Yama Rising

Hela was wearing a dress woven from black goose feathers, and in the instant she caught sight of Qin Ye, she immediately picked up the hem of her dress and rushed over to him. Right in front of Zhao Yun's astonished eyes, she fell to one knee in front of Qin Ye, then gently picked up his hand and gave it a gentle kiss.

"Esteemed Yanluo Qin, your glorious radiance will forever shine above our five Northern Europa nations! We will follow you until the end of time!"

No one felt her gesture to be overly exaggerated, and Jörmungandr and Fenrir also extended respectful bows as they said, "Your wish is our command! From now on, the alliance between our five Northern Europa nations and the Cathayan Underworld will never be broken! Northern Europa will always be the Cathayan Underworld's closest ally!"

"No need for formalities," Qin Ye said with a smile as he helped Hela to her feet.

"Take a seat."

All of the death gods sat down.

They were all extremely eager to find out why Qin Ye had asked them to stay behind, but on the surface, they were keeping up calm and collected facades.

On the top floor of the main pagoda, a feast had already been set up on a table, including all of the Cathayan Underworld's most renowned dishes, coupled with peach blossom wine of the highest quality. One could scarcely think of a more enjoyable experience than to stand atop the main pagoda, looking out at the surrounding sea of clouds, while sampling the best delicacies that the Cathayan Underworld had to offer. However, none of the death gods present were in the mood to enjoy themselves here.

Qin Ye filled the cups of the death gods in person, then raised his own cup to propose a toast. "For the future!"

"For the future!"

The cups were gently brought together, following which everyone took sips of their wine. After setting down his cup, Mythic Spirit Golden Rhinoceros asked, "Yanluo Qin, may I ask why you've requested us to stay behind?"

A faint smile appeared on Qin Ye's face, but it was then quickly replaced by a serious expression as he said, "I asked all of you to stay behind because I don't trust anyone else. We are the greatest of allies, and there are some things that I would much rather hand over to you than to others."

He picked up the wine flagon and slowly poured out some transparent pink wine as he continued, "Once all of the death gods return to their respective underworlds, the first thing they'll be doing will definitely be to find the industries that they're most suited to developing. Due to the fact that this industrial revolution is following the model already established in the mortal realm, there is virtually no competition. Each nation can choose many industries, in which they will become suppliers in this world. They will also dictate the rules in those industries, and that is a mutually beneficial outcome for everyone. However…"

He set down the flagon as he looked into the eyes of all of the death gods present. "I think that we should seize control of some industries."

"Which ones are you referring to?" Jörmungandr asked.

Qin Ye didn't offer a direct reply. Instead, he said, "In reality, it's not exactly accurate to refer to this as an industrial revolution. After all, we can secure designs for all electricity-related products from the mortal realm, and all we have to do is replace the electric circuits with ones that the electricity-like energy string can pass through. Even for cutting-edge technology like computer chips, it would only take a year at most for successful development to be achieved. In the mortal realm, nations may be reluctant to share their technology with others, but they definitely wouldn't have such qualms when it comes to the underworld. Thus, it'll be very easy to get our hands on these pieces of technology, and even if they refuse to give it to us, we can just send out underworld emissaries to obtain them. When technological bottlenecks aren't an issue, the only issue that exists would be related to the construction of infrastructure. It'll take at least four to five years to complete basic development of infrastructure, and that's how long it'll take for us to catch up to the mortal realm. That's not a very long time, but what about the high-end technological industries? During the next few years, there will most definitely be a boom in civilian products such as light bulbs, cars, appliances, etc. Once the need for all of those basic products is fulfilled, what would come next would be an information boom! The chip industry, the computer industry, the phone industry… Those will all arise one after another, and those are crucial industries that cannot allow our underworlds to seize control of."

He leaned forward slightly as he said, "As such, I would like you to choose these industries as your main focus for development."

All of the death gods nodded in response, and at the same time, there was a hint of awe in their eyes.

They were astounded by how deeply Qin Ye was thinking into the future.

No national leader could be considered to be competent if they only looked at what was directly in front of them. Instead, they had to at least see several steps ahead, and if they became content and complacent in their success, then they would eventually be caught up to and surpassed.

What was most impressive to all of the death gods was that Qin Ye hadn't allowed his success to get to him at all, and that he was still constantly thinking into the future. It was no exaggeration to say that he was the pioneer of a new era, and his name would go down in all of the underworld's history books alongside an extremely flattering description of his feats.

However, he hadn't allowed this to blind him from looking into the future, and that was a key trait for an exceptional ruler.

In his human form, Fenrir was a tall and burly man wearing an antiquated Brittanian naval general's uniform. His sideburns connected his beard and his hair, and his golden pupils flashed slightly as he said, "I see, so you're suggesting that we get ahead of the curve. However, our five Northern Europa nations aren't adept in these industries. Instead, we excel in biology, and the construction of cars, planes, and factories. As I'm sure you're aware, the fields that the talented personnel excel in here in the underworld are no different from those of the mortal realm. If we choose those industries to specialize in, then we'll have no advantage against places that already have personnel that are skilled in these fields. As such, we are more inclined to develop cars and planes."

"When it comes to things like this, development can be quite fast as long as a foundation is established," Qin Ye replied. "If you choose to work on the computer and phone industries, then our Cathayan Underworld would be able to develop the chip industry with no qualms. These industries all require extensive foundations, and that will be the main obstacle for us to overcome in the next four to five years. If we can conquer those obstacles, then the next era will still belong to us."

The Cathayan Underworld is choosing the chip industry?

The death gods of the five Northern Europa nations and the Mythic Spirits of the Alkebulan Underworlds were all quite surprised to hear this.

The development of chip technology for Cathay in the mortal realm had been stagnant for a long time, and they were being comprehensively dominated by Usonia in this field. Nippon, Daehan, and Usonia were the world leaders when it came to chip technology in the mortal realm, so how could the Cathayan Underworld possibly expect to excel in this field?

Of course, they could send underworld emissaries to the new continent, but was that really a good idea at a time like this?

Qin Ye was naturally aware of what they were thinking. However, unbeknownst to them, he had an alternate identity by the name of Dax in Northern Usonia.

In the mortal realm, Usonia was the nation with the most skilled and talented personnel, and unlike everyone else, not only did he have a safe pathway through which he could access the new continent, he was considered to be a death god there!

Thus, there really was a very good chance that he would be able to successfully tap into the chip industry!

The three death gods of Northern Europa fell into deep thought.

This was an extremely alluring proposal, one that they couldn't help but be tempted by, but several seconds later, Hela still shook her head in response. "If no companies from the new continent get involved in these industries, we would be in a level playing field with our competition, but if the three pillars will be participating as well, I'm afraid I'm not confident in our ability to outcompete them."

A warm smile appeared on Qin Ye's face as he replied, "That's why our Cathayan Underworld will only sign a scientific research agreement with you, and the most important clause in that agreement is information sharing."

Holy shit!!

The three death gods of Northern Europa were so ecstatic to hear this that they almost jumped up into the air.

They forcibly repressed their elation as their minds began to race.

With the Cathayan Underworld's current scientific research prowess, they were ahead of the rest of the world!

The five Northern Europa nations couldn't compete with the three pillars, but once the Cathayan Underworld brought out its scientific research agreement containing the information sharing clause, the rest of the world would know what choice to make.

Once that happened, there was a very good chance that Northern Europa could receive support from all of the major consortiums in the form of funding and skilled personnel! After all, virtually all of the world's leading scientists were funded by those top consortiums!

Thus, it really would be possible for them to take over those lucrative industries!

Jörmungandr picked up Qin Ye's cup of wine and offered it up to Qin Ye with both hands. His voice was trembling from excitement as he said, "Thank you for your kindness. Your glorious name will forever be commemorated in the annals of Valhalla! The five Northern Europa nations will forever be the Cathayan Underworld's most loyal allies!"

"What about us?" The Mythic Spirits of the Alkebulan Underworlds were eager to hear what arrangement Qin Ye had for them. They knew that they had no advantage whatsoever when it came to technology, so there was no chance that they would be able to take over some cutting-edge industries. However, they couldn't just stand by and watch after the five Northern Europa nations received such a lucrative slice of the cake!

"Don't worry, I was just getting to you," Qin Ye replied with a smile. "The Alkebulan Underworlds can't offer much on the technological front, so what I need you to do during this industrial revolution is to establish your own industrial systems. It would be detrimental to ask your nations to involve yourselves in cutting-edge industries, but what do you think about producing televisions and movies?"

Holy shit!! Thank you, daddy!!

The Mythic Spirits almost screamed out loud!

The television industry would undoubtedly be dominated by the Nipponese Underworld. At the very least, that was what the Nipponese Underworld thought. However, it had chosen the wrong side, and it had to be punished for that.

Just the mere thoughts of the immense profits to be made in the television and movie industries almost had Mythic Spirit Golden Rhinoceros jumping out of his seat!

This banquet went on for over two hours before everyone finally departed. Following the banquet's conclusion, servants immediately converged to clean up the tables.

Qin Ye and Zhao Yun strolled through the hallways of the main pagoda, and the former suddenly asked, "Do you think I was being too generous by handing over the computer and phone industries?"

"A little," Zhao Yun replied with a smile. "Both of those things are necessities, and there are massive profit margins in both industries. Hence, you made the right decision to control the chip industry. In the mortal realm, 3.5% of profits for each phone sold have to be submitted to pay off chip patent fees. If it isn't for the fact that Cathay has a massive market, there would be no way that brands like Xiaomi and Huawei would appear in other countries. As long as we control the chip industry, we will have a stranglehold on the heart of the phone industry. This is the most lucrative sector of the computer industry, the phone industry, and other cutting-edge electronics industries."

"Looks like you've done your homework," Qin Ye said. "Let me ask you one more thing."

"Please go ahead."

Qin Ye raised his head to look up at the heavens, and only after a long pause did he ask, "Do you think space exists for the underworld? Theoretically speaking, once we break through the limits of our sky, we would enter Limbo, and above Limbo is the mortal realm, so does space exist for us?"

Zhao Yun was rather stumped by this question.

"I'm thinking… it probably doesn't…" he replied in an uncertain voice.

"Is that so?" Qin Ye asked with a smile. "In that case, are the sun, the moon, and the stars we're seeing now just King Yanluo's Seal and the Book of Life and Death? How were these things manifested?"