Titu had asked for nothing, of course. His good friend Tutu might have been thriving, but he was only the leader of a militia squad and genuinely had no idea what was happening with the attack. He certainly had no idea that this "heinous" incident, which had caused chaos everywhere but only left a dozen or so casualties, was already drawing to a close.
Major Simon Vayali, who carried no weapons, and Buska, the engineer, who wore nothing but a wrench and a hammer, were surrounded by a group of armed Sandfolk "kidnappers" as they listened to them speak.
All the hostages had been gathered in a corner of the factory building. They watched the scene with curious expressions, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. There was hardly any fear left on their faces.
"So what you're saying is, those lordly landowners took your wages?" Simon asked as he listened, carefully recording everything on his terminal.
"Yeah, that's right! They said our wages would all belong to us. I was hoping to save up enough to move to Tulong," Sandfolk A said.
"I never even had that hope," Sandfolk B said. "I just wanted to buy some medicine for my sick mother."
Sandfolk C said, "They used to say they were only taking a cut as middlemen, so we put up with it. But now they're not just taking our money—they're killing people..."
Sandfolk D said indignantly, "And they said if we didn't pay, they'd kick our families out of the city too!"
"Good. I've heard what you want." Simon closed his notebook. "Don't worry. Under the governance of our Youth Club..."
Buska discreetly kicked Simon, and he hurriedly corrected himself. "Under the governance of the Commonwealth government, no Sandfolk on the Star Gate are bound to anyone. There may still be