Bad People and the Net

Yan Lingji lifted her peach-blossom eyes to look at Tide Enchantress.

"Little sister, I leave Net to you."

Tide Enchantress arched a brow. "Is Big Sister truly at ease handing such a massive operation over to This Concubine?"

"You excel at it." Yan Lingji was blunt. "Intelligence, infiltration, the human heart—as one of the Four Fiendish Generals of Nightfall, surely you can handle this much."

A smile curled the corners of Tide Enchantress's lips.

She did indeed excel at it.

Back in Nightfall, it was precisely through her silver tongue and exquisite, calculating heart that she had stirred up storms within the Han Kingdom.

Now that she was in a new world, serving a new master, her talents remained unchanged.

What's more, her power had grown significantly; completing this task would be even easier than before.

"Select your personnel from the disarmed private armies of the nobility—three thousand men." Yan Lingji held up three fingers. "I have already planted mental suggestions in them, so loyalty will not be an issue. How you train them and how you deploy them is up to you."

"Use an eight-tier ranking system: Heaven, Kill, Earth, Absolute, Ghoul, Charm, Wraith, and Phantom." Yan Lingji paused.

"Leave the Heaven and Kill tiers vacant for now; we will fill them when someone becomes qualified. For the insignia, use a spider—whether as a tattoo or a token, that is your choice."

A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Tide Enchantress.

A spider: weaving webs to hunt, lurking in the shadows to assassinate—it was fitting indeed.

Yan Lingji turned her head to look at Xiaomeng, who sat to the side. "Big Sister, besides Net, I intend to establish another organization—Bad People."

This Bad People organization was, naturally, the other regulatory system contained within the vast influx of information their master had bestowed upon her.

Xiaomeng set down her teacup, her cold, clear gaze shifting over.

"Bad People will be on par with Net, acting as a mutual check and balance," Yan Lingji explained. "Net operates externally, infiltrating enemy nations, assassinating key figures, and gathering intelligence."

"Bad People operates internally, monitoring the hundred officials, purging the treacherous, and guarding the foundations of the Empire."

"The two shall be independent of one another, answering only to me."

"Didn't you say earlier that you were only creating Net?"

"That is why they only know of Net and not of Bad People; with a sword hanging over their heads, they will not dare to act recklessly," Yan Lingji said with a radiant smile.

Xiaomeng remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly. "You want me to take charge of Bad People?"

"Big Sister is cold, impartial, and incorruptible; you are perfectly suited for this position."

Yan Lingji smiled. "Select three thousand men from the noble private armies as well."

"Use a twelve-tier ranking system: Grand Bad Commander, Bad Commander, Minister, General, Colonel, Lieutenant, Soldier, and Private."

"In addition, there will be the core secret agents: the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends."

"For the insignia, use a mask—half black, half white."

"Furthermore, power must not be concentrated in a single hand."

"Net is the blade, and Bad People is the shield. Blade and shield must be combined, yet they must also restrain one another."

"We are the blades of our master, but we cannot remain in this Empire forever. As we are nurtured by our master, we will stand upon higher peaks, perhaps even leaving this world entirely."

"If we were to leave this Empire while the power of oversight remained concentrated in one hand, problems would inevitably arise."

Xiaomeng pondered for a moment and said calmly, "Very well."

She accepted the task, not for the sake of power, but because she knew that Yan Lingji was right.

Any organization that lacks checks and balances will eventually spiral out of control.

The Daoist school emphasizes balance; the Yin and Yang give birth to one another, and all things follow this law.

Yan Lingji nodded in satisfaction, her nine fox tails swaying gently behind her.

"Net and Bad People must have their frameworks established within three days."

"I want to see that no secret in Heaven Dou City can remain hidden from my eyes."

As these words fell, the smile on the face of Tide Enchantress deepened.

This meant that the power in her hands would transcend all conventional institutions of the Empire.

She bowed slightly. "Rest assured, Big Sister. Net shall be the nightmare of all our enemies."

"Big Sister, what should Na'er do?"

Na'er, who had been listening obediently from the side, blinked as she looked at Yan Lingji.

"Na'er, do not be impatient. Once your sister has finished arranging matters, there will be plenty for you to do later."

Jiang Ce's tentacles patted Na'er on the head.

"Yes, Brother."

Snow Maiden remained quiet and still.

In the main hall, Yan Lingji sat enthroned upon the imperial seat, her black and red gown fanned out, her nine tails trailing behind her.

Several military ministers and the heads of the Armory Department knelt in the hall, accompanied by hundreds of craftsmen.

Their foreheads pressed against the floor, none daring to look up.

"From today on, the imperial army shall be renamed the 'Heavenly Strategy Army'."

"All soldiers are to be issued new armor, and all flags and insignias are to be remade."

"We obey." The military ministers answered in unison.

Yan Lingji raised her hand, and rolls of blueprints flew out from her Soul Tool, landing before the head of the Armory Department.

"These are the blueprints for the new armor and weaponry—heavy armor, great shields, long spears, and heavy crossbows."

She paused. "The first batch of equipment must be ready within half a month."

The head craftsman trembled as he opened the blueprints, his eyes widening with every passing second.

He had never seen such armor designs before—black iron plating with steel ring joints, and chest guards inlaid with polished spirit beast shells; it was more than twice as heavy and thick as the original light leather armor.

The spearheads were tri-edged and featured blood grooves.

The great shields were incredibly thick and heavy.

The structure of the heavy crossbows was even more ingenious, utilizing composite craftsmanship for the limbs to achieve a range far exceeding that of ordinary bows.

"This... this crossbow design..." The head craftsman's lips quivered. "We have never built anything like this..."

"Furthermore, Your Majesty, to manufacture such a vast quantity of items, half a month is simply not enough time."

"I will provide you with entirely new forging methods."

"As for some of the blueprints, you do not need to learn them." Yan Lingji stood up and walked down the steps, blue light flashing in her peach-blossom eyes.

Heavenly Illusion.

The head craftsmen felt a roar explode in their minds as countless unfamiliar memories flooded in like a tidal wave.

Metal ratios, forging temperatures, component dimensions, assembly sequences...

The manufacturing process corresponding to every single blueprint was poured completely into their consciousness.

Jiang Ce had copied the memories of Gongshu Chou.

Moreover, to master the Tyrannical Mechanism Art, one must also be proficient with certain metals.

Combined with what he had seen before—metal ratios and iron smelting techniques refined by modern technology—and integrated with the Soul Tool technology of this world, he could absolutely produce high-strength alloys.

This would also effectively save time in metal smelting.

Furthermore, to establish a complete modern assembly line and increase production efficiency and speed, he had refined the process.

The best of these techniques transmitted the full essence of the Tyrannical Mechanism Art, yet they were divided into several modules and poured into each person's consciousness separately.

Some were responsible for the gear system of the Earth-Breaking Three, others for the crossbow limb structure of the Hundred-Battle Divine Crossbow, and others for the mechanical skeleton of the Three-Zhang Bat Wings...

Each person mastered only one component, knowing neither what the others were building nor what the finished product looked like.

By organizing a specific skill set for each craftsman, he ensured they only maintained the construction of a single part.

A moment later, Yan Lingji withdrew her gaze.

The head craftsmen collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air, their eyes filled with shock.

Yan Lingji looked down at them from above. "After you return, everyone will divide the labor and cooperate."

"Each person is only responsible for forging one part; no overstepping, no communication."

"Once the parts are made, they are to be handed over for centralized assembly by designated personnel."

"Do you understand?"

"We... we understand!" The head craftsmen kowtowed repeatedly.

"And one more thing—" Yan Lingji's voice turned cold.

"There are mental restrictions in your minds."

"If you dare to leak the blueprints to outsiders or attempt to forge the complete equipment on your own, the restriction will directly detonate your sea of consciousness."

A deathly silence filled the hall.

The many craftsmen knelt on the ground, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads onto the bluestone floor, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Yan Lingji looked down at them, the coldness in her peach-blossom eyes receding slightly as her lips curled upward.

"However—"