Chapter 396 - 287: Managing the Camp by Day, Slaving Away at Night

Chapter 396: Chapter 287: Managing the Camp by Day, Slaving Away at Night

"The Baojia system, also called the Baojia mutual-responsibility system."

"Ten households form a squad, with a squad leader. Ten squads form a block, with a block leader."

"Managing public security, cracking down on bandits, and conducting household inspections."

As he read on, General Zhou’s expression grew excited.

Having managed camps for many years, he could recognize a valuable idea when he saw one. He immediately realized the value of this "mutual-responsibility system."

"Mutual supervision, rewards for reporting..." 𝔣𝖗ⅇℯ

As he read this part aloud, looks of delight appeared on the faces of everyone present.

"If we implement this system, spies will no longer be a problem!"

"Young Master Tang Wen’s method is quite ingenious!"

"It’s truly impressive. I never expected that Young Master Tang Wen would not only have a great Talent for Martial Arts, but also a knack for governing the camp."

...

With the camp’s persistent spy problem on the verge of being solved, the group was unstinting in their praise.

Of course, Tang Wen had copied the Baojia system. In his past life, it had been a highly influential system.

However, due to the complex rural environments of that world, its implementation had often been difficult.

The implementation of the Baojia system often led to many real-world problems.

For example, the block and squad leaders would often collude to oppress law-abiding citizens.

Or, if villagers lived even slightly far apart, effective supervision became difficult.

But in Flame Camp, none of these were issues.

It was unsafe outside, so everyone was clustered together within the camp’s walls.

Tang Wen planned to appoint the camp’s Guards as the block and squad leaders.

The Guards had captains above them, as well as a Commander and Vice Commander.

There were Guards in both the Inner and Outer City, and ordinary people could report any misconduct.

This made it very difficult for the Guards to collude and oppress others.

The meeting continued, with Tang Wen addressing potential issues. "There will certainly be problems when we implement this system. Everyone must be flexible in its application and build up experience. When the time is right, we can roll it out to the areas around Five Families City."

The night grew deeper.

Tangtang stood up and lit the lamps.

Tang Wen and the others continued their meeting, working through the night until dawn.

...

「Ganshan City, the Huang Family estate.」

A square, palace-like building occupied a vast area. It was a hundred meters long and wide, and stood over thirty meters tall.

Strangely, for such a large structure, it had eight doors of varying sizes, yet not a single window.

For the average member of the Huang Family, this place was a forbidden zone.

Most people outside the Huang Family had no idea such a palace even existed.

One didn’t need to get close to feel its oppressive weight; a discerning eye could sense it from a distance.

The palace walls were incredibly thick—less like walls and more like fortress ramparts.

It was constructed entirely from black stones. When sunlight hit the surface, not only did it fail to reflect any light, but it seemed to absorb it, exuding a strange, sinister gloom.

The square palace radiated a coffin-like chill.

Surrounding the palace was a perimeter wall that rose more than fifteen meters higher than the palace itself, topped by a walkway over six meters wide. The wall completely hid the palace from view.

Suddenly, a foraging crow passed over the palace, flying at an altitude of over a hundred meters.

HUMMM!

Something in the air vibrated.

TSSSSS!

The crow was instantly incinerated as if it had plunged into molten lava, leaving not even a bone behind.

A puff of black smoke dissipated, and it was as if the crow had never existed.

The no-fly zone in Ganshan City didn’t just prohibit Martial Artists from taking to the air in the Inner City.

Even birds were forbidden from flying through this patch of sky.

But before the crow died, it managed one last look at the palace.

The Brown-tailed Crow controlling it received the image.

Unfortunately, the distance to Tang Wen was too great for the message to be transmitted.

Otherwise, he would have recognized at a glance that the entire palace was constructed from Black Gold Stone.

This type of stone was extremely heavy.

A small, unassuming piece was heavier than an equal volume of silver.

Tang Wen kept a large supply in his Void Stone, using them as Flying Locust Stones.

At Grandmaster Level, the material used for Flying Locust Stones didn’t matter much for close-range targets.

But for long-range attacks, only heavy steel balls or this kind of special stone could be truly effective.

Otherwise, a normal stone would catch fire from air friction.

It would burn up completely before ever reaching its target.

Black Gold Stone was mined from deep underground, making it difficult to transport and incredibly expensive.

It was worth far more than its weight in silver.

The four walls of the palace served a defensive function.

But judging by the construction of the arrow slits and observation ports, which opened both inward and outward...

...the massive walls of the palace were not only designed to keep invaders out, but also to keep something *inside* from breaking out!

Huang San stepped into the palace through a small side door.

The moment he entered, his expression turned cautious.

The interior of the palace was, surprisingly, a bottomless, gaping well.

The mouth of the well was enormous, taking up more than two-thirds of the entire palace floor.

The walls of the well were lined with glowing Underground Fluorite, spiraling downward.

The Fluorite formed a shining, fiery line that twisted and snaked its way down from above, quickly disappearing from sight as if swallowed by the depths of the earth.

"What was so important that we had to meet here today?"

Huang San stayed clear of the well’s edge, looking across to the opposite side.

A chilling, androgynous voice spoke: "Third Brother, Huang Jia Ren and the others have returned from the north."

Huang San didn’t need the reminder. He immediately recalled that a short while ago, the family had dispatched Huang Jia Ren and two other Fifth Grade experts to the bitterly cold lands of the north to investigate Tang Wen’s origins.

The Huang Family had been quite certain of their success.

Both his accent and the way Tang Wen would occasionally gaze northward with a longing expression suggested he was from the north.

Therefore, upon learning that several camps had been discovered in the north, the Huang Family had immediately dispatched three Fifth Grade experts to verify the information.

"Their luck was bad. They ran into Tang Wen and White Tiger."

Huang San’s brow furrowed. "That much of a coincidence?"

"That’s what I thought!"

Huang San’s voice was grim. "Find out who in the family leaked the news!"

"Unwise."

The two stared at each other across the abyss-like well, neither willing to back down.

The androgynous voice replied, "It was most likely a coincidence. There’s no need to launch a major investigation."