CHAPTER 841: CHAPTER 841: THE FAMILY HAS ARRIVED

On the West Coast of the Central Plains Continent, far from the affluent region of the Great Desert, lies a settlement known as "Yavente."

This settlement is home to over a million free citizens, including non-free citizens tallying up to approximately two to three million.

Though the figure of a million may be ordinary within the Poluo Province of the Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods, it is relatively rare when compared to other areas on the Wasteland, even in the relatively stable environment of the Army’s homeland.

As the "capital" of the Southern Legion, or rather the "garrison district headquarters," it is not only the most populated settlement in the Southern Legion but also a logistical hub for combat units and a strategic command center.

Legend has it that the settlement is named after a courageous Centurion from Vellante People.

More than a century ago, in an era when the Army truly faced existential threats, it was Mr. Yavente and his brave and loyal troops who fought valiantly with primitive weapons and destroyed nearly a hundred autonomous defense Robots, seizing this Land from the "United Human remnants."

As a result, the word "Yavente" has come to symbolize "the march to the south," representing courage and glory within the Army.

No one remembers the original name of this settlement; in any case, it probably wouldn’t sound as catchy as Giant Stone City.

The people who once lived here have gradually vanished without a trace as if they never existed in this world.

However, it is clear that Yavente who made significant contributions to the Army did not fight all the battles for his descendants.

Those who can endure hardship must always endure it; those who can fight must always fight, just as those who can enjoy will always enjoy.

"Path dependency" is not only present in Poluo Province; it is an innate attribute shared by all animals, not limited to primates. Just like seagulls cherishing the taste of fries loiter around the harbor and whales scraping barnacles from ships’ hulls.

The greatness of civilization lies precisely here, where humans capable of civilized behavior have managed to tame part of their "animality," thereby reducing, to a "certain extent," the negative effects of path dependency, thus successfully emerging from the primitive jungle.

However, it is apparent that the Vellante People and the Poluo Province Survivors have yet to comprehensively emerge from that forest.

The Vellante People face once more an existential threat, and the Poluo Province Survivors targeted by the former face the same.

In that Yavente military base, the highest command room of the Southern Legion garrison headquarters, a closed-door meeting on full-scale War and mobilization is underway.

A group of officers sits tensely at a long conference table.

The officers attending the meeting have uniforms adorned with at least three stars.

This is merely the entry threshold for participation in the meeting.

Most of those seated here are Four-Star or Five-Star Ten Thousand Leaders, while at the head of the table sits the Southern Legion’s sole Six-Star Ten Thousand Leader, Legion Leader Teil!

All eyes are focused on Teil, awaiting the grim-faced BOSS to speak.

Yet Teil remains silent, casting a glance at the Chief of Staff beside him.

The latter nods in understanding, taps his index finger on the table, breaking the silence at the conference table.

"Friends from Triumph City have humbled us, admitting the legitimacy of Poluo Country and acknowledging the actions of Poluo authorities in handling the Heavenly Army Forces only when we were about to clean up their foolish mess and avenge our fallen compatriots at West Sail Port."

His finger lands precisely on a Poluo Country edition of the Survivor’s Daily from Jinjaron Harbor.

The newspaper cover features a photo of two men shaking hands, with Poluo Country Leader Absek on the left and a Triumph City Official Group’s dog on the right.

A flurry of noise erupts among those gathered at the conference table.

The officers exchange angry glances, their eyes full of righteous indignation and shock.

Those civil officials have once again held them back!

And it’s happening just when their "drive dogs to swallow pigs" plan was about to succeed!

"Quiet!"

The Chief of Staff knocks forcefully on the table with his knuckles until the room settles down, then continues at a steady pace.

"Currently, the secret lines we laid in Poluo Province have been severed, making gradual annexation unlikely, yet directly tearing face and declaring War might provoke corporate intervention."

"What we need now is to secure bigger victories at minimal costs. I want to hear if anyone has any good ideas."

Following his words, there’s another round of hushed discussion before a Three-Star Ten Thousand Leader rises.

His name is Guryang, approximately in his early thirties, standing upright like his prominent nose.

The steely gaze reveals a hint of ferocity, yet within his brows lurks an indistinct shrewdness reminiscent of Griffin, a famous general from the Eastern Legion.

"I have an idea."

The Chief of Staff nods.

"Go ahead."

Guryang hesitates not a moment, speaking promptly.

"The West Winds Empire has not entirely perished; even if Triumph City privately signs a pacification agreement with Poluo Country, we can advance towards Poluo Country under the guise of fulfilling our obligations as allies of the West Winds Empire."

His words trigger whispers among nearby officers, with one soon rising to his feet.

"...It’s a good idea, but the problem is that the current West Winds Emperor Witch Camel seems to be in Jinjaron Harbor. That’s within the Alliance’s sphere of influence; if the Alliance demands we withdraw using his name, how will you handle it?"

Though the Alliance hasn’t done so yet, it doesn’t rule out the possibility they’ll play this card later.

Truthfully, the Army is neither afraid of Alliance involvement nor worried about corporate intervention; the concern lies solely in creating too many adversaries early in the War.

Mobilization needs to proceed in phases and stages; the later the opposing side intervenes or begins mobilization, the more favorable it becomes for them.

This is what is meant by the so-called "justification of war."

The more solid the reasons for the war, not only will the mobilization efficiency of each party be higher, but it can also affect the mobilization efficiency of "potential belligerents" and internal anti-war resistance.

Once the army thoroughly controls Poluo Province and suppresses all opposing voices, even if companies condemn them, it will be to no avail, mere verbal greetings that cause no real harm.

After listening to the officer’s discussion, General Giulion, prepared in advance, said.

"This problem is easy to solve. Didn’t he leave a crown prince in the Northern Three States? We just need to establish the crown prince as the new emperor, then find a way to remove that Witch Camel, and even if Poluo Province doesn’t fare well, it can at least have two ’West Winds’."

"This idea is not bad!" The Chief of Staff displayed a look of appreciation.

Even Teil, who had remained silent throughout, glanced at General Giulion a couple more times.

The officer who had previously raised objections pondered for a moment and, failing to come up with a better idea, eventually sat back down.

Seeing no objections, the Chief of Staff looked at Teil, and seeing the BOSS nod, turned his gaze back to General Giulion.

"Since there are no other opinions, we will leave this matter to you."

He paused, adjusted his expression seriously, and faced the conference table, solemnly announcing.

"Effective immediately, this department appoints Giulion as the General Commander of the Poluo Province Combat Area! Assigned with thirty ten thousand troops, responsible for formulating all action strategies in this combat area!"

Receiving the order, General Giulion faced the Legion Leader and the Chief of Staff, straightening his back and saluting loudly to accept the command.

"Giulion receives the order! I will not disgrace the mission, I will triumph and return victorious!"

Seeing this beaming and spirited general, Teil, sitting at the head of the conference table, nodded slightly, slowly rising from the table and returning a steady military salute to the general.

He then uttered the only sentence since the meeting began.

"For the future generations of Weilante people to live on lands bathed in sunlight."

"May your flag be victorious! General Giulion."

...

On the streets of Jin Galun Harbor, newsboys were calling out and selling newspapers throughout the alleys.

"Extra! Extra! The Messenger from Triumph City has arrived in Tiandu!"

"The meeting between the Messenger from Triumph City and Absek ended successfully!"

"The Legion has reached an agreement with Poluo Country, recognizing the legitimate governmental status of Poluo Country!"

Hearing the calls of the newsboys, the pedestrians around rapidly halted their steps.

Especially in a small noodle shop located in a corner of the port district, the curious diners were once again engaged in a flurry of shocked discussions.

"The Legion’s messenger has arrived in Triumph City?"

"They actually plan to negotiate?!"

"Unbelievable!"

The confrontation between both sides had reached such a point, the gun muzzles were practically touching each other’s noses.

The messengers from Triumph City suddenly arrived at this time to recognize the legitimate status of Poluo Country, leaving the diners baffled and shouting in confusion.

It was inevitable that this happened.

The newspapers only showed the visible maneuverings, while the maneuverings below the surface remained unseen.

However, for Jin Galun Harbor, where tensions continued to escalate, this piece of good news was like a refreshing rain after a prolonged drought, bringing a bit of coolness to the stifling atmosphere.

Perhaps...

Maybe the war won’t break out?

More than one person harbored such thoughts.

Nevertheless, a few still remained clear-headed.

"...The Southern Legion probably plans to make a move." Observing the newly bought extra edition, Ah Xin slightly furrowed his brow, suddenly speaking.

The confused Kunal standing beside asked.

"I don’t understand, boss, didn’t they intend to negotiate?"

Gently shaking the newspaper, Ah Xin replied with a slow and methodical voice.

"Triumph City wants to negotiate, or more accurately, the civil officials within the Legion want to, but the Southern Legion is the Southern Legion... I should have told you before, when facing a group of people, never focus only on what one person is doing and imagine him as representing the entire group."

Analyzing an issue this way will create many jokes, such as abstracting a complex issue into "the Alliance will definitely do this" or "the Legion will definitely do that."

Not all Survivor Forces are like West Winds, preferring to abstractly solve concrete problems.

One thing is certain: the civil official group and the Southern Legion have certainly turned against each other this time. The latter likely did something without consulting the former, resulting in the former not consulting the latter this time either.

As for how the Southern Legion will respond, he didn’t know.

But one thing is certain: those jackals will never let go easily.

In the eyes of those jackals, Poluo Province is almost meat in their mouths; they won’t loosen their grip unless they swallow it or lose a couple of teeth.

Looking at Kunal, who was still confused, Ah Xin did not explain but simply asked,

"Kunal, how is the matter I entrusted to you coming along?"

Upon hearing the boss’s question, Kunal decisively set aside the problems he couldn’t solve in his head and responded respectfully,

"It’s already in progress! We arrived just in time; the docks at West Sail Port are hiring in large numbers. The previous labor dispatch company is gone, so now they have to recruit on their own, and both the labor intermediaries and the dock licenses are open."

"To be safe, the brother we sent over found a Weilante person as a partner to hold the license. Now we have about ten docks under our control, with three thousand workers working for us, and the gang members we’ve developed count up to about two to three hundred people."

"Very good," Ah Xin nodded approvingly.

Doing business with the army actually doesn’t earn much money. Those big-nosed folks, relying on their weapons, always scrimp when paying and like to offset with military goods.

But money is actually a trivial matter; talent is the foundation of everything.

Especially in such chaotic times, the more people who can fend for themselves, the safer one is, and whatever business one wants to do becomes more convenient.

This is the experience he summarized from his struggle to rise, which has proven unfailing both at Jinjaron Harbor and Banana Bay.

Seeing the boss nod approvingly, Kunal also grinned amiably.

But at this moment, he suddenly thought of something, so he hurriedly said,

"By the way, boss, there’s one more thing... I heard from the brothers in the west that a gang called Family Meeting has recently entered West Sail Port."

Family Meeting?

Ah Xin was taken aback, left confused.

Why would a gang have such a strange name?

"...Is this Family Meeting also a gang from Jinjaron Harbor?"

Kunal shook his head.

"No, but I heard they have a considerable background, seems to originate from City of Dawn, and reportedly got investment from the Workers’ Association of Giant Stone City..."

Investment from the Workers’ Association?

Really?!

Ah Xin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Seeing his boss’s astonished expression, Kunal continued in a lowered voice,

"Moreover, their way of expanding business is quite interesting. They categorized their members into six levels: the lowest is White Family, followed by Green, Yellow, Blue, Purple, and the highest seems to be... Gold Family?"

"We have a gang member who infiltrated their ranks and heard that as long as you can recruit ten people, you can become a White Family. Then by developing members, or by having your subordinates develop members, reaching 100 or so can elevate to Green..."

Having never heard of this business model, Ah Xin looked at him perplexedly and couldn’t help but ask,

"What’s the use of these colors?"

Kunal mumbled,

"I don’t really know the specifics. Our member only made it to an ordinary family member. I heard their fee is very low. We take a ten percent cut from the weekly wages, but they claim not to take a single penny and even offer free classes to the members."

Actually, saying they don’t take a penny isn’t completely accurate. At least, it seems to Kunal like a bit of a word game.

Since the tragedy at West Sail Port, the original "old intermediaries" were all killed, and the wages for laborers working at the docks increased substantially.

The base wage per hour went from 1 Dinar to 2, and if overachieved, it could even rise to 3.

Whether it’s 2 or 3, it’s small change for those trading merchants and the administrative units of the port.

The larger the throughput of the port, the higher the port’s revenue.

Those big bosses want efficiency and stability, and the loading fee is just a minor expense.

Therefore, organized workers can command higher wages than unorganized free laborers.

For example, the base wage of 2 Dinars can be raised to 2.5 through the gang, and bonuses for exceeding expectations can increase from 1 to 1.5.

The money labor intermediaries in West Sail Port make basically comes from this premium.

For example, a worker could originally only get a wage of 2 Dinars, but because of the Assassin Gang, they can reach 2.5, and even after deducting the 10-point gang fee, they still get 2.25.

And there’s no worry about wage arrears.

Some minor gangs have bargaining power inferior to that of the Assassin Gang; the hourly rate won’t be less than 2 Dinars, but they often offer messy benefits, like promising compensation for broken legs or more generous bonuses.

The Family Meeting, on the other hand, is a different story. In size, they have already surpassed the financially robust Assassin Gang, yet their bargaining power doesn’t seem to be utilized effectively.

They pay their "family members" according to the standards of small gangs — that is, the lowest tier, paying a base wage of 2 Dinars and a basic bonus of 1 Dinar.

Although they claim not to take a single penny from the family members, Kunal speculates that with their scale, they’d skim off at least 20 points!

However, it’s heard that family members with colors seem to have special stipends, and ordinary family members highly praise the Family Meeting’s "not taking a penny" benevolence.

Therefore, the Family Meeting is expanding its business rapidly; in just half a month, they’ve grown to three to four thousand people and are still growing fast.

According to gang members embedded in the Family Meeting, their ambitions seem not limited to the docks but also expanding into industries like steel and cement factories.

However, since the profit margin isn’t high, even the gang doesn’t have bargaining power.

Handling any job without money, Kunal was bewildered, unable to understand what they were planning.

"These guys are strange... I always feel they don’t seem like a proper gang, but to say they’re doing charity is even more unlikely. In any case, I don’t believe they haven’t made any money. Probably, they’re making more than us legitimate gangs!"

"Some gangs think these guys are disrupting the market and want to join forces to deal with them; they even contacted us. Honestly, I’m not jealous of their earnings, it’s easy to deal with them, but I’m worried about their possible background, afraid of offending those people."

It’s not just Kunal who’s undecided; after hearing this, Ah Xin was also uncertain for a while.

He knew about the Workers’ Association.

That thing might just be a civilian organization, but it holds considerable influence within the Alliance, balancing against the Merchant Guild.

Previously, many Alliance industrialists moved their industries to Jinjaron Harbor to reduce production costs. The Workers’ Association followed them along the industrial chain.

According to the Workers’ Association members themselves, they were helping Jinjaron Harbor workers strive for their legal rights, which also served to protect their own interests.

After all, if the workers at Jinjaron Harbor were too cheap, tainting the cotton flowing into the Alliance with too much sweat and reducing labor prices, ultimately their own interests would be affected.

Even cheap clothes and pants need money to buy. You can’t survive solely on unemployment benefits.

However, due to many local grassroots organizations in Jinjaron Harbor, legal or illegal, or those operating in the gray area, the Workers’ Association didn’t expand smoothly and didn’t have the easy localization success of the Survivor’s Daily.

Ah Xin wasn’t too concerned with these matters.

He was an honest merchant at Jinjaron Harbor, conducting illegitimate businesses in Tiger State and Leopard State, and had no conflicts of interest with the Alliance’s Workers’ Association.

However, the timing of the Family Meeting entering West Sail Port was too coincidental, coupled with support from Alliance civilian organizations, making him worry about possible hidden support from the Alliance.

After thinking for a while, Ah Xin spoke thoughtfully.

"Hard to say... If you don’t know what they’re planning, how could I know? Better to observe for a while first."

He paused and continued.

"Regardless of whether those people have an Alliance background, let’s not provoke them for now... Anyway, someone will approach them."

With such a large grassroots organization, the Army will eventually target them.

See how the Army handles it by then.

If those guys are truly from the Alliance, helping them could even build rapport...

With that thought, Ah Xin issued some simple instructions and, once everything was done, suddenly remembered something, so he casually asked.

"By the way, who’s the leader of that Family Meeting? Did you find out?"

Kunal immediately replied.

"I heard he’s called Zayed, seems to be from the Snake Clan, just an unknown figure, I haven’t heard of any achievements."

Zayed?

Ah Xin lightly furrowed his brows, feeling the name sounded familiar, but couldn’t recall where he had heard it.

But just then, his gaze fell on the noodle shop by the street, and an ordinary face suddenly surfaced in his mind.

It was that guy!

The waiter who worked sloppily yet boldly told him he was going to the City of Dawn to find something.

Ah Xin’s lips curled into a peculiar smile.

He remembered that incident vividly.

He happened to be in a good mood that day, found the tale interesting and brave, and casually rewarded the person with a boat ticket.

A boat ticket cost him nothing compared to the money invested in Laxi, a mere drop in the bucket.

But speaking of which, this world really is small, he almost forgot the name yet heard it again.

Who knows if that guy found "that thing" he was looking for...

...

As Ah Xin marveled at the small world, a large military transport plane was landing steadily at the airport in Jinjaron Harbor’s outskirts.

Accompanied by over a dozen bodyguards, the Alliance’s Foreign Minister Cheng Yan stepped down the stairway from the plane.

On the side of the airport runway stood a group of people who had been waiting there early.

Among them were Secretary-General Yoder of the Governor’s Office of Jinjaron Harbor, senior officials from the city hall, and high-ranking members of the regional representative council and militia group leaders.

All the influential figures of Jinjaron Harbor stood there, eagerly watching the Alliance Foreign Minister descending from the plane.

They were well aware of where Poluo Province’s true savior came from!

"Welcome! Mr. Cheng!"

Quickly stepping forward, Yoder warmly shook Cheng Yan’s hand, his face filled with excitement.

"The survivors of Jinjaron Harbor have been eagerly awaiting your arrival!"