Chapter Eighteen: The Greed of Human Nature

That night.

Ye Yun, Hook, and Rios were all resting at Clara’s home.

Clara’s house was quite decent—a two-story small building.

Ye Yun cooked a few dishes, and after eating with the two youngsters that evening, they all went to bed.

Meanwhile, Swaro was still busy.

It had issued a task to the wanderers in the mechanical settlement to collect star gems, allowing them to exchange these star gems for supplies.

At first, the wanderers didn’t believe it. After all, star gems were nothing but pretty stones—how could they possibly be traded for precious food?

Until someone successfully exchanged star gems for supplies.

In the tent area of the settlement, a wanderer walked over from Swaro’s side, carrying a heavy sack of rice on his back.

“Really? You can actually trade star gems for supplies?”

In an instant, all the wanderers in the settlement were unsettled.

My goodness! These star gems can actually be exchanged for supplies with the great Swaro!

All the wanderers rushed out into the wilderness, scrambling to find star gems.

Everyone was desperate, afraid they would miss the chance to exchange star gems for supplies if they were late.

“Stop fighting! I found this first!”

“What do you mean it’s yours? Once it’s in my hands, it’s mine!”

“Hey! You want to fight?”

“Come on! I’m not scared of you!”

Soon, chaos broke out among the wanderers.

The truth was clear: under overwhelming greed, people lost control over their actions.

Gradually, the disorder escalated from shouting and verbal disputes to bloody brawls.

There were even casualties.

Star gems had become the symbol of hope among the wanderers in the mechanical settlement.

If anyone dared to snatch away my hope to survive, then they shouldn’t live either!

Upon hearing this, Swaro immediately dispatched mechanical soldiers to maintain order.

Any fighting or brawling was suppressed with force.

Only then did the wanderers calm down.

The uproar caused by this farce was loud enough to wake Hook, Clara, and Ye Yun, who were sleeping soundly. Now, they sat in the living room eating instant noodles.

Ye Yun slurped a mouthful of noodles and glanced at Swaro standing outside.

“Swaro, what’s wrong? You’ve been spacing out.”

Swaro looked at Ye Yun.

“Nothing, I’m just puzzled as to why these people would fight over a single star gem. They could get supplies simply by working hard to search.”

“I’m wondering if things would have been better if I hadn’t issued the order to exchange star gems for supplies in the first place.”

Ye Yun sipped the broth.

“You didn’t do it wrong; it was the method that was flawed.”

“If I were you, I would choose a work-for-relief approach.”

“That way, you can efficiently manage these people and also build some basic infrastructure.”

“Like houses, for instance. Look at your settlement—everyone’s living in tents.”

Swaro’s internal computer processed rapidly at these words.

“I understand.”

Ye Yun nodded with satisfaction.

“Exactly. There’s no rush to exchange supplies. You could have the mechanical soldiers gather resources instead.”

“If you want to exchange supplies later, let Clara contact me. You know what a cellphone is, right?”

Swaro nodded.

“It’s in the database.”

Ye Yun tossed the empty instant noodle cup into the trash and patted Swaro.

“I’m going to rest now. You keep working.”

With that, Ye Yun went to rest with Hook and Clara.

Swaro pondered for a moment and decided to adopt Ye Yun’s suggestion.

This method was indeed very suitable for the mechanical settlement: not only could it efficiently manage the wanderers, but it would also improve the surrounding facilities and equipment.

So,

Swaro immediately revoked the supply exchange point and replaced it with a work-for-pay station.

When the wanderers in the mechanical settlement who hadn’t traded their star gems heard this news, they felt as if the sky had fallen.

“What! No more exchanging star gems for supplies?”

“Wait, are you guys so fast? They usually look so listless, but when it comes to fighting for supplies, they’re full of energy.”

“Damn! Someone must’ve pissed off the great Swaro! Otherwise, why would they stop us from exchanging? Look over there—there’s still so many supplies!”

Everyone looked toward the nearby stockpile, which was piled high with goods.

Some even tried to ask if they could still exchange, stopping one of the “Traffic Lights” machines.

“Aren’t there still supplies here? Why aren’t you letting us exchange?”

The Traffic Light halted and looked at the person blocking its way.

“Latest order: stop exchanging supplies. Switch to work-for-pay. If you want supplies, gather here tomorrow to receive tasks. Upon completion, you’ll be given supplies.”

After saying this, the Traffic Light resumed carrying the supplies with its short legs.

Seeing that exchanging was no longer possible, the wanderers could only return to their tents, dejected.

...

In Panyan Town.

Natasha was treating March Seventh, Dan Heng, Xing, and Brunonia.

Soon, Natasha concluded that the four had only been drugged and fainted; a rest would suffice.

She arranged for them to rest in a room.

After closing the door, Natasha looked at Sambo, who was waiting nearby.

“Tell me, what’s the background of these people?”

Sambo cleared his throat.

“They’re from our Lower City. I found them in a mining pile. Old Sambo is a kind man—how could I leave them to die?”

Natasha said nothing but fixed Sambo with a steady gaze, silently daring him to keep up the act.

Seeing this, Sambo could only truthfully reveal the identities of the four.

Upon hearing, Natasha’s brows furrowed deeply.

Especially Brunonia’s identity—the heir to the Great Protector!

If this isn’t handled properly, Lower City might face utter devastation.

March Seventh, Xing, and Dan Heng were less troublesome. Though fugitives wanted in Upper City, the Silvermane Iron Guard wouldn’t come here to arrest them.

Lower City had its share of fugitives, all under the surveillance of Earthfire.

“I understand. You may leave. I will take care of these people.”

Sambo bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Big Sister. Old Sambo will take his leave now.”

After Sambo left, Natasha summoned a few nurses.

“Take good care of these people. No accidents allowed.”

After the nurses acknowledged, Natasha returned to her office.

Unlike this morning, there was now a large sack in the corner.

Natasha approached and opened it—it was full of star gems.

She picked one up and looked at it before opening her record book.

[Current star gems: 1,365]

These were all the star gems Earthfire had managed to collect so far.

After issuing the order today, Earthfire had mobilized everyone to search. Every corner of the territory under Earthfire’s control had been thoroughly ransacked.

At that moment, Xi’er pushed open the door and entered, holding a small pouch.

“Natasha, I’m back. These are the star gems I found in Rivet Town.”