365: Skynet Independence

After a series of urgent artificial resuscitation efforts, Fan Jin was finally slapped awake by Liang Jianfang!

The first thing Fan Jin did upon waking was not to ask a common question like, “What happened?” Instead, he prostrated himself before Lin Yue and bowed, saying, “Your Subordinate, Fan Jin, will dedicate himself to my Lord with all his heart and soul, until death!”

[Fan Jin's loyalty +100! Reached unwavering loyalty!]

[Mid-stage Civil Official reached unwavering loyalty to the player, rewarding the player with a Lucky Small Treasure Chest × 1!]

Lin Yue's mouth twitched slightly. After a long pause, he forced a smile and said, “Please rise quickly. From now on, you two must work together with one heart. Only then will you not fail my expectations of you.”

“Yes!” Fan Jin responded excitedly!

Although he didn't know why he fainted from excitement at the mere mention of an official position, he felt as if he had some deep-seated obsession, always feeling his blood surge!

“As for Wan San, I know you have extraordinary talent in commerce, and I intend to let you continue trading.

I have twenty-five thousand taels of silver here as your capital. This is all I have for now.” Lin Yue was a bit embarrassed. Although he previously felt he couldn't possibly spend it all, now, in front of Shen Wansan, he felt his wealth was somewhat inadequate.

But this was all he had. Perhaps Feng Cai might have a little extra money, but with the current expansion of the Fief and a host of other expenses, Lin Yue really couldn't bring himself to ask.

So, this was the only way.

“My Lord, rest assured, this capital is more than enough for Wan San!” Shen Wansan bowed with a smile, not feeling it was too little at all.

Lin Yue smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, “For now, you can travel around and conduct some initial investigations.

Furthermore, you don't need to report to me about these twenty-five thousand taels of silver. You can act on your own discretion; just give me a general update every six months.” Lin Yue said.

In reality, he was just an office worker. If he were to micromanage Shen Wansan, it would only tie Shen Wansan's hands.

An amateur guiding a professional would only lead to chaos in the end.

This would be a disaster for both of them!

Upon hearing these words, Shen Wansan's heart trembled. He understood how much authority he was being granted, and it also represented how much trust his Lord placed in him!

He then said, “Your Subordinate will not fail the expectations of all the Lords!”

[Shen Wansan's loyalty +15, Shen Wansan's loyalty to the player reached 95!]

“Good, go ahead and do it. If you encounter any problems you can't solve, tell me, and I will do my best to resolve them for you,” Lin Yue said.

“Yes!” Shen Wansan said with a smile.

“Alright, Feng Cai, take these two to handle their household registration.” Lin Yue waved his hand, and Feng Cai led the three away with a bow.

Once only Lin Yue and Guo Jia remained in the room, Lin Yue said, “Fengxiao, I actually have two small forces, but they are not suitable for public display.”

“Oh?” Guo Jia became interested and asked, “What forces?”

“One is called ‘Heaven's Net,’ primarily for intelligence, and the other is for assassination. However, their scale is not large, and they are still in the initial stages of establishment. Would you like me to take you to see them?” Lin Yue asked.

“Let's take a look. I happen to have some free time,” Guo Jia said with a smile.

“That would be excellent!” Lin Yue said with a smile.

He then rose and walked towards Song Yi and Shen Qin's location.

Soon, they arrived at Song Yi's place.

“Knock, knock, knock!” Lin Yue gently knocked on the door.

The door was quickly opened by an ordinary-looking farmer.

“Sir?” The man looked at him, speaking with some uncertainty.

“I'm looking for Song Yi. Is he here?” Lin Yue asked.

“He is. Sir, please follow me.” The man led Lin Yue inside.

“Your sword-wielding hand must be steady. In our line of work, the sword must move with your heart. Once your hand trembles, all your efforts will be in vain!”

From afar, Song Yi's voice drifted over.

Lin Yue walked a few more steps, and Song Yi turned to look at him.

“Your Subordinate, Song Yi, greets my Lord!” Song Yi bowed.

The nine individuals who were holding their swords also followed Song Yi in saluting Lin Yue, saying, “Your Subordinates greet our Lord!”

“Mm.” Lin Yue nodded, gave Song Yi a look, and walked into the house.

Song Yi turned back to the nine people and said, “Who told you to stop? Practice for two more hours!”

He then followed Lin Yue into the house. Just then, another person jumped over the wall and came in.

Seeing the others holding their swords, he chuckled and also walked towards the house.

“Song Yi, Shen Qin, this is Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao, my strategist. You two should first tell him about your respective situations,” Lin Yue said with a smile.

“Yes!” The two responded. Song Yi secretly sized up Guo Jia, wondering what was so remarkable about this young man.

Shen Qin, however, lowered his head and reported, “Strategist Sir, your Subordinate, Shen Qin, currently oversees Heaven's Net and is responsible for intelligence work.”

“Good, tell me about the current situation of Heaven's Net,” Guo Jia said.

“Yes! Heaven's Net currently has three hundred and ten people, divided into three groups, distributed in the imperial capital Xianyang, Xiangping Commandery City, and Heye City. Among them, the force in the imperial capital Xianyang is the smallest,” Shen Qin said.

“I understand.” Guo Jia didn't ask further, merely nodding faintly.

Seeing this, Song Yi also said, “Strategist Sir, your Subordinate, Song Yi, currently has nine people under his command. Among them, one is at the Initial-stage Martial General realm, two are at the Half-step Martial General realm, three are at the Special-grade Soldier realm, and three are at the High-grade Soldier realm.

They are all capable of assassinating Martial Generals one realm higher than themselves.”

“Mm, mm, I understand.” Guo Jia nodded and then said to Lin Yue, “My Lord, I've learned enough.”

“That's enough already?” Lin Yue was a bit surprised.

“Mm,” Guo Jia said with a composed smile.

“Good.” Lin Yue said to Song Yi and Shen Qin, “From now on, you two will directly follow the strategist's orders. If he tells you to go east, you must not go west, understand?”

“Yes!” The two responded.

“Then let's go,” Lin Yue said.

“Mm.” Guo Jia nodded, and then Song Yi saw the three off at the door, and they each returned home.

Seeing no one around, Guo Jia finally said, “My Lord, these two organizations must be independent of each other in the future.”

“Hm? They've always been independent,” Lin Yue said, somewhat puzzled.

“Not independent as they are now, but rather, the two organizations must maintain mutual secrecy. These are two distinct organizations,” Guo Jia explained.

“I'll listen to everything the strategist says,” Lin Yue said with a bow and a smile.

He suddenly understood why Guo Jia had only asked a few simple questions earlier and then said he understood. This was because he didn't want Song Yi and Shen Qin to communicate too deeply. One could say that for Shen Qin's Heaven's Net to achieve absolute security, it must first achieve internal security!

“Have Shen Qin come to see me tonight,” Guo Jia said to Lin Yue.

“Good,” Lin Yue nodded.

“Ah... I'm so thirsty...” Guo Jia suddenly said.

“Then let's go back quickly. There's water at the mansion,” Lin Yue said.

“Water has no flavor,” Guo Jia suddenly smiled.

Lin Yue understood. He took out the good wine he had previously confiscated from “Drunkard” Zhang Mazi from his spatial treasure and handed it to Guo Jia: “Fengxiao, drink a little less.”

Guo Jia took it with a smile and said to Lin Yue, “Fengxiao thanks my Lord!”

He then opened the lid, sniffed it with a look of intoxication, and finally took a large gulp!

“Good wine!”