parentshiftbook Chapter 714 The Middleman
Chapter 714 The Middleman
Deep within the Iron Ridge Mountains, a gray-black fog hangs in the air year-round.
The thick, scaly trees intertwined, their canopies blocking out the sky, leaving only sparse slivers of sunlight filtering through the gaps and casting dappled shadows on the damp ground.
The air was filled with the mixed smells of sulfur, soil, and wild animals, and occasionally, the low roars of beasts could be heard echoing through the mountains.
The two dragon people were slowly moving along the mountain path, occasionally adjusting their route based on the surrounding traces.
"It's just ahead."
After walking for several more hours, Harta lowered his voice and raised his hand to push aside the scale-like branches blocking his way.
After passing through the last dense forest, the view suddenly opened up.
A village hidden among the mountains appeared before them.
To be precise, it couldn't even be fully called a "village".
The entire mountainside was hollowed out, with caves of all sizes layered throughout the mountain, connected by stone bridges and walkways. Thick stone pillars support the upper structure, and ancient dragon reliefs are carved along the edges of the caves.
The patterns are not complicated, but they have a rugged and desolate beauty.
The firelight shone from deep within the cave, casting flickering light on the entire mountain wall.
Below the mountain is a leveled open space.
Several enormous unicorns were being fed, tethered to stone pillars. They had thick bony armor on their backs, exhaled hot air from their nostrils, and occasionally let out a low growl that reverberated through the air like muffled thunder.
Concealed in his ethereal state, Jemin hovered quietly among the treetops high above. His three eyes slowly scanned the entire camp, and his mental perception spread rapidly and silently, with a series of information appearing in his mental sea.
Total number of people: 127.
The average life energy level of an adult dragon is three to four.
Level 6 life response detected... one person.
Jemin's gaze lingered for a moment deep within the mountain.
Level 6?
In a small village of just over a hundred people, there exists a dragon-human of level six.
Moreover, the vast majority of adult dragon people here are actually maintaining a stable level of three or four.
This density is quite astonishing.
"Such exaggerated racial talent..." Jemin thought to himself.
It sounds like the dragonmen, who can only reach level three after adulthood, are no match for the black giants who are born at level four. However, the black giants are legitimate combat units, the culmination of technology meticulously modified by Jemin.
The dragon people are able to achieve this entirely due to their own talent.
It's important to understand that, aside from wizarding civilizations, in ordinary human civilizations, most ordinary people struggle to break through to the first level of life in their entire lives. Even in extraordinary civilizations, the third level is considered elite.
But the Dragonkin are different.
Their dragon bloodline is indeed formidable; even without systematic training, they can naturally grow to level three or four upon reaching adulthood.
This is no longer as simple as "suitable for combat".
For many civilizations, this could be considered a truly warlike race.
At this time, several dragon guards had already appeared at the entrance of the mountain path.
They eyed the two foreign dragons warily, their vertical pupils slightly contracting, their hands never leaving the weapons at their waists.
"Where did you come from?" the lead guard asked in a low voice.
Hatar, draped in a gray cloak, immediately smiled and pulled a wooden plaque from his pocket.
"They run a small business. They came by once a few days ago, selling some seasonings and mineral salt."
The guard took the wooden sign, glanced at it, and then looked the two men up and down for a moment before finally stepping aside.
"Don't run around."
"Understood, understood."
The two dragon people nodded repeatedly and then entered the village.
Jemin remained in a blurred state, following behind at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
The village appears more lively inside than from the outside.
The sound of hammering metal echoed continuously from the cave. Dragonmen were processing animal hides and moving ores. The air was filled with the strong smell of roasted meat mixed with sulfur.
Jemin took a second look at the livestock being raised.
It was a black, four-legged beast with bone spurs, nearly two meters tall at the shoulder, and its mouth was filled with serrated fangs.
Although it has clearly been domesticated, its life fluctuations remain stable at level three or four.
"Even livestock have this kind of hierarchy..." Jemin narrowed his eyes slightly.
No wonder the Dragonman civilization was able to maintain its dominant position for so long in the past.
These innate advantages are truly exceptional.
At this time, the two dragon people had already begun to conduct normal transactions with the villagers.
They took out seasonings, salt, and several metal tools from the package and traded them for mountain products, medicinal herbs, and some ores.
The whole process was skillful and natural, just like that of an ordinary small merchant.
The sounds of bargaining continued.
"You think you can trade this little bit of dried prawns for two packets of fire salt? No way!"
"It wasn't this price last time I came."
"Things have been going on in the mountains lately, making transportation very difficult."
The atmosphere seemed somewhat peaceful, even boring.
But Ke Jieming remained patient throughout.
Because he knew that real deals would never be made public.
really.
After most of the transactions were completed, just as the two dragonmen were about to leave, a dragonman who had been lingering nearby suddenly approached quietly.
The other person's movements were very subtle; first, they pretended to pass by, and then they whispered something.
The two merchants exchanged a glance, but did not respond immediately. Instead, they continued walking out of the village.
Only after leaving the main activity area did the dragon follow.
The three of them circled around to a shady corner behind the mountain wall.
There was no firelight around, only the faint sounds of noise coming from a distant cave.
None of them said a word.
The dragonman first pulled a heavy little leather bag from his robes and handed it over with great speed, while Hatar took out a wooden box from under his cloak. The two exchanged items.
turn on.
confirm.
The whole process took less than ten seconds.
Jemin's mental perception captured everything clearly, confirming that the items being traded were energy crystals and bloodline evolution potions. The moment the wooden box was opened, the unique energy fluctuations were impossible to miss from his senses.
After the transaction was completed, the two parties quickly parted ways.
The Hatar brothers left the village as if nothing had happened, while the sneaky dragonman casually rejoined the crowd. Jemin didn't follow the two departing dragonmen; he hovered in mid-air, quietly watching the fellow who had re-entered the village. After a moment, he chuckled softly.
"It seems... this guy isn't a core member of the resistance either."
Truly important figures wouldn't personally be stationed in such remote villages to oversee grassroots transactions; this is more like some kind of peripheral rendezvous point. Thinking this through, Jemin stopped being in a hurry.
"Then let's wait a little longer, it won't make a difference if we wait a few more days."
As for those two dragonmen...
After thinking about it, Jemin decided not to report their matter.
"Judging from the emotional fluctuations of those two guys, they really just wanted to make one last push... Anyway, they're not important figures, so it doesn't matter." And so, they waited for half a month.
Jemin lurked around the village like a ghost, and for half a month, the dragon man behaved no differently from an ordinary villager.
Work, hunt, drink, sleep.
On the sixteenth day, a new goal finally emerged.
It was a strange dragon-man.
He called himself a merchant, carrying bulging bags of goods, and rode a unicorn to the village entrance.
After entering the village, they purchased medicinal herbs and ores, and sold seasonings and tools.
There appears to be nothing unusual.
But as darkness fell, the dragon man responsible for making the contact quietly appeared.
The two went to a secluded corner for a brief conversation, after which the dragonman in charge of making contact handed over all the collected energy crystals to the new dragonman.
The new dragonkin didn't linger in the village after obtaining the energy crystal; instead, he left immediately, his movements far more cautious than the previous two. Jemin's lips curled into a slight smile: "Finally, he's willing to leave."
He casually jotted down the information of the dragon man who had made contact in the village and sent it out through the magic network terminal.
This includes physical characteristics, bloodline patterns, activity range, and transaction records.
With this information, the android administration will soon send people to close in.
As for this new dragonman...
Jemin's gaze lingered on the departing figure. Golden light shone from his vertical pupil between his brows. With the Destiny System activated, Jemin carefully observed the fluctuations of fate:
"Looks like I made the right decision. I'll just follow this guy's lead in the investigation."
He then followed them directly.
Over the next few days, the dragonman merchant visited several more villages hidden in the mountains.
The process is exactly the same as before.
Normal transaction.
Secret rendezvous.
Collect energy crystals.
Meanwhile, Jemin followed along, constantly drawing new intelligence networks in his mental sea.
Finally, after completing a transaction, the dragon-man merchant didn't venture deeper into the mountains but instead turned and headed towards the outer edge of the Ironspine Mountains. A hint of interest flashed in Jemin's eyes: "Oh? Ready to return to the base?"
He followed behind at a leisurely pace.
The two left the dense forest one after the other.
The gray-black mountains were gradually left behind, and the damp, cold air slowly began to dry.
Several days later, the dragonman finally emerged from the edge of the mountain range.
Ahead, a town built on the wasteland slowly appeared on the horizon.
It was a typical newly established colonial city, not large in scale, and full of traces of the forced transformation by the wizarding civilization.
Wide, straight streets, newly paved stone slabs, and construction debris that has not yet been completely cleaned up are everywhere.
In the center of the square, a newly cast metal statue stands tall.
A dragonman miner holds a pickaxe, and a dragonman blacksmith holds a hammer.
The plaque below is engraved with two words: Labor, Creation.
Jemin glanced at it, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Broadleaf Wizard's aesthetic... well, it's definitely very much like Norren Workshop's.
However, this town is not only "new".
The edges of the streets still retain many traces of the old era.
The tower, which once belonged to the dragon nobles, was converted into a public warehouse after its emblems were removed.
The boundary markers of the old aristocracy's territories were piled up like garbage by the roadside.
Next to it was a newly built public bathhouse and drainage ditch, where several dragon workers were carrying stones back and forth.
The corpse of the old system and the skeleton of the new order were crudely stitched together in this city, forming a strange yet stable balance. The dragonman merchant crossed the square and headed straight for the industrial zone, where several newly built small and medium-sized factories were located.
Because it was a factory temporarily modified based on local technology, the level of technology was not high, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of molten metal mixed with machine oil.
The businessman walked to the side gate of one of the factories.
The security guard merely glanced at him casually, without even checking his package, and let him through.
Jemin's eyes flickered slightly.
acquaintance.
Moreover, they are acquaintances who frequent the area.
He silently passed through the factory wall and entered the workshop.
The air was filled with the constant roar of engines as several hastily modified basic stamping presses were running, pressing molten metal into various standard parts. Jemin's mental power allowed him to see the dragonman merchant walk around the workshop from the back corridor, enter a narrow passageway at the back, and finally push open the door to an inconspicuous reception room.
Inside, a slightly overweight dragon-man was sitting behind a desk, looking through reports.
He didn't even look up when he heard the door open.
"Did you bring it?"
"I brought it."
The merchant placed the package on the table and opened it, revealing neatly arranged energy crystals inside.
The fat dragon picked up a piece and held it up to the detection rune on the wall. The rune glowed with a faint blue light.
Energy intensity is acceptable.
Then, he took a wooden box out of the drawer and handed it over.
After confirming the quantity of the potions, the dragonman merchant left immediately.
Jemin did not follow them out.
His gaze fell on the fat manager.
His thoughts raced, and soon a look of understanding appeared on his face.
Indeed, it's normal for factories to have middlemen within them.
Energy crystals are strictly controlled strategic resources, and bloodline evolution potions also require specialized equipment to produce.
Rebel strongholds deep in the mountains could not possibly possess a complete industrial system.
But factories can.
There is equipment, logistics, and a large volume of normal inbound and outbound goods here, and raw materials can be purchased under the name of a legitimate company.
Most importantly... the administrative android will not accept bribes.
They only check the accounting logic.
As long as the data matches and the procurement is legal, the androids won't concern themselves with anything else.
For factory managers, it is easy to add a little bit of negligible "loss" and to purify the energy crystals they collect from outside.
The factory is, by nature, the perfect cover.
Jemin stood quietly in the corner of the meeting room, like a ghost.
He knew he was getting closer and closer to the true core.
This fat manager is definitely not the leader of the resistance.
But he must be an important node in the logistics network.
If we continue digging along this line, we will most likely be able to reach the true core stronghold of the resistance.
However, Jemin did not act immediately.
The risks of soul-searching are too great.
Although the Dragonkin civilization is not considered a high-level civilization, their heritage does contain some secret techniques for protecting the soul.
Furthermore, the resistance has already come into contact with the Reflection Dimension... who knows what kind of messy mental restrictions are buried in the minds of these core members? Once the alarm is triggered, the entire line will be completely severed.
So... just keep waiting.
Anyway, fate has already set the goal for him, and what he has no shortage of is patience.