Chapter 232 Conspiracy and Overt Conspiracy

The Lords' Meeting of Black Wind Castle lasted for several hours. Under the leadership of Luo Yan, various topics were gradually finalized.

Although the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce Alliance appeared to be submissive on the surface, Luo Yan was still keenly aware that many of them had complicated thoughts, especially Grok, the president of the Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce.

He seemed to see the shadow of Jan Andes in this goblin merchant.

Although the two have different personalities and ways of doing things, they are essentially the same kind of people - as long as there is enough benefit, they will betray their lord without hesitation.

What's more, for a goblin, betraying a human lord does not bring him any psychological or moral burden.

After the meeting, Luo Yan took Festing and his party to the restaurant in the lord's mansion.

Although he had never lived here for a day, there were three devil chefs stationed in the mansion all year round, and more than ten servants of different races were responsible for daily affairs. While he was in the meeting, lunch had already been prepared, and a sumptuous appetizer was placed on the table.

However, facing this table of sumptuous food, Vivian looked somewhat uninterested.

The pair of deep red pupils rolled around, and a sly smile suddenly appeared at the corner of her mouth.

While no one was paying attention, she quietly slipped to Luo Yan's side with light steps, gently grasped his arm with her ten fingers, and shook it coquettishly.

"Brother~"

The sudden soft voice made Luo Yan's back numb and he shuddered. Then he looked at the instigator who was pretending to be innocent with a stern face.

"Didn't I tell you? Don't call me that casually..."

"But..." Vivian pouted and grumbled in dissatisfaction, "There's no one else around, is it not okay for me to scream secretly? You clearly said it was okay before."

Luo Yan sighed deeply.

Is this the popular way of seeking excitement in Shanghai?

However, considering that she had behaved quite well just now, he didn't bother to argue with her and asked in a low voice.

"Tell me what you want to say."

Seeing that her trick had succeeded, Vivian's smile became even brighter. She licked her lips, revealing her sparkling fangs, and her eyes stared straight at Luo Yan's neck, like a predator staring at its prey.

"Um... I'm hungry... hehehe... can I... just one bite..."

Luo Yan felt uneasy when he was stared at and subconsciously took a step back.

"Eat if you're hungry. Why are you looking at me?"

"But, vampires don't eat..." Vivian immediately put on a pitiful expression, gesticulating with her hands, and lied, "If there is no blood, your dear Miss Vivian will starve to death!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

A half-smiley voice suddenly came from the side.

Vivian turned around suddenly and saw that the annoying succubus had quietly stood behind them, with her arms folded across her chest, and her heart-shaped pupils showed obvious teasing.

“…Of course!”

Vivian's heart tightened, and she vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but she still pretended to be calm and continued to make up stories: "Colin family... that's it!"

Mia sneered and exposed her lie without any hesitation: "Stop lying. You have been drinking bags of blood for a long time, right? And it's okay if you don't drink it for a day or two."

“You bastard!”

The lie was exposed on the spot, and Vivian's face turned red with anger, and her lips trembled. Her dark purple hair seemed to be aroused by static electricity, floating automatically without wind.

Just as she was about to fight back angrily, a hand hit her on the head mercilessly.

"oops!"

Vivian squatted down with her head covered, tears of grievance in her eyes, just like a scolded kitten.

Luo Yan looked at her helplessly.

"Okay, that's enough of the fuss. If you want to drink blood, I can ask someone to buy it for you."

He wasn't sure if there was one in Black Wind Castle, but he thought it shouldn't be a big problem.

After all, there are all kinds of species here.

Vivian held her head and muttered, "...No need. The ones bought from the market are bound to be smelly."

There were goblins or hell dwarves all along the way, and she had no interest in that stinky blood.

Luo Yan was stunned for a moment and looked at her in surprise.

He didn't have in-depth research on blood, but could this thing smell good?

Is this true or false?

…

Although Luo Yan didn't think Vivian had a chance of succeeding, the little girl still blamed the failure of her scheme on Mia's interference, and her relationship with the latter became worse because of it.

As expected, the creatures in hell are all bullies who only pick on those who are easy to bully.

Looking at Mia's pitiful eyes, Luo Yan couldn't tell whether she was pretending or was really afraid of the little ancestor of the Colin family.

Fortunately, just when he was in a dilemma, Mr. Festing, who had gone to the bathroom, finally returned to the dining room and saved Luo Yan from the endless quarrel.

Facing that half-smiling look, he always felt that Mr. Shadow Demon did it on purpose.

To be honest, this guy is probably the most nervous one.

Everyone sat down at the dining table one after another. The servants waiting at the side quickly poured them fine wine and served them exquisite dishes. They then respectfully left the restaurant and waited for the bell to ring before coming back.

Although the chefs of the lord's mansion had prepared the feast with all their heart, among the people present, it seemed that only Luo Yan and Festing were really willing to enjoy it.

Vivian glanced at the food on the table nonchalantly, leaned lazily on the back of the chair, tapping the edge of the table with her fingers, looking uninterested. Mia elegantly picked up the wine glass and took a sip, not at all like her usual stubborn look, and it was unclear who she was competing with.

"Grok and his Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce are not easy to deal with." Festing wiped his mouth lightly and suddenly spoke with a meaningful reminder in his tone.

Luo Yan calmly cut into the steak and said in a chatty tone: "I've noticed him."

"Why are you paying attention to that guy?" Vivian yawned and said nonchalantly, "Why waste time talking to a small character like him? If he doesn't obey, just kill him."

Her tone was understated, but it revealed a decisive and murderous aura, as if she was discussing how to kill a mouse that was shivering in the corner.

It has to be said that her style of doing things is indeed very similar to that of Caesar Colin, and is completely opposite to her weak father... No wonder Prince Colin likes this precious granddaughter so much.

Mia raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at Luo Yan, curious about his reaction. But Festing just chuckled and said nothing, as if he wanted to see how Luo Yan would respond to his sister.

Luo Yan glanced at Weiwei and said patiently, "When a few weeds appear in your garden, what you should do is not to burn down the whole garden and start all over again, but to prune them skillfully and let them become nutrients for the garden at the right time. Otherwise, you will tire yourself out and end up with nothing in return."

If anyone else had said this, Vivian would probably have sneered and mocked them.

However, the person who said this was the one who had once defeated her brother severely, so she couldn't help but accept it.

There was no way, the memory was so unforgettable that even today she couldn't help but tremble when she thought about it.

Vivian fell into deep thought, and tilted her head as if she understood something. She was so unruly a second ago, but now she was as obedient as a cat.

"But why? Did you leave it there on purpose to let it absorb nutrients from your garden?"

Luo Yan chuckled, casually picked up a piece of meat with a fork, lowered his head and started cutting it, his tone so relaxed as if he was just discussing an ordinary gardening job.

"Because Grok is a bait. As for absorbing nutrients from my garden, once you own your own territory, you will understand that such a small profit is insignificant. You can even understand it as that the nutrients he absorbed are just a temporary suspension of fate..."

"Since he likes this false sense of ownership and is good at extracting nutrients from the soil, I will let him keep it for me for a while. It will only take a few minutes to kill him anyway."

As soon as these words came out, Vivian immediately became interested. She sat up straight and stared at Luo Yan with interest.

"Bait? What do you mean? Is there a bigger fish?"

"Of course," Luo Yan said slowly, "Do you think he would dare to mention three requests in front of me if he had no one behind him? Let alone three requests, I bet he doesn't even dare to say three punctuation marks."

There was a gleam of admiration in Festing's eyes.

"Wonderful."

Mia's eyes were also sparkling, as if there were little stars in them.

Thank you for the compliment from this gentleman. Luo Yan raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a mysterious smile, and said slowly.

"My intuition tells me that Grok is the bait thrown in front of me by the Dragon family. They are tempting me to make a move. But they don't realize that when the fish is strong enough, it can drag people and fishing rods into the river. But before that, we all need to maintain a moderate amount of patience."

Vivian opened her eyes slightly wide with a look of surprise, while Mia held her chin and looked at Luo Yan with interest, beginning to look forward to his plan.

Festing gently turned the wine glass in his hand, smiled slightly, and looked deep: "It sounds like you are ready to cast your net?"

"That's right," Luo Yan said calmly, looking up at Festing, "I'm almost tired of their endless little tricks. Maybe the Dragun family should change the head of the family."

The moment he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the restaurant changed subtly.

There is no one else here and there is nothing to hide.

Mia narrowed her eyes and raised the corners of her mouth slightly, while Vivian's eyes lit up and she clenched her fists excitedly.

"That sounds like...it's going to be fun," she said excitedly, licking her lips.

She loves rivers of blood the most!

Festing tapped his glass lightly and nodded slightly, his tone meaningful.

"Then let me see how you plan to cast your net."

Change the head of the Dragun family.

What a big tone! However, he did not dislike ambitious young people, especially since he saw himself in his youth in this young man.

People always think that he has his current status because of Serena's favor, but they never think about why Serena chose him instead of others.

No family that can survive in hell is a pushover.

This is true of the Padrich family.

Of course, the Dragun family is also like this.

Even though the latter has been unlucky in the past two years...

Luo Yan took a sip of wine and smiled without saying anything.

“It has already begun.”

…

Brilliant strategies are often open ones.

However, this does not mean that everyone can hear the sound of the chess pieces falling at the beginning and see that his real intention is not to play chess.

The Dragun family would not realize that a small water pump could become the fulcrum that could pry the entire Black Wind Castle. And Snick, who raised the question, would not have thought that as a small figure, he was already in the middle of the game.

Snike never dreamed that he was just a "goblin" at the bottom of the goblin community, as inconspicuous as the coal slag falling beside the mine cart, but because of a speech he made at the lord's meeting, he was promoted by the devil himself and turned into an "official"——

Although he is just a small official, the director of the neighborhood committee of the Goblin community.

Even so, this news still caused quite a stir in the Goblin community.

The goblins who once fought with him in the mud now respectfully addressed him as "Director". Even the "big guys" who once looked down on him had to re-evaluate his value and even take the initiative to get close to him.

The title of "director" sounds intimidating, but in fact the work of the neighborhood committee is not easy at all.

In addition to the most basic facility inspections and repairs, he is also responsible for community security, organizing security patrols, mediating various trivial conflicts between goblins, and even formulating some development plans that look "formal" to demonstrate the "professionalism" of community autonomy.

That’s not all.

In addition to these daily chores, Snick also received a mission personally assigned by the Demon King——

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As the director of the neighborhood committee, he needs to do everything he can to unite the entire goblin community, conduct a comprehensive registration of residents, and mark all new goblins and suspicious elements.

To this end, Luo Yan specially allocated a sum of "activity funds" to allow Snik to develop his own "downline" in the name of organizing community activities.

That is the so-called younger brother.

Snik looked at the grant certificate in his hand, his eyes flashing with an unprecedented light, and his hands were shaking with excitement.

He never thought that he would have the power to hold it! He could use the funds to hold a barbecue party to attract more goblins to participate in community affairs; he could contract construction projects in the community to train a group of loyal subordinates; he could even treat guests in the Goblin Tavern, exchanging a glass of beer for information and a barrel of beer for followers!

This is not just a "small official" position, it is an opportunity to climb up! More importantly, he has realized that the Demon King will not promote him just to let him repair a few water pumps and mediate a few goblin quarrels, but to prepare for something "big".

——But what is the big deal?

Snicker stroked his chin, his eyes flickering.

He vaguely felt that this was far more than just "community management".

However, no matter what big plans the Demon King has, solving the neighborhood committee office problem is the first priority he has to deal with.

Fortunately, the matter was resolved quickly.

On his first day in office, his fawning lackeys found him an incredible treasure.

It was a tattered carriage overturned on the side of the road.

This carriage was abandoned by some unfortunate creature and was half buried in the mud beside a sewer in Black Wind Castle. It was dug out by a group of homeless goblins and transformed into a stronghold that could barely shelter from the wind and rain. It was later bought by Snik's lackeys.

Today, a crooked wooden board is hung on the outside of the carriage, on which are written a few large characters in crooked coal ash - "Goblin Community Autonomous Committee".

Of course, except for Snick himself, no one probably knows what this place is used for. After all, the words written on it are too abstract.

However, this did not prevent him from proudly patrolling the door of his "office" with his chest puffed out every day, accepting the complicated looks from the goblins around him - some were envious, some were suspicious, and some were just there to watch the fun.

After all, in the world of goblins, the concept of "being an official" usually only exists in legends, and most lords prefer to let the hell dwarves manage them rather than let them manage themselves.

I believe that if there were not too many goblins in Black Wind Castle and the Hell Dwarf had not angered the lord because of his drunkenness, it would never have been the turn of a small fry like Snick to be the neighborhood committee director.

This is not——

The new official showed his bad side just one day after taking office.

On the second day after Snick took office, his office soon welcomed the first official "case" in the Goblin community.

The cause of the incident was simple - two goblins fought over the ownership of a roasted rat.

If they were not evenly matched, the winner would have been decided long ago, and there would definitely not have been a disturbance in the neighborhood committee.

"He stole my dinner!"

"Nonsense, I saw that first!"

"Bullshit! It was still crawling on the ground when you saw it!"

"Then you can't steal my prey!"

"Which eye of yours saw it was yours?!"

"Look at my eye!"

The two goblins were gesticulating wildly in front of Snik, pointing at their own bruised faces and grinning at each other.

Snick sat behind his "desk" with a serious face - and the so-called desk was actually a wooden board he picked up from the garbage dump and placed on two stones.

He raised his hand to press his forehead, cleared his throat, and put on an expression of "intimidating without being angry".

He learned that from the Demon King.

Of course, in order to avoid being accused of usurpation by other goblins, he would never admit it to others.

"Hey, hey, you two, why bother fighting over a mouse? Look at you, your faces are all swollen, how bad is that? If you have that little time, why don't you go work in a factory? It's not difficult to buy a mouse with an hour's salary, right? Don't you agree?"

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by these two blind guys.

“It’s not about the money!”

"Right! This is about fairness!"

The two goblins looked at each other, both unwilling to be outdone, and still neither of them was willing to give in.

Snick coughed lightly and continued, "According to my community management regulations, the ownership of the food should be decided by the party who takes action first."

"Ha! Did you hear that?" One of the goblins immediately put his hands on his hips and said, "I picked up the mouse first!"

"No!" The other goblin refused to give in. "I reached out first! He was just one step faster!"

This kind of thing happens from time to time.

Snick sighed and flipped open a "document" next to him - it was covered with doodles, purely for show.

"How about this, you two, each take half."

"What?!"

"You two fought so hard, which shows that neither of you wants to suffer a loss. Then be fair, each of you fight half, and no one should say anything."

The goblins widened their eyes and looked at Snik with an expression that said "this is the final verdict". Although they felt a little unwilling, after all, Snik was now an "official" and was promoted by the Demon King himself, so they finally accepted it reluctantly.

Moreover, the document looked as if it was signed by the Demon Lord himself, so it was not necessary to bring trouble to him over such a small matter.

"Okay..."

"You're so cruel."

Snick smiled as he watched the two goblins angrily walk out of the door. He hummed a little tune and wrote something in a greasy notebook using symbols that only he could understand.

[Two goblins are fighting over a roasted mouse. Solution: Each gets half.]

"…What a pitiful fellow, he even wants to snatch a mouse, tut tut tut."

With just a stroke of his pen, the first "neighborhood committee case" was successfully resolved.

Although it's not fair, it's better than letting them fight themselves.

That is the Demon King's precious labor force, and it cannot be wasted on a dead mouse.

The symbol of smugness in Snicker's heart couldn't help but be moved by his own loyalty.

Although he had only been on the job for one day, he had already completely transformed into the devil's minion.

He is now the devil's man! In that nonsense quarrel, a day passed quickly, and the lamp on the top of the factory slowly went out, indicating that Black Wind Castle was about to fall at night.

Just as Snick was humming a tuneless little tune and preparing to close the door of his "office" which was converted from an overturned carriage, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the muddy alley.

"Boss! Boss!"

A short goblin came running over, with a string of shiny snot hanging under his nose, which was so painful to look at. He ran so fast that some of it even spun out.

Snick frowned and took a half step back with some disgust: "Slug, what's wrong with you?"

The guy called Slug licked his cracked lips, his eyes full of flattery and expectation, and he said with a bit of jealousy: "Boss, I was wandering around with my brothers - well, I mean, when we were patrolling, we found some guys who looked a little strange!"

"Hmm?" Snick suddenly became interested, raised his eyebrows, and took another look at this sloppy lackey.

Slug looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then he took a step closer and said in a low voice, "They don't work! They don't worry about food and clothing! They're mysterious all day long, either hanging around in Gobdo's place or drinking in the tavern all day long, and they never rob or show off!"

Snick's eyelids twitched.

Not working and not worrying about food and clothing is fine, but not stealing, robbing, or showing off? Are they still goblins? ! There is no doubt that they are definitely planning to rob a big one! With a jealous look on his face, Slug continued to speak while the iron was hot.

"Boss, we are all employed and can live such a carefree life. How can a bunch of gobs who appeared out of nowhere live as carefree as us? Is this reasonable? This is unreasonable!"

"That makes sense. Let me think about it."

Snick let out a hiss, rubbed his chin subconsciously, and began to think with his cunning head.

If a normal goblin picked up a piece of scrap metal, he would polish it until it was shiny and hang it around his neck to show off for the whole day. If he couldn't rob it, he would steal it. If he couldn't steal it, he would extort it. If he couldn't extort it, he would cry... How could they be so low-key?

This is really abnormal! Thinking of the Demon King's teachings to him, a shrewd light flashed in Snick's eyes.

"It's indeed a bit strange... Let's find out the situation first."

He lowered his voice and said, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

"Take a few brothers with you and keep a close eye on them. Find out who they come into contact with every day, where they live, what they do, and where they hang out... Remember! Don't alert them, just mark them out!"

The slug grinned, revealing a mouthful of jagged fangs, and rubbed his hands excitedly: "Don't worry, boss, I will definitely dig out all their ancestors for you!"

"That's not necessary. Just figure out who's behind them."

Snick nodded with satisfaction, looking into the distance with a dim gaze.

He was worried that he didn't have the opportunity to show off in front of the Demon King.

This is not.

The opportunity to make a contribution has come to me! (End of this chapter)