Chapter 707: Uncle Wan's Warning
"What do you mean 'grow on your own'..." Sister Siwei said grimly. "Didn't you guide every single one of them to get where they are today?"
"Not entirely." Uncle Wan picked up the paper cup and took a sip, then said, "Remember what I told you from the very beginning? Everyone has a 'pain point' inside them. Once I grab hold of those 'pain points,' the crowd starts moving on their own. Seeking benefit and avoiding harm is only human nature—no one wants to 'hurt.' Like I said, I'm just a 'guide.'"
Sister Siwei let out a deep sigh after hearing that, then said, "Brother Wan, if I'm hearing you correctly, you're shirking responsibility, aren't you? Are you saying these people turning out like this has nothing to do with you at all? That they brought it on themselves?"
"That's not quite right either." Uncle Wan shook his head again. "Xiao Li, you might not know this, but hundreds of new members join our 'family' every single day now. I don't even have to do anything anymore—each 'team leader' helps me organize activities for everyone. Everything runs smoothly. In the days ahead, the pace of people gathering will only keep accelerating."
"What are you trying to say...?"
"You might find this hard to understand, but when a 'pyramid scheme' organization grows large enough, it stops being a 'pyramid scheme' and becomes more and more formalized." Uncle Wan took another drink, and his expression began to turn strange. "That's us right now. We're a massive organization that rules this city with an iron fist. We command over a thousand people, half of them 'Pure Fragrance Followers.' They're extremely loyal, all following my orders. Now almost every interview room has one of our family members in it. The moment someone arrives on the ground, they'll use professional scripts to bring their teammates here. All I have to do is close my eyes and collect their 'jade.' People flow in endlessly, wealth flows in endlessly. Do you think there's anyone on this land stronger than me?"
His stench was growing thicker. I couldn't help covering my mouth and nose.
"I admit your persuasive words always make people's hearts stir, but I can't agree with you this time." Sister Siwei's face was heavy as she replied. "First, this team is indeed 'loyal to the core,' but most of them have lost their own judgment. That means the 'leader's' ceiling determines their ceiling. They'll only follow your orders; they can't come up with anything you haven't thought of."
Uncle Wan nodded after hearing that, holding his paper cup with a thoughtful look in his eyes. "You have a point, Xiao Li. You're really smart."
"Second, you should know better than I do that this organization is about to 'spiral out of control.'" The scent around Sister Siwei began to reek of worry. "Brother Wan, you know full well you're not a real 'god.' All these people need is the power from Brother Hero. More and more people are realizing that now. Your ruling position is hanging by a thread."
"Yeah..." Uncle Wan nodded. "But so what?"
"So what?" Sister Siwei seemed not to understand. "Brother Wan, am I not being clear? There are no laws in this place. Sure, you've established some order, but aren't you afraid that one day the organization you built yourself will erupt into chaos? That they'll rise up and finally 'judge' you?"
"That day will never come." Uncle Wan said. "Xiao Li, do you know why I suddenly came to have a heart-to-heart with you today?"
"You...?"
"I'm leaving." Uncle Wan smiled, then drained the liquor from his paper cup in one gulp. "I've done the math. Tomorrow I'll have enough 'jade' to get out of this place for good."
Sister Siwei blinked. "You're planning to take all the public 'jade' to escape for yourself?"
"What 'public jade'? It was always mine to begin with. I just wanted to give you some advice before I go. Once I disappear from here, you'd better leave as soon as you can."
"What?"
"You said it yourself—they need Zheng Yingxiong, not you." Uncle Wan crushed the paper cup in his hand. "Even though I've had you under house arrest this whole time, I think I've treated you decently. I never did anything to harm you. After all, this organization needs Zheng Yingxiong, and Zheng Yingxiong can't do without you. I had no other choice."
What Uncle Wan said left both Sister Siwei and me in silence. Ever since he found out that Sister Siwei could 'heal,' he started hitting people—either me or Sister Siwei.
He was a bad person.
His smell was just unbearable.
"I'm not a good man, but I'm not exactly evil either." Uncle Wan gave a bitter laugh. "I just want to achieve my own goals."
"You're making it sound far too trivial..." Sister Siwei's voice trembled slightly. "Even setting aside the situation for me and Hero Brother, you used 'Ground Ox' as an 'Executioner' and executed so many people! We never saw those people again... including Sister Fang from our room..."
"Those were necessary measures." Uncle Wan cut her off. "If I hadn't executed those people, we wouldn't have achieved what we have today. I needed the most direct way to make everyone understand that the 'family rules' are absolute."
"You..." Sister Siwei still looked furious. "Wan Cai, do you really think what you're doing is perfectly justified? You've done this kind of thing plenty of times outside too, haven't you? Ruining families, stripping them of all their property. And it's the same here—you kill people according to your own needs. Does that not make you 'evil'? You could have just expelled those people from your 'family,' but you insisted on making them disappear entirely, just to consolidate your own 'power.' Does that not make you 'evil'?"
Uncle Wan was silent for a long moment, then let out a cold laugh. "Ha... I didn't think I still couldn't break through you."
"Break through me...?" Sister Siwei frowned.
"There are so few people who have both brains and mental defenses. Xiao Li, seeing that you're still this clear-headed, listen to me—Zheng Yingxiong is a piece of 'He's jade.'" Uncle Wan said it plainly right in front of me. "No one in this entire city doesn't know about his ability now. If you keep carrying him, it won't end well for you. Once I get out, you have to leave."
Both Sister Siwei and I found this strange.
This 'family' was built by Uncle Wan with his own hands, yet he was urging Sister Siwei to leave.
"That's how every organization is." Uncle Wan said. "When it grows to a certain size, it starts to collapse. I can already sense the future of this city."
Sister Siwei asked skeptically, "What future?"
Uncle Wan reached out and drew a horizontal line on the ground, then added three dots, dividing the line into three segments.
"Right now we're in the first stage. I call it the 'Age of Power.' I've obtained supreme authority in this city. But as you said, this power is built on countless uncertainties and lies, and it could collapse at any moment. Either I get assassinated, or I leave of my own accord."
He moved his hand to the second segment of the line and said, "Next comes the 'Age of Chaos.'"
"The 'Age of Chaos'...?"
"Yes. Based on my years of experience building teams, when an organization or a power figure collapses, the entire organization will fall into unprecedented chaos. And what awaits you is the 'Age of Chaos.'"