My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 148

Just as Yang Hao was lost in thought, and just as Koschche felt as if something strange had been put on his head, making his ears twitch, Monica, who had been asked the question, smiled and nodded, then showed a somewhat worried expression:

"The number of refugees may be greater than we anticipated... Troops stationed at border checkpoints say their numbers may have exceeded the capacity of our reception areas... and a large number of them are infected."

"Infected person?"

Kosichrie and Yang Hao, who had just come to their senses, both paused for a moment, then relaxed and said in unison, "Our duchy's infected settlement area has been expanding. I think simply accommodating infected people isn't a problem... but how many ordinary refugees are there?"

"...more than 100,000 people."

"That's indeed a considerable number." Yang Hao frowned. Hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of whom were temporarily unable to work, were distraught, and some might even be starving to the point of madness—the difficulty of resettling them was immense. Even though the Duchy of Kosiché had stockpiled a considerable amount of necessities due to economic recovery, the production rate of these necessities would still not keep up with the demand if hundreds of thousands of refugees poured in... "And most importantly, what about our food supplies?"

More importantly, there's the issue of food. Initially, the work-for-relief program was able to quickly feed the unemployed primarily because the Duchy of Kosice didn't lack food; the unemployed simply lacked the money to buy it. However, now, the arrival of refugees presents not only financial challenges, but also the fundamental issue of food security.

“As for food, we can sustain ourselves for two or three months with the distribution system…” Kosiché frowned and answered for Monica. “But the problem is, those refugees may not follow our arrangements… If war breaks out on the front lines and our rear falls into chaos, that would be a real problem.”

"Yeah. But I should be able to handle it, right?"

"But we'll have to see if Hela can end the civil war quickly, won't we? Otherwise, what if it lasts five or six months..."

After saying that, the three people present all looked at Hela, the living doll who was sitting on Yang Hao's lap and was now dozing off with her eyes half-closed.

Chapter 71

Yang Hao rubbed Hela's forehead, who was drowsy. As a living doll, she looked no different from a playful child. But even if Yang Hao wanted to treat Hela like his own child, in this crisis, he had to develop Hela's [ability] before making amends to her.

"Hela? Sweetie—Daddy's just here for a checkup, don't worry..."

"Well..."

Hela was a little bewildered, but she still nestled obediently in Yang Hao's arms, showing him the little sickle in her hand.

According to Yang Hao's observation, his "Puppet Stage" did indeed provide a fairly detailed set of data.

Harvesting:

A scythe that appears simultaneously in both the spirit world and the material world can harm both the body and the soul at the same time.

Is that all? Yang Hao pinched Hela's cheek, somewhat puzzled. Under his wife's increasingly anxious gaze and Monica's increasingly strange stare, he affectionately hugged Hela closer, then began to read through the various rules and regulations that popped up:

Special Decision: Soul Trade

Hela can harvest the souls of all the dead and convert them into either "energy coins" or "dark matter." The exchange rate for the former is 1 energy coin for every 20 people, while the exchange rate for the latter is 1 point of dark matter for every 1 million people.

This... energy coins? Dark matter? Yang Hao wasn't quite sure what the former was, but the latter? Hmm... really?

Before Yang Hao could even ponder whether [dark matter] was the dark matter he was thinking of, a new decision popped up.

Special Decision: Soul Rebellion

Hela can harvest the souls of all the dead and use these poor souls directly for political purposes—although she has no idea what the consequences of doing so will be, but I think you would enjoy seeing countless rebels spring up from within other countries.

One person's soul can influence another; some more resilient individuals may require more souls to be influenced.

Ah this...

Does this mean that besides using [Political Points] and [Influence], I can also directly interfere in the internal affairs of other countries by collecting [Souls], plunging their countries into chaos?

Yang Hao immediately realized the benefits that Hela's ability could bring, but then again, it seems that her ability really can't affect the upcoming attack on us by the Duke of Nikolai.

What should we do?

He stroked Hela's hair, and amidst her cries of "Papa, Papa," he didn't notice that Koschei's already sullen face had become even more gloomy. Her tail was wagging restlessly, and if you looked closely, you could see that the fur on her tail was starting to stand on end.

Just as Yang Hao was about to say something more, he saw another event pop up.

This appears to be an event that would allow Hela to fight against Duke Nikolai's army of corpses.

Special Decision: The Sixth Calamity

Cost: 300 Political Points, a small amount of Souls, an item obtained from the "House of Lament".

description:

Hela can guide the rewards of natural disasters, but these are not the natural disasters known to the world; rather, they are something more "deeper."

After a 20-day period of guidance, the sixth cataclysm will descend—at which point a "cataclysmic disaster" will erupt in a designated area, and the souls of all the dead will be resurrected and begin to attack or assist each other indiscriminately, based on their resentment or happiness in life.

The infected people on this land suffer greatly.

Perhaps after the natural disaster, the souls of those infected began to take revenge on the people who persecuted them?

However, the more recent victims tend to seek revenge against their enemies first. Their hatred mechanism is simple and clear.

"Oh my god! Hela, you can do this too!"

"dad?"

"No, Hela, can you use an ability called the [Sixth Calamity]?"

"Yes. My mom taught me."

'So who's Mommy—uh-huh?! Uh-huh?!'

One of Hela's special abilities is to guide the souls of the dead back to the earth, back to reality—and then these returned souls will go mad, seeking revenge on their enemies or repaying the kindness of their benefactors.

To put it simply, the infected who died naturally in the Koschei Duchy after a period of work relief would continue to contribute their last strength to the Koschei Duchy after being revived. Meanwhile, the civilians killed by Duke Nikolai would become vengeful spirits seeking revenge against him after being revived—although it's unclear whether they possess self-awareness or even a physical form, the effect alone would be sufficient!

Moreover, the fact that it required sacrificing an item obtained from the House of Elegy, 300 political points, and a small portion of a soul made Yang Hao feel a little pained... but this deal was still very worthwhile, wasn't it?

The 20-day guidance period is a bit long, isn't it?

And the extent of the coverage is also a good question... Or should we wait until the Duchy of Nikolai attacks us before we begin?

The more crucial issue is...

Hela, who is your mother...?

Pretending not to notice that the emotionally charged Koschei had his mouth covered by Monica, the head maid, and could only let out helpless cries, Yang Hao was sweating profusely and thinking to himself, "I won't live past tonight." At the same time, he was also very curious about who Hela's mother was.

She is a living doll, destined to have a creator. If the doll maker who created Hela was her mother, then who was her mother?

Yang Hao opened his mouth, then looked at Koschei beside him, whose tail was already bristling with agitation... His rationality warned him not to ask Hela who her mother was at this moment—otherwise, Koschei, consumed by jealousy, might really kill that mother without hesitation... if she could.

But Koschke, really... do you really need to be jealous of a child? And even jealous of a puppeteer of living dolls. I don't even know that puppeteer, how could I possibly have anything to do with her?

He sighed, reached out and touched Hela's forehead, then touched Koschei's cat ears, which had calmed down, to signal her to calm down. Suddenly, he remembered something—

I wonder what kind of impact Hela will have on the little bat when she greets Margarita and calls her "Auntie"...

Forget it.

all will be good.

He abandoned his contemplation and decided to prepare for the important matters ahead.

Chapter 72 1

8 month 1 day.

The Duchy of Kosiché is welcoming its largest influx of refugees in history.

This group of ragged, panicked, exhausted, and numerous refugees, many of whom were ill and elderly, with a small percentage of men, were escorted to the outskirts of the Duchy of Kosice by soldiers along the border. Upon arriving in safety, they were not greeted with warm housing and ample rest, but rather with thorough security and medical checks.

"Everyone can only proceed to the resettlement area in batches after undergoing medical and security checks, understand?!" Duke Kosiché, leading the police officers maintaining order, shouted at the refugees gathered in the makeshift shelter outside the city. Of course, they knew the refugees needed to settle down before being checked, so they were prepared to reassure them: "Those of you who haven't been called yet, eat something, drink some water, and rest for a while! Our two dukes won't abandon you! It's just that our checks will take some time!"

Under the reassurance of the police, the subtle threat of weapons wielded by the soldiers patrolling and maintaining order, and the allure of the food wafting from the prepared food carts, the refugees quickly calmed down. With unsteady steps, they formed a crooked queue under the police's direction to receive their food, while those who had already eaten and appeared fit for inspection were checked in batches of one thousand before entering the city.

They were so exhausted that the checks by the police, doctors, and nurses were quick. The security checks, as the name suggests, were for safety reasons and were handled by the police—they simply needed to check if the refugees were carrying any threatening Originium artifacts or weapons.

Medical examinations are much more complicated. Most refugees are too weak to undergo blood tests, so in such cases, the only way to distinguish whether they are infected or asymptomatic is through external observation.

Those infected individuals whose Originium crystals had already grown on their skin were fine, but those who had Originium inside their bodies but hadn't grown it outside were in trouble—in this situation, Ms. Kal'tsit, who was in charge of all the refugee medical examinations, came up with her new technology: a screening gate that could tell whether someone was infected or not simply by passing through it.

"Thanks to Lord Yang Hao for the funding and venue support, otherwise it would have been too difficult to develop a detection gate for infected individuals at this time."

She sat in a chair in the medical examination area, turning her head to speak to Mr. Grovazel, who was helping her. Outside the examination area, Bozocasti and his shield guards volunteered to help Duke Kosice maintain order in the refugee reception area.

"Yes, if it weren't for the support of Lord Yang Hao and Lord Koschche, we'd be helplessly watching these refugees now. Sigh, but then again, why are the vast majority of the refugees women and children? There are too few men..."

"Because the early conscription in the Duchy of Nikolai had already recruited the vast majority of men. The women realized something was wrong and escaped, but those men who had already enlisted... well, let's not talk about that. Work comes first."

"Yes."

They're destined to be busy today—even with the help of equipment, they'll probably be working for several days before they can go back to rest.

Those refugees who passed security and medical checks only received temporary accommodation in the city's resettlement areas. They were crammed into large trucks or buses and transported to newly established temporary camps within the city. Many of these newly established resettlement areas were construction sites where dilapidated houses had just been demolished. Although the workers of the Duchy of Kosice were working very hard, they simply couldn't build enough housing for hundreds of thousands of refugees in less than a few days...

The reception of infected refugees was somewhat simpler. After all, the infected areas in the Duchy of Koschei were constantly expanding, and when they arrived, the newly expanded areas were just enough to accommodate them temporarily—or perhaps live there permanently. But that was all after the war.

"all in all...?"

"In summary, we have received approximately 14 ordinary refugees and over 7 infected individuals, totaling about 22," Head Maid Monica explained to the two lords seated on their thrones in the audience hall, holding the latest statistical report. "Our food reserves, excluding refugees, are just enough to cover the next agricultural harvest two months from now... but if we include refugees, our food reserves will be in grave danger, and we don't know if the Duchy of Nikolai will target our agricultural areas first."

The Duchy of Kosiché replenishes its food supply through three channels—the first being trade, which is straightforward; exchanging money for food is normal.

The second type is the agricultural district within a city. The number of agricultural districts is actually not large compared to ordinary districts. With the supply of technology and energy, agricultural districts can provide a certain amount of food production every day, and the livestock industry of meat beasts and Originium bugs also has a place in agricultural districts—however, the food produced by agricultural districts is absolutely impossible to meet the needs of the entire city, not to mention that the Koschke Duchy is a giant city pieced together from four other cities, and has also added a considerable number of refugees.

The third, and most important, measure that can meet the needs of the entire city while also providing a significant amount of food reserves is to cultivate the fertile farmland surrounding the mobile city's docking location.

This is a crucial measure and agricultural plan for food self-sufficiency, which is perfectly normal in this world. However, with the approaching forces of Duke Nikolai, these exposed farmlands might be the first to be cleared. In other words, by the time Duke Nikolai's infantry surrounds them, these cultivated areas will have gone from being "present" to being "absent."

"So let's just pretend the upcoming harvest in the agricultural area is 'non-existent.' How long can we hold out under these circumstances?" Yang Hao sighed, rubbed his temples, lifted Hela slightly in his arms, and then affectionately placed her on his shoulder. He turned to Koschie, whose expression was unusually calm, and asked.

Before Kosichello could speak, Monica, the head maid, sweating profusely, took Hela off Yang Hao's shoulder and said with a forced laugh that she was taking Hela out for a walk so as not to disturb the two adults' thoughts.

...

She left with Hela, hastily leaving behind the statistical report.

“Under the current distribution model, four months is our limit—but we can extend it to the second half of next year by sending caravans to purchase food supplies from abroad. However, if our city is besieged by the Duchy of Nikolai, those caravans will not be able to break through their blockade and reach the area around our city to deliver supplies.”

It was only after Monica left with Hela that Koschche turned around and, expressionless, looked at Yang Hao, who was sweating profusely and realizing something, and explained.

"That's true..."

"Moreover, the situation in Casimir is not optimistic. The Colombians may declare war sooner than we expect—and although our Emperor's advance is gradually accelerating, she will probably slow down soon due to the tedious city-hopping battles, right? Perhaps she will, perhaps she won't, but in any case, we must hold off the Duchy of Nikolai until she arrives, or perhaps..."

The immortal black serpent paused for a moment, then added in a dry tone:

"...use Hela's special abilities to destroy Duke Nikolai's determination to attack us."

"Um, Koschke...?"

"Sigh, I know I've seemed useless lately, but to be honest, I never imagined Hela actually possessed such powerful abilities..."

"Honey, my dear wife! Don't, don't be so down! I won't ignore you and Monica! Besides, this isn't your forte, so relax a bit, okay?...?"

Yang Hao quickly tried to calm his wife down, then picked up the listless cat and held her in his arms. He stroked Koschei's ears and tail, trying to cheer her up as soon as possible—but then again, weren't we supposed to be talking about serious business?

His thoughts paused for a moment, but then he figured it was fine: after all, there was no rule against couples talking about serious matters when they were being intimate, not to mention that the "serious matters" here had been planned in advance... They just needed to confirm the changes in details and then adjust the plan accordingly, really.

so...

Kosichrie didn't seem to mind Yang Hao's affection. She simply nestled happily in his arms, enjoying the intimacy they'd almost never shared outside the palace since Hela's arrival. Then, the old black snake, eyes narrowed, sighed heavily, saying, "The situation lately is really not optimistic," while jokingly adding:

"If the Colombians really annoy you so much in the future that you can't concentrate on other things, don't blame me for not handling it perfectly when I help you deal with it."

"Koschei, I definitely believe in you... but you don't need to think so little of yourself, Koschei, you're still pretty amazing..."

"Then tell me, what makes me so good?"

Her tail restlessly curled around Yang Hao's arm.

After careful consideration, Yang Hao revealed an incredibly bright and sunny smile:

"Press me down on the bed—ouch!"

"I shouldn't have expected you to talk about this in a serious way... Oh well. But please be more careful in public in the future, okay? It's fine for you to say these things in our room, but what if you set a bad example for others?"

"Yes Yes Yes..."

He fell silent, feeling wronged. He was clearly telling the truth.

Based on his experience, putting aside Sonia's mother and Monica who has already ascended, how many people have the strength of Koschche to squeeze him like a piece of meat? None, right?

Perhaps the foal that hasn't been discharged from the hospital yet has that potential? Hmm...

He quickly shook his head, shifting his attention away from his own interests and hobbies, and then said:

"Then, regarding military deployments..."

"The Kazdel mercenaries are moving faster than we expected—it seems they want to get our prepared consumer goods and resources out before we're blockaded by Duke Nikolai. By the way, Lady Therese has also registered a company in our territory... Tell me the truth, was this your idea?"

"What?"