A month and a half ago, Zoe communicated with Cocolia and, half-forcefully, took Belobog's bigshots to see firsthand the miserable state of the lower district. She even let them witness with their own eyes the almost-depleted Geomarrow mines.
After more than a month of buildup, the fear in the bigshots' hearts was already close to its limit.
It was only then that Zoe jumped out at just the right moment, telling them she had discovered a new vein in Snow Wolf Valley, 200 kilometers away, and that she had built a safe passage to the mine using her combat robots.
When they heard that Zoe was willing to trade the rich mine in Snow Wolf Valley for the scarred and broken lower district, they didn't even wait for her to bring up solving the rift problems or any other compromise conditions.
The bigshots of Belobog spontaneously signed the transfer papers, selling the entire lower district and its people to Zoe without hesitation.
According to the intelligence gathered beforehand, after the Silvermane Guards withdrew from the lower district, massive changes took place.
Because rift outbreaks were happening more and more often, Rivet Town had already been abandoned. Large numbers of refugees poured into Boulder Town, and the militia group "Fire Under the Earth" was born to maintain order.
But even though they were all residents of the lower district, regional discrimination was severe. Not only Boulder Town locals but even many members of Fire Under the Earth looked down on the refugees.
Unwanted and unloved, a small portion of refugees chose self-reliance, joining the local residents in mining teams, relying on daily hard labor to barely earn enough food to survive.
Others went to camp in the territory of the robot Svarog, trading scavenged parts to him in exchange for meals.
Most refugees, however, gave up on themselves completely, becoming even more vile than thugs, like disgusting leeches. Fighting and brawling became routine, while shameless illegal behavior was everywhere.
Because of them, Boulder Town became a mess of filth and chaos. Xenophobia grew day by day. Feeling despised and excluded, the refugees grew even more reckless. This vicious cycle meant a large-scale conflict was only a matter of time.
Belobog's bigshots sold the lower district so readily precisely because of this.
In their eyes, this group of lowly refugees had no use at all. Keeping them alive only wasted food and land. Add in the troublesome Svarog and his robot army, and the lower district was utterly hopeless.
Trading away that ruined place in exchange for a rich Geomarrow mine that could be excavated for at least a hundred years, it was like exchanging dung for gold. The bigshots nearly laughed themselves awake from their dreams.
As the saying goes, a person can't earn beyond the limits of their own understanding. If your head is too stupid, even diamonds will be thrown away as glass.
What Belobog's bigshots saw as dung, Zoe saw as her most anticipated treasure land.
Though the Geomarrow mine here was nearly depleted, other veins were still extraordinarily rich. Combined with the vast underground world left behind after years of mining, it was practically a legendary hidden paradise.
Eager to open up her underground kingdom as soon as possible, Zoe was so excited she couldn't sleep all night. Before dawn, she dragged along Cocolia and Vah, happily rushing to open the passage to the lower district.
According to intelligence, while Fire Under the Earth's nominal leader was Oleg, the real power was held by Natasha, who ran the free clinic.
Vah and Cocolia were responsible for bringing Fire Under the Earth under their control, while Zoe led her family, storming straight into Svarog's territory.
This one-track-minded guy who only trusted calculations couldn't be persuaded with words. But simply destroying him would have been too much of a waste.
So Zoe directly bestowed the intelligence she had spent so much effort researching onto Svarog and his robots, letting them think like real humans.
After witnessing the strength of Emiya and Acheron, and after personally experiencing Zoe's greatness, Svarog finally stopped being stubborn. He willingly joined Zoe's command.
When taming Svarog, there was even a small incident.
A little girl crying and sniffling actually brought along another little brat, as well as a girl from Fire Under the Earth, to launch a sneak attack on Emiya and his group.
But when someone is weak to a certain point, even if they scream and fight desperately, they only end up looking more adorable.
Emiya's branch shop in the lower district just happened to still be short of staff. So he offered an olive branch to the three little fools, promising full meals, lodging, job placement, and even retirement support.
At first, the three were doubtful. But after seeing Emiya's cooking firsthand, and tasting with their own mouths the irresistible meats he prepared, they immediately couldn't wait to pack up all their pitiful belongings and move into the hotel Emiya had bought in the center of Boulder Town.
———
A week later, all the major groups in the lower district had smoothly been brought under Zoe's control. The lower district was officially renamed the Mechanical Empire, with Zoe as its king.
The laws and administration of the Mechanical Empire were entirely handled by Svarog's robot army, ensuring fairness, justice, and openness.
Fire Under the Earth was reorganized into the neighborhood office, specializing in solving livelihood issues.
In addition, Zoe's complaint mailbox was always open to the public. Any opinion or suggestion dropped in would be replied to within a single day.
Once the national framework was in place, Zoe immediately put her own genetically modified wheat, cabbage, orange trees, and more into production, solving the people's food problem.
Beyond that, Zoe also developed medical robots specifically to deal with Stellarion infection and miner's disease, making sure people no longer had to worry about dying unexpectedly or suffering from occupational illnesses caused by mining.
After this sweeping reform, the people no longer had to live harsh, difficult lives. They could sleep peacefully every day, expecting a better tomorrow.
The lower district transformed overnight into a livable city even more prosperous than the upper district. Laughter and joy could be heard almost everywhere, except from a few unruly vagrant troublemakers and the criminals of the past.
The very first thing Zoe did after founding the Mechanical Empire was to thoroughly settle all violations and crimes from the past six years in the lower district.
Depending on the severity, punishments ranged from immediate execution to labor reform, ensuring every criminal received the punishment they deserved.
After working tirelessly in the lower district day and night for a full five months, Zoe felt like her brain was about to short-circuit. But in the end, her hard work paid off, everything was finally stabilized.
"Emiya, I urgently need to recharge!"
The moment things were wrapped up, Zoe rushed impatiently to Emiya's shop, clinging to him like a koala.
"Can you wait a little longer? Today's quota is still short of six mana slots."
"No way, I can't wait even a moment longer, I want it now, right now!" Zoe pouted, on the verge of tears.
"Me, or work, you decide."
"Haha, nothing's more important than you!"
Without much hesitation, Emiya called for the clerks to take an early shift off today, then carried Zoe home in his arms.
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