My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 5

However, as compensation, its consumption is also minimal. If Yang Hao uses this trait to engrave the image, he can engrave it again after a month.

"Hmm... As for long-term benefits, I'm not sure if Miss Kosiché prefers a gradual approach or a sudden, massive breakthrough... Anyway, let's look at the second one first!"

Yang Hao scratched his head, wrote down this trait on a piece of paper, and then looked at the second trait.

The second trait seems... a bit odd. It's not as gradual and sustained as the [Cooperative Front], but it's not to the point of a dam bursting either.

The trait known as the "Bryantian Policy"... well, how should I put it? It's basically about conducting short-term racial classifications, thoroughly categorizing humanity according to race, belief, ability, and age.

This trait takes ten years to take effect, and once it does, the people under its control will be categorized into dozens of classes. Furthermore, it inevitably means that within some previously antagonistic factions, one side will possess a higher class than the other.

Under the influence of the Breton policy, class rule was absolute. When one faction, empowered by the dominant class, completely destroyed another, the conflict between factions naturally transformed into conflict within the same class...

But isn't this just making things worse?! This system, which treats people like wine, subjecting them to a wine classification system with virtually no class renewal, is so absurd, who the hell would use it?!

Yang Hao rejected this trait without a second thought, even though it was the one with the greatest benefit in terms of expenditure and outcome.

"This second trait is fucking outrageous! But then again, back when I played Paradox Interactive games on my computer, I think I did something even more outrageous? Sigh, it doesn't matter what you do in virtual games, but in reality, you have to be careful..."

He wiped the sweat from his face and muttered to himself. Then, with a feeling of unease, he began to look at the third trait.

... .....

He immediately rejected the third trait without hesitation.

For no other reason than that this trait called "Soulless Ones" fundamentally solves the problems of factional conflict and people's antagonism: it accumulates energy during a 3600-day preparation period, and then explodes directly after ten years, transforming all its people into beings called "Soulless Ones".

The "Soulless" have no soul, no self-awareness, do not need to eat, drink, or excrete, have no personality, do not feel joy, sorrow, or happiness, and do not even have sexual desire. They only unconsciously perform the act of "reproducing" under orders, and are simply robots.

However, you must admit that this trait fundamentally and completely resolves the social contradictions of antagonism between people: you are no longer even a human being, you have no self-awareness, you have directly become a low-level script machine, so naturally there will be no possibility of mutual antagonism.

Moreover, the [Soulless Ones] themselves possess a multitude of excellent traits. Things like [Agricultural Output +20%], [Mining and Industrial Output +60%], [Stability Permanently Maintained at 100%], [All Armies Gain the trait of Fighting to the Death and Never Retreating]... Yang Hao's eyes widened at these outstanding traits.

But Yang Hao couldn't accept it! His rational mind told him that this was indeed the only trait that could completely solve social problems and bring huge profits. But his emotions also told him, "If you do this, are you really not planning to be human?"

For the time being, Yang Hao still preferred being alone. So he passed on the third trait without even thinking. He didn't want to become a creature without human emotions.

"Compared to this, the second trait is so much better than the third... Sigh, at least the second trait preserves a person's self-awareness, isn't it?"

He sighed heavily and finally decided to inscribe the Duchess with the first quality that could last a lifetime.

After all, if he could marry into that family, or bring the Duchess back to him... he would much rather see the people thriving and their faces beaming with happiness.

And then again, the address Miss Koschei sent... um? I heard it's a huge metropolis made up of four cities? Sigh, in that case, Miss Koschei doesn't seem to have bought her title, but rather is a strong woman who earned it through her own hard work.

Was he really good enough for her? Yang Hao shook his head, thinking that even if he wasn't, being a gigolo wouldn't be so bad...

However, I need to become a man worthy of her—provided that this online relationship doesn't fall apart.

...Oh right, I should send my address first. It's only fair to reciprocate; that way, Miss Koschche's gift should be on its way tomorrow. If that's the case, we can expect to receive our gifts almost simultaneously? Sounds pretty good, right?

After taking out his phone and sending his current address, he started working intently, not even realizing that the bathwater had been sitting in the tub for a full half hour.

While Yang Hao was engrossed in his work, the Serpent Scales, having obtained information about his residence from the Duke, quietly lurked in the building opposite Yang Hao's house. They monitored the man, who was groping the sculpture, through binoculars and using Originium Arts. Suddenly, one of the Serpent Scales spoke:

"This guy really knows nothing? He just wants to talk to His Majesty the Duke..."

"He probably doesn't know His Excellency the Duke's true identity, but the way he's so earnestly preparing a gift for him is truly..."

The man seemed to possess a strange charm, and the snake scales silently watched his every move, whispering among themselves.

As for Yang Hao? While he was working, he discovered that his "Puppet Stage" seemed to have unknowingly drawn in some outsiders...

"What's this? What's going on?"

He stared blankly at the interface visible only to him, displaying a neutral force named "Serpent Scales." What was going on? Could it be that some external force was preparing to attack Colombia, but his abilities had intercepted it?

But that shouldn't be the case, right? If they're not people who know you and don't have feelings for you, the [Puppet Stage] shouldn't have an immediate effect on them, right?

Could this ability have many characteristics that he is unaware of? He hesitated, looking at the serpent scale troops whose number was [?], but finally decided to ignore them.

.....

At 9 o'clock in the evening.

When Yang Hao finally finished his work, he looked at the Sarkaz sculpture in front of him with satisfaction and nodded.

After the special properties were inscribed, this originally ordinary and exquisite stone sculpture has now become a somewhat luxurious sculpture that emits a faint blue light.

Next, all you have to do is deliver it. As long as Miss Koschke keeps it at her residence or carries it with her, this ability will work.

Furthermore, to avoid disappointing Miss Koschei by making her wait too long with the gradual development of the [Cooperative Front], Yang Hao's approach was to directly engrave two sets of traits on the sculpture: after all, there was no rule against engraving two sets on the same sculpture, and this trait is not a unique passive ability, 1+1=2, so Miss Koschei should like it.

"Phew... It's already this late?"

He stretched, covered in sweat. Realizing how late it was, he decided to take a shower, get some sleep, and deliver the sculpture to the messenger first thing tomorrow morning, entrusting them with the delivery.

Sigh, if Margarita were here, he could ask her to help deliver the gift to Ursus. As a neutral Scourge messenger, she has the right to freely cross borders and travel around... but she's not here now, and asking her to deliver a gift to his online crush would be too awkward, so Yang Hao gave up on the idea.

"I'll take a shower and go to bed early... Sigh, the hot water's been kept warm for so long, I hope my electricity bill won't go up too much next month..."

He sighed and, before heading to the bathroom, took his phone with him—intending to check on Margarita while showering so he could give her the precious blood he'd gotten from the grocery store.

Chapter 12

Early in the morning of April 10th.

As Yang Hao yawned, munched on a sandwich, and carried a cardboard box filled with bubble wrap to protect the gifts as he left home, heading to the messenger's office, he noticed that the street where the gas pipeline leak and explosion had occurred the previous day had been unblocked.

Driven by curiosity, he decided to go over there and see what was going on.

"Make way, make way—"

Holding the cardboard box, Yang Hao squeezed through the crowd pointing and whispering about the scene of the accident, curiously peering through the gaps in the human wall formed by heads and shoulders at the horrific scene. "Sigh, it's truly horrific there," he thought. "The entire intersection's ground was ripped up. If there hadn't been so few people standing there at the time, it probably would have been a truly tragic accident."

However, on the other hand, is it really possible for a gas pipeline 5 meters below ground to leak and then explode underground? Yang Hao had serious doubts. As the general manager of Haier Brothers Engineering Company in this city, he was well aware that the construction of such pipeline facilities was exceptionally rigorous.

Logically, a properly constructed gas pipeline, barring any unforeseen events, should last almost 70 years without leaks. The gas pipeline under this intersection has a lifespan of at most 20 years, and there haven't been any unforeseen events during that time. Logically, it shouldn't have exploded, right?

"Could someone really be planning to attack this city..."

Yang Hao recalled how, when he was recording the gift yesterday, he was accidentally scanned by the [Puppet Stage] and the Serpent Scales were intercepted... Tsk tsk, if that's really the case, then this city is in danger, isn't it?

How about we find an excuse to let Jack's family, Margaret, and the four of us go on a vacation to Ursus? If the city is really in danger, wouldn't it be better to leave and take refuge somewhere else?

He sighed, thinking that he might really be overthinking things. After all, if someone really wanted to cause trouble in this city, it would be more practical to target the city lord directly.

Sure enough, the gas pipeline explosion was probably a one-in-a-thousand accident...

"Never mind... I'm off, I have to go back to work later."

Yang Hao carried the cardboard box toward the location of the messenger bureau, while Snake Scales, who had made ample preparations for disguise, silently followed him from behind.

In the eyes of Serpentscale, who had already accepted the mission issued by the Duke, if nothing unexpected happened, the man's cardboard box should be taken over by an Ursus messenger who had just arrived.

After all, it was a neutral building constructed by the Victorians, where messengers from all countries could rest. Moreover, some of these messengers might even have the personal patronage of certain important figures. The Colombians would not risk causing international disputes by brazenly robbing people and goods inside!

Then, once the messenger leaves the city, they can openly reveal their true identities and escort the messenger and the gift back to Ursus, to Lord Kosichean's duchy.

But all the snake scales knew that things were definitely not that simple.

"Ah, hello."

Sure enough, just as the Serpent Scales were watching Yang Hao about to step into the Messenger Bureau, he was stopped by the Colombian secret police.

He seemed unaware of what the secret police intended to do by stopping him. The seemingly unsuspecting steward was still chatting casually with the secret police officer, completely oblivious to the fact that a black luxury sedan was slowly pulling up beside him.

"We can't wait any longer! We need to get that car moved immediately!" Captain Serpentscale whispered, pulling a small crossbow from his hidden equipment pouch. "You guys go! Draw the chaos to another street later!"

They were already planning to make their move; after all, if they didn't, this man who might become the future Duke's husband could be captured!

But life is unpredictable, truly unpredictable!

Faced with the impending attack from the Serpent Scales, the steward feinted, then gave a warm greeting to the secret police officers, whose faces were contorted with strange expressions and who were sweating profusely. He then bypassed the secret police, dodged the two large hands reaching out from the black luxury car that had stopped behind him, and entered the neutral Messenger Bureau.

Then, the secret police, their faces contorted in pain, met the eyes of the bewildered Snake Scales.

.....

Why is it so noisy outside?

Having no idea what was happening outside, but having escaped danger by instinct, Yang Hao shrugged and chose to ignore the noise from the outside world, instead searching for someone in the messenger bureau who could help him deliver goods.

Well... Yang Hao doesn't have any acquaintances he can trust in the Messenger Bureau. Apart from the first time he came here with Margarita to help her find a job, Yang Hao really doesn't have any acquaintances or friends here.

So what should he do? After glancing at the resting messengers, he decided to find a messenger from Ursus and ask him to help deliver the goods!

And he actually found a messenger from Ursus, who had noticed his gaze and was on his way. This was fantastic!

"Hello, it seems you need delivery?"

The Ursus messenger first glanced at Yang Hao's face, staring intently for a while as if trying to memorize his features, before lowering his head and looking at the cardboard box in his hand.

Although he didn't understand why the Ursus messenger was so concerned about his appearance, Yang Hao simply nodded and gestured for him to go to the registration desk for formal registration. He planned to ask the Ursus messenger what rank the Duke of Ursus was.

However, the Ursus messenger didn't seem to want to say much. After completing the formal registration process and paying the sufficient shipping fees and deposit, the Ursus messenger, amidst Yang Hao's disappointed gaze, simply picked up his cardboard box, left the messenger station, and prepared to deliver the goods.

"Are all the Ursus people this diligent?" Yang Hao scratched his head and watched the Ursus messenger leave through the back door. He then realized that it was getting late.

I have to go back to work.

With that thought in mind, he left the messenger bureau through the main entrance, and then was startled by the car accident scene in front of him.

......

At noon on the 10th, Margarita, the messenger of natural disasters who had been wandering in the wilderness for a long time, had completed all her work. She had successfully predicted the area where the next [natural disaster] would strike. Now all she had to do was to notify the surrounding residents to prepare to leave, and then hurry back to ask Yang Hao to use his ability to evacuate the entire city.

"Hmph... I feel like the villagers in the wilderness would be more willing to believe me... while the cities supported by many catastrophe messengers would be quite skeptical of my prophecy." Margarita muttered to herself as she took a blood bag from her backpack, opened it, and drank the blood that had been sitting for several days in one gulp: "Glug glug—Ugh! This blood that's been sitting for days smells so bad, so sour... Ugh..."

Blood that had been left to rot for several days didn't taste good to the Sarkaz Blood Demons. To their palates, the sour and foul smell of the blood could even make them vomit their own stomach acid—in fact, Margarita almost did just that.

If it weren't for her experience as a messenger of natural disasters, which had prepared her for all sorts of situations, she might have vomited by now.

"Ugh... I knew it wouldn't last long as a messenger of the Cataclysm." She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her wrist, looking aggrieved. It's better for Sarkaz blood demons to live and work in populated areas; otherwise, drinking blood that's been sitting for who knows how many days would eventually kill even the strongest Sarkaz blood demon. "I'll ask if anyone at the village will give me some fresh blood later... Hey? You over there! Are you a messenger too?! Don't go over there, the Cataclysm is coming to that area!"

Just as Margarita was thinking about whether she should inform the village to evacuate later and then take some fresh blood from them to fill her stomach, she noticed a group of people heading towards the place she had "prophesied" would be the site of a natural disaster.

They ran very fast, but no matter how fast they ran, they couldn't cross the area affected by the catastrophe. In Margarita's prophecy, the catastrophe was sudden and widespread—they couldn't possibly cross the affected area; they would die there.

To prevent them from getting into trouble, without Yang Hao's help and feeling insecure, Margarita still gritted her teeth and shouted her words to make them stop.

...

They did stop. Margarita breathed a sigh of relief. She hurried towards their location to guide them to the right path, only to discover that it was a fully armed army.

And this heavily armed force seems to be protecting... Ursus's Scourge messenger delivering goods?

Hmm? Maybe I... shouldn't have bothered with them?

Margarita swallowed hard, thinking that if they were transporting some classified cargo, she'd probably be "dealt with" for sure.

...

Just in case, Margarita was prepared to flee at any moment. Her Originium Arts, when activated, could not only predict the exact location of natural disasters but also foresee all enemy actions, so...

Just in case, Margarita used her Originium Arts, and after confirming that she would leave safely according to the [prophecy], she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Um? The direction you’re heading is towards the area where a natural disaster is about to strike…” She swallowed again and explained to the guy who was probably the leader. “And it’s a natural disaster that will cover a large area… You need to change your route.”

If I'm not mistaken, what follows is their question about how she knew about the impending natural disaster. Sigh, how am I supposed to explain this? Margarita swallowed hard, feeling a little nervous.

After all, her Originium Arts are different from those of other Cataclysmic Messengers.

If other messengers of natural disasters could provide rigorous evidence such as geological changes or climate change to prove their conjectures, then Margarita's abilities would seem incredibly fantastical even in this world, and she would be almost unable to provide any evidence.

This is an ability that she and Yang Hao call "prophecy." When activated, this ability allows Margarita to "foresee" various signs of the future.

She could predict everything from natural disasters a few days in advance to what someone would eat a few minutes later—but while she could predict events several days in advance, she couldn't provide any evidence...

That's why Margarita needed Yang Hao's help. With his help, Margarita was able to adjust the city's route to avoid the dangerous place after predicting the exact location of the natural disaster.

She couldn't imagine how many people would have died on the city's journey without Yang Hao's help. The two of them had already saved the city from death twice, but this time, Margarita was truly facing a completely unfamiliar team all by herself, explaining the exact location of the disaster and urging them to leave the danger zone.

Can I do it well?

She watched nervously as the leader of the Ursus messenger squad seemed to turn back to speak with his companions, and after a moment—

"Tell us which route is safest. We're in a hurry."

The leader asked Margarita in a deep voice. He didn't even ask how she had obtained that intelligence!

Margarita paused for a moment, then hurriedly pointed them to a safe route.

"Here, and then here—this border is a safe zone. If you move along this border, you can safely avoid it even if a natural disaster strikes..."