My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 22

Another unit, along with logistics personnel to take care of you along the way, is already en route. You will be well taken care of—no need to elaborate, I won't budge on that.

Looking at the unyielding text message from Miss Kosiché, Yang Hao muttered something to himself as he leaned against the car window, gazing at the receding scenery and lost in thought.

For the first time, he felt the fragility of flesh and blood, because his own body was so fragile. Just one accidental fainting spell had made Miss Koschchet so nervous... So what if something really happened to him next time?

Sigh! Soon, he'll no longer be in that situation where he only needs to feed himself and not worry about his family. He'll have to consider his family's worries... But then again, although flesh and blood are fragile and vulnerable, there are still many things worth cherishing.

At the very least, Yang Hao couldn't bear to give up the joy of delicious food entering his mouth.

"My lord, if you have time later, I will explain to you the various issues related to life in Ursus."

Just as Yang Hao was feeling helpless about the harsh text message from Miss Cosice, Paul, who was driving, suddenly said something. He said that life in Ursus and Colombia is completely different, and Yang Hao might find it difficult to adapt if he went there for the first time.

"Please tell me about it."

"Yes."

...

Paul began to explain the current situation in Ursus. Through his narration, Yang Hao gradually learned about some things in Ursus, as well as some problems that were about to arise.

One of the key issues is the hostility from the countries surrounding Ursus.

"There was once a powerful nation in western Ursus, a nation called Gaul, which bordered Kazimir, Letania, and Ursus... but due to an accident, not a single city remains?"

“Yes. After that, the former territory of Gaul was annexed by the three kingdoms, and some of the Gaul survivors flowed into the three kingdoms and even other countries—as foreign refugees, they caused a lot of trouble for each country. There are also some Gaul refugees in Lord Kosiché's duchy.” Paul nodded, driving the vehicle to follow the lead car. “...According to the refugees' descriptions, their country was wiped out overnight by some mysterious entity...and the territory they once owned is now extremely strange. After we enter Ursus, we will continue to move around that area.”

"Purge? Nothing left?" Yang Hao blinked, about to ask something else, when an event popped up in front of him—the puppet stage would take four more days to complete its upgrade. During these four days, although he wouldn't be able to use national policies and resolutions, he could still accumulate political points, read events, and check maps.

What popped up in front of Yang Hao was this event:

[Event: The Gauls' reckoning]

Like the Colombian K, the Gauls also acquired some "miraculous devices." Through these devices, they gained unparalleled national power and resources, but at one point, they also faced a reckoning beyond the material world.

Gaul is now a thing of the past, but perhaps you can find clues about that "wonderful device" by searching for those Gauls.

'What is this thing...' Effect: Activates a permanent resolution.

"...I think I understand what's going on."

"grown ups?"

"Paul, do you know? In my hometown, there's an old saying: 'There's no such thing as a free lunch.' The Gauls paid a terrible price for trying to get something for nothing. That's all I can say."

"Yes."

Paul's gaze towards Yang Hao held even greater respect. He hadn't expected this man to have knowledge of the Gauls' demise, and that his knowledge was so credible.

...If some nobody had said that, Paul would probably have crushed their throat in the next instant. But since it was this esteemed person who said it... then—

“I’ll talk to Miss Kosiché about this when I get there. I still need to gather some information—it would be troublesome if you notified me in advance and I didn’t have enough evidence.”

"...Understood."

Paul nodded, temporarily abandoning his idea of ​​informing Lord Kosiché in advance.

The convoy continued moving toward the western border of Ursus.

Meanwhile, after a brief rest in a nearly abandoned village, Margarita began her journey of growth in a truly meaningful way for the first time.

..... .....

When Margarita jumped down from the city, she dragged a corpse down with her.

The instant she hit the ground, her legs screamed in agony, the unbearable pain stimulating her brain. Kneeling on the sand, she was not defeated by the pain. Instead, before the body bled dry, she used some blood-drawing tools she carried with her to extract as much blood as possible from the corpse.

That blood will serve as Margarita's "reserve" for the foreseeable future. Although she no longer needs to endure the daily urge to drink blood and can eat normal human food, she still needs to retain some blood to replenish her energy when she frequently uses her abilities.

.....

After the blood draw was nearly complete, she drank her first mouthful of blood. As she swallowed it, the pain in her legs vanished completely. She could walk normally again. However, the sandstorm left behind by the shifting city still disoriented her. After wandering around in circles for a while, she finally found her way—towards Minos.

She planned to go to Minos for her own trial. What she needed to figure out first was... just how short the lives of the short-lived species were.

The being named Margarita spent 22 out of her 26 years of life in seclusion, hardly ever spending any time living a decadent life with the short-lived species.

In the remaining four years, her life with Yang Hao and the short-lived species lasted for less than a year at most—she spent a long time wandering the wilderness, searching for the direction of natural disasters, striving to survive as a messenger of natural disasters. Therefore, the time she spent living with the short-lived species... was far too short. So short that Margarita was completely unaware of how short their lives were, how precious their time was.

Margarita thought that the first thing she needed to do after arriving in Minos was to integrate into the society of the short-lived species. She needed to understand the preciousness of time for the short-lived species before she could appreciate how painful Yang Hao had been waiting for her answer for four years, and only then could she gain the opportunity to grow from that pain.

"...Phew, let's go."

She shook her head, feeling the ghosts of her parents watching her with concern behind her. She had made up her mind to take her first step into adulthood, and her parents, who had regretted not being able to accompany her until she grew up, would continue to be there for her.

Chapter 58, Section 21

......

On February 21, Margarita's next stop was a poor village near Minos on the southern border of Colombia.

It was a good place to stop and rest. And along the way, Margarita wasn't simply rushing. She was trying to understand the time of the short-lived species, and to that end, she carried a small creature along the way—a tiny rock crab.

It was infected with Originium and was somewhat irritable, but for some reason, after Margarita drank the blood, she seemed to gain the ability to get along with ordinary animals. Unbeknownst to her, the rock crab gradually changed from irritable to docile, eventually becoming a small pet on Margarita's journey.

...Margarita decided to use it as a reference point to compare with her own time. She wanted to figure out how long a "short time" was for her, for ordinary creatures and ordinary people. She wanted to see if, during the "period" she was stubbornly hiding in the wilderness, the rock crab would grow stronger, or simply die of old age, or perhaps die of Oripathy before either of those times.

Margarita named the rock crab "Sanae". She embarked on her journey with her pet, and at the same time, news of her adopting a pet was also transmitted to Yang Hao.

......

[Event: The Crab Walking with the True Ancestor]

The young Protoss found a Rock Crab in the wilderness. A young Rock Crab infected with Oripathy.

Although Oripathy was meaningless to the True Ancestor, it still took her quite a bit of effort to tame this grumpy little rock crab. Was she using this rock crab as her clock? Well, that's fine, at least she'll understand in the future that a "year" is just a fleeting moment to her.

Incidentally, the name of the rock crab is "Sanae".

'What is this name...'

"What kind of weird name is that..."

Looking at the events concerning Margarita in front of him, Yang Hao smiled wryly, wondering if Margarita's talent for naming was a bit strange.

In his mind, rock crabs were extremely ferocious creatures. Especially after being infected with Oripathy, these low-intelligence creatures often posed a great threat to passing pedestrians or convoys in the wilderness—if there were enough of them, they could easily break through a defensive line composed of an entire mercenary force.

Their carapaces are sturdy enough, yet their bodies are light and agile. They may not appear large, but their pincers can easily tear through the armor and shields of heavily armed police officers. Aside from their low intelligence, which makes them easily controlled by sorcerers, they seem perfectly suited for training as ferocious beasts on the battlefield.

Of course, they're not without value in agriculture and industry... but compared to machinery, the value of rock crabs is relatively low. But then again, why would Margarita give such a ferocious beast a name... shouldn't it be a name for a house cat or hamster?

Yang Hao couldn't understand it, and of course, he wouldn't interfere with Margarita's personal wishes. He would only offer his blessings for Margarita's future growth, after all, it was the path she had chosen.

"My lord, ahead lies the western border of Ursus—another Serpentscale force, along with escorts, is already waiting for us at the border."

Just as Yang Hao was pondering what Margarita might ask the little rock crab to do, Paul, who was driving, suddenly said something. Hearing his words, Yang Hao sighed with a worried expression and said with a wry smile that he might be facing the reality of being cared for by a team for the first time since birth, while still able-bodied and healthy.

“My lord, this is a place you must get used to as soon as possible—in Lord Kosiché’s ducal mansion, the cooks and maids will not let you handle the things you used to handle yourself. This is a symbol of your new noble status and a right you deserve.”

"I know. But how should I put it? I'll probably resist it until I get used to it."

"Please keep going."

He sighed heavily, muttering to himself, "As long as I'm not being watched even while I eat," as he gazed with a worried expression at the gradually demarcating wilderness in the distance. The area near the western border of Ursus seemed to be dominated by hills and forests, and at this hour, he could already see the white peaks of a distant mountain.

"Speaking of which, how long does the snow last in Ursus?" Sensitive to this question, Yang Hao turned to Paul and asked. Winter, snow—he could already imagine the problems the lower classes of Ursus would face. "I mean—how long will the snow season last, affecting the lives of the locals?"

“It will last for several months on the snow-covered plains, while the warm south will last for a shorter period,” Paul answered succinctly. “But this only applies to the residents of the cities—in the settlements outside the cities, once it starts snowing, it’s a difficult time for them. Very difficult time.”

"You know this very well?" Yang Hao asked curiously. Based on his experience, city dwellers in this world should have a hard time understanding the bitterness of a desolate village.

“Sir, I am a child from a rural settlement on the outskirts of Ursus. I can’t forget the tragedy of several people starving to death in my village every time it snowed—especially when the harvest was bad.”

"...Feel sorry."

"No, it's nothing. Thanks to Lord Kosich's planning, our village, located on the outskirts of the city, can now also have a place on the edge of the city. Although the farmland there cannot meet the needs of everyone due to the large population, and we also need to walk to the city to catch up with the prelude... at least after that, we can go to the city to buy food when there is a shortage of food, even if the price of food may be dozens of times more expensive, but at least if we pool our money together, we have a chance to survive, instead of just starving to death."

When Paul spoke these words and mentioned the name Lord Kosiché, his eyes shone with genuine respect.

Yang Hao listened attentively to Paul's explanation. He thought to himself, "Miss Kosiché has gained such a good reputation simply by allocating some land on the outskirts of the city to some marginal villages. He realized that the plight of the people in Ursus is more severe than he had imagined."

Because if the outlying villages were self-sufficient, simply granting them the right to reside in nearby cities wouldn't be enough to garner such adoration. The vast majority of Ursus's lower classes must be living in hell—otherwise, they wouldn't be so overjoyed by the fact that food prices have skyrocketed dozens of times in winter.

But then again, there's a big difference between living in hell and living in a place that resembles hell. The former is utterly hopeless, while the latter... is the tiny glimmer of hope Miss Koschche gave them.

Yang Hao believed that, given his influence, giving these unfortunate marginalized people more hope wouldn't be difficult. Therefore, he figured that his first task upon arriving at Miss Koschche's duchy would likely be addressing these issues related to people's livelihoods.

But it doesn't matter. Yang Hao is confident he can do his best—but he doesn't want to be the one giving all the time again, he really doesn't.

Chapter 59

...

On the afternoon of the 21st, Yang Hao and his group met up with another Serpent Scale unit on the Ursus border. It was a large force of 50 men, although less than half of them were Serpent Scale soldiers, but the remaining logistics personnel were all elite veterans who had fought their way through the muds of war.

At least that's how Yang Hao sees it.

After they met up, the vehicle Yang Hao and Paul were traveling in changed. Initially, they were in a defensive off-road vehicle, not exactly comfortable, but very safe. Now, they were in a small armored vehicle—extremely safe and also very comfortable inside.

There was even a bed in the rear compartment of the armored vehicle for Yang Hao to rest on. He was lying on it now, feeling the vibrations from the vehicle's movement while browsing the text messages that Miss Kosiché had sent him.

[If all goes well, you should be able to enter my duchy in two days. The logistics personnel will not only ensure your safety but also guarantee the vehicles and Serpent Scales will travel day and night.]

This means that once the logistics personnel meet up with them, Snake Scales won't need to stop for rest at night—there will be enough manpower to rotate while they rest, and even if the vehicles break down, these battle-hardened veterans can troubleshoot the problem very quickly.

Their tireless progress day and night meant that Yang Hao would arrive at Miss Koschche's duchy earlier than planned. But even so, Yang Hao still harbored concerns about this final leg of the journey.

For no other reason than that after he entered the territory of Ursus, his [Puppet Stage] kept alerting him that many neutral troops had appeared around him.

The unit identification tags, numbers, and organizational structures were unknown, but Yang Hao knew their names. Some units were named the "First Army Group" or the "Second Army Group," clearly regular troops. Other unit names, however, piqued his curiosity...

What are these "Gallic Exiles," "Kazimir Partisans," and "Infected Bandits"?... This Ursus seems even more dangerous than I imagined!

Yang Hao thought to himself, even during the difficult period when he was wandering around Colombia and Margarita, he didn't seem to have seen so many potentially dangerous enemies in the wilderness. So, with that in mind, Yang Hao wrote his concerns into a text message and sent it to Miss Koschche's phone.

In response to Yang Hao's concerns and doubts, Miss Koschke's answer was simple and easy to understand.

Ursus is a vast empire. Apart from the capital, which is directly controlled by the emperor, most other areas are divided into several noble territories, each managed by a different noble. Large noble territories are further divided into several smaller noble territories. The relationships between these noble territories are complex, and in some poorly managed areas, it is quite common for bandits and robbers to appear.

My territory will be much safer than theirs, and being located deep within Ursus, I don't need to worry about large numbers of foreign spies infiltrating it from the border. Besides that, is there anything you need me to prepare for you in advance?

In simple terms, is Ursus actually divided into numerous confederations? While maintaining unified rule over Ursus, do these confederations govern independently based on differing noble ideologies? And do some areas, due to good governance, prosper, while others, poorly managed, eventually become like Mexico, the closest country to the United States?

That makes sense, though. It's not that we can't understand why infected bandits and Gallic exiles exist within Ursus, nor is it that we can't understand why Kazimierz troops are present near the border... But, don't the nobles responsible for controlling their territories care about the problems within their own domains? Or is it that, for them, only cities count as their territory?

Instead of answering Miss Koschich's question about "what you need," Yang Hao raised a question he might face in his future work: Does the Ursus people's concept of "responsibility" for their territory only extend to the mobile city they sit in, rather than including the surrounding territories?

Miss Koschke's response to Yang Hao's question was much slower. She must have been writing something lengthy and then condensing it into concise sentences so that Yang Hao wouldn't be confused.

He waited patiently. He rolled over on the bed, got up and drank some clean water—ice water with mint—before Miss Koschich's reply arrived.

[The nobles of Ursus are theoretically responsible for governing their cities, the territories outside those cities, and the villages within those territories. However, in reality, many nobles only concern themselves with the rise and fall of their cities, as these are their foundation and the guarantee of their wealth. The territories outside the cities, aside from valuable resources, are essentially meaningless wasteland, including the villages mentioned above.]

"In other words, for most Ursus nobles, all they need to do is manage their own cities? Hmm... then I have to take back what I said earlier: the lower classes of Ursus probably don't even have the right to live in hell, and their lives are even more miserable. They are completely forgotten. Only when they are stripped of their wealth will people remember that they are worthless, and only then will they have the right to say that they live in hell."

Yang Hao nodded thoughtfully and muttered to himself. He could roughly imagine that in most of Ursus's territory, the people's livelihood was probably precarious, with an stability of no more than 10% and the possibility of internal strife breaking out at any time—ah, actually, it had already broken out a few times, right? Those Gallic exile troops, infected bandits, and the like?

...These territories are exceptionally difficult to master. Miss Koschche's Duchy might be a bit easier, but it's essentially a high-difficulty "dungeon." In a game, it would be a challenging dungeon full of both difficulty and opportunity.

However, transforming seemingly worthless mud into exquisite porcelain is a rare pleasure. Yang Hao was happy to accept this challenge; he hadn't forgotten his previous thought: even if he married into the family, he hoped to see happy smiles on the faces of those under his command.

"Could we use chemicals to make them smile happily?" He chuckled to himself, then sent Miss Koschitch his idea, a sort of subtle hint:

Let me make this clear first: I do receive rewards for my work. I'm referring to family rewards.

Her reply was swift. It seemed she had been prepared.

Don't worry. You'll be satisfied.

Chapter 60

...late at night on the 21st

Yang Hao was almost at his territory, but he wasn't ready to explain his special status.

For the first time, the immortal black snake felt such a headache. After sighing for the fourth time that night, she sat on the edge of the bed, somewhat agitated, forcing herself to calm down while her mind wandered, pondering what to do next.

“A verbal explanation is impossible…” Miss Koschke muttered to herself, leaning back on the bed and hugging the second new pillow that was on the bed. “But a practical explanation… I have no evidence. Sigh, why am I having such a headache over this? Why…”

Miss Koschke wondered if she had changed too much. If it were the old her, she would have just said it directly—now she was actually concerned about the other person's ability to accept the situation...

...Although Yang Hao's ability to accept things shouldn't be as low as she imagined, what should she do? Miss Koschke still couldn't come up with an answer.