Li Wei went to Warehouse No. 1 and retrieved all the Tier-One Blood Resistance Potions, then took ten Two-Star blank weapons forged by Zhao Xuanxuan, and handed everything to Jenny on the first floor. The market couldn't open with empty shelves.
The Freen were still waiting on the first floor, expressions complicated, murmuring among themselves. To them, Li Wei's little trick of turning gold coins into golden mist hadn't been particularly impressive. They had no idea what Standard Copper Coins were worth — and so were even feeling deflated that they'd only received copper.
That was human nature.
Without the drive of aningful reward, you could only rely on oppression or keeping people ignorant. But neither of those aligned with the All-Heavens Lord Alliance's philosophy of humanistic care. So if Li Yue and Liang Yuzhi hadn't given those two Black Iron Clearance Tokens, this mont would have seriously damaged the Freen's motivation — a very bad outco.
When Li Wei handed the Blood Resistance Potions and weapons to Jenny, she managed only a strained smile. The potions weren't rare anymore. Neither were the weapons. What they really wanted was advancent.
Because at this point, every Freeman — except children under twelve who couldn't work, and a few teenagers who still had only one card — had already reached dual Two-Star profession cards. They wanted to reach Three-Star.
They wanted to grow stronger.
Li Wei said nothing. He took out one Black Iron Clearance Token and split it into two Bronze Tokens. With these, Two-Star could advance to Three-Star.
Right there in front of everyone, he placed two Bronze Tokens in Jenny's hands, then produced two more — enough for four Freen to advance.
He then took out six One-Star profession cards. Thomas, Leon, and Zhao Xuanxuan walked over and each contributed so of their unused One-Star profession cards. The total ca to forty-two cards, all placed in the market as free support.
Because Freen could also use One-Star attribute cards — five attribute types ant fifteen One-Star attribute cards. That was a substantial market.
Once the Freen figured out how to trade among themselves, exchange cards, and sell profession cards, the camp's small market would take on a life of its own.
In short: the path to advancent was here. Their future was visible.
So did they want to advance?
Then show sincerity. Show loyalty. Show effort. That was how it was earned.
Li Wei left without another word.
The next mont, the Freen erupted. Everyone surged forward to examine the Bronze Clearance Token's properties. Thomas and Leon imdiately stepped in to maintain order — don't rush, everyone will get a chance to touch it and look. The Prestige System had it locked anyway; everyone already knew whether they qualified to purchase or not.
Soon, all the Freen had queued up to touch the token. Most of them didn't qualify to buy — but human nature was what it was. People needed to see a bright future. As long as there was a visible path upward, there was sothing to strive for.
They discussed it animatedly among themselves, festive as a holiday. Many went back for a second touch, dissecting every piece of information on the Bronze Token, so even writing things down, calculating, asking each other: would there be four Bronze Tokens at the next Quarterly Settlent too?
So were happily complaining that it was too expensive, and the requirents were too strict.
What did "only Level 3 Freen may purchase" even an? They were all the sa people — why divide them into tiers? Wasn't that blatant discrimination?
But that kind of complaint found little audience, because everyone was too busy asking each other: what level did you get assigned? Oh, you're a Level 2 Freeman? That's pretty good! I'm Level 3!
Ha!
The Level 1, 2, and 3 Freeman system had been announced today as well. Without the Bronze Token as a concrete incentive, this tiered system would have faced far more resistance.
But now, no one cared.
Because in this round, thirteen Freen had been promoted to Level 3, fifteen to Level 2, and eight remained at Level 1 — those eight being the won with young children. Since they'd enjoyed the benefit of lighter workloads, it was only fair that their ratings and rewards reflected that.
After comparing their levels, everyone moved on to checking their pay. How many copper coins did you get? Wait, how is it that we're both Level 3 Freen but you got one more copper coin than ? That's not right.
No problem — the Prestige System was right there. Pull up the records, check the ledger. Everything each person had done over the past three months, every contribution, was recorded line by line, perfectly clear. The standards were all written out — more authoritative than any written contract.
After all the accounting was done, even the old foxes Nelson and Javier couldn't suppress their satisfaction — their earnings were in the top tier.
And at that point, they were already calculating how to purchase a Bronze Clearance Token.
They t all the other requirents. Only one condition remained out of reach.
One Bronze Token's purchase price: originally 100 Standard Gold Coins. During the three-year tax-free period, half price — 50 gold coins.
But the benevolent lord felt today was a good day, so a limited-ti discount applied: just 5 gold coins. The rest was up to them.
First co, first served.
Also — everyone was inford that the number of Bronze Tokens refreshed in the market each quarter was tied to the camp's total production value.
High GDP, more tokens. Low GDP, fewer tokens. So don't bla the lord for not helping — this was beyond even his control.
Understood?
Either way, Li Wei had been cleanly removed from the equation. The rest was up to them.
In the end, the Nelson family among the Freen successfully pooled 10 gold coins. Nelson had always been the Freen's de facto leader, a man of considerable standing. His first wife Ellen was Warehouse No. 2 manager and Head Chef. His three other wives were all capable. His eldest son Santiago had perford exceptionally — only slightly behind Benjamin — and was himself a forr special forces soldier.
He also had a daughter nad Isabel, only thirteen, but already being promised to Santiago's close friend Xavier.
In short, the Nelson family had co out on top.
The old man was decisive: he gave one Bronze Token to Santiago and one to his future son-in-law Xavier. Secure the two strongest fighters first.
The other major family among the Freen was the Linus family. The welder had two wives — his first wife was in the cooking team, and his son was Benjamin, the standout perforr. Together they pooled 5 gold coins and advanced Benjamin to Three-Star.
The last Bronze Token went to the Javier family.
Javier, the Warehouse No. 3 manager, was actually quite antisocial and hadn't even planned to compete. But Auntie Jenny pulled him into a corner for a quiet conversation, and he apparently realized: if he didn't act now, there'd be nothing left to compete for later.
The Nelson family and the Linus family would beco the two dominant families under the lord. He had no son — but that was fine, she could still have children, and didn't he have a nephew? What? Sure, she'd had a colorful past, but couldn't people turn over a new leaf?
The key point was: they needed to unite. Otherwise, in the future, they'd be picked clean down to the last bone.
In the end, after Jenny's maneuvering, the newly ford Javier family claid the last Bronze Token. Javier used it himself and advanced to Three-Star.
That imdiately unlocked 10 free attribute points, with another 5 available within a few weeks.
15 free attribute points combined — combat power would jump a full tier.
All in all: great rejoicing all around.
Li Wei was happy. The Freen were happy. Everyone's face was lit with smiles, eyes bright with hope. In the next few hours, Jenny's market crossed 20 gold coins in transactions — which, of course, flowed right back to Li Wei.
That was exactly right.
Li Wei pays wages, the Freen spend, and they continuously produce goods and resources. That cycle was called GDP.
["The Level 4 Camp's free market has exceeded 2,000 Copper Coins in daily revenue. It has officially upgraded to a Level 1 Market. The family's fixed assets have increased. The maximum earnable Contribution cap has risen to 33,000 points."]
["The Freen's approval of the Scavenger Camp has increased. You have earned 50 Prestige points. Current total: 240 points."]
—
Good. Ti to execute the next step.
Li Wei imdiately operated through the Prestige System.
["Appointnt: Level 3 Freeman Nelson is appointed as interim first Head of Freen, responsible for resolving disputes and conflicts among Freen and assisting the lord with work-related matters. Term: three months. After the Quarterly Settlent, the next Head of Freen will be elected by all Freen. The Head of Freen receives double wages during their term."]
["Appointnt: Level 3 Freeman Javier is appointed as manager of Warehouses No. 3 and No. 4. Barring major misconduct, the appointnt is ongoing. He is also eligible to run for concurrent Head of Freen in the next quarter."]
["Appointnt: Level 3 Freeman Linus is appointed as Camp Chief Engineer, responsible for maintenance, fabrication, and installation matters within the camp. Barring major misconduct, the appointnt is ongoing. He is also eligible to run for concurrent Head of Freen in the next quarter."]
["Appointnt: Level 3 Freeman Ellen is appointed as Warehouse No. 2 Manager and Head Chef. Barring major misconduct, the appointnt is ongoing. She is eligible to run for concurrent Head of Freen."]
["Appointnt: Level 3 Freeman Jenny is appointed as Market Manager. Barring major misconduct, the appointnt is ongoing. She is eligible to run for concurrent Head of Freen."]
["Appointnt: Level 3 Freeman Benjamin is appointed as captain of the First Patrol Squad, commanding four mbers: Kent, Cecia, William, and Zhao Mingyang. Barring major misconduct, the appointnt is ongoing. He is eligible to run for Head of Freen."]
["Appointnt: Level 3 Freeman Santiago is appointed as captain of the Second Patrol Squad, commanding four mbers: Wilda, Delphine, Oliver, and Henry. Barring major misconduct, the appointnt is ongoing. He is eligible to run for Head of Freen."]
["Appointnt: Level 3 Freeman Xavier is appointed as Camp Transport Captain, commanding two mbers. Barring major misconduct, the appointnt is ongoing. He is eligible to run for Head of Freen."]
—
This cascade of appointnt notifications sent another wave of excitent through the Freen. They finally understood: they couldn't keep clinging to old suspicions and conspiracy theories. They needed to look forward — to follow the lord's lead, strive and push hard, grow stronger, and build sothing great.
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