In the blink of an eye, another few months had passed since the break and everything within the Under 1 Banner faction was going at full speed trying to increase their power from the bottom ranks up. It was another routine meeting for the top brass of the faction to discuss the various matters that they had to deal with. However, this time was different. Jaxon Long and Roxi had some big news for everyone.

(BM) "So, the number of new recruits has been slowly decreasing from years past. It is unfortunate, but we have more new members than even we thought possible. For now, there is nothing more to be done about this matter. What else is there on our agenda?" Baron said trying to get this meeting over as soon as possible."

(HX) "Yes, there are many in our ranks that deserve to be an elder, but at your request, I have dialed down the promotions to as few as possible," said Han Xin as he gave everyone a quick briefing of his responsibilities.

(BM) "Good, we can't afford to have too many high ranking officials within our faction at the moment due to us not having enough funds to have them in the first place."

(GY) "Haha, I suppose our aggressive campaign to recruit more talent has come back to bite us in the hand." Guan Yu said trying to lighten up the mood.

(YF) "Heh, yeah. Now that we have rolled out so many initiatives, our workload has been decreasing for quite a bit now. Which is a good thing." Yue Fei said.

(LX) "Oh, guys, good news. I have just received word from some of my informants still within the Sun Alliance that Sun Tzu will be back in another few months." Li Xin said in excitement.

(RB) "Dang, that is good news. I wonder what changes he has in store for the community?" Roxi Blaze said.

(JL) "That is indeed big news, but I have an announcement that will impact the U1B faction a bit more. I have accepted a research and development post at the Femme Fatale. I can't really disclose the details but it is more than likely that it will take several decades, perhaps even a century or more. I'm really unsure of when I will be able to finish my task." Jaxon Long informed the others.

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(BM) "Ah, is that why Roxi came here to this meeting? I had thought that unlike her. Turns out this is the reason."

(GY) "I don't know much about all this R&D business, brother, but I do know that if you need that long to develop something, then it must be something huge. Best of luck."

(YF) "It is unfortunate that you have to leave as I'd hoped to go a few more rounds with you when I had time. However, you are blessed with the knowledge I doubt anyone else in our community has, so do something incredible with it, I believe in you."

(BM) "When did you decide you wanted to do this?"

(JL) "A few months ago, Roxi came to me with an offer, I need the money, so as long as everything was sorted out on their end, I would accept. All the paperwork that goes into this was just finished a few days ago. So now I am all ready to go change the world."

(BM) "I see, Roxi, you didn't tell me anything about this?"

(RB) "Haha, it wasn't a done deal until a few days ago. Plus, I didn't want to add more stress to your workload as you are the leader of a faction now."

(BM) "Heh. Well, when do you leave, Jaxon."

(JL) "A week from now I will move to a location just in the outskirts of the plot of land owned by the Femme Fatale. I've been told by Roxi that I will be the fifth-ever non-member to step into their faction. It's an honor in some ways."

(GY) "Is this contract that you will be doing with the Femme Fatale meant to be a secret?"

(RB) "My orders are that the contents and what we are developing cannot be shared with anyone outside of this project. However, making this news public in a viable option if you wanted to get the reputation of the U1B faction out there some more. Jaxon is guaranteed a 10 million coin payment if he is successful, plus a host of other benefits, but that will be discussed at a later date. All in all, a very good deal for him, and you guys too if you make this piece of news known to your allies and enemies."

(LX) "Speaking of enemies, I do believe we are starting to be pressured by the Vesper faction no? They hadn't touched us yet due to the arrival of Sun Tzu, which is said to be soon according to my resources, but it seems as if their patience has run out."

(BM) "How much are they suppressing us?"

(LX) "Actually not that much. It's mostly just basic tactics that the smaller factions use on one another. They seem to be restricting the movements of the Forever Pirates again after a short respite."

(GY) "Most peculiar. How about the Laser Shark faction? Is the situation the same with them?"

(LX) "I think so. The gravity of their actions is leagues below what they are capable of and what they have done in the past. I truly think that they will ease up once their intelligence gets the news that the overlord Sun Tzu will be back very soon. Or at least I hope. They don't have anywhere near the power to do any of this with the overlord here and present."

(BM) "Well, we'll wait and see. A few more months is nothing compared to the time we have spent nurturing our faction together. Also, you better work to the best of your ability to successfully complete whatever you're working on, Jaxon. I hope to hear of our ally Jaxon who helped revolutionize the Chinese community."

(JL) "Not to worry, I plan on doing just that."