In the Name of Divine Ability, Section 32

The Federation's border defense system was divided into military and police forces. Ant Ridge belonged to the police, and at most, strange beasts appeared in its jurisdiction a dozen or so times a year.

The people who stayed here were all workers of a sort, unable to accept the high-pressure life of the military.

The reinforced platoon had to hold the front line and face the threat of the Miye Three Rivers, which was why its members needed to measure up to regular troops.

"Never mind anything else. The soldiers in your reinforced platoon get twice the pay and twice the life supplement quota of ordinary soldiers. Can you convince the higher-ups to give all the thousand-plus people at the station double pay and double supplements?"

Zhang Like's own base salary was a thousand yuan lower than a reinforced platoon soldier's.

"That is a problem."

Just when Zhang Like thought he had finally abandoned the unrealistic idea, Lu Zhao abruptly changed tack.

"So, to solve that problem, I've decided to propose to the organization department tomorrow that all officers and soldiers who meet their targets receive a five-hundred-yuan allowance."

A subtle curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Our station has air conditioning now. There's no reason not to give the brothers a raise. Captain Zhang, I hope you'll ask the rank-and-file officers and soldiers what they think on my behalf."

With that, he signed a written proposal and pushed it over to Zhang Like.

Zhang Like caught on and suddenly understood.

Nobody would like extra training on its own, but extra money was another matter.

This was within a training staff officer's authority, so it was neither overstepping nor disrupting order. It didn't matter whether Lü Jinshan agreed, as long as Lu Zhao could win people over.

This kid took in everything I told him in one go.

That surprised Zhang Like. Lu Zhao wasn't as rigid as he looked, and when he did resort to tactics, he could be ruthless.

He asked, "You're making trouble for Lü Jinshan right off the bat. What if he strikes back? You're a training staff officer. It'll be hard to beat him when he's the chief administrator."

As always, Lu Zhao spoke calmly and firmly. "It's never wrong to throw a punch when you can. It doesn't matter if I lose. The road ahead is still long, so I'll take it as experience."

Night fell, and the open-air food stalls in the town near the border station blazed with light and buzzed with voices.

This was the venue for tonight's victory banquet. Nearly all the border front-line officers from the duty company, mobile company, support company, and other units were present.

As captain, Zhang Like had spent more than ten years at the border station. He had promoted practically every front-line officer there.

Likewise, Marquis Chen had similar connections in the South Sea West Circuit.

The atmosphere was a little stiff at first, but then Zhang Like began pulling people over to toast Lu Zhao.

"Liao Lang, Liang Chao."

Without waiting for a response, he pulled Liao Lang and Liang Chao to their feet. "What are you two standing there for? Everyone's able to sit here today because of Lu Zhao. Don't you two always like setting an example? Take the lead today and make a toast."

Chapter 39: The Taste of Power

Liao Lang and Liang Chao hesitated briefly, then both picked up their glasses and walked over to Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao sat in the seat of honor. He wasn't used to occasions like this, but he knew what to do now.

Without a word between them, Liao Lang and Liang Chao both held the rims of their glasses below Lu Zhao's, then tipped their heads back and drained them.

Their movements flowed so smoothly that they were easy to miss if one wasn't paying attention.

"Staff Officer Lu, please look after us from now on."

Immediately afterward, the other company-grade officers rose one after another. The duty company's deputy commander, the mobile company's operations staff officer, the support company's platoon leader... Glasses in hand, they approached Lu Zhao in turn.

Unlike their earlier aloofness, they all wore smiles and offered compliments.

No order had been announced beforehand, and nothing had been deliberately arranged, yet everyone's grade, position, and rank formed a clear hierarchy.

A silent but extraordinarily distinct division between superior and subordinate unfolded before Lu Zhao.

He had never attended such a social gathering before. Since coming to the border station, he had spent most of his time feeding mosquitoes deep in the mountains and forests.

He looked at Zhang Like, who raised his glass and smiled at him. That smile seemed to say something.

This is power.

Drinking-table culture flourished in Federation society. More precisely, it was a culture of power.

Society after the Great Cataclysm was undergoing violent chemical reactions at every moment. The Hall of Martial Virtue was restructured, conflict between Hua and non-Hua intensified, pressure to survive rose sharply, violent crime became frequent, violent organizations comparable in size to small pre-Cataclysm nations emerged, and beast tides threatened...

In a chaotic age, people became a crucial resource, and the extraordinary held the dominant position. People themselves were a greater symbol of power than rules written on paper, and the drinking table was the best arena for power.

From the Martial Marquises looking down on the Federation from the clouds and dividing up interests in the circuit administration hall to the gang leaders on the streets marking out territory, all ultimately needed people to carry things out.

And most of the time, those people specifically meant the extraordinary.

Tonight's victory banquet was meant to establish Lu Zhao's position as a leader, because his Life Development level was the highest and Zhang Like was willing to promote him.

After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere grew livelier.

Lu Zhao stood up, and everyone else immediately fell silent and looked over.

The feeling of having his every move command others' attention was like a stimulant injected into his veins, suddenly opening his eyes and ears.

He said, "I'd like to ask everyone a favor. I want to win an excellence award this year."

Everyone paused. Then, without waiting for Zhang Like to take the lead, Liao Lang was the first to speak up. "I'll definitely vote for Staff Officer Lu this year!"

The others chimed in.

"If we don't vote for Staff Officer Lu, who else would we vote for? Those people sitting in offices?"

"Staff Officer Lu has worked hard and accomplished a great deal over the years. He should have won an excellence award long ago."

Lu Zhao raised his glass and drained it. Even an ordinary drink drew loud praise from everyone: "Staff Officer Lu can really drink!"

As the gathering continued, people began throwing their arms around Lu Zhao's shoulders and calling him brother, as though they were old friends of many years.

He could feel that his relationship with these officers had suddenly grown much closer, even more so than when he had saved them.

I'm asking something of them, so we can form a community of shared interests.

Lu Zhao suddenly understood.

He also understood why he might not have been very popular before. Perhaps it wasn't the trouble surrounding him or his temper, but the fact that he had asked nothing of others.

"Old Lu."

Zhang Like nudged him with an elbow and smiled helplessly. "It's very good that you took the initiative to make a request, but be a little more restrained next time. That was too overbearing."

"You should have said, 'It's our company's turn to win an excellence award this year. Everyone needs to work together.'"

Lu Zhao nodded. "I'll remember that."

He sat amid the clamor, his face flushed with drink. It was also the color of being touched by power for the first time.

But his eyes remained clear and sharp.

If this could help him climb higher, Lu Zhao would gladly savor all the drink on this table.

Lu Zhao took a sip of wine. With a slight movement of his mind, its taste turned sweet.

Once his mind completely covered his body's perceptions, he would have mastered Visualization.

He had mastered taste.

By midnight, the clamor had died away.

The jeep traveled along the quiet road back to the camp. Beyond the windows lay impenetrable darkness, with only the headlights cutting open a small patch of road ahead.

Zhang Like gripped the steering wheel, his eyes clear. His physique as a first-tier extraordinary had long since metabolized all the alcohol.

In the passenger seat, Lu Zhao rested with his eyes closed. The drunkenness had also long since left his face, leaving only his usual coldness.

He suddenly said, "Old Niu asked me to look into Lü Jinshan's younger brother. He's been relying on Lü Jinshan to run a smuggling business, and he's most likely connected to the smuggling route in the mountain behind the station."

Zhang Like was taken aback, then said somewhat sourly, "The old man tells you everything first. He really favors an outsider over his own. I've heard something about Lü Jinshan's brother. I can find someone to look into him, but you'd better not get your hopes up."

Lu Zhao frowned. "Does he have someone protecting him?"

Zhang Like neither confirmed nor denied it. "Who's behind Lü Jinshan?"

"One of the Chen Family's dogs."

Lu Zhao's answer pointed out the truth.

Lü Jinshan was just a border station chief. How could he possibly have latched directly onto the Chen Family?

Lü Jinshan alone couldn't keep him down either. It could only be someone at the commandery level, or even someone in the South Sea Circuit administration.

"I don't know who exactly, but it's most likely a big shot in the South Sea Circuit administration. Lü Jinshan came to make money for him, and to serve as your Five-Finger Mountain while he's at it."

Zhang Like gave a self-mocking chuckle. "One of us is a major and the other a captain, but we're both just little demons patrolling the mountain. How could we fight their mountain king?"

Silence fell in the car once more.

The frown on Lu Zhao's face gradually eased, and he said firmly, "It depends on what we do. Let's find evidence first."

Out of the corner of his eye, Zhang Like saw Lu Zhao's profile grow calm again, even more determined than before. Lu Zhao hadn't said anything to raise his spirits, yet he had stirred him somewhat.

He sighed and said, almost enviously, "It's good to be young."

Back in his room.

As usual, Lu Zhao sat cross-legged and began Spirit Refining.

He practiced Refining Essence into Qi for an hour in the morning, Visualization at noon, and Spirit Refining from evening until daylight.

Spirit Refining was the most painful of the three. Every moment felt like swallowing needles, and its results were not as obvious as Life Development's. That was the most grueling part.

Many people could endure pain, but very few could withstand loneliness.

Besides, Lu Zhao was a mental-type extraordinary. His five senses were several times sharper than an ordinary person's, and the pain he could feel was several times greater as well.

Lu Zhao's brows were tightly knitted, sweat streamed from his body, and his muscles twitched involuntarily from time to time.

But he had never feared loneliness or pain. He only feared not being able to see the road ahead.

With a bright future ahead, all he had to do was stride forward.

In the early morning, sunlight streamed in.