Chapter 553.1: The Heavens Have Changed

Military operations against the various gangs in the slums continued until midnight.

The First Corps deployed two battalions, bringing a total of 52 wheeled armored vehicles and 12 Tank 1s into the fray.

The Boulder Town Militia initially sent in two battalions and later increased it to three.

To the gangs hiding in the slums, such overwhelming military force was undoubtedly overkill, like using a cannon to kill a fly.

Many survivors shared the same opinion.

But in the words of the administrator, the gang forces infesting the slums had become a breeding ground for marauders and evil.

They maintained a semblance of order, but were also the root of all chaos in Clearspring City.

If the tumor wasn’t eradicated, it didn’t matter how many marauder tribes were destroyed, new ones would keep spawning like monsters in a game.

The chronic disease had plagued the land for over a century. It had to be treated with strong medicine.

The New Alliance wasn’t just going to swat the damn fly, they were going to make a show of it, loud enough for every would-be troublemaker to hear. They wanted to show the other disgusting flies how exactly a fly dies.

Thus, none of the corps held back. Anyone caught resisting with weapons or bearing gang tattoos was rounded up.

The number of people involved turned out to be far greater than anyone had expected.

The Dagger Gang alone had enough arrested to form a full battalion. Dean Gang contributed over 800, and the Poison Gang another 600.

A black mass of prisoners stood at the gates of Boulder Town, tied together 10 to a rope, packed tightly. There was another group under the overpass in the distance.

Jeff, who had been pinned to the ground, was utterly stunned. The gang members he usually dealt with were just the core few.

Even he hadn’t realized that all the loosely affiliated people under his thumb added up to so many.

What chilled him even more was that the New Alliance seemed to know his operations better than he did!

Weast was equally dumbfounded.

He had thought the New Alliance only started watching them when they took over Boulder Town, but as it turned out... They might’ve been planning the entire operation all along...

Approaching Chu Guang, Wrench came to attention and saluted. "A total of 4,713 have been arrested, 671 were killed during the operation!"

Standing beside Chu Guang, Joey’s expression shifted subtly at the number.

“That many... That’s almost two percent of the entire slum population.”

Boulder Town had never formally counted the number of slum dwellers, but estimates placed it at around 200,000.

Wrench continued with a stern expression, “The situation here is more complex than we thought. We’ve only captured the core members near strongholds and those who resisted. A large number of members are still hiding somewhere in the slums.”

After all, they were soldiers, not detectives. Their methods were inevitably rough, and some innocents might have been wrongly rounded up. However, it wasn’t entirely unjustified.

The New Alliance had already warned slum survivors to stay home.

If someone wasn’t part of a construction crew, ignored the warning, happened to be between the ages of 16 and 35, was armed, and was caught wandering near a gang’s base of operations, they could hardly blame anyone for being mistaken as gang members.

Later, the New Alliance would interrogate the captured individuals separately. Those found innocent through their testimonies and collected evidence would be released. The rest would be dealt with accordingly.

Glancing at the people in the distance, Chu Guang nodded. “Go after the major players and let the small ones go. Keep coming back. Focus on eliminating organized crime, don’t let a single one slip through. Peripheral members with lesser involvement should be rehabilitated. Have them registered as offenders. If they reoffend, the punishment will be harsher.”

No one lived absolutely crime free. Living under gang-controlled order, most able-bodied slum dwellers had some involvement, even if it was indirect.

In fact, the construction teams were a form of rehabilitation and division. As long as they worked honestly, the events that happened that night had nothing to do with them.

By uniting a portion of the peripheral members under the new order, the New Alliance aimed to minimize the risk of a hidden bomb within the slums.

Then, they would send in the military to smash the criminal underworld completely.

That was the whole plan.

Wrench asked in a deep voice, “How should we deal with these people?”

“Same as marauders. Leaders are executed first, then tried. Core members are tried first, then executed. The rest go to labor camps...”

He paused, then corrected himself. “Actually, forget the labor camps. Set up a disciplinary camp instead. The Tide is coming.”

Locking criminals up with those who were captured felt inhumane. Better to keep the trash sorted.

“Yes, sir!” Wrench placed his right fist to his chest in salute, then turned and headed toward the nearby troops to give orders.

After handing off the punishment of gang members to Wrench, Chu Guang turned to the suitcase lying in the snow nearby.

Inside were bundles of light brown banknotes, each with a face value of 100,000.

These were spoils confiscated from the Dagger Gang’s base.

There had been silver coins, Dinars, and CR as well, which he had sent with the guards to be stored at the courthouse with the other evidence.

Player rewards would be calculated separately. The spoils would be confiscated once the trial concluded.

“Bugra... I remember this is the Bugra Free State’s currency.”

Following Chu Guang’s gaze, Joey frowned as he looked at the paper money and muttered, “I’ve long heard there were people from the Bugra Free State who were involved in the slum.”

Gang syndicates were one of the Bugra Free State’ specialties.

Over there, the militaries of the biggest companies were strongest, followed by the chaotic mix of gangs, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and lastly the government army and police.

They sold weapons of civilization to marauders and exported raiding methods to the civilized.

Compared to pure marauder factions or survivor settlements, the Bugra Free State preferred dealing with entities that sat between the two.

Such clients allowed them to export both weapons and experts, and earn better profits.

Chu Guang nodded and said slowly, “Matches what I heard. Bugra Free State agents bribed some inner city nobles. According to Welon, they had been watching the visitors from the North for some time. But those people rarely touched their turf, so they didn’t pay them much attention, occasionally trading with them or hiring them for shady tasks they didn’t want to dirty their hands with.”

The Dagger Gang was a Bugra Free State-backed faction.

Their methods were subtle, creating a hidden rule system beneath the official one and extracting extra profits from marginalized and vulnerable people.

Because they didn’t threaten the vested interests, and often even collaborated with them, most settlements or survivor factions weren’t inclined to deal with them.

“This is going to be troublesome...” Joey sighed. “If we don’t resolve the problem up north, even if we squash these few cockroaches, more will crawl out after.”

“No matter how hard it is, we have to deal with it.” Staring in the direction of the slums, Chu Guang narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Even without neighbors in the North, the wasteland constantly churns out chaos. If we want to preserve our achievements, we must handle the aftermath, build robust systems, seal every loophole, and shrink these cockroaches’ survival space until there’s no soil left for them in our New Alliance.”

One couldn’t say flies never land on uncracked eggs, but on the wasteland, there were still places the Bugra Free State couldn’t penetrate.

Like the Academy and the Enterprise...

“I’ll coordinate with Lorette and Luca on this. Of course, we’ll also need cooperation from your militia.”

Sensing the resolve in his words, Joey gave a slight nod and respectfully placed his right fist over his heart. “It’s my honor to be of service.”

...

The second half of the night passed peacefully.

The next morning, before dawn broke, 20 disheveled gang leaders were marched by a 100-man team into the open area between the marketplace and the main gate.

The commotion at the gate drew countless onlookers. The wastelanders trapped in the marketplace swarmed to the entrance to see what was happening.

Many traders familiar with Boulder Town recognized the bound men, some even called out their names in shock.

“Jeff... and Weast?!”

“The bosses of the Dagger Gang!”

“The third boss is here too!”

“And leaders from Dean and Poison Gangs...”

“Holy hell, the three major gangs have been gathered?!”

“What’s the New Alliance planning to do?!”

People stared toward the gate, murmuring as they watched New Alliance soldiers cover the gang leaders’ heads with plastic sacks.

But their curiosity didn’t last long, the answer was revealed quickly.

20 rifle-carrying soldiers marched in step behind the group, and without a single word, loaded their weapons.

Some wastelanders sensed what was coming next but couldn’t believe the New Alliance would go that far, astonishment painted their faces.

Bang, bang, bang!

A volley of gunshots rang out. Blood mist burst from the back of 20 heads, their bodies slumping into the snow without a word.

They probably thought they still had value, at least enough for a trial. They likely never expected the New Alliance to kill them on the spot.

When the shots rang out, they had absolutely no time to prepare.

One man who was miraculously still alive, twitched on the bloodied snow. The plastic sack had fallen off his head.

It was Jeff, the underground emperor of the slums and Boulder Town. He was the boss of the Dagger Gang.

“Ka... ah...”

His blood-soaked mouth opened and closed, leaking more red as he tried to plead, but no coherent words came out. He could only look at the soldier walking toward him with a desperate, trembling hand raised.

His lips seemed to mouth the words, ‘Give me another chance’.

The soldier didn’t say a word. After all, he didn’t even know who the fellow was.

Seeing a marauder boss still alive, the young soldier quickened his steps, raised his rifle, and fired another shot to the head.

Bang!

The marketplace fell into dead silence.

Only the fading echo of the gunshot lingered.

Jeff’s pupils dilated, his arm dropped into the snow, and with it ended his wretched, sin-stained life.

Seeing the Dagger Gang boss die like a stray dog, many wastelanders involuntarily swallowed hard.

Looking again at the soldiers in exoskeletons, fear rooted deep into their bones.

The New Alliance weren’t messing around!