NOVEL NEXT Chapter 981: News from Europe
ICDC, Youdheya Nagari, Akhand Bharatiya Empire.
Tanvika, along with other researchers from the Disease Research Institute, stood in front of a glass wall, peering through it at a middle-aged woman who looked like she was made of nothing but skin and bones. Worry was written across their faces, but deep in their eyes, there was also a glimmer of expectation.
Of them all, Tanvika was the most affected. Her efforts over the past month had led to this very moment. It had been a difficult time for her. Everything began with seizures that came without warning, then slowly turned into a range of other symptoms, illnesses, or perhaps even something worse, like punishments.
Most of the researchers thought that it would be the end of Mandir every time she encountered a problem, but every time, maybe it was Sushila's determination to live on, or Tanvika's efforts, that Yamaraja was not successful in his attempt to snatch away the soul of a stubborn woman.
Tanvika felt a hand grasp her shoulder. A light sensation made her look back; it was Bindu, her assistant, but throughout the month, she had been more of her moral support and a big sister than a subordinate.
"It will be all right, don't worry. There is a reason Krishna had willed her to live so long. There is no way that heart of hers will stop beating until that reason is fulfilled."
Tanvika's eyes twinkled a little, but in the end, she only nodded and looked toward the woman who looked like a corpse.
The blood test results came in today, and to everyone's delight, Moroi's Fiend was found to be almost gone. It was as if these little devils had a shelf life and could not survive beyond a certain point.
In the end, a crucial piece of information became clear to all the researchers. One could survive if one held on long enough. But this simple fact meant little for the vast majority of infected people, who lacked any special immune response to the germ, like the 10% who managed to survive. But now, they had managed to turn the tide, or rather, one of their brightest, Princess Tanvika, had done it, so much so that even her doubters didn't dare to raise their voices against her in the conference sessions.
Tanvika used her sharp mind, almost inhuman intuition, and a kind of bravery that dared to take risks and move forward, to come up with a novel solution, one that not only waged a war of attrition against the disease but pulled it to death's door, and finally succeeded in killing it.
Unfortunately, the result of this war of attrition is that the battlefield, which is the body of Sushila Mandir, was left battered, bruised and broken. No one could tell how damaged her internal organs were or whether she could even recover to her normal state.
All Tanvika or anyone else could do at this moment was hope. They did everything they could, with the help of all the knowledge they could muster. Now it is left to the gods and the brave woman.
Time passed like a person waiting in a queue to get the Aadhar card, and every oscillation of the pendulum felt like a minute. However, finally, it seemed that even gods took pity on this woman, who for too long fought against an adversary that was supposed to be unkillable and survived. Maybe even the Yamaraj, the king of death, felt admiration for the woman who had become a mandir in itself for the diseases and came out victorious.
Sushila opened her eyes, her lips quivering as she muttered, "Wha... Water!!"
"Yesss!"
The researchers jumped up in joy, while Tanvika covered her mouth and collapsed, tears of joy unable to be stopped from her eyes. Sister Bindu pulled her into her arms and cried bitterly. In the end, all the efforts they had put in really paid off.
---
Imperial capital, Bengaluru, Simhasana Bhavana
It took a while for the buzz created by the integration of two new states to settle down, but when it did, it was time for a serious conversation with the prime minister to finalise how they were going to go on with the integration efforts.
"So, Vinod, do you have any ideas?" Vijay asked.
Vinod did not deny it and nodded, "I do, Your Majesty, but please take a look at this."
Vijay curiously took the document and read through it in a few minutes. As he finished, his expression shifted to one of genuine admiration.
"Who proposed this idea?"
"It was an editor from a regional newspaper in Solanki Puri, Your Majesty. After his article caught the attention of Minister Narasimha Modi, the minister had him write a full report and sent it to the capital. When I read the report, I felt it was promising, so I brought it to you."
"It's a very good idea," Vijay said, without hesitation. It truly was. He had been planning to bring out bonds from the future in advance to fund the integration, but after reading this proposal, he realised he could hold off on that for a little while longer.
"It can be considered. What do you think?"
Vinod organised his thoughts and replied, "For both states, mining is the only option I see, Your Majesty. Kalsa Nagari has proven to have considerable reserves of crude oil, gemstones, gold, lead, zinc, copper, coal, and other minerals in shallow quantity, whereas Tibet, although we do not have much information about the place and we have not sent any prospecting teams, from what we have investigated from the locals, they swear to have seen large quantities of copper, iron, gold, zinc, lead, and other minerals."
"So, Your Majesty, it is my opinion that we start with the mining industry and use the profits derived from the mining industry to build the infrastructure around it."
Vijay did not speak. Instead, he fell into deep thought. What Vinod said was absolutely correct. In both Khalsa Nagari and Tibet, the mining industry is the only viable sector for now. But considering that Tibet holds one of the largest lithium reserves, estimated at over 40 million tons, along with vast uranium deposits, it is bound to become the gold mine of the Bharatiya Empire.
Yet, what made him the happiest was not even the mineral wealth. It was water, simple, clean drinking water, that could be said to be the best in the world. Being called the water tank of Asia was no exaggeration. Tibet was the source of several major rivers of the continent, and names like the Brahmaputra and the Sindhu were only a few among them.
"Let's follow your suggestion, but when it comes to Tibet, make sure to start the mining industry inland, not at the border."
Vinod did not understand why His Majesty wanted to have the mining activity so far inland and make things more difficult, but since His Majesty had his own plans, he was not going to question his decision.
"As you wish, Your Majesty. I will get it done."
"Good!"
---
A few days passed in the blink of an eye when Vijay finally received the intelligence about Europe he was waiting for, and looking at the person who brought the intelligence, he could not help but be overjoyed.
Who could it be other than the director of Bharatiya External Pragya, Roshan himself?
Looking at Roshan, who had slimmed down drastically and had a lot of silver hair, Vijay couldn't help but feel bad. He realised that the plague might not have taken the man's life, but it sure did eat away a part of his heart.
'Seeing so many of his subordinates die without him being able to do anything must have left a scar in his soul,' Vijay couldn't help but mutter and feel a little pity.
After talking about what had happened for the last year, Vijay finally got to the topic and asked about the situation in Europe.
"They have lost it, Your Majesty, the Russians, the Ottomans, and the Holy Roman Empire, all three Empires have lost their minds. Despite hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of troops being lost in the war, they still continued the battle, all because, due to the plague, the Balkans became a hellhole, and in this hellhole, any warlord with a few dozen soldiers can claim a city of his own.
This, and adding the constant wealth they acquired through the mass exodus of lives, drove the three nations to insanity. Not to mention that the death of major figures in their own nations let them divert the hatred outward, onto other countries."
Vijay was shocked, "Does that mean they are still fighting?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, they are, and apart from their own borders, all the major fortresses and cities in the Balkans have seen multiple owners in the span of a year, and not only that, with our support being cut off, and the Ottomans being exposed as unable to develop ammunition of the same size, they have once again resorted to cold weapons, butchering each other with swords, spears, halberds, and other things."
Vijay was a little overwhelmed, but he slowly regained his composure, and a plan began to take shape in his mind. He felt an opportunity at the grasp of his hands, "How many soldiers are fighting this war right now?"
Roshan thought about it for a while and responded, "We cannot be too sure, Your Majesty, but it wouldn't be more than a few hundred thousand. The strength of all three countries has greatly weakened. Maybe, if it were not for the fear of the Balkan plague, other European countries would be tempted."
Vijay's eyes lit up; the opportunity he had been waiting for all this time, an opportunity for a decisive strike, had come.
P.S. Breakthrough I guess