X-Dragon Era-Chapter 287 - s 220-222 Wave Valley Five Rats

After making all the necessary arrangements, Xin Yun helped Lan Se carve out a chamber for cultivation and daily living within the ice cave. He then left behind an Energy Gathering Array before departing the area, leaving everything here in Lan Se’s hands for the coming year.

Of course, Lan Se was not working for free. Once he successfully found the entrance marked by Xin Yun, he would have completed the task, which, in terms of contribution, was worth a whopping 1000 gang contributions!

At first glance, this contribution seems substantial, but let’s not forget that just to be a First-Level Gang Member, one needs ten thousand contributions. Although Lan Se had already reached that level, he was essentially in debt of contributions and would have to repay this debt before he could think of advancing further.

In such a harsh environment, a year’s hard work was worth only a thousand contributions, highlighting just how precious these points were. In fact… this was because Xin Yun felt guilty and took special care of Lan Se. Otherwise, such a task would have only been worth three to four hundred contributions at most.

The purpose of the contribution system was to repair the Sky-opening Axe Soul. Therefore… unless enough materials were collected, no one could think of advancing; otherwise, while others might become Second-Level Gang Members, Xin Yun would not be able to produce a Second-Level magical weapon.

In the following period, Lan Se settled down to concentrate on his cultivation, operating the Treasure Swords by day to excavate the cave, and sitting in meditation by night to replenish his energy.

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Since this was a glacier region, the concentration of Water Series Origin Energy here was exceptionally strong, more than ten times that of ordinary areas, and… this concentration increased with deeper penetration into the glacier, becoming denser towards the interior. With the effects of the Energy Gathering Array, it could even reach thirty to forty times the normal level!

It’s worth mentioning that after three to four years of research by Master Xi Ming, the Energy Gathering Array had been updated. It was no longer a miniature version but had evolved into a medium-sized one, capable of doubling the elemental density within the array!

As Lan Se dedicated himself to his cultivation, Xin Yun rode Yinglong to a small county named Wave Valley City, which was situated on an island at sea and built within a valley, with a population of a hundred thousand.

Wave Valley City was small, a tiny county that lived off the sea. The Wave Valley Five Rats were five local ruffians and hoodlums from the town. The five brothers, standing together, were not easily dealt with and had a certain reputation in this small town.

Upon arriving in Wave Valley City, Xin Yun did not go looking for the Wave Valley Five Rats straight away. Although these five were not very impressive now, each possessed the power of early Gold stage, which made them not easy to deal with. Moreover… these rascals were slippery; if you weren’t careful, they’d disappear without a trace.

Thus… it was not difficult to beat them, but bending them to his will would be impossible through brute force alone.

After settling into an inn in Wave Valley City, Xin Yun spent the next week gathering detailed information about these five individuals through various channels, acquainting himself with their personalities and habits.

These five had no parents and were orphans, rescued by fishermen from a broken ship while out at sea. Originally there were six brothers, but one died, leaving only five behind. Since they came of age, they had lingered around Wave Valley City. Though considered ruffians, in fact, it was more due to youthful exuberance.

Put plainly… they had too much energy with nowhere to vent it, hence their love for fighting and seeking thrills.

Fortunately, while the Five Rats were prone to fighting, they never committed vile acts such as molesting women or raping young girls. They even had a sense of chivalry, standing up to protect the locals of Wave Valley City if outsiders sought to bully them. Therefore… the locals had a complicated love-hate relationship with the Five Rats.

However, the Five Rats had recently encountered trouble, not of their own making but because some outsiders had taken an interest in the area and wanted to plant their flag. Naturally, the Five Rats did not agree, resulting in a dispute. Although the Five Rats were strong, the opponents were stronger, and after several clashes, the Rats had suffered significant losses.

If they were not so adept at escaping, they might have been killed long ago.

The aforementioned ’planting of a flag’ was a declaration of authority, signifying dominance by erecting a post in the town center and inscribing one’s name on it. Those who objected were welcome to challenge the authority of the pole, but if they submitted, they would have to obey.

At present, Wave Valley City had their flag planted by the Five Rats, marking them as the bosses in name only, sans significant actual benefits or authority. But anyone from Wave Valley City had to respect them. As the de facto leaders, they were entitled to contributions from merchants in town. However, they were also obligated to protect the locals from external disturbances.

Put simply, the Five Rats were a kind of alternative society that collected protection money but also guaranteed safety for the community. The amount of contribution was quite small and mutually decided by the merchants.

But this time, the situation differed. The outsiders not only wanted to establish their flag in the town but also raised their own flags. Once their flags were hoisted, the implications changed entirely, equating to an occupation of the small town. All merchants would have to give up twenty percent of their profits to the flag bearers, or they would face expulsion or even slaughter!

In a sense, this was akin to paying taxes, not only for the merchants but for ordinary residents as well. For instance, fishermen had to give up twenty percent of their income upon returning from the sea. And if the remaining eighty percent was used for trade, another twenty percent of the profit from those sales was due.

Similarly, a merchant selling the fish would also have to pay twenty percent of the profit obtained. In essence… any trade or harvest involved paying taxes. While it may seem like twenty percent on the surface, after being siphoned off several times, the actual cut was much more than forty percent.