Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 92 The Veteran Takes the Bait, the Princess Bids Farewell

Chen Mo is busy right now.

He's busy fishing... oh wait, I mean fishing for "people"!
The guard team members have been taken care of, and the auxiliary personnel and supplies will be handled by the old clerk of Yunwu Territory. His most urgent task now is to abduct that old man who loves fishing.

Chen Mo first found a wild pond, and under the strange gazes of the Cloud Mist Guards, he began his last-minute cramming practice.

The main focus is on practicing posture.

Can fishing be taught? Yes, but certainly not in such a short time.

Although Dongxia has gathered what can be said to be the best fishing masters in the country, and even brought over all sorts of experts on catching crayfish, crabs, eels, and setting traps, and they have pooled their wisdom and efforts, unfortunately, this places too high a demand on the students.

Even the most capable and insightful trainees selected from the military could not master fishing skills in such a short time.

Faced with overwhelming task demands from superiors and the inability of the grassroots teams to complete the work, several middle-level leaders met and decided that there was no other way but to cheat.

From the very beginning, the engineering and technical staff have been collecting data, and now that the leadership has given the order, the technical team has begun to get fully involved.

Soon, by combining the fishing experience of various experts, a "fully automatic fishing rod" integrating many high-tech features was created.

It consists of a main rod, a full rod transmission system, a multi-level sensing system, several sets of chips, and auxiliary equipment such as a fishing bucket and fish basket.

The whole fishing process is as follows: First, Chen Mo will do the first baiting, which is to scatter some food scraps and the like in the traditional way of the Starry Continent.

Old man Glen Downs fishes every day, and the fish there are all fat and healthy under his care. It shouldn't be a problem for Chen Mo to borrow some.

Along with the bait, a miniature scanner will be sent into the water to scan back and forth at the location of the bait, feeding back the information of the fish attracted to the "fishing bucket," which serves as the central processing unit.

The upper layer of the fishing bucket contains various grains, animal proteins, spices, sweeteners, leavening agents, attractants, and more. Based on information from the scanner, the bucket mixes the bait, adding functional additives to stimulate the fish's sense of smell and attract them closer.

The large lump that comes out is for the second round of groundbaiting, and the small lump is the refined bait for hooking fish.

To compensate for Chen Mo's lack of experience, the fishing hook will send signals at key points, reminding Chen Mo via sensor vibration to indicate when it's time to lift the rod or reel in the line...

As for the suggestion by some technicians to allow the fish hook to find the fish on its own, rush up to stun or paralyze it, and then actively put the hook into the fish's mouth, this fully automated fishing method was strongly condemned and opposed by a group of anglers.

This is a desecration of the "great" cause of fishing!

The leaders seemed to understand this sentiment, believing that even if it involved cheating, the sense of participation in the fishing process should be preserved to a certain extent.

Besides, old man Downs is also a fisherman and a magic master. If he discovers the trick, it could easily backfire.

Ultimately, this slightly bulky fishing rod was designed to be semi-automatic and fully manual. The semi-automatic version sends out node information, while the fully manual version relies on the user's eyes to operate the float.

Chen Mo can switch at any time.

After spending the afternoon getting used to the fishing rod, Chen Mo couldn't wait to knock on Master Tang Si's door early the next morning.

Karl-Anthony Towns, still sporting a head of messy hair, lazily leaned against a large rock.

For a water mage to keep themselves clean is incredibly simple, but the old man was so slovenly that he hadn't bathed in ages that his two old servants deliberately adopted the same style as Downs, becoming even dirtier.

Even the clothes she wore were deliberately torn.

If we don't do it this way, the guests will think that Towns is a servant, which is very inappropriate.

Chen Mo didn't treat himself as an outsider, squatted down in front of the old man, and handed him a portion of Spirit Deer Moss Fruit from the Dark Forest.

The elves value harmony with nature, which is why they often cultivate all sorts of strange animals and plants. Especially in the plant category, most of the plants with magical effects come from the Dark Forest.

It is said that this is inextricably linked to the elves' unique fountain of life.

The elves relied on these special products to exchange for various survival supplies and limited weapons from human society, thus maintaining their tribe's forest life.

Honestly, after carefully reviewing the historical records related to elves and humans, Chen Mo felt that the human race in the Starry World was really wasting its potential.

If this were on Earth's Eastern Xia, they would definitely try to learn the unique techniques of the elves first. If they really couldn't learn them, let alone take over their plains, Eastern Xia could just rent out all their fertile land to them, and the elves could just plant as much as they wanted.

When the products are ready, come to me to exchange them for industrial goods. It's a win-win situation, and it must be a win-win situation.

The Spirit Deer Moss Fruit has a sweet and sour taste. According to the elves, it is full of spiritual energy and the essence of heaven and earth, and can cure all diseases and relieve all worries...

Of course, judging from the price of one silver coin each, none of these illnesses should be considered serious.

The old man chuckled as he took the fruit, wiped it on his sleeve, and popped it into his mouth with a crunch.

Chen Mo's eyebrows twitched as he watched.

He felt that if the old man hadn't wiped it like that, it might have been cleaner for him to eat it directly.

"They gave me a fruit, but scared away one of my fish. We're even now!"

The old man wiped his mouth with his soy sauce-colored sleeve and continued fishing.

Seeing that the old man was being unreasonable again, Chen Mo decided to get straight to the point.

“Master Tang, you’ve been fishing for over twenty years. As for me, you know, I’ve only been learning from you for three days and have only cast less than ten times.”

"Don't say that!" The old master waved his hand decisively: "You haven't even caught a single fish, so don't say you learned from me, it's shameful!"

"So, Master, do you dare to compete with me? Let's compete in fishing!"

The old man turned around, looking puzzled.

"If I can defeat you, Master, please stay in my territory for a year. Just one year will suffice. When the protection period for my territory is about to expire, I will respectfully send you back. Is that alright?"

The old man burst into laughter.

"Are you leaving now? Getting desperate, trying to gamble with me?"

Whether Chen Mo knows how to fish or not is obvious at a glance. The old master was completely certain that he was a complete novice who had at most watched others swing their rods.

To say it was cheating is even more absurd; this is the fishpond in the backyard of a water-elemental archmage.

"No, no, what's the point of bullying a little kid like you?"

"Oh, you're too scared to compete!"

The old man laughed even harder, "It's no use trying to provoke me. If a dwarf from the Gota Forest were to compare height with a long-bearded behemoth from the Chifeng Valley, the behemoth would be so enraged that it would think its brain was stolen by the dwarf."

However, a few minutes later, the old man's smile froze on his face.

Seeing that the old man was determined not to take the bait, Chen Mo had no choice but to give up on provoking him. But since he had no demands, there was no need to be careful anymore. Chen Mo decided that since he couldn't take the man away, he would take all the fish with him!

With this in mind, Chen Mo prepared the strongest bait and added the most potent attractant. Then, he set up the highest configuration of his current fishing method: three rods and fifteen hooks.

This is a classic case of "If you don't let me have an easy time, then I won't let you have an easy time either."

Chen Mo was accompanied by two guards from the Cloud Mist Territory. Under Chen Mo's command, they began a cycle of picking up fish, setting hooks, baiting, picking up fish, and setting hooks. Master Downs threw down his rod and squatted down next to Chen Mo, his eyes fixed on the water. Chen Mo secretly glanced at him and felt that the old man's eyes were bulging slightly.

As Chen Mo cast his sixth line, he caught fish every time, including two double catches. The old man finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Where did you get this fishing rod?

Chen Mo smiled slightly: "Are you going to Hanhai? If you do, I'll give it to you!"

Towns stood up, pointed at Chen Mo, panted for a long time, and finally helplessly shook his head away.

"No, there are no fish in the saltwater beach, what would I do there?"

Huh? Is that the reason?

Chen Mo quickly stood up and shouted, "There are fish in the sea!"

"We can go sea fishing. I'll get you a boat and fishing rods. I guarantee you'll catch some big sea fish that two people can't even lift!"

The old man tilted his head and fell into deep thought.

Some problems can be easily solved once the key is found.

After much communication and negotiation, mainly because the old man had personally tried Chen Mo's "magical fishing rod" in fully manual mode, he finally couldn't resist the temptation and agreed to make a trip, albeit with many conditions attached.

Chen Mo agreed without hesitation and made a solemn promise: if Master Tang Si failed to catch a big fish within a month of arriving in Han Hai Territory, he would pay a huge sum of compensation and gifts to send him back to Yun Wu Territory.

Thus, the last of the three major events has finally come to a conclusion.

The next short period of time was filled with madness, chaos, tension, and busyness for Cloud Mist Territory and Chen Mo, who was visiting Cloud Mist Territory!
The fighting on the southern and western fronts is intensifying, with both sides preparing to seize as many advantages as possible at the last possible moment.

Meanwhile, the two behemoths, the Qiyue Dynasty and the Wuyue Divine Court, engaged in a fierce standoff in the northern Huanyin Valley. The scouts on the front lines fought each other without pause, and the aerial knights repeatedly attacked and suppressed the enemy, only to be forced back time and again by the enemy's ground firepower.

The main forces of the two legions were less than 70 kilometers apart at their closest point, and an earth-shattering battle was about to break out.

However, with diplomats flitting back and forth like butterflies, both sides eventually restrained their impulses.

Instead, before the agreed ceasefire deadline, the smaller countries fought a bloody war, with mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Like a volcanic eruption destined to destroy the world, it once again relieved some of the pressure that was about to burst through local wars fought by its vassals, and temporarily stopped its outburst.

But everyone knows that magma is still surging underground.

If we don't fight today, we will definitely fight tomorrow, and it will probably be even more bloody and brutal.

Chen Mo, on the other hand, was the one who unintentionally added fuel to the fire.

The grain prices, which had already been soaring due to the outbreak of war and looting, were driven up even higher by Xiao Chen's large-scale purchases.

The old clerk repeatedly and earnestly advised, "Wait a month or two. Once the major powers finish their negotiations and the war ends, the price of grain will definitely drop. At that time, it will only cost half or even a quarter of the current price..."

Chen Mo smiled politely: "I'm stopping grain purchases now. Will you come with me to Han Hai Territory?"

The old clerk immediately fell silent.

"Alright, let's continue with the acquisition as planned!"

In reality, there was no plan. Chen Mo's terms were simple and clear: offer an appropriate premium based on the current market price and acquire the company without restrictions.

Not only was the convoy about to depart fully loaded, but Chen Mo also rented several large warehouses locally to fill them with grain. Once they settled in Han Hai Territory, the grain stored here would be continuously sent to Han Hai.

According to the old document's estimate, the grain already stored is enough to supply at least 50,000 people for a year, while it's hard to say whether they can even find 500 people in that vast place.

What exactly is this guy trying to do?
In the end, it was the Earl himself who personally arranged a meeting with Chen Mo.

What are you going to do with all this grain?

Chen Mo said matter-of-factly, "The clerk you sent told me that in barren and desolate places, food is more valuable than gold coins, so I'm just saving it up!"

The old clerk next to him covered his face tightly and buried his head under the table.

The count was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

After some communication between the lords, the Earl agreed to supply food to Chen Mo according to his needs once production in Cloud Mist Territory resumed, which barely resolved the inflation crisis caused by "currency inflow".

After finishing their business, Earl Liuyun called out to Chen Mo before saying goodbye.

“My daughter has left the duchy and gone to Qiyue. Before she left, she asked me to give this to you, sir.”

A rather exquisite-looking little box, secured with a delicate, one-time-use magic rune lock.

It's similar to those wine bottles on Earth that must be opened by destructive means; its main purpose is to prevent others from peeking.

Clearly, the young princess harbored deep resentment towards her father.

After all, out of fear of the "Sky Empire", the lord deliberately cut off the little princess and Chen Mo's contact after entering the Cloud Mist Territory, perfectly playing the role of an old father who kept his daughter hidden away.

Back at his residence, Chen Mo opened the brocade box.

A letter, a badge with a dewdrop on a new leaf.

"Chen Mo, my father said I can no longer see you. I'm very unhappy, but there's nothing I can do."

I have no family left, only him. I don't want him to be sad.

But I'm very sad!

I miss Uncle Peppa, I miss Aunt Linda, and sometimes I miss Grandpa Locke too.

I miss you too!
Oh, and there's Little White! Will I ever see it again?

This "Budding" badge was given to me by my elf aunt. Every year on the third day of the third month, you send someone with it to the Redwood Highlands to find the elves, and they will give me many things, including the "Eternal Song of Life".

I've given you all of them, not a single one to Father, because he won't let me see you!
Hmm... just in case you don't use it all, leave him one, just one.

I don't know what to say anymore. I'm so annoyed and sad!
Remember to come find me!

Chen Mo closed the letter and looked up at the distant east.

Everyone is on their own journey.

But the burden on my shoulders seems even heavier.

At such a young age, he has shouldered the earnest expectations of a nation of over a billion people.

So, it's time to go!

(End of this chapter)