Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 256 (Patreon)

Chapter 256 – Politics

It took more than one call, of course. Flying a ship like the Bloodhawk into not just Chinese airspace, but over the mainland of China itself was not something that you could just do on a whim, and the Chinese government was loath to actually allow it, for obvious reasons. My ship was dangerous, and they did not know if their own air force could shoot it down if I turned on them.

Not that I was planning anything of the sort, but it was their job to have such concerns. And that wasn’t their only concern. They knew I never lied, and thus that the threat was real. However, they also knew that I never told the whole truth, which meant that there could be some hidden angle that might bite them on the ass. And history had taught the Chinese a sense of well-deserved paranoia when it came to dealing with outside forces.

However, someone in Beijing must have been taking things seriously, because, after the second call, I was invited over to have a face-to-face meeting with someone who could make an actual call on the whole thing. With how quickly they had moved, I was fairly certain that they would allow me to take the ship in. They might try and saddle me with some additional requirements and the like, but the fact that they were moving so quickly meant that it was almost certain that they’d let me through, provided I didn’t do anything to make them lose face.

Which is why I was now manifesting by my shrine inside the People’s Adventurers Association, which was their version of the Adventurer’s Guild. Of course, the PAA was actually run by the government, instead of being a group built from the ground up by adventurers. On the one hand, that meant Chinese adventurers had access to government training and resources. On the other hand, well, they also had government ‘advisors’ making sure that they didn’t get out of control.

But that was officially not my problem. I was here for a meeting, not to change the world. I had no interest in telling people how to live, so long as it didn’t bother me.

“Mister Kuronoth?”

I turned to see a well-dressed man. Everything about him screamed that he worked for the government. But that was fine, since I was here to speak to the government.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Excellent. If you will please follow me, Director Peng and the others are waiting for you.”

The government man turned, and led the way to a nearby conference room. Inside were four men. One, I recognized as Qiao Jian, the Leader of the PAA. The other three, however, I did not recognize, though one was in the uniform of the People’s Liberation Army.

My escort introduced me, and then bowed, leaving the room. Obviously, he wasn’t privy to whatever was about to happen. With a smile, I moved to the table, and sat down. “Well, as the man said, I am Kuronoth, God of Pleasure, Domination, and Dungeons. I know Leader Qiao already, but might I have the honor of the rest of your names?”

Qiao stood up, and said, “This is Colonel Su Lei, of the People’s Liberation Army. Next to him is Zhou Fen, special assistant to the President’s Chief of Staff. And this is Director Peng Cheng, of the System Response Department. His department has jurisdiction involving any unusual System-related events.”

“A pleasure to meet you all, I’m sure.”

Director Peng nodded, “Yes, well, the Department has been following events surrounding you very closely, since that press conference the American military made about the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures dungeon, just after the Apocalypse started. So, given the way you seem to attract trouble, you can understand our concerns about you wandering about the Chinese countryside, looking for divine entities, yes?”

“Yes, well, when you are the first to accomplish things, people naturally turn and want to take a shot at you. And most of the ‘issues’ that come up around my dungeon simply involve people who get upset that I will not allow them to restrict my movements based upon their ideas of morality. I have my code of ethics, which I stick to, and I don’t compromise on those points, even when making deals.”

Peng nodded once, and said, “I would like to ask you a few questions about dungeons before we get to your request. We’ve had reports that dungeons elsewhere in the world are progressing in a more rapid rate, both in the variety of challenges offered, and in the level of those challenges. With those increased challenges comes increased resources gathered, which has caused some concerns in certain quarters. Would you happen to know anything about that?”

Oh, so that was their game, was it? Clearly, they hoped to drag more information about dungeons from me. But this question was a bit confusing, since anyone who asked the Ambassador, or even just traveled outside of China, would be able to find the answer easily enough.

It was the slight glance of Peng’s eyes towards Zhou that clued me in. Director Peng already knew the answer to his question. He just wanted me to be the one to say it in front of the ‘special assistant’. That way, any backlash from ideas that didn’t mesh well with the party line would not fall on him.

“Well, Director, the simple answer is that you haven’t allowed people from other countries into your dungeons. I am limited in how much I can say directly, but, under the System, there are processes in place that allow dungeons to grow faster, or in more varied ways, once they reach certain milestones, and clear certain bottlenecks. There are many such milestones, but one of the more important ones would be the variety of visitors that have visited the dungeon and cleared it.”

I kept my eyes on Peng, for the most part, but I did notice Zhou’s lips purse slightly. Peng, however, ignored that. “Can you tell us in what way these milestones restrict the dungeon’s growth?”

“Of course. When a dungeon is first starting out, they only have access to a few creatures gifted by the System, and resources discovered in the local environment. Dungeons gain new resources in one of two ways. The first is by absorbing items left unattended, whether they be gifts to the dungeon, or the belongings of slain adventurers. The second is through the supplementary systems that the System provides.”

I paused for a breath, and said, “If you have a wider scope of adventurers enter your dungeons, whether they live or die, the dungeon will begin to grow faster, and have more options available to it. The dungeon I reside in has been visited by people from multiple star systems, which offers quite a few options that dungeons who have only been visited by those of one city or region would not have. If you wanted to fix that, and open up more options for your domestic dungeons, then you would need to allow more foreign adventurers to enter.”

“In other words, it is like the markets? If you do not allow the trade of goods between countries, you are able to better control and manage the resources you have. However, if you find yourself lacking in something, then there is no way to get it, and isolation stifles innovation, yes?”

I ignored the way that the ‘special assistant’ was clearly getting more worked up, and nodded. “Yes, something like that. You could consider it the same as how North Korea’s economy has languished behind other nations in the region, even while other countries, like China, have emerged from the Cold War stronger than they were before.”

Director Peng nodded. “I see. We will definitely need to consider this information carefully in the future, regarding dungeon policies.”

“Certainly. As a God of Dungeons, it is my duty to try and do what I can to advance their cause, and help them grow. But we ought to discuss the Monkey King, no?”

“Yes,” Colonel Su nodded. “Army Intelligence can confirm that an entity claiming to be the Monkey King has been sighted at Mount Huaguo, but that information has not been released to the public. In fact, we thought the information had been contained completely. Would you be willing to reveal how you learned of it?”

“Well, obviously, the information control was not complete. However, you may have looked for news stories, or people passing things off as fact, rather than exciting stories worthy of tabloids and gossip sites. Regardless, the information was brought to be by another, who came across it by means of their own.”

I considered ending it there, but pressed on. “Of course, magic may also have been involved. The source that informed me of the Monkey King also informed me of a manifestation of Susanoo, the Storm God, in Japan. There is magic that can search out divine entities, if they are not taking precautions to hide their presence in mortal realms, such as using an avatar, rather than using bodily moving about the plane. If someone were to cast such a ritual, then Mount Huaguo is close enough, and the Monkey King is a strong enough entity that he would be detected.”

Colonel Su sighed, and said, “So, it was either a ritual, or people telling stories that no one would believe, unless they knew what to look for? We’ll have to come up with new procedures to deal with information control, it seems. But at least we know this now, rather than when trying to control news of something that has greater significance to national interests.”

Zhou finally spoke. “And you believe that the Monkey King, from ancient myth, could gain the powers of the character in that Japanese anime? How is something like that possible?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “And the simple fact is that the Monkey King’s true power has not been locked in with the System yet. However, the strength of the divine is based off belief. And if tales of the Monkey King begin spreading further, and enough people connect him to the name Son Goku, then that will inspire connections in the minds of people. Not just in China, mind you. In the Western world, when someone says the name Son Goku, then they are far more likely to think of the anime than of Journey to the West. That is simply an undeniable fact.

“However, when divine entities meet, the System formally recognizes any entities that had not been fully integrated before. This locks in their power sets, for the most part, as well as some other things that I am not allowed to talk about with those who are not divinities themselves. After that, it would take an extraordinary amount of effort to change his powers.”

Zhou nodded once. “And, after this, will the Monkey King leave this world? Or will he still remain at Mount Huaguo?”

“He will no longer be bound to Mount Huaguo, and may choose to roam the world, or even traverse the stars themselves. However, he may also enter the realm of the gods, where he might find challengers to fight against, and gods to trick and treat with. What exactly will happen is uncertain, but that will be better than the worst-case scenario, as the Monkey King would not be granted the power to destroy planets should he be in a fit of pique.”

Zhou stiffened visibly, as did the others, as the full magnitude of the ‘worst case scenario’ came to light. “I believe that approving this mission is in the best interests of the Country, and the Party, and shall inform my superiors accordingly. However, I would like to have one of our own people accompany you on this meeting, to offer an honest account of the events, and perhaps engage with the Monkey King, before he can disappear.”

I frowned slightly. “I am not opposed to the idea of bringing someone along. However, you must understand that they will not be under my protection, and I shall take no responsibility for anything they might say or do, or anything that the Monkey King might do in response. Likewise, I shall not aid or interfere in any negotiations your representative might make, unless asked, and then I shall be neutral, aiding both sides equally. So, make sure that whoever you send is properly respectful and diplomatic, or you will likely see what happens when the Great Sage Equaling Heaven feels insulted. And be sure to bring a gift.”