Chapter 52 - Black Dragon Bay

Heikou (Black Dragon Mouth)

Heicheng (Black Dragon City)

Censorate (Supervisory Court)

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During the trial week of the bus operation, only minor issues were discovered, with no major problems arising.

Thus, amidst the eager anticipation of the public, the bus officially began its trial operation.

Initially, the service was free, as the citizens of Black Dragon City were still paying off their "mortgages" through labor.

However, on the very first day of operation, the bus was packed to the brim.

What was supposed to be a scene from tens of thousands of years in the future—crowded buses—had now unexpectedly occurred in the demon realm ahead of time.

If it weren't for the fact that the children had to go to school, they might have squeezed onto the bus as well.

Yin Jixue couldn't intervene in the crowding issue, as even in modern times, crowding on buses wasn't illegal. She could only wait until the bus was truly full before people would give up.

When she heard that some demons had been so squished that they couldn't even find their pants after getting off the bus, Yin Jixue could only sigh and shake her head.

She had no choice but to allocate resources to build a mechanical manufacturing plant. In the future, heavy industry would branch out from here, but for now, the focus was on producing buses.

Yin Jixue only had four sets of materials, meaning that after exploiting the system's bug, it could no longer help her. The good news was that the materials could be sourced, though it was troublesome, and some even required mining.

With a wave of her hand, Yin Jixue marked all mineral deposits within a fifty-mile radius on a map. However, she handed the map to Lou Zhao because she didn't recognize many of the minerals.

"I'm counting on you. You'll succeed in this, right?" Yin Jixue looked at the demon king with hopeful eyes.

Lou Zhao reluctantly agreed: "Don't worry."

To avoid overburdening Old Demon, Yin Jixue didn't appoint him as the permanent head of the mechanical factory. Instead, she tasked him with training three apprentices capable of independently building buses. Once that was done, he could leave.

Old Demon, still feeling guilty for nearly harming Yin Jixue, agreed to repay the favor, thinking it wouldn't be too difficult.

However, during the recruitment for the mechanical factory, an unexpected demon applied.

It was Tiesheng, the blacksmith from the forge, and the only male blacksmith. However, he wasn't particularly passionate about blacksmithing, merely meeting his monthly quotas without excelling.

Tiesheng seemed genuinely eager to build cars: "I want to work on making buses, even if it's just manufacturing parts!"

He was the first demon in the city to request a career change. After some consideration, Yin Jixue approved his application.

The output of the city's forge had already met demand, and they would continue producing farming tools, for which Yin Jixue had already drawn up plans.

At the moment, they didn't need a third blacksmith; they needed talent for building cars.

She also instructed the Ministry of Justice to issue a notice: any demon who felt their current job didn't suit them and wished to switch careers could write to the Ministry of Justice with their reasons.

However, after the notice was issued, no demons responded. It seemed they were all satisfied with their current jobs.

Soon, it was time for the Heikou city lord and his envoy to leave.

Yin Jixue had two hundred sweet potatoes prepared for them.

Meng Qiu instructed the city lord: "One hundred of these are for emergencies, and the other hundred are for planting. The specifics will be explained by the official escorting you. I hope that by the next time we meet, your citizens will no longer go hungry."

The city lord placed a hand on his chest and bowed: "Please convey my gratitude to the queen for her generosity. Heikou will never betray Black Dragon City."

When Lou Zhao learned of this, he went to see Yin Jixue.

"You want to share food with other cities?" Yin Jixue set down her brush.

She thought about the sweet potato reserves: "If we have enough food, I'm certainly willing to share. But currently, Black Dragon City can only spare a hundred sweet potatoes. Have you thought about how to distribute them?"

Black Dragon Ridge, Black Dragon Bay, and Black Dragon Wall would share the hundred sweet potatoes.

Lou Zhao hung his head, looking like a dejected puppy.

Yin Jixue couldn't bear it: "If they can wait two months, that's when the next batch of sweet potatoes will be harvested. I can allocate a hundred from the palace's share to each of the three cities."

The sweet potatoes grown in the palace were for internal use, no different from those outside, except they took up space in Lou Zhao's garden.

Calling it a garden was generous—even a wasteland would have more dignity.

However, thanks to Yin Jixue's efforts, the gardens had become valuable plots, heavily guarded.

Lou Zhao went from dejected to hopeful: "But will you have enough to eat?"

Demons were resilient to hunger—the stronger the demon, the less often they needed to eat. In the past, Lou Zhao only ate once every six months, but since returning, he has been dining with his wife every day.

Yin Jixue chuckled: "I can't eat that much, and I've planted other crops. I'm already tired of sweet potatoes."

There were other crops?

And they could all grow in barren soil?

Lou Zhao was increasingly baffled by his wife's capabilities.

She was just a human—how could she accomplish what the entire demon race couldn't?

Now he was torn. If he left temporarily to visit other cities, would his wife be taken away while he was gone?

He felt it was highly possible. If the Qingluan or Yihu clans learned about crops growing in barren soil, they would surely send spies.

Although he had long been prepared for battle, the thought of someone trying to steal his wife made him even more uneasy.

Yin Jixue didn't hear his response and instead watched as his expression shifted through a myriad of emotions.

He was supposed to be the demon king, yet he had no sense of royal intrigue—his emotions were written all over his face, easy to read.

But demons valued strength above all. As long as one was powerful, any scheme was just a paper tiger. So it made sense that the demon king disdained underhanded tactics.

Yin Jixue liked this straightforward, unpretentious demon king.

Life was hard enough—scheming would only shorten one's lifespan.

"Alright, I'll wait two months."

Yin Jixue thought he must be out of his mind: "We have money now. If you're worried, why not exchange some food and send it to them?"

Lou Zhao frowned: "I can't let them become dependent. They need to survive when I'm not around."

He realized that Yin Jixue was an exceptionally kind person, especially toward the demons. She truly was a worthy queen.

"Then how do they survive?" Yin Jixue was curious. From the name, Black Dragon Bay seemed to be a coastal area. Could demons eat seafood?

"Black Dragon Ridge survives by burrowing. There are a few types of demon beasts there that aren't aggressive, reproduce quickly, and can be eaten. They also have snow-capped mountains—any plant there is edible, and they can hunt demon beasts."

It sounded like a harsh environment, possibly high altitude.

"Black Dragon Bay is near the sea and often gets attacked by sea beasts. If they're lucky, they can eat the sea beasts. The climate there isn't cold, so they can eat sea sand to fill their stomachs."

No winter!

Yin Jixue was deeply intrigued!

What a perfect vacation spot!

Lou Zhao noticed her reaction: "You want to go?"

Yin Jixue nodded vigorously: "A place without winter sounds like paradise! No need to bundle up. I love Black Dragon Bay!"

She had said she loved it—a place that was humid and hot.

How… how shameless!

Lou Zhao sneered: "It's not as great as you think. It's humid and stuffy, and you can only drink seawater and eat dead demon beasts. The place is crawling with bugs."

Yin Jixue hesitated. Was it that bad?

Something felt off about the demon king.

But surely no one would badmouth their own home, right?

She spoke while observing Lou Zhao's expression: "It's fine. I'm not going there to live in luxury. I'll visit after we've given them seeds and they've developed."

Lou Zhao's expression didn't change at all. He lowered his eyes, lost in thought.

It seemed her intuition was off.