The thrill of giving orders—exhilarating!

Li Daniu looked with great satisfaction at how Burns and the others were subdued by him. He thought, "I'm a time traveler, after all. Not radiating the aura of a king to make you bow down is already a great mercy." Of course, the main reason was that Li Daniu had no idea how to actually radiate such an aura.

“Did you say… buying land from another country?” Burns thought he must have misheard, but seeing the Finance Minister and the Police Commissioner equally astonished, he could only confirm it again.

“Yes. Since our country’s current location is completely uninhabitable, why not purchase land suitable for humans elsewhere, and then migrate there?” Li Daniu was genuinely puzzled as to why such a simple question had troubled Tuvalu for so long.

“Well… forgive my bluntness, Your Highness,” the Finance Minister began, forced by Burns’s murderous glare to speak, “Even disregarding whether any country is willing to sell its territory, our nation’s financial strength simply cannot afford it. Even though our population is small, if we were to relocate entirely, just the construction of basic living facilities would far exceed our budget.”

“How would you know no one is willing to sell if you don’t try? As for the money, I assure you, there’s no need to worry.” Li Daniu spoke with full confidence now, having discovered that the time travel system had a perfect use in the short term. Making money? Too easy.

No need to worry about money? The Finance Minister could not comprehend Li Daniu’s logic—was His Highness planning to run a money printing machine?

“Your Highness,” Burns looked at the Finance Minister who was at a loss for words and couldn’t help but step in himself, probing, “We know His Majesty the King may have left you some inheritance, but that is your personal wealth. You must understand that our country has a law: what belongs to the king is the king’s, and what belongs to the nation also belongs to the king. Your father allowing us to work in the royal palace is already exceptionally enlightened; we cannot ask more of you.”

What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is also mine. Li Daniu couldn’t help but admire whoever drafted that law—truly a sage!

“No matter. As king, it is my duty to lead my people to better living conditions. If we can’t share joy, then let’s share hardship.” Li Daniu uttered noble words, but in his heart, he thought, "If the system hadn’t bound me to the King of Tuvalu, who’d want to be here dealing with all this?"

Are you stupid? If Li Daniu didn’t have the authority to execute Burns, he would have cursed him outright. Who wants to suffer together with you? Just find a way to relocate these eleven thousand remaining people, keep your father’s inheritance and live as a wealthy man, and let everyone else go their own way. Why make things so complicated?

“His Highness truly cares for his people,” Burns and the others, though cursing inwardly, were quick to flatter him when the moment called for it.

“It’s just what I should do.” Li Daniu enjoyed the flattery, at least it soothed his wounded soul. He wasn’t a native of Tuvalu, had only been in this world for a few days. If not for special circumstances, who would want to drag along more than eleven thousand burdens?

Seeing Li Daniu’s determination, Burns and the others exchanged glances, deciding to try another approach.

“Your Highness, may I ask how much funding you can provide? Our nation currently has only sixty million Australian dollars in usable funds.” The Finance Minister doubted how much the old king could have left his beloved son. Without foreign aid, Tuvalu would have gone bankrupt long ago.

“The first sum should be around two hundred million US dollars, though I’m not entirely sure. After that, it’s hard to calculate.” Li Daniu thought, considering the necklace against this world’s price levels, selling it for two hundred million US dollars shouldn’t be a problem. He could also plagiarize literature, songs, or even films here; as for how much money he could make, that was impossible to estimate.

Two hundred million US dollars? As the first sum?

The Finance Minister nearly slammed the table. Just how corrupt was the old king? Tuvalu’s treasury had never held so much money, and every year expenses exceeded revenue. What kind of trick could allow him to embezzle two hundred million dollars for his son in such circumstances?

Burns hadn’t expected the old king to leave so much for his son. The reason he signaled the Finance Minister to ask Li Daniu about his funds was to make him realize buying land isn’t like buying cabbage. To acquire enough territory for over eleven thousand people, plus infrastructure, how much money would it take?

“Are you sure you possess two hundred million US dollars?” Burns directly ignored Li Daniu’s claim that there would be more after two hundred million. Did he think his family’s printing press was real? If you have two hundred million dollars, I might as well stick around and see where this goes.

“Probably,” Li Daniu, though speaking boldly, worried that the necklace might not fetch two hundred million.

“Probably?” The Finance Minister couldn’t understand the use of that word—did the old king leave His Highness a fund or stocks?

Unable to explain, Li Daniu simply pulled the necklace from his pocket and placed it on the table.

“This is my family heirloom. Based on auction prices for similar items, it should sell for about two hundred million US dollars.”

Beauty always attracts attention, especially a breathtaking gemstone necklace.

“Is it… real?” The Finance Minister regretted asking—however much he doubted His Highness, he shouldn’t publicly question him.

“Have a look, as you please,” Li Daniu said indifferently. The system confirmed its authenticity; he didn’t believe they could prove otherwise.

With permission, Burns and the others scrambled for a closer look, and naturally, as prime minister, Burns was first.

While the three took turns examining the necklace, Li Daniu began to feast. He had to admit, even though Tuvalu’s standard of living was poor, after two weeks of instant noodles, having meat was a supreme treat—and seafood, even better. Living off the land and sea, even if Tuvalu produced only three hundred thousand Australian dollars in seafood annually, preparing a meal for His Highness was no trouble.

After wolfing down his meal, Li Daniu saw the three dignitaries still entranced by the necklace and felt speechless. One’s a prime minister, one’s a finance minister, and one’s the chief of police—couldn’t they act with more dignity?

He completely ignored how he himself had behaved upon first getting the necklace.

“Ahem…”

Awakened by Li Daniu’s cough, the three sheepishly placed the necklace before him, so delicately one might think it was made of tofu.

“No need to be so cautious. If it can be damaged so easily, it’s fake.” Li Daniu declared magnanimously, and indeed, both the platinum, the diamonds, and the dazzling sapphire were guaranteed for hardness.

“Your Highness, are you truly planning to…” Although not experts, Burns and the others could see all the diamonds were real; so many genuine gems set off the central sapphire—how could it not be a treasure?

“Sell it.” Li Daniu made no move to put the necklace away, instructing, “Contact an auction house and arrange the sale.”

Although they had thoughts of going their separate ways, as native Tuvaluans, they were fully capable of emigrating. If not for a shred of hope for their country, they wouldn’t have stayed as officials in roles less prestigious than those of major corporations.

“Your Highness, this… cannot be!” Burns exclaimed, sounding as if Li Daniu had traveled through time again.

Why not just call me ‘lord’?

“Yes, Your Highness. If you sell this necklace, even the old king’s spirit would object…”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Li Daniu was still unaccustomed to such flattery—at a time of life and death, who had the heart to fuss? Besides, while the necklace was hard-won, it wasn’t so irreplaceable.

“I’m not asking your opinion. As the legal heir to the throne, I am instructing you to carry this out.” Li Daniu didn’t know if Burns and the others were truly sincere in advising against the sale, but with the time traveler system in hand, he had treasures far more valuable than the necklace, so he didn’t care.

Burns and his companions were left speechless by Li Daniu’s somewhat domineering words.

“This necklace will be kept in the safe in my bedroom. Chief of Police, please arrange security measures. Finance Minister, your task is to contact an auction house and find professionals for appraisal and valuation. Burns, I want you to stir up a media storm—make the whole world aware of this necklace and find ways to increase its value.”

“Understood?”

Receiving their affirmative answers, Li Daniu felt as refreshed as drinking iced plum juice on a hot summer day. The feeling of issuing orders was truly wonderful.

“Alright, our next topic is the purchase of land. Though two hundred million US dollars isn’t much, we needn’t spend it all at once. Believe me, I have ways to earn more.”

More money? Only now did Burns and the others remember that His Highness had mentioned a second sum—could the old king have left more than just this necklace?

“Burns, I need you to gather relevant information. In three days, I want to see a feasible proposal.”

“No problem, Your Highness.” Burns knew that in this world, very few problems couldn’t be solved with money—and if there were, it was usually because there wasn’t enough.

With business concluded, Li Daniu casually scooped up the necklace and stuffed it into his pocket. As Burns and the others watched with longing, he left the dining room.

Back in his room, Li Daniu lost all his earlier composure. After placing the necklace in the safe, anxiety crept in.

“What if they steal my necklace and run, or even kill me?”

The reason he had shown the necklace so openly was out of necessity. He knew too little about this world, had only just inherited the king’s power, and with Tuvalu’s inconvenient transportation, he had no reason or excuse to travel abroad alone to sell the necklace.

Moreover, taking such a necklace abroad alone would be even riskier than the current situation.

Calling Burns and the others together, and showing the necklace in front of several waiters, was a way to create mutual checks and balances. Li Daniu believed news of the necklace would reach all Tuvalu’s leaders within the hour. If anyone had evil intentions, the others would have legitimate reasons to recover the necklace by any means.

Steal it and flee? In a place as isolated as Tuvalu, where would you run?

As for a joint conspiracy to steal the necklace, Li Daniu believed that was impossible. Only a public auction could fetch a high price; if stolen, it could only be sold on the black market—not only would it not fetch a high price, it might well be lost entirely. Even if it were sold on the black market, how much would they each get? Not to mention the risk of being hunted by others who knew about it—not worth it.

Yet, despite all these arguments, Li Daniu still felt uneasy. One can never be too careful.

“When will I ever stop feeling so constrained?” Li Daniu, in his room, clutching a pistol loaded with bullets, began to study the safety mechanism, pondering how to unlock it.