Chapter 421 – Massive Temptation Pt. 2
They all couldn’t help but panic as they watched Duo Mei gradually leave. Indeed…at the moment, this city was already in ruins and did not belong to anyone in particular. Even the remaining goods inside the city had become ownerless. As a result…they could be said to be bankrupt and homeless without anything. There was no way they could reward Duo Mei’s group!
They knew very clearly that if Duo Mei did not help, they would starve to death. Already, three or four days had passed without being able to eat meals. The aftermath of this continuing was too horrible to imagine.
Of course, they had also considered fishing. However, Kabryna Island produced metal, so none of them knew how to fish. There wasn’t even a single fishing net to be found. There weren’t any edible plants around the city either; rather than planting vegetables, it had always been more beneficial to just shave off some precious rocks. Thus…though food wasn’t impossible to find on this island, trying to resolve over ten thousand people’s hunger and clothing was only a fantasy.
Watching Duo Mei leave further felt as though death was imminent. Under these circumstances of lacking everyday products and food, they were already very, very close to death!
“Wait a moment!” The instant Duo Mei was about to step off the wharf, the elder’s voice abruptly rang out. “Female hero, I admit that everything inside Kabryna no longer belongs to anyone. However, there are still some things that have owners!”
Duo Mei furrowed her brows and turned slightly to look at the elder with a helpless expression. Meanwhile, the elder weighty stated, “The city has no owner, but we are free. That’s why, if you are willing to help us and keep us alive…the 14,700 of us in the city will become your people. With our support, you can become Kabryna City’s owner!”
Duo Mei frowned slightly and unhappily said, “Why don’t you understand? If I wanted this city, I could just occupy it? Why…”
“No!” The elder interrupted before Duo Mei could finish. He firmly said, “The situation isn’t as simple as you think. If it was really that easy to occupy, why would the pirates have been willing to give up on this place?
Seeing Duo Mei’s doubtful expression, the elder continued, “There are two ways to occupy this city. The first is to kill us all and then go to the Greater Trade Routes administration to spend a certain amount of money and apply for building a city here. As for the value of the costs, it would depend on the location of establishment. Since this place distributes metal…the cost of construction would not be any lower than 10 quadrillion coins!”
“!!! —Ten quadrillion coins!” Duo Mai couldn’t but tremble at the elder’s words. Ten quadrillion was ten thousand billion. This was practically impossible!
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The elder continued, “As for the other way, it would be for you to have us residents serve you. As long as you receive over 80% of the original residents’ support, you can take the city lord’s place and become its owner. This is also the only method to become the city leader!”
Duo Mei looked down with knit brows as she asked doubtfully: “No, there’s a loophole in what you said. If the thieves killed all except for ten of you to forcibly support them, then…?”
“Haha…” The elder chuckled and shook his head. “No, this loophole doesn’t exist. According to the Trade Route laws, one must have the support of at least 10,000 original residents. Anything below 10,000 – even 9,999 – do not have the right to take over the throne of the city lord!”
At this point, the elder paused for a moment before continuing, “Basically, to the Greater Trade Routes Administration, cities with under 10,000 people don’t count as cities, and we would also lose that right. As long as we still have 10,000 citizens, then this city still exists. If the buildings are gone, they can be rebuilt; if the goods are gone, they can be re-gathered. None of this is an issue. And having the city lord be replaced is a natural order as well. The Greater Trade Routes Administration won’t care.”
Duo Mei immediately considered this. What stirred her interest was the throne of the city lord. They didn’t have anything to do nowadays anyways, and if they could help gain this city for the young master, it would definitely be a major help for him. After all…the metal here was the most expensive good at the third checkpoint. Once they took over this place, the young master would definitely achieve amazing success as a merchant!
Duo Mei nodded and replied, “Fine then, let me just ask one final question. As a city lord, do all the metal produced from the nearby mines belong to me? How are the profits divided?”
The elder firmly answered, “Of course it belongs to the city lord. Once you become the owner, not only will the city belong to you, but also the buildings, citizens, and the surrounding mines. We are just long-term workers under the city lord.”
Duo Mei nodded in understanding and replied, “Alright. In that case, then we will accept your assignment. We will ship over some food and everyday products as quickly as possible. On your part, you should quickly bury the corpses in the city, then clean out the ruined buildings. Move all the goods from the buildings out to the plaza and conduct an inventory count!”
She turned and reconvened with her sisters on the ship. Duo Mei gave a simple explanation of the current situation and, per her orders, her sisters split into two groups. The first group of eighteen members were to remain on the island. They were responsible for leading and directing the city’s cleanup while also protecting them from outside harm. After all…if the population of the citizens dropped to below 10,000, it would all be over.
As for the second group, they took the ship and sailed it out to sea under Duo Mei’s command. They had to quickly ship large amounts of everyday products and food, or else these citizens would starve to death instead.
After delivering the large amount of food, Duo Mei and the others stocked up again with only water and headed out from the wharf. The entire way, they relied on only the fish they caught to curb their hunger. For the sake of guaranteeing the citizens’ lives, Duo Mei had not kept back any food for themselves. Seeing this, the residents couldn’t help but feel moved. This was the first time they had ever felt this kind of treatment.