Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 663 The Meeting in Torii Town (Part 2)

"It is not a wise or rational choice for the new mayor to entrust the fate of the entire town of Torii and its more than 5000 residents to a single object," George Zhang objected.

“This is a deterrent, understand?” Iron Arm stood up, walked up to George Zhang, and retorted on behalf of Artyom:

"In the Second Age, the nation with the most elite knights was considered to have strong military power, and surrounding tribes and nations dared not invade. In the early Third Age, whoever possessed firearms had enough influence among tribes, and even other nations dared not attack."

"Do you know why, in the later stages of the Third Era, the entire history of Crusad records the old empire's external expansion but not any large-scale attacks by external countries? That's because the empire possesses a vast number of 'Heavenly Punishment Flames,' and a single Heavenly Punishment Flame can wipe out the entire army stationed in the city of Nebusk. In other words, the 'Heavenly Punishment Flames' are the old empire's deterrent, while the 'Relics of the Chosen Ones' are our Torii Town's deterrent."

Faced with Iron Arm's barrage of verbal attacks, George Zhang was clearly overwhelmed, and the coalition he represented within the town fell silent along with him. After all, Iron Arm's reasons were compelling enough, and reality had proven that uniting with external forces was ultimately a dead end.

Artyom was very satisfied with Iron Arm's performance. In this "temporary supplies meeting", Artyom not only needed to completely erase the achievements of the former mayor, but also to expose his sins to the public so as to completely ruin his reputation, thereby proving the rationality and legitimacy of Artyom's succession to the position of mayor.

Moreover, Artyom must thoroughly crack down on the coalition faction that originally followed the mayor. Only by making them completely reject their original strategy and return the town to a neutral position can he ensure that the town can achieve absolute peace in the complex power struggle that is about to take place in the post-Shaneva era.

"Therefore, Commander Artyom, I suggest that the town must maintain a neutral stance in order to gain more benefits in the subsequent power struggle. If I cooperate with Nabsk, Hoputov, North and South Ukhata, or Novayask, or even any of the Lost Ones, I will inevitably become their vassal." Iron Arm stood beside Artyom, facing the attendees below, and said:

"Even without extraordinary artifacts like the 'Relics of the Chosen Ones,' a sufficient stockpile of things like 'Heavenly Punishment Fire' or heavy weapons can still serve as a deterrent. As long as the surrounding powers understand that attacking us would result in mutual destruction and be a losing proposition, we can hope to replace the official trading post in just over a decade."

Artyom nodded in affirmation and said:
“I agree with Iron Arm’s view; his ideas align with mine. I think that in order to establish a possible strategic deterrence, we must procure as many supplies as possible from various places before the chaos of war fully arrives, establish our own military factories, and expand the town’s size to accommodate more people.”

“I have a plan regarding the procurement of supplies and the expansion of the town.” George Zhang stood up, handed Artyom a thick printed plan, and distributed a copy to each of the main military council officers in the front row for review.

Artyom pretended to read carefully for a while before slowly speaking:

"Please take a look first. George will briefly explain the contents of the plan in a moment. After he finishes his presentation, we will vote by raising our hands."

It was only then that Dak realized that the entire "temporary supplies meeting," which appeared to be a heated discussion about the future development of the town, was actually a play staged by Artyom in an attempt to completely seize power in Torii Town, with George Chang and Iron Arm cooperating with him.

However, at least the military council and residents' representatives in Torii Town are united and of one mind. Perhaps the previous mayor, Angelica, did indeed plunder the town excessively, causing the residents to accumulate long-term resentment. The town is now extremely resistant to cooperating with outside forces.

The delegates either ignored Artyom's subtle actions in their extreme anger, or even if they discovered Artyom's intentions, they still had to play along and continue the charade.

After all, even for human beings, taking control of one's own destiny is the core essence of becoming a truly independent person.

The town representatives debated George's proposal for almost half an hour before the noise subsided at Artyom's voice.

At this moment, Dark also shook Wright, who had been dozing off and sleeping for a long time, and together they focused their attention on George, who had walked up to Artyom.

"Now, let me briefly explain my plan." George Zhang's voice was slightly hoarse, but still very robust and powerful. He introduced himself to the town representative:
"Now that Shaneva has been confirmed dead, the 'Heavenly Punishment Fire' originally stored in Khotov and Novayask is being secretly sold by the Federation army. The price is about 2000 New Dollars per unit, or equivalent supplies. I plan to personally go to Novayask and Khotov to exchange some of the food and ore here, as well as the paper money I have left, for 10 'Heavenly Punishment Fire' units as military reserves."

"Commander Artyom and I speculate that once this brief period of peace is over, the paper money previously issued by the Federation will depreciate rapidly. Although the Federation Council has corresponding reserves of materials and precious metals for any paper money issuance, and successive governors have been very cautious about the issuance of paper money, after the fall of Icefall City at the end of December, a large amount of materials were destroyed or fell into the hands of the lost, resulting in a severe short-term depreciation of the paper money."

"If it weren't for Commander Shaneva issuing the 'Emergency Order for Stabilizing the Value of the New Ruble,' which forcibly used Novayask's resources to meet some of the exchange demand, the value of the paper money would probably have collapsed long ago. Currently, the town has a total of more than 65 yuan in federal banknotes from various periods. After exchanging them for 'Heavenly Punishment Fire,' there will still be more than 63 yuan left."

"So how do we use the remaining money to purchase supplies?" asked the military commission officer sitting in the front row.

"Of that, I plan to go with Commander Artyom to the official trading posts in the south to exchange 30 yuan for steel, timber, cement, lime, clay, sand, gravel, and rare metals, as well as to purchase several trucks for transporting supplies," George Zhang explained.
"The detailed project list is in your hands. In addition, we need to purchase a batch of copper, a batch of ready-made weapons, and some live poultry and seeds to ensure subsequent agricultural production. This time, we will purchase raw materials as much as possible, and avoid buying any finished or semi-finished products to save costs."

"I plan to exchange the remaining 30 yuan for precious metals after I go to Nebusk with several federal officials attending the meeting, to increase the town's financial reserves. As for the town's expansion, I plan to build three material production factories and two weapons production factories in an area on the edge of farmland, in a corner of the Divine Mountain, where it is difficult to be hit by artillery fire."

"Simultaneously, a vault and two underground supply depots will be built near the administrative building in the center of the town square to increase the supply of goods. Also, to ensure the town's successful establishment as a trading post, a law enforcement committee will need to be established in the town square to handle disputes. A trading post can be built on the wasteland in the southern part of the town. At numbers 05-08 in the town center, the abandoned buildings can be merged to form a row of inns for traveling merchants or federal officers. These buildings are expected to help generate revenue for the town after the trading post is established."

“George’s explanation was very simple, but the details are all in his documents. If anyone didn’t understand them, they can ask me for them after the meeting. Now, let’s vote on George’s ‘Future Construction Plan’ and ‘Materials Procurement Plan.’ Raise your hand if you agree,” Artyom called out.

Soon, after a few seconds of hesitation, as the military commission officers in the front row began to raise their hands, most of the resident representatives in the back also raised their right hands to indicate their agreement.

However, Duck and Wright, who were sitting at the back, noticed that the approval rate of this plan was significantly lower than that of the original "judgment plan," but supporters still exceeded 70%, which can be considered an absolute majority.

After the main agenda items were approved, Artyom visibly breathed a sigh of relief, the gloom on his face vanished, and his previously tense body completely relaxed. The rest of the meeting consisted mostly of casual conversation, discussing agricultural production, the construction of roads in the town, the maintenance and development of "God's Edge Mountain," and the town's birth policy, among other things.

Around 12:30, Artyom brought up the topic of "the chosen one's relics" again.

“The ‘Relics of the Chosen One’ still need to be excavated, but our Torii Town is fortunate enough. Yesterday, before the battle of ‘The Fall of Atlas’ was even completely over, the town welcomed four officers from Nebusk. One of them is highly connected to the ‘Prophecy of the Chosen One.’” Artyom stood up, gestured to Wright sitting in the last row, and said:

"Please rise, Commander Light Socrates, so that the townspeople may have a look."

“Okay.” Wright nodded in agreement and stood up.

As he stood up, Dark helped him take off the cotton coat that was used to cover the "Dark Touch".

Suddenly, the eight dark, writhing "Touches of Darkness" behind him were revealed to all the military commission officers and delegates present, eliciting gasps of amazement.

"Is this... a monster?"

"The Losers!"

"No, it should be the person mentioned in the oracle."

"Gods, absolutely gods. At the very least... they are also humans with 'divinity'."

"He won't hurt us, will he?"

The attendees had varying reactions; some were quite surprised, some were satisfied, and others were worried that Wright might suddenly attack, so they got up from their chairs and ran out of the "meeting room" in fear to hide.

Seeing the behavior of the attendees, Dark sneered, stood up, slammed his badge on the table, and said:

“We are all officers of the Federation and would never do anything to harm you. Ask yourselves honestly, even if the most wicked officer came here, at most he would only requisition some supplies, right? Besides, Wright and I are from the former Administrator Vasily and the current Administrator Shaneva.”

"But it does look scary, like we've dragged in a lost soul." Even Iron Arm, a superhuman who had experienced many wars, expressed his dissatisfaction in a low voice.

Just then, Artyom "appropriately" explained to Dark and Wright:

“They are indeed Federation officers, not outcasts, as my wife Hefeng Eva has confirmed. Moreover, when our children were in danger, Commander Dak risked his own life to protect them, which shows that he is different from those officers who only care about personal gain. Commander Dak, why don’t you give a brief self-introduction?”

“Alright, Mayor Artyom.” Dark cleared his throat, then coughed twice deliberately, and said:

"Wright and I are currently both under the Federal Council's Strategic Group. Due to the passing of Commander Shaneva, we do not hold specific positions. I am a Dark Star Rank 4, while Wright is a Dark Star Rank 5. Both of our positions were appointed by Commander Shaneva at the request of Commander Nebrius."

"As for our abilities, I can only reveal two things to you. First, our magic source order is all Order 3: Combat; second, we have all slain gods. I fought against the Lost Ones and alien monsters in Mayang City for three years, and also participated in the battles of the 'Bitter Ruins' and 'Crimson Illusion Ruins,' as well as the actions against the Lost Ones of the 'Dedication Group.'"

“If you don’t believe me, look here!” Dark said, raising Wright’s right arm. After making eye contact with him for a second, Wright activated the “Spy Bracelet” on his wrist.

Instantly, a few wisps of their faint magical energy flowed into it, reacting with the power in the "Peeping Bracelet" and reflecting a pure white radiance comparable to a sacred place. This made the originally dim "meeting room" incredibly bright, as if it were filled with continuously powered incandescent light bulbs.

A few seconds later, Wright and Dark withdrew their magical energy. They stood confidently among the attendees, looking like a pair of martial arts masters from Khitanris.

“This kind of strength is probably even greater than the elite officers of the Federal Council. Within the entire Federation, apart from a few leaders of the Lost Ones, probably no one is stronger than them,” Iron Arm blurted out involuntarily.

“That’s right.” Artyom chimed in at the opportune moment:
"If Dark and Commander Wright wanted to eliminate us here, we would probably have no chance of resistance. Even if we used heavy weapons, we would suffer heavy losses to barely achieve victory. But for now, at least for the time being, Torii Town is still under the jurisdiction of the Crusad Federation. Dark and Commander Wright have no reason to attack us civilians. On the contrary, they have promised to help us find the 'Relics of the Choosers'."

"Therefore, I suggest that the search for the 'Relics of the Chosen Ones' be formally entrusted to officials from the Federation, such as Dark and Wright, and our town will assist them in achieving their goal as much as possible. Those who agree, please raise your hands!"

Dark and Wright noticed that everyone present raised their right hands, even the representatives who had been hiding by the door rushed back inside and raised their right arms in agreement.