MTLNOVEL Chapter 207: Plants.
Hector was blown away because he never thought of using the ISB or any agency to actually smuggle some goods like a literal drug plants through borders, because yeah, he really felt nothing toward them, more like he still hated them and had trust issues just like how James did.
But the thing is, it would be risky, and Hector knew it very much.
He was there in Dennus, he created the camps, he saw the production, the plants, he was the one who made it possible, but the thing is, those plants are hard to find, and even if they find them, they first need to carefully dig them out and then make sure it stays alive through the travel back… yeah, the travel, which will be the second thing that is the hardest.
Smuggling of the plants is illegal, as well as everything about it, and even though Dennus is a cartel country, there are still laws and still people who uphold justice and that's the bad part about it.
Dennus's politicaly was always fucked up and people never united only after the cartel made their life feel like a survival game. And when the people united, they literally started, accusing different agencies of every single country that operated in Dennus, that they were the ones that started producing drugs, making deals, and helping the cartel to get big. They said it because Dennus has a lot of gold, a lot of resources that can make billions, and if Dennus starts mining those resources, it would mean they can top countries all around them, and they don't need the Union funds or any help.
So, in the people's mind, these foreign agencies directly controlled the production of White Magic and the cartel, to push the country into a spot that they can't come back from, so they will need to ask for help, ask for funds, for deals with countries to help them crawl back to fight against the cartel.
Of course, it was just a theory… or maybe not, because yeah, there were agencies that did things like that. But the people of Dennus were just miserable, full of ego, and didn't realize it was them and their government who messed everything up. And it didn't really help that the government itself was against those agencies… covering up their own tracks.
So Dennus's relationship with a lot of the countries became bad, and they expelled every agency, which made everything worse in the country because those agencies at least could investigate the cartel, even fight back against them… yeah, they expelled everybody… except the ISB.
Well, to be truthful, on paper they aren't there and got expelled, but they are there, laying low and investigating everything they can. Basically, they are spying, but for the wrong thing… rather than investigate the cartel, they are more focused on the border wars and if that conflict is going to spiral out into a full-blown war or not.
Same with the IF.
The only difference between them, the IF only has a few agents there, while the ISB has a whole unit with vehicles and even a plane… yeah, a plane that is perfect for flying out the plants.
"Is it possible to do, Hector?" James asked as he saw Hector thinking so hard that he even closed his eyes.
"I mean… it's possible, but it's not going to be easy." He said as he looked up and grabbed a pen and the paper. "First, we really need to know how the ISB operates there and that our director has authority over them, if he has," he looked up at James then back to the paper. "then comes the hard part of it, we need people to find the plants and dig them out, and at the same time be careful not to cut the roots. If they're done, they need to put them in water and as fast as they can, transfer them to an airport and fly them out." He said as he drew a whole plan outline on the paper.
"Which is bad because the known location is already got fucked up, am I right?" James asked.
"Yeah, they burned down our camps and the plants too, but the jungle is full of them, but the problem is the cartel and the military checkpoints, so we need influential people to do it." Hector explained, and yeah, that was a hard part too.
The part where their option was destroyed, the camps and the plants, but the jungle is full with it. The only problem, the cartel is now going to look out for attacks or any intruders, the same with the military… and just going in there would just fuck up everybody.
"What if we don't go to the jungle but attack the cartel camps?" Ramirez asked the question and everybody looked at him instantly.
"What?"
"I mean Dennus's government has people who are still justice seekers and fight against the cartel, and they have agencies too. So they possibly know locations of the cartel warehouses or camps. So what if our government makes a deal with their government and in a joint operation they strike them down, and we get the plants… a lot of them."
"That would be good but impossible. The current political standpoint isn't enabling something like that." Finn spoke. "Second, why would we just waste resources and manpower when we can literally buy those plants on the black market?"
Finn was right, too much manpower and resources would go into a full-blown attack on another country. Not just that, the ISB's plans too would be too much to do and will take a lot of time… but there is the black market, more important than the international one, that sells everything that man can dream about, even the plants for White Magic, with a twist in it.
"That's a bad idea, Finn." Hector said as he grabbed the pen again. "Those plants are lab plants while the jungle ones are real, the original ones."
"What's the difference?" James asked because he didn't understand what would be the difference between the two.
"To be able to sell the plant, it needs to grow fast, and they spray different chemicals on them so they can sell it quickly, which also means those chemicals kill half of the plant and it gives 50 percent of the White Magic. And not just that, a plant from the jungle, once it's harvested, can grow again. While those lab ones just die and need to be bought again."
"It's still better however we look at it." Finn said again. "It's still pure, and the 50 percent is better than going into another country waging war and dipping with plants. That would take months, and many men would fall, without even talking about money."
"There is something wrong with it, isn't it?" James said as he leaned forward. "If there is that plant, why is nobody producing White Magic? It would be easy then, wouldn't it?"
The question was real, if there is a lab-grown plant that can produce White Magic, why doesn't anybody produce it locally? Not just that, but he never heard anything about this lab-grown one, so there was something about it.
"It not just gives 50 percent less, but also it needs too much care, watering, perfect temperature, with like lamps that resemble the sunlight. It needs care every day, and even fertilizers and ground work." Hector explained to James, who was surprised by it.
"It's like Greenweed, the same thing, isn't it?"
"I mean yeah, it's kinda the same thing, but there's one more thing about White Magic. The lab-grown plants take twice as long to produce compared to the jungle ones. It takes almost a month just to harvest them, then another three weeks to turn them into actual White Magic, and even then, it's still 50% less yield than what an original plant would give. Not to mention the risk of the plant dying, one mistake, and the whole farm is done for." He looked up again. "The people working there have to wear full hazard suits, gloves, masks, anything to keep any contamination off the plants. If they fuck up just a little bit, the whole operation can collapse. That's why nobody's doing it. All the money spent on it can go down the drain in seconds."
It sounded complicated as fuck, but it was still an easier choice than the other option and that's when James got confused about the whole thing.
Like yeah, the plant only gave half of what it's supposed to, it needed care but still it is so much better than just going in another county waging a war and potentially losing manpower money, and much more… and Hector was still against it and he would rather go into a war in another country just to get the plant… what the fuck is he thinking?
"Hector, we have enough White Magic for 1 month." James said and grabbed the pen. "Which means we can buy land and the proper equipment and start teaching people how to deal with the plant. If that's done, we're going to buy hundreds of them and start the process." He looked up at him. "Even if it takes more time, we are in a 1-year peace treaty with the government, which means if someone wants to come in and grab the market, we can use the government to fuck them up." He still looked deep into his eyes. "Why the fuck would you rather go back to Dennus?"
He first said nothing and even looked down at the table, tapping his finger. He was clearly stressed about something.
"I-I… well… I built that shit, brick by brick, and those motherfuckers decided to go to war with each other and fucking destroy everything… I'm sorry, it's just hard to let go of something you worked so much for…"
No fucking way he's sentimental about the fucking camps… but not about people…
Yeah, Hector felt much more emotion for those camps he built than for the people he killed, tortured, or who died around him… well, Hector is Hector.
That was his treasure.