Sir! Don't close the net!

If such an outcome were to occur, the legacy that the Fire Elves have built up over so many years in Instasus would most likely be handed over to the Black Goat's cubs by the officials.

Alma's gaze towards Li Yili changed.

She finally understood why Li Yili was acting recklessly, but she couldn't understand why Li Yili wanted to guide her to deduce her own purpose.

Is there a deeper purpose behind this?

Alma swallowed hard, her gaze instinctively shifting from Li Yili to Al in the group, where Al was smiling calmly.

Don't panic!

Alma took a deep breath and met Li Yili's gaze again.

Trust the economy, trust logic!

The foundation that the Flame Elf has built lies here. It is no exaggeration to say that as long as Instas exists, the wealth in the Flame Elf's hands is limitless. As long as the Flame Elf keeps throwing money at things, Li Yili's plan will not only fail, but will also push her into the abyss of failure.

After all, building a temple in a sea of ​​dead people is simply an impossible task!

With this guarantee in place, the Fire Elf will never lose.

“Minister, you’d better not underestimate the value of Instas’s largest steel mill,” Elma said, regaining her previous confidence. “In Instas, the Fire Elf Steel Mill is practically all-powerful. Even nobles from Hagen have to greet us when they come to Instas.”

“You gave us the downtown building on the very first day,” Li Yili said with a bright smile.

"puff--"

The Yunzhong executives standing in the two rows burst out laughing.

Alma's expression stiffened for a moment before she clenched her fist. "Don't forget, all of this is predicated on the fact that you are in charge of the temple construction project."

The Cloud Clan Executive Officer, who was laughing, immediately stopped laughing and looked at Li Yili with some worry. After all, building a temple in the middle of a sea of ​​dead people was simply too unbelievable. El remained calm as always, as if the completion of the temple was only a matter of time.

Alma tossed her hair. "Minister, you're not planning to pretend you don't know about this project, are you? But I can understand, after all..."

“No, we’re planning to have a meeting to discuss this project, and I already have an idea,” Li Yili said, gesturing with her hand.

"Eh?"

Alma froze on the spot.

Li Yili's current plan is to create as many problems as possible for the Flame Elf so that the Flame Elf cannot shift all the responsibility to the Black Goat's cub, right?

Why are we having to hold a meeting to discuss the project of building a temple?

It must be an act!

Alma gritted her teeth and followed.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Boss, boss—look at these!"

The pirates, wearing headscarves, carried a pile of dirty gold notes aboard the deck and boasted of their achievement to the woman sitting on the throne beneath the pirate flag.

The woman raised her icy blue eyes, her hip-length silver hair slid down, and her legs, encased in white leggings and brown mid-heeled ankle boots, landed on the ground. The two short swords at her waist clashed together with a crisp sound.

"what happened?"

The woman's voice was incredibly cold, like a bucket of ice water that extinguished the pirates' enthusiasm.

"We...we got the money..." The pirates stammered, avoiding eye contact with the woman.

"How did you get it?"

"Uh... someone was throwing money around, so I picked it up."

"No wonder the wind is so irritating today," the woman sneered, raising her hand and waving it, sending the dirty gold notes in the pirates' hands flying away in the wind.

Seeing the money they had painstakingly stolen from the crowd vanish, the pirates were very reluctant, but dared not utter a single complaint.

Is this a lot of money?

The woman slowly ascended the steps, sat back on her throne, and narrowed her icy blue eyes slightly.

"You don't even get half of the money we give each person after a single voyage. For this little bit of money, you're picking up money off the ground like those shameless bastards? You...don't you have any shame at all?"

"Do you need me to act as your guarantor and help you sell them?"

The pirates were stunned, and cold sweat immediately broke out on their foreheads as they shook their heads.

"Hmph—but interesting, who did this?"

The corners of the woman's mouth turned up slightly.

"No, I don't know..." The pirate leader smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Never mind, by tomorrow, most of Instas will probably know that person's name."

The woman closed her eyes, feeling the sea breeze blowing across her cheeks.

"The wind blew in some terrible monster."

Chapter Fourteen Li Yili: Money Comes from the Wind

The blackboard, which was two meters long and seventy-five centimeters high, slid down behind Li Yili with a whoosh.

Li Yili crossed her arms and slightly raised her head. All the young black goats and Yunzhong executives were sitting around a round table, looking at Li Yili with expectant faces. Among them, Alma, who had a sour face, was particularly conspicuous.

Such unsociable behavior often leads to exclusion from the group, but the Cloud Clan Executives of the Black Goat's Cubs not only did not ostracize Elma, but also thoughtfully made tea and snacks for her, acting as kind as an experienced elder who had seen it all, which made Elma's face even uglier.

“Everyone’s here, so I won’t waste any more words,” Li Yili turned around and quickly wrote the words “Great Temple Construction Operation” on the blackboard behind her.

Immediately, the Cloud Clan executives stood up and applauded, creating an atmosphere as if the plan had succeeded. This left Alma utterly astonished. Before Alma could even complain, the Cloud Clan executives tacitly stopped the malfunction and sat back down.

“Ahem—first of all, this project is far more difficult than the Séance of the Gods project,” Li Yili tapped the blackboard with the chalk.

“Of course, we still don’t know how those temples were made, let alone how they were built in the Sea of ​​Dead,” Alma laughed coldly. “Unlike the consecration project that the Black Goat’s cubs completed before, which could be done with just enough pollutants and any hands.”

After speaking, Alma tilted her head back and drank the hot tea in one gulp. She slammed the cup heavily on the table and coldly glanced at the Cloud Executors who were looking at her because of her disrespectful remarks. She slightly raised her chin, mentally preparing her lines to retaliate against the mockery from the Cloud Executors who were like the cubs of the Black Goat.

"Yes, yes, Miss Alma, come and have some tea."

"Miss Alma, is this dessert not to your liking?"

Unfortunately, instead of vicious ridicule, she was met with chilling concern.

Alma clenched her fists in frustration.

“Miss Alma is right. Building a temple in the Sea of ​​Dead is a very difficult task, so we need to think outside the box,” Li Yili rubbed her fingers toward Alma. “Fortunately, although the Flame Elves do not have the ability to complete this project, their loyalty to the headquarters is beyond question, and they are willing to do their best to help us. Let’s give a round of applause to Miss Alma, the representative of the Flame Elves.”

After Li Yili finished speaking, she took the lead in clapping, and the other Yunzhong executives immediately stood up and clapped along with friendly smiles.

Elma's forehead veins bulged. "Minister! We're having a meeting, not a victory celebration!"

Damn it—don't look like this isn't a victory celebration!

“Ahem—sorry, sorry,” Li Yili shrugged nonchalantly and turned around. “Building a temple is no small project. We can’t just quietly purchase so many building materials. This is the largest seaport in Nibelungen. If we make too much noise, it will attract the attention of the Galar Horn. So we have to make the purchase of building materials and transport them to the Sea of ​​the Dead seem reasonable.”

Alma nodded subconsciously. The fire elves had also discussed this matter, but it ultimately came to nothing, and the reason for not being able to do it was simple and straightforward.

Why are you shipping building materials to the dead?

“Let’s build an underwater paradise!” Li Yili raised her right fist and gently tapped it on her palm.

"Good!" Abu Rang led the way, standing up and clapping vigorously with a flushed face. The other Cloud Clan executives also immediately stood up excitedly and clapped enthusiastically.

"Huh?" Alma looked completely bewildered.

Underwater Paradise?

Are you guys crazy or am I crazy?

"First and foremost, we need to throw money at it! Throw massive amounts of money into advertising! Construction isn't the priority; we must make sure everyone in Instas knows we're building an underwater amusement park in the Dead Sea!"

"it is good--"

"You guys are something else!"

Seeing that the atmosphere suggested the matter was already settled, Alma couldn't hold back any longer. She suddenly stood up and slammed her hand heavily on the table. "Are you crazy?! Do you think the fire elves' money grows on trees?!"

“Uh… for a black goat’s young, money really does come from nowhere,” Li Yili blinked and answered quite honestly.

"cough--"

Li Yili's honesty made Alma dizzy, as if the whole world was spinning.

"Do you think anyone would believe that!" Alma struggled to regain her balance. "Building an underwater amusement park in the Sea of ​​Dead is suspicious no matter how you look at it! It will definitely attract the attention of the Galar Horn! One investigation and everything will be over!"

“Miss Alma, have you ever heard of… Let me tell you a story called The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” Li Yili said, holding up a finger and waving it from side to side.

"Huh? A wolf?"

A shepherd boy mischievously told the villagers that a wolf was coming, and for the first time, the villagers were on high alert.

The first time, the wolf didn't come. The second time, the villagers were still on high alert. The third time, the wolf really came, but the villagers no longer believed a word the boy said and made no preparations, resulting in heavy losses.

Alma was startled, and slowly opened her eyes wide.

"Let them investigate, we're really building an underwater paradise. No matter how many times they investigate, it's still an underwater paradise," Li Yili said, spreading her arms wide. "We'll build one after another! Let Galar come and investigate! I think by the time we've built the second and third one, Galar won't have any more doubts! If they still have doubts, we'll just keep building!"

“Build, build one… then, build another…” Alma’s lips trembled.

Indeed, the story of the boy who cried wolf told by Li Yili deeply moved her, but she was not an idiot. The price to pay for telling a lie was far too high. Underwater park, that was an underwater park!

This project itself is a bottomless pit! And Li Yili actually plans to build several underwater parks?!

The thought of the manpower and resources required for this process made Alma feel dizzy.

This guy really treats the money the fire elf gave him like it came from nowhere.

But she couldn't refuse, because in the eyes of headquarters it was a very reasonable plan, and all it cost was money.

“Okay—so how do you want to promote it?” Alma managed a weak smile. “Using money to throw money at it is too vague. Without a specific plan, it’s not convenient for us to approve the funds and keep accounts.”

She finally understood that Li Yili had no intention of completing the project at all; she just wanted to use a seemingly reasonable method to make Yan Jingling take the blame, even if it meant risking Yan Jingling's life.

In short, let's play it safe for now!

"Make a lot of merchandise for the underwater theme park! The more expensive and bizarre the materials, the better! But we must add a lot of underwater theme park elements, like octopus heads, and we must broaden our horizons! We cannot be bound by the market's aesthetics; we must drastically change the market's aesthetics!"

Li Yili smiled brightly.

I'll bankrupt you, you bastard.

Chapter Fifteen: A Sea of ​​Dead People... Can It Really Be Turned into School District Housing?

As an earthling, Li Yili had never seen a pig run, but she had eaten pork. The market was nothing more than a means for capitalists to make money. The key to selling merchandise was not design, but promotion. As long as the promotion was done well, even if the design was a pile of shit, it would be sought after by the public, and people would start to find gold in the shit.