Chapter 93: The Solution

"Twenty billion crystal amethyst pieces—that is indeed a troublesome matter!" Kang Hongyuan stroked his beard, clamped a cigar between his lips, then perhaps feeling a bit unaccustomed to it, took it back into his hand. He took two heavy puffs and viciously stubbed it out in the ashtray on the desk. "How many people know?"

"You, I, Li Mengdie, and Christine," Zhao Li answered honestly. Before the old man, Zhao Li somehow felt entirely incapable of telling a lie.

"That's good. Do not let anyone else find out," Kang Hongyuan cautioned with extreme prudence.

In this regard, Zhao Li could not help but admire this old fellow. He still remembered how he and the two women looked when they first laid eyes on the amethyst cache, yet the old man showed not the slightest reaction upon hearing about it, immediately shifting his thoughts to potential future complications. Such composure alone was well worth Zhao Li's earnest study.

"Can you bear to part with it?" the old man asked Zhao Li out of the blue, leaving Zhao Li completely bewildered. "Part with what?"

"What is there to part with?" Not understanding what the old man was talking about, Zhao Li immediately pressed for clarification.

"Parting with a portion of the profits—perhaps even a major part of them." Kang Hongyuan looked straight into Zhao Li's eyes, awaiting his response.

"Could you be more specific?" Zhao Li knew that if this matter was mishandled, it would lead to immense trouble. Fortunately, those soldiers only knew they had captured two boxes; they had no idea what was actually inside them.

"With such a vast quantity of amethysts, there is no way you can swallow them in secret. No matter what method you use to dispose of them, a record will always be left behind." Kang Hongyuan looked at Zhao Li with utmost seriousness. "I believe you also know what it means for an active-duty soldier to suddenly and inexplicably possess such a massive amount of amethysts. That alone is enough to send you before a military tribunal to rot in prison for the rest of your life."

"I never thought of keeping them for myself," Zhao Li answered truthfully. To be honest, Zhao Li had truly never entertained such a thought; otherwise, he would never have let the two women see those items.

"Then what was your plan?" Hearing Zhao Li's words, the old man knew he had his own ideas and encouraged him to speak his mind.

"I wanted to divide them equally among the personnel who participated in the mission," Zhao Li honestly voiced what he had been thinking. "That way, those twenty elites would be even more motivated by the reward, and those who didn't get any would have their enthusiasm for joining future missions ignited..."

"Foolish!" Before Zhao Li could finish outlining his entire plan, the old man had already delivered his verdict. "If you do that, tomorrow you will find that a large majority—if not all—of your soldiers have vanished, and the day after that, fragments of your corpse are likely to turn up anywhere in the Five-Star Region."

"Why?" Zhao Li could not fathom it. Was there something wrong with wanting to motivate his subordinates?

"Twenty people dividing two billion—every single one of them becomes a multimillionaire," Kang Hongyuan analyzed carefully for Zhao Li. "Yet, have you ever seen a multimillionaire rush to the front lines? Putting that aside, if you distribute the wealth—one hundred million in amethysts per person—where are these fellows going to hide them? Won't they be eyed by others and become targets for robbery and murder? Moreover, those who receive nothing will grow jealous and might even inform the guerrillas. How long do you think you could hold out here?"

Zhao Li had never considered this angle. The analysis instantly left him gaping in astonishment. Indeed, Kang Hongyuan's reasoning was sound. Wealthy individuals would become exceptionally protective of their lives—something entirely unacceptable in a military camp, especially in a camp located in this region. If this fortune were truly distributed, it would undoubtedly become the most direct catalyst for internal strife and desertion. Having finally begun to shape the base into something promising, Zhao Li had no wish to see all his hard work dashed in an instant.

Ginger is indeed hotter the older it gets. Judging from just this single issue, Zhao Li's initial thoughts were utterly naive and simple-minded, completely unsuited for making decisions in such an environment.

Patting the cold sweat on the back of his head, Zhao Li silently called it a close call. Fortunately, realizing the risks, he had consulted with Kang Hongyuan beforehand; otherwise, he would have had no idea how he ended up dead.

"Then, senior, how do you suggest we handle this?" This time, Zhao Li was genuinely seeking humble advice, with not the slightest ulterior motive. Unconsciously, his form of address towards the old man had also shifted.

"That is why I asked if you could bear to part with it." Kang Hongyuan seemed not to notice the change in Zhao Li's address and carefully reminded him, "If you cannot bear to part with it, the only option is to hide them secretly, stashing them away in a place where no one else knows, and never speak a single word about them ever again. Wait several decades until after you are discharged, don't touch them until the matter is completely forgotten by everyone, and then secretly retrieve them to spend gradually. To be honest, the title of multimillionaire sounds quite appealing."

"What if I can bear to part with them?" Zhao Li thought for a moment, pulling his thoughts back from this enticing suggestion. He couldn't do that; it would be equivalent to embezzling the life-saving blood money of his comrades. If he really did that, he would undoubtedly feel guilty for the rest of his life.

"If you can bear to part with them, then things become much simpler." Kang Hongyuan smiled. "Report it! Find a superior you trust, report the whole matter, and let them handle it."

Seeing Zhao Li hesitate as if wanting to say more, Kang Hongyuan stopped him before he could speak out. "Rest assured, in a matter of this scale, no single person can swallow it all. The sum is simply too enormous; they will certainly leave you, the initiator, with the portion you rightfully deserve, and the percentage won't be small either. With this peace-of-mind money, you can legitimately figure out other ways to proceed."

Leaving it to higher-ups to handle meant parting with two billion amethysts, which initially made Zhao Li's heart ache intensely. Yet, failing to do so would indeed leave him in an impossible dilemma.

"If I hand it over to superiors, what happens to the remaining funds?" Zhao Li continued to consult.

"With the remaining money, you could establish an insurance fund or something of a similar nature, providing a massive war insurance policy for every single one of your men, or at least those who perform exceptionally. As long as your soldiers are still alive when they are discharged, they will receive a substantial pension. Even if they are disabled or killed in action, these funds will far exceed government compensation. Having this kind of incentive mechanism is far better than directly handing out cash."

It had to be admitted that this was a rationale one could hardly refuse. Such a mechanism could even be tied directly to the soldiers' daily performance: those who performed well would receive a higher incentive fund, while those who performed poorly would receive less, thereby stimulating morale to a certain degree.

If soldiers knew that striving to execute missions would grant them a considerable war chest—and an extra one at that—which soldier wouldn't be tempted? Especially these hardened mercenaries, who suffered hardships and exhaustion here; knowing there was wealth capable of granting them a superior lifestyle, provided they obeyed orders and fought bravely, who would willingly lag behind?

Old man Kang truly deserved to be an expert in political research; his study of human nature had reached an ineffable realm. Just from the handling of these amethysts alone, the gap between Zhao Li and Old Man Kang was glaringly obvious. Even with Zhao Li combined with Li Mengdie and Christine, two outstanding students from the genius academy, they were still no match for the old man alone.

However, easy as it was to say, actually handing over such a colossal pile of amethysts still brought a lingering sense of reluctance.

Earlier, Zhao Li had stood alone before the amethysts for a long time, struggling internally. In the end, he had decided that this wealth had to be dealt with—either distributed equally among the soldiers or used to purchase weaponry to ease their current predicament. Even though the logistics lieutenant colonel had already extracted fifty percent of the current year's inventory, transforming these men into an elite force still required a considerable shortfall.

"We could also use it to upgrade the base's current firepower and weaponry reserves!" Zhao Li added a point, indirectly probing for the old man's opinion.

"You can decide those things yourself. You are the commander, aren't you?" Seeing that Zhao Li had understood his intent, Kang Hongyuan grew relaxed instead.

"Very well, old man. I may still need your connections to help contact some arms dealers." When Zhao Li said these words, a trace of sorrow genuinely stirred within his heart. A proper government military force reduced to purchasing weapons from arms dealers!

"I do not possess that kind of clout, nor do I have such illegal connections." Kang Hongyuan rejected Zhao Li's request without the slightest hesitation. "You are an officer of the government forces; you should not, and cannot, publicly utter such words under any circumstances!"

Kang Hongyuan's solemn tone seemed to remind Zhao Li to constantly distance himself from certain underground forces. Of course, talking was one thing, and doing was another—those were two entirely different matters.

"General!" Facing the communicator, Zhao Li executed a standard military salute. On the other end of the communicator was General Thomas from his former military district. Zhao Li did not possess an extensive network of connections, and the first person who came to mind was General Thomas—who, after all, could be considered a direct subordinate of the old warden.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" General Thomas looked thoroughly perplexed as to why Zhao Li was suddenly contacting him at this hour. Judging from his furrowed brow, he did not seem particularly pleased. Perhaps Zhao Li's sudden breach of protocol in bypassing the local military command to reach out directly to him had caused some displeasure.

Zhao Li appeared entirely unfazed by General Thomas's displeasure and anxiously pressed, "General, is this line secure?"

"Hold on a moment!" Hearing Zhao Li put it that way, General Thomas instantly realized he had something critical to report and told him to wait. He watched as the general manipulated something on the other end, then turned his face back. "Alright, you may speak."

"What? You raided a drug dealer's transaction site?" Upon hearing Zhao Li's report, General Thomas's immediate reaction was to nearly jump out of his seat. "Have you grown tired of living?"

"Reporting to the General, all enemies were eliminated, including three Tier 8 martial artists. On our side, there were four minor injuries and zero fatalities. The entire operation was conducted in complete secrecy without exposure," Zhao Li hurriedly reported the outcome. "Additionally, General, we made some confiscated gains, and I am unsure how to handle them!"

Hearing of the battle results reported by Zhao Li, General Thomas relaxed slightly. Since everyone had been silenced, temporarily no one would suspect the government forces. Gangsters killing each other off was a common occurrence; let them bite each other like dogs! Once his mood mellowed, he developed a slight interest in Zhao Li's spoils. "What kind of things are there?"

"A small quantity of weaponry, and..." Seeing the general's expression remain steady upon hearing about weapons, Zhao Li felt much more at ease and honestly revealed the truth. "And some amethysts."

"Amethysts?" General Thomas's heart eased even further. Amethysts were easy to handle; as long as it wasn't narcotics, both weapons and amethysts were simple to process. In an amiable mood, he asked casually, "How many?"

"Two billion!" Zhao Li answered with a guilty conscience.

*Bang.* Zhao Li clearly witnessed through the communicator that upon hearing this news, the coffee cup General Thomas had just been holding slipped from his grasp as if struck by a bullet, landing heavily on the desk with a distinctly audible impact.

After a flurry of flustered scrambling to tidy up his desk, General Thomas ignored the coffee stains on the front of his uniform and practically pressed his face against the communicator's camera, roaring at the top of his lungs, "How many did you say?"

"Two billion, General!" Zhao Li reported once more with clear precision. Those amethysts had already been weighed, precisely one ton per crate. For the first time in his life, Zhao Li experienced the sensation of calculating monetary quantity purely by weight. The feeling was indescribably comforting.

General Thomas finally understood why Zhao Li had contacted him at this hour and specifically demanded a secure line. Two billion amethysts—he had to hand it to Zhao Li for summarizing such a volume with merely the word "some."

Having confirmed the exact figure, General Thomas couldn't help but feel a bout of dizziness. Though at his rank he had seen immense sums of money, he had never witnessed what two billion amethysts piled together looked like.

"Who else knows about this matter?" The general's primary reaction was to interrogate who else was privy to the information, leaving Zhao Li unable to do anything but marvel. These individuals occupying high positions thought entirely differently from ordinary folk; Kang Hongyuan was like this, and General Thomas was no exception—their very first question was identical.

"Only myself, General!" Out of a desire to protect the two women, Zhao Li omitted them from the count. "However, everyone who participated in the operation knows we confiscated two metal crates weighing over a ton. They simply don't know what is inside them."

"Very well, Lieutenant. You have handled this matter admirably." Having calmed down, General Thomas showed not a trace of self-consciousness regarding the large coffee stain adorning the chest of his impeccably pressed uniform. "Maintain this. Before the personnel I dispatch arrive, let no one else discover the secret within those crates."

"Yes, General!" Zhao Li acknowledged loudly.

"Guard them personally. Do not let slip a single word, and let normal military operations proceed as if this incident never happened!" General Thomas meticulously instructed Zhao Li.

"Yes, General!"