Chapter 276 - 154: The Struggle of the Upper Echelons, the Upcoming Formal Conversation

The Mine District Command Center was brightly lit. When Gao Zhen saw Yang Wenqing enter, he waved away the guards at his side and led him to a quieter area.

"Wenqing, you'll be in charge here from now on," Gao Zhen said, getting straight to the point. His voice carried a trace of imperceptible fatigue. "My Fire Spiritual Vein has been affected. I need to go back and stabilize it through meditation immediately."

Yang Wenqing noticed Gao Zhen's complexion was paler than before. The Fire Spirit aura around him, usually whole and harmonious, was now faint and erratic. It was obvious that the cold, sinister Water Spirit qi permeating the battlefield had clashed with the Fire Spirit essence in his body. This was incredibly dangerous, as he was in the critical stage of nurturing his Spiritual Vein.

"Don't worry, Director Gao. I have things covered here," Yang Wenqing said solemnly. "Focus on your meditation. If there's an emergency, I'll contact you and Director Chu immediately."

Gao Zhen nodded. Without any more pleasantries, he patted Yang Wenqing on the shoulder and hurriedly left the command center.

After seeing Gao Zhen off, Yang Wenqing sat down at the main control console. He quickly scanned the real-time surveillance feeds and reports from every sector. Once he confirmed that the defense line was mostly stable and the Water Race was making no unusual moves, he paused in thought for a moment before activating the encrypted communication channel to his master, Qin Huaiming.

The connection went through quickly. Qin Huaiming spoke first. "Wenqing, what's the situation in the New District?"

"Master, the Water Race has retreated. We're tallying the casualties now, but I don't think they'll be too severe." After this brief report, Yang Wenqing voiced the doubt that was on his mind. "Master, the scale of this attack was far greater than any before, and they were much more organized. Is there something else going on behind the scenes?"

He was worried a full-scale war was about to break out and that the higher-ups were keeping it under wraps. If so, he needed to start making his own preparations.

Qin Huaiming naturally understood what his disciple was truly asking. He paused for a second before replying, "The Water Race's large-scale attack on the coastal regions of our Coral Island was a diversion. Their real goal was to assault one of our storage bases to the northwest."

Yang Wenqing was stunned. "They succeeded?"

"Yes. That base held a shipment of supplies slated for the Mingbei City front lines," Qin Huaiming said, his voice laced with coldness. "Based on initial estimates, the loss is enough to support thirty thousand Government Soldiers and a standard fleet for a month of high-intensity combat."

Yang Wenqing sucked in a sharp breath. 'If the Cabinet really intends to go to war with the Jade Whale Sect, a loss like this is enough to disrupt their short-term strategy.'

"What's more," Qin Huaiming continued, "the assailants knew the base's defenses like the back of their hand. Their escape route was also brilliantly planned. The preliminary assessment from the municipal bureau and the Provincial Hall's security department is that there's a mole—and a high-ranking one at that. The higher-ups are furious, and a full-scale investigation has begun."

'A mole?'

A chill went down Yang Wenqing's spine, but he immediately realized it wasn't all that surprising.

"Master, does this mean we're officially at war with the Jade Whale Sect, and by extension, the powers behind it?" Yang Wenqing asked the most critical question.

Qin Huaiming shook his head. "War? If it had truly come to all-out war, today's attack and infiltration wouldn't have been limited to this."

He paused, his tone complex. "Both sides are exercising restraint. We've turned on each other, but not completely. It's a dangerous equilibrium, a time that truly tests the patience and cunning of all parties. And there are still many unknown variables."

Yang Wenqing breathed a sigh of relief as he silently processed this information.

"There is one more thing. And it's one of those unknown variables I mentioned..."

Qin Huaiming's tone shifted. "In light of the defensive vulnerabilities this attack exposed, the Central Martial Pavilion plans to place all important strategic mine districts in Donghai Province under the military administration of the Government Soldiers. The Lingshan New District's mine will be the initial pilot site."

'Military administration?'

Yang Wenqing raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't necessarily a bad thing for you and the New District's City Defense Bureau," Qin Huaiming explained. "Once it's under military administration, the Government Soldiers will shoulder the main defensive burden and the risk of direct confrontation. You'll be able to focus more of your energy on internal security, investigating infiltration, and similar matters. Furthermore, flying the banner of the Government Soldiers will reduce a lot of the trouble and interference from other factions."

"But..."

Qin Huaiming's tone turned serious. "There's no such thing as a free lunch. The Government Soldiers are demanding that twenty percent of the quota for exchanging Lingshan Mine District's Energy Stones for cultivation resources at the Provincial Hall be allocated directly to the Government Army System."

Twenty percent!

Yang Wenqing's heart skipped a beat. That twenty percent was equivalent to a quota of Spiritual Medicine worth two to three hundred million.

The government's share of the Energy Stones produced in the Lingshan Mine District is held by a state-owned Energy Stone company under the New District's Civil Affairs Bureau. This share isn't sold directly for cash. Instead, it's traded for official writs that can be used to redeem specific cultivation resources from the Provincial Hall's supply depot.

The Energy Stone company then distributes these writs at a price slightly below market value to qualified parties within the New District—various Commerce Associations, families, and even other corporations with government backing. These factions then take the writs to the Provincial Hall to redeem them for tangible cultivation resources, which they can then trade.

In this way, the Civil Affairs Bureau can collect a fixed tax and also profit from the sale of the redemption writs. Meanwhile, the Provincial Hall and the Cabinet profit from the Energy Stones themselves or commandeer them for military use.

This entire process was the real prize in the Lingshan New District's economy. It operated discreetly, yet it tugged at the nerves of nearly every influential faction in the New District. The annual market value of this exchange quota reached nearly two billion, and the profit chain it generated was immense.

And that was just the value of the exchange quota itself. The actual wealth it generated was far greater.

As a local powerhouse, the company run by the Yang family was only able to get a tiny slice of this cake, with actual profits likely under 1.5 million. Even that small piece had only been secured through Yang Wenqing's extensive maneuvering. In the past, a group like the Zhang family wouldn't have even dared to think about getting a share.