Money Wasn't Everything.
To ordinary people, money was merely currency, used to obtain the necessities of life. But to the wealthy, money was a resource—a nearly omnipotent resource.
Le Yu had once played a mobile strategy game about warfare between kingdoms. Each server was a map, and each map contained many cities. Players had to gather resources, build facilities, recruit troops, and enlist SSR talents. Building facilities, recruiting troops, and training all required waiting for a period of time. Players could either wait or spend money to make the progress bar jump to full with a "whoosh."
This kind of pay-to-win method certainly didn't exist in reality, but... it wasn't entirely impossible.
When the Silver Blood Society was willing to throw money around, the entire Profound Candle Prefecture began to move at its command. The accumulated worship of money could corrupt the mind, but sometimes it could also become a force that rallied people.
Le Yu arrived at the Patrol Team's base in Half-City. It had been converted from an abandoned factory. The last time Le Yu had passed by, the place had been overgrown with weeds, looking like a haunted house where monsters might spawn.
In merely a few days, it had already become a medium-sized military camp with strict defenses. Dormitories, warehouses, an armory, and a large drill ground were all fully equipped. The sentries guarding the entrance were burly and vigorous. As soon as Le Yu entered, he saw a squad of soldiers running laps around the drill ground. Their formation was neat, and they were taking their training seriously.
"They train at night too?" Le Yu asked.
The soldier walking ahead answered respectfully, "Yes, Captain Jing. The three patrol teams are all divided into day and night squads. The day squad trains during the day and