I'm in Warhammer, I just want to grow mushrooms

Chapter 122 Overturning the Table

Half an hour later, Osgus ended his psychic power with a look of joy on his face.

The psychic power gave him all the information he desired, and he knew what to do.

"Hakas, come to my room." Osgus sent a message using the data pad.

There were rustling footsteps outside the door. Hakas, holding two wine bottles in his hands, kicked open Osgus's door and walked in with a strong smell of alcohol.

"Burp~~~" a long burp.

The smell of strong liquor quickly filled the room, perfectly covering up the faint scent of the opposite sex on Khakass.

"Have you been drinking?" Osgus frowned.

"Yeah, man. I know you'll get the answer from your psychic powers, so I opened two bottles of wine in advance to celebrate. Hehe, do you want some?"

Hakas leaned lazily against the desk, turned around, picked up the wine glass, and poured Osgus a glass of alcoholic drink mixed with the two fine wines.

Osgus himself also loved fine wine and was in a good mood, so he took the glass and drank with the other party, not taking the other party's behavior of kicking the door to heart at all.

"Listen, Hakas, I found a way." Osgus drank the wine in the glass, took out the data pad and dialed a communication request, "I know a member of the No. 8 Governor's Guard, he may be able to help."

Khakas fell on the sofa, squinting his eyes, his cheeks flushed, and muttered:

"Governor's Guard Unit 8? You mean the unit that oversees the planetary defense forces? How can they help?"

"They can be of great help. You may not know that the captain of the No. 8 Guard is called Chekav, a typical violent maniac who was born from a branch of a branch of the Wanser family. I will find an opportunity to hold a banquet and invite Chekav and Lino to participate, and let them duel between nobles. In the duel, it is reasonable for the violent man to accidentally kill his opponent. "

Osgus chuckled smugly.

The call was connected, but the person who answered the phone was not Chekav, but a man named Madsen who claimed to be a member of Guard No. 8.

"Madsen, let your boss Chekhov answer the phone." Osgers ordered in an unquestionable tone, not treating himself as an outsider at all.

Madsen was stunned:

".Uh, Master Osgus, Captain Chekav is on a mission outside, and it is estimated that we will not be able to contact him in the short term. You know, there is no communication signal in the rebel territory, and this has happened before."

"Is it impossible to contact him at all?" Osgus was unwilling to accept it.

"Yes, sir, there is indeed no signal from the rebels. At least we can't contact Chekav until he enters the communication range of the Planetary Defense Force. What can I do for you?"

"It's okay, I'm just asking." Osgus exhaled dully and turned off the communication.

He threw his data pad onto the sofa, pointed at Hakas and ordered:
"Use your family's channels to send an encrypted astropathic message to the people of the Cold Trade Group, asking them to send a 'mud man' to kill Li Nuo. The price is negotiable."

"Clay man? What is that?" Hakas took out a data tablet, edited the encrypted message, and asked casually.

"I don't know what a clay man is, but my psychic power tells me that the clay man is a biochemical assassin created by the Cold Trade Group. It has never failed and can definitely kill Li Nuo."

Osgus touched his head, confusion on his face:

"Strange. Why does my psychic ability know the existence of the clay man, but not know that Chekav is currently out of contact?"

A trace of embarrassment flashed in Hakas's eyes. He buried his head in editing the information and said without raising his head:

"Who knows? Maybe it's because your psychic energy still needs to grow. The more you use it, the faster it grows, just like exercising your body."

"Oh, that makes sense." Osgus nodded as if he understood, then turned his head to look at Hakas, "You should have been injected with ghost potion. What is your psychic power? Why haven't I heard you mention it before?"

Hakas sent the message and raised his head, his expression tangled and awkward, "How can I not tell you? My spiritual power is not as good as yours, it's really too embarrassing."

Osgus chuckled, didn't take it seriously, and waved his hand to let the matter go.

The Cold Trade Group has its own means of conducting interstellar communications.

They had a way to receive encrypted astropathic messages and then reply to Khakass using the same encrypted means.

The two waited in the room for a moment before an encrypted message from the Cold Trade Group arrived.

The deciphered message contained only one line of words:

"You send 400,000 physical throne coins to the transit station. The clay figurine will arrive at your nest within sixty days after we receive the money."

"Four hundred thousand throne coins... these guys are really bold in asking for a price." Osgus showed a decisive look on his face:
"Tell them that I will give them 500,000 throne coins, but there is one requirement, which is to make the clay man arrive at the nest city within seven days."

Khakass edited the encrypted message again and sent it out.

This time the reply came faster, and it read:

"We are hiding from the Enforcement fleet. Do you want us to lead them to you? In sixty days, as soon as the Enforcement fleet leaves and we receive your money, the Mudmen will head for your hive. Do you understand? I don't want to repeat myself."

From time to time, Imperial Law Enforcement launches raids into the obscure star regions where cold trade is prevalent.

In this case, sending the clay men to the hive city might indeed attract the Imperial Law Enforcement Department's fleet.

There was no choice but for Osgus to compromise.

Seeing that Osgus agreed, Hakas secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and when he lowered his head to send the message, the corners of his mouth curled up intentionally or unintentionally.

...

...

"Li Nuo, I have contacted the Radiyaga Dynasty."

Shatana kept her eyes closed and spoke slowly:

"Sander von Radyaga is communicating with me through his personal astropath. He heard about your new technology two days ago and wanted to find someone to connect with you to see if he could participate in the new synthetic starch industry. We took the initiative to contact him, which made him overjoyed."

Li Nuo raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect that the traveling merchant had already had the idea of cooperating with him.

It seems that the new technology for preparing synthetic starch has indeed become popular.

Anyone who realizes its importance wants to get a piece of the pie.

In order to show his sincerity, Sander was the first to show his cards.

The Radiyaga Dynasty has two logistics space stations in the Solar Segmentum.

One was newly built and has been in use for less than three years.

The other one was built by the previous Rogue Trader and has been in service for more than seventy years.

Both logistics space stations have a large number of unarmed cargo ships available for rent, and Li Nuo can choose freely.

If you choose a new logistics space station, all the costs of transporting the residues should be around 30 throne coins per year.

If you choose the old logistics space station, you only need to pay 3 throne coins per year.

Such a generous discount is based on a small requirement, that is, Li Nuo and the Radiyaga Dynasty reach an agreement.

The agreement was that Li Nuo would pay part of the money when the old space station was renovated in the future.

The more money he pays, the more shares he can get in the old space station, and he can receive dividends from the old space station every financial month.

Shatana knew that Li Nuo knew very little about the operation and maintenance of the space station, so she took the initiative to explain:
"The total cost of a new space station is at least 6000 million throne coins, and it can be in continuous service for 70 to 100 years. The cost of renovation is generally one-third of the total cost, which is about 2000 million throne coins. Sandel has no requirements for the amount of your future investment. You can invest tens of thousands of throne coins or millions. It all depends on your choice."

"Ma'am, if I only invest tens of thousands of throne coins in the future, wouldn't that be equivalent to taking advantage of Sandor for nothing?"

"Yes, Li Nuo, this is a test from the Rogue Trader. He wants to see what kind of person you are through this transaction."

Shatana said in a steady voice:

"Sander has a basic psychological expectation of your future investment amount. If your investment amount is lower than his expectation, it means that you are stingy and like to seize every opportunity to make money. If your investment amount is higher than his expectation, it means that you are richer than he thought and know how to distribute your wealth.

"Rogue traders like to hire the former as their subordinates to increase their income and reduce their expenditure, while the latter are best to be their friends and partners."

Li Nuo thought for a moment and responded:

"I understand. Please tell Mr. Sandor that I chose the old logistics space station to transport the residue for me."

"Okay, I'll tell him exactly what you said."

Shatana was immersed in the astrocommunication.

"Sander agrees with your decision. His dynasty envoy will arrive in the hive city in five days. At that time, the envoy will visit your factory, witness your new technology, and sign a cooperation contract with you."

Shatana ended the astropathic communication, opened her eyes, and said with a faint smile:
"How is it? Was the process of communicating with the Rogue Trader easier than you thought? A problem that had been bothering you before was solved in just a few words between you and him. This is the charm of communication."

"Ma'am, you are absolutely right. I have never felt that communicating with others is so easy." Li Nuo stood up and bowed:

"Thank you for helping me connect with Mr. Sandor. I have to go prepare to welcome the envoy of the Radiyaga Dynasty."

"Stay, Li Nuo, I'll get you a book." Shatana took a heavy book with a hard cover from the bookshelf, "Take this book with you, and read it when you have nothing to do. I think you will find it inspiring."

"Okay, ma'am, thank you again." Li Nuo hugged the heavy books and turned to leave.

After going out, under the moonlight, Li Nuo looked at the cover of the book.

"The Traveling Merchant's Essays: Travel Reflections and Alien Dictionary"

Opening the book's catalog, more than a dozen titles of wandering merchants from different dynasties come into view.

These wandering traders wrote their own autobiographies.

The author of the essay collection extracted the essence of these autobiographies and compiled them into the essay collection in Li Nuo's hands.

The contents include but are not limited to:
The rich experiences of the wandering merchants, their exploration and summary of alien civilizations, and their research experience on alien materials.

It is noteworthy that the earliest entries in this book date from the early days of the Great Crusade.

At that time, there was a vicious incident of a large-scale infestation of Bone Drinkers at the border between the Solar Star Region and the Hazy Star Region.

Guided by the catalog, Li Nuo found the traveling trader's notes related to the Bone Drinkers. The book contained pictures, anatomical diagrams, and analysis of the medicinal value of the Bone Drinkers.

Several lines of system text appeared.

[You have touched an upgrade item.] [Identification and fungal analysis functions are temporarily enhanced.]

[Absorbing the essay collection can permanently strengthen these two functions and greatly enrich the content of the identification results and analysis results. ]

【May I ask if you have absorbed it? 】

No, not yet.

This book is valuable at first glance.

If I absorbed it, Shatana might quit.

How was such an awesome book written?
Li Nuo looked at the author column on the cover.

There are two authors of the book, namely Aicariya and Shatana.

In this way, Shatana is both her own personal astropath and one of the authors of this book.

What a knowledgeable lady.

Li Nuo hugged the book tightly and quickened his pace back to his residence.

He planned to set aside a bookshelf specifically to store this book to prevent it from being accidentally damaged.

In the following days, Li Nuo, Tido and Isabel frequently traveled between the upper nest and the lower nest, fully preparing for a larger-scale expansion of production.

He is busy with work during the day, and goes "online" at night to polish the spirit bones and train the Steel Brave Clan.

Such a fulfilling life was put on hold two days before the arrival of the envoy from the Radiyaga dynasty because of a calculation result.

After repeated calculations by Isabel, it was found that the supply of pure water for preparing starch had reached a bottleneck.

It’s not that there is not enough purified water in the hive, but with the release of production capacity, the marginal cost of purified water has risen sharply, almost wiping out the profits of synthetic starch.

To put it more bluntly:

The Water Guild of the Hive City raised the price arbitrarily, attempting to indirectly encroach on the profits of the Umbrella Group by increasing the price of purified water.

They have plenty of reasons to raise the price of purified water, nothing more than "tiered water use", that is, increasing water prices in a tiered manner based on water consumption.

The more water you use, the more expensive it is.

If the Umbrella Group wants more pure water to make starch, it will have to pay higher water prices.

If you don’t want to bear the high cost of purchasing water, please purchase the industrial water purification equipment from the Water Guild.

By investing heavily in industrial water purification equipment and related infrastructure, your group can purify its own wastewater.

At the critical moment of expanding production, the Shui Gang shot Li Nuo in the back.

It's clear without asking that this is definitely Osgers' mischief.

The Water Guild is controlled by the Water Family, and the Water Family is Osgus's biggest supporter.

Under the control of the Water Family, the water produced by the Water Guild should be used mainly for cultivating ghost mushrooms.

The large-scale development of new synthetic starches will inevitably squeeze the development space of ghost mushrooms and snatch away the water originally used to cultivate mushrooms.

This deep-seated logical conflict of interest directly led to the Water Guild raising the water price for starch factories again and again.

Such despicable behavior gave Tido and Isabel a headache.

Inside Li Nuo's laboratory.

Tiduo rested her chin on the table and analyzed seriously:

“I can sense that Osgers and the group behind him had already made adequate plans for cultivating ghost mushrooms long before the cleanup operation began.

"The wealthy merchant family of the Coin Guild, the Binis, is responsible for transporting the nutrients needed to grow ghost mushrooms and selling medicines. The main controller of the Pharmacist Association is the Lewei family, who is responsible for preparing the manor for growing ghost mushrooms and developing related pharmaceutical technologies. The Water family of the Water Guild is responsible for supplying water for growing ghost mushrooms.

"This plan did not include the Mauros family, which produces promethium, so the Mauros family took the lead in expressing goodwill to us and chose to stand on our side."

Isabel sat next to Tido, thought for a moment and asked:

"What about the Wanser family? This family has many factories producing weapons and equipment in the Middle Nest. What role does it play in the cultivation plan of ghost mushrooms?"

Tido's pretty face was tense and her expression was gloomy. Although she had only recently become an adult, she looked somewhat old.

She knew in her heart that the role played by the Wanser family was dishonorable.

Delton has found sufficient evidence to prove that the Wanser family has been secretly funding the rebels outside the city for a long time.

If the ghost mushroom industry flourishes, the Wanser family may collude with Osgus's group, allowing Osgus to lead the planetary defense force to defeat the rebels and help the other party become governor.

If the ghost potion is determined to be contraband by the Imperial Law Enforcement Department, the Wanser family will not lose out, because their base is not the ghost potion in the first place.

The above contents cannot be disclosed to Isabel, and the other party has no right to know such confidential matters.

Tiduo could only shake her head slightly and said:

"The role of the Wangser family is unclear for now, so let's ignore it. The key point now is where we can find enough pure water. The Water family has calculated the profit margin of our synthetic starch. The price they quoted is carefully calculated, just enough to swallow up our net profit for half a year. It's not impossible to buy their equipment, but I always feel unwilling..."

"Swish--" the pneumatic gate behind the two women moved horizontally.

This gate is connected to Li Nuo's private laboratory.

The laboratory where Tido and Isabel work is specifically used to prepare catalysts needed to produce synthetic starch.

Li Nuo conducts all genetic research in a private laboratory.

Of course, the so-called private laboratory is just a show.

It is the system that actually does the research.

At this point the system was performing an important automated simulation related to the first genetic engineering project.

Once the simulation is successful, Li Nuo will be able to take a big step forward in the Germstatt plan.

Before the simulation results came out, he felt a little nervous and decided to walk around to relax.

As soon as he left the private laboratory, he saw Tido and Isabel looking worried.

In the past, the two of them often met in the catalyst laboratory to plan the expansion of starch production, or chat about news and gossip between women, and the atmosphere was lively.

Today, Li Nuo rarely saw them looking dejected, so he couldn't help but asked with a smile:
"Are you two in trouble?"

Tiduo came over, hugged Li Nuo's arm and leaned on his shoulder, pouting her lips and said dissatisfiedly:
"The Water family is so annoying. Knowing that we would need a lot of water for our expansion, they suddenly raised the price of purified water a lot, forcing us to buy their water purification equipment and facilities. Isabel and I calculated that the money spent on purchasing these things accounted for one-third of our net profit in the first year. It was ridiculously expensive."

Li Nuo asked:
"What was the net profit of our Umbrella Group in the first year?"

"About three million Throne Coins."

The figure of three million is much lower than Li Nuo's previous estimate, mainly because the expenses of expanding production are too staggering.

Tido mobilized her own resources and connections to help Li Nuo obtain a lot of cheap land and abandoned factories in Xiachao, saving a lot of money.

If Isabel were to rely on her own efforts, the initial investment in expanding production would be absolutely sky-high, and the first year would most likely end in a loss.

"That is to say, the Water family quoted us about one million throne coins? Why is it so expensive?"

Li Nuo asked in confusion.

Titus replied:

"According to the plan Isabel and I have made, we need to build one hundred new liquid pipelines to collect rainwater from the hive's outer shell, and no less than twenty-five water purification plants to purify rainwater and domestic wastewater from the lower nests. The Water family's price list includes the cost of digging liquid pipelines and building new water purification plants."

Twenty-five water purification plants may sound like a lot, but they are still far from enough to meet future water demand.

Once the residues from the five mining worlds start to be shipped in, one hundred new water treatment plants will have to be gradually built to fully meet the water demand for the preparation of synthetic starch.

By then, 30% of the domestic wastewater in the entire hive will be occupied by the starch industry.

These domestic wastewaters are treated in water purification plants and turned into pure water. In the process of preparing starch, part of the pure water is converted into carbohydrates, and the other part flows back into the ecological environment of the nest city in the form of water vapor.

The pure water that has been converted into carbohydrates will basically not flow back into the ecological environment of the hive city.

Therefore, as the production of synthetic starch increases, the overall water volume in the Chaodu will show a downward trend.

In the foreseeable future—perhaps within five years, perhaps within ten years—Epimite will gradually experience water shortages.

The governor at that time was Li Nuo.

However, we can put future matters on hold and solve the current water problem first.

Li Nuo asked:
"How much would it cost if we only dug pipes and built a water treatment plant without purchasing water purification equipment?"

Isabel quickly calculated on the data board and came to a preliminary conclusion:
"If we don't buy the water purification equipment, the Water family won't be willing to undertake the project of digging pipelines and building a water purification plant. We have to organize our own manpower to do the construction, and the project expenses will be relatively high, estimated to be 65 throne coins."

Li Nuo pondered for a few seconds and snapped his fingers:

"Then we will no longer use the water guild's purified water and water purification equipment. The purified water currently used to make starch will also be gradually separated from the water guild."

Tido tilted her head. "Without the water and equipment from the Water Guild? Where can we find so much water? Do you want to buy it from outside the hive?"

Li Nuo smiled mysteriously:
"Since the Water family won't let us have an easy life, then we'll overturn their table. I invented an efficient water purification device a long time ago. I never put it on the table because I was worried about retaliation from the Water family. Now it's just the right time to let this trump card come into play."

Tido and Isabel were both stunned, feeling somewhat puzzled by the water purification device invented by Li Nuo.

Efficient?

How high efficiency can be considered high efficiency?

Can it be higher than the existing mainstream water purification equipment?
"Wait here for a while. I'm going to go down to the nest. When you hear from me, come and join me."

Li Nuo walked quickly to his residence, changed into fake leather and camouflage clothes, and left the royal court area through the secret door.

(End of this chapter)