Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 1133: Plans Cannot Keep Up with Changes

Chapter 1133: Chapter 1133: Plans Cannot Keep Up with Changes

The Argentine grain merchants, feeling the forcefulness of Sister Hong, surprisingly responded, "Regarding the framework we agreed on earlier, is there anything you’re still not satisfied with? We can discuss it further. There’s no need to overturn the table so easily."

Sister Hong didn’t have extensive experience in international trade. Although she was somewhat familiar with the greed of foreign merchants, the rapid and significant change in their attitude left her quite astonished.

If this were Feng Jun, his most likely reaction would have been: "It’s already too late for you to say this now. Where were you earlier?"

But Sister Hong was different from Feng Jun. After some thought, she replied, "Alright, let’s negotiate further."

She then sought out Feng Jun, explained the negotiation process, and said, "Even if you plan to go to Indonesia, it’s best not to completely sever this connection. After all, causing supernatural events over there—whether it’s three or five times, or ten or eight times—there should still be a limit, right?"

"If these incidents keep happening frequently, forget Indonesia itself; the entire world will likely send people to investigate."

She also believed that Feng Jun’s trade with the Chaos Plane might still continue, so finding a long-term, reliable food supplier on the Earth Plane was still very necessary.

Feng Jun thought about it and had to admit that women’s thinking tends to be more meticulous. So, he nodded, "Then let’s maintain contact for now. I suggest you put forward two demands: one regarding the payment method and the other about the delivery location."

Previously, Sister Hong had negotiated payment in US Dollars, and as for the delivery location, the earlier Chapters had already described it clearly.

Feng Jun, considering that the other party was now coming to him, decided it was time to change some terms. He hoped to trade using gold and proposed that the delivery location could be set in the High Seas.

The suggestion to use gold payments was met with no objections; the entire gold reserve of Argentina was only about fifty tons, and among the public, gold was considered an even harder currency than US Dollars.

However, the idea of delivering in the High Seas gave them pause. From the beginning, this business had been destined to be conducted in secrecy, and now taking it to the High Seas raised unavoidable concerns about safety.

They tactfully expressed that this might be difficult to manage, but Sister Hong straightforwardly replied, "Then give it more thought."

While the two sides were still in contact, Feng Jun quietly disappeared with the grain storage distribution maps of Indonesia that Sister Hong had provided.

The people under Elder Yu immediately noticed something unusual and hurriedly reported to him, "Master Feng’s mobile phone signal has disappeared again."

The old man, fatigued of late, could only shake his head helplessly upon hearing this. "Telling me is useless. Do you think I can control him or stop him? Recently, he’s been in frequent contact with Ni Hong regarding lithium batteries—could he have gone there again to kill and plunder treasures?"

The phrase "kill and plunder treasures" had originated from one of Elder Yu’s security personnel who enjoyed reading web novels. When everyone considered Feng Mountain Master’s actions, they found some truth in it, and the term gradually spread widely until it reached Elder Yu’s ears.

Everyone believed that Elder Yu’s assessment of Feng Jun’s actions was reasonable, but Yu Qingzhu cautiously raised a question, "What if he went to Argentina instead?"

After giving it some thought, everyone realized that this was indeed a real possibility. While Sister Hong was currently in dealings with the Argentine grain merchants, who could say they weren’t engaging in open negotiations while secretly plotting something else?

Luohua Manor had done this kind of thing more than a few times, leaving everyone running in circles. Its infamous reputation couldn’t be denied.

Huaxia had several operatives gathering intelligence in Ni Hong, such as the now-deceased Araki Masao, who was taken out due to a miscalculation by Feng Jun. Thus, this time, certain individuals were subtly warned: it might be better to take a leisure trip to Europa or Merrick in the near future.

These operatives were initially puzzled about the nature of the warning until another piece of news arrived: a Merrick cargo ship had mysteriously disappeared in the waters near Indonesia, along with more than twenty sailors and crew members.

This cargo ship was transporting grain, specifically 110,000 tons of wheat.

The operatives gathering intelligence on Ni Hong couldn’t connect their warning with the disappearance of an American vessel. But the ever-watchful Elder Yu and his associates, keeping tabs on related clues, instantly understood the situation.

"So, that’s where this guy went—to Indonesia. But... why hijack a ship?"

However, Yu Qingzhu felt her grandfather’s conclusion was too hasty. "There are so many supernatural events in this world; do they all have to be connected to him?"

She cautiously argued, "Could this just be a misunderstanding? Even if he’s unhappy with Indonesia, it doesn’t mean he’d target the Merrick people."

Elder Yu shook his head, "That ship was carrying wheat. That reason alone is enough. As for it being American? Haha..."

Indeed, it was Feng Jun who had acted.

Initially, his plan was to raid Indonesia’s grain warehouses, but after going through Sister Hong’s intelligence reports one by one, he was stunned to discover... the accuracy of her information was utterly disappointing.

Strictly speaking, the information wasn’t fake, but it was severely outdated and lacked timeliness.

Even more importantly, Indonesia’s grain storage technology was appallingly inadequate. Many warehouses were reasonably sized, but the amount of grain stored inside was embarrassingly low—more grain would mean more issues to manage.

Why did Ni Hong’s granaries rely on low-temperature storage technology? To effectively slow down the aging process of the food.

Indonesia, a country spanning the equator, didn’t only face natural heat but also challenges such as fermentation or even spontaneous combustion when excessive grain was stored outside of limestone caves.

Low-temperature storage? Forget it. Such technology was simply unaffordable, with both construction and upkeep being prohibitively high.

Thus, Feng Jun found himself in a dire predicament: gathering fifty tons of wheat would mean raiding at least ten separate granaries.

Even if he didn’t mind stirring up chaos in Indonesia, he couldn’t let his name dominate the trending headlines, could he?

At that point, he decisively changed tactics: no more targeting grain warehouses; he’d go after grain cargo ships instead!

When he first decided on this course, his intention was to incapacitate the crew, move the grain, and leave the personnel unconscious for a few nights. This way, no one could definitively label it a supernatural incident.

Out on the vast open sea, countless scenarios could explain such occurrences. Perhaps someone decided to steal the cargo—it’s theoretically unlikely, but still plausible.

As for the low cost-effectiveness of a grain heist? There’d still be plenty of suspects—for instance, that figure from Bei Xinluo.

In this scenario, even though the explanation might seem unlikely, it still wouldn’t be dismissed outright as a purely paranormal event.

However, when Feng Jun saw a fully loaded grain cargo ship flying the flag of Merrick moving across the High Seas, he immediately changed his mind: why bother incapacitating the crew? He could simply teleport the entire ship to the Stone Ring Plane.

This disappearance would undoubtedly be categorized as a genuine supernatural event, but then again... wasn’t the Malaysia Airlines plane disappearance also considered one?

The cargo ship had over twenty sailors onboard, each a living, breathing person. But this didn’t faze Feng Jun. After all, weren’t the passengers on Malaysia Airlines also living, breathing individuals?

When it came to Merrick’s cargo ships, Feng Jun wouldn’t hesitate for a second. If it were a ship from another country, he might have briefly considered his next steps.

He chose nighttime for his operation, and before making his move, he even went back to the Stone Ring Plane to select a mountainous area as the landing zone for the ship.

Teleporting the ship just once—due to its heavy cargo, the ship’s weight, and the twenty-plus lives aboard—caused a startlingly visible drop in the Stone Ring’s energy reserves.

In the past, this would have made him distressed; but now, he felt overjoyed—he had been struggling with a surplus of energy points!

The cargo ship’s bizarre disappearance on the High Seas didn’t draw attention initially. Only by the next evening, when someone attempted to make contact with the ship to check its whereabouts, did they discover the massive ship was untraceable!

The ship was insured, and naturally, the insurance company immediately leapt into action. They dispatched investigators without delay, even enlisting the help of the Marine Corps—after all, in Merrick, some insurance companies wielded considerable influence.

Within three days, they even mobilized Indonesian naval vessels to scour the adjacent sea areas thoroughly.

At that moment, a Huaxia research vessel happened to be passing through the area, and the Merrick representatives extended an invitation for them to join the "urgent rescue" efforts.

The research vessel initially considered helping out—how could anyone ignore a situation like that on the vast open sea?

However, taking part would inevitably delay their return schedule. As such, they politely explained, "We’ve already postponed our return trip three times. A fourth delay might anger our superiors, so we’ll need to seek approval from the higher-ups."

Of course, the research vessel’s response was really just following standard procedures.

What they hadn’t anticipated, however, was a rapid escalation: even higher-level authorities got involved and scolded them harshly, "The missing vessel isn’t a passenger or cruise ship; it’s a cargo vessel. So, tell me, is your research funding coming from Huaxia or Merrick’s insurance companies?"

The research vessel crew felt they had been wrongfully reprimanded. "The cargo ship still had twenty-one sailors onboard," they argued.

But this only made their superiors even more furious. "Merrick’s naval ships have far more personnel onboard. Do you think it’s your turn to care?"

After this scolding, the research vessel crew, albeit bewildered, understood how they should respond moving forward. They courteously declined further involvement, saying, "Apologies, but we must comply with orders not to delay our return. We wish you a swift and successful search."

By then, the ship owner had already hired three seaplanes to conduct low-altitude searches. Whether or not the Huaxia research vessel participated seemed relatively insignificant. Seeing the refusal, they only muttered a mild curse before carrying on.

However, three days later, the massive cargo ship remained missing, stirring up shockwaves worldwide—because, after all, Merrick was the world’s sole superpower.

(To be continued. Don’t forget to cast your monthly votes.)