Collector's Scope

The Association's system of operation was somewhat like that of countries that separated secular and religious authority.

Or, it might be more accurate to say, the military and government were separate.

The Association's administrative structure had five tiers: the president, the High Shepherd, the Shepherds, the Cleaners, and the cleaners' subordinates.

There was only one president and one High Shepherd, so in practice it was a streamlined, four-tier management system.

Cleaners were the lowest-level propagators of the Association's ideals. They controlled the Association's ordinary personnel and finances in a given area, among other things.

There was no fixed limit on the number of Cleaners in any given area. Everyone relied on their own ability; whoever could talk people into following them controlled the largest territory.

These Cleaners also had superiors in certain larger regions, known as Shepherds.

An ordinary Shepherd could control the Association's influence in one or even several small countries, or in part of a larger country.

At the Shepherd level, they were essentially local lords of the Association.

As for the High Shepherds, there were only nine across the entire Association, overseeing its forces on every continent, including the archipelagos.

The Awakened, as the Association's fighting force, belonged to a separate system.

The Twelve Knights, the Tool Room, the Purification Legion, and the rest were all independent of one another. Their structure was even more convoluted and chaotic.

The Association's president had deliberately set things up this way to distribute power among his subordinates.

After all, the Association's influence was enormous. It was already a giant, especially in America and Europa, with far too many interests at stake. The president was afraid those below him wouldn't be able to handle it.

Of course, these were all Li Fan's guesses after learning how the Association was structured.

Collector was one of the Twelve Knights and had his own combat team. He was already a formidable figure.

But he had no control over the Association's "government." He was merely a top general.

Now, though, the Association's headquarters had suddenly appointed Collector Shepherd of the Southwest region of Central Province. That meant he would control both the military and the government!

Within the Association in the Southwest, Collector would have the final say on everything. He would become a little emperor in its ranks.

This was truly a case of trouble coming out of nowhere while you sat at home.

Li Fan stood rooted to the spot, his face expressionless, but his mind had already pieced together the crucial details. He felt like crying.

I've clearly become too powerful for my own good. Shouldn't the Association be trying to suppress me?

Why did they promote me instead?

Did those people at Association headquarters have no idea how politics worked?

Was the Association's president some kind of naive fool!?

The Shell Currency I gave them barely had any mental radiation left. I only sent it to go through the motions. How did you manage to detect the Lord of the Abyss's aura?

Thinking about how becoming a Shepherd meant he'd have to deal with even more Association members, greatly increasing the chances of being exposed, Li Fan grew furious.

His face darkened until it looked as if water might drip from it.

Incompetent!

Feckless!

What a garbage president!

Had he lost his mind?

I'm a traitor! Can't you see that?

Seeing that Collector had shown no reaction to the good news and was simply standing there with an expressionless face, his family, who had been excited moments earlier, immediately grew apprehensive.

The air froze.

Auntie Zhang, Old Sun the gardener, Old Chen the driver, and the others regretted their actions. They should have just kept playing their parts as servants and drivers. What had possessed them to come celebrate?

His father immediately shot his mother a look, asking what they should do.

His mother's face darkened in an instant, a hint of anger appearing as she said:

"Sir, headquarters really has gone too far this time. With your standing in the Association, they should have at least made you Shepherd of Central Province. Making you Shepherd of just the Southwest region is simply..."

The others immediately understood what she meant.

They might think it was remarkable for a combatant to become a Shepherd, uniting military and government authority and commanding all the Association's power in the region. But who was the man standing before them?

He was the famous Collector!

The most powerful figure on the Awakened criminal wanted list, ranked number one. Some even said he was stronger than the president.

Giving a man like that the position of Shepherd wasn't a promotion. It was an insult.

A naked humiliation!

Putting themselves in Collector's shoes, they, too, grew angrier the more they thought about it.

"Everyone knows the Anomaly Bureau has made Central Province an impregnable fortress. The Association's influence here is weak. There isn't even a proper large pastoral district, let alone a true High Shepherd. They're pretending to promote you, but really, they're just using us!"

"Those useless parasites at headquarters really think Sir wouldn't dare to..." Auntie Zhang snapped, then abruptly realized what she was saying and cautiously glanced at Li Fan.

Li Fan was indeed furious, though not for quite the same reasons as everyone else.

Still, he suppressed his anger and said expressionlessly:

"Apply to headquarters for funding."

So you want me to be a Shepherd?

Fine. Then give me money.

I'll demand as much as I can, then embezzle it all and waste it, until you finally realize that I, Collector, am a hopeless case.

I'm a lump of mud—and the filthy kind.

Let's see if you'll promote me again after that!

Li Fan had already devised a plan to derail his promotion. He intended to turn the so-called Southwest Pastoral District into a complete mess, until Association headquarters couldn't stand the sight of him.

As he spoke, Li Fan had already started up the stairs, heading for the home theater.

He was so angry this time that he'd nearly forgotten to be afraid.

He still needed to watch a few more movies and work on his acting, especially studying how the big shots carried themselves. He also needed to look into the best way to embezzle and squander money.

In short, he had to act quickly and make Association headquarters stop paying so much attention to Collector.

Seeing that Collector was about to leave again, his father hurriedly asked:

"Sir, how much should we apply for? Our team's account has 5.23 million left."

The Association really did have money.

Li Fan slowed his steps slightly.

He had no idea how much to ask for without giving himself away or seeming reckless.

So he said, "Ask for the maximum."

His mother's voice floated after him:

"Sir, although the Association's forces in the Southwest region aren't very strong, we still have some diligent Cleaners. Now that you're a Shepherd, would you like to meet with them? The local Cleaners have arranged a secret banquet to celebrate you, tomorrow evening..."

Li Fan felt a headache coming on. Just his luck—he feared this, and it came true.

But this sort of thing would be hard to refuse. If he did, people would get suspicious.

So he nodded slightly, his face expressionless.

Then he entered the home theater without looking back.

He needed to learn how to act, fast.

Tonight's movie lineup would be The Irishman, Scarface, and Election.

After Li Fan left, the family members exchanged glances. For a moment, all of them looked a little ashamed.

His mother said, ashamed yet admiring, "Our perspective really was... laughable..."

Old Sun the gardener was usually taciturn, but now he drained his glass and grinned.

"This is the man closest to the Lord of the Abyss. A mere Shepherd? Heh..."

Auntie Zhang smiled behind her hand.

"I was scared half to death just now... He really is growing more and more imposing."

His father nodded.

"I'll apply for the funding right away."

For a newly established pastoral district, the maximum funding should be around 30 million.

They didn't know why Sir had suddenly brought up applying for funds, but he obviously had a plan.

All they had to do was carry it out.

Before long, a heavily encrypted message had been transmitted over the network to somewhere in Central America.

Deep beneath the Jungle Temple, in a magnificent underground structure, a tall, upright figure stared at the incoming message for several minutes. Then he gave a soft laugh.

"Does he feel a Shepherd's post is beneath him? Asking for money—what kind of move is that? He's impossible to read..."

His gaze seemed to pierce the rock before him and look toward that mysterious Collector in the East, as if he could see through the man's true intentions.

Every one of Collector's actions had some deeper meaning and deserved careful study.

After a while, he shook his head, giving up on guessing the other man's intentions for the moment, and murmured to himself:

"A Shepherd's post certainly can't make up for the clue about the Lord of the Abyss... Since he wants money, give him money... Ten times as much!"