Kingdom of Corrosion

Unsure whether it was praise or criticism, Stone said, "Starlight sure has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. To motivate everyone and show her fairness, she found a reason to dismiss Emerald Feather and replaced him with a newcomer as the Deputy Commander. I could tell right away that this guy was no good—a true flunky, especially adept at squeezing the lower ranks to fawn over those higher up. Sooner or later, Starlight will sacrifice him."

Lin Meng didn’t understand, "Uncle, why would Starlight want to make a scapegoat out of him?"

Stone said, "A cool official can do the dirty work the emperor can’t. Once the task is done, the emperor will dispose of them to pacify the hearts of the civil and military officials. You see, not only did the emperor get things done, but he’s also earned a good reputation. The most interesting part is, these cool officials know full well they’re expendable tools, yet they willingly become those tools because the feeling of rising from obscurity to power is just too intoxicating. It also leads them to treat those who once looked down on them with even greater brutality."

Stone said, "Whenever Starlight has any unreasonable demands, it will be this Deputy Commander who carries them out. Over time, dissatisfaction with the base will turn into dissatisfaction with the Deputy Commander. They will first talk in private, then muster the courage to confront the Deputy Commander Peanut. Starlight will gauge the extent of everyone’s resentment and then get rid of him, either by expulsion or demotion. This way, everyone will think all the faults lie with the Deputy Commander, and they’ll be more willing to toil for the Sawmill’s cause."

Lin Wu asked, "You’re so familiar with all this, so why didn’t you use this tactic before?"

Stone glanced at Lin Wu through the internal monitor, "Although Shadow was also a command system, it was essentially personal because Shadow wasn’t suited for a strict command system. First off, there’s you, a thorn in the side, with wings too stiff to be controlled by any lackey. Then there’s Maya, who only works and doesn’t engage with people—she’s particularly difficult. Say one wrong thing and she might just force you to abdicate, believe it or not? Shana is too smart; if I used her to bully others, she’d turn the tables on me and depose me."

Stone said, "The biggest difference is that Shadow was built by us together, while the Great Commander is just a position; I still have to do a farmer’s work on the side. The Sawmill’s Starlight Base was built by Starlight, and she has absolute control over it. To put it another way, she’s the boss of Starlight Corporation; she can do as she pleases. Even if employees think she’s messing around, they’ll still see it as her squandering her own property."

Lin Wu asked, "So what’s the point after all this talk?"