(In the present)
"Wow! It does taste like real meat!" a man shouted enthusiastically from the crowd. "And what did they say? It'll be cheaper when it comes out and will have way more varieties too?!"
He jumped up from his seat, completely losing control of himself. "LET ME IN!! BEAUTIFUL SASHA, I LOVE YOU! THIS MEAT IS THE BEST THING EVER!!"
"OWW!" His friend immediately grabbed him and yanked him back down hard. "Hey! She's the sister of Master Zack! Do you have a death wish or what?!"
"GAH!!" The man felt a sudden chill run down his spine as he saw Zack glaring directly at him from the stage, his eyes dangerous cold eyes brought shiver down his spin.
The man quickly bowed and apologized frantically from far away, his face pale with fear.
"Indeed, this is perfect," another woman spoke up more calmly from a different table. "I'm genuinely looking forward to when it becomes available. This could change everything for families like mine."
Meanwhile, at several other tables filled with wealthy merchants and house leaders, panic was spreading like wildfire.
"TSK! Where did it come from? How are they making this plant-based meat possible?!" one merchant hissed to his servants. "Hey, I want all the information on this immediately! We can't let them take away our greatest profit source!!"
Several wealthy houses started panicking visibly, sending their servants scrambling to investigate and gather intelligence on this new development.
Big Sister Sasha and her research colleague just bowed politely, thanking the crowd for their kind words, then started discussing the next announcement with others.
.
Zack sighed with relief and patted Subordinate woman's back gently, speaking quietly to her, "Good work out here. If you need rest, we can give the speaking tool to her instead."
He smirked while looking at Rugged woman, who stood protectively behind him. "I think she can also do this kind of public speaking, right?"
"Boss, please! I can't do this! It's way too hard for me!" Rugged woman pleaded with her eyes, making an adorably cute face that didn't match her usual tough demeanor at all.
"Hahaha! Aren't you supposed to be a hardcore fan though?" Zack teased her mercilessly.
"BOSSS!!" Rugged woman's face turned bright red. "Not in this way!!!"
She got extremely shy and hid her face behind his back, lightly kicking his leg in protest like a embarrassed child.
"Hehe, such a pervy girl you are," Subordinate woman laughed seeing her reaction, clearly enjoying the rare sight of Rugged woman being flustered.
Rugged woman put her hand on Zack's shoulder and looked past him to glare at Subordinate woman. "HUMPH! What about you?! Why don't YOU go stand in the middle like Big Sister Sasha and Queen Mother, then speak to everyone? Why are you sticking to Boss?"
"GAAH!! Fine, fine! You're not a perv! Stop speaking!!" Subordinate woman surrendered quickly, not wanting to continue this argument.
She took a deep breath while gazing around at the massive crowd. As she saw the eyes of everyone staring at them, she moved even closer to Zack, and her soft, round ass now pressed intimately against Zack's thighs through the fabric of their clothes.
Zack couldn't help but glance down instinctively, feeling the warmth and softness. He felt a rush of blood flowing to his crotch, his body reacting naturally. But he immediately forced himself to calm down by looking up at the sky and thinking about other things…..anything but what he was currently feeling.
Then he spoke to Rugged woman, his voice slightly strained, "Go tell Mother Ariana and the others to be ready for the next phase. We'll need them soon."
Rugged woman nodded obediently and swiftly went away on her mission.
"Look at her running away so quickly," Subordinate woman laughed, watching her go. "Why does she suddenly have so much energy now? She was just complaining about being tired earlier."
Zack just laughed while shaking his head.
They discussed the next announcement further for a moment, then Subordinate woman took the speaking tool again and spoke clearly to the crowd:
"Everyone, please quiet down now! Since the meat problem will be dealt with soon, one other immediate problem remains….OUR CROP PRODUCTION ITSELF!!!!"
.
.
(Flashback to the past closed meeting)
"So, Queen Mother, are you telling us to dramatically increase our normal crop output?" one of the officials asked, seeking clarification on her earlier words.
"Yes, exactly," Queen Mother confirmed. "Meat is only part of the food equation. But our crop production is very limited right now, and worse….the soil condition is getting worse and worse as time passes. We're depleting our resources."
Queen Mother gestured for some other researchers to come forward. They began explaining the agricultural situation to everyone in detail, showing data and charts that they have been gathering for a long time. People slowly read through the materials and discussed things among themselves, trying to understand the severity of the problem and how the solutions might work.
After everyone had properly acknowledged the crisis, Queen Mother spoke up again. "I have asked Zack to personally check the outside areas beyond our walls to see how we can achieve expanded agricultural production. Zack, please explain what you found."
Zack stood and cleared his throat. "Ahm... there are indeed some good places…..but it's not safe out there at all. Not even taking into consideration the freezing cold areas up north…..just this immediate region outside our walls is filled with various dangerous animals and wildlife…."
He continued seriously, "If we want to plant crops outside the protected zones, we would have to kill every single piece of wildlife in those areas. And that itself would make this entire island devoid of natural life. And we can't do that…..it's been taught to us since childhood to not needlessly harm the ecosystem."
Zack paused, looking troubled. "The only somewhat viable idea I can think of is.....though it's pretty extreme....is to somehow create a structure similar to our floating rocks.... but positioned outside the borders specifically for agriculture purposes."
He gestured to Big Sister Sasha. "And for that ambitious plan, I contacted Big Sister Sasha's research colleague, who has plenty of experience researching our floating rock formations and their properties."
Sasha stood and introduced some of her colleague with a proud smile.
The researcher was just about to speak when…..
BAAM!
The door burst open violently.
"MY MIND IS GOING ABSOLUTELY CRAZY, QUEEN!" Tool Guy stormed in, his voice booming. "I WANT SOMEONE WHO CAN DRAW MY MACHINCE TOOL CONCEPT ART PROPERLY! AND SOMEONE WHO CAN EXPLAIN THE TECHNICAL PROCESS TO ME IN DETAIL!!!!!! I WANT TO UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING!!"
Tool Guy came in and demanded this loudly, his wild eyes scanning the room.
EVERYONE just sighed collectively in exasperation.
Sasha came forward immediately and grabbed Mother Ariana's arm, pulling her up from her seat.
"Huh? What? Me?!" Mother Ariana looked shocked and confused at what Sasha was doing.
"Yes, you, Mother!" Sasha pulled her up firmly, not taking no for an answer.
"Wait, wait! I can only draw basic outline sketches! I'm not an expert in detailed blueprint drawings!" Mother Ariana suddenly felt huge pressure settling on her shoulders, panic creeping into her voice.
"And that's exactly enough for now! Come on, don't be such a lazy bum!" Sasha said cheerfully, completely ignoring her protests.
"Miss Phoebe, you too!" Tool Guy pointed commandingly.
Tool Guy stormed back toward the work room while shouting more demands. Sasha dragged Mother Ariana along physically, followed by a genuinely happy Miss Phoebe, who seemed excited about the project.
"Good luck, Mother!" Sio waved enthusiastically from her seat, grinning widely.
"Bye-bye!" Gloomy also waved, though his wave was barely lifting his hand off the armrest with minimal enthusiasm.
Mother Silja also smiled warmly and waved supportively.
"GAH! You guys!!" Mother Ariana sighed in defeat but waved back at her family anyway, accepting her fate.
.
"Ahm! COUGH!" The research colleague coughed loudly to get everyone's attention back after the disruption.
He spoke clearly, "We have researched these floating rocks quite extensively over the years, building on work done by our seniors as well. And truthfully, we still haven't truly figured out the complete mystery of these floating rock formations."
He gestured as he explained, "We do find traces of various energies within them, but such massive rocks floating high above us seems completely impossible with just that amount of energy. And those enormous chains holding them....we don't know how they were originally made or who put them in place to begin with."
The researcher continued, "The wind here is very strong, and several people do assume that wind currents are the reason for the rocks' floating ability. But that's simply not true based on our measurements. To maintain such incredibly heavy weighted rock suspended in the air for literal centuries is practically impossible by any known research."
He paused significantly..... "We don't have any way to recreate this mystical structure with our current knowledge and technology. But we have worked extremely hard over the years to find a viable alternative to the Queen's agricultural expansion plans."
The researcher paused dramatically and brought out a large sheet of paper. On it was an incredibly complex structural design…..some kind of massive towers with many wire-like structures attached, connecting to a horizontal plane of artificial land with illustrated crops growing on it.
Everyone immediately came closer, crowding around to examine the design in fascination. They absorbed every detail, trying to understand the engineering involved.
"Fascinating!" Chieftess Anihoa breathed out in genuine amazement. "Such a structure would need incredible precision to successfully pull off. My mainland territories can't support these kinds of massive structures due to terrain limitations, but it's genuinely interesting to see such innovative concepts."
Maid Nima, standing beside her, spoke up excitedly, "Chieftess, why not tell your brother about this design? Maybe we could get something similar constructed for our area back home!"
"Hmm, you have a brother?" Oliver smirked at the Chieftess. "I guess that's why you can freely come here to this island. Is he the one who's actually the leader of your place?"
"GAHH!! NO! I AM THE CHIEFTESS!!" Anihoa exploded with indignation, her face turning red. "MY BIG BROTHER IS JUST TEMPORARILY TAKING MY PLACE WHILE I'M HERE! NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!!"
She turned on Maid Nima with fury. "MOO! NIMMAA!! I ALREADY TOLD IT'S IS NOT POSSIBLE IN OUR AREA!!! AND ALSO I TOLD YOU SPECIFICALLY TO NEVER MENTION MY BROTHER IN PUBLIC!! LOOK LOOK!!! EVERYONE IS LAUGHING AT ME NOW!!!"
Chieftess started throwing a full tantrum like a child, hitting and actually biting Maid Nima, who started running around the room desperately trying to save herself from the assault.
"SORRRYYY!! I'M SORRY!!" Nima's voice echoed through the meeting room, making everyone chuckle at the ridiculous scene.
.
After the laughter died down, Leader Remek spoke up seriously, having been carefully observing the agricultural structure diagram.
"This is extremely risky," he said while thinking thoughtfully. "Just to construct this safely, we would have to choose land positioned far away from the floating rock debris trajectories. And even then, it's not guaranteed that debris won't eventually hit the structure during a storm or unusual conditions."
He continued, "Since we're specifically aiming to reduce our dependence on Empire Energies for everything, this particular design isn't really possible for us right now, at least not at this scale."
"Yes, as Leader Remek correctly mentioned, this is indeed a significant problem," the researcher agreed with visible sadness. "And not even taking into factor that the soil used on these artificial platforms will overtime become unusable from nutrient depletion. We could choose to rotate soil periodically, but eventually, there will come a time when this entire island's soil reserves will be completely used up, making this a barren, dead land."
The researcher spoke with genuine sadness in his voice, clearly having thought deeply about these long-term consequences.
.
"Zack, are any of those guys capable of helping with the soil regeneration part?" Queen Mother asked in a low voice, leaning toward him.
"Hmmm, there are some," Zack mused, thinking. "Right, Lurvi! There was that guy you found, the one who can even transform rocky land to his preferred texture, making it soft and comfortable enough for him to sleep on!"
Zack looked at Lurvi, who had been lazily lying around in one corner with Tyra for this entire meeting, barely paying attention.
"LURR!" Hearing Zack's words, she immediately floated up enthusiastically and came closer, her energy suddenly activated.
"LURR! LURRR!" she chirped excitedly.
"LURR! LLLRRR! LRR! LUU! LLUU! LRRR!" Lurvi started speaking rapidly in her own unique language, gesturing with her small body.
"Yeah, she remembers those guys!" Zack translated her cute voices while nodding. "But the problem is, they can't create fertile soil from complete nothingness! They need base material to work with and we can't mine everything!"
"We have to find a solution for soil....plus there is also building the structure without the help of Energy tools, in worst-case scenario..... Let's take it slow and see what we can do" Queen Mother got lost in the thought."
"Okay Queen mother" Zack also quieted down and spoke to Subordinate woman to take the note of it, who immediately noted down all the information diligently in her detailed notebook.
Queen Mother nodded approvingly toward Leader Remek and to the researchers, telling them more work is needed in this regard…..
"The Rock debris...Hmmmm....it is indeed a huge problem" Leader Vali spoke up from behind as he came back into the room after finally calming his wife down outside and then got busy talking with Leader Remek.
Laoise followed him in and bowed apologetically for the earlier disruption.
"It's okay, dear. Go inside and help Sasha and the others with their work," Queen Mother said kindly.
Then she turned to her friend. "Ah, and Kyra, can you check on them? It's been quite a while since you left them. You can come back here afterwards after checking their condition."
Both Miss Laoise and Kyra nodded obediently and went away toward their respective destination.
.
"Hmmm... if we could somehow get rid of this rock debris nuisance completely, our city would save up absolutely enormous amounts of money," Leader Vali continued his earlier thought. "Those protective shields take a ridiculous amount of money and resources just to keep them running continuously. It's one of our biggest expenses."
"Even if we can successfully remove the rock debris threat, we'd still have to maintain the shields to some degree," Leader Remek pointed out wisely. "We could reduce their usage significantly, yes. But they do act as excellent defense systems in case of any unforeseen dangerous circumstances. We can't eliminate them entirely."
"But is it even possible to get rid of those debris rocks permanently?" Alfie asked, thinking about it seriously. "They've been a problem for as long as anyone can remember."
"We have tried various methods before," Leader Remek answered honestly. "But it was incredibly hard to pull off successfully with our available firepower and limited resources. The debris is too scattered and moves too unpredictably."
"What if we had enough firepower?" Zack suddenly asked, an idea clearly forming in his mind.
Without waiting for a response, he leaned closer and spoke softly to Leader Remek, explaining something in detail that others couldn't quite hear.
"HOOOOOO! Boy, you sure are attempting something seemingly impossible!" Leader Remek's eyes widened with surprise and excitement. "But maybe... maybe it actually possible with your unique abilities. Hmm, knowing them and their capabilities, I think even the weaker ones among them could help us tremendously with this problem."
He made his decision. "Fine! If you succeed in securing their help, then this entire agricultural structure becomes genuinely possible to build! You have my word as a leader!"
The researchers were incredibly happy hearing their theoretical work could actually become reality. They wanted to hear more details immediately but were told to wait patiently for now.
.
(Back to the present)
"Wow! Is that actually possible?!" someone from the crowd shouted in amazement.
"Then doesn't that mean we could grow way more than just basic crops?! We could have many varieties!"
"We'll have plenty to eat! No more sleeping with empty stomachs!!"
Many women in the crowd started crying hearing this announcement. Suddenly, a powerful wave of emotion spread throughout the entire courtyard, not panic this time, but pure gratitude and overwhelming relief.
Tears streamed down faces as people thought about their hungry children, their struggles, their sacrifices.
The guards had to work extremely hard to calm people down and prevent them from rushing forward to directly thank the Queen and Zack. The crowd was getting dangerously emotional.
Queen Mother smiled warmly at their reaction, her own eyes glistening slightly. She spoke with genuine emotion in her voice:
"Please be seated! You don't have to come up here to thank me personally. I can see the gratitude clearly in all your eyes, and that's more than enough."
Her voice grew stronger, filled with determination. "Thank you all for your faith. I will make absolutely sure that no mother will ever have to sacrifice herself just to feed her children. We have been working incredibly hard behind the scenes, and things are finally starting to come together properly."
Queen Mother paused, then continued with a different tone, a more businesslike tone but the underlying feeling was still warm. "Moving forward, I need some experts' help. People who have experience in designing these kinds of massive structures. And also, we need people who are good at designing houses and residential buildings and some people with hands-on experience of building something complex from scratch."
She listed more needs: "Many concept artists are also urgently needed. And many people who can design clothing from scratch. And at last, people having real experience in creating Energy tools!"
Queen Mother's sudden specific requests stunned the crowd. Seeing their confused expressions, she spoke up with a reassuring smile:
"We can't share all the specific details in front of this large crowd for security reasons. But you can be absolutely sure it will be beneficial for you personally if you volunteer. And people who decide to come forward and help will have to keep certain aspects secret until the projects are ready to be publicly constructed."
She added casually, "Nothing too serious….just making sure some people don't try to destroy what we're trying to create before it's even finished!"
Queen Mother smirked knowingly while looking directly at several visibly panicked faces scattered throughout the crowd. And at last, her eyes landed on Leader Grankell specifically, and she winked at him provocatively.
GRRR! THIS BITCH!!
Grankell's fist was clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned completely white. His face was red with barely contained rage.
.
"Big sister, let's go! I'll show you the way to where they need you!" Subordinate woman came over to her family's seating area and grabbed her big sister's hand, pulling her up excitedly.
"Hey! Why did you volunteer my name without asking?! I haven't drawn anything seriously in ages!" Big sister hesitated, pulling back slightly in protest.
"You can do it, my daughters!!" House Gaffney's ex-master spoke up proudly from his seat, his voice booming with fatherly confidence.
Stepmother also nodded encouragingly, smiling at both her daughters.
"Hehe, right! Don't worry, I know you can absolutely do this!" Subordinate woman pulled her away more insistently, not taking no for an answer.
Seeing the two of them walking together made the parents eyes filled with happiness, they saw two beautiful girls walking hand in hand...one girl beauty is like a full, radiant moon and one like a warm, glowing sun….. this image made many men's hearts flutter with admiration. Both ladies were a striking pair, their contrasting beauties complementing each other perfectly.
Stepmother, seeing the lustful gazes directed at her daughters, hummed in sharp annoyance. "Tsk! Look at them eyeing my daughters like pieces of meat. Our little one is safe with Master Zack protecting her, but we will absolutely never give our older daughter away again to these lustful people."
Her voice grew sadder, more regretful. "I committed a huge sin giving away my daughters for our family's financial benefit before. Sigh... I hope their lives are filled with nothing but happiness from now on."
Stepmother sighed deeply, cursing herself internally for past decisions.
The ex-house leader, seeing her pain, grabbed her waist firmly and pulled her closer to his body. "Don't worry so much. They are already happy now, can't you see?"
He pointed at his two daughters walking away while laughing together joyfully, their warmth and happiness filling the whole courtyard with positive energy.
Stepmother looked at them and nodded slowly, her heart warming. Then she suddenly pinched his hand hard where it rested on her waist.
"Behave!!" she glared at him, humphing and pulling his hand slightly away.
The ex-house master just smiled embarrassedly and scratched his chin, accepting the reprimand for now…
.
"Big brother, don't you also work in the tool creation process?!" Little sister suddenly spoke up enthusiastically and loudly so that everyone could hear her brother talent, her voice carrying to several ears. "You should go! You can help them!!"
Big brother, sitting in his wheelchair, immediately shivered as he felt dozens of gazes turning toward him in Queen private resting area. He looked around nervously, then stared at his sister in disbelief.
Ignorance truly is a blessing I guess, he thought miserably. Sighhhh...
After eating their meal earlier, they'd been made to sit here in the Queen's private area where all the important, powerful people were gathered. The atmosphere was incredibly tense for them.
The others from his group were already completely frozen in shock at their surroundings.
The office woman sat like an actual statue, not moving even a single inch. He'd even seen her soul seemingly leave her body when Leader Remek had casually passed by her earlier.
The pregnant wife and her supposedly not so Tired husband also sat with their backs ramrod straight, not daring to move their faces or make eye contact with anyone important. The pregnant wife had especially sweated incredibly hard when suddenly the 2nd Rock Leader had come over and started asking detailed questions about her child's development. Leader Mikaela had to be physically pulled away by others, otherwise she would have literally taken the poor woman's brain apart to extract every piece of knowledge about pregnancy.
The wife, who had been nervously fidgeting at first, had completely given up and accepted her fate when the Queen herself had suddenly come over and started talking to her casually. She's for sure dead from inside! big brother thought while giving her a pity look.
But the absolute worst off were the maids. They were practically foaming at the mouth from terror and stress. They hadn't even dared to sit down on the fancy furniture. But then the worst possible thing had happened!!!! They'd been pulled away by Grandma for some "tasks". Their current status is still unknown! big brother thought with genuine concern.
Thinking of all these things, big brother smiled slightly. I guess I'm actually the best one off here, except for my stupid, oblivious sister.
THAP!
"Huh? Who????"
Big brother's small confidence dropped off significantly….NO, it completely shattered…..when he turned and saw Tool Guy standing right behind his wheelchair, smiling evilly at him like a predator who'd found prey.
"I heard you worked in creating tools before," Tool Guy said with that dangerous smile. "Good! Since you're already here, that means you're automatically part of our team now. Come with me…I desperately need an extra hand."
He glanced down at the wheelchair. "Well, your legs are useless, but I only need your hands so it's fine, but what is this old, falling-apart-looking wheelchair you're using? Come with me. I'll give you a free upgrade to something way better."
"NOOOOOOO!!!" big brother screamed internally. "THE FAMOUSSS CRAZZYYYY TOOOLLL GUUYYY!!!"
He roared in his mind and desperately looked toward his sister for help, pleading with his eyes for her to save him from this fate.
But she was already crying tears of joy which was beautifully streaming down her face like a waterfall, she just waved will full enthusiasm at him.
"BYE, BIG BROTHER! WORK HARD! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!! AND THANK YOU MR. FOR GIVING MY BIG BROTHER SUCH AMAZING OPPORTUNITY!!!!"
"STUPPIIDDD SISSTTEERRRR!!!!!" big brother screamed in his mind, his soul crying out in betrayal.
Tool Guy grabbed the wheelchair handles and dragged him away swiftly and moved with extreme precision dodging many people on the way….. He was so good that many people thought that he probably has done this kidnapping maneuver many times before.
Big brother could only cry silently in his mind as he was carried off to his uncertain fate in Tool Guy's workshop of madness.
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END OF CHAPTER
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Author Blabbering
This month has been slow for me in terms of writing and scheduling chapter...Not like I am fast but still in my personal terms it has been slow, and the reason.....well lots of things keep happening in life so yeah....
But the good news I am still alive and still pretty much in good tracks in terms of my Novel....So how is the story so far, are you enjoying it ??? or hating it ??? or just in middle ??
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