“Brother Chen Yu~”
“When my sister comes to find me, I’ll definitely pay you for the lodging. Don’t worry, I won’t stay for free.”
Along the way, Ilya’s innocent and cute words were endless.
Chen Yu smiled without a word.
Lodging fees.
Now that she was in his camp, what need was there for lodging fees?
Why was Ilya doing this?
Walking into a trap.
When the time came, Chen Yu would directly use Ilya to extort the Merman Kingdom. It wasn’t that he wanted the Merman Kingdom to obey him completely; he knew very well that he didn’t have that capability at the moment.
But—
It was still possible to demand some resources, right?
As long as Chen Yu made Ilya feel a sense of belonging to his camp and unwilling to leave, it would be easy to demand resources in Ilya’s name.
This was a cash cow!
“Brother Chen Yu~”
Seeing that Chen Yu had been silent for a long time, Ilya tilted her little face and called out softly.
“What’s wrong?” Chen Yu turned around with a smile, his face full of tenderness, and said, “You’re quite brave to stay in that kind of black city.”
“I had nowhere else to go.”
“Turner City-State is right next door, why didn’t you go there?”
“I…”
“Forget it.” Seeing Ilya’s wronged little face, Chen Yu couldn’t bear to ask further. He said softly, “Ilya, you stayed in the black city for so long, did you see the strange people in that city?”
“Ah?”
“The ones who were skilled in gambling and gave generous tips after winning money.”
“Why are you asking this?”
Ilya licked her lips, and Chen Yu exhaled softly.
“I want to get to know them. I want to bring such talents to my camp to work. When I open a gambling house, I’ll have them work as dealers.”
“Wow~”
Ilya was immediately surprised to hear this.
“You’re going to open a gambling house?”
“Is that strange?” Chen Yu glanced over and chuckled. “If I told you what I’m going to do next, you’d probably be even more shocked. Do you know why I went to that city-state just now?”
“Why?”
“Reconnaissance.”
Chen Yu narrowed his eyes and smiled.
“I plan to capture that city-state and liberate the slaves in it. I’ll rebuild the city-state and also claim some territory for myself.”
Ilya was immediately astonished.
Capturing a city?!
She stared at Chen Yu in surprise for a long time, then poked her lips with her finger.
“That idea is quite good. It’s generally difficult to capture city-states in the underground world. That city-state was originally a desolate city, abandoned by the kingdom. Now it’s occupied by a bunch of bandits, so it’s indeed a good plan. But city construction is very costly, you…”
Ilya hesitated to speak.
Chen Yu, however, looked at these words with disbelief.
This… was Ilya?
Vaguely, he recalled that when he first met Ilya, she was an extremely naive girl. After only a few days, she was able to say such insightful things.
“Hoo~”
“Ilya, you’ve grown.”
Chen Yu’s eyes showed surprise.
“Huh?!” Ilya, who had been stunned for a moment, showed her signature naive expression again and giggled, “Have I? My sister also said I seem to have gotten smarter.”
“You have indeed gotten smarter.”
Chen Yu raised his hand and rubbed Ilya’s little head.
“I have a little money, but if I were to truly build a city, I’m not confident. So, Ilya, are you interested in investing?”
“Investing?”
“Yes. Your Merman Royal Palace must be very wealthy, right? Invest some money in city construction, give those slaves a warm home, and let this city-state become a paradise for the displaced. How about it?”
“I…”
Ilya blinked her eyes.
“My sister said that investments always have returns. What will I get…”
“What you’ll get is the gratitude of countless wanderers, admiration, and the sublimation of your soul,” Chen Yu spread his arms and said, “What do you think?”
“Meaning, you don’t have money, right?”
“Hiss!”
As soon as these words were spoken, Chen Yu gasped, his eyes full of disbelief.
“Ilya, I never dreamed you would be this kind of person,” Chen Yu covered his mouth, his eyes filled with heartache. “You only care about money. Ilya, I… I am so disappointed in you.”
“Ah?”
Ilya grinned, looking confused.
What’s going on?
Isn’t it normal to look at the return rate when investing?
What did she do wrong?
“Ilya, we are doing charitable work, for the sake of giving those slaves and displaced people a happy home. Everything we do is not for the sake of earning money. Our souls should be on a higher level!”
Chen Yu looked up at the night sky, radiating noble sentiment.
“Ilya, how could you…”
“So, this city-state will not have any taxes, right?” Ilya blinked. Chen Yu said seriously, “Of course, there will be.”
“Then who will the tax revenue go to?”
“Me!”
“All for you, I’ll invest…”
“Hey, see, you keep bringing up money.” Chen Yu raised his hand to interrupt her. “Ilya, we’ve already said that this is charity, charity does not seek rewards. The money I get isn’t purely for my own pocket. I’ll invest it in city construction, medical care, and education. These all require money!”
Ilya blinked, feeling that Chen Yu’s words had some truth to them.
“At that time, as the primary investor of our city-state, I will erect a statue of you in the central plaza of the city-state, so that the world will remember you forever. Don’t you think this is a very glorious thing?”
“Yes!”
“Enjoying the love and gratitude of countless people, praying for you. Even if you are a princess in the Merman Kingdom, you might not be able to enjoy such treatment.”
“Mm~”
Ilya nodded slightly.
“Only Father King~”
“So, you’ll work with me!” Chen Yu winked at Ilya and said, “With me, you can enjoy the public support and affection that a king of the kingdom possesses. You will feel your soul reaching a higher level. Don’t always look at immediate benefits; look at the long-term goals, little sister~”
Chen Yu’s eyes were filled with a smile.
For some reason, Ilya, with Chen Yu’s words echoing in her mind, was actually somewhat moved.
“Then… how much do you want me to invest?”
“Charitable donation, there’s no mandatory donation; it depends on your love.” Chen Yu said with a smile. “Five or eight hundred is not too little, three thousand or five thousand is not too much. If you are willing to donate hundreds of millions, then I will thank you on behalf of all the suffering wanderers and slaves in the underground world for your kindness.”
“You said how much, one hundred million?”
Ilya was shocked.
“Ah~”
“Then, the five or eight hundred you mentioned earlier, were the units in tens of thousands?”
“Ah~”
“Then… may I ask one last question, were you talking about copper coins just now?”
“Gold coins!”
“Goodbye!” Ilya cupped her hands and retreated, shaking her head. “I’m not doing this charity anymore.”