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The next morning.
"Everyone gather at the village entrance!"
Scotch and his subordinates herded all the villagers from the town. Since the laborers had fled, only the elderly, weak, women, and children remained.
Fear. Unease.
Soon, the gathering was complete.
Scotch ran to Daichi, respectfully reporting, "Daichi-sama, all the town's residents are here."
"Scotch, you've done well!"
Daichi patted Scotch's shoulder, then walked toward the crowd.
Scotch was ecstatic.
Not only had Daichi-sama not killed him, but he'd also given him a chance to atone. He was determined to repay Daichi-sama with his life.
Daichi arrived at the village square. He looked down at the trembling villagers huddled together and raised his hand amid their terrified gazes.
"Clap clap!"
Upon receiving the signal, subordinates immediately carried down bags of grain and poured pristine white rice into large barrels.
The sight of gleaming white rice immediately brought longing to the villagers' eyes. They had long forgotten when they last ate fragrant rice.
Daichi spoke calmly.
"Scotch."
"Yes!"
Scotch immediately stepped forward. Amid the villagers' terrified gazes, he lifted a small elderly woman and brought her before Daichi.
Daichi picked up a rice bag, filled it to the brim, and personally handed it to the old woman. He smiled as he spoke.
"This rice is yours."
"For this old woman?"
The elderly woman held the heavy rice, stunned. She couldn't believe pirates would give her food.
The villagers stirred.
"Silence!"
Daichi's cold shout immediately quieted the square.
"This rice is for all of you. Each adult gets 8 kg of rice, and each child gets 4 kg. You can claim a portion every month from now on."
"Now, line up to receive your rice!"
For a moment, no one dared move.
But the craving for food quickly suppressed their fear of pirates. From the first person who stepped out, the villagers quickly formed a line.
For nearly an hour, every villager held heavy bags of rice, even children as young as three.
So much rice—if they saved it, it would last them a month. Families with children received even more.
They didn't understand why the pirates would distribute food to them.
Daichi said calmly, "I know you hate us, and I don't need your gratitude. I just want to tell you one thing."
"As long as you're willing to work peacefully for our Beast Pirates, in this chaotic and terrible world, we can at least feed you. We'll protect you from other pirates and allow you to live!"
"Now, the laborers on this island have started an uprising. Among them are your husbands, your children, and your children's fathers!"
"The laborers are your family, but they've destroyed this island's peace and your stable lives. They are sinners!"
"Even if they succeed in their uprising and drive us away, then what?"
"Pirates in the New World are as numerous as grains of sand. Once we leave, other pirates will immediately plunder you, or even kill you all!"
"Can the strength of those laborers alone protect you?"
"I'll give you time to consider."
"Before sunrise tomorrow, whoever reveals where the laborers are hiding will be rewarded with 100 kg of rice and 50 kg of fresh meat!"
Having said that, Daichi turned and left.
The villagers stood stunned.
No one expected a pirate to speak such words to them. In the past, when pirates arrived, it was always about burning, killing, and looting. How could they be so gentle?
And the food in their arms was real.
At this moment, they actually agreed with what the pirate had said.
Before the Beast Pirates arrived, they also lived incredibly difficult lives, constantly facing pirate raids and having to flee into the mountains for refuge.
After pirates left, villages would be in ruins.
Even houses would be set ablaze.
Repeatedly, they had long become numb.
For an entire day, people in several small towns on the island received rice. Before sunset, they ate fragrant white rice.
The feeling of a full stomach brought tears to many common people's eyes.
Night fell at the weapons factory.
Kikara, wearing an apron and holding a broom and rag, her eyes shining, said, "Daichi-sama, your room has been cleaned."
"Thank you."
Daichi walked into the temporary residence. Looking at the spotless, sparkling room, his mouth twitched involuntarily.
It was too clean.
When he walked into the bathroom, his inner discomfort intensified.
The toilet was so clean it could be licked!
He couldn't bring himself to use it!
"Are Celestial Dragons all this pampered?"
Ever since Kikara followed him, his room was always spotless. Not only that, but all services were quite thorough, truly giving him a taste of the Celestial Dragon lifestyle.
When he came out of the bathroom, Kikara had already prepared exquisite tea and books, as if by magic.
"Sir, please enjoy."
"Thank you."
Daichi sat down to drink tea and read.
"The rebel laborers should have received the news by now."
In his opinion, dealing with the labor uprising was actually very simple. He only needed to sow discord between them and the common people.
Without the people's support, the uprising army couldn't maintain guerrilla warfare. Even supplies would become difficult, and they would soon collapse on their own.
In reality, simply suppressing the labor uprising wasn't that troublesome.
But as the saying goes, to kill, one must destroy the heart.
He not only wanted to suppress the laborers but also extinguish their will to resist, making them willingly work for the Beast Pirates.
Wasn't the Revolutionary Army behind this labor uprising? Even the Revolutionary Army's second-in-command had come.
He wanted to see what tricks the Revolutionary Army could pull.
He'd play along!
"Knock knock knock!"
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
Scotch pushed open the door, his eyes filled with admiration. He initially didn't understand Daichi's food distribution, but now he understood.
Just after dark, villagers kept secretly coming to inform. More than five known laborer strongholds were revealed.
As expected of Daichi-sama!
How could he think of such a despicable yet brilliant scheme!
"Daichi-sama, we know the laborers' strongholds!"
"Got it. You may leave."
Daichi waved his hand, continuing to read.
Huh?!
Scotch was stunned.
Since they knew the strongholds, why didn't they immediately eliminate the rebellious laborers? What if the laborers received news and escaped?
Although he couldn't understand, Scotch dared not question.
Zebra Island, deep within the interior.
At the main stronghold of the rebel labor army, a scouting laborer reported anxiously.
"Captain Gabul, emergency! The Beast Pirates have arrived. They didn't cause trouble. Instead, they distributed food to the town's residents!"
The scout described in detail what happened during the day. He even pulled out a small half-bag of rice from his clothes—his wife had secretly given it to him.
Gabul's face gradually turned pale.
"It's over!"