Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!-Chapter 803 - 583 Taking Office and Lighting Three Fires_2

"Then don't let them cause any trouble." Bai E's gaze shifted coldly. "Whether or not there are beggars in a city doesn't depend on the beggars themselves. If you don't have the confidence to govern this city, then let someone who does take over. My orders are declarations, not discussions. From now on, I don't want to hear any interruptions."

"..." The man, boiling with anger, tried to say something more.

But his companion, sitting beside him, frantically tugged at him in fear of getting blood on himself, pulling him down.

"Stop talking! Do you want to die?!"

The whispered reminder from his companion brought the bloody images of last night's corpses flooding back, chilling his heart.

It felt like a basin of cold water had been poured over his head, and reason returned to the high ground of his mind.

'What was I just doing?!'

The man plopped back into his seat, not daring to utter another word.

Bai E's eyelids drooped slightly as he continued issuing his orders.

"The final order... Starting today, Grey Iron City and our Blackwater City will form a mutual defense and offense alliance, advancing and retreating as one. If one city is attacked by an external enemy, the other will launch an unconditional full-scale counterattack. The two cities will engage in comprehensive exchanges, from economic trade to scientific technology. Everyone should mentally prepare in advance."

Although the doctor spoke of complete subordination, Bai E could not treat Grey Iron City entirely as a subordinate. Necessary equality and respect had to be maintained.

"What?!"

"Holy shit?!"

"Grey Iron City?"

"When did this happen?!"

Even though Bai E had already stated that he didn't want to hear any more irrelevant interruptions, the room buzzed uncontrollably after this directive was announced.

Forming such a deep alliance with another city should logically involve the entire city's participation in the decision-making process.

Yet the fact that Bai E had quietly secured such an alliance with another city demonstrated his significant standing—even in that city.

'City Lord Bai E, you're seriously impressive.'

At that moment, this singular thought echoed in the minds of countless people.

["Lucky Strike" charge +50.]

The council ended amidst a wave of resentment, shock, and confusion.

The overwhelming impact of Bai E's decisions left many people unable to fully process them.

Even after Bai E's departure, the few remaining groups in the assembly hall gathered in threes and fives, discussing the heavy news he had announced.

"The first two decrees were still manageable, but that third one—it's going to kill us, isn't it?"

"But aren't the first two also pretty ruthless? I never thought the City Lord, as someone with a synthetic origin, could come up with such ideas."

"Must be someone advising him behind the scenes, right? I heard that Helen from the Scientific Research Institute has a close relationship with the City Lord. Those researchers are all brilliant minds— even if they're not working on technology, the city still depends on them."

"It's more than just that. I heard Aglaya from the Spirit Management Center also has a special relationship with the City Lord. Apparently, back when the City Lord's spiritual energy potential was discovered, she personally covered it up, completely blindsiding everyone."

The speaker's eyes flickered with dread as they glanced toward a lone silhouette standing in the distant corner.

As they discussed ways to rationally and subtly resist the new City Lord, they had to tread carefully around any potential "moles" who might be friendly with him.

Yet even amidst their murmuring, an angry voice suddenly burst forth, starkly arrogant. "Good my ass! Which one of these decrees is actually good? Do they think our Treasury is magically replenished by the wind? Free medical checkups, free treatments, free education... everything's free—where the hell's the money supposed to come from? He wants money? Fine, I'll give him money! I'll empty the entire city's reserves for him! And then let's see how he plans to fix such a massive deficit!"

At the City Lord's residence...

Helen and the doctor, who were planning with Bai E, shared the same doubt. "How are you going to fill such a massive deficit?"

"Yeah, labor resources can be addressed with enough force, like it or not. But a shortfall in material resources is tangible. You're planning so many major initiatives at once, it'll be really hard to plug that gap."

One was experienced in governing a city; the other, well-versed in the inner workings of their own city, had a decent grasp of the details.

The two stared at Bai E, waiting for him to offer a reasonable solution.

Bai E rubbed his face, his muffled voice breaking the silence. "I'll handle the resource issue."

Although he didn't particularly like using certain methods to acquire resources, resource scarcity was the city's most significant constraint for now.

Resources were necessary not just for the city's prosperous future but also for building the Starship they dreamed of.

In the absence of external threats, humanity's exploitation of wild resources could only be safer, though always limited by manpower and time constraints.

Only his unique advantage allowed him to bypass all reasoning, delivering resources as if by divine intervention.

The boldness of this claim was shocking. The two brilliant minds knew the enormity of the task.

But since Bai E had made his stance clear, they decided to trust him for now.

"Alright, I'll proceed with directly handing over the inventory lists," Helen said, standing up.

"I'll negotiate with your Treasury Department. Without the resource deficit in consideration, I don't think there will be major issues in the negotiations."

"Thank you both," Bai E said softly, expressing his gratitude.

After sending the two on their way, Bai E turned to Kiro Lan, who had been waiting behind him all along.

"Everything you mentioned earlier—has it been handled?"

The rumors revealing the true hero behind the destruction of the Blackrock District Hive had been disseminated by Kiro Lan.

Bai E didn't care about empty accolades, but acquiring the necessary resources required him to make this move.

Back in his military days, he had already experienced the benefits of a good reputation. Simply showing up and making appearances was enough to earn him a significant number of energy charges.

What was once only a military camp had now expanded to an entire city.

If he didn't take advantage of this opportunity to gather as much energy as possible, he'd be doing a disservice to his long-unused cheat ability.

"All taken care of." Kiro Lan, smiling with satisfaction, gazed at Bai E. "My lord, we can depart anytime."

Kiro Lan was elated to see Bai E finally acknowledge his own singular brilliance.

Ideas like "building the nation through technology" paled in comparison to the unifying belief in a clear and resolute goal.

What this era lacked wasn't technology but a genuine belief to guide people out of the abyss of confusion.

As the only True God walking this world, Bai E should have long recognized and accepted the natural aura of divinity surrounding him.

Even Morphie, standing behind Kiro Lan, gazed approvingly at the True God he both loved and hated.

Whatever misguided actions Bai E had shown in the past, at least this time, he was finally heading in the right direction.

Only a deity fervently worshiped by their believers could exercise the authority befitting a god.

"Let's go," Bai E sighed lightly, unwilling to explain further.

After all, this sort of thing defied explanation!

"Understood!"

...

"The great hero has arrived! The great hero has arrived!"

"The great hero who destroyed the Hive and quelled the chaos has arrived!"

"Is he really our new City Lord? So young and handsome..."

"I told you! Not just anyone can become the City Lord, can they? Only a paragon of virtue and talent like him could win everyone's support!"

"Did you hear about the decrees announced earlier by the district officials? Our new City Lord issued them right after taking office! Free medical checkups, free healthcare, free education! And if we're fortunate enough to be selected, we might even be groomed as key talents for the city! They say he fought for ages with the nobles to push these through!"

"Oh, City Lord, I'll have your babies!"

With a smile on his face, Bai E waved to the crowd as he passed, though his heart was as still as a dead sea.