Chapter 289: Rise

Has daily life returned to tranquility once more? Apparently, not in the short term.

"Can't these spies be more professional?"

Li En's dilapidated Southern Gate District lacks not just developed supporting services, but essentially has none at all.

Li En knew the few vendors surrounding the residential area; he often asked them to bring goods (in an era of scarcity, placing orders and picking up goods was common). Now that the door opened, the familiar vendors were gone, replaced by a crowd of strangers.

Looking out, there were two dessert stalls, one barbecue shop, three acrobatic boys glaring at each other, and two beggars already beating each other into a pulp.

In the past, walking the single path before the gate revealed hardly any shops; now, scattered about, there were at least thirty, and they themselves couldn't hold back. The acrobats and beggars were preparing to use boxing to fight for the prime ecological niche of guarding Li En's doorstep.

"More professional? Every spy belongs to a different faction behind them—perhaps even several factions behind one spy." Intelligence work is like this; if a piece of intelligence isn't sold to three or five families, low-level intelligence spies cannot survive.

Miss Shaliman glanced over, confirmed most were amateurs, and simply pulled down the curtains, too lazy to bother.

Having experienced intelligence work herself, she spotted the amateurism and newness of these spies at a glance. For Li En, this was actually a good thing.

It meant that even though many had begun to pay attention to Li En, their prior intelligence accumulation was poor; they did not know Li En's true strength.

Furthermore, the priority of "observation" was not high; the possibility of actual combat in the short term was unlikely.

"Just endure it; it's normal. Your intelligence is probably selling like crazy in the circles."

For "new nobles," all factions naturally pay close attention.

Especially this new faction, which actually managed to bite off a district from the City of Radiance, while the Chengzhu Sect even voluntarily declared it was fine and welcomed them to come again.

"Has the appointment of the Security Bureau Chief for the Dock District been issued?" Miss Shaliman suddenly asked; this matter was actually quite important.

The previous top security official of the Dock District had already been held accountable for "improper disaster handling," removed from office, and placed under house arrest.

"The documents have come down; I intend to let Larry's cousin take the post." Larry belongs to the Labor Family, a core member of the Liberal Faction opposing the Royal Faction; in a sense, this has become a form of balance.

"Is he trustworthy?"

"That man is just a figurehead; the one who actually does the work is Larry. Larry is too young, and his title is too low; saying it out loud would easily cause controversy. She will bring a group of her church's Paladins to do the work. This time there are no obstacles; she will build the Law Knight Order."

Simple words, yet containing too much information.

On the surface, Li En was merely an Expansion Baron, granted a frontline base of an underground ruin as a small town, which to many seemed like exile. But then, Princess Dai Niya, in a fit of "fury," held the Dock District officials and supervisors accountable, directly shaving off the hats of one-third of the officials.

This was actually justifiable; the Dock District had not only seen a cultist riot but also suffered the highest number of casualties and reported incidents, especially with losses in the slave market reaching an "astronomical figure." Reports demanding follow-up and investigation were piled on Princess Dai Niya's desk.

Princess Dai Niya acted accordingly, using "major losses in the Dock District, especially the severe collapse of the slave market" as the pretext to directly hold the main managers of this area accountable, specifically stripping the jobs of those useless security officers who had hidden during the crisis.

"What about the administration? Do you have suitable talent on your side?" The administrative chief of the district was also vacant, but no new candidate had been decided upon.

"Miss Shaliman, do you have anyone on your side?" Li En knew very few nobles, so naturally he could only ask the Sudar family for help.

"Yes, but do you dare to use them?" Those great families have countless distant relatives, branches, and sub-families; those who received a certain level of education often become supervisors of a department or a major shop, serving as the main tendrils extending the family's power.

"Of course I dare. Give me the list in these two days; I will run it by Princess Dai Niya, and then it will be settled." Li En naturally had no doubts about Miss Shaliman.

Immediately, Miss Shaliman, having received a definite answer, smiled very happily.

A vacuum of power naturally needs to be filled. This deliberate clearing of the Dock District's upper echelons was obvious to many; it was to make room for the "new nobles."

After the authority over security and administration was handed to the new nobles, what Li En was granted was not just that underground small town; it was clearly all areas from that small town to the Dock District. The entire Dock District had been thrown to Li En by Princess Dai Niya!

"The grace of Her Highness Princess Dai Niya is something we can never repay in a lifetime; you are repaying her like this." Facing Miss Shaliman, Princess Dai Niya's confidante, Li En stated his position directly.

Hearing this, Miss Shaliman furrowed her brow and said hesitantly.

"Why do I feel the meaning in your words is, 'Since it can't be repaid, let's just not repay it'?" Miss Shaliman raised her snake-hair, looking at Li En warily.

"That is all an illusion; I swear, I love cute little Princess Dai Niya the most, second only to my love for Young Lady Miss Shaliman."