[TN: Here all the chapters I own see ya next week]
Wakanda was indeed isolated—surrounded by mountains on all sides, though internally it was a vast plain, extremely suitable for farming, with even the water bubbling up from underground.
The land was fertile beyond imagination. A yield of 1,800 kilograms per mu (≈0.16 acres) was no problem. Leo even suspected that the soil survey reports on Wakanda were being too conservative.
Because Leo didn't just read reports on Wakanda—he also looked into the broader situation across the African continent in recent years.
In recent years, Africa had been mired in continuous civil wars, often spontaneous ones. Vast oil and mineral resources couldn't be extracted due to the chaos. Farming followed a one-year-on, one-year-off cycle. Sudan, the most resource-rich, fought the fiercest, with coups and regime changes every 4–6 years being commonplace.
And this wasn't like the orderly elections of America or other developed countries—this was violent regime change and civil war.
Such large-scale instability caused at least 2.6 million people to face famine annually, and over 6 million people lacked the economic or physical means to access sufficient food. About 50% of the population across Africa faced food insecurity.
In truth, things were even worse than that. These figures were averaged with the Central African states near Wakanda, which essentially didn't experience famine.
These nations should have been in similar conditions—but Wakanda's large, affordable grain aid had stabilized their political situations.
Others maintained order through armed force—Wakanda fed its neighbors into submission. It was a testament to King T'Chaka's political skill… and just how much food Wakanda had.
Still, trying to develop high-tech industries was another story.
Because a wealthy agricultural nation is still just an agricultural nation, supporting its struggling neighbors was already pushing it to the limit.
"We didn't not try to develop industry," T'Chaka sighed, explaining to Leo.
"It's just that progress has been slow for two reasons."
Wakanda might only be agriculturally rich, but Central Africa as a whole has plenty of mineral resources. There was no reason development couldn't happen.
"First," T'Chaka said, "We opened up to the outside world far too late."
"So before that… you were just living a pastoral life in the mountains?"
Leo asked bluntly.
T'Chaka looked a little embarrassed but nodded.
"Colonizers did come to Wakanda once—but they left quickly, and took a priceless heirloom with them."
"Vibranium?"
T'Chaka nodded again.
"For generations, we only knew it as a powerful hammer capable of miracles. We never imagined Vibranium had other applications. We only learned its properties from foreign academic papers."
Leo's mouth twitched—it was highly likely that this world's Wakanda had only a small amount of Vibranium. That was the conclusion he'd recently come to.
That Vibranium had passed through many hands, last seen during WWII as part of a war mech used by Hydra—the Hydra Stomper.
It was only after declassification that people learned from top-secret reports that it was a material with tremendous energy potential.
But in the hands of Wakandan royalty, it had always just been a mystical hammer—a symbol of royal power, wielded by generations of kings.
Too bad even a king with a magic hammer couldn't stop a colonialist's bullet.
No scientific mindset, no matter how much treasure you hold, means you may never tap into its real value.
Not that saying this to T'Chaka wouldn't be rubbing salt in the wound.
"The colonizers brought suffering to this land,"
T'Chaka continued.
"My father—and his father—believed our fertile lands would only attract disaster, so they closed us off into the mountains."
Which caused them to fall completely out of sync with the world.
If they'd had a lot of Vibranium, they could've developed their own science and tech. But in this world, they had enough to live well—and only to live well.
Ironically, the colonizers had never even noticed how fertile the land was. They just scorched the earth and left—too busy dealing with the Vibranium.
After all, trying to run plantations in Wakanda's mountainous terrain wasn't exactly easy.
"After I took the throne, I chose a different path from my father. I began exploring the world outside, and when I saw the plight of our fellow Africans, I decided to engage in global politics. That's how the African Union came about.
We tried to mine our minerals and build an industrial base—but even from the very first steps, like raw material extraction, outsiders only sold us the most outdated machines and tech.
Mining was costly and risky, not just due to logistics and labor, but also due to terrorist attacks and warlords.
I don't know how they did it—maybe advanced geological surveys, maybe spies—but they always found our mines."
With precise targeting and heavy firepower, months or years of effort could be destroyed in a single raid.
It was devastating for an already poor country.
So T'Chaka kept his tone humble. Leo didn't push him either.
For infrastructure, public safety, healthcare, and housing—fields that didn't require much technical complexity—Wakanda's government could handle things themselves. Leo wouldn't try to dominate low-end markets, nor would he use financial tricks to pressure the government for power.
In return, Atlas Corporation would gain special status—permission to develop private armed forces, green lights on policy, international endorsement, and more.
It was hard to say which side was benefitting more—for now, it was a win-win.
T'Chaka paused in thought, then added:
"Still, we do have some stable mineral outputs—tin, tantalum, nickel, cobalt. Common industrial minerals, all extractable, though at high cost."
These high costs stemmed from backwardness across the board—from extraction to refining.
Thanks to Wakanda's food surplus, the African Union could largely avoid famines, which kept them politically stable and stopped them from selling off land to foreign corporations. In general, they were poor—but politically in better shape than expected.
Most remaining political capital was spent on border security—but some areas still slipped through the cracks.
That, in itself, was good news. Because when it came to industrial tech, Leo himself was highly capable, and the team behind him excelled in materials and machinery.
With the material foundation in place, it meant going to Africa wouldn't be too awkward.
Technology upgrades weren't an issue—the real question was whether the locals' education levels could keep up.
After thinking for a bit, Leo asked:
"None of this is a problem. But I'm curious—how many qualified engineers do you think the entire African Union can provide?"
T'Chaka scratched his head awkwardly:
"I believe our compatriots worldwide include many qualified engineers—but in Africa…"
"That'll definitely slow development. I have a proposal," Leo said.
"Do you have a science and tech ministry?"
"Yes, but…"
"As long as you have one, that's fine. This contains a skill training method for brain-computer interfaces and virtual reality. I hope to add a clause in our medical cooperation agreement to promote brain-computer interface technology.
Using brain-computer interfaces along with the corresponding training methods can greatly improve the efficiency of education and rapidly enhance the quality of the workforce."**
"This…" T'Chaka frowned as he looked at the stack of hard drives Leo pulled out.
Wakanda did have its own science and technology department and had contributed many advanced agricultural techniques—their technical foundation was solid.
The brain-computer interface from the International Gene Cooperation Company had caused a stir in the scientific community—they were certainly aware of it.
The Ministry of Science's position was: This thing is powerful, but also dangerous.
Seeing the look on the old king's face, Leo made a clearer judgment in his mind and continued, "You can take the hard drives back to review.
I can open-source this technology for you. That's very important. Otherwise, I may have to hire more foreign workers to keep up with the pace of development.
That could create unnecessary friction in our cooperation."
Open-source?
T'Chaka was stunned. He knew what open-source meant.
But how could anyone monopolize a technology once it was open-source?
The African Union had always been highly wary of businessmen—or—so—called "capital"—yet, under pressure, had to accept a relatively gentle form of capital entering Africa.
But even a good businessman… is still a businessman.
This completely reshaped T'Chaka's impression of Leo. He hadn't expected Leo to be willing to open-source such a critical technology.
Thinking of the Ministry of Science's assessment of brain-computer interface technology, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted.
Silence fell over the dining table. But before long, the old king made his decision.
"I need to take the materials back and discuss them with my advisors."
"Of course," Leo nodded cheerfully.
T'Chaka's swift response convinced him that Leo wasn't playing games.
And so, the food lost its flavor. He grabbed the hard drives, took a deep look at Leo, and stood up. He placed his right hand over his chest and bowed slightly to Leo and Maya.
"It seems I must take my leave now. I'll give you an answer as soon as possible. Madam, thank you for the meal. I must go."
A king's personal thanks left Maya momentarily at a loss. But when she saw Leo nod calmly, she quietly remained seated and didn't do anything else.
Once T'Chaka had left, Maya finally let out a sigh of relief and gently tapped Leo on the head. "Why didn't you tell me a king was coming over?"
Leo spread his hands. "Mom, so what if he's a king? That makes him better than everyone else? This is modern society. We're partners, not…"
"…not in some king-and-serf relationship."
Maya still felt it was a little surreal.
It was like seeing a childhood legend come to life—for someone from Latveria, "kings" and "presidents" carried a heavy sense of oppression.
In some ways, a king even felt more powerful to her than a president.
She shook her head and gently patted Leo on the back. "Son… talking with a king must be really stressful, right?"
Leo stuffed a piece of rib into his mouth and said, a little muffled, "It's whatever."
Seeing him like this, Maya suddenly laughed. "You cheeky little rascal. A king's business partner? Does that mean you're on equal footing with a king?
If you were a king too, I'd be the Queen Mother. Speaking of which, your grandfather once said our ancestors had noble blood…"
[TN: Leo Von Doom confirm???????]
Maya began rambling, sharing all her childhood fantasies, like one day being found by noble relatives and going back to a grand estate to inherit everything.
As for Leo—becoming a king?
That had never once crossed his mind.
[ctOS Corporate Intranet Notice: Data received.]
[Frank: Boss, the first batch of data has been transmitted.]
[Leo: Good.]