Two more days passed.
The event some had been anticipating occurred.
A conflict broke out between a faction leaving the town and the mayor's forces over a toll issue. Both sides suffered losses, yet this incident was like the first firecracker that set off an intense chain reaction.
No one expected anyone to defy the mayor's forces.
Since the mayor took office and crushed all dissenters, this was the first organization that dared to show its teeth and even bite back at them.
Moreover, it was a small, unknown organization.
To harvest all the "crops" completely and to demonstrate their authority, the mayor's confidants immediately gathered their troops to suppress the rebel organization's stronghold.
Unexpectedly, while fiercely resisting, the rebels secretly sent a small secret team to attack the town hall.
When the black smoke spiraled above the town hall, countless onlookers displayed expressions of disbelief. The audacious actions of this organization made many feel they were insane.
It was unimaginable where they got such courage.
Are they truly unafraid of death, or do they have backing?
Soon, the answer was revealed when another group wearing strange outfits appeared—
The Underground Arena.
As the brother of Pyrite Town's uncrowned king, Ying Yuan, Ying Ma also operated a similar arena in the Underground City but was far more low-key than his brother.
No one anticipated that he would actively engage with the mayor's forces this time, and for a very valid reason.
"To resolve disputes, we order the mayor's side to provide a reasonable explanation for the erratic charges and disruption of Pyrite Town's peace and order in recent days."
The implication was for them to cough up what they had taken and apologize.
This move left the mayor's confidants panicked, prompting them to hurriedly contact Ruby, the mayor, who was sitting idle in Silicon City. But he couldn't return immediately and didn't even know the sum his subordinates called a "small profit."
He learned the real situation only through Ying Ma.
He intended to contact Ying Ma's brother, Ying Yuan, but since the latter wouldn't answer his calls, he found himself embarrassingly negotiating with Ying Ma remotely.
The outcome was Ying Ma held no mercy, demanding all extorted funds from his subordinates be returned and that he and everyone in the town hall apologize publicly.
——Such a proposal was unacceptable to the mayor, not to mention the loss of face; it would mean the end of his career, and perhaps even his life.
After all, the town hall symbolized the honor of Ergin, the mayor of Silicon City, and his control over Pyrite Town.
In his urgency, the mayor had no choice but to choose one word: "Delay."
Delay until those above were willing to meet him and he could return to Pyrite Town to handle these matters.
However, he didn't anticipate that his once-effective stalling tactic exposed the "weakness" of the town hall to many organizations.
Pyrite Town housed numerous factions with pent-up grievances, their large-scale conflicts suppressed through the allowance by Ying Ma and Ying Yuan for the mayor's forces to suppress all dissent.
Now that the mayor's forces were weak, many groups saw how the Quicksand Team had profited tremendously and were intensely envious.
Who doesn't want to make a fortune off others' demise?
The Evil Dog Team's split wasn't over yet; they were still negotiating with the Quicksand Team, giving rise to sentiments among many that if the Quicksand Team could succeed, so could they.
At this moment,
An unusual tension was brewing in Pyrite Town.
Meanwhile, Ying Ma's arena and the mayor's forces were at a standstill, while the initially involved small organization survived in the cracks, astonishing many.
But why was Ying Ma doing something so unrewarding?
The root cause was the two brothers' preference for low profile, hoping Pyrite Town could develop steadily, not wanting to return to the era of constant clashes. Yet the mayor's forces' recent actions undoubtedly disrupted this stability, compelling them to take a stand.
But most importantly,
"Is Ying Ma siding with us?"
"In position, he's indeed on our side and truly hopes we can bring a brighter future for Ore. But don't expect too much from him; his primary responsibility is to hold off the mayor's forces and his brother."
Shanren explained to Baimu: "Ying Yuan has a rather complicated history. Upon realizing that no matter who replaced the highest position in Ore, the outcome remained the same, he completely lost hope in revitalizing Ore, thereby exhibiting extreme stubbornness."
"Heh..."
"Pretty soon, someone won't be able to hold it in, just wait and see."
The day after Shanren said this, Pyrite Town descended into chaos.
The organization that rap Brother belonged to, which had clashed with Baimu before, declared war on another long-standing rival group and launched an invasion of their territory.
This move turned everyone's attention to the two major factions in Pyrite Town locked in a standoff.
Upon discovering neither was truly intervening, only signaling the first "gunfire" group to avoid a large-scale conflict, merely limiting it to surface skirmishes,
Everyone went mad.
The chaos sweeping through Pyrite Town officially commenced.
——
Office building.
"In two days, the Quicksand Team will continue to encroach upon the Evil Dog Team."
Liu Ge stood at the front, addressing the people below: "Jiama has been successfully absorbed by the Crystal Team, and when the time comes, he and his subordinates will cooperate with us to strike from within and without, targeting the Lu Qi Team's territory of the Evil Dog Team."
He glanced at Baimu, specifically mentioning, "In the mine dispute over a week ago, Luo Qi had a showdown with Cang Zhilang himself. Subsequently, Cang Zhilang, trading injury for injury, achieved ultimate victory. Luo Qi returned to the Evil Dog Team's base bedridden and remains unable to get up.
"This wasn't part of our plan, yet it accelerated the ambitious growth in the Quicksand Team's Stone Team and Crystal Team."
Goodness gracious!
What a godsend!
Baimu was quite surprised, not expecting the Quicksand Team to be so fortunate, only concerned about whether Cang Zhilang had recovered since his last severe-looking encounter.
"Luo Qi's volatile temperament makes reckless moves likely. Our main goal is to ensure the Quicksand Team successfully takes over Luo Qi's territory, while luring the Crystal Team to probe another top leader's territory."
Liu Ge softly said, distributing files to everyone.
"These are your basic assigned tasks, and I will adjust according to the situation on the ground."
"Yes!"
The affirmation rang in unison.
Baimu looked at the file in hand, clearly listing his tasks— "defeat official members of the Evil Dog Team, persuade peripheral members to surrender, first ensure his own safety, then the safety of the general populace."
The general populace... indeed, this isn't a surprise attack on the mines; it's targeting the Evil Dog Team's territory within the town, inevitably affecting ordinary people.
The more chaos in Pyrite Town, the higher their chances of success, though inevitably impacting ordinary people.
What causes their weak momentum?
"We can't possibly cover all bases. All we can do is grit our teeth and keep going. Regarding merit or fault, let's wait for the dust to settle before deliberating."
Flop seemed to discern his thoughts, quietly consoling him.
"Indeed, if it could peacefully transform, no one would wish to reach this point, but the root cause lies in those people's greed and rapacity. We aren't qualified to decide for everyone, yet we can't sit by and allow tragedy to occur."
Another person spoke slowly.
Baimu looked at them, noticing neither a hint of blame avoidance in their faces but a deep sense of commitment to bear all responsibility.
This was a team of unwavering conviction, ready to sacrifice themselves.