Chapter One Hundred: Dismissal

When Lin Zhongqing vanished into thin air, she had said she was going to cut the weeds down to the root.

But the one who truly believed in her, to be honest, was only Fan Bei, because only he understood where her confidence came from.

As for everyone else—not just the ordinary employees, but even Steward Ho—faces were grim.

This middle-aged woman appeared to be one of Fan Bei’s people, but in truth she belonged to the Starry Commerce Guild, and was even one of Lin Zhongqing’s most trusted confidants.

If even she wore such an expression, the rest could be imagined.

“Haah, Guild Master Lin was too impulsive,” Steward Ho said with a face full of regret, glaring hard at certain people as she rebuked them. “She went to the Spirit Essence World, someone else’s territory. Why did you people have to talk recklessly just now? If you hadn’t said those things, Guild Master Lin wouldn’t have taken such a dangerous risk for you.”

Fan Bei looked over and saw that the people being scolded were the few beside Chef He.

They were all dependents of Iron Ball Little White, and they were the weak point of Phoenix Cry Valley.

In ordinary times, relying on the rules set by Steward Ho and their sheer numbers, these people could not stir up much of anything in the apocalypse. After all, they did not have much power; once they left Phoenix Cry Valley, they simply could not survive.

People like that might complain now and then, but if someone above them ever got serious, they would immediately wilt.

But now, faced with a life-or-death crisis, they were clearly panicking. Steward Ho’s authority, and even some of Fan Bei’s usual standing, had been cast aside.

Especially since the one they worshiped, Iron Ball Little White, had been the first to shrink away until not a trace of the ball remained. Of course they were even more frightened.

Everyone had eyes; whatever you did, it would be seen.

Chen Gang, the son of one of Chef He’s late friends, could not help but retort when he heard this. “Steward Ho, we’re all ordinary people. Usually when you tell us to work hard, we accept it. We eat other people’s rice, so of course we should do our best. But in a situation like just now, when we were terrified and said a few honest words, that’s only human nature. We didn’t force Guild Master Lin to speak, did we?”

“Hmph.” Steward Ho did not argue. For the moment, she had nothing to say.

At this point, Lin Zhongshi silently walked over to Lin Xiaohong’s side and said in a low voice, “How many soul cores do we still have left over there?”

“Probably fewer than a thousand,” Lin Xiaohong replied.

“Mm. Later, put them out as an offering and see whether they can help support her,” Lin Zhongshi decided.

“All right.” Lin Xiaohong did not object.

“Guild Master, I still have thirty. I couldn’t use them anyway, since I never had the right ingredients,” a rough-faced man suddenly said.

“I have one hundred.”

“Not bad, Hutong. So you really know how to scrimp and save—saving up for a wife, maybe?” the rough-faced man joked with a young fellow.

“Old He, cut the act. You drink and waste money every day, and I can still come up with fifty,” said a tough-looking woman, backing the young man up.

In an instant, the people of the Pebble Guild began pooling what they had.

Watching this, Fan Bei could not help feeling deeply moved. Whether an organization truly had fighting strength could never be judged in ordinary times; only in a life-and-death moment did it reveal itself without disguise.

On their side, Steward Ho seemed to manage everything in perfect order, but that was only in peaceful times. Once this crisis struck, they began to turn on one another and complain.

In contrast, although Lin Zhongshi and his sister had some friction, when the greater good was at stake they could unite at once, and from beginning to end not a single person complained that Lin Zhongshi had dragged them into this.

It was clear these people had forged their bond in battle to the death.

Lin Zhongshi’s abilities were truly considerable.

He called Steward Ho over and gave her a few instructions. Her face brightened with gratitude; she nodded repeatedly, then led people to drive back hurriedly to the shelter.

Not long after, she returned, carrying a box.

“Guild Master Lin, this is our savings: a total of fourteen hundred. It is not much, but we also don’t know how to use it, so we’ll leave that to you.”

“Thank you, Steward Ho. Thank you, Mister Fan. I am truly ashamed to have dragged you all into this for nothing,” Lin Zhongshi said, his heart in turmoil.

He disliked owing favors the most, yet again and again he could not avoid it.

“Nothing of the sort. In truth, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Even if it had not happened today, it would have happened tomorrow. By taking this chance to stand together with Guild Master Lin and the others, so long as we drive off that evil existence, we can truly rest easy from now on. Otherwise, sooner or later, someone else will covet us again,” Fan Bei said earnestly.

These words reached many ears, and they slowly nodded.

Especially Chef He. He himself had once nearly fallen into the state of a puppet servant, so he felt it even more deeply.

“Mister Fan is right. In this day and age, there is no truly safe place. If we want to survive, we have to unite and face it with strength.”

As soon as he finished speaking, several people around Chen Gang suddenly jumped out.

“Uncle He, that’s not right. How can you say there’s no stable place? Look at Silver City—they don’t have these rotten problems!”

“Yes, we came here to work, not to risk our lives. Since that’s the case, we might as well leave!”

Hearing this, Chef He’s expression became a spectacle to behold—painful, ashamed, and utterly humiliated all at once.

He had not expected that, when the moment of truth arrived, these people he had rescued less than two months ago would be the first to undermine him.

Steward Ho’s people, the people of the Pebble Guild, either remained silent or generously opened their purses and faced the danger head-on. Yet the people at his side were the very first to scatter like birds and beasts.

“Mister Fan, I, I...” He turned to Fan Bei, unable to continue.

Fan Bei smiled and soothed him. “It’s all right. Brother Chen Gang was right just now: when life and death are on the line, panic is only human. Since you all want to go to Silver City, that’s fine. Steward Ho, terminate their employment contracts. We’ll do our utmost one last time to send you all to Silver City. As for the debts you owe us, we’ll settle them normally.”

At first Chen Gang and the others were delighted, but then panic swept over them again.

Unlike Chef He’s lifelong buyout contract, Fan Bei had only signed them to one-year employment contracts through the Silver Commerce Guild. If they were dismissed, it meant their personal affiliations would return to the Silver Commerce Guild. And if that iron-ball master proved insufficient, they would ultimately still become puppet servants.

At that moment, Chen Gang and the others suddenly started looking around in all directions.

“Sir Iron Ball, you can’t just stand by and watch us die! We make offerings to you every day!”

Meanwhile, Great White also looked around. Sure enough, that fellow had once again vanished to who-knew-where.

“Damn it, your ability to run for your life is just too strong,” it muttered in its own mind.

“Of course. Otherwise, how could I have survived to this day?” Little White said with complete conviction.

“And you’re just going to ignore these people?”

“Ignore them? Let them die. At first, when they said they were worshiping me, they still had a bit of enthusiasm. Later, once they saw there was no benefit, only Old He’s family still burned incense on schedule. The others only made a perfunctory show of it whenever they remembered,” Little White said disdainfully.

“Maybe you’re just too lazy to deal with them? I think a lot of the time they still trust you quite a bit,” Great White said fairly.

“You don’t know a damn thing. They’re all thinking of themselves, full of selfish motives. Not one of them is truly grateful to me, and they can’t give me any real strength. Why should I bother with them?” Little White said angrily.