Yama Rising

The elderly man from the Psalm Consortium almost crushed the cross in his hand.

The most loyal and genuine allies of the Cathayan Underworld? More like the most shameless scum in history!

He aimed a vicious glance at his shameless peers, and he knew exactly what was going to happen next.

They had to invest! Even if they had to beg, they had to somehow convince the Cathayan Underworld to allow them to invest in the new energy resource project!

Being able to invest in this project, which was going to usher in a brand new era, would be an enormous opportunity!

The underworld has a greater population than the mortal realm, and the amount of consumer demand for this new energy resource would be enough to support a new powerhouse consortium!

With that in mind, the elderly man immediately sprang into action. Despite his elderly appearance, his body was as agile and slippery as an eel as he quickly skirted around his peers, then pressed himself against the section of the railing that was closest to Qin Ye as he declared, "I'm willing to offer 1,000 tons of S grade materials! Just say the word and it's all yours!"

Holy shit!

All of his peers turned to face him with appalled expressions.

Wasn't he supposed to establish good relations with Qin Ye first before discussing things like this? Surely this was too barbaric and straightforward! Where was his sense of dignity as a representative of one of the top 10 consortiums?

Qin Ye raised his head in a casual manner before replying, "The Cathayan Underworld has more than enough resources for now to support its own research."

"Surely you could never have too many resources at your disposal!" The elderly man picked up the hem of his robe and began to straddle the railing in preparation to jump down, as a fawning smile appeared on his face. "There must be some resources that you're running short on! I'm willing to donate these resources free of charge as a gesture to acknowledge the significant contribution that the Cathayan Underworld is making to the entire world! All I want is to be able to help you! There's always strength in more numbers!"

Qin Ye looked up at the railing up above. Beyond the railing were 10 faces that were wearing glowing smiles like 10 sunflowers embracing the sun.

The netherfire in their eyes had all erupted into burning torches, and they were eagerly fighting for Qin Ye's attention.

At the sight of Qin Ye's gaze, their smiles became even more sycophantic, and Khilok rubbed his hands together as he said, "Yanluo Qin, do you remember me? We met during the last international conference, and at the time, our Abbasid Consortium had brought you a lavish present. Unfortunately, the present was too extravagant and was held up at customs, delaying its arrival by a whole month. The present is a warship constructed from pure gold and wood from Yin Nightmare Trees. We've named the ship 'The Sun', and it's docked at Shikoku of the Nipponese Underworld right now! Have a good think, Your Excellency, I'm sure you'll recall it!"

This is taking shamelessness to whole new levels!

All of the consortium representatives turned toward Khilok with stunned expressions, unsure of whether to be appalled or impressed.

Qin Ye smiled as he replied, "Now that you mention it, I do seem to have some recollection of that."

Upon hearing this, Khilok's smile immediately became so pronounced that all of his wrinkles bunched together as he said, "I knew it wouldn't slip your mind, Yanluo Qin! The Sun will reach the Cathayan Underworld within three days, please accept it!"

"Is that supposed to be your investment into the Zhu Rong plan?" Qin Ye asked.

"Of course not!" Khilok immediately replied as he put on a serious expression. "The Sun is just an insignificant little gift from our Abbasid Consortium to the Cathayan Underworld, we'll be sending professional personnel to discuss investment into the Zhu Rong project. Please place your trust in our Abbasid Consortium, there is no limit to the amount we're able to invest into the project!"

As soon as his voice trailed off, the elderly man from the Psalm Consortium interjected, "When it comes to the energy and machinery sectors, our Psalm Consortium is the undisputed number one consortium in the industry. I won't waste your time with unnecessary words, Yanluo Qin. Our Psalm Consortium is very interested in the Zhu Rong plan, and the amount of funds we're willing to invest into the project is also unlimited!"

"Do you think you two are the only top consortiums in the world? What a joke! Yanluo Qin, if you're willing to give our Blue Forest Consortium a chance, we're also willing to repay you with unlimited investment funds!"

"What right do you have to say anything here? You're a corporation comprised of high-end restaurants and restaurant chains, what right do you have to participate in the Zhu Rong plan? Are you going to renovate your restaurants into power plants? Don't make me laugh!"

"Taking all things into consideration, our Index Consortium is the most qualified consortium to play a role in this project! We specialize in real estate, and if you're willing to give us a chance, not only are we willing to offer unlimited investment funds, we can immediately construct the best research and development laboratories free of charge at any location you desire!"

All of the consortium representatives had gone completely insane!

They all knew that the new energy resource was going to bring about enormous changes in the entire underworld, and if they could participate in the project, the returns they would be able to make would be astronomical!

Right as they were bickering among one another, Qin Ye finally raised a hand, and like the conductor of an orchestra, his simple gesture immediately silenced the bickering consortium representatives.

He had a feeling that if he were to instruct the surrounding Yin soldiers to depart, the 10 consortium representatives would immediately rush over to him and fight for the right to kiss his hand!

"To discuss the specific details, please directly contact our ministry of foreign affairs and research and development team," he said in a lazy voice. "I'll be going ahead now."

As soon as his voice trailed off, he immediately vanished as a gust of Yin wind.

Right after he departed, the expressions on the faces of the 10 consortium representatives instantly returned to normal, and they exchanged a few glances before silently departing.

All of them were walking very quickly as they knew that the true battle was about to begin!

Khilok returned to his own seat, and Maria was already seated beside him. He smoothed down his own white Arab robe and slowly sat down in silence with a contemplative look in his eyes.

After a full 30 seconds of silence, he suddenly asked, "Did you manage to see the unit up close?"

Maria shook her head in response, and her face was still flushed with excitement as she replied, "The soldiers refused to let us get close to it. I can understand why they're being so cautious, but it really is quite a pity."

Khilok fell silent again, but a short while later, he suddenly asked, "Do you think it was real or fake?"

Maria turned to face him with a surprised expression.

She had thought that Khilok had already been swayed and had already decided to invest in the project, but as it turned out, she had been the naive one in the end!

"There's no need to look at me like that," Khilok said in a calm voice. "The new energy resource is an enormous investment opportunity, and we must take all of the necessary precautions to ensure that the investment won't fall through, that's why I went to the ruler of the Cathayan Underworld to test him just now."

That pitiful display you put on was nothing more than a test?

Maria nodded in response with a complex expression, and Khilok continued, "If he were lacking in confidence, he would've rejected all of us, but he didn't. Having said that, the ruler of the Cathayan Underworld has shown during the last international conference that he's not someone who'll fold easily, even under immense pressure, so his attitude here can't be taken as solid evidence of anything. I can't decide on what to believe, so I want to ask you what percentage chance you think this press conference has of being genuine."

Perhaps scientists could be fooled, but there was no way he would be swindled.

He had seen and experienced far too much trickery and deception during his time in the underworld. Prior to the Argosian Underworld's attack on the Alkebulan Underworlds, they had just signed mutual trade agreements in the palace of Macbeth.

The diplomats of the Argosian Underworld had assured the Mythic Spirits that the two parties were going to be the closest of allies from that point onward, yet the forbidden arts had been tossed out right after that.

Kana Fujii also had the same concerns. She was concealing her own mouth behind her hand fan as he asked, "What do you think?"

Hideki Yukawa was seated right beside her, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he replied, "I think we should proceed with caution. While it's true that the Cathayan Underworld has brought out a decisive piece of evidence, don't you think there's something fishy about the way this press conference was held? Firstly, given the attitude that the Cathayan Underworld has displayed in the past, if it had already developed a new energy resource, it would've already boasted about it to the entire world countless times! Also, with that unit up their sleeve, why did they allow Mr. Lu and Mr. Zu to endure such a rigorous debate before bringing it out? Those two are the best scientists that the Cathayan Underworld has to offer, but they're certainly not at the top of the world when it comes to the field of physics, and there are far too many top-tier scientists in attendance here. Why would they have intentionally placed themselves into such a difficult situation before bailing themselves out? If you ask me, I feel as if the esteemed Yanluo Qin decided to bring that unit out as a spur of the moment choice, and that's what I don't understand..."

Why hadn't they brought out this instrumental piece of evidence from the very beginning?

This could've been a press conference that would go down in history, so why had they chosen to do things like this?

He cast his gaze toward scientists that were still huddled around the main stage, and he murmured to himself, "Is the unit real or fake? Logically speaking, it should be fake, but it looks real no matter how I look at it!"

A grim look appeared on Kana Fujii's face as she nodded and said, "I'll report this to the board of directors right away for them to make a decision."

At the same time, Archimedes heaved a faint sigh as he said, "Report the situation to the two death gods."

The emergence of the unit had completely foiled their plans to watch the Cathayan Underworld be denounced by the entire academic world. This honor should've belonged to the Argosian Underworld!

For countless years, it had always been the Argosian Underworld's research into Yin rune that had fueled the development of the world, yet they had just been beaten at their own game by the Cathayan Underworld, which wasn't even known for its excellence in the field of physics!

This was a direct slap to the face to all of the members of their round table!

"I still don't understand why they decided to hold the press conference like this!" he mused through gritted teeth. "If they had something like this, then they should've brought it from the very beginning, but they didn't do that! Were they trying to create suspense and a theatrical effect by doing things this way?"

"The only explanation would be that the unit is fake!" Diophantus said in a cold voice.

If that were the case, then the Cathayan Underworld would've just lied to the entire world, and that would be an inexcusable crime!

However, there was no way for them to verify anything as the Cathayan Underworld could simply refuse them access to the unit by declaring it to be strictly confidential.

"Let's go." Archimedes rose to his feet as he said, "If the unit really is fake, then the truth will be uncovered sooner or later. From this point onward, they're going to have to constantly hold one press conference after another, and something new would have to be presented at every single one of these press conferences. As the developers of the new energy resource, they get to dictate the rules. The yellow papers of the new technology are the core of the project, and it could earn them unimaginable sums of wealth, but they have to instill their potential investors with sufficient confidence first. If the unit is fake, then their deception will slowly be unraveled during future press conferences, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the day when they're forced to reap the bitter fruits of their actions. In the academic world, particularly in the fields of mathematics, physics, and astrology, no one excels beyond our Argosian Underworld!"

Meanwhile, Qin Ye had appeared in the watchtower, and Zhao Yun was also there.

Neither of them said anything, and there wasn't any joy derived from the apparent victory they had just secured. After a long while, Zhao Yun finally sighed, "So we were forced to display that thing to the world, after all."

Qin Ye wanted to force a smile onto his own face, but was unable to do so in the end.

Only after a few minutes had passed did he look up into the sky as he sighed, "Regardless of what happens in the future, we had to weather this storm first. We can't allow the Zhu Rong plan to fall apart before it even has a chance to develop! Otherwise, there's no way I would've presented that thing given the countless drawbacks."

The room fell silent again.

A short while later, Zhao Yun asked, "What do we do from here onward?"

"We do our best," Qin Ye replied as he closed his eyes. "What's done has already been done, and we must face the consequences now. Seeing as I've already displayed that thing to the world, it's time to do everything in my power to weather the subsequent storms that will arise from my decision."