“I just think it is unwise to trade him for her. That is all. Of course, Shaw, I am sure you have your plans and concerns, so this is nothing more than a piece of advice. Nothing more.”

Baron’s opinion was simple. Randy was a crook and a rapist, but he was valuable. Sara was a victim and it was sad and all, but Shaw wasn’t a hero. She had no duty in maintaining law and order or protecting the innocent. From the perspective of a human, Randy should die, but from the perspective of a businesswoman or a leader, Randy should live.

Shaw nodded slowly. She turned around and faced Baron.

“Believe it or not, I didn't make this decision in a fit of anger. As you said, I did have my concerns.”

“First of all, Randy is a mad dog.” She pointed at the screaming young man on the ground. After intimidation didn't save him, he had started begging for mercy. “He turned on his classmates who he had known for years within hours of entering the apocalypse. He had no other long-term plan aside from enjoying the moment. Instead of going out to seize more exp with his initial advantage, he was content with living in the mall for the rest of his life. Someone like that is stupid, irrational, and short-sighted. I don’t expect my followers to all be saints or heroes, but I at least expect them to have some semblance of loyalty. Even if I can force him to bend the knee today, I have to constantly worry about him doing something stupid as long as he lives. He is just not worth it.”

Baron found himself slowly nodding as he processed Shaw’s words. He knew that while Shaw was talking about Randy, a part of her was also warning him, telling him not to be stupid. She could tolerate him to be somewhat ambitious, but if he was hell bent on ruining her day no matter the cost, she wouldn’t hesitate to strike him down either.

“Secondly, it turned out that he wasn’t as valuable as I had hoped for.” Shaw lifted her Silver Shield and gestured at the young man being mutilated even as she was talking. “He didn't get to level 5 because he knew martial arts or had brilliant combat instincts. He did so because he was a violent person, and he happened to have harvested a lot of exp early on. Aside from that, he is completely ordinary. What this tells me is that any player who has the same attributes as him can do what he did. So why would I keep a ticking time bomb around when I can instead level up someone completely loyal to me?”

“And third…” The young woman shrugged. “In the end, I am still a woman, and what he did really disgusted me. If he was more valuable, I may be willing to forgive his crimes for the moment, but as I’ve established already, he is not worth it.”

She turned back to Baron.

“Understood?”

“Yes, Shaw.”

In the end, Randy didn't last very long. Sara really went to town on him, carving up almost every inch of his skin. He must have done really horrible things to Sara, because it was enough to make the young student look like a sadistic psychopath. Eventually, his screams started dying down, and Sara happily ended his miserable existence with a stab to the heart.

Peter and the other players returned from the Target as well. They have harvested all the supplies within the store. Following them were two other girls, both of them wearing clothes they found from the store as Randy had stripped them naked.

Soon, Peter and his team returned to their process of resource collecting. Shaw, Baron, Sara, and the two other girls went back to the meeting spot on the first floor.

The rest of the mission was rather boring. Half an hour after dividing into groups, all the groups came back to the rendezvous location. Most of the players had more blood on their clothes and weapons than before, but all of them came back alive.

After the last team returned, just as the group was about to leave the mall for good, Baron suddenly turned to Shaw under the eyes of all the other players. He pressed a few keys on his character interface and watched as a stack of loot formed beside him. Most of the loot were weapons and objects he collected from the monsters on the way here, but there were also a handful of food and other supplies he collected from the mall.

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“What is this?” Shaw asked, putting up her best mask of surprise.

“Look, Shaw.” Baron answered loudly in a genuine tone. “At this point, we all know that the only reason we are still alive now is because of you. Without your help, none of us would’ve survived five minutes in the wild, much less make it all the way here and collect all the supplies we did. We owe everything to your protection.”

He took a small pause here and scanned the surroundings, quite satisfied to find many players nodding and agreeing. After all, what he said was very true, and everyone knew it. Without Shaw, none of them would even be able to harvest their initial exp, much less get to level 4 and level 5 in one piece. They were thankful for what Shaw did for them.

But how did this connect to what Baron just did?

“That being said, we are all adults here.” Baron continued. “You are not related to me in the slightest, Shaw, and you have no responsibility to help and protect me forever. That is why, to thank you for what you did for me on this trip, I am willing to give you one-third of my loot as tribute. And in the future, as long as I am under your protection, I will give you one-third of everything I collect. That’s my promise, Shaw.”

Under the watch of all the players, he divided the loot into two parts, one containing one-third of the loot he placed on the ground. He pushed that stack to Shaw, who slowly nodded at him in satisfaction.

“Very well.” She said quietly. “I accept this tribute. As long as you keep your promise, you are under my protection.”

Baron nodded. He took a step back and glanced at the other players, hoping that the show he and Shaw just put up had gotten the message across to them.

One of the things that Shaw knew she had to do was establish a taxation system that involved all the players under her giving a portion of their gains to her. After all, one of the main reasons she was going through the trouble to build a faction was to accelerate her own power growth. She was happy to allow those below her to level up, but only after they paid their tributes to her. This way. the more followers she had and the bigger her faction became, the more she could get.

At the same time, Shaw also knew she had to start early and make the act of paying tribute/taxes to her a tradition in her faction. If she waited until her faction was already fully established before implementing this rule, she could face a lot more resistance. If this rule was put in place early on, the latecomers would have no choice but to accept it if they wished to join.

Just before the players were coming back, Shaw was planning on simply stating what she wanted to the players. Give them a choice. Pay the tribute, or leave. She was confident in her authority. They would do what she wanted, for they had little choice.

When she shared the idea with Baron, the man came up with an alternate proposal. Sure, Shaw could give the order, but collecting resources from people, especially in a situation like this, would always generate discontent. It was human nature to complain about paying fees or resources. Even before the Launch, many were constantly complaining about paying taxes while ignoring what the government offered them. Stability. Protection. Order. Instead of making a straightforward declaration, Baron suggested putting up an act.

He would publicly pay tribute to Shaw to thank her for her protection and promise further tributes for protection in the future. With that done, the others, not wanting to lose the protection, would be prompted to make the same offer to Shaw.

Just like this, the rule would be established. The difference between this and what Shaw wanted to do was that in this case, Shaw never demanded anything, and the tributes were paid 'willingly' to her by the players. She never forced any of them to give her anything. It was all...voluntary.

Honestly, Shaw would never have thought of something like this herself. She always preferred the more direct way of doing things. Baron, on the other hand, knew how to manipulate people and have them willingly do what he wanted. It was a skill that Shaw lacked.

Just as Baron planned, what he said to Shaw got to many of the players as well. These players knew that they would be nothing without Shaw’s protection. In fact, despite their levels, many of them doubted if they could make it back to the precinct alive without Shaw to take care of the more powerful NPCs outside. One third of the loot was a heft price, but no price was too expensive for safety and security.

One by one, the players handed one third of their loot to Shaw. Of course, Shaw knew that given the nature of the personal storage spaces, many of the players could be hiding the amount of loot they truly received. Didn't matter. The rule was already established, and she could make an example of these tax dodgers in the future.

With that matter settled, the group finally headed its way home.