109: Chapter 109 Power Dependence, Alliance Expansion

As the morning light just broke through the clouds, the bluestone plaza outside the Dispatch Yard was already packed with people.

It was not the patrol team, nor was it the deacons of the Alliance's original Families, but a group of unfamiliar faces—

There were Loose Cultivators carrying rune boxes on their backs, heads of small Families leading Spirit Beast cubs, and workshop masters wearing coarse hemp Dao robes but holding half of a broken mecha arm in their hands.

They stood before the reception platform, whispering in small groups, their eyes filled with wariness, but even more so, with eagerness.

Last night's battle had spread.

The banners of the ten Families had risen spontaneously, the enemy attack was crushed, no one had fallen in battle, and not even the signal tower had lost its signal once.

This news swept across the outskirts of the Eastern Wasteland like the wind; everyone knew that the Chen Family's reputation had hardened.

Inside the Dispatch Yard, Chen Wuwang was still sitting before the main control screen, his silver hair draped over his shoulders, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye shimmering with a faint blue light.

He hadn't slept, nor had he moved; he only tapped his fingers gently on the edge of the table, the rhythm identical to when he had ordered everyone to "arrive at their posts half a quarter-hour early" last night.

In the bottom left corner of the screen, the border identification System had already automatically activated.

The three-tier verification process was running: identity imprint scanning—comparison against the past behavior database—popping up the "Alliance Trial Covenant" oath interface.

Every outsider who entered within a hundred-zhang radius received a transmission via Divine Sense:

"Those willing to abide by the covenant, proceed; those who are not, please return."

No one turned back.

"The third batch, seven teams, totaling forty-three people, have all passed verification."

The Dispatch Yard deacon hurried in to report, unable to suppress the excitement in his voice, "The leader is a branch member of the Beipo Sun Family, bringing three carts of low-grade Spiritual Ore and a set of old-style spiritual energy pile modules, saying it's a 'token of sincerity'."

Chen Wuwang nodded, his gaze sweeping over the surveillance footage. The newcomers were being guided to the temporary registration area, received in rotation by the deacons remaining from each Family.

The young people of the Dongling Wen Family were responsible for verifying supplies, the old craftsmen of the Nanqiu He Clan were teaching people how to operate terminals to upload data reports, and the women of the Beipo Liu Clan had even brought out tea and snacks, greeting everyone one by one.

"Let them have something hot to drink," Chen Wuwang said indifferently. "Don't turn the act of allegiance into an interrogation of criminals."

Not long after he spoke, a commotion suddenly broke out at the reception platform.

A burly man with a fleshy face shook off the registrar's hand and roared:

"I traveled from three hundred miles away just to join this Alliance of yours! Now you want me to record an imprint, take an oath, and wait for an assessment? Bah! When I was killing Yao Beasts at Black Wind Ridge, your Family head was still digging through ruins!"

People around them looked over one after another.

But before the deacon could react, a thin, small old Cultivator nearby sneered:

"Oh, Black Wind Ridge? Why don't you tell us, on July 16th of last year, six herb gatherers died in a cave-in at the West Valley of Black Wind Ridge; was that your handiwork to snatch the mineral vein?"

The burly man's expression changed.

"We have checked the database," another deacon added calmly. "Three years ago, you were wanted by three Families for forcibly seizing resources, and the record has not been cleared. According to Article 7 of the 'Alliance Trial Covenant', such individuals must undergo a joint review by the three Families and offset their offenses with contributions before they can be admitted."

The crowd went silent for a moment.

The burly man opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't argue further and retreated to the side, looking disgruntled.

Chen Wuwang watched this scene, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He knew that people like this would come sooner or later.

He had also long since let the System get to the bottom of all the major factions on the outskirts of the Eastern Wasteland.

Some were genuinely looking for a backer, some wanted to sneak in to reap benefits, and some were even nails sent by enemies—but as long as the rules stood firm, he didn't fear the mix of fish and dragons.

He raised his hand to pull up the resource surplus table and projected it onto the big screen in the Council Hall with one click.

"Everyone, listen up," his voice came through the global broadcast. "I am now announcing three things."

The noise in the plaza gradually died down.

"First, what was defended last night was not just the Chen Family, but a path to survival for all of us. This credit is recorded under the ten Families, and it is also left for latecomers to see—as long as you are willing to fight, you can gain a foothold."

"Second, starting today, a 'Co-construction Contribution Ranking' is established. Manpower input, resource donations, and technical sharing—these three categories of points will be updated in real-time. How much you contribute determines how many positions, permissions, and resource quotas you are allocated; prices are clearly marked, and we do not cheat the old or the young."

"Third, all new joiners will be assigned to the peripheral cooperation team for a three-month trial period. During this time, they will participate in patrols, infrastructure, and production. Those who qualify will be promoted to the core circle and enjoy the right to observe decision-making. Not qualified? Sorry, the Alliance does not support idlers, nor does it keep hidden dangers."

As his voice fell, applause started among the crowds of the old Families first.

The young deacon of the Dongling Wen Family shouted, "I support this! The rules are clear, no one should think about finding loopholes!"

The Elder of the Beipo Liu Clan stroked his beard and nodded, "This is the long-term plan."

The newcomers looked at each other, but most of their eyes lit up.

Especially those small Families who were truly at their wits' end—they didn't fear strictness; what they feared was unfairness.

A little girl carrying a medicine basket timidly raised her hand, "Um... can I sign up to go to the Medicinal Field to remove pests? I can recognize plants, and I can endure hardship..."

"You can," Chen Wuwang answered directly. "The Dispatch Yard will arrange it immediately. Also—" He paused, "We are adding the 'Child Emergency Passage' as a secondary contingency plan. For all volunteers under sixteen, daily work shall not exceed two hours, with priority given to guaranteed safe evacuation routes."

The little girl's eyes instantly turned red.

Whispers came from the crowd, "He remembers the children... he really remembers."

Chen Wuwang didn't say anything more and turned to walk towards the depths of the control console.

On the screen, the data stream of new personnel was constantly flowing in—the format was chaotic, the naming was messy; some used ancient rune numbers, others simply wrote "My Family's third child."

He typed the command: "Notify all liaison envoys to learn the standard data template before noon today. For those who don't know it, the Dispatch Yard will open classes to teach it. Those who still cannot submit a standardized report after three days—replace them."

Once the order was issued, several burly men who had been lazily leaning against the wall immediately sat up straight.

At noon, the first batch of supplies officially entered the warehouse.

Five modified heavy transport mechas slowly drove onto the outer city platform, unloading a full eighteen carts of resources: Red Sun Spiritual Ore, liquid Spiritual Plant concentrated paste, blueprints for abandoned workshops, and even a complete set of dismantled old-style defensive Formation Plates.

"These are cooperative clients introduced by the Nanqiu He Clan," the deacon handed over the list. "They don't want Medicinal Pills; they specifically asked for 'mecha maintenance training' and are willing to exchange resources for technical instruction."

Chen Wuwang glanced at the data and nodded, "Agree. Arrange for Elder Tie Zhu's side to select two people for rotating training. The curriculum should follow three levels: 'Basic Operation—Fault Troubleshooting—Simple Modification', charging one portion of resources as tuition for each level."

"Then... what if they run away after learning?"

"Run?" Chen Wuwang sneered. "They can't even turn on a terminal, what are they going to use to copy the blueprints? If they really dare to steal techniques, next time the Earthquake Dragon drill will hit their doorstep."

In the afternoon, at the hour of Wei, the Alliance plaza had completely changed.

The originally empty space now had a dozen temporary tents, hanging the flags of different clans.

Liaison envoys went in and out, busy organizing files, assigning living quarters, and coordinating tasks.

Children chased and played on the edges, women started fires to cook, and the air was filled with the fragrance of food and faint fluctuations of Spiritual Qi.

Chen Wuwang stood in front of the second-floor window of the Dispatch Yard, looking down at all of this.

It was no longer the Chen Family fighting alone, nor the ten Families barely huddled together. It was an Alliance that had truly begun to function.

He pulled up the patrol schedule for the "Iron Spine No. 2" contingency plan, stared at it for a long time, and then drew a strikethrough on the interface.

"Too small," he muttered to himself. "It can't support so many people."

He immediately launched the new protocol drafting program, naming the title— "Alliance Expansion Protocol (First Edition)".

The holographic projection unfolded, the structure clear:

Core Layer: The original ten Families, possessing decision-making power, technical control power, and strategic dispatch power.

Peripheral Layer: New joiners, enjoying resource dividends, security guarantees, and skill learning qualifications; temporarily not participating in high-level meetings, but eligible to apply for promotion after the probation period expires.

At the same time, twelve signal tower interfaces were reserved, marked as "reserved for future connection".

"Push this architecture to the deacons of each Family for preview," he said to the person behind him. "Tomorrow morning, we will hold the first joint review meeting. There is only one topic—how we can live better from now on."

The night grew deeper, and the lights in the Dispatch Yard were still on.

Chen Wuwang did not leave.

He sat before the main control console, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye shimmering with a faint light, leaning over to examine the holographic deduction map of the "Core-Peripheral" dual-layer structure.

His fingertips tapped lightly, and layers of data unfolded: human traffic, resources, communication frequency, defensive coverage...

All lines eventually converged into a constantly expanding web.

Outside the window, the voices in the plaza had not yet dissipated.

He knew that greater winds were still to come.

But now, they finally had a wall to block the wind.