Meanwhile, back in the central town of the Grafted Cluster, Hestu and Bulren had just received notice of a massive surge in profits in a single day.
"See?" Hestu said smugly, pointing at the papers on Bulren's desk. "It's working. The people are using Flarecorp products."
But despite increasing his gains—nearly double his normal amount—Bulren couldn't bring himself to celebrate. His gaze drifted out of the window, where he could see the outskirts of the central town being isolated from the outside world by a semi-invisible wall of fire, cutting it off from the rest of the world.
Flarecorp soldiers were stationed all around the perimeter of the flaming sphere, preventing people from hurting themselves as they tried to sneak out of the territory.
