From Gotham to Night City, my infamy is known to all.

"Hmm...that's fine too."

V was slightly disappointed to hear that they couldn't fight, but protecting Leo was obviously more important, so they decided to leave it at that.

After calming V down, the two stood on the hill for a while, enjoying a moment of leisure amidst their busy schedules.

By noon, when the sunlight was getting intense, they returned to the wanderers' camp to check on their progress.

"Hello, boss!"

"Hello, chief!"

"Long live Boss L!"

A jumble of slogans were shouted from different people.

The true nature of Wings of Liberty as a makeshift operation is now fully revealed.

Leo nodded or waved, responding generously to his underlings' greetings, and quickly found his target in the crowd.

"Jack, is everything going smoothly?"

Hearing his call, Jack, who was surrounded by the crowd, quickly came over.

The group walked to a corner of the camp and found a relatively quiet place.

"Phew... I'm really tired. I talked more today than I usually do in a week."

Jack wiped the sweat from his forehead with his wrist and drank a bottle of water in a few gulps.

Although these words were a complaint, judging from the excited look on his face, he was clearly enjoying himself.

Sure enough, he changed his tone the next sentence: "But seriously, I only feel like I've really become a big shot today! Dozens of good lads and lads from Heywood were surrounding me, calling me 'Big Brother' nonstop! I've never felt this powerful when I was in the gang!"

Leo chuckled, picked up a bottle of purified water, and took a few sips: "This is nothing. Wings of Freedom only has about two hundred people right now. It'll get really lively in a few days when the purge order is spread."

Jack imagined the scene and suddenly felt that the water he had just drunk was fake, and why was his throat still so dry?

After chatting with him for a few minutes and confirming that everything was going smoothly, Leo asked him to call over the leaders so they could decide on a charter for the new gang.

This mess won't do. If Wings of Liberty is going to develop into a regular army, then we need to build the most basic framework from the very beginning.

Chapter 281 The Regular Army Called "Gangs"

Jack strode away and returned a few minutes later with several important figures.

Considering the large number of people and conspicuous places in the open, they moved to the Bright family's operations command center.

Stepping into the carriage, the cool light from above dispelled the desert heat.

After a simple adjustment, a few more chairs were added to the small space.

The simple roundtable meeting thus began.

On Leo's side, he and V occupied two seats, while Jack stood at the entrance as a guard.

Besides the three of them, there were five other attendees:

Saul Bright, the patriarch of the Bright family.

Marvin Ashton, the patriarch of the Ashton family.

Joey Durant, the face of the Durant family.

Cedric Mahler, the spokesperson for the Red Ochre tribe.

The middleman in the eastern suburbs—Dakota Smith.

Although the number of people present was small, they all represented a small force and were considered to have some influence in the eastern suburbs.

Leo took off his mask and casually placed it aside.

His handsome Eastern face further reinforced the stereotypes people had of him.

His gaze, sharp as a hawk's, slowly swept across the faces of the crowd.

"Those of you here are all leaders of your respective factions, and you should understand one principle: without rules, there can be no order. Now that the Wings of Freedom are officially established, it is time to formulate an organizational structure so that members can clearly understand their respective responsibilities and relationships."

“I referenced the existing gang structures in Night City and decided to learn from the original Sixth Street Gang, using a military-style structure for management.”

He took out a small box containing chips and distributed the discrete chips to everyone.

After they had all seen the message, Leo continued:

"To facilitate management, I directly adopted the old US military rank system and made minor modifications—"

All new members who do not have special contributions or talents start as privates.

New recruits participate in training while performing missions, and those who do not commit any major errors within three months are automatically promoted to privates.

Similarly, a private will automatically be promoted to private first class after three months. After that, they will need to undergo assessments or earn merit to be promoted further. Salary and benefits are detailed in the appendix.

The leaders immediately perked up at the mention of "salary and benefits".

They were willing to help L, who was mysterious, had an unclear background, and unclear motives, to form a gang, all for his money!

Soldiers are fed and paid—everything else is secondary; real money is what they care about most!

Salary and Benefits

[Private, monthly salary of one thousand euros, equivalent to a scavenger.]

[Private first class, monthly salary 1,500 euros, equivalent to a temporary worker.]

[Private First Class, monthly salary of 2,000 euros, equivalent to entry-level blue-collar workers, waiters, etc.]

[Corporal, monthly salary of 3,000 euros, comparable to that of a typical blue-collar worker or truck driver]

[Sergeant... Staff Sergeant... Sergeant Major...]

They discovered that at the rank of sergeant major, the monthly salary reached five thousand euros, which met the minimum standard for corporate employees.

For low-level employees and security personnel in small and medium-sized enterprises, the pre-tax salary is usually around this amount.

The highest military rank recorded in the separate chip was captain, whose treatment was comparable to that of a company executive, making several leaders extremely envious.

What concerned them even more was that L even provided subsidies.

[Disability allowance, a one-time compensation of 5 months' salary. If the injury occurs during the course of duty, the injured person will be transferred to a less demanding logistical position.]

[The death benefit is a one-time compensation of 10 months' salary, paid to a pre-designated beneficiary. If there is no beneficiary, it will be paid in the following order: immediate family, extended family, and extended family.]

This is what sets them apart from other gangs.

In Night City, human life is cheap. Gangs may avenge their dead members for various reasons, but they won't give them compensation.

Basically, once the person leaves, the relationship cools down; at most, close friends might help take care of the relatives.

L's organizational structure has evolved indefinitely towards that of a regular army...

Opportunities and risks go hand in hand; that's the leaders' view.

But now the young people in the family are flocking to join Wings of Liberty, so there's no point in them saying anything; they can only follow him down this path to the bitter end.

Leo paused for a moment, took a sip of water, and waited for them to calm down before continuing:

"Considering that vehicles are the most common mode of transportation in the badlands of the eastern suburbs, I decided to set up a basic action team of four people, with a team leader who would receive a monthly allowance of 250 euros."

The class consists of three groups, with one class leader and a monthly stipend of 500 euros.

Three squads form a platoon, three platoons form a company, and three companies form a battalion. Larger formations aren't needed for now; we'll consider them later when we expand. Any questions?

The leaders looked at each other in bewilderment.

They had no questions about the organizational structure, since L had explained it in a very clear and easy-to-understand way, and had also provided generous salaries and reasonable promotion paths.

The question is... is this still a "gang"?

Whose gang is this organized...?

If you add some discipline and ideological education, wouldn't this be a regular army?

As the "messenger," Saul received the silent urging from his future colleagues and could only bite the bullet and ask, "Isn't this too high-profile? Will other big companies tolerate us?"

Leo waved his hand dismissively: "It's alright. Before the gang grows too large to arouse suspicion, I will establish a company and, at the appropriate time, lead the gang to become legitimate, turning it into the company's security department. I'm keeping the gang's name only so that you can integrate reasonably into the grassroots; essentially, you are all reserves for the company's army."

Company army!?

Upon hearing of this possibility, the leaders exchanged glances, their eyes revealing barely suppressed excitement.

Although everyone verbally calls company employees "company dogs," if given such an opportunity, who wouldn't want to have a powerful backer, someone to shelter under?

Seeing that no one objected, Leo crossed his arms and placed them on the table. His gaze swept over everyone from left to right, and he said loudly:

"Those who can participate in the first meeting are all veterans of Wings of Liberty, so I can give you a relatively high starting point—"

Marvin, Joey, Cedric.

He read out the three names aloud.

The three leaders stood up instinctively, without even realizing that there was anything wrong with it.

Leo was pleased with their response: "You have all brought your own people to join the Wings of Liberty, and the numbers are not much different. I appoint the three of you as first-class warrant officers, and you will be responsible for coordinating your own people."

"Yes!"

"Thanks for your trust!"

The three men seemed very excited—don't underestimate this warrant officer's rank, it's already the pinnacle of non-commissioned officers, the next step is to become an officer!

"Well, sit down."

Leo looked at Thor again.

The head of the Bright family stood up.

"Sol, you were the first person I contacted, and you did a great job with the task I assigned you. I'm appointing you as a second-class warrant officer."

"Yes, I will do my best!"

Although they became superior and subordinate in just one day, a rather bizarrely fast pace, Thor knew very well that when there were real benefits to be had, the first thing to do was to seize them!

The benefits you actually receive are what truly matter; everything else can be considered later.

After he sat down, everyone's eyes turned to the older Dakota.

Upon closer reflection, this meeting participant's situation was indeed awkward—she was a middleman, and the mercenaries under her command were in an employer-employee relationship with her, so she didn't actually have much control over them.

In addition, L herself seemed to dislike mercenaries, which led to her becoming a true lone commander.

“Dakota…” Leo hesitated. “The Eastern Suburbs will inevitably be controlled by the Wings of Freedom in the future. I can give you a chance now, allowing you to join the organization as an individual. From now on, you will be responsible for coordinating the relationship between the mercenaries and the Wings of Freedom, making them our allies, not obstacles. What do you think?”

Dakota sighed.

The lines on her face are the marks left by the hardships of life. Having seen all sorts of things, her wisdom in surviving naturally far surpasses that of ordinary people.

She could foresee the dramatic changes that were about to take place in the eastern suburbs, and that a middleman like her, without any powerful backing, could not stop L's progress.

If you can't beat them... then join them.

"I'd like to join."

"Very good, then I will also appoint you as a first-class warrant officer, and I look forward to your performance."

"Yes."

Five mid-level leaders are in place, which is sufficient for the current size of the gang.

Leo pulled them into a small group and introduced them to the last member: "Let's all get to know each other. This is the leader of Wings of Liberty—Crimson."

An indistinct figure sat in the space engulfed in flames, raised an arm that shimmered with red light, and greeted the crowd.

Thor and the others were stunned.

"You...aren't you the leader?"

Leo slowly shook his head, a half-smile on his face: "I am the founder of the company, how can I be the head of a gang? You can regard me as the gang's benefactor, but my name and the names of my team members will not appear on the gang's roster."

"An agent...?"

Dakota had dealt with the company quite a bit and was very familiar with their usual methods.

Just as everyone knows that the Tiger Claw Gang is backed by Arasaka and the Sixth Street Gang is backed by military technology, the real masterminds behind the scenes will never step into the limelight.

L clearly intends to take this path as well.

Leo didn't care what they thought and continued, "Crimson is a professional officer I poached with a high salary. Her rank is brigadier general, and she will be in charge of all affairs of the Wings of Freedom from now on."

The warrant officers quickly greeted their superiors.