"Where did you hear this news from?"
A merchant in a white robe turned around, looking puzzled.
"It's being spread everywhere now, and nobody knows who first said it." The three, dressed in brown robes,
The youngest-looking businessman shrugged and took over the conversation.
"Could you explain in more detail?" The white-robed merchant gestured to the bartender. "Another glass of ale for this gentleman, on my tab."
This is already the second best wine in the shop. The best one is the Valley of the Wind the Wind grape juice, which the owner went to great lengths to obtain. It costs three gold coins a glass, but this information isn't worth that much.
The young businessman did not refuse. When the glass of dark ale with fine bubbles was served, he tilted his head back and gulped down several large mouthfuls.
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, lowered his voice, and began to tell the story, "Well, this all started about six months ago—"
The young businessman was quite eloquent, and the customers at the surrounding tables unconsciously stopped their conversations and listened attentively.
From the mysterious disappearance of the old King Deus due to an attack by an insect tamer, to how order gradually crumbled within the Pejite City;
The story then shifts from how the suddenly emerging "resistance army" overthrew the royal family to the tragic plight of the refugees outside the city.
No one noticed that the white-robed merchant who had hosted the dinner quietly placed a few silver snake coins on the table halfway through the story, then got up and left the noisy tavern.
Outside the door is the unique night view of the Mining Town: domed houses of varying heights are scattered on the Ceramic Steel mountain with countless holes carved into it, and lights shine through the windows.
Wires and ropes hung haphazardly in the air, like a tangled spider web.
The white-robed merchant moved swiftly, skillfully navigating the alleyways and descending along the tangled wires and metal staircases, deeper into the ruins.
After three hundred years of continuous mining, the interior of this ancient site has been completely altered by the mine tunnels, and it is easy for unfamiliar people to get lost inside.
The businessman clearly knew the area well; under the dim emergency lights, he turned left and right, passing through tunnel after tunnel that seemed to have no end. After about ten minutes, the view suddenly opened up ahead.
He stepped into an extremely spacious underground space.
The roar of the generator filled our ears, and the high-powered searchlights illuminated the entire space as bright as day.
This is a massive cylindrical pit with an astonishing diameter, comparable in size to the above-ground ruins. The pit walls are made of a mixture of rock and Ceramic Steel, as if magma melted, intruded, and then solidified within the ruins.
Looking down from above, the view at the bottom of the pit is chilling.
Thousands of ragged, emaciated figures dragged chains, using crude Ceramic Steel tools to chip away at and widen the edges of this massive underground hall, amidst the whipping and shouts of the overseers.
They moved numbly, rarely spoke, and only the clanging of tools against the rocks and the occasional curses of the overseer echoed in the pit.
The white-robed merchant didn't look around much; he followed the walkway along the edge of the pit to the bottom.
In front of a heavy stone house, two armed guards raised their hands to stop him.
"Password."
"For a new order."
Only after hearing the correct code signal did the guard step aside to let them pass.
The domed stone house was very well soundproofed; the noise outside was immediately reduced by more than half after the merchant stepped inside.
At this moment, several figures were already sitting at the long table inside the room, waiting. Anyone familiar with the power structure of the upper echelons of the Pejite would be quite surprised.
Seated in the main seat was the mayor of Mining Town, a kind-looking, honest-looking old man with white hair.
Those seated around the chairs were all prominent businessmen in Pejite, controlling key industries such as mining, smelting, and machinery manufacturing. Even Muhadi, a grain merchant wearing a white turban, was among them.
But the most eye-catching figure was a bald old man sitting to the right of the mayor.
He was emaciated, and the lower half of his face was completely covered by white fabric embroidered with red inverted triangle symbols, revealing only a pair of lifeless eyes.
Two soldiers dressed in ancient-style armor with exotic patterns stood silently behind him like statues.
"Why are you so late?" The town mayor asked, his face showing displeasure as he saw the merchant in the white robe enter. "We have distinguished guests present today."
The merchant in white robes immediately explained, "I gathered important new intelligence at the market, which is closely related to our plans."
The town mayor glanced at the old man, and seeing that he showed no displeasure, nodded to the white-robed merchant. "Speak."
The white-robed merchant immediately recounted the entire story of the tragedy of Pejite that he had heard in the tavern that evening.
As he narrated, the atmosphere inside the round house gradually became strange.
The businessmen exchanged bewildered glances, their faces showing surprise and uncertainty. They had been busy negotiating contracts and discussing prices with other businessmen in the brightly lit conference room these past few days, completely oblivious to the "gossip" circulating among ordinary people.
"In short, that's the information I've received." The white-robed merchant finished speaking and found his seat.
A brief silence fell over the conference room, broken only by the muffled hum of the generator coming through the walls.
"I have a question. Why is the sequence of events surrounding Pejite so similar to our plan? Did one of you leak the information?"
Muhadi broke the silence by stroking his goatee.
" Muhadi, stop making sarcastic remarks. What good will it do us if this gets leaked!"
"Could it be—could it be that our plan has been exposed? Is someone using Pejite's situation to warn us?"
"That can't be right, we did it so discreetly—"
"But the timing was too perfect!"
The merchants whispered among themselves, a sense of unease beginning to spread.
"Quiet!" The mayor slammed his hand on the silver-white frosted Ceramic Steel tabletop in front of him.
The murmurs ceased abruptly. All eyes turned to him.
The old town mayor, who usually seemed ordinary, now had a shrewd and ruthless glint in his eyes.
"Don't panic. These vague rumors are at most just something someone deliberately spreads to bait people."
"If they truly suspect us, it won't be rumors they spread, but rather soldiers from the Pejite royal family."
Seeing that the merchants were no longer panicked, the town mayor nodded in satisfaction.
Since escaping Pejite with the help of that great man, he has become increasingly content with his current life.
As long as the Pejite royal family is not involved, he is the largest supplier of Ceramic Steel raw materials in the entire Sea of Corruption Kingdom, and the wealth he controls is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
But that wasn't enough; he wanted more.
"Let's proceed as planned from now on."
"Two days later, His Highness, who has been hiding in the airship and almost never sets foot in dangerous places, will be invited to a meeting at the mine ruins."
"By then— Pejite's sole heir will be completely under our control."
The mayor extended his right hand, palm up, and slowly clenched it.
"And what about the representatives from other countries who came to participate in the talks?" another businessman, whose face still showed some hesitation, asked.
"Kill them all," the mayor said without hesitation. "Who will hold us accountable for the tragic accidents that occurred when the invaders arrived? The dead can't speak."
He turned to face the masked old man, his attitude becoming more respectful. "Of course, this charade needs your subordinates to perform, to ensure everything goes smoothly."
The masked old man didn't speak, but slowly nodded.
A smile spread across the town mayor's face, a smile brimming with the exhilaration of his impending ambition.
He raised the crystal glass in front of him, which contained a deep purple liquid—the very same Blessed Grape Juice that had been sold at exorbitant prices.
"With the support of the Kabu Tribe Master and the secret backing of the Dorok, our plan is bound to succeed!"
" Pejite's wealth, Pejite's factories, Pejite's future—all will be ours!"
He glanced around at the merchants in the room, each with a different expression.
"Cheers to the new order!"
All the businessmen, including Muhadi, raised their glasses, the clinking of glass echoing crisply through the domed room.
"Cheers!"