(At present, after answering everyone's questions)
Queen Mother stood tall on the stage, her hands playfully patting both girls' heads as she and Zack had just finished answering the crowd's questions. Then she called Sasha and her colleague forward to present their research plans to the gathered crowd.
As they began discussing and planning on how to present their proposals properly, many murmurs started rippling through the audience and..... Not all of them were positive.
.
These bastards. How can they come up with such ridiculous ideas? It will never work!!! This city can't run without my money!
Leader Grankell's thoughts churned with fury as he watched them from behind.
I don't know what this brat the one so called Master Zack's way to solve dependence on the Empire's energy power tool is, but I know it won't be effective. You can't replace the energy tools!!! You can't replace ME!!
He clenched his palms so tightly that his nails dug into his skin. His eyes never left the Queen, who stood there happily enjoying her time on stage, looking completely confident in this doomed plan.
Then he turned sideways and looked at the 3rd Rock Leader sitting beside him. "You…..what do you know about this? You can't possibly be supporting this nonsense, right? This will never work out. If they actually do it, the whole city will collapse! Your rock district will collapse!"
The 3rd Rock Leader just glanced at him coldly and spoke bluntly. "This city is already on the verge of destruction. If you or that witch becomes the Crown, we all know what will happen. Even if some outside power control this city, it will bring harm to this city eventually."
"I'd rather support the Queen than you guys any day."
Tsk! "So you've finally chosen your side! HUMPH! Then don't come begging to me afterward when I take this city for myself!" Leader Grankell glared at him with burning anger.
"HOOO, don't scare me like that," Leader Vali said with a shrug, completely unbothered. "I just spoke what my beautiful wife told me to say. If you have a problem, go scare her instead."
Grankell glanced back toward Laoise, who simply bowed elegantly at him with a sweet, dangerous smile. He didn't say anything more, knowing better than to engage with her directly.
After that exchange, Laoise pinched her husband's back hard.
"OW! What?!" Leader Vali glanced back, seeing his wife pouting angrily at him.
"Don't put me in between you guys like that!" she hissed quietly.
"Haha, sorry, but that guy is genuinely scary," Leader Vali spoke with absolutely no emotion showing on his face, making it impossible to tell if he was joking or serious.
Laoise put her hand on her forehead in exasperation and whispered fiercely, "You are nearly the same size as him! Be a man!!"
She roared quietly, though her eyes were laughing at the absurdity of her giant husband being afraid.
"You're also scary," Leader Vali muttered.
He got many more painful pinches on his back after that comment.
.
"I hope there are no major problems with this system," one man sitting in the crowd spoke up. "Hopefully this is a better opportunity to move forward for all of us!"
"Hey, brother, we actually want to find problems in order to make it perfect," another Crown district man replied thoughtfully. "That's exactly why they're testing it beforehand and slowly integrating it into the city. This is a good chance to understand how it really works."
Sighhh.... "He looks so handsome even in those normal clothes," a Crown district woman sighed dreamily, staring at Zack. "I wish I could talk to him in person. Master Zack is so cool!"
PFFT! "You wish!" another man smirked from the side. "He already has two women beside him. And there's even speculation that he's the Princess's man because of how much the Queen trusts him!"
"Forget about him," a common district man said, licking his lips unconsciously. "Look at those women instead! That Miss Subordinate looks like a perfect doll. Her face is so beautiful and white, and did you see her leg naked ankle when she spun around? It was so pale and smooth. Has she even touched the ground in her life? Master Zack is incredibly lucky."
"I like the other one better," another man spoke up, his voice low. "A cold beauty. Check out her naked shoulders and those muscles. Man, I could let her choke me all day and never get satisfied."
"EWWW! Disgusting!" a Crown woman sitting beside them frowned in disgust. "You guys will be the first ones to get negative Effort points for that kind of talk! GUARDS Throw them out!!"
"Haha, Miss, we're just joking around, we are just admiring them, nothing serious!!! Don't take it to heart," the men said embarrassedly, quickly quieting down.
.
"WAH! I'm so nervous!" Subordinate Woman breathed in and out rapidly, standing close to Zack on the platform.
She looked out at the massive crowd spread before them. She couldn't believe that she was standing in front of such a huge gathering. Just a few days ago, she wouldn't have been able to speak up about anything in public. Now Zack had given her a chance to prove herself to the entire world.
Zack saw her shivering and placed his warm hand behind her lower back, gently tapping it in a soothing rhythm.
"AAH! BOSS!" Subordinate Woman made a cute, shocked sound that made several people in the front rows smile. She got embarrassed and pouted cutely at him.
Zack just laughed it off warmly. Subordinate woman feeling still a little nervous moved even closer to him, letting her arm touch his abdomen. Standing this close to him, feeling his solid presence beside her and his hand reassuringly on her lower back, she finally calmed down.
She smiled, took the speaking tool confidently, and addressed the crowd.
"Greetings, everyone! I will guide you toward our next section. As you already know by now, this city is going to undergo huge changes. Of course, it will be gradual so that everyone can understand what's happening and come to terms with it."
"Please understand that adjustments will be made to this system as days pass by, under Princess Natalia and Queen's direction. For now, let's bring our focus to the next section, where we will deal with some common problems that are really troubling the citizens."
She paused dramatically, letting the anticipation build.
"The first thing is......…. THE MEAT PROBLEM!!!!!!"
"What?! Meat?! They're doing something about it?!"
"Yes! Yes! Meat!!! MEATT!!!"
The crowd erupted excitedly, everyone talking at once and thinking about meat, a luxury most could barely afford.
"What is it? Will prices go down? Is there new meat coming to the market? What's the announcement??"
Many murmurs and questions were thrown around as Big Sister Sasha took the stage with a confident stride.
.
.
(Flashback: In the past closed meeting)
TAADDAAA!
"A PLANT-BASED MEAT! NOW THERE'S NO NEED TO KILL ANIMALS!" Big Sister Sasha announced dramatically."
"THIS SINGLE INNOVATION CAN CHANGE THE MEAT INDUSTRY IN OUR CITY FOREVER!!!"
Big Sister Sasha posed dramatically in front of everyone, full of confidence and full of enthusiasm. Her colleague beside her was… well, let's just say they looked like she wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide in it from the embarrassment.
"PLANT-BASED?! EWW, BORINNNGGG!!" Gloomy mocked her immediately, making a disgusted face.
"HO HO HO, here, eat it first before you judge!" Sasha shot back.
WHOOSH! CHEW CHEWW! YUM YUM! GULP!
"Oh… it actually does taste like real meat!" Gloomy admitted getting surprised by the rich taste of the meat. Then his eyes narrowed. "Hold on, did you just use me to test it out?! I have rights, you know!!"
He protested loudly but his hands reached for another piece.
Big Sister Sasha slowly gave samples to everyone in the meeting room. They all tried it curiously, chewing thoughtfully and examining the texture.
"So, what's the downside?" Chieftess Anihoa asked, finding the meat genuinely fascinating but knowing nothing came without a cost.
"I don't fully understand the meat processing from animals especially the technical part of sucking out overdose energy from it" Miss Laoise said while eating the sample and checking it from all sides with a professional eye. "But meat production is supposed to be a lot of work already. Adding the factor that this has to be specially prepared will increase its cost significantly."
"And we still need to check how it interacts with traditional cooking methods, right?"
"Um, yes," the research colleague spoke up nervously. "Truthfully, it's still not fully ready. That's why I was hesitant to show it in front of the Princess. But Sasha insisted we come forward with what we have."
"This meat is produced through a combination of various ingredients and careful processing techniques using different Energy Tools. Because of that, it absorbs far more Greynet Energy residue than ordinary meat taken directly from an affected animal.
However, the production remains quite slow. Much of the preparation must still be done manually before the meat can be sent for treatment, where the Greynet energies within it are neutralized."
She hesitated, then admitted the worst part.
"The product you're eating right here is very costly…..like five times more expensive than the same size portion of normal meat."
"Hmmm." Zack thought for a moment, then stood up. "Big Sister Sasha, bring me an untreated plant-based meat sample."
He headed toward a private room while thinking deep about the problem.
"OH RIGHT! HOW COULD I FORGET!!" Big Sister Sasha's eyes lit up with realization that now Zack power has gone up so it may be possible!! She happily ran to get the raw meat sample they'd brought to demonstrate with.
The maids helped her properly present it, bringing it inside the room on a clean platter. Rugged Woman also followed Zack inside, happy to see his power in action. Subordinate Woman stayed outside, asking the researcher more detailed questions about the production process.
Queen Mother also went inside to see what her son can do.
A few moments later, they heard Zack's excited voice. "SUCCESS!! I can somehow absorb Greynet energy from this meat in few minutes rather than several hours!!!!! I should have thought about this beforehand but oh well…THIS IS AMAZING!!!!!"
He was speaking in his mind as he looked back on how and why his power was growing exponentially over these past few days.
Am I becoming way too strong? This is kind of scary how fast it's happening! What the fuck that bastard was made of!! That energy completely changed me!! I have gotten used to side effects now but still higher concentration is still difficult….. but this much is fine!!
"Can you please call Tool Guy for me?" Zack asked Rugged Woman.
She nodded and quickly went away, coming back swiftly with him in tow.
"Hey, don't pull me so roughly, Zack boy's woman! Be gentle with this delicate man!" Tool Guy protested angrily as she dragged him along.
But when he saw what Zack was doing, his entire attitude shifted instantly.
"Fascinating! Zack boy, your power is totally weird. Truthfully, I don't even understand how your power works, that's why I didn't discuss it much in the shop, but my luck was bad that day… but now…."
He looked at Zack with greedy excitement. "When are you giving me a Globe sample of your power?"
Zack smirked and brought out a glass globe with his power swirling inside like liquid light.
"Here, take it. I just filled it recently during my free time. It's fresh and hot, just came out!"
He presented it with his hands extended formally, like offering a precious gift.
"HUH! Why does that sound so weird when you say it like that?" Tool Guy muttered. "Well, anyways….. WOOOOWWW!!!"
Tool guy happily took the globe and intensely looked at it trying out all kinds of things with it.
"Zack, I think you must be much more careful now," Queen Mother said seriously, her voice dropping low with worry. "Your power is definitely an evolved version of Higher Crown abilities. If anyone from the Empire notices it, they will come for you! And we don't have the power to stop them!!... Your power is nearly same as Heart machine... clearly some great person must be behind creating the heart machine that could make the whole Empire of Echor rule the world just based on Heart machine so...If you can do some of it then…. ITS VERY DANGEROUS!!!!"
She cupped his face in both hands, her concern evident in every line of her expression.
Rugged Woman, hearing about this danger for the first time, felt cold fear wash over her. She grabbed the end of his blanket tightly.
"BOSS!" Her voice was tight with worry.
"Hey, hey, calm down! Don't raise death flags for me!" Zack said with a reassuring smile. "Nothing will happen to me."
He patted the Queen's hands gently with his right hand and held Rugged Woman's hand with his left, squeezing it comfortingly.
"Thanks to someone's efforts in the past, this place is considered a backwater dump in the eyes of Higher Crown people." He grinned mischievously. "Things have changed somewhat, but this place is still viewed as worthless to them and I'm sure of it….. And because of that I think I will be fine... if not for Queen mother then….A whole herd of stupid Higher Crown nobles would already be standing in front of this island demanding entry. Hahahahah OW! OW!!"
"QUEEN MOTHER I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE WINDS!! YOU'RE AN EXCEPTIONALLY BEAUTIFUL LADY WHO MADE THIS CITY THE BEST CITY IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!!" Zack laughed as the Queen grabbed his ear hard ignoring his sweet words.
"Yes, yes, no one ever comes here to check on us," Tool Guy spoke casually from the side, easing Rugged Woman's worry. "Just stay far away from those greedy energy-absorber people, and you'll be fine."
Rugged Woman finally nodded and calmed down, though her grip on his blanket remained tight.
"Tool Guy, since my power doesn't get depleted, can you create something that can automatically suck out the Greynet energy from the meat?" Zack asked thoughtfully. "My power has gotten stronger, so it won't take much time to absorb the residue. What do you think?"
"Hmmmmmmm." Tool Guy stroked his chin, thinking hard. "It is possible. I can think of a design and figure out a way to make it work."
"But we would need many more of these Globes to satisfy the demand of the people. One is definitely not enough, and also we still need to consider your capacity to intake. Also, these tools would have to be kept under tight security, taking your safety into consideration. Only a completely trusted person should be overlooking this operation."
"Furthermore we need a convincing reason for why we could suddenly afford to produce so much meat. We can't leave any loopholes that might make people suspicious."
Regarding who to trust with such an important task, Zack asked Rugged Woman to call Miss Phoebe. She nodded and released his hand reluctantly, then went and brought her back quickly.
After listening to the explanation, Miss Phoebe smiled broadly. "Sure, I can do that! No worries at all. I'll also invest in the tool production. I even have the resources to manage such a huge project properly."
"My husband will also help, for sure. You can trust us, Queen."
She patted Zack's shoulder confidently.
Queen Mother nodded in approval. "I can trust your husband for sure...I will deal with the cover story. It's not a difficult task to plant some false information about where the meat is coming from. So, I guess the meat problem is solved?"
HA HA HA Sure… Miss Phoebe smiled a beautiful awkward smile.
"Not necessarily," Miss Laoise said, entering the room with Subordinate Woman. "It's only a single type and taste. We can't bring it out to the public like this yet. People will get bored of it quickly."
"We need varieties…..different meat textures, different flavours. And the production process has to be refined and simplified a bit more. I could help with the culinary side, but it will take some time. I'll also need others' help."
She paused, then asked, "Where is Veny? I could use her expertise too."
The Queen sighed heavily and explained what had happened to Veny.
Miss Laoise became furious, her face turning red with anger. It took a long time to calm her down. At last, her husband had to come in and take her outside for some fresh air to cool off.
Subordinate Woman showed the detailed production process to the others gathered in the room. Queen Mother and Zack examined it carefully and nodded in agreement...yes indeed it still needed more work.
"Still, we can give the people hope during the announcement," Queen Mother said. "That's worth something."
"Hey, brat," Tool Guy suddenly spoke up, and his words brought shivers down everyone's spine. "If your power has gotten this much stronger, doesn't that mean it could potentially replace the energy-absorber machines entirely???? I mean you could absorb Greynet overdose energies from people and now even your speed is so fast that a piece of meat can be made pure in just few minutes!!"
Everyone froze. The implications of that statement were enormous.
Zack shook his head firmly already thought about this.
"No, it's still not possible. You're comparing a thin slice of meat to a complex human body. It may look simple when I do it, but I have to concentrate intensely when treating people and animals."
"Technically, maybe it could be possible if my power grows exponentially stronger in the future. But for now, it's absolutely impossible."
Zack spoke calmly, bringing everyone's soaring hopes back down to earth.
"Hahaha, it's fine! Your power is still pretty interesting either way," Tool Guy said with an evil laugh. "Why don't you and I spend a night together so I can study it more thoroughly?"
GRRR!
Subordinate Woman immediately stood in front of Zack like an angry animal, glaring at Tool Guy with suspicion.
"Hahaha!" Everyone laughed at the protective display.
They all left the room, heading back outside to rejoin the meeting, leaving only Tool Guy inside all alone. He muttered nonstop to himself about many difficult terms, examining the power of the globe with greedy fascination.
Outside, Zack and the others explained to Sasha and her colleagues how to approach the public announcement about the meat project, balancing hope with realistic expectations.
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END OF CHAPTER
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Author Blabbering
Drink plenty of water in morning everyone, otherwise you will go BALDDDD!!!!!!!!!!
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