You're Strong But Now You're Mine
Chapter 158 - 157: Let Me Say a Fair Word

Chapter 158: Chapter 157: Let Me Say a Fair Word

It was like a drop of water merging into the ocean.

Or like shit encountering a dung beetle.

Le Yu’s heart, which had been uneasy just a moment ago, suddenly calmed down, and the fear he felt about his own frailty and powerlessness was swept away, replaced instead by an almost omnipotent self-confidence!

That timid and weak version of himself seemed to have melted into the vast ocean of the Silver Blood Association, becoming part of that boundless sea.

No matter what sort of thunder and fire, hurricane, or torrential downpour he would face, he had no reason to fear.

Because he was no longer alone!

Because, standing at his side... were united, cohesive Silver Blood brethren!

"This was the suggestion of the Sea of Consciousness!"

Le Yu quickly relied on his strong spiritual power to break free from the sudden sense of belonging and surging confidence, and realized the hidden mechanism within this Chamber of Deliberation—when the Chamber was built, they must have used a large quantity of Luminous Stones, creating the conditions for the Sea of Consciousness to form within!

"This so-called Sea of Consciousness could be said to be a kind of black technology unique to Luminous people. Simply put, it was something like ’army spirit’ or ’like-mindedness’—a collective will. When many Luminous folks embroiled in the same emotions resonated with one another, their spiritual power would gather and blend, forming the Sea of Consciousness."

"Once the Sea of Consciousness formed, it in turn would influence everyone present, aligning the will of them all, and the synchronized will would further strengthen the Sea of Consciousness... After this positive feedback loop established, the Sea of Consciousness would grow larger and larger; even if the previous people had already left, the Sea of Consciousness could persist in the architecture—even continuing to influence the next batch of people!"

Obviously, the Sea of Consciousness was almost exclusively suited for use within armies, and almost every border defense line had training grounds paved with Luminous Stones to ensure that every new recruit, once inside, would be infected by the ’army spirit’ left behind by those before, and rapidly become an elite veteran.

But outside the military, the Sea of Consciousness was almost impossible to apply elsewhere. The closest alternative would probably be schools, but students don’t tend to share the exact same emotions when studying—one does it for fame and fortune, another pursues knowledge, some just got dumped here by their parents...

Yet the border armies were different. Almost every enlisted person had the same will: protect the homeland, defend against the Barbarian Race!

Qian Yuliu, Le Yin, Jing Zhengwei—these were all people who had only heard about the Sea of Consciousness and had never seen it in action. That Le Yu could recognize it so swiftly was solely because its characteristics were too obvious.

Individual spirit merged into collective spirit.

Collective will transformed into individual will.

"The suggestion of the Sea of Consciousness was so powerful that it would cause people to have erroneous perceptions of those who shared the sea with them."

For example, right now, Le Yu looked at all the merchants sitting in their seats, and instantly felt an overwhelming sense of kinship, as if they were all about to join hands with him in overthrowing the Silver Blood Association.

But that understanding was entirely divorced from reality, so Le Yu quickly sobered up.

Even so, the feeling of Silver Blood pride embedded in Le Yu’s heart was not diminished in the least, and his affection for everyone else only grew; he simply couldn’t muster a shred of malice toward anyone, as though he really had become one of those evil capitalists.

"But what Le Yu was most curious about was how exactly the Sea of Consciousness here had come into being?"

"This Sea of Consciousness was clearly location-based, automatically drawing anyone who sat down into it. Yet its formation conditions were very strict: it required many likeminded people with identical goals and feelings to act together before the initial Sea of Consciousness could be born."

This was the Silver Blood Association.

This Sea of Consciousness belonged to the Silver Blood Association.

"Could it be... that some eighty-eight cunning merchants once performed a blood oath right here, uniting to become the most powerful interest group, and their ambition and avarice for money were so similar and intense that they broke through the Sea of Consciousness threshold and forged a Sea of Consciousness unique to merchants?"

"What should this even be called? ’Merchant Spirit’? ’Heart of Capital’?"

"If this were a video game, Le Yu thought he could literally see a pop-up: ’[You have gained recognition from the Silver Blood Association. Passive trait acquired: "Capital Silver Blood Soul." You and all other merchant associations are now temporarily green-named and cannot attack each other.]’"

"The reason Le Yu had felt uneasy when entering was also thanks to the Sea of Consciousness: it exerted a negative influence on outsiders not within the area, continuously stimulating the spiritual power of others to the point of causing physiological discomfort."

"And the lighting in the Chamber of Deliberation was pretty interesting, too. Anyone sitting would feel the beam of light from the skylight enveloping them like a gift from heaven, while anyone left standing would feel themselves shrouded in darkness—a classic case of architectural psychological suggestion."

Put simply, standing here just had terrible feng shui.

"Anyone else want to take a seat?" the middle-aged man in the main seat asked,

Ting Zaozao, Quan Xin, and Luo Zhen all stood off to the side looking deeply displeased, but said nothing.

"Then, let’s officially begin deliberations," the middle-aged man said, "We’ve got quite a few new faces here today... I am Ting Jiu, Chief Steward of the Ting Family. The President’s health has been a bit poor of late, so I’ll be acting on his behalf. Are there any objections?"

"No."

When Le Yu answered, he realized his voice had sounded at the same time as the other eighty-six people. Suddenly, he understood precisely why the Silver Blood Association insisted on conducting meetings at a locale with a Sea of Consciousness—

Efficiency.

Unity.

And... an overwhelming sense of instant feedback!

With eighty-eight people simultaneously approving or vetoing proposals, the collective force of judgment was totally intoxicating. After just a few minutes sitting here, Le Yu already felt an intense sense of belonging to the Silver Blood, eagerly anticipating the next agenda item!

"There are two main topics on today’s agenda," Ting Jiu said, "One concerns management of the patrol team, and the other is countermeasures against the Backlight Organization. But both can be summarized into a single item—how do we respond to last night’s attack on Half City?"

Ting Jiu took out a notebook and, expressionless, said, "First subtopic: accountability for the patrol team. According to our investigation, when the attack occurred, all three team captains and three vice-captains were on the scene. Yet they failed to stop the incident and watched helplessly as the affected area swept through half the city."

"I won’t waste any more time," Ting Jiu produced a sheet of paper, "At dawn, the six captains and vice-captains submitted an explanation to the Silver Blood Association. They claimed to have already fulfilled their duty, and as for not personally chasing after the perpetrators, it was because they believed the attackers’ identities were unknown and that attacking the factory was only a diversion. The real goal, in their view, was likely to assassinate them, the inheritors."

"Before moving ahead with accountability, I would first like to issue the Ting Family’s punishment for Captain Ting Zaozao," Ting Jiu said, "You are prohibited from leaving the patrol camp for the next three months. You’ll train day and night with your teammates, and all your personal estate is hereby confiscated to compensate the merchant associations damaged by the Half City attack. Any objections?"

Ting Zaozao immediately cupped his fists and said, "No objections, uncle!"

Ting Jiu was Ting Zaozao’s uncle—in other words, he was the younger brother of the Silver Blood Association’s President...

Le Yu put two and two together and immediately understood how much of a sham the Ting Family’s punishment was. Confiscating all personal property sounded tragic, but as a second son who had yet to inherit the family estate, how much personal wealth did Ting Zaozao actually have?

As for being barred from leaving the patrol camp to train with the team... the guy didn’t even lose his rank as captain. Some punishment that was.

Would anyone actually report to the Ting Family if Ting Zaozao snuck off to Xiangxue Sea for a little R&R in three days? Or if he slacked off during training, would the instructors really have the guts to beat him up?

Of course, Ting Zaozao would surely put on his best behavior as captain, because at its core, the Ting Family’s punishment was just instructing him to continue commanding the patrol team.

Now that the Ting Family had made their position clear, naturally nobody else would press the issue with Ting Zaozao any further.

Everyone chimed in at once, "Agreed."

"Then let’s discuss punishment for the six captains and vice-captains," Ting Jiu said,

Just then, a Silver Blood member suddenly raised a hand and said, "Allow me to speak a word in fairness..."

Here it comes, here it comes, the guy sticking up for the accused!

"I believe that, in the face of such an unexpected incident, the captains and vice-captains actually performed quite admirably. With the patrol team on standard rotation and the attack still breaking out so fast and violently, all it proves is that the attackers were incredibly powerful."

"Their decision-making was also perfectly reasonable. They are all key inheritors of the major merchant families. Since the attackers targeted factories, they must bear deep grudges against the Silver Blood Association and would surely seize any chance to assassinate the heirs. To charge in blindly would not only be reckless, but would likely just help the attackers rack up more achievements. Far better instead to direct the team in rescue and pursuit. That is, in fact, the primary duty of captains and vice-captains."

"They did their best. It would be unfair to demand further blame."

Le Yu couldn’t help but nod approvingly—damn, now that’s a fair defense! Say it again, say it again!

"On top of that, they are the future backbone of the Silver Blood Association—responsible for both the patrol and the Association’s business. Their social standing is so lofty; are we really going to rebuke them over something so minor?"

The fair-minded Silver Blood member continued, "For instance, Young Master Ting Zaozao, Young Master Luo Zhen, Young Master Quan Xin—they are all key inheritors of the Ting, Luo, and Quan Families, respectively."

"And as for Young Master Qin Le Yin and Young Master Lan Jianbo—they are the primary successors of the Qin and Lan Families. Barring any accidents, they’re set to be the next Patriarchs of their houses."

Key inheritor, primary successor? There was that kind of distinction?

At this point, the fair-minded Silver Blood member looked over at Le Yu, his gaze complicated, and said with a sigh,

"As for Young Master Jing Zhengwei... no, my apologies, I misspoke."

"Young Lord Jing is now the overall head of the Jing Family Merchant Association."