Chapter 631.5: Desert Turns to Oasis
Returning to Bay Territory, Matthew and Yaya soon got word from Butler Ralph.
"The Cole Elf Kingdom" agreed to the two-million-gold transformation cost and immediately applied for a hundred slots.
And, they proposed even further collaboration.
Two hundred million gold!
That's half of Bay Territory's income last year!
Yaya gleefully rubbed her hands, dreaming of a mountain of gold, grinning in dazed fantasy.
Indeed, the best advertisement for a product is always a spectacular demonstration.
Matthew carefully looked over the conditions offered by the Cole Elves and, without hesitation, said directly:
"Tell them, the price is very reasonable, but we hope to exchange the gold for various supplies instead."
Hearing this, Yaya instinctively lowered her head, her two little claws fiddling together helplessly.
She just wanted to see a little mountain of gold coins, obediently lying in her nest.
Her favorite thing was rolling around on top of it, enjoying the sensation of gold rubbing against her scales.
Now, this little dream seemed to be drifting further and further away!
Noticing Yaya's state, Matthew smiled and patted her on the head, saying:
"Don't worry, go find Carlos and Councilor Arad. They'll bring you plenty of gold coins."
Hearing this, Yaya instantly perked up. Meeting Matthew's meaningful gaze, her eyes spun and she dashed off.
With Yaya handling things, Matthew was completely at ease.
The reason was simple—Yaya had learned some real-world economic skills and was eager to practice them.
As for the upcoming transformation work, Matthew would leave it all to Yaya, Annie, and Elona!
They have the longest lifespans, the greatest growth potential, and are the most stable.
They needed to accumulate more independent experience.
The vast experience gained from transforming warriors could help them quickly become "mature."
After all, this work isn't just about surgery.
As for Bay Territory's next development direction, Matthew had long been prepared.
Aside from the outward development in the New World, the regions on the Northern Continent would enter a brief period of dormancy.
Some defensive projects and facilities would begin construction this year.
Build high walls and stockpile grain.
Matthew had many worries about the future.
Naturally, Bay Territory had to make more preparations.
As for external expansion, the focus would naturally be on nearby ruins.
Especially the underground ruins of Blood Moon City and now the region of the Dead Desert.
The construction of more than ten towns in the northern Dead Desert was just a test by Matthew.
Based on the feedback so far, the situation in the Dead Desert hasn't deteriorated to an uncontrollable degree.
So, Matthew was ready to step in and quickly take control of the Dead Desert and its underground ruins.
As long as he fully excavated this goblin ruin and utilized the vast "inheritance" within,
Matthew was confident Bay Territory's production and manufacturing would rise to a new level.
As for whether these inheritances originally belonged to the goblins, Matthew took them with no psychological burden.
Besides Bay Territory, no other group was willing to guide the goblins from ignorance and savagery back to the path of civilization.
January 4th.
The Dead Desert.
Northern Bay Territory towns.
Adventurer's Hall.
Large numbers of adventurers curiously eyed the magical information glowing in the middle of the Adventurer's Hall.
Obviously, no staff were on duty yet, so how was the Adventurer's Guild already running?
This novelty left most adventurers feeling both strange and intrigued.
But, as soon as they remembered this was Bay Territory's domain—
Such novel behavior wasn't surprising.
The only reason adventurers were gathered here was that, these days, they had nowhere else to go.
First, they could enjoy free simple food and supplies.
Second, they could watch all sorts of curious programs from Bay Territory's channels on the magic television.
They could broaden their horizons and also collect information that other territories and factions might want.
Bay Territory had not set strict confidentiality measures in this regard.
Adventurers didn't know if this was intentional or not...
So, they sold this information for a little extra profit.
But today was different.
The Adventurer's Guild had started operating, meaning everyone could work again.
The magic screen had already posted many new missions.
"Bay Territory Mission Guidelines."
"First, use Bay Territory agricultural golems to transform desert soil—5 silver coins per mu."
"Second, use Bay Territory engineering golems to dig moats, outposts, and trenches—1 silver coin per cubic meter."
"Third, use Bay Territory engineering golems to reinforce and upgrade town walls—10 silver coins per meter."
"Fourth, tend special plant seedlings, task duration about ten days, 1 gold coin per mu (not yet open)."
These interesting tasks immediately caught the adventurers' attention.
They pored over the details and soon came to an unbelievable conclusion.
Bay Territory was about to do something huge in the Dead Desert!
"Defying fate! Bay Territory is going to turn the Dead Desert into an oasis!"
That was the "shocking" headline adventurers used when selling these mission details.
Amusingly, their exaggerated wild guesses happened to be right about Bay Territory's true goal.
"We really are going to make this a sustainable oasis for development and expansion!"
Old Li said this excitedly to his assistants.
They all looked at the Dead Desert in the distance, radiating a strange aura.
They could clearly hear the land wailing, the environment screaming.
"Alright, everyone, get ready!"
"It won't be long before the plants we've developed will be fighting a brutal battle here."
Watching his young assistants get to work, Old Li couldn't help but smile.
During his time in Bay Territory, his insights into environmental transformation had led to a bold conclusion.
Instead of following the path others had trimmed and handed down—
Why not bravely step forward and blaze a brand-new trail of your own!
Transforming the Dead Desert was Old Li's goal this trip.
Ka! Ka! Ka!
Some early-rising goblins, piloting exoskeleton mechs and armor, started their workday as usual.
Eyes flickering with thought, after leaving the druid lab, Old Li found Bay Territory had changed a lot.
Most changes he could follow Matthew's reasoning for.
But only Bay Territory's continual integration of other races—and guiding them back onto the track of civilization—left Old Li puzzled.
Not just goblins, but also murlocs, kobolds, gnolls, and more.
Becoming a druid, Old Li understood the cruelty and pressure of natural competition.
Especially the brutal conflict between races.
It was utterly ruthless, with no mercy.
Old Li hadn't understood Bay Territory's move at first.
Until Elona dragged him to the Professional Training Academy.
He received a proper "education" in Bay Territory's philosophy and finally understood their purpose.
"What matters in Bay Territory is identification with our ideas and culture."
"It's about the fusion of wisdom, not mutual exclusion and strife."
"As long as everyone works toward the same goal, we don't gloat over taking from others."
"Our core is to create more wealth—that's the essence of Bay Territory's philosophy."
Still, Old Li wasn't fully convinced by this.
He knew all too well, as beautiful as great dreams are—
Turning them into reality is extremely difficult!
There are not only outside enemies, but internal dangers too!
Before, Old Li hadn't thought so much.
He just felt Matthew's plan fit his tastes, so he agreed readily.
Now, the changes in the goblins made Old Li reconsider.
"Well, at least Bay Territory is doing pretty well right now."
With attractive pay, many adventurers quickly accepted the missions.
After a simple golem operation and control training,
The adventurers, controlling Bay Territory's agricultural and engineering golems, began working in the surrounding towns.
Such a large-scale operation soon caught the attention of Cole Elf observers.
At first, they were tense, wanting to understand Bay Territory's purpose.
Was Bay Territory onto them and planning an attack, using this as a smokescreen?
After all, they'd seen Bay Territory's inspector squads in action.
They'd even fought those hated Gray Elf transformation warriors—
And had even come off worse for it.
They'd spent a lot of effort, tens of thousands of gold, and bought reliable intel from many adventurers.
But when the time came to move, the Cole Elves didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Bay Territory really is planning to turn this desert into an oasis? Are they out of their minds?"
"The Dead Desert is called 'dead' because it almost never rains and is cursed."
"Do they really think planting a few crops can change all that? Pure wishful thinking!"
"Let them do as they like, we'll just monitor closely."
"Still, everyone stay alert."
"Maybe they're trying to lull us!"
"It's possible…"
"..."
News of Bay Territory's move soon spread throughout the Northern Continent thanks to their various newspapers.
Many kingdoms and factions learned what was happening in Bay Territory.
To most, Bay Territory's "crazy" move was not "optimistic" at all.
There's no profit in this!
It's just a total waste of resources and manpower!
Even the adventurers at work thought the same.
Looking at the dug trenches, seeing seven or eight meters deep and no water in the parched earth—
Any faint hopes they had faded into resignation and disappointment.
In an environment like this, how could any plant survive?
But Bay Territory kept going, completely ignoring the flood of negative rumors from the adventurers.
They simply paid the promised mission rewards as planned.
Seeing their pay wasn't shortchanged, the adventurers put aside their doubts for now.
"Don't overthink it, just earn the money honestly!"
"Exactly. As long as Bay Territory pays us, with work this easy and this well-paid, I'd keep doing it forever."
"Just stay sharp for danger, though. Never drop your guard."
"If you ask me, Bay Territory definitely has some plan in mind."
"What plan could it be? The only thing that works is those agricultural golems they brought."
"They can turn the dry sand into a pile of nutrient-free clay."
"But there's no water at all. The clay will dry and turn back to sand in the wind…"
"Sigh, I don't see any hope at all…"
"Forget it, forget it, don't think too much…"
"Just keep working while the jobs last."
"Maybe Bay Territory just wants attention, hiding their true aim."
"That's possible, but not likely."
"Right? They're shelling out tens of thousands of gold coins every day."
"..."
Bay Territory never responded to the adventurers' discussions.
Adventurers assumed Bay Territory had no action now because their staff hadn't yet returned to town.
But by January 15th—
When the staff returned after a half-month's holiday,
The adventurers were stunned to find their missions unchanged.
Some uneasy adventurers, feeling the money was burning a hole in their pockets, reminded the staff on purpose or by accident.
"What if all our work turns out to be pointless?"
The staff always replied kindly, with a smile:
"Thank you for the reminder, we'll keep an eye on it."
"As a token of thanks, we've specially prepared some of Bay Territory's Dark Forest specialty—Refreshing Tea—for you."
The adventurers, drinking the invigorating tea in frustration, looked out at the dug-up Dead Desert and shook their heads helplessly.
The Cole Elf scout team, watching the ever-growing towns, felt a bit relieved.
"Luckily, Bay Territory is wasting all these resources here."
"If all this went into making Dragon Warriors, we might actually have trouble."
"That's the young for you, always thinking their way is best."
"Ha, let's guess—how long do you think Bay Territory can keep this up?"
"Three months!"
"I bet a month and a half!"
"I say three weeks at most!"
"…Wait… I'm detecting intense magical fluctuations!"
"Notify the others now—what is Bay Territory up to?"
"..."
In the center of the largest desert town, Matthew watched as the elemental energy pool began to operate, connecting to the water element plane interface array.
Squelch!
A column of water shot skyward, sparkling in rainbow hues under the sunlight!
"Ten million gold coins, just to dig a well?"
"Was it worth it?"