Yaoqing Really Had Picked Up a Devil

To use a less-than-appropriate analogy.

Some people were like Xianyu's rebellious little brats, forever dancing back and forth across his bottom line.

They knew perfectly well that their dad had elderly parents and children to support, a mortgage and car payments to cover, and a boss who worked him like a dog every day, yet they still insisted on courting disaster.

The little brat secretly took what few savings his dad had left and blew them all on a gacha game.

Dad's blood pressure shot straight through the roof.

What made him angrier wasn't that the brat played games, but that he had registered using his dad's ID! There was no way to claim a refund for a minor!

Xianyu: Seriously, was something wrong with him?!

He had fought the Golems for an entire month without ever getting back to full health, killing enemies while his health bar stayed in the red.

He studied the map, adjusted his formations, and tried everything he could to minimize casualties until his head spun and his vision blurred, yet there were still places he couldn't cover and people he couldn't save.

Many had been wounded, or even killed.

When he thought of how he and his subordinates had fought in a grueling contest of endurance, only to protect a bunch of creatures like this, murderous intent surged through him.

He also remembered the troublemakers who had stirred things up before.

Why did people keep popping up to provoke him, one after another?

Was something else behind it? Or was this simply their nature?

Xianyu opened the quest log, his gaze settling on the words "Elation stirring up trouble within."

He considered himself a kindhearted person. He hated making people suffer and would do everything he could to fulfill their wishes.

So Xianyu immediately shook the Chief Strategist, who had only just fallen asleep, awake and told him about it.

The Chief Strategist said, "...So at three in the morning, you came all the way from the Alchemy Commission, climbed through my window, and shook me awake after I'd just spent three days without sleep, all for this?"

Xianyu nodded grimly.

The Chief Strategist drew a deep breath. He felt less like a subordinate and more like a donkey Xianyu was working to death.

He had known early on that the general could see through lies at a glance.

The general also had a mysterious intelligence network that let him learn about everything happening in Yaoqing, great or small, without anyone noticing.

He had tried to find the people supplying the general with information, but...he had never found a single lead.

The Chief Strategist had remained uneasy, but when he saw the general charging into battle without regard for his own safety, his worries had finally disappeared.

But even he had a temper.

The general had woken him up over news that so-and-so wanted Yaoqing to establish a Pleasure District-information so private that someone would have had to hide under a bed to overhear it.

At that moment, the resentment of an overworked employee reached its peak.

"I think everyone deserves what's coming to them."

Xianyu said, "Huh?"

The Chief Strategist sneered. "This person must be severely punished. The two matters you previously asked me to investigate, the relocation and the rain, were both stirred up by this scumbag behind the scenes. General, how about we send someone to interrogate him before dealing with him?"

Written as interrogation, read as torture.

Xianyu thought about it, then shook his head disapprovingly.

"Your methods are a little too extreme."

The Chief Strategist smiled.

Those people you fleeced of everything before driving them out of Yaoqing would probably burst out of their coffins if they heard that.

Oh, he had almost forgotten. They had been thrown straight out, bodies and all. They didn't have coffins.

"The greater our authority, the greater our responsibilities. We hold these positions to do our jobs, so of course we should do everything we can to satisfy everyone's needs. Unfortunately, Yaoqing can't have that sort of establishment-"

Xianyu shook his head.

The Chief Strategist was right. Everyone deserved what was coming to them.

Off to school with the lot of them!

He was waiting for experts to turn up so they could develop technology.

Losing even one person left him miserable for ages, and they wanted him to set up some sleazy establishment? What a joke.

Xianyu continued,

"He likes women? Wants to have fun? Let him become one himself! He can even make money from his hobby. Isn't that wonderful? I think that Zerg Planet looks pretty good. Send him there once the interrogation is over."

The Chief Strategist, who had seen the natives of the Zerg Planet, fell silent.

One look at those faces was enough to drain your sanity...

He had to admit, this method really was satisfying.

It fulfilled the instigator's wishes while getting rid of a menace.

A win-win.

The general was truly remarkable to have devised such a brilliant plan! Yaoqing really had picked up a devil!

"...As expected of you, General. Even after five hundred years of cultivation, I could never become as broad-minded as you."

Xianyu waved a hand modestly. "Considering the residents' needs is part of a general's duty."

Having dealt with that thorn in his side, Xianyu wandered back to the Alchemy Commission. When he woke the next day, the game's customer support sent him four messages in a row.

[The one watching the fun became the entertainment instead]

[LOL]

[You're really interesting]

[This is Aha's first time being-]

Following the principle of asking whenever he didn't understand something, Xianyu went back and shook awake the Chief Strategist, who had worked all night and only just finished helping someone fulfill his dream.

The Chief Strategist said, "...We sent Aha, the Aeon of Elation, to the Swarm? You might as well believe I'm the reincarnation of the Ancient Kingdom Emperor."

Xianyu thought about it. Fair enough. Surely an Aeon wouldn't be that unhinged.

If it really had been an Aeon, Yaoqing's little patch of territory wouldn't have been enough for them to play with.

They still needed firepower...

His thoughts circled back to Neutron Annihilation, which had been cut short halfway through. Looking worried, he asked, "Do we have any money left to build a colossus? What about the money we confiscated before? Is any of it left?"

The Chief Strategist shook his head. "No. There are too many facilities that need repairs this time. The funds we confiscated aren't nearly enough, even before we account for compensation for the wounded and the families of the fallen...Over the next year, forget covering expenses with income. We'll be lucky not to go into debt...Besides, I've never heard of the technology you described."

Instantly wiping out organic matter without damaging buildings...it was pure fantasy.

Previously, the general had set aside half their funds to put into the Colossus Project. If the Golems hadn't suddenly caused trouble, they wouldn't even have gotten that money back.

Xianyu sighed.

"All right. I'll think of something. Go back to sleep."

He wandered and wandered until he reached the residential district where Yaoqing's wealthy lived.

Looking at the extravagantly luxurious stone lions inlaid with gemstones by the gates, Xianyu let out a wistful sigh.

A wealthy man passing by seemed to acquire a question mark over his head. With a probing look and an impeccable smile, he asked, "General? Is something the matter?"

Xianyu nodded repeatedly, then feigned a troubled shake of his head and sighed. "I was just thinking of that kindhearted person who donated his entire fortune. It makes me feel ashamed!"

The wealthy man played along enthusiastically. "You mean the person who donated all his assets before leaving Yaoqing?"

Afraid his acting wouldn't hold up, Xianyu took advantage of being a head taller than the other man and tilted his face up at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the sky. His voice was solemn. "As the general, I've done nothing but-ah..."

The wealthy man hurried to praise Xianyu. "Who in Yaoqing doesn't know of your valor, General? You fought the Golems while wounded, without rest or sleep for an entire month-"

Xianyu kept shaking his head. "What use is valor alone...Ah, I'd heard about that kindhearted person's character long ago. I thought he might have a chance to work with the Sky-Faring Commission-"

He cut himself off abruptly, a trace of chagrin appearing on his face, as though he regretted what he had said.

The wealthy man was startled. The Sky-Faring Commission? If he could work with them, he would rake in money even in his sleep.

His eyes darted about, and he obligingly moved past the subject, chatting warmly with Xianyu as though he regretted not having met the general sooner.

Soon, the wealthy man said he had urgent business to attend to and reluctantly bid Xianyu farewell.

Xianyu continued wandering through the places where the wealthy gathered, running into them here and there. After chatting with him, they all declared that they wished they had met the general sooner.

The wealthy men, whose hands were as withered as tree bark, had tears in their eyes. Their faces all but proclaimed: We ask not to be born on the same day, but to kick the bucket on the same day!

From the looks of them, they would have sworn brotherhood with the general right then and there.

As night deepened, Xianyu wandered back to the General's Residence and happened to run into the Chief Strategist.

The Chief Strategist gave him a meaningful look. "General, more than a dozen wealthy people voluntarily donated a sum of Credits totaling ten digits. Do you know anything about this?"

Xianyu's expression didn't change, nor did his heart skip a beat.

"What would I know? The people of Yaoqing care deeply about Yaoqing. As their general, I'm so touched."

"...Then will this money go into the Colossus Project?"

Xianyu shook his head, his voice very soft. "This money is for their death benefits."

The Chief Strategist fell silent.

"How can money ever equal a human life? It's only a drop in the bucket..." Xianyu sighed. "I'll think of something else."