Chapter 832: A Young Man Joins the Committee, Let the Corpse Components Fly
According to information obtained by Director Tu Mu of the Construction Bureau, by the end of the first full day, almost no Berserk Corpse Components had been sent to Zhang Yu for processing.
So, on the second day, Tu Mu led his team with increasing caution as they cleared corpse components, as if anticipating a possible counterattack from Vice President Zhang Yu.
But even after another full day passed, the labyrinth’s Office District remained eerily quiet, with no unusual incidents occurring.
Meanwhile, all the corpse components suppressed by Tu Mu’s team had been broken down into various materials and sold to recycling enterprises.
Looking at the substantial influx of Immortal Coins, Tu Mu submitted a portion to the higher-ups, allocated another part to the Construction Bureau’s funds, and distributed the rest as bonuses to himself and his subordinates.
Instantly, morale within the Construction Bureau soared. The cultivators were eager to continue suppressing corpse components.
Seeing that Zhang Yu remained completely inactive, Tu Mu asked a subordinate, “How many corpse components were sent to Zhang Yu’s side today?”
The subordinate chuckled. “Not a single one. Zhang Yu is now a Vice President with no followers. I doubt anyone in the entire Development Zone will listen to him from now on.”
Hearing this, Tu Mu relaxed and smiled faintly. “I heard he talked big during the meeting. I thought he had some impressive tricks up his sleeve, but it seems he’s just a reckless fool.”
“If he thinks that just by occupying a position and issuing an order, we’ll all obey him and work wholeheartedly for him, then he’s too naive and ignorant of how the sect operates.”
A subordinate beside him chuckled. “He’s just a young kid who climbed up from the Lower Realm. It’s normal for him to know nothing.”
Tu Mu understood. With Zhang Yu’s first order ending in such a fizzle, his authority had undoubtedly taken a massive hit. Combined with his lack of personal strength, his future in the Management Committee would likely be fraught with obstacles.
This subordinate of his would have no reason to respect their superior in the future.
Tu Mu said, “Let our Vice President just sit up there and be a good-luck charm.”
Seeing that Zhang Yu had no countermeasures, Tu Mu acted without restraint in his subsequent operations. He led his subordinates in a frantic acceleration of corpse component scavenging, earning recycling fees from various enterprises.
The distributed money boosted the morale of the cultivators under him even further. The only thing that displeased Tu Mu was that some outsourced monsterfolk cultivators were demanding better treatment.
“A bunch of beasts dare to make demands of me?”
Tu Mu frowned. “I told you long ago. If you beat these beasts every day, their only demand will be for you to stop. Now that you don’t beat them, their demands will only grow.”
The thought that the monsterfolk’s increasing demands would cut into his profits seemed to make the magic power within Tu Mu’s body stir slightly.
The subordinate beside him dared not speak, because he knew that bringing in the monsterfolk was a decision from above, related to the Primordial Chaos Dao Lineage, something he had no right to question.
Tu Mu continued, “Forget it. Tell those beasts that from now on, I’ll personally shit every day and feed it to them. That should be enough, right?”
Although he was merely expelling impurities from his body for them, Tu Mu still felt a surge of displeasure. He hadn’t needed to shit in a long time, yet now he had to do it specifically for a group of monsters. He resolved to clean up more corpse components tomorrow and earn back more Immortal Coins.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Management Committee Vice President Xie Lanyin also received news about Zhang Yu.
“No one paid him any mind?” Xie Lanyin shook her head. “If he can’t even overcome this hurdle, I’m afraid Zhang Yu won’t be able to tame even his own subordinates by the time the Development Zone’s reconstruction is complete.”
Near the Grotto-Heaven Bridge that Zhang Yu had set up outside the labyrinth.
Shi Huaiyu and Feng Tingting gazed at the deserted site before them, a look of worry clouding their eyes.
Shi Huaiyu said worriedly, “Not a single corpse component has been brought in for processing today. This can’t go on.”
Feng Tingting, standing beside her, added, “I heard from the outsourced cultivators in other cleaning teams… The situation here has spread throughout the entire Management Committee. Some are even spreading rumors that Vice President Zhang only got his position by getting someone from the higher-ups pregnant, that he has no real ability, and that they just put him here to collect a title.”
Hearing this, Shi Huaiyu couldn’t help but retort, “Someone must be fanning the flames. The fewer corpse components people bring to Vice President Zhang for processing, the less anyone will listen to him in the future.”
Shi Huaiyu sighed. “It’s like the stock market. The less people believe in it, the more the price drops, and then even fewer people believe — a vicious cycle… until it becomes a complete junk stock.”
At this thought, both Shi Huaiyu and Feng Tingting grew deeply anxious.
Meanwhile, a message from Yu Xinghan appeared before Zhang Yu.
Yu Xinghan: “Zhang Yu, if you have a plan, use it now!”
Yu Xinghan: “All the cleaning teams are refusing to give us their corpse components for processing. They’re selling them directly to the corporations instead. We can’t get any work done like this!”
Zhang Yu replied, “It’s fine. Let the situation simmer for a bit.”
After replying to Yu Xinghan, Zhang Yu turned to a cultivator from one of the sect’s enterprises before him and said, “Manager Lin, what do you think of this batch of corpse components?”
The cultivator, Manager Lin, nodded. “Excellent… truly excellent.”
“Not only are their structures perfectly preserved, but they can still function normally. Even most of the self-modifications they underwent during their berserk state have been retained…”
Manager Lin understood that damaged or disassembled corpse components were sold based on their raw material value.
But fully functional corpse components could be sold as equipment.
The price difference between the two was obviously on a completely different level.
As for the various self-modifications and special abilities of the berserk corpse components, they held even greater research value, elevating them from mere equipment to research materials.
In Manager Lin’s eyes, this batch of corpse components processed by Zhang Yu was clearly far more valuable than those brought in by other cleaning teams.
He couldn’t help but look at Zhang Yu and ask, “Vice President Zhang, how on earth did you manage this?”
Zhang Yu smiled faintly. “It’s all thanks to the power of the Immortal Legacy. So, Manager Lin, we have a deal.”
Zhang Yu: “A pleasure doing business with you.”
Manager Lin: “A pleasure doing business with you.”
On the third day of the labyrinth’s Office District cleanup.
Tu Mu gazed at the profits from the past few days, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
“If this continues,” he thought, “once the entire labyrinth is completely cleared, the profits will be enough for me to pay off a significant portion of my loans in one go.”
Of course, Tu Mu had no intention of actually paying off his loans early.
Instead, he was already mentally calculating how he could acquire a new Immortal Sect Technique or an Immortal Sect Magical Artifact to further enhance his work capabilities.
Just then, a message from a subordinate arrived: “Director, Manager Lin has lowered the purchase price for corpse component materials!”
At the mention of something affecting his profits, Tu Mu immediately focused his attention, his tone serious. “Is this a normal market price drop?”
Tu Mu knew that as the labyrinth was gradually cleared and a large number of corpse components were recovered, the increased supply would inevitably lead to a gradual decrease in purchase prices.
But his subordinate replied urgently, “The purchase price dropped by 50% all at once!”
Hearing this, faint Spirit Transformation Divine Light began to surge around Tu Mu. He asked gravely, “Have you found out why? What about the purchase prices from other enterprises?”
The subordinate replied helplessly, “They’ve all dropped. The purchase prices for corpse component materials from every enterprise have plummeted. And…”
A bad feeling welled up in Tu Mu’s heart. “And what?”
The subordinate continued, “Manager Lin privately told us that from now on, whenever we capture corpse components, we should immediately send them to Vice President Zhang. Only corpse components processed by Vice President Zhang will fetch a high price.”
Tu Mu asked, “What about the other enterprises?”
The subordinate’s voice was filled with shock. “It’s the same. They all told us to hand over the captured corpse components to Zhang Yu for processing before selling them to the major enterprises.”
“And their stories are all similar. They say the purchase prices for corpse component materials might drop even further, and only corpse components processed by Zhang Yu will maintain a high value.”
Tu Mu’s heart jolted upon hearing this. “Zhang Yu… He’s finally made his move?”
But Tu Mu couldn’t understand how Zhang Yu had managed to manipulate all these major enterprises into supporting him.
He knew that most of these enterprises didn’t belong to the Myriad Laws Sect. They were affiliated with sects like Heavenly Demon, Netherworld, and White Bone — sects that had virtually no connection to Zhang Yu.
“How did he do it?”
Meanwhile, Manager Lin was communicating with Zhang Yu across the Spirit Realm.
Manager Lin said, “Vice President Zhang, I’ve completed the arrangements. Have people started sending corpse components to you for processing?”
Zhang Yu watched as corpse components were sent into the Immortal Grotto-Heaven one by one. He felt strands of Grotto-Heaven force being extracted, and the Immortal Grotto-Heaven’s size slowly began to expand again.
Zhang Yu understood that more and more teams, under pressure from the major enterprises, were voluntarily sending their captured corpse components to him for processing.
Zhang Yu smiled and replied, “Don’t worry, Manager Lin. I’ll definitely keep my end of the bargain.”
Shortly after Zhang Yu disconnected from Manager Lin, Yu Xinghan found him, his face flushed with excitement. “More and more teams are sending their captured corpse components over! I heard the major enterprises are jointly applying pressure. Zhang Yu! How did you manage this?”
Zhang Yu led Yu Xinghan into the Immortal Grotto-Heaven. Watching the corpse components being transported across the Grotto-Heaven Bridge, he explained, “Technically, it’s not the major enterprises jointly applying pressure. It’s the managers in charge of corpse component recycling in the Development Zone… These individuals have chosen to support us.”
Zhang Yu continued, “Because we can bring them greater profits…”
Yu Xinghan asked, “Why would they support us?”
As Zhang Yu began to explain to Yu Xinghan, Fu Ji spoke in his mind: “Heh, Berserk Corpse Components that can still function normally are more valuable for enterprises to sell. Their self-modifications after going berserk also have greater research value. For these managers, the performance metrics and credit from recycling complete corpse components are naturally higher than from recycling a random assortment of materials.”
“But that’s just the official side,” Fu Ji chuckled. “The bigger reason… is that complete corpse components fetch a higher recycling price, offering a larger profit margin and more room for manipulation. This allows them to provide these managers with bigger kickbacks.”
“For these managers, every corpse component processed by us means another Immortal Coin in their pocket. So, every batch of unprocessed corpse components they collect directly from the cleaning teams is equivalent to losing money, isn’t it?”
“Losing potential earnings is still a loss. As a result, these managers will naturally do their utmost to pressure the teams for us, acting as our eager vanguard of Corpse Drivers, herding all the cleaning teams’ corpse components our way.”
Fu Ji concluded, “The managers get money and credit, while we gain the right to process the corpse components and harvest Grotto-Heaven force. It’s a win-win.”
Immortal Slayer added, “And if you include the compliant cleaning teams… by handing their corpse components over to us for processing, they also earn higher profits. That makes it a triple win.”
Fu Ji laughed heartily. “Exactly. We can let them take a little extra profit for now in exchange for our control over them.”
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu had finished his explanation to Yu Xinghan, who felt a surge of admiration. “Zhang Yu… he’s taken the abilities granted by his Immortal Legacy and transformed them into layers of power, influencing and controlling more and more cultivators.”
“Zhang Yu, he’s becoming increasingly formidable.”
At the same time, batch after batch of cleaning teams began delivering their captured corpse components to Zhang Yu for processing. Once the Grotto-Heaven force was extracted, the Berserk Corpse Components were no longer out of control, requiring no violent suppression, and could still function normally.
After delivering these components to the enterprise for recycling, the cleaning teams also reaped greater profits.
Seeing the increased earnings, even more cleaning teams started bringing their captured Berserk Corpse Components over.
The cultivators in the sect possessed immense strength, swift minds, and rapid communication channels like the Spirit Realm.
Thus, in the face of this changing situation, the cultivators’ reaction speed and actions were extremely fast.
When Tu Mu, the Director of the Construction Bureau, also sent his men to transport the newly captured corpse components to Zhang Yu’s location, he saw a long queue already formed outside the registration point, with everyone waiting for their components to be processed.
Because the registration was being handled by two outsourced cultivators, the cultivators arriving had to adjust their settings, lowering the transparency of the “Outsourced” overlay in their vision to make the staff visible.
Just then, facing the ever-growing number of corpse components, Yu Xinghan stepped forward and announced to the crowd, “Due to the increasing volume of components needing processing, and to facilitate management, all future deliveries will require unified registration, unified processing, and unified recycling…”
Listening to Yu Xinghan’s explanation, Tu Mu understood. They would no longer process components from individual cleaning teams separately. Instead, everyone would register their components and leave them directly with Zhang Yu, who would then arrange for unified processing.
“Then Zhang Yu will sell them to the enterprises and transfer the payments to each cleaning team…”
Tu Mu didn’t understand the principles of the Immortal Legacy, nor did he know if Zhang Yu’s method would be more efficient. But at least the entire process sounded far more convenient than handling components from each cleaning team individually.
But Tu Mu knew that wasn’t the key…
“This way, Vice President Zhang becomes the middleman between all the enterprises and the cleaning teams.”
“In the future, all corpse component recycling from the Development Zone will have to pass through his hands.”
“And all payments to the cleaning teams will be disbursed by him.”
Tu Mu even considered that from now on, whose components were processed first, whose were processed last, whose payments were sent first, and whose were sent last — all of it would be decided by Vice President Zhang.
“He… intends to control all the cleaning teams.”
Tu Mu understood that with countless cultivators waiting to repay loans, renew memberships, and cover magical artifact renewal fees, among other financial obligations, merely controlling the order and timing of processing would be enough to severely impact the lives of many.
Tu Mu thought grimly, “He never intended to fight us directly. Instead, he solved the problem at its source.”
“Can we resist? Can we stop him?”
The moment this thought arose, Tu Mu shook his head, dismissing it internally.
“Impossible… As long as Vice President Zhang’s side consistently offers higher profits than what the cleaning teams could get by selling the components directly, they will always bring their components to him.”
“This is driven by profit, a choice made willingly by all cultivators.”
As this thought crossed his mind, Tu Mu sighed inwardly. “Ultimately… it all comes down to the Immortal Legacy. The Immortal Legacy granted Vice President Zhang an ability we lack. He converted this ability into power, leaving us with no choice but to be driven by him.”
At that moment, Tu Mu realized his judgment of Zhang Yu had been completely wrong.
Though only at the Spirit Transformation Realm, the man was no mere figurehead. He was a leader capable of rapidly converting his high-level abilities into real power.
But Tu Mu’s thoughts quickly turned to what would come next. “With centralized corpse component processing… the next step will likely be to squeeze even more profit from the cleaning teams.”
Tu Mu had seen similar things happen countless times within his sect. In so many fields… as soon as substantial profits emerged, an Upper Cultivator would inevitably appear, using their superior abilities to exploit Lower Cultivators and seize the lion’s share of the gains.
“But I’m one of his own! I’m the director of the Construction Bureau, under Vice President Zhang’s direct supervision — a direct subordinate, not some other Lower Cultivator… He can’t let me get caught in the crossfire.”
Tu Mu gazed at the long queue before him and thought, “Hmm… How should I grovel…? No, that’s not right. How do I let Vice President Zhang know of my loyalty?”
The first thing Tu Mu thought of was naturally to open his contact list and send a message to Vice President Zhang.
Zhang Yu has enabled friend verification. You are not yet his friend. Please send a friend request first.
Seeing the glaring red exclamation mark, Tu Mu’s heart skipped a beat.
“This is bad. Vice President Zhang must have a huge misunderstanding about me right now.”
Tu Mu hastily sent a friend request.
Tu Mu: [Kowtow]
Tu Mu: [Red Packet]
Tu Mu: [Dual Cultivation]
But it was like dropping stones into the sea. No matter what request Tu Mu sent, Zhang Yu gave no response.
This made Tu Mu even more anxious.
He abruptly looked toward the end of the queue, quickly lowered his “Outsourced” transparency to fully visible, and sent friend requests to Shi Huaiyu and Feng Tingting.
As Feng Tingting handled the registration work, a wave of emotion washed over her. Since arriving at the sect and becoming an outsourced cultivator, she had gradually grown accustomed to her transparent existence and being ignored by the Sect Staff.
She knew that within the sect, she was like a speck of dust, visible only to other outsourced cultivators who were also dust.
But at this moment, she and Shi Huaiyu seemed to shine with an incredible brilliance. All the cultivators coming to register — whether outsourced cultivators or Sect Staff — had no choice but to acknowledge them, pay close attention, and listen to every word she spoke, even following her commands.
Even Rank 2, Rank 3, and even Rank 4 Sect Staff were proactively sending her friend requests.
“This… this is power. Even if it’s just a tiny bit,” Feng Tingting marveled inwardly. “Senior Zhang merely granted me the authority to register corpse components, and it turned a nobody like me… into the focal point of all these cultivators’ gazes.”
Meanwhile, Tu Mu saw that Feng Tingting had accepted his friend request and immediately sent a message: “[100 Immortal Coins] Thank you for your hard work.”
Feng Tingting was slightly surprised. She thought, “As expected of a Rank 4 Sect Staff. He even tips an outsourced cultivator 100 Immortal Coins.”
Feng Tingting then sent the pre-prepared reply: “Vice President Zhang isn’t accepting gifts.”
Tu Mu froze for a moment. “Not accepting gifts? Is he even human?”
Feng Tingting continued: “If you insist on sending something, please donate Immortal Crystals to the Immortal Grotto-Heaven.”
Feng Tingting: “It will help improve the environment and increase the sect’s assets.”
Feng Tingting: “Everything for the sect, right?”