Global Catastrophe: I Became the World Tree-Chapter 169 - 145 First Cooperation_1

Upon hearing Cao Guangzhi’s question, Zhang Ji sighed, "Do you think I don’t want to mine more ore and bring it back? But this is basically the limit."

"If we want to increase production, we have to add more workers, and at a conservative estimate, at least 1000 more people are needed."

"1000 people?" Cao Guangzhi pondered briefly and then nodded, "Alright, no problem, I’ll help you coordinate that."

Zhang Ji was somewhat surprised to hear the other party say this, and then spoke somewhat displeased, "Didn’t you say before that the 5000 people you’ve given me were already the limit? How can you now easily provide an additional 1000 people?"

"Cough! Don’t think that I was making things difficult for you before."

Cao Guangzhi hurriedly explained, "Yesterday, when you asked me for people, 5000 was indeed the limit, given how dangerous the wilderness is nowadays, which you know, so you can imagine how hard it is to recruit people for mining."

"But today is different, that giant panda live-streamed for an entire day, showcasing the strength of Dragon Hall, and those mutated birds indeed proved effective, significantly reducing casualty numbers."

"Thus, the negative sentiment among the people has decreased a lot today, and with the money we’re offering being substantial, naturally, there will be more people willing to go."

After hearing this, Zhang Ji also felt a bit wistful, "Yes! With Dragon Hall’s support, the workers have much fewer worries, and their work efficiency is much higher. Otherwise, the rocks I brought back today would have been at most two-thirds of what we have now."

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Within the view of the two of them, a giant panda with a body size completely mismatched with its agile pace, quickly approached their location.

The staff member responsible for guiding the animal even had to ride a motorcycle in order to keep up.

Coming in front of the two men, the giant panda made a roaring sound.

Zhang Ji and Cao Guangzhi looked at each other, perplexed.

Just as they were about to speak, the giant panda squat down in front of them and spelled out a row of crooked characters on the ground with one finger.

"I need to see your leader, the translator is on the way, hurry!"

Seeing the line written on the ground, both men felt a chill in their hearts.

Realizing the mutated giant panda was not joking, Zhang Ji and Cao Guangzhi exchanged a glance and simultaneously reached for their phones, making calls.

Ten minutes later!

Inside the largest meeting room of Yang City Hall.

Military Commander Bai Yinghui and Yang City Mayor Liu Zaoxin were present at this meeting.

Opposite them sat a giant panda and a huge parrot.

Although there were very few people in the ample meeting room, it still seemed a bit crowded.

The giant panda was manageable, only a little over two meters when sitting.

But the mutated parrot, after reaching Third Order, had an explosive increase in size, and even when crouched, its head nearly touched the ceiling.

Given the high level of this meeting, there were basically no outsiders present.

Apart from Bai Yinghui and Liu Zaoxin, the only others were three bodyguards, Chen Dalong, Pei Jin, and Wang Feng.

Of course, outside the meeting room, soldiers from a special forces battalion had already been summoned to respond to any emergencies.

If the mutated giant panda and the mutated parrot intended any harm towards them, as long as Chen Dalong and the others could hold them off for a bit, the special forces outside could rush in.

After all, both sides had just begun cooperation, so some safety measures were definitely necessary.

Ye Feng also expressed understanding towards this.

After both parties were seated and exchanged brief pleasantries, Ye Feng cut straight to the point, "The reason for calling this urgent meeting is because we’ve discovered an extremely troublesome matter."

Hearing the mutated parrot’s opening statement, both Bai Yinghui and Liu Zaoxin felt a thump in their hearts.

"Is there a problem at the Donglin Mountain Range?" Mayor Liu Zaoxin hastily asked.

Currently, their defensive walls were just beginning to have foundations laid.

If the mutated insects from the Donglin Mountain Range were to attack the city now, without the protection of the walls, even if they could win, the casualties would undoubtedly be disastrous.

"No!"

The mutated parrot shook its head, but before the two could sigh with relief, it continued, "The situation at Donglin Mountain Range is trivial compared to the problem I’ve uncovered."

???

Liu Zaoxin’s expression stiffened, and he stared at the parrot intently, wanting to know if that remark was a joke.

However, he couldn’t discern anything, and the atmosphere in the room instantly grew tense.

"What exactly is the trouble?" Commander Bai Yinghui spoke up.

He didn’t have as many complicated thoughts—when a problem arises, their duty was to solve it.

"I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention these past few days, but the Old Chinese Scholar Tree on Small Phoenix Mountain has disappeared," said the mutated parrot.

"I’ve been aware of this, but with so many other matters to handle right now, I haven’t had the time to investigate. Could it be that this Old Chinese Scholar Tree poses some sort of problem?" Bai Yinghui asked with a frown.

As they had yet to discover mutant plants posing a threat to humans, it was natural for its priority to be deferred.

"I don’t know if there’s an issue with the Old Chinese Scholar Tree, but after discovering its disappearance, I immediately sent my subordinates to investigate and found that Small Phoenix Mountain had become a restricted area," the mutated parrot explained.

"A restricted area? What does that mean?" This time, it was Liu Zaoxin who inquired.