Chapter 132: Urban Management

Sun Fei nodded lightly.

He knew these foreign warriors were the looting squads mentioned by the Cold-Blooded Enchantress Paris. Originally, in Paris’s plan, Shampoo City had no ability to resist at all. After she successfully assassinated the Princess Royal at the Eastern Peak Summit, she would kill Sun Fei and his companions atop the mountain. Then, she would plunder the treasures of the city’s rich families, nobles, and the royal house, destroy the city, slaughter the remaining commoners, and wipe Shampoo City entirely from the Zenit Empire’s map. This way, the shocking case of the empire’s princess being murdered would become untraceable, while the stolen wealth could fund Domingos’s bid to expand his military strength for the throne.

This method was already second nature to Paris—she’d clearly done it countless times before.

Legends on the Azeroth Continent spoke of kings so poor they’d turned to highway robbery with their followers. So Domingos, the empire’s second prince secretly raising bandits to plunder wealth, didn’t surprise Sun Fei. True nobles weren’t nonexistent, but most were hypocrites who acted holy while doing dirty deeds.

Sun Fei thought briefly. Recalling the raging fires and billowing smoke he’d seen over the city from the mountain summit earlier, he asked once more, just to be sure: “En… besides Baron Louis and these big merchants, did anywhere else in the city suffer damage?”

“The Royal Palace was attacked by those thugs, but they were driven back. As for other places…” Brook replied hesitantly. “Strangely, these guys seemed keenly aware of the city’s power and wealth distribution. Commoners’ homes weren’t touched at all!”

Sun Fei burst out laughing. “They’re professionals at burning, killing, and stealing! It’d be weird if they didn’t know these things… Ha! Have these guys’ limbs and shoulder blades pierced! Chain them up and toss them into the [Black Room]. If anyone comes to redeem them, free them at 100 Gold Coins each. If a month passes with no redemption request… throw them all into the Zuli River to feed the fish!”

“As you command!”

Brook acted efficiently. Soon, the fifty or sixty foreign warriors—amid screams—had their limbs pierced and were hauled toward the [Black Room].

“Your Majesty’s methods… are frankly brilliant!”

The typically expressionless handsome elder Best, gazing upon the smoldering ruins of Baron Louis’s mansion, suddenly let out a sigh. His eyes scanned Sun Fei with unprecedented intensity. This gentleman, who rarely showed emotions except when bitten by the Big Black Dog, now looked complicated—filled with relief, doubt, assurance, surprise, and… a trace of fear.

Sun Fei merely gave a faint smile and stayed silent.

He understood what his future father-in-law meant.

Indeed, the downfall of Baron Louis and some wealthy nobles in the city had been part of Sun Fei’s plan all along.

Actually, as far back as the first leadership council after repelling the Black Armored Army’s attack, Sun Fei had known the old noble factions led by Baron Louis would never serve him. Instead, they’d become cancerous to Shampoo City’s future growth—something Sun Fei couldn’t tolerate. He’d thus started considering how to excise these ‘rotted bits’ from Shampoo City’s ‘fresh flesh.’ Later, after Baron Louis and others repeatedly defied orders and harmed the nation and the poor people’s interests, Sun Fei felt the final bite of killing intent—they had to be purged from Shampoo City.

This was the long-prepared [Cleansing Project].

Sun Fei had originally planned for Ileena and the female Rogues to cleanse the ‘rot.’ But as the storm approached, Sun Fei’s instinct for danger whispered something better—it wasn’t necessary.

This assassination attempt atop Eastern Peak was a perfect opportunity.

An opportunity to use others’ knives to kill.

Though unaware exactly how danger would arrive, Sun Fei could forecast broad patterns and set traps. When Sun Fei ordered the city’s commoners evacuated to the camp south of the Zuli River, leaving Baron Louis’s group resisting orders—it played into Sun Fei’s hands. So Sun Fei hadn’t forced them to leave, allowing them to stay… As expected, the plot unfolded perfectly. Shampoo City finally got attacked, achieving the near-flawless ploy of using others for slaughter.

Now, old noble forces in Shampoo City were thoroughly swept clean by Paris’s looting squads.

All the wealth seized fell into Sun Fei’s hands. The nobles and merchants now lacked heirs. By both Zenit Empire’s laws and Shampoo City tradition, this wealth belonged to the royal treasury—Sun Fei’s property. To him, the events on Eastern Peak felt like a jaw-dropping money-making spree. With ransom coming for captured princes, plus Princess Royal’s pledged support, Shampoo City’s amassed fortune would soon dwarf two centuries of combined wealth.

More crucially, Sun Fei had purified the ‘revolutionary ranks.’

From this moment, Shampoo City truly belonged solely to Sun Fei. No one dared openly oppose him, nor secretly undermine. Sun Fei’s voice was now the city’s voice. All future progress—fearless, certain—could plow ahead.

Time flew rapidly. Soon, thick night cloaked Shampoo City.

The next day, the Zenit Empire’s coronation envoy departed Shampoo City.

The God of War, His Highness Andrew Arshavin, didn’t even bid farewell to host Sun Fei. Directly he skipped out, flanked by elite soldiers, impatiently fleeing. Though dangers likely lurked on the route to the Imperial Capital, his secret departure from St. Petersburg was exposed. Time was short. Emperor Yassin’s health faded quickly. The Imperial Capital was a den of shifting storms. As the prince most favored to succeed the throne, Arshavin couldn’t linger here healing wounds—rival prince Domingos could regain ground during such time. Thus, Arshavin had to risk returning.

Luckily, the half-flask of [Rejuvenation Potion] Sun Fei left had healed most wounds.

Unexpectedly, however—as Arshavin’s irreplaceable Military Strategist, his most trusted advisor—Princess Royal Tanasha temporarily stayed behind in Shampoo City.

But none of that concerned Sun Fei.

Shampoo City was ready: after months of preparation, the military and political reform plan finally began.

Sun Fei’s first royal decree, hotly anticipated, was proclaimed.

This decree focused on military matters—

Two corps formed in Shampoo City:

The Saint Corps.

And Shampoo City Urban Management Defense Corps… abbreviated as Urban Management.

If the first name was easy for Shampoo City’s leaders to accept, the second one—Urban Management—utterly hammered their imagination. The meaning behind this awkward, baffling name? They might never grasp it. Because it burst out of a former shut-in gamer’s quirky sense of fun—or rather, this was Sun Fei leaving clues for himself. Reminders of the world he’d once survived.