Chapter 7303

The situation in the Strait of Hormuz escalated rapidly over the next four days.

Under the Routhchild family’s covert manipulation, international crude oil prices soared by over 30%,

Setting a record for the fastest price surge in recent years.

Wu family’s Youngheart naturally made a fortune.

Taking advantage of the high prices, he packaged and sold all the crude oil he had privately mined,

and purchased it directly from the Getty family.

Several oil-carrying ships hadn’t even reached port yet,

But he had already earned tens of millions of dollars in profit,

Making him a substantial cash cow.

With hundreds of millions of dollars in hand, he immediately rewarded Rachel.

His rewards were twofold:

A direct five million US dollars as a personal bonus,

And a dragon-patterned bronze token—the highest-ranking item within the Left Army Commander’s Office.

The overall operational structure of the Five Military Commands was largely based on the Ming Dynasty’s military system.

To maintain absolute control over all elite cavalry, assassins, and scholars within their jurisdiction,

Each Command had its own core force:

The Tiger Warrior Battalion and the Tiger Warrior Army under its command.

The Tiger Warrior Battalion was independent of any subordinate garrison,

Directly controlled by Youngheart,

The Grand Commander of the Left Military Command.

The entire Tiger Warrior Battalion consisted entirely of martial arts and Taoist masters,

And below them was a well-trained army—the Tiger Warrior Army.

The Tiger Warrior Army was not only powerful and numerous but also extremely secretive,

Much like the Ming Dynasty’s Embroidered Uniform Guard or Germany’s Gestapo.

They were present throughout the Five Military Commands’ sphere of influence, appearing and disappearing unpredictably.

Besides protecting the Five Military Commands and carrying out supreme orders,

One of their most important tasks was to be scattered throughout the region,

Secretly monitoring all registered scholar family members.

The nature of scholars differs greatly from that of assassins and elite guards.

Assassins and elite guards operate within a closed loop of control, constantly under strict surveillance and restraint.

Scholars, however, are more like free agents sent out on missions.

On the surface, they possess the same freedom as ordinary people,

Allowing them to better integrate into society.

But this also introduces the risk of defection.

Therefore, the Tiger Legion closely monitors the activities of scholars worldwide.

Where each scholar goes and what they do is secretly recorded and reported to the intelligence center.

If a scholar is found to have traveled long distances without approval, immediate action is taken.

The punishment ranges from arrest and severe torture to execution,

Sometimes even implicating the entire family.

Because of this underlying logic, despite Rachel’s outward appearance as a wealthy American heiress,

She dares not travel freely or indulge in the usual touristy lifestyle.

Every destination requires approval, and without a valid reason,

Simply going out for fun will not only be refused but may also result in severe reprimands and punishment.

The greatest use of the Dragon-Patterned Bronze Token is that all Tiger-Ben Army soldiers are forbidden from interfering or intervening,

And are even required to provide assistance to the holder of the token.

More importantly, the Dragon-Patterned Bronze Token is valid even across governors’ offices.

With this token, Rachel Getty practically became a free person in a physical sense.

She could go anywhere in the world without applying,

And the only two people who could command her were the Grand Governor and the Emperor.

However, the Emperor would never have any direct contact with anyone outside the Wu family, let alone a scholar.

Therefore, Rachel Getty only needed to ensure that Youngheart could contact her at any time.

Everything else was up to her.

For the scholar’s family,

This was actually their greatest pursuit in life.

Generally, only scholar families who had rendered great service had the opportunity to obtain this dragon-patterned bronze token.

The Governor’s Office would also grant them preferential treatment,

Typically allowing the families who received the token free rein.

Refusing to assign them any further missions,

And providing them with antidote pills regularly.

This maintained control over them,

Allowing them to be summoned back to serve the organization when needed.

Rachel herself never imagined she would have the chance to obtain this extremely precious dragon-patterned bronze token.

While she was resting in her dormitory,

A female clerk from the Left Army Governor’s Office suddenly arrived at her door.

One of Rachel Getty’s roommates opened the door.

She didn’t recognize the clerk and was somewhat puzzled,

Asking, “Who are you looking for?”

The clerk strode in, and before her roommate could stop her,

Her body seemed to be repelled by a magnetic field,

Slowly being pushed back as the clerk approached.

At that moment, the roommate knew that this must be a high-ranking official from the Governor’s Office.

Her expression was tense yet respectful.

Seeing the door close automatically after the other person entered,

She immediately knelt on one knee and said respectfully,

“The subordinate greets Your Excellency!”

Upon hearing this, the other two scholars who were reading in the living room jumped up like startled birds,

Immediately kneeling on one knee and saying respectfully,

“Your subordinate greets Your Excellency!”

All the scholars knew that the Assistant Commissioner held a very high position.

Once the door was closed, they had to kneel respectfully to greet her.

No one could break the rules.

Otherwise, the Assistant Commissioner could kill one or two scholars and return without even writing a report.

She could simply say she had been neglected, and there would be no further trouble.

The Assistant Commissioner merely glanced at the three of them out of the corner of her eye and asked indifferently,

“Where is Miss Getty?”

The mention of Miss Getty shocked the three.

If the Left Army Commander’s Office was the Emperor,

Then the Assistant Commissioner was an Imperial Envoy,

And they were merely ordinary officials under imperial power,

At most scholars without official rank.

How could the Assistant Commissioner address a scholar as “Miss”?

Just then, Rachel, who was reviewing her lessons in her room,

Heard the commotion outside and quickly pushed open the door.

Upon opening it, she saw her three roommates kneeling before a strange woman.

The woman’s expression was cold and arrogant,

And her demeanor extraordinary.

Rachel knew she must be someone sent by the Left Army Commander’s Office,

So she quickly stepped forward, respectfully knelt on one knee,

And said piously, “Your subordinate greets Your Excellency.”

As she finished speaking, Rachel’s knees should have touched the floor,

But an unseen force held them back.

Just as she was wondering what was going on,

The female officer stepped forward, looked at Rachel, clasped her hands in a fist salute, and said in a respectful tone,

“Miss Getty, I am Yanni Cheng, an officer of the Left Army Commander’s Office.”

“Here on the orders of the Grand Commander to deliver the Grand Commander’s oral decree.”

Rachel was quite shocked.

She hadn’t expected the officer to be so polite to her, which was truly unbelievable.

However, she reacted quickly and immediately said respectfully,

“My lord, what are the Grand Commander’s orders?”

Yanni took out a bronze dragon token from her bosom,

Presented it to her with both hands, and said,

“Grand Commander’s decree: Miss Getty’s merits this time are immense.”

“Therefore, Miss Getty is hereby bestowed with this bronze dragon token.”

“It is hoped that Miss Getty will continue her efforts and make even greater contributions to the Commander’s Mansion!”