Industrial Oligarch Leoz
Li Aozi opened his hands and examined his updated panel:
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[Civilization Name]: White Candle Autonomous Dominion (Member of the Star Alliance)
[Type]: Mercenary Autonomy (Standing army over 100,000, no distinctive output items)
[Capital]: Faithkeep City (Immigrant City: +30% appeal to foreign enterprises, +10% crime rate)
[Level]: Level 4 Planetary Civilization (Status: Independent)
[System]: Oligarchic Presidential System (The President alone controls the nation's economic lifeline, as well as the military and judiciary—decision implementation speed +120%)
[Faith]: State Religion/Free Worship
State Religion: 「God of Reality」Leozi
Paths:
[Domination] (Official)
[Craft] (Mainstream)
[Destruction], [Eerie], [Plunder], [Redemption] (Rare)
[Leader]: Leoz·Dominate
[Political Factions]: Immigrants, Industrialists, Intellectuals
[Faction Members]: Sorenf Nikita, Saga Qi (ID: Caramel Snail), Asakusa Yako (ID: Cumin Powder), etc.
(All Azure Star immigrants by default join Li Aozi's political faction)
[Industries]: Magic Healthcare, Magic Education, Tech Industry, Basic Magic Industry, Handicrafts.
[Armed Forces]:
Army: White Candle Star Magic Troops (10 battalions); National Guard (4 brigades); Descender Mercenaries (30 divisions); Descender Free Mercenaries (20 battalions); Delta-tier Colonial Soldiers (299 units)
Air Force: Water Strider Guerrilla Squads (12 squads, up to 3,600 craft airborne); Griffon Knights (4 battalions, total 400 mounts); Hell Bat Bomber Formation (1 battalion)
Navy: Magic Navigation Carrier Battle Group (1 unit)
Space Force: 3 "Furnace"-class medium space cruisers, 20 "Water Ripple"-class cargo ships
National Defense Strength: 5.8 (Ranked 59,455 in the Layered Abyss)
[Landmark Architecture]: Ruin Conference Hall (Gather every Sunday morning, dine together at night)
[Treasury]: 0.7 billion Anjin
[Administration Points]: 100 (Sources: Issue effective decrees accepted by residents; further expand your administrative team and build a viable tax system)
[Population]: 3.014 billion
[Primary Ethnicity]: Tanas (98%), Azure Star Descent (1.3%), Other Immigrants (0.7%)
[Potential Threats]:
External—Instability in surrounding areas. Many space pirates eye this fledgling regime. Quickly bolster your defense strength, survey star charts, and conduct regional sweeps.
Internal—Some Tanas people fear the Azure Star immigrants. Try to ease their mutual suspicions.
[Regime Legitimacy]: Orthodox
[Status]: A weak but fully recognized nation (Happiness cap -10%)
[Economy]:
Annual GDP: 1.04 billion Anjin (As an oligarch, your personal holdings are included)
Per Capita Income: 0.82 Anjin
Debt: No deficit at present
Some areas are already facing a wave of unemployment.
[Happiness]: 44/90 (Weak nation: -10 cap)
[Comment]:
"You took over a nation stripped of core advantages, with decayed industry and demoralized populace. People haven't recovered from the last catastrophe. As a leader, it's time you did something."
"Your people's qualifications are low, lacking scholars and magicians, unsuited for advanced magic workshops. The gap in knowledge means no way to operate production, forcing a regression to a backward magic industrial era. Fortunately, you bought up the nation's essential industries and stand by the belief that real industrial work will strengthen the country—this has earned you a high position in industrialists' eyes."
"Your oligarchic group currently controls the market, giving you ample capital at your disposal. But money alone can't rule forever—moreover, foreign capital has long coveted your market. You must also bring in new technology and talent to revitalize your facilities and workshops."
"Your nation needs rebuilding on all fronts. People's destinies now hinge on your decisions."
[Recommended Development]: Draw in foreign investment, build up national defense, strengthen education
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Since the new national palace wasn't finished, after the inauguration ceremony, Li Aozi returned to the government office in Faithkeep City. Gazing at the nation-building panel, he slowly nodded.
On paper, the figures and situation were total chaos, but at least the army looked decent, right?
Actually… even that single carrier and the space cruisers were grounded due to insufficient tech personnel. They sat idly in harbors and spaceports, costing a fortune in maintenance every month.
The GDP and per capita income were frighteningly low—less than 100 Anjin per capita annually. In the interstellar market, that's even worse than slave labor.
The education gap was extremely severe. Workshops lay abandoned with no one to run them. Many elders relied on magic healthcare to survive, yet with the supply of potions gone, the death rate had soared.
"Step by step."
Closing the window, Li Aozi wasn't anxious—he was confident he could manage the autonomous dominion.
His interest groups were still limited, and he needed to gradually bring in the citizenry.
Being labeled an oligarch hardly surprised him—he did own the entire planet. He only created a constitutional presidency to ease his own burden.
Meanwhile, [President] was among the top-tier identity classes.
Mainly, it's widely adaptable.
Compared to being an [Emperor], you can command a bigger army. Compared to being a [Prime Minister], you gain greater interest group support. Compared to being a [Grand Scholar], you get more industrial bonuses. Compared to being a [Patriarch], you gain more diplomatic skills…
In short, [President] is a versatile identity class, quite suited to Li Aozi's current situation.
[President·Oligarch]:
[Class Talent·Servant of the People]—You're the people's leader, chosen by popular will, and you'll follow the people's will.
Effect: For every 100 points of your main attribute, loyalty faction size +0.1%, loyalists' inner circle +10%, interest group favor +1 (max 10)
[Class Talent·No Trespass]—You monopolize national industrial profits. No one may defy your will in this realm. Even if a fool tries, your financial firepower will blow them away.
Effect: As leader, you can use your personal funds to undertake national investment projects, claiming at least 30% of returns as your private asset.
Also, you receive 10% of annual GDP as personal presidential salary.
"Exactly what I needed."
Li Aozi smiled.
The biggest advantage of being [President]?
A strong bond with the people!
As a highly Charismatic [Domination] ascendant, his affinity was already off the charts. Now combining [President] and a [Kindness Aura], in theory, unless he makes a mistake, even partying on a yacht every day would keep people adoring him.
Yet, Li Aozi wouldn't settle for just that.
Development and construction demand start-up capital, meaning loans.
Borrowing money means turning to someone—either the [Crystal Tower] or the 「United Group」.
Going to the former means lowering himself, maybe letting their workshop owners seize the market.
Going to the latter means letting Red-Gold capitalists preach and exploit everything, which might be even worse.
So no solution?
But as one philosopher said: "All paths to quick wealth are listed in the Penal Code."
Hence, Li Aozi decided to go 'rob' a bit.
Or not rob, exactly—now that he's civilized, a president, he calls it an enlightenment mission.
He specifically restructured the nation as a mercenary autonomy largely because his players had reached Gamma-tier, brimming with XP under the current version, itching for fights. This was their fiercest period.
Merely letting them farm bosses or do blade runs would soon bore them. A clever game designer never tells players how to play but offers an uncharted realm to explore and have fun with moderate guidance.
During a break, Leoz checked the forum. Caramel Snail's final match was wrapping up soon.
Caramel Snail performed well this tournament, making it to the grand finals against another Yanxia native, Long Yuqiong.
As for the team events:
Nightblade Sword, Yanxia's top player, ironically… ironically got upset.
The entire [Endless Pioneer] pro team was targeted in the quarterfinals. Drawing a vacuum environment map and lacking zero-g combat experience, they lost miserably.
The other Yanxia teams also didn't get far.
For example, Cumin Powder's [Fragrant Chicken], whose core members got terminated in the [Mechanical Society] blockade, severely weakening them. Apart from Cumin Powder, the rest were substitutes, and they went out at Top 16.
The team event's big defeats left many Yanxia players disappointed. Li Aozi felt somewhat guilty as well.
"Time to implement my plan."
Forty thousand immortal, unyielding players.
Of them, 30,000—i.e., 30 divisions—had been militarized. Most were military enthusiasts or veterans devoting themselves to soldier accounts, daily tactical training, thoroughly enjoying it. They'd form the main battle force.
While they might struggle against a normal interstellar civilization, conquering primitive planets unrecognized by anyone would be a breeze.
The Galactic Eye region—are there unrecognized primitive planets?
Not only are there some… there are plenty.
Four thousand… five thousand?
Because the universe is just that huge, there's no end of them.
Some even lie in territory controlled by the Night Butterfly race or their affiliates, and as President of the Tanas people, no moral blame would fall on him for waging war.
In his plan, he was originally going to sign certain mutual defense treaties with the Crystal Tower.
So they'd explore unknown space, wipe out the Night Butterfly Federation's outposts, serving as proof of loyalty.
Now that he'd become independent, he had no interest in picking sides.
The purpose of war remains economic. Under the pretext of exploring space, his smuggling would continue.
Especially with dozens of planets in his memory containing key side quests. While they lack resources themselves, these quests are gold for players.
Letting the players rampage will drive the economy—enough to help White Candle Star break free.
Players still have three years before the version update, plenty of time for Li Aozi to lead the army in sweeping their surroundings.
"It's time for our grand expedition."
Li Aozi opened the panel and issued his first decree since taking office:
"Raise the White Candle Autonomous Dominion's military budget to 16%, increase soldier pay by 30%, officers by 50%, add landing combat exercises…"
Simultaneously, he compiled a [Join Military Training] quest for the players.
"Next, we'll be an army that has its own nation."