Chapter 198 - Economic Domination

Just like that, town after town in the Cordian Plains was slowly eroded, black market traders and peddlers spreading the new drugs to every market they could get their hands on. Drug wars and violence erupted everywhere as the nascent industry began to fight over control of the new supply. Gang control shifted day in and day out, and even the major gangs began to find it hard to retain control.

The Violet Demons’ lower rungs began to fracture significantly, with the high income promised by the drugs far too alluring. Any member who got their hands on the supply immediately skyrocketed in both positions and power. Riker was no different, quickly grabbing control of the drug supply and establishing his clique immediately. Riker did not hoard any of the money, using the money to hire as many of his local guys as possible and buying weapons immediately, entrenching himself.

Soon, within a short two weeks, even the local administrator assigned by the Violet Demons could not afford to fight Riker lest he sparked an all-out town war. The Violet Demons were beset by enemies on all sides, so they reached a compromise with Riker.

It was not the only town to suffer from such an upheaval. Hierarchies were shuffled all over the city, with upstarts quickly claiming power and wealth from the new addictive product, serving as the middleman.

But no matter how they fought, they could not offend the only supplier of the drug. And there was only one place where they could obtain that resource – the Seven Snakes. Kyle’s influence over the new middleman increased even further, with critical information from major gangs beginning to surface easily as the Seven Snakes cultivated a closer relationship with them. Just like that, the erosion of the major gangs had begun, Kyle slowly chipping away at their foundations.

The black market began to slowly shift over to the South Sector over the month since the truce was signed, further fuelling the growth of the sector to unparalleled heights. Not just independent smugglers and traders moved over, but even representatives from other major gangs began to approach Kyle, treating him far more cordially than they did when he had first usurped the position of South Sector’s major gang.

Kyle was more than happy at the resounding success of the plan, their drug supply network making headways far more than he could have predicted. Shell companies under the Seven Snakes began to snap up properties for cheap in the Cordian Plains and even other Sectors without even lifting a finger.

“We’ve bought over the trading post in Surrat. This way, we can earn administrative and tax fees from any trader coming into the city. We’re working with Riker now to establish even better transportation methods as well as laying plans for a potential overground railway.” Keith explained.

Kyle found it amusing that Riker had reached such a height but did not think much of it. To Kyle, Riker was just another pawn in the overarching plan, something to make him money. Even if Riker tried to squeeze for a better drug deal, Kyle could simply cut off the supply, rendering Riker’s power base and money useless.

The addiction to the new drug spread like wildfire over the month, faster than the media could even trace. Before anyone knew it, there was a dealer in every town and village within Raktor, and even Kregol began to show signs of supply through the Ravens.

With the black market now moving to the South Sector, the wealthy traders and peddlers began to spend their dirty money in the districts. Kyle was more than happy to accept such money, using it as a way to increase worker wages slightly to enhance retention rates. Make the people happy and rich first, then the money would trickle up.

Rakels flowed freely into the coffers of Kyle, but unlike the hoarding and exploitation of the East Sector, Kyle reinvested close to eight-tenths of the profits, continuously feeding the economic flywheel and causing the companies under him to surge even higher. Kyle knew the base plan – a gang would not prosper when its territory does not. He could only exploit when there was something to exploit, and if he did exploit, it would be in a manner where the population would see it as a good thing.

The members of the Seven Snakes expanded slower, but full-time jobs and employment had a meteoric rise, with thousands of destitute soldiers finding employment as construction workers, factory workers and so on. Their mass employment policy garners much media attention, painting them as heroes and saviours of the South Sector for providing jobs and economic security.

Over the month, the Golden Snakes construction company had completed fifteen pre-fabricated modular apartments with a few dozen more in process, proving the concept's success and prompting Kyle to ramp up production even faster and faster. With close to ten thousand workers in the Golden Snakes, the construction company was a literal behemoth in Raktor, one of the largest construction companies.

A smear and shame campaign was launched by Baron Namor against the drug, attempting to stave consumption and addiction to it. The campaign claimed terrible side effects, and the enforcers in all Sectors had no choice but to outlaw such a substance.

But it only made profits of Kyle even higher – driving the market underground reduced the competition even further, not that he had much to begin with in the first place. With the recipe fully locked down within a select group of people that Kyle kept a close eye on, it was nearly impossible to reverse engineer within a short period.

Kyle was confident that eventually, someone else would figure out how to make a knockoff or begin mixing his product with other chemicals to induce the same high, but as long as he controlled the original Galactic Era seeds of the drug, no one else would come close to the same quality that he had.

What’s even better was that addiction was the significant side effect of the drug, with every other negative side effect as muted as Kyle could make it, refined over multiple iterations. Orisa did not have the capability to simulate the drug’s effects, so Kyle had to resort to other means. Naturally, close to three hundred prisoner thugs died over the course of testing in order to find the limits, but it was a small sacrifice Kyle was willing to make for the greater good.

As such, the smear campaign fell flat, as even construction workers and members of the Seven Snakes bought it with minor repercussions to their productivity.

Work hard, play hard. With this, Kyle had caught nearly all of his civilian workers and men in a vicious cycle where the money rarely left the Seven Snakes. The new drug combined with the alcoholic services provided by Eric Dicar, the brothels run by Slavin, and the various casinos being set up now all created a loop of money, funnelling even more to Kyle. And the workers were happy, willing to part with their money to enjoy a higher standard of living.

While some caught on to what was happening, they could not deny that the reconstruction project was proceeding better than expected. Shopping streets, factories, food markets, pubs and brothels all resumed business. The new apartments built were well made, the renovation décor tasteful and even customised if you paid a little extra. It was truly a time of growth and progress.

The arctech designer course had been completed as well, with Kyle handing off the reins to hired arctech engineers to conduct the subsequent courses. The talent in his companies only grew better with them as they gained more experience in the role, improving the production quality of everything.

Arcia energy was also cheaper than ever thanks to the regenerators, with the Seven Snakes now creating a utility company as well to power the area. Appliances that the common folk thought only the nobles could afford were now commonplace. Kyle even had the arctech designer interns create household appliances that would make everyday life easier. Not every prototype made it to manufacturing, but there were a few hits that made life that much easier.

The news of how good life was under the Seven Snakes spread even faster than the news of the new drug, causing thousands to move to the South Sector, hoping to cash in on the meteoric rise. Sign-up rates for business loans and property purchases rushed in like a never-ending stream. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie.

The Tul’e Da’li could not compete with the sudden rise of living; their method of depressing the economic situation in the East Sector was to exploit the workers’ low wages backfiring on them. Even the former gang members of the Red Lions and the Wretches who gathered under them slowly sneaked away from the outlying districts, hoping to taste the greener pastures in the Seven Snakes districts.

“It’s brilliant. Every wage that we pay the workers would eventually come back to us as well, thanks to us dominating the entertainment and food industry here.” Keith remarked, his eyes filled with money as he ran through the ‘taxes’ paid to the Seven Snakes.

Businesses that took a loan from the Seven Snakes were already repaying a duplicated debt thanks to the modified loan agreement. In contrast, other businesses who wanted in had no choice but to pay a ‘protection fee’ to the Seven Snakes. After all, Kyle still wasn’t running a charity – he was running a gang first and foremost. Why would he treat those not in his circle nicely?

With the central five districts being uplifted, the surrounding population began to shift dramatically. Baron Cain’s district control weakened slightly, with more and more people flocking over. Kyle began his expansion to the remaining five districts supposedly under his control, planning even more expansion to keep the economic growth going.

The megacorporation is forming nicely. With multiple companies now under his belt, it was difficult for anyone living under him to pull away from the ecosystem that he developed. The Golden Snakes Construction Company would have built an average citizen’s house, his utility provided for by the Seven Snakes utility company, his media produced by the Sliver Snakes Flim company, and the food supplies right from Raktor.

Kyle could only liken it to a cruise ship – once the airlock was closed, the customer could be exploited for every penny in his pocket. After all, where would the customer get food in the middle of space or in the middle of a vast ocean?

Kyle also did not neglect Versia, having moved over to inspect their current operations. With the war now stopped, ADCON was now in charge of ensuring convoy protection. Their reputation in Versia was sky high thanks to their accolades in war, with traders contracting them.

The trade routes were still not safe, with every major gang still attempting to hijack and weaken the Seven Snakes in any way possible. The same old tired methods of boycotting, brigading and corporate espionage went on as usual, though nothing could stop the Seven Snakes' meteoric rise.

This month did not pass idly for Kyle in terms of training and combat as well. His elite squads have surged in numbers, increasing from two hundred to a thousand. Combining them with the cream of the crop of ADCON resulted in nearly five thousand elite soldiers who were veterans of combat.

However, Kyle had yet to break through to the next Arcia Reinforcement stage, and there were only four months until the prophet returned for him. He had Mari try to find and remove the arcia curse mark planted on him and remove it, but Mari was still inexperienced.

Her combat skills had significantly improved over the month, growing from a weak young girl to a confident soldier capable of carrying out her own missions. Kyle already had her assist Victoria in Kregol a few times, and Mari had completed it flawlessly.

Kyle also did not ignore what he had earned last time. The moment the truce was signed, he immediately returned to Ulut and retrieved the broken mech and exosuit that Harrison was wearing, trying to reverse-engineer the technologies within.

However, despite his understanding of technology from his former life, a D-class crime lord would always find it hard to grasp the underlying principles of A-Class technology truly. The mech’s inner construction and make were far beyond both Kyle’s comprehension and Orisa’s sensors. And even if Kyle figured out how to build it from scratch, the exotics required were also nowhere to be found.

Despite the limitations, Kyle still continued to examine them, hoping to glean some insights that could further enhance his capabilities. His days over the month became a continuous routine: teaching, practising arctech engraving, reverse-engineering, solving problems in Raktor, and then training with Mari.

It was only by the end of the month that he found a sense of security when Kyle received his reports from everyone. Yes, the Wardens were still lurking somewhere, but he could now truly say that he had come out on top of the hectic war, even when things went sideways.

Not even Baron Namor would dare to expel the Seven Snakes directly, even when he became Count. Kyle had already set aside a bribe, though deep down, he was already plotting his next move in order to truly grab even more for himself. Like fucking hell one city and Versia is enough for me to dominate this planet.

He was but an ant in the face of larger nations such as the Hwa Dynasty and the Yual Dominion in general. Still, a long way to go, but I got plenty of time. Just have to continue growing even after Baron Namor becomes the Count, and then try to figure out what's happening with the Emperor-

[Sir, the analysis of the cybernetics is complete. The composition of the metal matches that of the mech unit you retrieved from Utul as well. The chemical composition is -]

Both of them made in the same place? Kyle squinted his eyes at the result Orisa was showing him, though the statistics of the metal went over his head. Without his cranial implant from his former life, it was difficult for him to remember everything he had previously stored about material science. “Skip the statistics. Where is the closest location to this?”

[My apologies, I do not have geology information for every location on this planet. However, I can confirm that the metal was recently constructed up to five years ago.]

So there really is a recent Galactic Era factory active on this planet. But where?

[The metal is composed of Thercial – the exotic is present in the vicinity of the east of the Yual Dominion, albeit in small quantities. I have also scanned and found stamps that may be of interest.]

A few nanoscale pictures appeared, with Kyle instantly recognising them. That font and writing style, its precisely the same as the kaya butter tin we found in the Keru Forest Dungeon. He recalled Feldon mentioning that it was from Proco.

Kyle pondered momentarily, pulling out a map which marked the time it took to reach Proco. It was literally half a continent away, something his hovercraft could not easily cover in a single charge unless he used his Advanced Arcia Crystal. Going by land would take close to a few weeks one-way, meaning it would be a month on the road.

With the Prophet’s Trial looming closer, Kyle could not afford to go on a trip that may be a failed lead. He needed to find more evidence that it was really Proco that he should be going to. And the only place still with evidence left is the Keru Forest Dungeon. Kyle had not cleared all of the Trials yet, with half of the dungeon blocked off thanks to his fight with Soren.

But now that he had unlimited access to the dungeon, perhaps it would be better to accelerate his growth by participating in the trials even more – his level has been stagnant for a long time, and by pitting himself against the trials, he could potentially gain more insights and increase his arcia reinforcement stage.

The plan for individual training became obvious: clear the trials of the Keru Dungeon, finish the Prophet’s Trial, and then head to Proco to figure out where the Galactic Era factory was.

Time to power up.