How Am I Still Alive?-Chapter 1319 - 1305 Forced Team Building
Ideal team building: Encourage morale, deepen members’ understanding of each other, establish connections both public and private, with the goal of forming shared interests and ideals, so that everyone works together and prospers together.
Reality of team building: Encroaching upon the rare rest time, young people are forced to awkwardly chat and picnic with a group of middle-aged people with generation gaps, while the middle management desperately tries to find common topics with bosses in hot springs or mahjong parlors... In truth, the higher-ups also feel uncomfortable but dare not complain, having to act joyously and continuously sucking up to the boss with flattery and gratitude.
As a result, the "vacation" ends with a fatigue of the spirit from team building, which is more tiring than working overtime for a week straight.
"Thank you for your hard work and struggle over the years, so, we’re distributing money, resources, Taboo weapons...." Lu Ping’an was indeed a good boss.
Once the majority of the Rebirth Club’s members’ goals were confirmed, Lu Ping’an started to simply and directly distribute the coins generously.
Lu detested the word "loyalty" because it reminded him of workplace mind control, but after others expressed their "shared ideals" for the team and its goals, Lu Ping’an felt he had to reciprocate.
"Though Eastern Country’s coins are gone, there are still more valuable credit-coins and Taboo items, and most importantly, there are Life Points Tokens...."
Giving Life Points directly was not possible, and fake transactions were against Lu Ping’an’s "rules." Although it could be done, it would affect his foundation.
However, Lu Ping’an, as a fifth-tier Scholar, could act as an "Accountant" and was able to lend Life Points. As long as it was for an indefinite period and without interest, it was essentially the same as directly distributing Life Points... Of course, if the borrower died, the accounts would be settled, but it was expected that no one would care about such things.
Credit-coins and Taboo items were growth resources provided by other forces, but Life Points... just considering the increasingly outrageous functions of the courtyard, one could understand that they represented not only growth and power but also life itself.
Even for those who were determined to resign, Lu Ping’an was not stingy... Since they served for ten years, while Lu Ping’an did not like the word "loyalty," he recognized their contribution.
Immediately, morale visibly soared, and the crowd that was already queuing in front of the rule building grew even more.
In just a few days, more professionals achieved Advancement. Now, the Rebirth Club had, outright, nine Rule-level members, and the combat power at and above Decree-level had surpassed three digits. Including official members on duty and those stationed across various regions, the number was roughly between seven to eight hundred. And if local vassal forces and trainees were included, the number had already exceeded four to five thousand.
The composition of its personnel was indeed diverse.
There were those who belonged to "Lu Ping’an’s loyalist forces"; these were old stagers who had journeyed through the path of exploration beside him, most of the Rule-level top brass were from their ranks.
There were the small circles of the Saphire people... Centered around Catherine and her mother, Lu Ping’an’s team attracted many talents when recruiting human resources.
There were the trainees from Ancient City University... No one expected that there would be "ten years" of time acceleration services; among the young people cultivated under Lu Ping’an’s contract, a group chose to stay in this world. They were all individuals with potential and talent, and time had brought them the greatest changes.
The strongest among them even produced a Rule-level male peer, and some of them had forever stepped out of the battle lineup and even their own lives... After ten years in service, most trainees had thoroughly integrated into the team, but there were also those eager to go home and retire. The gap between their same-period peers was enormous.
Lastly, and the largest group, were naturally the locals of Mercury 42.
Although the Sailor Captain’s defection took away a group of senior sailors, core-level Fishmen and Long Hand Clan members had made their own contributions through their abilities and achievements.
Among them, there was also an old acquaintance of Lu Ping’an, the City Lord from the deep sea, Shakda... It seemed that he felt it was better to join the new era’s ship rather than languish at home.
His bringing his own "Royal Guard" significantly bolstered the local standing forces. He now held the position of Deputy Minister for security within the Rebirth Business Group, the highest position that Deputy Commander Guan Xinxian could offer in the absence of Lu Ping’an.
Incidentally, the Director of the security department was a lone Panda, meaning that in practice, this Fishman Lord was effectively managing the armed forces of the business group.
"You’re doing well, it’s just that your title is a bit awkward..."
Lu Ping’an patted the Fishman’s lower leg... There was no helping it, as even when slouching indoors, the now once-again evolved Lu Ping’an towered over him, and at this moment, the former Fishman Overlord was also very nervous.
Despite his many years within the club, he increasingly understood the structure of the Rebirth Club still revolved around Lu Ping’an’s "one-man rule"... Although everyone said he was an easygoing and understanding boss, this did not conflict with having "racial views." If the boss did not recognize his contributions over the years, then even he might be kicked out the door.
"...You’ll be promoted to Deputy Commander, overseeing the permanent arms deployment. Oh, and wasn’t there that fool of a Sailor Captain who messed up? Take over his position too, and while you’re at it, please reinforce the crew of the Redemption."
After Lu Ping’an passed by, only a loud clanging sound was heard behind him as Shakda relaxed and plopped down on the ground, clearly a bit too overwhelmed by the situation.
Lu Ping’an shook his head and proceeded to the next "small circle."
A dormitory for five people could have six small circles; not to mention the Rebirth Club, a representative of an amazingly expanding new force.
In this regard, Lu Ping’an was quite tolerant and did not harbour any racial views... With the courtyard in hand, an individual was always the core of the team, and confidants and friends were always in charge of the key departments, so there was no need to worry too much about being marginalized. In terms of internal management, there was much more leeway compared to other club leaders.
So, as he moved along, he gave some people promotions and raises following the previous internal discussions... In this regard, far from showing favoritism towards local humans, there was even a tendency to favor the local Fishmen and Long Hand Clan.
This was actually a form of compensation. Due to Lu Ping’an’s absence, the core members and absolute high levels of the local club were mainly humans. Therefore, including Shakda, the locals were mostly acting positions and deputies.
For Lu Ping’an to personally endorse them was also a gift from Guan Xinxian and his group... with Lu away and the club and ship functioning smoothly inside, there were no major issues with direct promotions for Lu Ping’an to acknowledge afterwards, and Lu Ping’an himself was not a person overly concerned with procedures and vanity.
But now, as Lu Ping’an passed through, when he personally gave commendations and promotions, he naturally received even greater respect and gratitude.
"Here, enjoy the good food and drinks, and take your red packets. I won’t say too much, just have a good time..."
Having said that, Lu, as the BOSS, simply walked away.
At this time, he too was quite moved. Starting from a school club of a few people, they had journeyed through numerous worlds, continuously expanding and undergoing change; now, they had indeed become a power to be reckoned with.
Of course, the most significant expansion happened during these ten years.
The Redemption sailed too many places, traversed myriad trade routes, and rescued countless people.
Naturally, the team also absorbed a lot of local talent... Of course, since they didn’t have the courtyard or Lu Ping’an, their growth was just the normal progression for professionals, and there were even quite a few mortal warriors and key individuals.
"...Perhaps, this is my most valuable asset at the moment."
These newcomers did not have much trust or understanding of Lu Ping’an but were filled with gratitude towards their "savior."
When Lu Ping’an wanted to expand further or had plans to do something, these individuals could become the backbone of a vast organizational structure.
"Take it slow, let’s get the shipyard up and running first..."
At this moment, Lu Ping’an had returned to Jiaolong City, the tourist city which was also the venue for the next round of team building.
He had managed to get it from the Big Shot, and the reason was actually straightforward: it was close enough to Salt City, allowing Lu Ping’an to focus on his own industries and experiments while also attending to the evolving Sun Mother Tree.
Of course, that was the official reason... The real reason was that living in Salt City was too unbearable, and Lu Ping’an preferred his main residence to be more comfortable.
Lu Ping’an had many plans and proposals, but if he had to execute and manage each one himself, he would die of exhaustion on this planet without completing a tenth of them.
Now, for the "Fire Seed Project," Lu Ping’an needed to take the opportunity to get "Stealing Fire Road" up and running... With the guarantee of Quasi-Gods, no lords in this world would obstruct the new trade routes opened by Lu Ping’an and his group.
"One ship is not enough... Build more, get all the sea routes operational; our goal is to be the first Chamber of Commerce on this planet."
When Lu Ping’an’s "network" really began to function, it could have effects that went beyond just "becoming professional."
And for that goal, long-term operations and maintenance were essential... Lu Ping’an used this reasoning to secure almost free trade rights from the entire human forces.
"Before leaving, set up the big picture, draw out the main routes of a few trunk roads, and to achieve this goal, we probably need more human resources..."
