As the time for the annual trade fair drew nearer, more and more groups entered the Spark Tribe. Especially about five days after the arrival of the first wave of tribes, over a hundred tribes had already come.
This number was enormous. For the first time, moving the venue and holding the exchange inside a tribe, to achieve such numbers was already extremely remarkable.
The Spark Tribe grew livelier. But with the increase of outsiders, many troubles also followed.
“These savages. There are clearly toilets, yet they refuse to use them, insisting on relieving themselves everywhere! Thankfully, they’re not allowed into the central area, otherwise who knows what kind of state our good houses would be ruined into!”
Sanitation Worker A of the Spark Tribe was cleaning up excrement from the ground, cursing angrily as he worked.
He wasn’t afraid of filth, but such destructive behavior toward the tribe was something no member of the Spark Tribe could tolerate.
Although every group entering the tribe was warned to follow the rules, and even led to the clean toilets, there were still those who preferred to settle things outside, not even fearing getting their behinds bitten by bugs.
Sanitation Worker B complained in frustration: “Cleaning the toilets is the real disgusting part. Some people, ah—eh, forget it, I won’t talk about it. Otherwise, I’ll lose my appetite later.”
“And some people are even more annoying, going to those forbidden places even though they were told not to!”
Thinking of what had happened before, Worker A felt both angry and satisfied: “In the end, they got themselves pricked by traps until they looked like porcupines. Serves them right!”
To relieve oneself carelessly in the temporary gathering area outside was considered a minor matter, but it was still harshly punished.
If they weren’t caught, then fine. But if caught, they were fined directly. Otherwise, they were expelled.
The Spark Tribe didn’t care what others thought. Those who didn’t follow the rules could just get lost.
For example, if some people insisted on going into restricted areas, the Spark Tribe showed no mercy. They would peel a layer of skin off them if necessary.
Although during this trade fair there were many visiting tribes who were unfamiliar with the local rules and committed various violations, after rectification, things had already improved.
Basically, those who stayed in the residential area all abided by the basic rules. They weren’t short of money. What they wanted was refinement. Thus, they found the Spark Tribe’s way of living quite admirable.
Cleanliness was something everyone longed for. Some people didn’t have high standards and could live however. But once they experienced a truly clean place, they naturally grew to like it and were willing to comply.
Of course, even more so, it was because of the Spark Tribe’s strength that they had no choice but to obey.
The Spark Tribe not only acted with ruthless methods, completely unafraid of gossip or conflict, but also had extremely powerful reward policies.
The very first tribe to submit all their goods for assessment directly received an iron dagger!
This made people green with envy. In the face of powerful weapons, no habit was too hard to change.
Overall, the order at this trade fair was fairly decent, with only some minor areas falling short of expectations.
“With so many people entering the tribe, it’s a real mess. Some of them clearly have bad intentions,” said Sanitation Worker B.
Sanitation Worker A, unconcerned, replied: “So what? We have powerful iron tools, and we have a chief who is a Level Five Warrior! Whoever dares to cause trouble, we’ll just cut them down.”
“I heard security has been tightened everywhere, and even iron mining has stopped,” Sanitation Worker B remarked casually.
“Manpower has been pulled away to guard different areas. With so many people around and such a mixed crowd, they’re worried something might happen.”
“So that’s how it is.”
“Of course. I heard there are spies inside the tribe! Hmph, if I ever catch them, I’ll skin those bastards alive!”
Sanitation Worker A was filled with righteous fury. He couldn’t understand how anyone could betray their tribe when their tribe was so good.
Those people were utterly shameless and disgusting. They deserved to be flayed and hung from a tree for everyone to see as a warning.
“Spies, spies?”
“Yeah. You wouldn’t expect it, right? They’ve got no shame. They forgot we’re a tribe favored by the gods. How dare they do this! The gods won’t let them off!”
A flicker of panic passed through Sanitation Worker B’s eyes, then vanished.
After saying goodbye to Worker A, Worker B hurriedly cleaned the floor in front of him and rushed off to find someone from the guard.
He dragged the person out in a hurry, pale with fear.
The one who was suddenly pulled away, Chen, scowled: “What’s this about? Why are you in such a panic?”
“The divine envoy and the chief must already know everything! We’d better confess. Confess and we’ll be treated leniently. Resist and we’ll be punished harshly. The divine envoy is a merciful man. We haven’t betrayed the tribe so far. He certainly won’t blame us.”
Sanitation Worker B kept pacing, utterly nervous. He didn’t want to betray the tribe. He’d only come here and discovered a place that felt almost godlike.
But now he might be accused of betrayal. He was terrified.
“Don’t frighten yourself!” Chen snapped. “How could they possibly know? We’ve never done anything.”
Chen and Sanitation Worker B had both been planted here by Chief Blackstone back when Chen had left the Blackstone Tribe with Hei Lie. Chief Blackstone couldn’t bear to see Hei Lie leave, so he placed a few people who still had good relations with Hei Lie into his party.
Sanitation Worker B, on the other hand, had been slipped into the Fang Tribe’s “food supply”. He had always kept a very low profile, so no one had noticed him.
“But—but Worker A just said it himself! His woman works in the Secretariat and knows a lot of inside news. It can’t be wrong.”
“How could that be possible?” Chen was in disbelief. He was certain he had never given himself away, and no one had ever suspected him.
Sanitation Worker B was on the verge of tears. “This is a place favored by the gods! The divine envoy is so great. He must know everything!”
Chen fell silent.
“Chen, let’s just confess. The Spark Tribe is so wonderful. The divine envoy and the chief are both kind, there’s plenty of food, and good houses to live in. Why should we betray them?”
Chen glared at him. “Have you forgotten the oath you once swore? If you betray the chief, you’ll rot to death, abandoned by the gods!”
“The divine envoy can surely help us lift the curse. He was sent by the gods, after all.”
In truth, Sanitation Worker B had long forgotten his original purpose for being here. Ever since he entered the Spark Tribe and saw how magnificent everything was, his heart had already leaned toward this place.
When someone contacted him, he had been completely stunned, only then remembering his former mission.
Looking at the prosperity before him, he truly didn’t want to betray.
Back in the Blackstone Tribe, his life had been far from good. Nothing like it was here.
Now, he had a spacious room to shelter him from the wind and rain, warm and comfortable clothing, and delicious food.
Everyone there was so friendly. He was no longer a useless man. He had even once been rewarded for his diligence, five red stones hanging from his neck representing honor.
Life was so comfortable and wonderful that he had already planned that in winter, he would find a pretty girl and have children.
He would also register the marriage and hold a wedding with everyone.
Once they had a child, they could be assigned a more spacious house. He had seen them before. Those houses were built very beautifully.
The tribe’s childcare area was even more splendid. There were many toys he had never seen before.
He was sure his child would love it there and would probably, like many children, only want to stay and not go back home.
But all of that was ruined by the person who had suddenly contacted him.
And it was only from that day that he learned he was not the only one who had entered the Spark Tribe. There were many others, although he didn’t know who they were.
“This is betrayal! The gods will not forgive such people!” Chen said with a fierce expression as if he wanted to devour someone alive.
Chen was a Level Two Warrior. Sanitation Worker B could not bear Chen’s oppressive aura and trembled all over.
“I—I—I will ne—ne—never say such, such things again.”
Only then did Chen withdraw his violent air. “You’d better throw away those thoughts. What good is the Spark Tribe’s strength if the divine envoy is gone…”
Sanitation Worker B widened his eyes in disbelief. “What do they want to do?!”
“You only need to properly explain yourself and not entertain forbidden thoughts. We can still have a life like this, perhaps an even better one!”
Chen’s eyes burned with confidence for the future. The Spark Tribe was good in every way, except that it was far too merciful!
Everyone received almost the same treatment, even ordinary people could own powerful weapons. That was far too naïve.
What could those ordinary people possibly do? They were nothing but a waste.
They treated those common folk far too well, simply wasting food. More resources should be invested in strong warriors. Only then could the tribe become even stronger!
Sanitation Worker B trembled as he nodded and left. Chen narrowed his eyes, spat in the direction he had gone, and muttered: “Useless man!”
Chen left the residential area and went to the guesthouse. There were some people who needed to be watched. They might betray them. Action had to be sped up in case anything changed.
Hei Lie, face dark, went into Yang Yi’s office and sat down in front of him, fuming.
Yang Yi poured him a cup of tea. “Things not going well?”
“Quite a few people, after hearing the news, came to confess on their own.”
Yang Yi smiled. “Isn’t that a good thing? That shows they really acknowledge the Spark Tribe. Otherwise, they wouldn’t do it.”
“The number isn’t small. And I hear that’s only a portion of them.”
Hei Lie’s expression was so dark it could drip ink. He hadn’t expected so many people to have been planted here. His previous investigations had completely missed them.
It was a heavy blow to him. He also realized there were many shortcomings that he had been too arrogant about before.
“All of them sent by the Blackstone Tribe?”
“Not all. There are also people from other tribes.”
Yang Yi stroked his chin. “I thought you people didn’t favor undercover tricks.”
People here were straightforward and relatively simple-minded. They liked to solve problems directly with force. Few used such methods to crush an opponent.
They felt that doing so didn’t prove oneself a warrior, but only showed one to be a petty person.
When the Fang Tribe was criticized before, aside from the disgust people felt about them eating humans, another reason was that they would stop at nothing to achieve their ends, which earned widespread contempt.
“There must be hands from the Western Continent behind this. Some of those people weren’t planted in from the start. Many were later coerced or tempted.”
Hei Lie snorted coldly. “Fortunately, their heads aren’t completely rotten. They understand what the better choice is.”
Yang Yi frowned slightly. If it were the Western Continent, this kind of operation would be perfectly normal.
They’d also come into contact with quite a few Western Continent caravans recently. Just at this trade fair, there were six Western Continent trading parties. They were clearly much craftier than the Eastern Continent folks.
En and Qiao, by contrast, were relatively blunt and straightforward people.
“Looks like there’s going to be a hard fight. Do we want to find out exactly what they intend to do?”
A cold smile crossed Hei Lie’s face. “Create chaos, steal the ironware. If they dare come, I’ll make sure none of them return.”