“The highest level is the Federal Parliament, located in the federal capital of Dawn City, which is jointly controlled by the Three Major Families.”
“Below the Federal Parliament are the Provinces. The entire Dawn Federation is divided into seven Provinces, each with a Provincial Chief appointed through consultation among the Three Major Families.”
“Each Province governs five Areas, led by an Area Chief. Each Area governs five Sectors, led by a Sector Chief. And below that are the individual cities.”
Zhao Wuji paused, his voice dropping slightly.
“And the Three Major Families are the true rulers of this entire system.”
“The strength of the Three Major Families is relatively equal. They keep each other in check and jointly maintain the operation of the Dawn Federation.”
“Most of the key positions in the federation, from Provincial Chiefs to Sector Chiefs, are held by members of the three families on a rotating basis.”
Su Wan listened quietly, her gaze never leaving Zhao Wuji's eyes.
“And what about you? What is your position in the Zhao family?”
Zhao Wuji let out a bitter laugh. “I am merely a member of a branch line. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been sent to a small C-class city like this to serve as the City Lord.”
“The core of the Zhao family is in the capital of Dawn City. True direct descendants would never come to a small place like this.”
“Then how exactly do the Three Major Families control the entire Dawn Federation?”
Zhao Wuji remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. “Force.”
“The Three Major Families possess the methods for high-level Ability Users to increase their strength.”
“From Level 5 to Level 6, and Level 6 to Level 7, every major realm breakthrough requires unique methods and resources.”
“All of these are held tightly in the hands of the Three Major Families and are never leaked to outsiders.”
“If ordinary people want to break through to Level 5, they either have no choice but to join the Three Major Families as vassals, or they remain stuck at the peak of Level 4 for the rest of their lives.”
“Therefore, the high-level Ability Users of the entire Dawn Federation are either members of the Three Major Families themselves or belong to vassal factions subordinate to them.”
Su Wan's brow twitched slightly.
Zhao Wuji continued, “Each of the Three Major Families has an elite force under its command.”
“The minimum strength of these members is Level 5, and their captains can reach Level 6 or even higher!”
“They only take orders from the direct core members of their respective families. Even a Provincial Chief has no authority to mobilize them.”
“What is the strength of the current heads of the Three Major Families?”
Zhao Wuji looked into Su Wan's eyes and replied, “Twenty years ago, the patriarchs of the Three Major Families were already Level 8 Ability Users...”
Su Wan was truly shocked this time.
Level 8...
What a distant height.
“As for now, I do not know.”
“An outlier like me has absolutely no right to meet the patriarch. I rarely even see my own father, who is also a member of a branch line.”
Su Wan remained silent for a long time after hearing this.
She finally understood why the Three Major Families had been able to rule this wasteland for hundreds of years without falling.
Because they controlled the very source of power itself.
Level 5, Level 6, Level 7...
Those heights that ordinary people could never hope to reach in their entire lifetimes were nothing more than mass-producible resources in the eyes of the Three Major Families.
“The Holy Shield, the Deep Space Society, the Remnant Mansion... These factions seem to have quite a reputation. What is their relationship with the Three Major Families?”
Hearing this, the corner of Zhao Wuji's mouth twitched slightly, revealing an undisguised look of disdain.
This disdain came naturally from his very bones, a primitive contempt from someone born into the ruling class toward civilian factions.
“Those three factions do indeed have some reputation.”
“The Holy Shield is famous for its defensive technology, the Deep Space Society is obsessed with excavating Old Era ruins, and the Remnant Mansion claims to have inherited the orthodox civilization of the Old Era...”
“In the eyes of ordinary people, they are indeed giants.”
“But in front of the Three Major Families, they are nothing.”
Knowing that Su Wan wanted to know more, Zhao Wuji continued,
“The Holy Shield's base defense is indeed formidable, and their energy shield technology is among the best in the entire Dawn Federation.”
“But the Holy Shield is merely a technical organization. It has no political foundation, no administrative power, and no federal authorization.”
“Their core base can withstand a nuclear blast, but so what?”
“The Three Major Families don't need to breach their base. They only need to cut off their supply of resources and blockade their trade routes, and they will collapse on their own within a few years.”
“The Deep Space Society is not even worth mentioning. A bunch of lunatics obsessed with digging up Old Era ruins, thinking they can change the world by unearthing a few pieces of Old Era equipment or some lost technical blueprints.”
“They do have some good things in their hands, but the research institutes of the Three Major Families have backups of all of them, some of which are even more complete than what they've dug up.”
“Their proud technological advantages are completely insignificant in the face of the Three Major Families' scientific research system.”
Speaking up to this point, a sneer crept into Zhao Wuji's voice. “As for the Remnant Mansion... that is even more laughable.”
“They claim to have inherited the orthodox civilization of the Old Era, preserving its literature, art, philosophy, and history, posing as the guardians of civilization. But how much is civilization worth on the wasteland?”
“A civilization without military force to back it up is nothing but a pile of paper that the strong can trample underfoot at any moment.”
“The Three Major Families do not need their civilization. The Three Major Families themselves are the civilization...”
“The new civilization, the civilization that rules this wasteland.”
Su Wan listened quietly, gaining a clearer understanding of where these three factions stood.
She had always assumed these three factions had a similar standing to the Three Major Families, but Zhao Wuji's words made her realize that they were merely large civilian forces existing beneath the ruling system of the Three Major Families. Though seemingly powerful and influential, they had no real foundation.
They lacked political legitimacy, administrative jurisdiction, official seats within the federal system, and, most importantly, the core technology to mass-produce high-level Ability Users.
The Three Major Families were the government, the political power itself.
At most, the Holy Shield, the Deep Space Society, and the Remnant Mansion could only be considered prominent sects in the underworld.
After digesting this information in her mind, Su Wan's gaze fell back onto Zhao Wuji, a flash of killing intent flickering deep within her eyes.
If she wanted to advance to Level 5, she had to kill Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Wuji sensed Su Wan's killing intent, and his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
His voice suddenly grew urgent. “You cannot kill me!”
He spoke at an extremely rapid pace, “I am a descendant of the Zhao family, and I have a family mark on me!”
“This is a mark the Zhao family leaves on every descendant sent out to the field. It belongs to a special kind of ability imprint. As soon as I die, the family will know!”
“Although I am only an outlier, my surname is still Zhao.”
“If I die in Panshi City, the Zhao family will definitely send someone down to investigate.”
“When that happens, the existence of Terminal Station will be exposed. With Terminal Station's current strength, it is absolutely impossible to withstand the Zhao family's investigation!”
Su Wan's brow furrowed slightly.
If targeted by a top-tier power like the Zhao family, Terminal Station's development would indeed face immense difficulties.
Looking at Su Wan's still cold and hard expression, Zhao Wuji knew that his words just now obviously didn't carry enough weight.
He gritted his teeth and threw down his ultimate trump card:
“Don't you want to get the City Key?”
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