Chapter 1283
Chapter 1283 - 1269 Chaos
1,281 words
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7 min read
"Good people should be held at gunpoint?"
Lu Ping’an laughed, laughed out of sheer incredulity.
At that moment, behind him was a whole street of roaring flames and ruins.
Wherever his smile-directed gaze landed, the flames directly ignited the signboards and storefronts. For Lu at this moment, invoking "Designated High Temperature" level interference with reality required only a glance.
The flames seemed to have lit some combustible substance, and the entire street began to violently explode, merchants scrambling to escape everywhere.
The street’s "Guards" and those shop-employed Black Security with the Gang Badge instantly flew into a violent rage, trying to kill the arsonist...
One Fireman after another rolled on the ground in agony.
Lu’s pale eyes remained lifeless, yet something seemed to be stirring within them.
No one dared to look straight at him because at the moment of witnessing, they were ignited.
"You... you dare to offend the Black Tea Hall..."
"The Martial Monk Union of Salt City won’t let you off..."
And their howls became the background noise for Lu Ping’an’s continued play.
When the "Mechanical Commercial Street" had been thoroughly reduced to ruins, the perpetrator, Lu Ping’an, did not leave.
He sat in front of what used to be his shop’s ruins, waiting with interest.
Waiting for the opponent’s retaliation.
For the so-called Local Regime... if there really was one.
And so, the Gangs came, turning into kindling.
Some Mercenaries from Chambers of Commerce arrived, those who recognized the situation took off immediately, those who didn’t turned into kindling just the same.
Then... there was no then. Until night fell, Lu Ping’an did not encounter the so-called "Officials" he expected.
He was somewhat displeased, but it seemed that was all there was to it.
This used to be a shop of the Rebirth Commerce, but half a year ago, it was attacked by "a group of foreign Robbers," leaving all locally hired shop assistants either dead on the spot or having fled.
The reason? Not for any noble cause, it was simply because the "branch of the Chamber of Commerce" was affecting the business of other shops.
Thanks to the presence of Rebirth Commerce’s headquarters, the Goods here were relatively complete, often including locally "precious" fresh ingredients, and business had always been quite good.
"Someone coveted the speedboat business and demanded all shops to hike their prices to more than twice the current market rates, and to be at least 10% higher than their own shop..."
Upon hearing this, Lu Ping’an was a bit stunned; he’d seen countless absurdities but never had he seen a demand for all shops to raise their prices together.
Actually, the principle was quite simple. Because of the developed local industry, there were factories for watercrafts, naturally, some people got rich off this.
Thus, the Rebirth Commerce, who could access goods at lower prices, became a thorn in their side...
"Just for this? For this reason?"
"...Isn’t it always like this? It’s all too normal, in every profession..."
At that time, Lu Ping’an realized that even "at the source," the goods were rather expensive here.
And it’s the same high price across all shops.... It seems that an internal "fragmented management" had been in play for a while, or rather, a fragmented profit-sharing monopoly.
"What’s this? A violent monopoly of the free market?"
Thus, the local Rebirth Commerce, with insufficient security forces and unwilling to cooperate, had its store smashed and people killed.
"Why didn’t they cooperate?"
At that time, Lu Ping’an was somewhat puzzled. Just raise the prices, why butt heads with those people?
"What we sell here are low-end speedboats, many of which are bought jointly by impoverished fishermen. They need these vehicles since the fish are found far away..."
This was not just Rebirth Commerce’s business strategy.
If prices really went up, naturally, there would be fewer buyers, and the local gang-controlled shops that sold for 10% cheaper could easily take over the majority market share.
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Raising prices would only mean dying slower, not raising them...
"The city’s Merchant Association just elected a new leading voice, and many industries have been restructured. Those who do not comply, well, look..."
It was not only Lu Ping’an’s store that was smashed on that street; many other various ruins existed.
It took some money, but Lu Ping’an found out that Rebirth Commerce’s too heavy "charitable" inclination had kept many of its prices too low, naturally becoming a thorn in the new Merchant Association’s side.
"Then, why wasn’t your store smashed?"
"Our store? Hah, have you heard of ’Tiger Shark Trade Union’? We have three combat barges in this area. Look over there; those are under the Church of Thunders’ influence. Who dares smash them? And this store... hah, Charity Trade Union, only sells low-end goods, no lucrative margins, can’t even afford a few bodyguards."
Fine, so it’s a case of looking down on Rebirth Commerce.
In fact, Rebirth Commerce’s headquarters had a very good reputation among the civilians; it not only often engaged in disaster relief but also widely distributed goods to keep prices low... which had long been a source of irritation for those looking to make a fortune.
They didn’t even know for sure which group had sent people to smash the store, but it was definitely a local power.
"Aren’t you afraid of their headquarters? I heard they have a large armed merchant ship..."
"Never mind when they might arrive. If they do come... heh, don’t they like to reason? Do they have any evidence?"
Fine, nice guys do get the barrel of the gun, always ending up wronged.
So, what’s left to say? Let’s all burn fiercely together.
Whether it be the major church’s direct-operated stores or the local factories’ direct-sale outlets, it didn’t matter if it was a powerful dragon or a local tyrant, Lu Ping’an set fire to them all.
Offend people? Lu Ping’an rather wanted to see if there really was any "Order" locally.
But it seemed, there truly was none...
"Sorry, sorry, we really didn’t know this was your store, here’s the compensation. On the street front, we will compensate you with three storefronts, please feel secure in using them. This time, we guarantee your safety."
And this violent arsonist, seemingly quite a high-end professional, received consolation and the land deeds for three stores.
Lu Ping’an laughed, laughed bitterly.
In this world, honest business gets you a smashed store, while tyrants passing by are treated well.
Of course, it also had something to do with the two "Big Shot" hired thugs summoned by the local gangs turning into torches.
But after the anger, he felt helpless... he saw that the aggressors and these greedy chambers of commerce and gangs were over ninety percent Long Hand Clan and local Free Fish People, which meant not only were they natives, but also victims of the Plane War.
The victims had become the aggressors, and in the absence of "Order," that became a stark reality.
Before Lu Ping’an could even seek retaliation against the previous aggressors, those powers had already sent him the heads of the hired thugs from back then...
"Chris, such things..."
"Are quite common, things have actually stabilized here relatively."
"I’m asking if such things could be changed?"
"Can you change the greed in people’s hearts? Can you alter the flesh-eaters’ craving for the weaker? In times of chaos, everyone is both the hunter and the hunted of others."
— End of Chapter 1283 —