"Are you the one in charge here?"
Baimu grabbed the Evil Dog Team's Squad Leader, glanced at the panic-stricken faces around him, and realized there were more survivors in this building than he had expected.
"...I am."
The Squad Leader said reluctantly. He was a loyal admirer of Luo Qi, the least likely to surrender.
But faced with such a certain defeat, he lacked the will to resist.
He fixed his eyes on Baimu's face, then suddenly shuddered, "It's you! Demon Wood of the Quicksand Team!"
"My name is Baimu, don't call me those weird names."
Baimu frowned, surprised that his nickname had spread so far, even linking his face with his name, "Sing."
Chansey emerged from the smoke, walking on the damp floor, and began singing to the horrified Evil Dog Team Members.
They attempted to escape, but saw Aggron slowly approaching and dared not move.
Quickly, they all fell to the ground and couldn't get up.
"Otsuka, go up and plant the machine."
Baimu directed Otsuka to the rooftop while he took out a rope from his backpack and tied them all up, removing their Pokeballs and putting them in his bag.
Then he rode Aggron downstairs.
Surprisingly, no one had left the scene. Even though the building was under attack, they remained in place; when they saw Baimu coming down, they quickly raised their hands.
"I surrender! I surrender!"
"We surrender! Don't kill us!"
These people shouted desperately, with many kneeling and kowtowing on the ground.
Looking at their faces, Baimu realized they must be families of formal members, unsurprising as they were not left outside as shields earlier.
"Sing."
He instructed Chansey, who was on Aggron's back.
The faces of the Evil Dog Team Members in the crowd changed; they could surrender, but they dared not sleep, fearing they wouldn't wake up.
Some tried to resist, but they were no match for Chansey's singing, and their Pokémon were stopped by Aggron.
Once the temporary signal tower was complete, Baimu gained access to communicate with the outside world.
"Suppression complete, you can come in and clean up."
Baimu went to the rooftop, looking down from above, realizing just how vast the view was, making it easy to spot any large movements, impossible to hide in such a crowd.
Only one or two people would be more concealed.
No wonder they were sent in alone.
——
Under Baimu's commanding view, the Quicksand Team quickly advanced to their current position.
With the high ground secured, this district was nearly in the hands of the Quicksand Team.
But this was only the beginning.
Everyone knew the real battlefield was in the Underground City; the surface was just a hangout for small fry, capturing a district was easy as long as they followed the strategies from above.
Indeed.
Just as Baimu thought.
In less than three hours, the entire district was thoroughly suppressed, nearly a hundred formal members of the Evil Dog Team surrendered, five squad leaders in total, no trace of the officers.
Thanks to this, peripheral members could sweep through freely, searching for secret passages or potential enemies.
The other two districts seemed to be bustling, mainly handled by the Stone Team and Crystal Team. Since they hadn't requested reinforcement, Baimu couldn't rashly intervene, especially since there was still much to do.
"Have you found anyone mistreating prisoners or plundering wealth?"
Baimu quietly asked Cheng Hong, who stood beside him.
Cheng Hong hesitated slightly, nodding, "Yes... a lot, how should we handle it?"
"Teach them the rules, what not to do, make them return what they've taken, punish them as they punished others."
He said softly.
Cheng Hong hesitated, "Is this okay?"
The general assumption was that, after taking a district, letting some people quietly take some wealth was acceptable if everyone turned a blind eye, and all would be happy.
"Don't you get it? I'm not stopping them from taking; they just took too much." Baimu looked at him calmly, "Also, I don't like seeing those mundane things, you should know that. Since I'm the strongest here, they should follow my rules."
"...Got it!"
Cheng Hong nodded and led some to deal with those who crossed the line.
After they left, the squad leaders under Liu Ge gathered around, "Sorry, for stepping up in this matter, but we truly can't intervene."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Indeed, with your help, things are much easier."
They said in succession.
Baimu responded with a smile, "It's only right. Besides, I genuinely dislike those who won't listen even after being told. Changing someone's mindset isn't immediate, so for now, they'll have to remember through pain."
The squad leaders nodded repeatedly.
For some in the Quicksand Team, their simple values clashed with others. For instance, using power to oppress is wrong; looting and killing are wrong; victory doesn't grant control over the defeated.
Since they couldn't reform their mindset through reasoning or emotions in a short time, they had to rely on discipline and rules to make them remember.
Of course.
This easily breeds resentment.
Blocking others' paths to wealth naturally incurs hatred.
At this point, Baimu needed to do one thing to transform that hatred into distorted "love."
He distributed some of the confiscated wealth, with the consent of other squad leaders, to the diligent and boundary-respecting peripheral members.
And promised them:
"If you pass the formal member exam, I'm willing to take you under my wing, and you must have heard of my reputation."
Baimu addressed the peripheral members, eyes burning, "Soon, I will become an officer, and then, with the shortage of members beneath me, the team might lower promotion requirements, giving you a chance to become my subordinates."
News of Baimu rarely taking tributes from subordinates had spread along with his fame; some called him foolish, some said his future was boundless and he scorned small gains.
But for anyone, being under such a boss was undoubtedly a comfortable matter.
Nobody wants to share their hard-earned money.
Moreover, this boss was generous, just a stickler for rules, a bit different from ordinary folks.
Indeed.
When Baimu played the Dharma of Wealth, he transformed from a Tyrant into a slightly quirked good leader; that's how genuine the Quicksand Team was.
For a moment.
All peripheral members exchanged intensely.
Until——
A terrifying quake hit!
Baimu found it hard to describe the feeling, only knowing he felt like standing on a cookie; the ground cracked with countless fissures, causing many to fall inadvertently.
"Save them!"
He shouted, struggling to walk steadily, relying on Chansey's power to get airborne, watching the ground shake violently.
He realized this was the Earth Dragon's turning.
An earthquake!!
Rumble, rumble——!!