Chapter 1097 — This Beats Robbing a Bank by a Mile

"For nobles who want thrills, who want to show off but cannot truly set foot in dangerous places, you can customize adventure packages — take them flying over lava lakes, take them through storm clouds, that sort of thing. We both know that for a dragon, and for passengers under a dragon's protection, this carries no risk at all, but for someone who has never experienced it, it is the chance of a lifetime. You can also offer photography services on these trips, recording the client's 'heroic posture' as they take on the challenge — charge per print for the photographs, sell the memory crystals separately, and offer paid delivery...

"Yes, paid delivery can be a very important revenue stream — a dragon personally descending from the sky into the human world carrying someone's 'proof of adventure,' showing everyone that a certain heroic tale was no exaggeration... Do you know how much those nobles would pay for a moment of showing off like that? Especially the surviving nobles of Cecil and Tifon, stripped of so many privileges, able to do nothing but sit in their family castles and reminisce about past glory...

"Of course, this project will not last long. As dragons come into more frequent contact with Loren, the mystery surrounding your race will fade... but that will take at least ten or twenty years, maybe several decades."

Meitzen listened, dazed. The moment Gao Yang paused, she could not help pressing: "And then?"

"And then... you might consider some more special projects. Let me give an example. If Tarronde opens up, there will certainly be many adventurers interested in it. Nowadays on Loren, apart from the core wasteland zones, most of the land has an owner, and with the rise of continent-wide trade and the beginning of large-scale development in various nations, there will be fewer and fewer unexplored regions. Add to that the formalization of security companies and regional defense, and the living space of traditional adventurers is bound to be squeezed fast. Under these circumstances, Tarronde will become fertile ground for those adventurers facing unemployment.

"You can open a quota of slots to these adventurers. Their strength may be pitiful compared to dragons, but they are numerous, full of fighting spirit, and since they have survived to this day in a fiercely competitive world, most of them do have real skill. Set an entry threshold, and let the adventurers who pass the assessment go to areas they can handle. Are you not troubled by the rampant elemental creatures and wandering spirits in certain regions, which constantly tie up your reconstruction teams? Let the adventurers deal with those things. Trust me, as long as they are assigned properly and not sent charging into the depths of the wasteland, but only doing low-intensity clearing work in the border regions, those adventurers from Loren will be absolute professionals.

"This will inevitably free up more dragons from the trivial task of patrolling around the camps — those weaker elemental creatures should never have consumed so much of the dragons' energy. They are holding back your reconstruction progress far too much."

By this point Gao Yang's expression had grown increasingly serious. He knew this matter was not merely about "economic benefit" — a land sealed off for a million years was about to open its gates, and no matter in what form it connected with Loren, the influence behind those connections was destined to be profound. This matter deserved to be taken seriously.

Meitzen listened to Gao Yang seriously as well. At first there had been some doubt in her expression, but as her thinking deepened, the doubt faded rapidly. Once she realized the feasibility of the matter, she raised her head: "This really is a good approach... everyone stands to gain. I think even Speaker Anqian would not mind offering those adventurers suitable compensation..."

"Compensation? No, no," Gao Yang waved his hand at once. "You should be charging them."

Meitzen: "...Huh?"

"Travel expenses to Tarronde, registration fees, and the processing fees for hunting licenses in designated areas," Gao Yang said matter-of-factly. "And your hunting licenses should be graded — adventurers who have just passed the assessment can only patrol and hunt in areas near the camps, and get only a primary hunting license. Once they have proven their ability and accumulated enough seniority, they can be upgraded to a higher-grade license, allowing them to go deeper. In any case, make sure you supervise and patrol properly, to prevent some overly reckless adventurer from plunging headfirst into a danger zone and dying — that is also taking responsibility for their lives..."

Meitzen: "...But on what grounds would those adventurers accept such terms?"

"The spoils of the hunt go to the individual," Gao Yang spread his hands. "You probably have no concept of this relatively 'low-level' sort of thing — do you know how rare and valuable a prey the elemental creatures and mana spirits that have already overrun Tarronde are on Loren?"

Meitzen: "..."

After that, Gao Yang told Meitzen many more ideas — most of them thoughts that had only just occurred to him in that moment. He talked for a long time, until the night outside the window grew thick and great swaths of lights came on in the town, and those rough ideas gradually took shape into a systematic framework.

Meitzen's expression had gone somewhat wooden.

When Gao Yang's explanation finally came to a pause, the blue dragon lady could not help but stare into his eyes, and after a long while she finally broke the silence: "...Everyone says dragons are greedy, obsessively attached to treasure, skilled at plundering wealth and hoarding riches..."

"Do not say that. Most of that was nonsense written and spread around when your people first came wandering into the human world," Gao Yang waved his hand. "Nobody says that."

"...Fine, let us not quibble over such details," Meitzen cleared her throat twice. "What I mean is — we dragons truly are passionate about collecting treasure and skilled at accumulating wealth, but now I suddenly feel that you are more dragon than the dragons..."

Gao Yang thought it over carefully, and the more he thought, the more wrong it felt: "Why does that sound like an insult?"

"It is praise from the bottom of my heart," Meitzen said with utter sincerity. "Your ideas really did astonish me."

"Then what is your assessment?" Gao Yang asked. "What do you think of my proposals?"

Meitzen lowered her head and thought seriously, and only after a long while did she speak softly: "I really did once write some stories about evil dragons coming to the human world to plunder wealth, and some of my kin are also fond of inventing 'villain factions' along those lines. But now I know — robbing is not actually the fastest way to make money... your ideas are far more ruthless than robbery."

Gao Yang: "...I still think you are insulting me."

"It really is praise, and from the bottom of my heart," Meitzen laughed, and in that smile there was a sudden relaxation and joy. "I must thank you, thank you for these suggestions... Tarronde may have a splendid civilization, but my people have been raised into 'infants' by Omega. After leaving Omega, we discovered that we lack even the basic skills of survival and experience in dealing with the outside world. Without your suggestions... I truly do not know how we would ever take the first step toward revitalization."