Mingquan is still quite generous, as the private trade black market price has probably gone up two or three times.
"Alright, it’s settled!"
Lin Feng immediately agreed.
Fifty mouths consume quite a bit daily; even several tons of dried meat are just about four to five months’ worth of rations.
After communicating back and forth, both parties completed the transaction and reached consensus.
Before leaving, Lin Feng suddenly remembered something:
"Oh, tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be testing weapon power on the right side of Oasis Avenue; you all can come and watch."
"Recently, I’ve been leveling up quickly and haven’t had time to verify the power of these two firearms; I hope Village Chief Li can honor us with his presence!"
