Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 1024: Chapter 792: Open Source and Reduce Expenditure

The pitch-black car drove along the empty streets, passing by busy construction sites. There were only a few open businesses, and in the distance, heaps of rubble could still be seen.

”Looks so desolate,” Raymond sighed.

”Indeed,” Huai Shi nodded, ”Everything awaits rebuilding.”

Currently, the Tanbo Inner Circle is managed by him after reorganizing and integrating the manpower from the former alliance. Following the urgent disaster relief and resettlement, the next critical task is the reconstruction.

By providing lots of job opportunities, there’s no fear of refugees idly causing trouble.

Alongside this, with a stick in one hand and a carrot in the other, they resolved the registration and identity entry. For those joining, they provided many benefits and priority job opportunities while imposing more restrictions.

At first, there was much backlash, but with the situation improving over the past month, more and more people began to support Huai Shi’s decisions.

Now, the Tanbo Inner Circle is Huai Shi’s base of operations.

A full fifth of the people are his steadfast supporters, with another three-fifths generally supportive... The remaining few are negligible, as long as they don’t cause major trouble.

One convenient aspect of the previous extreme management method was that no one dared to talk to you about human rights. Make a mistake, and fingers would be cut off; repeated offenses, and hands would be chopped; the most severe led to a permanent seat in Kyoto Bay.

However, such a simple and brutal management style is only a temporary solution; for the long term, it must be formalized and refined as soon as possible.

None of this requires Huai Shi to rack his brains.

The development plan for the Tanbo District has long been prepared by the Ivory Tower, sitting on Huai Shi’s desk like a thick manual.

As long as he follows it step by step, even a dog could score sixty points.

The initial goal is to maintain stability, achieving revival and regeneration during the post-disaster reconstruction.

Subsequently, find a position resembling that of an independent border.

In the short term, focus on accumulating economy through tourism and gambling industries, completing development, providing job opportunities internally, and opening revenue channels to avoid repeating past failures—if independence is lost and economic lifelines are controlled externally, even if Huai Shi does not allow it, the entire Tanbo Inner Circle would swiftly revert to internal oppression, returning to its previous dire conditions.

If it drops to that level again, the alliance’s sacrifices and Huai Shi’s efforts would be all in vain, and this time, the Tanbo District would only face total downfall after hope is lost.

Opportunities come only once.

Austerity won’t save much; for development, opening new sources is the only option.

But to open new sources, basic construction must first be completed. Only then can Huai Shi use Tanbo District’s unique conditions to discuss the next step of cooperation with the Ancient Group.

Therefore, since the reconstruction phase began, the only predicament the Tanbo Inner Circle faces is one.

No money.

To avoid killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, the alliance’s assets cannot be recklessly sold. Instead, some funds must be injected to help them through the tough times.

As a result, the alliance’s financial accounts became quite bleak.

The available funds dwindled to almost nothing after completing the preliminary reconstruction. To find more money, they could only borrow.

On this matter, Luo Su frankly stated: As a subordinate unit, indeed, the campus can directly allocate funds to aid in construction; no amount is too much.

But this is not a healthy financial situation. If the Current Circumstances Climate Campus becomes a long-term burden on the Ivory Tower, what is the point of its existence?

This is also not the normal procedure.

At this time, the proper course is to go to the bank—

Don’t fear debt, don’t fear borrowing money. These days banks are crazy; with the current situation of the Tanbo Inner Circle, the more you are in debt and the more you borrow, the happier and more they like it.

High interest rates? Take your time paying it back; with such high sunk costs, would banks dare to abandon you?

Just the Ivory Tower’s reputation is enough for Huai Shi to have the opportunity to meet directly with the executives of major banks in the Current Circumstances. As the King of Tanbo, loans under a billion are just a phone call away.

Given Huai Shi’s frugal habits over the past eighteen years, he still cannot adapt to the dirty thinking of the adult world and the perverted concepts of the rich.

Mentioning borrowing money makes him panic.

Robbing is still better.

No mental burden, no repayment necessary—in a world full of money, pulling off a few heists and you have everything you need...

Just thinking about it makes Huai Shi uncontrollably want to rub his hands.

If not for his physical condition, he would have already picked up an axe to do the job.

In the front, Raymond, who was driving, suddenly felt a chill and turned to see Huai Shi in the back seat enveloped in black smoke, his eyes crimson, exuding waves of icy frost.

”Heh heh heh, watch it, the air conditioning is leaking.”

”Ah, sorry, instinctively.”

Huai Shi realized and tried to gather his evil intentions back into his heart, returning to calmness.

The side effect of divine nature losing control.

With the reconstruction of the Tanbo Inner Circle, the Saint Mark of the Great Priestess has become more tightly integrated with this land, allowing Huai Shi’s consciousness to even slightly interfere with the outside world.

Specifically, when he wants to do bad things, light, sound, and electricity effects automatically appear...

Now, all his power is focused on suppressing the organization of the Eternal Beast in the Ruins, and his soul is deeply corroded by Hell; just a slight slip, his thoughts tend to slide...

If not careful, it could lead down the path of murder and arson.

This made Raymond, who was driving in front, shiver, occasionally raising his hand to touch his neck to make sure his head was still there.

However, when occasionally glancing towards the roadside, his attention was caught.

”That little girl... is she the one Mr. Isaac specially recruited?” Raymond subconsciously slowed the car, looking towards the roadside, ”She really stands out, doesn’t she?”

”Yes, once she gets excited, she often disregards the occasion, which is a flaw, I suppose.”

Huai Shi followed his gaze and couldn’t help but feel a myriad of emotions.

A girl carrying a bundle stood in front of the recently opened station today, hugging her friend and crying her heart out, completely unaware of how many people she had attracted.

”Her name, if I remember correctly, is... Li Jian Zhen Xi?”

Huai Shi was somewhat surprised, ”You sure did your homework on this.”

”Well, she’s a legendary prodigy, after all. I was quite shocked when I first heard about her.”

Raymond shrugged.

It was the rescue team that found her amidst the children’s cries, right there in a pile of ruins.

Beyond the sealed-off door, the scene was a mess of corpses, with blood almost painting the entire corridor a deep red.

Afterwards, during the cleanup operations, they managed to piece together a total of seventeen fully armed Prince’s Guardsman from that hell-like corridor.

And also a broken Predator Angel.

It had been bitten to death.

Reportedly, when they found her, the barely breathing little girl was still clinging stubbornly to the corpse’s throat, like a wolf, using that door as a shield behind her.

With her own strength alone, she protected her friend and six innocent children; not one more person died in front of her.

The cost was her own life hanging by a thread.

It’s said that the subsequent surgery and treatment costs were all advanced by the vice-principal through the Ivory Tower, leading to her special recruitment with this sum and a subsequent student loan.

This was the first potential student resource discovered from the Tanbo Inner Circle, a potential candidate perfectly compatible with the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy.

According to observations, she’s only one step away from the blessing ceremony, after which her Yin Soul Saint Mark could transform into a ’Heroic Spirit’, becoming a member of the Path of Dusk.

Whether in terms of talent, aptitude, potential, or actual achievements, there is no reason to allow such talent to be lost to the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy.

This time, apart from transporting the core framework, Raymond’s convoy has come to take her away, to quickly complete registration and avoid any further dreams.

Seemingly unintentionally, Raymond, driving, asked, ”But, she’s been asking around for someone named ’Huaizhi Sushi’ these days; do you have any idea who that might be?”

Huai Shi glanced up at him, ”You’re asking me? How would I know?”

”Ahem, doesn’t that name resemble yours quite a bit?” Raymond’s eyes gleamed with gossip, ”Is this a new stock entering the market?”

”When I was undercover, I picked a name from the news offhand.” Huai Shi calmly flipped through his phone, ”Surely not everyone with the surname Huai is related to me, right?”

”...Well, you have a point.”

Raymond thought for a moment but still couldn’t find a connection between Huai Shi and Huaizhi Sushi.

As a normal person, his thoughts didn’t stray to cross-dressing, stopping just one step away from the truth.

Without noticing, Huai Shi quietly sighed in relief in the back.

Cold sweat broke out.

Almost got exposed...

.

.

The deep autumn sea breeze blew over the dock, bringing a chill; the sun hanging overhead seemed to carry no warmth, leaving one feeling cold to the bone.

Beside the youth, a burly man with a knife scar on his face advised, ”Mr. Lin, it’s quite windy outside. Why don’t you go back inside the car to rest?”

”Just call me Nineteen, Big Brother Ueno.” The youth looked up, smiling innocently, ”You’re the trusted right hand of our teacher. Please, there’s no need to be so polite.”

”That wouldn’t be appropriate...” Ueno waved his hand, thinking for a moment, ”Well then, Nineteen-kun?”

”That’s fine, too.”

Lin Nineteen nodded, engaging in some casual conversation with Ueno.

Meanwhile, he felt the power of the evil within him swelling and soaring like a racing car... life felt nothing short of unreal.

Half a month ago, he was still at the Ivory Tower, living days of bullying the weak and annoying others, until suddenly, a call from the teacher transformed him into the second-in-command prospect of the Huaizhi Gang.

Going to school as normal, suddenly being arranged by the teacher to come to Yingzhou to become an Extreme Path boss, what should he do? Waiting for advice online, quite urgent.

Lin Nineteen did not dare to decline.

Originally intending to politely refuse, to express that the role was too heavy for him and the teacher should seek someone more capable, seeing the teacher again changed something.

Under those eyes, no refusal came out.

There was only the choice to nod.

No other options.