A week had gone by. Hanna returned after completing her training in the system and took charge of managing Frostwood's civil affairs. Like others who underwent the system's training, she came back armed and equipped with brand-new gear. Trained to paramilitary standards, her equipment included a custom addition – the MP7 alongside the standard 416 used by the troops.
"How was your holiday?" Bell asked, teasingly.
"Interesting, to say the least," Hanna replied.
They were currently in Hanna's personal office, a space Lisa and Bell had been using for the past couple of days to handle civil affairs on the demonic side. Most had fallen in line, aligning with Bell's initial hopes. The majority, being refugees, welcomed the Federation with open arms.
The elves hesitated initially, but Eldrin managed to persuade them that the Federation would bring more good than harm in the long run. This included protection from the husks and other threats. Aurora further enhanced their confidence with her charismatic appearance, resembling an ice queen rather than a captain of the Federal Armed Forces.
However, Hussar and the rest of the town's largest population remained suspicious of Bell's intentions. A quick census revealed some were miners seeking fortunes, with a few originating from the Southern Coalition’s countries.
"Regarding Umbrilium, we've set up a mine and already started selling processed ore in the commissary terminal. Surprisingly, it's quite pricey as a metal due to its unique energy properties."
"I see, so, how much?"
"1,000,000 EP/kg," Bell nodded.
"A million? That thing isn't even rare in that mine," Hanna was more than surprised. Saven sold them cheaply to the Southern Coalition, and yet, the system bought it at a high price. "Perhaps because there's something we don't know yet about its usage?"
"That's why I sent it to The Facility. It's not radioactive, and it emits quite a bit of magical energy at ambient room temperature – nothing too spectacular, so far," Bell shrugged, uncertain about why the metals were so expensive.
"Do you find anything interesting besides that?"
"Yeah, one thing: Umbrilium, when placed side-by-side, emits more energy than when used individually," Bell added.
"Interesting."
"Look, now that you have access to the system, I'll leave you with it," Bell added. "What's this internal dissent you're mentioning that you don't even want to visit us in Frostwood?"
"Sabotage? Spy?" Hanna scratched her head, uncertain about where to begin explaining the problem that kept her from visiting Bell in Frostwood. Hanna sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Before you arrived, Saven was grappling with its own set of issues. It's not just about husks or external threats. The problem was more internal, and quite insidious."
"Oh?" Bell smiled, finding this more of his plaything than Hanna's. "Is this a situation where authority is significantly undermined?"
"Wish it weren't that, but yes. It just seems like a stroke of bad luck, but the husk attack, the rise of criminal activity, and the fact that some groups have more power than others really undermined the authority."
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"Someone doesn't like Saven being Saven, it seems," Bell smiled.
Lisa nodded. "If we can get Falael to agree to us enforcing the law here, then we might solve one problem while searching for who did this, but my money is on Hussar, really."
"Very unlikely. Hussar might be a human hardliner, but he puts Saven first before anything," Hanna added.
"I doubt it personally, but I'll let RAA decide what's what," Bell agreed with what Lisa had said. He was also skeptical and wanted to find enough evidence on Hussar before confronting him.
A hunch was still just a hunch unless verified. Bell's gut feeling suggested that Hussar was somehow involved, given that humans seemed to be the staunchest opposition to the Federation's presence. However, nothing too serious had happened yet, mainly because the current operation tempo focused on peacekeeping rather than pacification of the region. The RAA hadn't taken any dubious actions, and the military police hadn't established anything meaningful in the town. Convincing Falael would be crucial if they wanted to change that.
"Anyway, I'll help you get to the bottom of this. The last thing we need is a mutiny involving something or someone," Hanna said.
"Mutiny? The problem is more serious than I thought, eh?" Bell added.
"A lot of things have gone terribly wrong; it's hard to believe it's not sabotage," Hanna added.
"Don't worry, Chancellor. Just focus on what you do best – managing civil affairs. Let me handle the military side of things," Bell smiled, offering his assistance.
"Thanks, Bell," Hanna nodded. "By the way, check your finances. I did a thing or two at Frostwood while you were away."
[Bellial Radcliffe] [Level: 32] [EP: 1,709,000,000]
[Diagnostic Menu]
[Items & Logistic Department Interface]
[Military Management]
[Mission + Objectives]
[Infrastructure Menu]
"Why am I even surprised? What did you do?" Bell asked.
"Abused the hell out of the system you were given," Hanna smirked. "You know, establishing a high-tech industry alongside selling high-end items to the commissary terminal. Shruss even agreed to establish the first Federation arms company called Green Instruments."
"Oh, and...?"
"To put it simply, I purchased several blueprints from your system, namely small arms blueprints like rifles, ATGMs, autocannons, ammunitions, and so on," Hanna added.
"And?"
"Profit is rolling in like crazy, not to mention The Facility pumped out some of the most impressive R&D I could ever think of, such as the Multi-Missile Launcher-25 replacing our Javelins, and so on," Hanna added.
"Anything else?"
"I brokered a deal with the medical team, and we established a new pharmaceutical company," Hanna said. "We mainly produce expensive therapeutic drugs for cancer and the like, including a miraculous drug to delay lung cancer from The Facility, which is priced at 400 EP per tablet."
"Impressive," Bell said, lacking words. 1,000,000,000 EPs in just under a week was truly a testament to Hanna's ability to find loopholes and exploit the economic system for maximum profit.
Heck, for all he cared, Hanna could be selling WMDs to the commissary terminal. Then again, there wasn't a confirmation in that sector, so he could only suspect what was being sold. The bottom line was, arms trade was probably booming in Frostwood.
"We also got a wave of refugees from surrounding villages, further adding to our population number, including goblins, elves, and surprisingly, ogres."
"Well, Frostwood would soon become our capital, right?"
"Just check your population menu."
[Population Management Interface] [EP: 1,509,000,000]
[Population Census]
* Civilians: 8,000
* Reservist: 5,000
* Military Personnel: 3,200
[Revenue]
* Population Maintenance Allocation Budget: 40,500 EP/Civilian/Month [Triple Value: 312,500,000 EP]
* Current Revenue: 425,250,000 EP/Month
* Expense: 130,000,000 EP/Month + 7,200,000 EP Military Expense
* Total: 288,050,000 EP/Month
[Social Program]
* Educational Level: High — 5,000 EP/Civilian [Upgrade: 5,000,000 EP]
* Healthcare Access: Intermediate Level — 5,000 EP/Civilian [Upgrade: 2,500,000 EP]
“Ah, yes, money,” Bell smiled.
“Now, if Saven is in our hands,” Hanna added.
“Yeah, I know,” Bell nodded.
But first of all, they needed to meet Falael first, asking for permission to further establish a security force. If Hanna could explain her proposal of bringing martial law in more detail, there would be a chance for Falael to consider it.