Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 264: The Rise of the Family

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 Freemen 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 some were even feeling deflated that they'd only received copper.

That was human nature.

Without the drive of meaningful 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 moment would have seriously damaged the Freemen's motivation — a very bad outcome.

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 advancement.

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 Freemen to advance.

He then took out six One-Star profession cards. Thomas, Leon, and Zhao Xuanxuan walked over and each contributed some of their unused One-Star profession cards. The total came to forty-two cards, all placed in the market as free support.Because Freemen could also use One-Star attribute cards — five attribute types meant fifteen One-Star attribute cards. That was a substantial market.

Once the Freemen 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 advancement 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 moment, the Freemen erupted. Everyone surged forward to examine the Bronze Clearance Token's properties. Thomas and Leon immediately 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 Freemen 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 something 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, some even writing things down, calculating, asking each other: would there be four Bronze Tokens at the next Quarterly Settlement too?

Some were happily complaining that it was too expensive, and the requirements were too strict.

What did "only Level 3 Freemen may purchase" even mean? They were all the same 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 Freemen had been promoted to Level 3, fifteen to Level 2, and eight remained at Level 1 — those eight being the women 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 Freemen but you got one more copper coin than me? 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 met all the other requirements. 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-time discount applied: just 5 gold coins. The rest was up to them.

First come, first served.

Also — everyone was informed 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 blame 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 Freemen successfully pooled 10 gold coins. Nelson had always been the Freemen'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 performed exceptionally — only slightly behind Benjamin — and was himself a former special forces soldier.

He also had a daughter named Isabel, only thirteen, but already being promised to Santiago's close friend Xavier.

In short, the Nelson family had come 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 Freemen was the Linus family. The welder had two wives — his first wife was in the cooking team, and his son was Benjamin, the standout performer. 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 become 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 formed Javier family claimed the last Bronze Token. Javier used it himself and advanced to Three-Star.

That immediately 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 Freemen 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 Freemen 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 Freemen's approval of the Scavenger Camp has increased. You have earned 50 Prestige points. Current total: 240 points."]

—

Good. Time to execute the next step.

Li Wei immediately operated through the Prestige System.

["Appointment: Level 3 Freeman Nelson is appointed as interim first Head of Freemen, responsible for resolving disputes and conflicts among Freemen and assisting the lord with work-related matters. Term: three months. After the Quarterly Settlement, the next Head of Freemen will be elected by all Freemen. The Head of Freemen receives double wages during their term."]

["Appointment: Level 3 Freeman Javier is appointed as manager of Warehouses No. 3 and No. 4. Barring major misconduct, the appointment is ongoing. He is also eligible to run for concurrent Head of Freemen in the next quarter."]

["Appointment: Level 3 Freeman Linus is appointed as Camp Chief Engineer, responsible for maintenance, fabrication, and installation matters within the camp. Barring major misconduct, the appointment is ongoing. He is also eligible to run for concurrent Head of Freemen in the next quarter."]

["Appointment: Level 3 Freeman Ellen is appointed as Warehouse No. 2 Manager and Head Chef. Barring major misconduct, the appointment is ongoing. She is eligible to run for concurrent Head of Freemen."]

["Appointment: Level 3 Freeman Jenny is appointed as Market Manager. Barring major misconduct, the appointment is ongoing. She is eligible to run for concurrent Head of Freemen."]

["Appointment: Level 3 Freeman Benjamin is appointed as captain of the First Patrol Squad, commanding four members: Kent, Cecia, William, and Zhao Mingyang. Barring major misconduct, the appointment is ongoing. He is eligible to run for Head of Freemen."]

["Appointment: Level 3 Freeman Santiago is appointed as captain of the Second Patrol Squad, commanding four members: Wilda, Delphine, Oliver, and Henry. Barring major misconduct, the appointment is ongoing. He is eligible to run for Head of Freemen."]

["Appointment: Level 3 Freeman Xavier is appointed as Camp Transport Captain, commanding two members. Barring major misconduct, the appointment is ongoing. He is eligible to run for Head of Freemen."]

—

This cascade of appointment notifications sent another wave of excitement through the Freemen. 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 something great.