Chapter 28: Chapter 28, Corpse Starch
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Henry truly wanted to buy.
The alloy plastic steel material itself, as well as the single soldier vests that had been made from it, had already shown him the huge profits to be made.
In his hometown, Rubbish Town, he was indeed just a merchant, but he harbored greater aspirations—he was pursuing the status of an ‘agent’.
Rubbish Town was a chaotic place, but also a holy land for business: rich in resources and with a substantial population.
There, if you conducted big enough business, had enough people under you, and strong enough military force, you could gain enough influence to become an ‘agent’. And in the chaotic political ecology of Rubbish Town, it was the agents who called the shots. Each monopolized a unique line of business, competing and allying with each other, wielding enormous power.
Henry didn’t have enough people under him or a big enough business. But if he could really secure the alloy plastic steel business, then he would have his own unique line of business. As long as he had support from the Abandoned Cave Society to monopolize it, he could rapidly gain a huge profit.
The remaining issue was money, but that was an easy problem to resolve.
The status of an agent was already beckoning him.
Truth be told, if it weren’t for the Governor behind the Abandoned Cave Society, he would have definitely turned around and left by now, and then tried to gather a team to wipe out the Abandoned Cave Society completely, to firmly grasp the production capability of alloy plastic steel in his own hands.
Unfortunately…
But it didn’t matter, as long as he could secure the exclusive agency rights for this business, that would be enough.
Henry solemnly said to Patel, “I’ll take all the goods you have, and I’ll offer you the best price. We can also sign a long-term cooperation agreement, trust me, I can definitely help you sell these treasures throughout the entire Wasteland World! We will become the best partners, as long as you sign an exclusive agreement with me.”
“Wait a minute… just wait a moment.”
“?”
Henry’s brows deeply furrowed, “Do you have any other conditions? Just speak up!”
Patel quickly waved his hand, “I don’t have any conditions, but I can’t make this decision!”
Without waiting for Henry to speak, he continued, “Everything here belongs to the great Mr. Gu, the Governor. I wouldn’t dare to promise you anything rashly. Without Mr. Gu’s nod, not a single piece of alloy plastic steel can be sold.”
“Mr. Gu…” Henry calmed down and began to feel a headache coming on.
Convincing Patel might not be difficult, but to persuade the Governor…
The deeds of the Governor named ‘Gu Hang’ had also reached Henry’s ears. He was independent and unconventional, and after landing, he didn’t take over the power from the Alliance Government but instead went to the rural wilderness to undertake construction work.
Could construction save the entire Rage Owl Star?
Henry didn’t believe it.
Even if the Abandoned Cave Society had undergone drastic changes under the rule of Mr. Gu in a very short time. But just this kind of change was far from enough to alter the ecology of the entire Rage Owl Star.
Two years down the line, Mr. Gu, the Governor, would probably be dealt with by the empire’s tax authorities, just like his predecessors, right?
But before that happened, he was the Governor, the nominal supreme ruler of this planet.
What capital did a small merchant like himself have to hoodwink an imperial Governor?
Seeing Henry’s dilemma and hesitation, Patel didn’t know what kind of intense thoughts were turning in this ‘old friend’s’ mind. He just grinned, soothingly saying, “Mr. Gu is a good man. As long as you serve him with sincerity, you will surely receive a generous reward.”
When Patel said this, he appeared very sincere. But somehow, Henry vaguely felt like there was another meaning behind his words:
“`
“If you’re not sincere enough, you’re doomed.”
It must be an illusion; where would Patel find such deep thoughts?
Henry took a deep breath and said firmly, “I’m off to see the Governor now!”
…
The great Governor, Gu Hang, was at that moment studying a corpse.
It vaguely resembled a biological creature, with limbs and a semi-upright posture—somewhat like a headless ape with disproportionate limbs covered in boils, its chest cavity grossly swollen.
It was fast, incredibly ferocious, and its limbs bore sharp claws. After hunting, it would tear its prey to pieces and then use the boils on its body to corrode and dissolve the fragments before ‘absorbing’ them into itself.
This creature, referred to by the locals as ‘boil monsters,’ was a common menace in the Wasteland.
He was napping in his house when he suddenly heard noises outside; then Zhang Chao reported to him that a dozen boil monsters had appeared at the expansion site on the perimeter of the camp, attacking the workers.
Even though the soldiers guarding the camp arrived quickly and annihilated this group of monsters, three workers had still met their deaths.
Death and injury were, of course, very unfortunate events.
But this was the Wasteland.
Gu Hang did not focus on what had happened, the unchangeable past.
Looking at the monster’s corpse before him, he asked a soul-searching question:
“Can this thing be eaten?”
“Uh…”
Yan Fangxu didn’t understand what Mr. Gu was thinking, but he was shocked nonetheless.
Mr. Gu was somewhat displeased by Yan’s shock and he emphasized, “In the Wasteland, food is of utmost importance! Every day, as soon as I open my eyes, I have to think about how to feed the several thousand people in three camps. Living off existing stores just won’t cut it; we need to find a way to tap into every possible source of food. I think these creatures hold potential. It’s said there are plenty of them in the Wasteland, and other creatures like zombified dogs. If they’re all edible…”
“Please wait, Mr. Gu…” Yan Fangxu said helplessly, “These monsters carry a large amount of highly corrosive boils on them. How could they look edible?”
“How do you know if you don’t try?” Gu Hang remained persistent, “Of course, I don’t mean to let our people eat it directly. I’ve heard that on most planets in the Nest Capital, there is a technology capable of breaking down all organic material to produce food. They call it… corpse starch? In any case, it’s starch blocks. I wonder if Rage Owl Star has this technology? Anyway, we surely have it on Quintet. We still need to get our hands on it by any means necessary.”
Yan Fangxu became even more helpless.
Big brother, I’ve eaten those starch blocks too!
Essentially, those are a type of food chemical product that can take recycled organic waste, including old textiles and wood scraps, industrial organic waste, and even plant fibers and animal limbs, and break them down into smaller molecules to refine and process into synthetic starch blocks.
While it’s true that some Nest Capital planets, particularly those with scarce resources and high population densities, do recycle the dead and even fecal matter, leading to their being humorously and darkly referred to as ‘corpse starch,’ you shouldn’t say it out loud!
After all, the primary components of synthetic starch are still normal…
The minor, trace elements… Let’s just stay friends and not talk about them.
