My Apocalypse Territory

The normal means of gathering intelligence included, but were not limited to, eavesdropping, infiltration, disguise, interrogation, and so forth.

Places with a complex mix of people were often teeming with rumors and gossip.

Such as the banquets of the high nobility or the taverns frequented by independent mercenaries.

There were many mercenaries in the Royal Capital. Although they couldn't venture beyond the "Eternal Wall" to hunt Dark Creatures, the commissions from nobles and merchants were indeed plentiful.

Not just finding lost cats, dogs, snakes, lizards, and other missing pets, but tasks involving infiltration, stealing, and framing others were always mainstream in the Royal Capital Mercenary Association's mission list.

Today a white-haired noble might commission a mercenary to pour manure in front of a red-haired noble's gate... Tomorrow, it wouldn't be surprising to see a task on the list requesting "the spreading of manure within the estate of the white-haired noble."

Such tasks were plentiful. The dirty tricks among nobles weren't suitable for their own servants, so these independent mercenaries were the best choice. If anything went wrong, it couldn't be traced back to them... Although both parties involved were well aware of each other's involvement.

In this way, a substantial number of independent mercenaries in the Royal Capital were kept fed.

And other derivative industries.

For example,

Sellers of manure.

It had become a full-service business.

And there was often not enough supply!

"The Vice Commander of the Wing Corps," Mark respectfully introduced.

Tang Yu nodded as he walked.

Beside him were Grey Blade, Fani, and others, strolling on the streets of the outer city... This area was considered a business district, with heavy foot traffic. Among the passersby were numerous independent mercenaries. They didn't exude much fierceness; instead, they were mostly of a sly and crafty appearance, carrying not swords but daggers and a variety of strange tools.

No wonder they say the land shapes its inhabitants.

Mercenaries who were fierce-looking and strong had a disadvantage in the competition for these sneaky kinds of jobs.

Around the district, there were very few civilians in shabby clothes. It was primarily the middle class that could afford to live in this area.

In the outskirts and suburbs of the Royal Capital, more impoverished people lived, wearing ragged clothes, with listless eyes.

He couldn't manage that. He knew inside Green Shadow's Defense Circle, in large Sanctuaries like Heng City, there were still many survivors struggling to live.

"The Inner City is over ten times more prosperous than the Outer City. At night, various bright lights twinkle, but the checks are also much stricter. With only the status of small nobles, it's hard for us to move around in the Inner City."

Mark explained, with longing and regret in his tone.

"Mm," Tang Yu replied indifferently, then felt he should inspire the spirit of his new subordinate and added, "The universe is so vast; you'll have many opportunities to witness even more magnificent cities in the future. The Inner City is no big deal... whether we enter or not is irrelevant..."

Anyway, he never planned to enter the Inner City. If his Transcendent aura was detected, it could draw the attention of some powerful individuals, which would not fit with his strategy of sneaking in quietly.

There were bound to be many powerful figures within the Royal Capital.

Mark was incredibly excited.

That's right, working under the Great Lord now, he was no longer his former self. He needed to broaden his horizons. What was the Inner City of the Royal Capital in the eyes of someone like the Great Lord, who traversed thousands of worlds? It was nothing.

His goal was the stars and the sea.

His short-term goal was to complete the Lord's task, letting Green Shadow's reach extend throughout the entire Royal Capital.

"I suggest starting with these taverns. They gather many independent mercenaries who have no scruples. They love to boast while drinking, and for just a little money, once you get familiar with these mercenaries, it's easy to pry information from them."

"Not just low-level information. These mercenaries often take on noble commissions, so when it comes to dirty dealings, some of them have even clearer insights than the nobles themselves."

"Furthermore, we from the 'Wing Corps' have dealt with many independent mercenaries and know who the truly capable ones are."

Tang Yu nodded slightly.

Zabol's old subordinate had made a very on-point analysis.

Therefore,

"Okay, let's open a tavern here then. Choose the busiest location, and make it large."

Mark: "???"

We were talking about gathering information from these mercenaries, weren't we?

How did we suddenly switch to opening a tavern?

He then heard the Great Lord continue,

"We're not just opening a tavern, we are going to offer the highest quality of enjoyment. Chess rooms, mahjong parlors, full-service clubs; let's open one of each."

Tang Yu turned his head to look at Lorraine, "The task is yours. Any questions?"

Apart from her unreliability in various aspects, Lorraine's bartending skills were genuinely strong. Now in Green Shadow, many Awakeners were willing to pay a hefty price just to taste the drinks personally mixed by the proprietress.

However, when compared to her ability to accrue debt, Lorraine's bartending skills seemed a bit less significant.

"Publicly funded open bar? How do we split the profits?" she asked.

"Ten to ninety, I'll invest the capital and take ninety percent."

"Bullshit! Fifty-fifty, I can't go any lower! Not only do I have to manage the bar but also mix the drinks. The workload is huge, you know!" Her brows shot up.

"But I'm providing the money..."

"My personally mixed drinks could increase the bar's turnover by at least fifty percent!"

"But I'm providing the money..."

"I've sweated for Green Shadow, I've bled for Green Shadow."

"But I'm providing the money..."

"emmmmm okay, okay," Lorraine, covering her face, admitted defeat.

Who could blame her? Not only was she nearly out of Source Crystals, but she was also in deep debt.

Lorraine was desperate too. She wasn't lacking in the ability to make money, but for some reason, every time she had spare cash, her Source Crystals would slip away due to various unexpected events.

The preparations for Entertainment City were settled in just a few conversations.

Lorraine became the proprietress of the Entertainment City.

As the big fish in the Royal Capital, Mark also had an enormous workload, recruiting trustworthy personnel, the construction matters of Entertainment City, he couldn't do without him.

He was incredibly busy.

And a bit confused.

What, what was the original task again?

Wasn't it, wasn't it to gather information from the mercenaries?

How did it turn into this?!

...

Construction of the Entertainment City couldn't really make use of Architecture Series Magic, it needed time.

But Lorraine had already taken over a storefront, and within just a few days of the tavern's opening, the Night Tavern had gained a bit of fame with its unique style and rich flavors.

Once the Entertainment City was completed and had a huge flow of people, why would there be a need to mingle with independent mercenaries and then gather information from them?

Just install surveillance devices all around the Entertainment City.

The systems are different, and even if surveillance devices without any runes engraved on them are slightly less stable, they're safe since people from Otherworlds haven't come in contact with them. Even if a powerful individual were to scan them with spiritual power, they'd only consider them to be exquisitely crafted ornaments.

And even the ornaments are so painstakingly created, wouldn't it perfectly reflect the high-end atmosphere of Green Shadow Entertainment City?

"Just as long as Entertainment City grows larger and stronger, developing nobles, and even small nobles into regular customers, the big and small events happening within the Royal Capital will reach my ears immediately."

Tang Yu pondered,

Not only that, if "Spirit Space" were used for training, it'd be too sensational and likely draw attention, but if the realism was dialed down a bit to create a lower-end entertainment version, then...

He had heard that the entertainment life in the Royal Capital was equally scarce.

The nobles only had banquets, nothing but banquets.

Rune Masters, Master craftsmen, people like them focused on making equipment more powerful, applying rune technology to daily life was rare, let alone entertainment.

They had never considered this direction before.

The joy high technology could bring was beyond their imagination!

"And the Royal Capital, unlike other cities on the Aino continent, isn't poor. The nobles here are almost all wealthy, especially in the past thirty years since the 'Eternal Wall' was built. The peaceful life has indeed reduced the number of experts born in the Royal Capital, but the nobles' pockets have only grown fatter, which isn't conducive to the economic development of the Royal Capital..."

Tang Yu felt he was contributing to the GDP of the Royal Capital, so magnanimous, truly worthy of being the Master of Green Shadow who brought prosperity—it was the people of Town West City, Gel City, who spread these words, not Lord Tang himself boasting.

After some thought, he picked up pen and paper and slowly wrote down "The General Development Plan for the Royal Capital's Entertainment Industry."

As for intelligence gathering, it had long been thrown to the back of his mind...

Cough, cough,

Anyway, collecting intelligence and making money could go hand in hand, two birds with one stone.