Chapter 1035 - 527: The Elite

At the moment Zhou Furu unexpectedly awakened the Yang Flame Superpower, he was plunged into an unprecedented frenzy of joy.

Yang Fan, accompanied by Miss Jana, quietly appeared in Lundin City, the capital of the Lan shi Kingdom.

The purpose of his trip was naturally to search for the remaining parts of the Longyuan Shield, restoring the Supreme Treasure to wholeness.

The two were currently located in a bar in the North District of Lundin City.

In the first few years of the Age of Calamity, a severe shortage of food emerged worldwide, and the Lan shi Kingdom was no exception.

Since brewing required the consumption of grains, the rising food prices caused related enterprises to go bankrupt one after another.

As expected, the entire range of the Lan shi islands witnessed a fierce trend of bar closures.

Recently, the Lan shi Kingdom joined the Pioneer Alliance, imported millions of tons of food from Eastern Great Xia, and purchased a large amount of new agricultural equipment, accelerating the construction of indoor agriculture and significantly alleviating the food shortage.

According to estimates from Lan shi officials, it’s expected that within two years the food supply issue will be thoroughly resolved, and Lan shi People will no longer be troubled by hunger.

In contrast, Great Xia had initially resolved the food shortage issue as early as the second year of the Age of Calamity, which was three years ago, and this year greatly loosened purchase restrictions.

By this calculation, Lan shi People are five full years behind.

Just to add a bit.

Interestingly, before the Age of Calamity, the Lan shi Kingdom prided itself as a "developed country," while Great Xia labeled itself as a "developing country."

Obviously, now no one in the world would foolishly consider Great Xia a developing country.

Quite the opposite, the whole world recognizes Great Xia as the only "civilization pinnacle" on Canglan Star.

On the other hand.

Since Lan shi People enjoy drinking, bars are vital social venues, coupled with the government’s relaxation of restrictions, leading to a proliferation of breweries and bars, appearing across the cities like mushrooms after rain.

Yang Fan used the Superpower of Muscle Control to alter his appearance but did not change his skin color; he remained yellow-skinned.

Miss Jana employed a Secret Technique to mask her stunning appearance, and others would instinctively overlook her presence, completely forgetting what the Mermaid actually looked like.

"Here is your water, gentlemen."

The female server came over bearing a tray and politely said a phrase.

The three white men at the neighboring table happened to overhear, and their eyes fell on them.

After all, it’s not common for someone to drink water at a bar instead of alcohol.

One white man with an earring on his right ear snickered: "Yellow-skinned boy, are you not of age yet?"

The term "yellow-skinned boy" in the sentence carried a hint of contempt, but not enough to meet the standard for prejudice or insult.

In truth, Earring Man would rather have shouted "yellow-skinned monkey," but he didn’t have the guts.

Nowadays, the influence of the Eastern Giant Dragon is at its peak, with several Great Xia enterprises entering the Lan shi Kingdom, and many faces from Great Xia appearing across the Lan shi islands.

Not long ago, there was news reported by the media in Lundin City about a Great Xia employee who was called "yellow-skinned monkey" at a bar, who directly reported it to the police.

When the police arrived at the scene, they implicitly favored the local and even told the Great Xia employee, "Don’t go to dangerous places in the future," revealing a veiled threat.

The officer merely used a gentle tone to deliver a verbal warning to the insulter, before leaving the scene. Before the officer left, the insulter loudly shouted phrases such as "Lan shi islands do not welcome yellow-skinned monkeys."

The Great Xia employee was infuriated and sought help from the Great Xia Diplomatic Mission.

The times had changed long ago; how could Great Xia possibly still indulge the Lan shi People?

Great Xia swiftly implemented a series of measures, interrupting several negotiations with the Lan shi Kingdom, while exerting pressure through diplomatic channels.

The Lan shi Kingdom had just experienced a turbulent period due to the tsunami; its internal situation was already in chaos. How could it withstand the formidable pressure exerted by Great Xia?

After only a day, the Lan shi People obediently submitted.

The insulter was promptly arrested, and the officer handling the matter was seized for abuse of power. The local police department saw a mass of officials being dismissed, while the foreign affairs department of Lan shi humbly apologized to Great Xia.

Even the bar where the incident occurred became a collateral victim, and the establishment permanently closed its doors.

From then on, in the bars of Lundin City, whenever a guest resembling someone from Great Xia appeared, the staff would be more cautious.

At this moment.

Yang Fan frowned as he looked at the Earring White Man: "I don’t know you at all. Did you speak like that to look for trouble?"

Before the Earring White Man could say anything, a burly security guard who had been keeping an eye on the area quickly came over and sternly addressed the Earring White Man: "Little John, if you dare cause trouble, don’t blame me for being rude to you."

The Earring White Man hastily grinned and said, "Of course I won’t cause trouble here."

The burly security guard turned to Yang Fan and asked genially: "Sir, are you okay?"

Yang Fan shook his head: "I’m fine!"

The burly security guard added: "Sir, our bar is extremely safe; no one can harass others here casually. If you need anything, please let me know anytime."

Yang Fan nodded and said, "Thank you!"

The Earring White Man at the neighboring table seemed to feel very embarrassed, he hastily finished his beer and left quickly with his companions.

Miss Jana quietly watched the scene unfold and softly remarked, "Your Canglan Civilization is truly interesting."

The Mermaid immediately said: "If it were in the Mei Jia Civilization, and you were a part of the Mei Jia Royal Family, anyone who dared to offend a royal in such a way would at least have to serve a hundred years of hard labor in the deep-sea mines."

Yang Fan’s tone was calm: "This is not the Mei Jia Civilization."

Miss Jana glanced at him, a trace of apology appearing on her pretty face: "I understand you still hold a grudge about what happened last time, but turning you into a supreme royal was Her Majesty Empress Jiafei’s order, not the intent of the Holy Grand Chief Priest.

"The Holy Grand Chief Priest had a fierce argument with Her Majesty over this, and Her Majesty promised that she will absolutely respect your personal wishes in the future and not do such things again."

Yang Fan raised his eyebrows slightly: "I hope the Mei Jia Civilization will keep their words."

He knew very well that the Mei Jia Civilization was acting to mend relations, and whether these words were true could only be observed for the time being.

The Mermaid smiled sweetly: "Her Majesty also said that to express the royal family’s apology, a gift will be sent to you later, and it will definitely satisfy you."

Yang Fan was indifferent about the compensatory gift: "There’s no need for a gift."

Miss Jana changed the subject: "Are you waiting for someone here?"

Yang Fan "hmm"ed once: "Yes, he should be arriving soon."

The person he was waiting for was a researcher from the Lan shi Kingdom’s Royal Museum, who had very in-depth research on warhorse shields.

At that moment.

The bar suddenly erupted with a huge commotion.

"Oh my god!"

"This is incredible!"

"The Kingdom is doomed!"

All the customers’ gazes were drawn to the TV screen on the wall.

A rather attractive female host was reporting a major breaking news story with excitement.

"... If the populace of the ’Sulan’ and ’West’ regions passes the independence referendum, then the Lan shi Kingdom will completely become a part of history.

"From then on, the three islands of Lan shi will split into three independent nations, and the Lan shi Kingdom will only be left with a ’Gelan’ region, possibly having to change its name to the Gelan Kingdom.

"Currently, the Royal Family has dispatched royal members to rush to the Sulan and West regions, to persuade local leaders to abandon the referendum.

"Because in the Age of Calamity, only by tightly uniting can the three islands of Lan shi better face future challenges..."

Yang Fan immediately smiled.

This shocking piece of news that dumbfounded everyone in the bar was undoubtedly the result of Great Xia maneuvering behind the scenes.

Since the Age of Great Navigation a few hundred years ago, these white-skinned nations began to madly plunder the world’s resources, and ordinary people in these countries have enjoyed the benefits for centuries.

Now entering the Superpower Era, Great Xia of course wants them to regurgitate all the dividends of the past.

As the former world hegemon of the Carmenia Federation, the Lan shi people have committed countless wrongs worldwide.

After their national strength greatly declined, they assumed the role of agitators, creating numerous conflicts across the globe, significantly annoying the Great Xia people those years.

For this reason, the Lan shi Kingdom became the first country to be severely tackled by Great Xia.

Over the years, the Sulan and West regions have been at odds with the Lan shi Royal Family, and with just an unofficial promise from Great Xia to support their joining the Pioneer Alliance, these two regions were eager to jump ship.

After all, the Sulan and West people are not fools; if they can directly align with the "big boss" Great Xia, why follow behind the Gelan people, giving all benefits to them first?

Thus, the Lan shi Kingdom is destined to become a historical term.

Miss Jana withdrew her gaze from the TV, saying: "This is Great Xia’s strategy for integrating Canglan Star: first break up each country, then gradually consume them?"

Yang Fan nodded: "Yes."

The Mermaid candidly admitted past mistakes: "I initially suggested the Canglan people should unite, but it seems that approach doesn’t work; your Great Xia method is more in line with the actual situation of Canglan Star."

At that moment.

Yang Fan’s eyes flickered and moved towards a figure that had just entered the bar.

It was an elderly man with white hair, possessing typical Gelan features, such as a broad forehead, deep-set eyes, and a prominent nose.

The old man had just entered and heard the tumultuous commotion, and was immediately taken aback.

He looked towards the TV screen, seeing the subtitles "Sulan region, West region referendum," and instantly understood everything.

The old man shook his head, let out a sigh, went to the bar to ask for a drink, and found an empty seat to sit.

At his age, he had seen through many things, so he wasn’t as devastated as many people in the bar were.

After just one sip, a figure appeared in the opposite seat.

It was Yang Fan.

The old man glanced at him, first showing surprise, then whistling: "Look what I see here, an upper class man actually deigning to sit with a lower class man like me."

The so-called "upper class man" naturally referred to the Great Xia people.

This statement was obviously a joke mixed with a bit of hostility, but not too much, otherwise, the old man would have stood up and left.

Although he couldn’t provoke Great Xia people, he could at least avoid them.