I cultivate mushrooms in warhammer

Half an hour later, Ausgus ended his psychic power session, his face beaming with joy.

The psychic power had given him all the information he craved, and he knew what to do.

"Harkas, come to my room," Ausgus sent a message via his data pad.

Outside the door, a rustling of footsteps could be heard. Harkas, holding two bottles of wine, kicked open Ausgus's door with a bang, entering with a strong smell of alcohol.

"Burp ~ ~ ~" A long, drawn-out belch.

The scent of strong liquor quickly permeated the room, perfectly masking the faint, alluring fragrance of the opposite sex emanating from Harkas.

"You've been drinking?" Ausgus frowned.

"Yeah, buddy. I knew you'd get the answers from your psychic powers, so I opened two bottles of wine in advance to celebrate. Hehe, want some?"

Harkas leaned lazily against the desk, turned, picked up a wine glass, and poured Ausgus a cocktail of the two fine wines.

Ausgus himself loved fine wine, and since he was in a good mood, he took the glass and toasted with the other man, not at all bothered by Harkas kicking the door open.

"Listen to me, Harkas, I've found a way," Ausgus drained the wine in his glass and took out his data pad to make a call request. "I know a member of the 8th Governor's Guard, he might be able to help."

Harkas slumped onto the sofa, squinting, his cheeks flushed, and mumbled, "The 8th Governor's Guard? You mean the guard responsible for supervising the Planetary Defense Force? How can they help?"

"They can help a lot. You may not know it yet, but the captain of the 8th Guard is called Chekhov, a typical violent maniac, born from a branch of a branch of the Wanzer family. I'll find an opportunity to host a banquet, inviting Chekhov and Lino to attend together, and let them have a duel between nobles. In the duel, the violent maniac accidentally kills his opponent, that's very reasonable, right?"

Ausgus chuckled smugly.

The call connected, but it wasn't Chekhov who answered, but a man who identified himself as a member of the 8th Guard, named Madsen.

"Madsen, let your superior Chekhov answer the phone," Ausgus ordered in an unquestionable tone, not regarding himself as an outsider at all.

Madsen was stunned for a moment:

"Uh, Young Master Ausgus, Captain Chekhov is currently on a mission outside, and we estimate that we won't be able to contact him for a short period of time. You know, there's no communication signal in the rebel territory, and there have been similar situations in the past."

"Can't contact him at all?" Ausgus was unwilling to give up.

"Yes, Young Master, there really is no signal in the rebel territory. At least until Chekhov enters the communication range of the Planetary Defense Force, we can't contact him. Is there anything you need?"

"It's nothing, I was just asking," Ausgus sighed heavily and closed the communication.

He threw his data pad onto the sofa and pointed at Harkas, instructing, "Use your family's channels to send an encrypted Star Language message to the people of the Cold Trade Group, asking them to send a 'Mud Man' to kill Lino, price is negotiable."

"Mud Man? What's that?" Harkas took out his data pad, edited the encrypted message, and asked casually.

"I don't know what a Mud Man is either, but my psychic power tells me that the Mud Man is a biochemical assassin created by the Cold Trade Group, it has never failed, and it can definitely kill Lino."

Ausgus touched his head, a look of confusion on his face:

"Strange. Why does my psychic power know about the existence of the Mud Man, but doesn't know that Chekhov is currently out of contact?"

A hint of unease flashed in Harkas's eyes. He buried his head in editing the message, saying without looking up, "Who knows? Maybe it's because your psychic power still needs to grow. The more you use it, the faster it grows, just like exercising your body."

"Oh, that makes sense," Ausgus nodded in understanding, then turned to look at Harkas, "You should have also injected the Ghost Agent, right? What's your psychic power? I don't think I've ever heard you mention it."

Harkas sent the message, raised his head, his expression tangled with embarrassment, "Can I not say? My psychic power is not as good as yours, it's really too embarrassing."

Ausgus chuckled, not taking it to heart, and waved his hand to let the matter pass.

The Cold Trade Group has its own means of conducting interstellar communication.

They have ways to receive encrypted Star Language messages, and then reply to Harkas using the same encryption methods.

The two waited in the room for a moment, and the Cold Trade Group's encrypted message arrived.

The content of the deciphered message was simply a line of text:

"Send four hundred thousand physical Throne Coins to the transfer space station. Within sixty days of receiving the money, the Mud Man will arrive at your hive city."

"Four hundred thousand Throne Coins… these guys really dare to ask for that price," Ausgus revealed a determined expression:

"Tell them, I'll give five hundred thousand Throne Coins, but there's one requirement, and that is to have the Mud Man arrive at the hive city within seven days."

Harkas edited the encrypted message again and sent it out.

This time the reply came even faster, with the content:

"We are evading the Law Enforcement Department's fleet. Do you want us to lead them to you? Within sixty days, once the Law Enforcement Department's fleet leaves, as soon as we receive your money, the Mud Man will head to your hive city. Understand? I don't want to repeat myself."

The Imperial Law Enforcement Department occasionally launches searches in the Nebulous Starfield where Cold Trade thrives.

In this situation, having the Mud Man come to the hive city could indeed attract the Imperial Law Enforcement Department's fleet.

Helpless, Ausgus could only choose to compromise.

Seeing Ausgus agree, Harkas secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and when he lowered his head to send the message, the corners of his mouth curved upwards intentionally or unintentionally.

…

…

"Lino, I have already made contact with the Radiajia Dynasty."

Shatana, maintaining her closed-eye posture, said slowly:

"Sandor von Radiajia is communicating with me through his personal Star Language speaker. He heard about your new technology two days ago and wanted to find someone to connect with you to see if he could participate in the new synthetic starch industry. We proactively contacted him, which made him pleasantly surprised."

Lino raised his eyebrows, not expecting that the Rogue Trader already had the idea of cooperating with him.

It seems that the new technology for preparing synthetic starch has indeed become a hot commodity.

Anyone who recognizes its importance wants to get a piece of the pie.

To show sincerity, Sandor took the lead in revealing his hand.

The Radiajia Dynasty has two logistics space stations within the Solar Starfield.

One is newly built and has been in use for less than three years.

The other was built by the previous Rogue Trader and has been in service for over seventy years.

Both of these logistics space stations have a large number of unarmed freighters available for lease, and Lino is free to choose.

If you choose the new logistics space station, all the costs of transporting the residue each year should be around 300,000 Throne Coins.

If you choose the old logistics space station, you only need to pay 30,000 Throne Coins per year.

Such a generous discount is based on a small request, which is that Lino and the Radiajia Dynasty reach an agreement.

The content of the agreement is that Lino will pay a portion of the money when the old space station is renovated in the future.

How much money he contributes will determine how many shares he gets in the old space station, and he will receive dividends from the old space station every financial month.

Shatana knew that Lino knew very little about the operation and maintenance of space stations, and proactively explained:

"The total cost of a brand new space station is at least 60 million Throne Coins, and it can be continuously in service for 70 to 100 years. The cost of renovation is generally one-third of the total cost, which is about 20 million Throne Coins. Sandor has not made any requirements for your future investment amount. You can invest tens of thousands of Throne Coins, or you can invest millions, it all depends on your own choice."

"Madam, if I only invest tens of thousands of Throne Coins in the future, wouldn't that be like taking advantage of Sandor for nothing?"

"Yes, Lino, this is a test of you by the Rogue Trader, he wants to see what kind of person you are through this transaction."

Shatana said in a steady voice:

"Sandor has a basic psychological expectation for your future investment amount. If your investment amount is lower than his expectations, it means that you are relatively stingy and like to seize every opportunity to make money. If your investment amount is higher than his expectations, it means that you are both richer than he imagined and know how to allocate your wealth."

"Rogue Traders like to hire the former type of person as subordinates to increase revenue and reduce expenditure for themselves, while the latter type of person is best as their friends and business partners."

Lino thought for a moment and replied:

"I understand. Please tell Mr. Sandor that I choose the old logistics space station to transport my residue."

"Okay, I will tell him your exact words."

Shatana immersed herself in Star Language communication.

"Sandor agrees with your decision. Within five days, his Dynasty's special envoy will arrive at the hive city. At that time, the special envoy will visit your factory, witness your new technology, and sign a cooperation contract with you."

Shatana terminated the Star Language communication, opened her eyes, and said with a faint smile:

"How is it? Isn't the process of communicating with a Rogue Trader simpler than you imagined? A problem that previously troubled you was solved in just a few words between you and him. That's the charm of communication."

"Madam, you are absolutely right, I have never felt so easy to communicate with people," Lino stood up and bowed slightly:

"Thank you for helping me connect with Mr. Sandor. I have to go prepare to welcome the special envoy of the Radiajia Dynasty."

"Wait, Lino, let me get you a book," Shatana took a thick book with a hardcover from the bookshelf, "Take this book with you and flip through it when you have nothing to do. I think you will be inspired."

"Okay, Madam, thank you again," Lino hugged the heavy book and turned to leave.

Upon exiting the door, under the moonlight, Lino looked at the cover of the book.

《Rogue Trader Essays: Travel Insights and Xenomorph Dictionary》

Opening to the book's table of contents, over a dozen Rogue Trader titles from different dynasties came into view.

These Rogue Traders created their own autobiographies.

The author of the essay collection extracted the essence of these autobiographies and compiled them into the essay collection in Lino's hands.

The contents include, but are not limited to:

The rich experiences of various Rogue Traders, the exploration and summary of alien civilizations, and the research insights on alien materials.

It is worth noting that the earliest content in this book can be traced back to the early days of the Great Crusade.

At that time, at the junction of the Solar Starfield and the Nebulous Starfield, there was a malignant incident of widespread Bone Drinker infestation.

Following the guidance of the table of contents, Lino found the Rogue Trader notes related to the Bone Drinkers, and the book contained pictures, anatomical diagrams, medicinal value analysis, and other content of the Bone Drinkers.

Several lines of system text floated into view.

【You have come into contact with an upgrade item.】

【The Appraisal skill and the Fungal Analysis function have been temporarily enhanced.】

【Absorbing the Notebook can permanently enhance these two functions, greatly enriching the content of Appraisal results and Analysis results.】

【Do you want to absorb it?】

Don't absorb it, not yet.

This book seems very valuable.

If I absorb it, Shatana might quit.

Who wrote such an awesome book?

Li Nuo looked at the author's column on the cover.

The book has two authors, Aijialiya and Shatana.

So, Shatana is both my personal Star Speaker and one of the authors of this book.

She is truly a knowledgeable lady.

Li Nuo hugged the book tightly and quickened his pace to return to his residence.

The newest novels are first published on 69shu.com!

He planned to clear out a bookshelf specifically for storing this book, to avoid accidental damage.

In the following days, Li Nuo, Tido, and Isabel frequently traveled between the Upper and Lower Nests, fully preparing for a larger-scale expansion.

Working during the day and 'online' at night to refine spirit bones and train the Steel Brave Clan.

This fulfilling life was put on hold two days before the arrival of the Radiajia Dynasty's special envoy due to a calculation result.

After repeated calculations by Isabel, the supply of purified water for preparing starch encountered a bottleneck.

It's not that there isn't enough purified water in the Nest Capital, but as production capacity is released, the marginal cost of purified water rises sharply, almost eating up all the profit from synthetic starch.

To put it more bluntly:

The Water Guild in the Nest Capital is raising prices arbitrarily, attempting to indirectly seize the profits of the Umbrella Corporation by increasing the price of purified water.

They have plenty of reasons for raising the price of purified water, nothing more than 'tiered water pricing,' which is to increase the price of water in tiers based on water consumption.

The more water you use, the more expensive it becomes.

If the Umbrella Corporation wants more purified water to prepare starch, it must bear a higher water price.

If you don't want to bear the high cost of water, please purchase the Water Guild's industrial water purification equipment.

Just spend a huge sum of money to buy industrial water purification equipment and related infrastructure, and your group can purify sewage yourself.

At this critical juncture of expansion, the Water Guild stabbed Li Nuo in the back.

Without even asking, it is known that this is definitely Osges playing tricks.

The controller of the Water Guild is the Water family, and the Water family is Osges' biggest supporter.

Under the control of the Water family, the water produced by the Water Guild should be mainly used for cultivating Ghost Mushrooms.

The large-scale development of new synthetic starch will inevitably squeeze the development space of Ghost Mushrooms and take away the water originally used for cultivating mushrooms.

This deep-seated conflict of interest directly led to the Water Guild repeatedly raising the price of water for the starch factory.

Such despicable behavior made Tido and Isabel feel very headache.

Inside Li Nuo's laboratory.

Tido rested her chin on her hand on the table, analyzing with a serious face:

I can feel that Osges and the group behind him had already made sufficient plans for cultivating Ghost Mushrooms before the cleaning operation started.

The giant merchant family of the Coin Guild, Bennis, is responsible for transporting the nutrients needed to cultivate Ghost Mushrooms and selling medicines to the outside world. The main controller of the Pharmacist Association is the Lewei family, who is responsible for preparing the manor for cultivating Ghost Mushrooms and developing related pharmaceutical technologies. The Water family of the Water Guild is responsible for supplying the water for cultivating Ghost Mushrooms.

This plan did not include the Mauloros family, who produces Promethium, so the Mauloros family took the lead in conveying goodwill to us and chose to stand on our side.

Isabel sat on Tido's side, thought for a while, and asked:

What about the Wangse family? This family has many factories in the Middle Nest that produce weapons and equipment. What role did it play in the Ghost Mushroom cultivation plan?

Tido's pretty face was tight, her expression deep, and even though she had only come of age not long ago, she looked a bit weathered.

She knew in her heart that the role played by the Wangse family was not glorious.

Delton has found sufficient evidence to prove that the Wangse family has long been secretly funding the rebels outside the city.

If the Ghost Mushroom industry flourishes, the Wangse family may collude with Osges' group, allowing Osges to lead the Planetary Defense Force to a great victory over the rebels, cheering for the other party to ascend to the position of Governor.

If the Ghost Potion is determined to be a prohibited item by the Imperial Enforcement Department, the Wangse family will not lose out, because their base is not Ghost Potion in the first place.

These contents cannot be revealed to Isabel, who is temporarily not authorized to know such secrets.

Tido could only shake her head slightly and said:

The role of the Wangse family is not clear for the time being, let's ignore it for now. The main point now is, where do we find enough purified water. The Water family has calculated our synthetic starch profit margin accurately. The price they quoted was carefully calculated, just enough to swallow our net profit for half a year. Buying their equipment is not impossible, but I always feel unwilling…"

"Swish—" The pneumatic gate behind the two women slid open.

This gate is connected to Li Nuo's private laboratory.

The laboratory where Tido and Isabel are located is specifically used to prepare the catalysts needed to produce synthetic starch.

Li Nuo conducts research on genetic aspects in the private laboratory.

Of course, the so-called private laboratory is just for show.

The system is the one that really conducts the research.

At this time, the system is executing an important automated simulation, which is related to the first genetic engineering project.

Once the simulation is successful, Li Nuo will be able to take a big step forward in the Junstadt Plan.

Before the simulation results came out, he felt a little nervous and decided to walk around to relax.

As soon as he left the private laboratory, he saw Tido and Isabel looking worried.

In the past, the two of them often met in the catalyst laboratory, planning the expansion of starch production, or chatting about Upper Nest news and gossip between women, and the atmosphere was lively.

Today, it was very rare for Li Nuo to see the two of them looking dejected, and he couldn't help but ask with a smile:

Are you two in trouble?

Tido walked over, put her arm around Li Nuo's arm and leaned on the other's shoulder, pouting her lips and saying dissatisfied:

The Water family is so annoying. Knowing that our expansion requires a lot of water, they suddenly raised the price of purified water a lot, forcing us to buy their water purification equipment and facilities. Isabel and I calculated that the money to buy these things accounts for one-third of our first year's net profit, which is simply outrageously expensive."

Li Nuo asked:

How much is the net profit of our Umbrella Corporation in the first year?

"About three million Throne Coins."

The number of three million is much lower than Li Nuo's previous estimate, mainly because the cost of expansion is too alarming.

Tido mobilized her resources and connections to help Li Nuo get a lot of cheap land and abandoned factories in the Lower Nest, saving a lot of money.

If it were just Isabel alone, the initial investment in expansion would definitely break the sky, and the first year would likely end in a loss.

"That is to say, the Water family is quoting us about one million Throne Coins? How can it be so expensive?"

Li Nuo asked in confusion.

Tido replied:

According to the plans of Isabel and me, we need to build one hundred new liquid pipelines to collect rainwater from the outer shell of the Nest Capital, and no less than twenty-five water purification plants to purify rainwater and Lower Nest domestic wastewater. The Water family's price list includes the cost of digging liquid pipelines and building new water purification plants."

Twenty-five water purification plants sound like a lot, but they are still far from meeting future water demand.

When the residue from the five mining worlds starts to be transported over, another one hundred water purification plants will have to be built gradually to fully meet the water demand for preparing synthetic starch.

By that time, 30% of the entire Nest Capital's domestic wastewater will be occupied by the starch industry.

This domestic wastewater will be treated by water purification plants and turned into purified water, and a part of the purified water will be converted into carbohydrates in the process of preparing starch, and the other part will return to the ecological environment of the Nest Capital in the form of water vapor.

The purified water that is converted into carbohydrates will basically not return to the ecological environment of the Nest Capital.

Therefore, as the production of synthetic starch increases, the overall water volume of the Nest Capital will show a downward trend.

In the foreseeable future—perhaps within 5 years, or perhaps within 10 years—Eppimette will gradually experience water shortages.

Li Nuo will be the Governor at that time.

However, future matters can be put on hold, let's solve the current water problem first.

Li Nuo asked:

"If we don't buy water purification equipment, but only dig pipelines and build water purification plants, how much will it cost?"

Isabel quickly calculated on the data board and came to a preliminary conclusion:

"If we don't buy water purification equipment, the Water family will not be willing to undertake the project of digging pipelines and building water purification plants. We have to organize our own manpower to construct, and the project cost will be relatively large, estimated to be 650,000 Throne Coins."

Li Nuo pondered for a few seconds and snapped his fingers:

"Then we won't use the Water Guild's purified water and water purification equipment in the future. The purified water currently used to prepare starch should also be gradually separated from the Water Guild."

Tido tilted her head, "Don't use the Water Guild's water and equipment? Then where do we find so much water? Do you want to buy it from outside the Nest Capital?"

Li Nuo smiled mysteriously:

"Since the Water family doesn't want us to have a good time, then we'll overturn its table. I invented a highly efficient water purification device a long time ago. Because I was worried about being retaliated by the Water family, I have never put it on the table, now it's just right to let this trump card come out."

Tido and Isabel were both stunned, somewhat unsure about the water purification equipment invented by Li Nuo.

Highly efficient?

How high of an efficiency can be considered highly efficient?

Can it be higher than the existing mainstream water purification equipment?

"You two wait here for a while, I'll go to the Lower Nest. When you receive my message, come over and meet me."

Li Nuo quickly walked to his residence, changed into pseudo-leather and disguise clothing, and left the Royal Court District through the secret door.