Two Realms Shuttle Gate: Don't Call Me a Demon!-Chapter 414 - 284: The Village_2

Mountain Infantry Heavy Weapons would be accordingly reduced, but the proportion of Super Soldiers within the ranks would greatly increase.

As for the heavy combined brigades, the Jieke Group currently only has two, entirely equipped with heavy weapons, main battle tanks, armored vehicles, field air defense missile vehicles, rocket artillery, anti-tank missile launchers, self-propelled howitzers, self-propelled mortars, and self-propelled high altitude artillery. Just these armored and fire support units alone number in the hundreds.

Including all sorts of logistic transport and support vehicles, a single heavy combined brigade like this would cost several billion US Dollars. Those hard-strapped warlords, let alone not being able to cough up that much money, wouldn’t bear to allocate those funds even if they had them.

The financially robust Jieke Group certainly wouldn’t shortchange its own soldiers, and this money wasn’t spent in vain.

It shows in combat with the warlords: with equivalent forces, not accounting for the existence of Super Soldiers, Jieke Group’s soldiers can also thoroughly thrash the warlord’s troops.

In a short period of time, Jieke Security continued to expand and seize territory, forcing those six warlord families to flee helter-skelter.

....

Xikou Town!

This was a village under the jurisdiction of the Kegan Alliance Army.

The village wasn’t large, nestled in the densely forested environment of the Northern Territory; it had been cultivated into layers of terraced fields, a hidden paradise amid the woods.

But this paradise grew not the usual food crops or economic plants, but swaying poppy flowers.

Emerging from the dense forest, Chief Jia came with two infantry squads to this place; they were tracking down a group of warlord soldiers who had fled in defeat, likely hiding in this village.

Several young cowherds spotted Chief Jia and immediately sprinted back to the village to alert the adults.

"Trouble, trouble, bad people are coming!"

Hearing the children shouting, Chief Jia touched his face and asked the soldiers beside him, "Do I look very fierce?"

The soldier glanced at Chief Jia covered in blood, his hair matted in clumps, some wounds bandaged, exuding an aura of death. If he, a soldier, were to encounter Chief Jia abruptly, he’d shudder, let alone the children. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Brother Jia, those kids are talking nonsense."

Chief Jia smiled, aware of his own image. Outside, they called them Super Soldiers "walking demons." Many enemies, upon hearing the name Super Soldier, let alone seeing them, would go weak in the knees.

"This place is Opium Village."

Turning to glance at the poppy flowers growing in the fields, Chief Jia, a native of Chan Country, was all too familiar with them.

A substantial part of the infamous Golden Triangle lay within the territory of Chan Country, and its citizens could recognize the flower at a glance.

In Chan Country, especially in areas of the Northern Territory riddled with warlords, opium was a significant industry for many.

The warlords had the local farmers plant it due to the political instability and the fact that the mountainous terrain was not as suitable for agricultural crops as the plains were.

To add to that, the warlords deliberately suppressed prices, making it unprofitable for farmers to grow food crops. If they wanted to earn money, they had to choose to cultivate opium.

The warlords would provide seeds, chemical fertilizers, and irrigation systems and offer loans. Once the crops were harvested, the warlords would take charge of the purchasing, with no risk of unsold goods, and the prices were often twice the revenue from growing food crops.

The prohibition of opium in Chan Country was never completely effective, and many times it could actually be traced back to economic issues.

It wasn’t something that could be resolved just by destroying warlords. If one warlord was killed, and in the absence of a stable economy and alternative income sources, the farmers would still choose to cultivate opium because they had no other choice.

As Chief Jia was observing, many villagers of all ages ran out, some wielding old hunting rifles, looking warily at Chief Jia and his fully-armed soldiers.

"What brings you gentlemen here? I am Sangka, the village chief of Xikou Village."

A man with dark skin, a lean build, and hands full of calluses approached.

"Greetings, fellow villager. My name is Jiasa Mountain, assigned to the Security Department of the Jieke Group, the 14th Mountain Brigade’s reconnaissance unit. We’re here chasing a group of warlord soldiers."

Chief Jia glanced at the villagers holding old-fashioned hunting guns and then stepped forward to shake hands with the village chief named Sangka.

"Chief Jia, what you’re talking about, these warlord soldiers... Our village has always been inhabited by our own people; we’ve never had any warlord soldiers come here."

Sangka shook his head, outright rejecting Chief Jia’s claim without a second thought.

For Sangka, those warlord soldiers were precisely the troops of the Kegan Alliance Army, who ruled the area. If he betrayed them, who would buy the opium he grew in the future?

"We’ll search on our own."

One impatient soldier spoke up, ready to take matters into his own hands and search for themselves.

"No, our village does not welcome outsiders."

Sangka stood in front, and the villagers immediately became agitated, brandishing hoes, scythes, and old-fashioned hunting rifles, shouting that no one was allowed in.

"Stop, put down your guns."

Watching as the situation might escalate, Jiasa Mountain waved his hand, indicating to the Jieke Security soldiers not to aim their guns at the villagers.

"Village Chief Sang, you know what Jieke Group does, right?"

Standing in front of Sangka, Jiasa Mountain thought of the training he had received in the army, and a friendly smile appeared on his face, though the bloodstains on him hardly made it seem friendly.

"I’ve heard about Jieke Group, we do watch TV and listen to the radio."

Sangka nodded, indicating that he was aware of Jieke Group.

"Then it will be easier, may I ask, how much does your village earn per capita from cultivating opium?"

Jiasa Mountain, following the scripted persuasion tactics, initiated the inquiry.

"Our annual income from opium amounts to about 1.5 million Zen Coins."

Chan Country itself, among Southeast Asian countries, is one of the extremely poor and backward nations, and the Northern Territory, with its mountainous and forested environment, is the poorest part of Chan Country.

The figure of 1.5 million Zen Coins might sound substantial, but when converted, it’s only worth about 1,000 US Dollars, which is roughly six to seven thousand Hua Yuan a year.

This income is only possible with opium cultivation; were they to farm food crops, the figure would halve.

One can imagine the poverty of these farmers, who, though cultivating opium themselves, earn but the most minimal and negligible profits in the entire opium sales chain.

"Village Chief Sang, my family also used to farm in our village, and the income was about the same. But do you know how much our per capita income has increased since Jieke Group came?"

"How much?"

Sangka’s curiosity was piqued by Jiasa Mountain’s words, and the surrounding villagers felt the same.

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"This much."

Miao Lun stretched out all five fingers on his right hand.

"Five million Zen Coins? That much?"

Sangka’s mouth dropped open in shock.

"Not five million Zen Coins, around five thousand US Dollars."

Jiasa Mountain corrected Sangka’s misunderstanding and revealed the staggering figure to the entire Xikou Village.

"Five thousand US Dollars, my goodness, how could one even spend all that money!"

"I’ve never seen so much money at once in my entire life; they must be bluffing."

"I’ve heard that Jieke Group is super rich; they sell a lot of medicines and make money off foreigners."

The villagers were discussing fervently, only half convinced by Jiasa Mountain’s claims.

"Our Jieke Group’s insect farming business is incredibly developed, just like your opium cultivation, where people only need to take care of the insects, and Jieke Group will handle the rest by purchasing them.

How about it, fellow villagers, why not join us in insect farming? It’s far more profitable than growing opium."

Jiasa Mountain cajoled them persistently, if warlords bound these farmers with economic interests, then Jieke Group would crush them with even more substantial economic benefits.

When it comes to money, those warlords can’t hold a candle to Jieke Group.

Not just these minor warlords, but even the entire economy of Chan Country, with an annual GDP of just over 500 billion US Dollars, is not as high as the net profit of Jieke Group in one year.

Frankly speaking, Jieke Group could financially sustain Chan Country without any issue.

Village Chief Sangka’s lips quivered slightly, and after a long pause, he spoke, "Is that true? Is insect farming really that profitable?"

As he spoke, his heart was already racing with excitement.