Armipotent

Chapter 2029: Noisy Night

It was a noisy night for the Tang Empire. First, each division was to make sure that none of its members were part of the People Party. Second, as a temporary measure, they would have all foreigners under their division sign another agreement. At this point, they were using the contract as a lie detector. Third, the TEIS went on a manhunt, catching all the names that Connor mentioned. Then they dug deeper, kept looking for more members of the People Party.

After making an agreement with Connor, TEIS offered those people with families the same offer they gave to Connor’s family. That was, of course, with the condition that their family was not involved in this radical movement. The busiest division was the Adventurer Guild. Most of the foreigners joined the guild, after all.

Whoever was caught as part of the People Party, whether they were a foreigner or not, would be exiled from the Tang Empire. That was right, there was no exception for the original resident who joined the movement.

*** ***

-The Joes-

John Joe and his friends were called to the academy office. They were having their late-night snack after an extra round of training, but then they received a summons to the Headmaster’s Office. It specifically asked for foreigners, which worried John.

”What do you think is happening right now?” Amy asked with concern.

”I think it’s happening. They would turn us into slaves,” Cody was being paranoid again. The rumor of the Tang Empire was still fresh in his mind.

”Why would they wait till now? Why do they train us and give us facilities if they want to turn us into slaves? Why do they nurture someone like Kate? Something is happening, and we will find out soon,” John Joe tried to assure his friends. Despite having doubts himself, he tried his best to calm his friends.

”Yes, we will find out soon,” Sam Joe agreed.

They soon arrived in the headmaster’s office. They were not the first group to arrive in this room. The friends there in the academy were also here, and the surprise was that they also met Kate here.

Amy Joe was about to greet Kate, but she soon found out that her friend was in a terrible mood. Not just her, it seemed like everyone was in the same mood. The four Joes approached their friend, who had a connection to the Tang Empire.

”Kate.”

Amy called her friend in a whisper, and the latter turned toward her.

”What happens?” Amy hoped her friend had information about what happened.

Kate clicked her tongue, ”Follow me! I will tell you later what happens.”

The Joes exchanged glances, and John gave a nod to Amy. They followed Kate and skipped the line. To their surprise, Kate brought them to the Headmaster of the Tang Academy, Cao Jingyi.

Kate bowed her head slightly at Cao Jingyi, and the Joes subconsciously followed their friends.

”They are my friends that I talked about, Ma’am.”

Cao Jingyi looked at the four and motioned them to sit. She remembered that these four were ten out of hundreds who received a Treasure Chest from Tang Shaoyang. She doubted they were part of the People Party, but procedure was procedure.

”You need to sign two more agreements if you want to continue living in the empire,” She pushed two different contracts. One was a contract that would determine whether they were part of the People Party or not. The second one would be a new agreement for them not to do something similar to the People Party. The second contract was a preventive measure in case they had a similar idea to the People Party.

Amy and Cody were the sharp ones when it came to a contract. John let them read the contract while he listened to Headmaster Cao Jingyi explain what had happened and why they needed to sign two more agreements. That was when he found out why it was intended for them, foreigners.

’Why?’

That was the first thought that came into his head when he heard the full explanation. He was not questioning why the Emperor was mad and wanted them gone. That was for the people who created this People Party.

John quickly understood why the People Party did it. The Tang Empire was generally safe, and the only territory that seemed to have returned to the state before the Game. The street was free from the zombies and monsters. The society as a whole stabilized as the empire provided a work that had nothing to do with level and rank.

They had become too comfortable that they thought they could get away with starting this stupid movement. Before the Game, they could get away with doing this movement until the Emperor found out about it.

He truly could not understand what made these people think their movement would work. Let’s say the People Party managed to garner a lot of support. But if the Emperor said no, there was nothing they could do. What were they going to do against the strongest man on Earth?

The best result for them was that the Emperor dismissed their movement as nonsense, and the worst scenario was a public execution. The Emperor could easily kill them all, and they could not defend themselves even if they wanted to. The new System government meant they intended to overthrow the Emperor and...

The thought brought a realization to John, ”What happens to the people who join the People Party?”

He imagined that they would be executed, as this was no different than a rebellion. The thing he feared the most was the former Joes members. He was afraid his former subordinates who joined the Adventurer Guild would fall to the People Party’s persuasion.

”Why? Are you also part of the People Party?” Cao Jingyi’s quick retort caught John by surprise. Cody, Sam, and Amy also snapped toward their friends.

”Ah, no. I am just worried about my former comrades. We moved to the Tang Empire together as a mercenary team, but we chose a different path. I am just worried they might fall for the People Party’s false promise,” John hastily explained to get out of suspicion.

Cao Jingyi merely chuckled, shaking her head, ”Don’t worry, they are quite lucky that His Majesty has become softer than in his early days. Those people will be deported back to where they come from instead of getting executed.”

John’s mouth gaped open, looking around. The Headmistress was quite daring to openly speak about the Emperor like that. Calling the Emperor had become softer might be considered an offense.

”There’s nothing wrong with the contract. The contract is more like a lie detector, and the second contract is indeed to ensure that we do not do the same as the People Party. Can we have our contract, Ma’am?” Amy and Cody were also afraid that they would be associated with Headmistress Cao Jingyi.

The four signed the first contract. The contract remained the same color, meaning they were not part of the People Party. They proceeded with the second contract, and they were safe to go.

Kate let out a relieved sigh when they were out of the office.

”What? Are you worried that we will be part of that People’s Party?” Amy asked jokingly.

”I am worried,” Kate nodded.

”Don’t we have you? You can use your connection to save us, no?” Amy was half-joking and half serious. She hoped Kate would help them if they were in trouble, but she said it jokingly.

Kate shook her head, ”I don’t think I can save you because I have to sign the same contract as well. There’s no exception.”

It was Amy’s turn to be surprised. She knew Kate was married to someone with a position in the Tang Empire. They had not met the lucky man yet, but it seemed like Kate’s husband’s position was quite high for him to know Headmistress Cao Jingyi.

”What about Headmistress Cao? Isn’t she too brazen to...” Cody did not finish his words, but they knew what he was talking about. It was about Cao Jingyi, who boldly called the Emperor had become softer. The connotation soft could be considered negative, especially when it was intended for an Emperor.

”Ah, Headmistress Cao could say that because they were friends, they are close enough to banter casually. But you have to be careful not to follow her,” Kate explained why Cao Jingyi was so casual about it.

Joes’s eyes went wide for a moment at the realization. It made sense why Headmistress Cao Jingyi dared to speak that way about the Emperor. The four realized that maybe they needed to learn more about the political figures in the Tang Empire.

”Ah, she is also Vice Supreme General Wei Xi’s wife. You should be more careful with your words when you speak to her.”

The four did not really expect that the Headmaster of the Tang Academy had that kind of status. Thankfully, they did not act casually around Cao Jingyi early.

”You should tell us that kind of thing before we meet her, not after meeting her,” Cody said while caressing his chest.

Kate let out a chuckle and brought them to a restaurant close to the academy. They had an hour chatting while having their dinner, then Kate left the Joes.

Seeing Kate’s expression when she left the restaurant, they could tell why Kate was in such a hurry to meet them in the academy. Even with the announcement, there was no need for Kate to do so. Kate was worried about herself because one of them was part of the People Party. It could affect Kate because she helped them to settle on the empire. If they were involved in the People Party, it could jeopardize Kate’s future here.

”You can’t blame her for that...” John stood up and shook his head. That was a normal reaction from Kate.

”That’s true. She has helped us more than she needed to. Let’s be more careful because our action might affect her,” Amy nodded in agreement.

The Joes did not stay longer in the restaurant. Instead of returning to their lodgings, the four decided to have a walk. That was when they found the situation was bigger than they thought. The TEIS visited the businesses opened by the foreigners one by one.

Not just that, the TEIS stopped them multiple times as well, but they were left alone after they confirmed they had signed the contract. They finally realized the severity of the situation because they witnessed more than twenty people being caught or even dragged.

For them to do this, it seemed like the People Party truly angered the Emperor. In their months of experience living in the empire, this was the first time they had seen such a drastic measure. The night was noisier than usual.