Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 271: Pandemic

Ouyang couldn't help but laugh: "You guys really know how to have fun!"

Who came up with this idea? It's totally to his liking.

"Two hundred and sixty tons for one family, that's almost eight hundred tons for three families?" Zhu Yiming was completely dumbfounded.

Normally, when people talk about gold, they only mention three or five grams, or even tens or hundreds of grams, which already seems like a lot. But suddenly, when it's measured in tons, or even hundreds of tons, he can't imagine how huge a pile of gold would be if it were all put together.

Things are valued for their scarcity. Even gold, when there is a lot of it, can give the illusion that it is worthless, making people think that it is nothing special.

“Not that much,” Duan Shuxun said. “It’s only about 600 tons, or 30 cubic meters, in total. It’s not enough to fill a ship, let alone a large cabin.”

Versailles, again Versailles, is that even humanly acquainted?
Duan Shuxun didn't mean to boast; he was simply reiterating a fact: "Moreover, although we sell a lot of equipment, it has only just been popularized in cities near the epidemic area. We'll have to take our time to reach more distant cities."

The implication is that the US market is far from saturated and represents a vast untapped potential.

Ou Yang asked curiously, "That's over six hundred tons. Is that enough gold for the Americans?"

"There are no outstanding payments yet, but there have been rumors that the Americans are running out of money, and that the US government is planning to sell Hawaiian Island to raise funds!"

"Wow, really?" Zhu Yiming's eyes lit up, already imagining the scene of Tokyo University buying Hawaii and the beach being crowded with Chinese people.

"It's just a rumor, but it's quite detailed." Duan Shuxun immediately tried to absolve himself of responsibility. "I heard that Xiao Rizi really wanted to buy it, but he tried to negotiate the price down so badly that Mi Gong refused to sell."

Ou Yang's mind raced: "Is the Mi Palace trying to sell itself to us?"

Duan Shuxun snapped his fingers: "There is such a rumor, but I still say, I don't know if it's true or not."

Zhu Yiming looked at Ou Yang curiously: "You could have guessed that? Why didn't you sell it to Europe?"

“It’s not really a guess,” Ou Yang analyzed seriously. “First, no one but us should be able to afford it; second, the US needs something from Dongda; third, Dongda and Xida have always cooperated while competing, they are both friends and rivals, so they can be regarded as equals.”

He moved one hand horizontally, making a gesture representing flatness: "Considering these factors, we can conclude that if this is true, the old man doesn't really intend to sell Hawaii. Instead, he wants the support of the University of Tokyo but doesn't want to pay, so he plans to use this island to pay off his debt!"

"What's this? The US version of 'preferring friendly nations to domestic slaves'? Interesting!" Zhu Yiming suddenly realized, feeling a sudden burst of enlightenment. "The US is already resorting to drastic measures to survive, why don't they just sell off their domestic products?"

“With the local epidemic raging, who would buy it?” Jiang Yuwei interjected weakly.

Maybe we can sell them after the pandemic is completely over, but by then, it will be the old rice that refuses to sell.

Ou Yang added, "Moreover, the value of Hawaii lies not in the island itself, but in the various associated benefits, such as the exclusive economic zone, which is the real prize!"

“That’s right!” Duan Shuxun revealed an appreciative look. “So the price can’t be pushed too low, and it’s hard to say whether a deal will be made.”

"This might just be a rumor that Old Mi deliberately spread to test Dongda's thoughts," Ou Yang continued to analyze.

This doesn't need explanation; everyone can understand it—rushing to sell isn't a good thing. The official announcement by the Rice Palace about selling Waisaki and the University of Tokyo coming to them after hearing rumors are two completely different things.

In the former case, the initiative is in the buyer's hands, while in the latter case, the initiative is controlled by the Yonemiya. If the conditions are right, a transaction can be made. If the conditions offered by the University of Tokyo do not meet expectations, the news can be said to be false.

You can advance to attack and retreat to defend.

“However, I personally think that the possibility of the University of Tokyo taking over is not high,” Ou Yang said.

"Why?" Zhu Yiming asked, puzzled. "This is territorial expansion, it will definitely be recorded in history."

“That’s Hawaii, one of the most important strategic hubs in the ocean. It’s not an exaggeration to call it the gateway to the US.” Ou Yang’s tone suddenly became much more serious. “Taking it over would seem like a great deal, but the cost would definitely be astronomical. Do you think six hundred tons of gold is enough?”

"That's definitely not enough!"

"Six thousand tons?"

Zhu Yiming thought for a moment: "It probably won't be enough, will it?"

"In other words, not only will all the initial profits be lost, but a huge amount of manpower and resources will also be spent filling this huge hole in the United States. Is it worth it?"

At Miyako's level, the depth of his thinking is beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Even if Ouyang racked his brains, he still couldn't grasp Miyako's true thoughts.

The University of Tokyo will only think deeper and see further than the Americans.

Ouyang firmly believes that Dongda would never make a short-sighted choice and must have already figured out Lao Mi's true purpose!
Zhu Yiming thought for a moment and nodded: "It doesn't seem worth it."

"Even if we take a step back and say that the changes we have made in the last few decades have been earth-shattering, and history books will definitely write about them in detail, we really don't need an island like this."

clap clap clap...

"Excellent, excellent, very impressive!" Duan Shuxun clapped his hands. "I think you're right. Even if the US wants to sell, it has to sell the less important islands first. It's impossible for them to sell Hawaii directly."

"Hey, I was just talking nonsense." Ouyang was a little embarrassed. "Sorry for the rudeness."

"No, no, very well said." Duan Shuxun made no attempt to hide the admiration in his eyes.

Ouyang proactively changed the subject: "The US's international standing has declined significantly, but what about domestically?"

Duan Shuxun immediately responded: "It's not much better. After the epidemic spread, various states criticized the Rice Palace, and the conflict between the Rice Palace and the states intensified, especially in Xiong State."

"Xiongzhou?" Zhu Yiming was a little confused. "Wasn't the entire Xiongzhou region occupied?"

"Xiongzhou has fallen, but a few old Americans who claim to be from Xiongzhou have set up a Xiongzhou government in exile."

"A government in exile?" Zhu Yiming could hardly believe it. "A prefecture with a government in exile? Are you kidding me?"

“They don’t think so themselves,” Duan Shuxun said. “The Xiongzhou government-in-exile publicly accused the Mi Palace of its ineffective response to the epidemic, saying that the Mi Palace must have known the seriousness of pneumococcus, which is why it locked down Brown Bear City immediately after the outbreak and did not warn the surrounding cities, which led to the spread of the epidemic to the entire Xiongzhou.”

Duan Shuxun took a breath and continued, "If we had faced it proactively from the beginning, even if we couldn't control the epidemic, it wouldn't have gotten this serious now, with people saying the Miyako Institute did it on purpose. We demand that the Miyako Institute reveal the truth, issue a public apology, and properly resolve the aftermath in Xiongzhou." "Wow, that's tough!"

Duan Shuxun smirked: "Not only Xiongzhou, but many other states have publicly announced that they will no longer obey the orders of the Mi Palace. Although they have not yet seceded, apart from the name, they are not much different from being independent."

"So that's how it is!" Zhu Yiming sighed, finally gaining a clearer understanding of the current situation. "With lockdowns and cut-offs, I thought the US had already united as one to fight the epidemic!"

“You’re overthinking it,” Ou Yang joked. “The US has its own national circumstances; don’t compare them to your own country.”

Zhu Yiming rolled his eyes: "How could that be? I'm not stupid!"

“That’s true.” Duan Shuxun said with a smile, “Places like Salleton, which are close to the epidemic area, are a little better. With external pressure, even if the US has grievances, they keep them to themselves and dare not cause trouble. Cities far from the epidemic area are in chaos at the drop of a hat. Conflicts between the US government and the states, between the US government and the people, and between the people and the states are endless. If it weren’t for the joint efforts of all parties to blockade the US, those who had a way to escape would have escaped long ago.”

The trio...

Has the United States really gotten this chaotic? It looks like it's on the verge of collapse!
Ouyang asked curiously, "With the US in such a mess, what's the situation in the surrounding areas? For example, to the north?"

"You mean Red Leaf Country? The situation isn't good either. Too many Americans are heading north, making a mess of things there. Last year, Red Leaf Country declared a state of emergency, closing its borders and prohibiting anyone from crossing without permission. Not only would anyone caught on the spot be executed, but even if someone was caught after entering Red Leaf Country, they could still be executed on the spot."

"I heard that many illegal immigrants have also suffered as a result, but as long as they can prove that they entered the country before the outbreak, there is no problem... There are also quite a few illegal immigrants over there. Because of the lockdown of the American Peninsula, even if illegal immigrants are found, they cannot be sent back to their country of origin, which has fulfilled the wishes of those immigrants."

Zhu Yiming curled his lip: "Forget it, what's so great about America? If it were me, I wouldn't be able to wait to go back."

Duan Shuxun hit the nail on the head: "That's typical Eastern thinking. The United States is indeed not heaven, but for many underdeveloped areas, it really is no different from heaven!"

“That makes sense,” Ouyang agreed. “We’ve developed so well over the years, and there are tons of foreigners trying to get into our country, but we’re very strict about it. Getting citizenship here is like hell. It’s different here. It’s a country built by immigrants, so things are much more relaxed than in the East… What’s the situation in South America? I heard it’s pretty serious there too.”

"It's really serious." Duan Shuxun sighed. "Several areas have fallen, and order has completely collapsed. It's not much different from a biohazard crisis."

The trio fell silent upon hearing this. Having just emerged from the epidemic area, they understood better than anyone what it was like after the collapse of order.

Duan Shuxun continued, "Every collapsing country has its exiled government established by its people. Some of these are set up by foreign affairs personnel, while others are simply created by clueless individuals who come up with ideas on a whim. However, regardless of the situation, they are basically not recognized and their presence is almost zero."

Ou Yang nodded: "I think so too."

Zhu Yiming scratched his head: "Why won't you admit it?"

“Because it’s too troublesome,” Ou Yang said. “For example, if you get recognition from the University of Tokyo and then make a request to the University of Tokyo, that would be a formal international exchange. Do you think you should agree or not?”

"Oh!" Zhu Yiming understood. "Right, right, let whoever wants to admit it admit it, we're not going to get involved!"

Normal international exchanges are naturally not a problem; both sides can engage in dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

What does the exiled government have? On what grounds can it engage in equal dialogue?
"There's something else really interesting," Duan Shuxun suddenly said with a mischievous smile. "Not only are our friends in South America setting up an exiled government, but even the United States has set up an exiled government in Europe!"

"What the hell?" Ou Yang's eyes widened. "What's going on? Why didn't the Hate Mi Palace just collapse sooner?"

Are Americans outside of the Americas acting this crazy? Has pneumococcus already spread to Europe?

"I don't know the specifics, but I do know that the US issued a statement strongly condemning it. Some say it was the US exiled in the US that was causing trouble; others say it was a tactic used by a friend who hates the US to deliberately annoy it; still others say it was the US taking precautions to prevent the situation from collapsing."

"Don't be ridiculous. When the day comes that complete collapse, ordinary Americans won't be able to escape. What can the US government do?" Ou Yang didn't believe the rumors at all. "If all else fails, we can always just sit on a boat and float on the sea, right?"

"It's hard to say." Duan Shuxun shook his head. "Just yesterday, the US fleet that was blockading the sea had an accident. The specific details are not clear, but we know that it was a series of collisions. Even the aircraft carrier was hit. Many ships from the South US broke through the blockade and took the opportunity to go ashore, causing chaos throughout the entire Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture."

Ouyang suddenly realized: "I was wondering how the ships from South America got ashore. So that's where the problem lies!"

"One theory is that there were infected people on board. If it weren't for the IFF system, they wouldn't have rammed the ship, but would have launched an anti-ship missile directly."

Zhu Yiming asked, puzzled, "The warship has been floating on the sea the whole time, so where did the infected people come from?"

“It’s impossible to stay adrift forever. We need to resupply every now and then, just like Saladon. It may seem isolated from the outside world, but it’s impossible to have no communication at all. Otherwise, where would the infected people in the city come from?” Duan Shuxun chuckled. “I guess it won’t be long before we receive orders from the US military.”

Ouyang...

You've really got a brilliant business plan!

The US military has plenty of money, so it would definitely prefer to use expensive and defective US-made products rather than use Tokyo University products on its warships.

Just as Zhu Yiming was about to speak, a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out from outside the window.

It was very intense, and I didn't hear any sirens, so it didn't seem like they had discovered an infected person.

Duan Shuxun's expression changed slightly: "We can talk again when we have time. I'll be leaving now!"

Without waiting for a response from the three, he turned and left.

Zhu Yiming jumped out of bed and hid by the window to quietly observe the situation outside: "What happened?"

Ou Yang pulled the curtains tighter: "Get away from the window!"

After thinking for a moment, he opened the gun cabinet and distributed the weapons to everyone: "Be alert, all of you!"

Zhu and Jiang took the weapons and skillfully inspected them and counted the ammunition, just as they had done in the epidemic area.

"Is it possible that I'll be so unlucky as to have everything go wrong?" Zhu Yiming said worriedly.

Ouyang listened intently: "It shouldn't be. The gunshots are all concentrated in one direction. I guess the guards and the foreign American soldiers have engaged in combat."

He couldn't think of a more reasonable explanation.

"I hope so!" Zhu Yiming said.

(End of this chapter)