This is quite troublesome.
Without the statistics department, Chen Yu might have considered these matters later, but certainly not as early as now.
This incident made Chen Yu realize.
Managing a city was not as simple as he had imagined.
Chen Yu's initial intention for conquering the city was straightforward.
To liberate the slaves.
He could not tolerate the slave owners of Black City treating slaves like livestock. Having grown up in a country with human rights, he found such practices unacceptable.
The idea of conquering the city was a firm decision, made without hesitation.
Later, he had also considered what to do after obtaining the city-state. He had simply thought of letting the people who came to this city-state live and work in peace.
Of course—
This city would also be his endless source of income.
He built a city.
Was it wrong to generate some profit through taxation?
Investments always required returns.
He had countless ideas for making the city-state profitable and was prepared to implement them. However, he had overlooked the most crucial point.
Management!
A vast city-state was, in essence, a city. It also required a complete management system and corresponding departments.
As the city's population increased, various situations were bound to arise.
These all needed to be handled.
"Ah, it feels like conquering the city has only brought me more trouble," Chen Yu mused, resting his chin on his hand, his face etched with worry.
When he only had that camp, things had been quite easy.
Everything was running smoothly.
He didn't even need to explore outside anymore; he could simply delegate tasks to his subordinates and live comfortably as a wealthy landowner.
Possessing a city-state had indeed expanded his influence.
But it had also increased his problems.
"Do you think I'm just making things difficult for myself?" Chen Yu asked sideways. Sona, seeing his expression, seemed to know what he was thinking and raised an eyebrow slightly. "You brought it upon yourself, didn't you? But then again, it's not so bad. Managing a city-state is good practice. Even without this city-state, you would eventually face this step."
"Thanks a lot~"
Chen Yu hummed with a half-smile.
Sona thought highly of him.
She actually believed he had the potential to be a lord.
"I have a very high opinion of you, and I feel lucky to have chosen you," Sona said softly with a smile. "Don't worry, managing a city-state isn't that difficult. Think about it, Barbara managed over a dozen cities and enslaved several kingdoms. Why can't you?"
"Wow, she was that glorious?" Chen Yu asked in surprise.
"What do you think?"
Sona's eyes twinkled with amusement.
"Don't underestimate her. Not a single word she said was false. In the past, she was indeed one of the greatest demon kings in the underground."
"Then there must be legends of her in the city-state, right?" Chen Yu murmured.
To manage over a dozen cities and enslave several kingdoms, such a demon king could never be erased from history.
"Perhaps~"
Sona smiled faintly.
"She and I were from a very long time ago."
"Hiss~" Chen Yu immediately gasped in astonishment and said, "In that case, you and Barbara must already be..."
"Perhaps it's better for you not to mention age, right?"
Gulp.
His throat involuntarily constricted, and Chen Yu swallowed back the words that were about to escape his lips. In that very instant, he distinctly felt a trace of chilling killing intent.
Women are not to be trifled with!
He gave a wry smile, cocked an eyebrow at Sona, then withdrew his gaze, refraining from mentioning age and instead focusing on the upcoming city management.
Public officials needed to be hired.
Chen Yu did lean towards hiring civil servants among the survivors. He wasn't entirely sure about the management policies within the underground.
But—
He still put more faith in the systems outside the underground.
Perhaps it was a prejudice, but Chen Yu felt that the outside world was definitely superior in this regard. From his current understanding of the underground,
His impression of the underground could be summarized in one word.
Backward.
Everything outside the underground possessed overwhelming advantages in this area, and considering the balance, this might be the equilibrium point between the native underground dwellers and the survivors.
Using survivors from outside the underground as administrators should yield better results.
However, Chen Yu did not intend for all administrators to be survivors.
Having the native underground dwellers and the survivors interspersed would make the city-state more stable.
The reason was simple:
Differences between groups would lead to prejudice, much like racial prejudice outside the underground. If the survivors held too much power, Chen Yu could not be sure they wouldn't treat the native underground dwellers unfairly.
Over time, conflicts would arise.
Furthermore—
If only survivors or native underground dwellers held power, it might lead to factionalism. If any ambitious individuals incited them, power struggles and coups could occur.
This would be very troublesome.
To prevent such situations from arising, Chen Yu decided to intersperse personnel. This would foster friendship between foreigners and natives, and also prevent many potential issues.
Why not?
Time flew by like a white steed. In the blink of an eye, daylight gave way to the curtain of night.
The city-state was dark.
In the underground, devoid of electricity, night was illuminated only by the orange glow of torches, dotting the pitch-black sky.
Rumble—
"It's going to rain~"
Splash!
In less than half a second, a downpour descended from the sky.
"Pack it up, pack it up~"
All the beastmen and foreigners put down their work. Chen Yu stood under the eaves of the camp, extending his hand to feel the raindrops outside.
The camp was something he had specially gone back for and brought.
The city-state would be Chen Yu's development focus for some time to come. He couldn't keep running back and forth like this, and it would also save trouble when recruiting survivors in the future.
"It's actually raining."
Chen Yu murmured softly.
"This is the first time I've seen it rain since I came to the underground."
"You'll get used to it," Sona whispered, crossing her arms. "The underground is entering the rainy season. It will rain very frequently for some time to come."
"Oh?"
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow slightly.
Rainy season.
He hadn't expected the underground to have a rainy season.
Isn't this the underground?
Underground?
Why would it rain here?
As Chen Yu pondered with suspicion, Kailin, Nuoya, and the Su Ni and Su Bei sisters hurried back from outside, their bodies already soaked by the rain.
Hmm~
The scene was quite pleasing.
Chen Yu glanced at them briefly. Among them, Nuoya had the most substantial assets. Su Ni and Kailin were comparable, while Su Bei—
She was still a child.
"City Lord~"
Kailin and the others greeted him softly.
"You all got pretty drenched. Water has been prepared for you, go take a bath~" Chen Yu gestured towards the bathroom. "Don't catch a cold from being wet by the rain."
"Okay~"
"I've also placed dry clothes for you in the bathroom, so you can change directly," Chen Yu said with a smile in his eyes. "Don't worry, I won't peek."
"City Lord, you're always joking with us."
"Hahaha..."
Chen Yu laughed heartily, watching their backs as they entered the bathroom.
This was life!
Thinking of the shy expressions on the faces of the girls, Chen Yu's eyes revealed a hint of contentment. Just as he was lazily stretching, basking in the enjoyment, a figure suddenly appeared outside the camp.
This figure, no matter how one looked at it, exuded a sense of misery.
"Is anyone else not back?" Chen Yu blinked in astonishment. Ergou, Lion Jack, Rourou, and Kuka all had residences in the city-state.
Currently, only the Kailin sisters would return to the camp.
"Chen Yu!!!"
As Chen Yu pondered, a growl filled with gritted teeth suddenly came from outside the camp. Immediately, the figure was seen radiating seething anger.
Chen Yu also froze instantly, his eyes wide open.
"Oh no!"
"I forgot about Barbara!"