Chapter 10: The Treatment Issue
After finalizing the relevant matters with Li Xiniwei, Su Xiao began handling the subsequent affairs.
First was the treatment issue for the pig-headed people. Previously, a total of 36 pig-headed people had dared to stand up and resist. In the charge against the guards of the vassal clans, only 6 of those 36 survived, namely Hausmann, Steel Fang, and the others.
The remaining 637 pig-headed people continued to be responsible for mining. These pig-headed people were actually reserve combat forces, and their treatment couldn't be poor either. Their working hours were reduced from 20 hours a day to 12 hours a day. In the future, when there were more people, an 8-hour shift would be more reliable. Three groups of pig-headed people would be responsible for one mine pit, rotating every 8 hours, just enough to keep operations running 24 hours non-stop.
If it were wartime, all pig-headed people who needed to participate in battle would stop mining to conserve their strength.
Besides working hours, there was also the food issue. There were still 50 units of premium food left. If they ate freely, it would last about 8 days. That was fine; within 2 to 3 days, Su Xiao would go to the fortress city of the "Watchtower" for a major procurement.
After arranging both working hours and food issues, the next thing was rest. Originally, the pig-headed people slept in troughs, which were very unfavorable for forming groups, meaning they couldn't cultivate a sense of unity. This had to be changed.
On the third floor of the fortress, there were many multi-person dormitories previously used by the vassal clans, which could accommodate about 200 pig-headed people. For the remaining 400-plus people, the troughs were dismantled and thrown out. Then, bedding was taken from the warehouse, and they slept on the floor on the first floor. Pig-headed people wouldn't catch cold or anything. The bedding was used to mark sleeping spots and cultivate a sense of group identity.
The troughs couldn't be kept; they all had to be thrown out without exception. The pig-headed people were used to sleeping in them. If they weren't thrown out, they would still crawl back in. The more they crawled in, the more docile they became. How could they fight in the future?
After arranging these matters, Su Xiao had Hausmann execute them, with Li Xiniwei assisting.
Su Xiao needed a pig-headed person who could help him with trivial matters. Hausmann had cultivation value. As for Steel Fang, that idiot was becoming increasingly fierce, but he was still obedient.
Indeed, the person Steel Fang feared most was Su Xiao, followed by Hausmann, then Baha, and that was it. This pig-headed person had awakened his nature in a short time. He was an idiot, but his fierceness carried a dull, ruthless cruelty.
Su Xiao's decisions sent chills down Li Xiniwei's spine. He was a smart person and vaguely guessed something, but he didn't show it at all.
Was Li Xiniwei a vassal? A hidden danger? No problem. In the afternoon, take him to raid a few fortresses, and he would become one of their own.
By then, if Li Xiniwei reported all this to the "Vassal Alliance," it would be like reporting himself. Robbing the fortresses within this territory was equivalent to stealing money from the "Vassal Alliance."
From the moment Su Xiao took control of the Doomsday Fortress, it became a pirate ship. Once on board, unless you became a corpse, there was no getting off.
Over an hour later, Amu arrived. The small door of the fortress opened, and after entering through the climbing ladder, Amu saw the pig-headed people busy dismantling the troughs.
The number of vassals in the fortress had decreased further, from 40 to 20. Previously, Li Xiniwei had said that 100 vassals must be kept to maintain the fortress. That was nonsense. The fortress was a living thing and didn't require manual labor to keep it running.
Li Xiniwei was a ruthless merchant. He knew that Su Xiao wouldn't leave 40 hidden dangers in the fortress. So, Li Xiniwei selected 20 vassals who were closer to him and told them that if they wanted to live, they had to kill one of their former colleagues. Having the blood of a colleague on their hands meant they had leverage. Only then could they survive on this pirate ship.
At this moment, these 20 vassals had survived in this way. They directed the pig-headed people to dismantle the troughs. A strange scene appeared. The pig-headed people, who had been submissive and barely surviving, didn't seem as obedient anymore. When they looked at Hausmann and Steel Fang, there seemed to be admiration and envy in their eyes.
This change made the 20 vassals, who were used to speaking in a scolding tone, become much more amiable toward the pig-headed people. Steel Fang muttered something to himself, his gaze constantly wandering among the 20 vassals. This guy was becoming increasingly fierce, but he had a principle: if no one provoked him, he would never hurt anyone. He had been oppressed by the vassal overseers before and knew how bad that felt, so he didn't bully others.
The attitude of these ordinary vassals didn't matter. In the entire vassal clan, what truly dominated were those with supernatural abilities and strength. The vassal soldiers of the "Vassal Alliance" were the real enemies.
After several hundred pig-headed people worked for three hours, all the troughs were dismantled. The main gate of the fortress opened, and the pig-headed people carried the troughs toward the Oxbow Lake.
They not only had to throw the troughs far away but also take a bath in the lake. This was something Bubu Wang had emphasized many times. Every time he went to the first floor, he felt his nose was stung, and it was a bit overwhelming.
At noon that day, not only did all the pig-headed people take a bath and change into new miner uniforms, but Baha also directed them to do a thorough cleaning of the fortress. Needless to say, when you came to the first floor of the fortress now, the air was several grades fresher.
In the dining hall on the third floor, the sounds of chewing and swallowing food rose and fell in succession. The place was almost full of pig-headed people. Six people sat at each table, facing each other. They held large metal food containers measuring 45 cm long and 30 cm wide, filled with mostly rice. The rice was soaked in meat broth, accompanied by mushy vegetables, two eggs, and several large pieces of poultry.
The improvement in food had an obvious effect. After a good meal, it was inevitable to get carried away. Some pig-headed people began to talk in low voices. When they thought this might lead to having their tongues cut off, they immediately fell silent. But then they remembered that this rule had been abolished, and no one cared if they talked to each other.
Different environments lead to different behavior patterns. Take, for example, the pig-headed people in the dining hall at this moment.
Su Xiao stood up and left the dining hall. Not long after he left, the conversation in the dining hall gradually faded, eventually becoming completely silent. All the pig-headed people stopped talking.
These pig-headed people weren't stupid. They all knew that Su Xiao had killed those vassals. The changes in working hours, food, and resting places were also orders from Su Xiao. When Su Xiao was present, these pig-headed people felt an inexplicable courage. But when Su Xiao left, they no longer chatted casually, subconsciously worrying again about the rule of having their tongues cut off for casual conversation.
Many people thought that part of the pig-headed people's genes came from domestic pigs. Actually, that wasn't the case. Although they had pig-like genes, they came from the "Yakailuo Red Wild Boar."
This choice was made for the pig-headed people's strength and endurance. The rock layers containing active ore were extremely hard. In the era when machines were used for mining, more than 90% of the ore revenue went to compensating for mechanical wear and tear. The pig-headed people who replaced those large machines naturally had superior genes.
[Tip: The imprint has been 100% disguised. It is estimated that in 14 hours, the World Contact Platform will be activated. On this contact platform, all speakers are Apocalypse Paradise contractors.]
Su Xiao felt somewhat familiar with this situation. This was the third time his imprint had been disguised, and each time it was disguised as an Apocalypse Paradise imprint.
Descending to the first floor of the fortress, Su Xiao stopped in front of the main gate. An armored vehicle with its top removed was parked here. Bubu Wang was already in the driver's seat. This armored vehicle was... very distinctive.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Su Xiao tried to control the fortress to open the main gate. With a slight vibration, the fortress's main gate, nearly 8 meters wide and 12 meters high, opened outward, like a drawbridge lowering, turning into a ramp that allowed vehicles to pass.
Baha, Liechao, Li Xiniwei, Hausmann, and Steel Fang all got into the vehicle. Each of them wore a long coat made of animal hide, with the fur untreated and a hood design.
Not only that, but the lower half of their faces were covered with black skull-style metal masks. This outfit wasn't custom-made. Hunters and some scavengers usually dressed similarly.
What Su Xiao was about to do was something hunters and scavengers had been doing for years. Blaming them was standard procedure.
Bubu Wang floored the accelerator, and the open-top armored vehicle shot forward. After a moment, the Oxbow Lake gradually receded into the distance, with the wind whistling past their ears.
Su Xiao took out a map. According to Li Xiniwei, there was a "neighbor" 16 kilometers away. That fortress was also T5 level, rented by a pair of vassal siblings from a company in the "Alliance Fortress City."
In Li Xiniwei's words, that pair of vassal siblings was much more ruthless than him. They made the pig-headed people work 22 hours a day. If it weren't for the pig-headed people's strong physique and endurance, a large number would have already died from exhaustion.
Each nearby T5 fortress had 600 to 700 pig-headed people. If these pig-headed people were brought back, they could be used as reserve combat forces. Even if they couldn't become combatants, having them mine was still profitable.
If this caused trouble and the whereabouts of the pig-headed people were discovered, it would be fine. Just say they were bought from a group of hunters. Pig-headed people were indeed commodities in the eyes of the vassals, but this world didn't have the concept of stolen goods. Even if they went to the "Vassal Alliance's" tribunal, it would end up being dropped.
A distance of over ten kilometers wasn't far. Su Xiao just took a short nap. When he opened his eyes, he found that "T5·395 Fortress" was already ahead, no more than 1 kilometer away. Bubu Wang stopped the vehicle.
At the same time, on a distant low slope, a total of 12 people were lying in ambush, staring at the fortress a thousand meters away. They had been eyeing this target, planning to raid it along the way. According to intelligence from the contact platform, a T5-level fortress was something their 12-person team could handle.
This 12-person team came from Holy Light Paradise and was also a participant in this World Conquest War. At this stage, half of the World Core had lost its certification and was attracted to a certain place by the power of this world. The war wouldn't officially begin until the World Core was found. This was free time.
"When do we make a move?"
"Wait until after 9 PM. A few T5-level fortresses have biological cannons as defensive measures. Getting hit by one of those isn't pleasant."
A man with a ponytail spoke. In this team, there were 7 men and 5 women, including three healing-type contractors. In Holy Light Paradise, this situation wasn't uncommon.
"Everyone, a vehicle is approaching. The target is likely this fortress as well."
A perception-type mature woman spoke. Her voice was soft and seductive, making people's hearts flutter.
"Someone trying to cut in?"
The ponytail man's gaze turned hostile.
"Yes."
The perception-type woman opened her eyes as she spoke. She had already completed long-range detection.
"This is an Apocalypse Paradise contractor. He's brought his summons and some natives from this world. I didn't detect his detailed information. War worlds reduce the detection rank between contractors."
The perception-type woman paused, analyzed, and continued:
"This person is more than 80% likely a summoning-type. Without over 200 points of true charm attribute bonus, it's unlikely he could find native helpers so quickly. Plus, he has his summons with him. No mistake, this is an Apocalypse Paradise summoner."
After hearing this analysis, out of caution, the ponytail man asked, "Did you detect his imprint level?"
"Yes, Level 76."
"Damn, I thought he was some strong summoner, but he's just a noob from Apocalypse Paradise."
The others chimed in. One healing-type woman didn't speak. She wore a high-slit black dress and high heels. Her name was Guangmu.
Ever since being dealt with by Gray Gentleman, Guangmu had become exceptionally low-key. Participating in this World Conquest War, she immediately found a team. For the near future, she would remain like this. Her psychological shadow was too large, and she didn't want any more stimulation.
"Guangmu, what do you think?"
The ponytail man asked for Guangmu's opinion. Guangmu's strength was evident; she was the strongest in the team.
"Whatever."
Guangmu didn't want to get involved in any trouble, but that Apocalypse Paradise contractor was here to cut in. If they didn't act, it would be too unreasonable.
Hearing Guangmu say this, the ponytail man looked around at the others. After getting similar responses, he said, "Then let's eliminate this summoner. Although imprint level doesn't fully represent strength, a Level 76 imprint level means his strength is probably not great. When we act, don't make too much noise."
"Can't make much noise anyway. It's not like dealing with those lunatics from Reincarnation Paradise who self-destruct before death."
"True. Act according to the situation. If we catch him alive, we can make a fortune."
The ponytail man finished speaking, took out his water bottle, and took a sip, looking relaxed. It was understandable why they were so casual. Su Xiao's imprint was in a disguised state, making it hard to detect his detailed information. On the contrary, imprint levels were easy to detect since that was the aspect being disguised.
The lowest imprint level for the eighth rank was Lv.70. A Lv.76 imprint level meant he hadn't experienced many worlds, at most mid-level eighth rank.
The problem was that Su Xiao's imprint level was indeed Lv.76, but that was because he had reduced his imprint level once through rewards, plus experiencing the World of Paintings without increasing his imprint level. Otherwise, his imprint level would have already reached Lv.80.
On the overgrown low slope, a group of Holy Light Paradise contractors was ready to act. Guangmu stood at the back. Recently, she had learned a life lesson, which was:
'Cherish life, stay away from Gray Gentleman.'
Presumably, if Guangmu managed to survive this time, she would learn a second life lesson.
PS: (Three chapters, ten thousand words. Beginning of the month, asking for monthly tickets.)