Chapter 781

Chapter 781: Dominating the World

Year 6850 in the Xia calendar, Ying Continent

Li Qing and a group of high-ranking officials stood at the corner of the street, and before them was a long line of people waiting, stretching nearly three kilometers.

These people were waiting for a small amount of food aid just enough to fill their stomachs, while nearby, many homeless people lay on the ground.

Facing this scene, Li Qing and the others were filled with worry and anger because this situation was caused by Huaxia.

When Huaxia first discovered Jiang Star and made it public, the think tank of Ying Continent noticed that Huaxia might increase its exploitation of other regions, but they did not expect Huaxia’s methods to be so harsh.

At first, Huaxia justified the need for development funds for the Jiang Star project by issuing a large number of bonds, the majority of which were purchased by Ying Continent, as they also wanted to advance their space technology, with Huaxia using some aerospace companies as bait.

Then, Huaxia used the excuse of chaotic international exchange rates to sign a series of policies and agreements related to exchange rates in Huaxia’s capital city, using national power and their connections in Ying Continent to constantly increase the value of Ying Continent’s currency.

After the currency of Ying Continent appreciated, its purchasing power significantly increased. In the first ten years, Ying Continent thrived, with imports skyrocketing and a flood of investment pouring into the market, leading to a bizarre phase of prosperity.

During those ten years, merchants from the Ying Continent traveled all over the world, buying everything they could find. They even purchased many important landmarks in major cities of Huaxia and declared that they would surpass Huaxia economically in twenty years.

Of course, there were wise people on the Ying Continent who noticed the signs of trouble, but at that time, everyone was excited and the stock and housing markets were rising rapidly. Even school children were talking about stocks.

In this illusory prosperity, Ying Continent’s exports fell sharply because their currency became stronger, losing their price advantage and leading to the continuous loss of overseas markets they had taken hundreds of years to gain.

However, at that time, they did not care because exports made up a small part of their economy. The money made from exporting a whole ship of goods was less than the daily growth of the stock market, and people showed their opinions with their feet.

As the bubble grew larger, Li Qing and other leaders started to wake up under the advice of their think tank. They were terrified to realize that the economy of the Ying Continent was being hollowed out. They quickly introduced many related policies, such as raising interest rates, to try to save the situation and stop the economy from falling into a deep abyss.

But these desperate measures could not save the Ying Continent; instead, they burst the bubble. When the economy slowed down, problems erupted. Banks faced many bad debts, manufacturing profits fell, the stock market crashed, housing prices plummeted, and the entire economy collapsed within just a few months.

The wealth accumulated over hundreds of years was violently taken away by Huaxia, and the Ying Continent was naturally unwilling to accept this. So they made a foolish move by trying to interfere with the market using administrative orders, such as raising tariffs and investigating Huaxia companies in the Ying Continent.

This led to an event where Huaxia leaders came to the Ying Continent. However, when more than twenty Tao Achievers and the Space Battleship appeared, Li Qing and others lost their tempers completely, especially when the thirty-kilometer-long Space Mother Ship arrived in the Ying Continent, creating a suffocating feeling for everyone, from the Tao Achievers to ordinary people.

With these events added together, the officials of the Ying Continent completely collapsed. Over a hundred million unemployed people began to protest against officials at all levels. Even Li Qing had to personally get involved to restore order, ultimately firing all the officials to regain credibility.

In this event, the version of the square agreement from another world naturally benefits Huaxia the most. Now, the overseas market of Ying Continent is less than one-tenth of what it used to be, with the rest taken by Huaxia, which now controls about seventy percent of the overseas market.

"Zheng Yi, is there still no sign of our economy recovering?"

"Master, we are in a tough situation. Our manufacturing industry is controlled by Huaxia for more than half. They use their technological advantages to relentlessly attack our companies, and we simply cannot develop."

Zheng Yi looked troubled. This world is different from the real Blue Star; Huaxia has not given them a moment to breathe. After the economic collapse of Ying Continent, Huaxia came to harvest. Many talented people were taken away, and many companies were bought. After the purchases, they used their technological advantages to strike against other companies. The entire economy of Ying Continent is firmly in Huaxia’s grasp.

"Zheng Yi, if we don’t find a solution soon, we will have to fight desperately. You know how big our internal conflicts have become over the years."

Li Qing gritted her teeth. The large number of unemployed people has led to countless social problems. Just the millions of unemployed people is a terrifying situation. Even their enrollment rates have dropped to alarming levels, causing a significant decrease in fresh talent for cultivators. There are even cases where cultivators with Single Spiritual Roots have no resources to cultivate.

"Master, we must find a way to root out the traitors. More than half of the social elites in Ying Continent have turned into traitors."

Zheng Yi said that Huaxia is like a lighthouse, attracting the minds and bodies of the elite from Ying Continent, making them support Huaxia and betray Ying Continent’s interests.

"These damn spies."

Li Qing was very angry. She knew about this matter, but there were many people she couldn’t directly confront. The country had its own ways of doing things. If they couldn’t find a reason to blame someone and just got rid of them, it would disturb the people’s hearts and undoubtedly make their economy even worse.

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"The blood of this fat sheep from Ying Continent is almost all drained."

In Haigang City, Cao Ying pulled up a report for Lin Jiang to read. It contained some investigations about the economic situation of Ying Continent.

"Yes, it’s time to loosen the noose around their necks a bit. We shouldn’t push them too hard, even though we aren’t afraid."

Lin Jiang nodded and quickly finished reading the report. It showed that the number of unemployed people in Ying Continent had surpassed twelve million, and that was just the working population, not counting the elderly and children.

Severe material poverty had caused countless social problems in Ying Continent, such as high dropout rates, suicide rates, and so on. The average life expectancy in Ying Continent had dropped by about ten to fifteen years. The government alone had to spend more than thirty percent of its budget just to help those in poverty.

It could be said that the social conflicts in Ying Continent had reached a peak. If this continued, Ying Continent might completely collapse, and it could even affect Huaxia.

"What are you planning to do?"

"To provide relief, first, make sure they do not starve, then offer some low-interest or even no-interest loans, and finally give some breathing room to private enterprises, allowing them to survive, but not to thrive, because the markets in other regions will never be theirs again."

Lin Jiang said that such matters should be left to the experts, and he only needs to set the goals.

"This Plaza Agreement is really powerful; it takes what belongs to others without shedding blood, and the wealth of the Ying Continent has been plundered over hundreds of years."

"It is the elite group of Huaxia that is impressive; I only proposed an idea, the rest was done by them."

"Yes, and by the way, strike Qingyun and Zhou Liao until they are half dead."

"They are just a part of it; with the five nations in the alliance, a total of over three billion people are now our prey."

Lin Jiang said, speaking of this matter, he felt very proud; this is power—the ability to decide the life or death of millions with a single word. It’s hard to know how many people become obsessed with this power; even with Lin Jiang’s mindset, he still finds it very satisfying.

"Human society has always involved exploitation; in fact, we humans are the most vicious creatures in the world."

"You can’t say that; survival of the fittest and the strong eating the weak is the way of nature. We humans also follow this rule. According to biologists, we are just another kind of animal, nothing makes us different."

"Alright, you have a point. I’m just afraid that if we drain the entire Blue Star, what will we do if there aren’t enough resources?"

"If you ask me, I don’t know either. Right now, all I know is that I’ve invested in Liang Long to study energy conversion technology. Perhaps there will be a breakthrough."

Lin Jiang said that draining the entire Blue Star is a likely situation. That’s why, a long time ago, Lin Jiang invested in Liang Long to have him study energy conversion technology.

This technology has achieved production, but the efficiency is too low and needs further research. If they can continue to make breakthroughs, there may be a chance to replace a lot of energy consumption and save some spirit stones for Blue Star.