One of the World's Seven Great Beauties X Endless Malice X Those Who Come After

The hauling went on for two full days.

By the time Iron Wall and his men carried the Gray Rat Squad's last batch of supplies into camp, the Shattered Iron Group's iron chests had already been stacked in three rows.

Weapons, ammunition, cloth, canned food, bundles of electronic components, and those six semiautomatic submachine guns had been placed separately in a sheet-metal chest, their barrels polished to a shine.

Jiang Ye stood at the entrance to the shipping container converted into a supply warehouse, watching chest after chest being carried in and out.

Gray Beak was in charge of counting and registering everything, Shattered Eye led men on patrol around the perimeter, and Bago led those ten men in stacking the iron chests neatly by category.

The whole camp was like a machine that had started running again. Its parts were rough, but every gear was meshing.

"Boss."

After carrying in the last chest, Iron Wall wiped the sweat from his forehead and came over, his voice brimming with excitement he couldn't suppress.

"The Gray Rat Squad had a lot more stashed away than we imagined."

Jiang Ye didn't answer. He merely tilted his head, signaling him to continue.

Iron Wall cleared his throat and began counting on his fingers.

"We found over six million Jenny in cash alone."

"There were also ten unopened crates of ammunition, and over forty rifles and handguns combined."

"There's even more food. The canned goods and dry rations are enough to feed everyone currently in the Rust Remains Alliance for three months."

He paused, lowering his voice a little.

"And Gray Beak found quite a few good things in Shu Mu's underground vault."

"Old watches, electronic components, dozens of metal ingots in good condition... and one other thing. Gray Beak said he'd never seen anything like it, so he asked me to bring it for you to look at, boss."

Iron Wall turned and took a flat iron box from one of his men behind him, then held it out to Jiang Ye with both hands.

The iron box was small, its surface coated in black anti-rust paint. Scratches of varying depths marked its edges, as though it had been opened repeatedly.

The lid wasn't locked, but was secured by two metal clasps.

Jiang Ye accepted it without paying it much mind, undid the clasps, and opened the lid.

Looking closely, he saw that the lining inside had yellowed and turned brittle, as though it had been stored for many years.

The cloth dipped slightly, cradling a round glass container.

The container was filled with a clear preservation fluid that faintly refracted the gray-white daylight.

Suspended in the liquid was an eyeball.

Its pupil was a uniform scarlet.

It wasn't the red of ordinary blood. It was more like a flame frozen behind glass, shifting in layers from deep crimson to bright red, as though it were still burning deep within the pupil.

Even after being removed and stored for who knew how long, the eyeball still carried an oppressive presence that seemed almost ready to spill out of the container.

When Jiang Ye saw the eyeball, his fingers stopped at the edge of the lid, and his pupils contracted sharply for an instant.

Of course he recognized it.

It was a Scarlet Eye, one of the world's seven great beauties!

A physiological trait unique to the Kurta Clan.

When members of the clan experienced intense emotions such as anger, sorrow, fear, or excitement, their pupils changed from their usual pale color to a translucent scarlet.

That red could neither be faked nor replicated, making it a treasure coveted by collectors around the world.

And behind that treasure was an entire slaughtered clan.

Jiang Ye remembered seeing that scene in the original work.

On the night the Kurta Clan was wiped out, countless pairs of Scarlet Eyes were gouged out, sold, and displayed in glass cases hidden away in the shadows, becoming topics for wealthy people to boast about after eating and drinking their fill.

It reminded Jiang Ye of something Netero, chairman of the Hunter Association, had once said.

"You don't understand the endless malice of humanity at all."

Those words had been spoken in a different scene, in a different context.

But as Jiang Ye looked at the Scarlet Eye in his hand, the words suddenly surfaced quite naturally, without feeling at all out of place or abrupt.

Standing beside him, Iron Wall noticed Jiang Ye's silence and asked quietly, "Boss, is there something wrong with it?"

Jiang Ye didn't answer immediately.

He gently closed the lid and fastened the metal clasps again.

His fingertips lingered on the surface of the iron box for a moment. Then he looked up at Iron Wall, his tone even.

"Where was it found?"

"In Shu Mu's underground vault, in the innermost compartment."

"It was with those old watches and electronic components. Gray Beak said the box had been shoved into the farthest corner, like it had been kept there for a long time with no intention of selling it."

Jiang Ye nodded, his gaze showing little change.

"Seal it away."

"Keep it separate. Don't mix it with the other supplies."

"Find a dry place and lock it up. Don't let anyone touch it."

"Later... it might be very useful."

Iron Wall froze for a moment, evidently unable to understand what made an eyeball worth treating so seriously.

But he didn't ask any more questions. He took the iron box and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Yes."

Jiang Ye watched Iron Wall turn and walk away, the feel of the iron box's cold edge still lingering in his hand.

He didn't look in that direction again. He drew back his gaze and swept it over the whole warehouse.

Three days ago, this open ground had held nothing but the Rust Bone Gang's shabby sheds and shipping containers.

Now, the supplies of three mid-sized forces filled more than half the camp.

The Rust Bone Gang, the Shattered Iron Group, and the Gray Rat Squad.

Together, the three groups numbered nearly a hundred and fifty people.

The guns in the armory were enough to arm half their people, and the ammunition and canned food would last several months.

On paper, the Rust Remains Alliance could already be considered the beginnings of a major force.

But Jiang Ye knew full well that what was on paper was worth the least.

Supplies piled up there wouldn't turn into fighting strength on their own.

Of those hundred and fifty people, how many could fight, how many could only make up the numbers, and how many would desert when a major battle came-he needed time to find out.

More importantly, those who had just submitted felt no sense of belonging to the Rust Remains Alliance yet.

They had simply changed employers, changed the person collecting protection money. They still thought the same way: stay if there was food, leave if there wasn't.

Jiang Ye turned and headed back. After putting away the iron box, Iron Wall caught up and walked half a step behind him.

"Boss, all the supplies have been counted and registered."

"Gray Beak is sorting them into detailed categories, and Shattered Eye has sent his men out. There's nothing unusual outside for now."

Jiang Ye grunted in acknowledgment.

He walked on for a while without looking back.

"The more people we have, the harder they'll be to manage."

Iron Wall's voice came from behind him, carrying a hint of caution.

"Back when Dodge had more than forty men under him, he'd already started having trouble managing them."

"Now we've nearly quadrupled that number. I'm worried..."

"What are you worried about?"

Jiang Ye stopped and tilted his head.

Iron Wall's Adam's apple bobbed.

"I'm worried the men won't be united."

"I'm worried someone will take advantage of the chaos to stir up trouble."

"I'm worried that before we've even established ourselves, we'll rot from within."

When he finished, he lowered his head, as though ready to be reprimanded.

But Jiang Ye didn't reprimand him.

Jiang Ye simply turned around and looked at him.

There was no anger or impatience on that twelve-year-old face, only a calm that Iron Wall couldn't describe.

"That's why I'm training the three of you."

"Iron Wall, Gray Beak, Shattered Eye."

"Apart from me, you have the highest authority in the Rust Remains Alliance."

"How to distribute the supplies, manage the men, and vet newcomers-that's for you to handle."

Jiang Ye looked into Iron Wall's eyes.

"Show me what you can accomplish."

Iron Wall's shoulders tensed for an instant.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Jiang Ye gave him no chance to speak.

"Otherwise..."

Jiang Ye's voice grew no heavier, but sweat was already seeping out on Iron Wall's back.

"There will always be others to take your place."