Several streaks of light flashed past, and the open space in front of the castle's garden saw several figures appear.
Returning were only Tang Yu, Eileen, Winnie, and Shay—the others had temporarily stayed behind in Luoxia to help and recruit trustworthy personnel. As a result, the followers would have a rather busy period.
Eileen, Winnie, and the others had to return early since they also had matters to attend to in the territory, leaving those who stayed behind in Luoxia with a heavier burden.
Tang Yu wasn't the type to exploit his employees mercilessly; he had already agreed to increase benefits for his followers. In addition to raising their salaries, he tried to meet their personal needs as much as possible.
For Eileen, he had provided hundreds of books from various novel websites…
To find the genres that suited Eileen's tastes, he had put in a lot of effort. Many of the books were obtained from Luoxia, which, being a large sanctuary, was the only place where one could find so many novels already downloaded. Back when he used to read, downloading or caching were literally unheard of.
Thinking about the Internet no longer existing and that, although he could still find some of the old novels, updates were no longer available. Even the most stable and renowned authors, who never let their update schedule slip, had to head down this inevitable path due to the apocalypse.
Seeing that the update time on hundreds of books on the shelf showed over a month ago made him, Lord Tang, deeply melancholic.
How was he to survive the days without novels?
He considered that he might need to develop some entertainment facilities within the territory to meet the survivors' pent-up energy and, incidentally, add a source of revenue to the territory.
"These can be considered later."
He also catered to the other followers—for instance, he had tailor-made N+1 sets of unique outfits for Winnie.
He provided various kinds of cigarettes for Shay.
The Carmen Three Brothers received their favorite alcoholic drinks.
Xiaoli, being a food lover, was easy to please.
Xing Ling and Xing Yue didn't have specific wishes but only requested that they be able to open an astrology house in the territory when they returned.
These were small concerns that Tang Yu addressed one by one.
"Thinking back, whether it's buying cigarettes, alcohol, or novels, these seem to be just me providing a general direction and letting others handle it… So, what exactly have I done?"
Tang "Money-No-Problem" Good Lord Good Boss Yu fell into deep thought.
As the responsible Sanctuary Director, Tang Yu first checked the reports submitted by Chen Haiping about the recent conditions of the sanctuary.
He also signed some important documents.
His gaze suddenly sharpened.
It was a report concerning problems related to adventurers.
With the influx of Awakeners from Lindong, as the sales of equipment increased, so did the problems.
Where there were people, there would be conflict, especially with Awakeners who had quickly gained power, and some became as inflated as balloons.
In recent times, the Patrol Team had been handling many conflict incidents. Sometimes, even the patrol members couldn't stop the clashes between two top teams from Lindong and had to call on Luo Zhe or his followers to intervene.
For example, at Night Bar, there were no fewer than ten Awakeners thrown out by Lorraine.
Tang Yu summoned Chen Haiping and asked in detail.
"Actually, these are all minor issues—at first, many Lindong Awakeners thought highly of themselves, looked down on most of the weaker Awakeners in the Sanctuary, and some even thought that Green Shadow had gotten lucky with the Demon-slaying Longsword instead of crafting it..."
Tang Yu nodded inwardly, none of this was unexpected.
The Awakeners from Lindong who had truly seen action in the Secret Realm were, after all, in the minority. Gossip, which itself held little convincing power, combined with the mostly unruly nature of the Awakeners, these... well, were probably inevitable, which is why he had specifically instructed Luo Zhe to keep an eye on that group of Awakeners.
Chen Haiping took a breath and continued, "These are actually just minor issues. When we executed a display of strength as a warning, those unruly Awakeners also started to restrain themselves. The frequency of conflicts in the Sanctuary has already greatly reduced in the past two days."
"But those Awakeners, while they contain conflicts within the Sanctuary, could very well engage directly in fierce battles once they're outside... I've discussed this with Captain Luo. In this regard, it's very difficult for us to manage. Fortunately, the conflicts among the Awakeners don't largely impact the Sanctuary, but in the past two days, we've received some unsettling news that some Awakeners have set their sights on our equipment."
"Set their sights?" Tang Yu was puzzled.
There are Awakeners that bold?
Chen Haiping sensed the implication and shook his head, "Those people don't have the guts to steal or rob within the Sanctuary, but they stake out just outside, targeting those teams who have just purchased equipment and are not very strong, to commit murder and robbery."
"Moreover, that group is not weak. They roam freely in the wilderness and never come near the Sanctuary. The Patrol Team has gone out to search for them several times without any clues. After several attempts, many of the weaker teams have become panic-stricken, resulting in a significant decrease in the efficiency of the adventurer guild's mission completion."
Chen Haiping finished in one go.
Tang Yu frowned; this was becoming serious.
In the apocalypse, incidents of murder and robbery were not uncommon; a simple conflict could evolve into armed assault.
At the drop of a hat, blood would splatter three feet high.
Whether in Lindong or Luoxia, mercenaries that died out in the wilderness at the hands of fellow humans could rival those killed by Demonized Beasts.
Such matters, even the authorities felt helpless over managing more than their own little patch of Sanctuary; the wilderness was inherently a Chaotic Land.
"But that group's motive is very clear—they specifically target teams with rune equipment."
Ordinary murder and robbery didn't yield much gain.
How much valuable stuff could a team out hunting carry with them? Unless they discover some precious minerals or conflict erupts over a Mutant Beast's body, leading to murder and then looting the spoils.
These incidents were random and unlikely.
But teams that purchased rune equipment from the Territory were essentially carrying tens or even hundreds of units of Source Crystals—visible to anyone.
These teams were also the ones leaving the Territory, giving those with intentions an opportunity.
If this continues, there might be more followers, and then Green Shadow would no longer be an openly trading market but turn into a Black Market where traders sneak in and out.
The development of the entire Territory would be greatly affected.
"This matter must be resolved quickly, we cannot allow that group to run wild!"
Chen Haiping found it difficult, "But, Director, we can't find that group. Even if we send the Patrol Team to search the nearby areas, it can only temporarily curb the rampant situation, not a permanent solution."
"I have a way to find those people. When the time comes, you just follow my plan."
Tang Yu's eyes showed a cold glint; he wanted to show that group why the flower is so red!