Problems X Promises X Grey Elder Requests a Meeting

When Jiang Ye spread the list out in his hands, the edges of the pages still carried the mingled smell of rust and dust from the warehouse.

Gray Beak had written it with care, his handwriting neat and every item numbered.

Headcounts, total supplies, categories and valuations for their core businesses-three pages were packed with details.

Jiang Ye read from the first page to the last, pausing briefly over a few key figures before folding the list and setting it on the table, thinking it over.

There were plenty of numbers, but the problem was obvious.

They had too few people!

Fewer than twenty people from the Shattered Iron Group were willing to stay.

The Gray Rat Squad had even fewer. Including those who had been scattered and later returned on their own, there were barely a dozen at most.

Together, the two groups numbered just over thirty.

Even with their original members and the fifteen children, the Rust Remains Alliance now had fewer than a hundred and fifty people in total.

Jiang Ye tapped the tabletop twice with his fingertips.

A hundred and fifty people.

The number sounded substantial on paper, but breaking it down made things clear.

Their fighting core numbered no more than forty. Most of the rest handled logistics, ran errands, guarded doors, or helped fill out their ranks.

If Nubia came at them with the Dawn Society's elites, they were nowhere near strong enough to face him head-on.

And numbers aside, their top-tier fighting strength was in even worse shape.

The notable fighters in the entire Rust Remains Alliance could be counted on one hand.

Iron Wall, Gray Beak, Shattered Eye, and the fiercely untamed Bago.

Jiang Ye tilted his head and glanced at Iron Wall.

"Do you know what the problem is?"

After a moment's silence, Iron Wall nodded.

Jiang Ye did not press him.

He leaned back in his chair, picked up the cup of water that had gone completely cold, and took a sip, his gaze falling on the dim gray daylight outside the window.

The supply problem was solved, but they did not have enough people.

That was the Rust Remains Alliance's greatest weakness at present, and overcoming it would take time.

Jiang Ye set the cup back on the table and weighed the matter in his mind.

District 13 should be quiet by now.

The Shattered Iron Group was gone, and so was the Gray Rat Squad.

Of the remaining scattered little gangs, those who needed to flee had fled, and those who needed to disband had disbanded. No one would jump out and cause trouble again.

He paused, then turned toward the window and muttered to himself.

"Word should have reached Central City by now."

Central City was where the thirteen districts met, and everyone from the rich and powerful to street thugs gathered there.

Jiang Ye looked away from the window and back at the list.

He knew that people moved through that place, and so did news.

A twelve-year-old drifter had killed Dodge, wiped out the Shattered Iron Group and the Gray Rat Squad, and transformed the Rust Bone Gang into the Rust Remains Alliance.

People in Central City would not pretend they hadn't heard something like that.

In fact, Jiang Ye was not worried about the manpower problem.

People would come of their own accord.

Those wandering and scattered across the different areas of Meteor City, dissatisfied with the existing powers, looking for a meal.

Once they heard that a newly risen major power in District 13 was recruiting, offering food, work, and territory to share, they would come.

Even scavengers from the very bottom were better than nobody.

Jiang Ye put down his cup, pushed the list across the table, and changed the subject.

"Who controls the Shattered Iron Group's and Gray Rat Squad's businesses now?"

Gray Beak took half a step forward and cleared his throat.

"Between the two of them, besides large scavenging grounds, they have three secondhand-goods warehouses, a small water purification pipeline, and two ironworking sites."

"The core business is metal recycling."

"The Scrap Iron Group has a scrap-metal shredder that still works, and the Gray Rat Squad has several established scrap-buying channels. They're highly profitable, but while Dodge was around, we never dared touch them because the Scrap Iron Group and Gray Rat Squad kept a close watch."

When he finished, he glanced at Jiang Ye and waited for further instructions.

Jiang Ye did not hesitate and spoke at once.

"Distribute those businesses according to combat merit."

"We'll just take a fixed share of the net profits."

Gray Beak froze.

"Boss, if all those businesses stay in the Rust Remains Alliance's hands, their annual income would be enough to support more than a thousand people."

"If we distribute them..."

"I made a promise."

Jiang Ye cut him off, his voice quiet but clear.

"Follow me, and you'll get a share."

"Not an empty promise, but something you can actually eat."

He glanced at Gray Beak, then at Iron Wall.

"Distribute them according to combat merit."

"Those who led the charge and those who held shields and blocked blades get first pick."

"Support and logistics come next."

"For the first three batches of supplies, give each newcomer an extra half ration."

"Make sure they know the Rust Remains Alliance's meat doesn't come free."

Gray Beak's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he merely answered with a single word in a low voice.

"Yes."

Iron Wall stood motionless, turning over the weight of those words in his mind.

He had seen how Dodge did things.

The first thing Dodge did after taking territory was always to keep a tight grip on its businesses, squeeze every drop of profit from them, and press his subordinates down even harder.

Those who charged into battle behind him could not get so much as a sip of soup afterward. Who would be willing to risk their life the next time there was a fight?

But Jiang Ye had said to distribute according to combat merit.

Not according to loyalty, not according to closeness, but to give the first shares to those who charged at the front.

Iron Wall turned those words over and over in his mind, until nothing remained but boundless admiration.

Keeping one's word was already an exceptionally noble virtue in Meteor City.

"Yes."

Iron Wall answered without hesitation as well.

The two turned to leave, Gray Beak clutching the list while Iron Wall had already put his hand on the doorframe.

Just then, the door was shoved open.

Shattered Eye stumbled in with hurried steps, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead.

After entering, he first glanced at Iron Wall and Gray Beak. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his gaze passed over them to Jiang Ye behind the desk, as though something were stuck in his throat.

Jiang Ye put down his cup and glanced at him.

"Speak."

Shattered Eye pressed his lips together, then relaxed them.

He took two steps forward and stopped in front of the desk, his voice very low.

"Boss, someone's here."

Jiang Ye's expression barely changed as he asked calmly.

"Who?"

Shattered Eye's Adam's apple bobbed again.

"One of Grey Elder's people."

"He says Grey Elder wants to see you."

At those words, the air in the room fell still for a moment.

Jiang Ye sat behind the desk, his small, slender twelve-year-old body sunk into the old wooden chair, looking somewhat out of place amid the atmosphere around him.

But when he spoke, his voice was steady.

"Grey Elder."

He repeated the name.

"He's back?"

"Apparently, he's returned from being formally appointed by the Council of Elders."

Shattered Eye did not speak quickly, but he enunciated every word.

"A full elder."

"A full elder of District 13!"

When they heard that Grey Elder had become a full elder, Gray Beak and Iron Wall both felt their hearts rise into their throats.

This was definitely not good news!

Jiang Ye fell silent for a moment after hearing him out.

Then he picked up the list from the table, folded it, and tucked it into Shadow Space.

"Let him in."