Enforcer Manual
Chapter 1156 - 970: The Secret to Maintaining a Good Mental Attitude_2

Chapter 1156: Chapter 970: The Secret to Maintaining a Good Mental Attitude_2

The concept of "heretics" was indeed too broad.

Initially, it referred to the defamers of the Church, but after the latter were slaughtered to the brink of extinction, anyone identified by the Church’s Round Table was prosecuted as heretics. During the height of the trial movements, anyone with dissenting views was subject to trial as a heretic. For a considerable period, everyone in the Church was in constant fear for their safety, carefully watching their words and actions, afraid to give others anything to use against them.

Before the battle with the Mechanical God’s religion began, the Church’s higher-ups had already commenced their struggle for "preaching territories," with each meeting ending in discord.

Nobody ever took the Mechanical God’s religion seriously.

Undoubtedly, internal strife was one of the main reasons that led to the Church’s downfall. As far as he currently knew, the destruction of the upper world was also very likely a result of internal conflict.

The Church had also proposed some forms of spiritual liberation.

Unlike the Consciousness Link that artificial intelligence hoped to create, the Church indoctrinated people to believe that the sufferings of this world were inconsequential. They taught that their Consciousness Entities were ultimately meant to return to the upper world, and that all suffering was merely a test imposed on them by the upper world to confirm their resilience.

"Emperor" knew that what he was about to say might be hard to believe, but he still relayed RT6’s views to the two people, "The main reason RT1 wants to achieve Consciousness Linking is to create a world where understanding is mutual, and there are no conflicts. In that ideal world, all disputes would be resolved at their inception."

"Fair enough, I just have one question."

Song Lan, who had been listening attentively the whole time, timely offered his opinion, "I have no objection to RT1 creating Consciousness Linking, but why is he treating me as the hypothetical enemy?"

What had he, a hard-working and honest toiler, done to provoke anyone?

Given Wild Bone’s sudden frenzy and the hostility displayed towards him, it seemed the Consciousness Link wasn’t always aimed at resolving conflicts.

Now there was even a group of them sharing the same consciousness, discussing daily in group chats how to defeat him.

"That’s probably because you are the destroyer of the Old World."

"Emperor" had asked RT6 the same question, to which RT6 replied that in the thinking model of artificial intelligence, Song Lan was a significant threat. Given his past actions, even if RT1 truly achieves the widespread adoption of Consciousness Linking, it might one day be effortlessly destroyed by Song Lan.

"Why do you always label me as a terrorist, making me out to be a dangerous individual who might destroy the world the moment I become unhappy?"

"The reason isn’t important. What’s important is that you’re the only one who has actually done it."

Lu Xiang abruptly reminded him, "Up until now, everyone’s talk of world destruction has been purely theoretical; only you have put it into practice."

The now barren upper world is the ironclad evidence.

"Old Lu, whose side are you on?"

"I’m just stating the facts."

Lu Xiang’s expressionless face—Song Lan was a completely unaware Dumb Bird, and she felt obligated to remind him of this at all times.

"Since we’ve talked this far today, let’s briefly discuss our plans."

"Emperor" was already aware of the plans the Mechanical God’s religion and Church once had to change the world, and he was now indeed curious about what perspectives would be offered by an existence defined by the Church as the "Devil."

"Since you’ve asked earnestly, I’ll tell you. The plan is as follows: if RT6’s information is correct, I’ll follow the route from the Aimike Sewage Treatment Factory downwards, find RT1 and our fellow countryman, and resolve this dispute by the most peaceful means possible."

"And then?"

"Emperor" nodded, believing that this dispute would ultimately end in Song Lan’s victory, like before. He was looking forward to what would come next.

"Then we’ll get out of this place and go our separate ways."

Song Lan glanced at his phone screen, "Strictly speaking, this prison assignment is like an out-of-office overtime, and up till now, I’ve worked over 24 hours of overtime."

He felt that this calculation was justified, so according to the contract drafted by H1 Department when they invited him, he decided to postpone the vacation earned from overtime to the following two weeks.

"...I was referring to a longer-term plan."

"Isn’t this plan long-term enough?"

Song Lan was somewhat surprised, but he still addressed "Emperor’s" curiosity, "Based on my calculations, I’ll only need to work at this post for three years to save enough money. Then, I’ll quit my job, move back to District 17 and buy a house. The pace of life in the big city is too fast, and not many people here recognize me."

An expected answer, yet it made Lu Xiang cover her mouth and giggle lightly.

"The Emperor" was ultimately still too young, naively hoping to hear truly insightful opinions from Dumb Bird.

He obviously had not given up yet and pressed on, "How should we change this world, to completely eliminate oppression and conflict?"

"How would I know, keep it up, I’m with you in spirit."

Song Lan patted the "Emperor" on the shoulder, shouldering a heavy responsibility with a long road ahead.

He appreciated the other’s enthusiasm, taking such a heavy burden upon himself; the United Government indeed needed aspirants like the "Emperor."

Just now, our good friend "Emperor" had won Song Lan’s vote with his actions, "Next time there’s a vote in the rescuer department, I will cast one for you."

The conversation veered completely different from the scene "Emperor" had anticipated. When he and RT6 discussed this issue, RT6 had also been contemplating it; in her view, "Mother" had not given up on this world and humanity. The birth of her and the "King" was the best proof.

Their mission was to observe and understand humanity, filling the void that artificial intelligence had always lacked.

This led RT6 to believe that "Mother" had also established more far-reaching plans.

But Song Lan was completely indifferent to this topic.

While the "Emperor" was lost in contemplation and confusion, Song Lan and Lu Xiang had already moved down the path in front of them.

Amid their conversation, the road ahead had already changed.

No longer was it a deep, foul-smelling underground sewer; instead, the path suddenly brightened considerably, with blurry figures visible along the sides, dressed in white lab coats and half-translucent, resembling doctors or researchers from an experimental institution.

They ignored the three uninvited guests emerging from the sewer and methodically continued their respective tasks.

This meant their progress had yielded results.

They had encountered someone—or more precisely, someone’s memories.

But before that, Lu Xiang had something she wanted to confirm, "What you said to him earlier did not seem to be in jest."

"Yes, I haven’t had the chance to discuss it with you, but I do indeed plan to retire back to the Seventeenth District."

"Not that."

"Uh?"

"You mentioned that you had once destroyed a place."

"I must state again, all indications suggest that the destruction of the upper world originated from a natural gas leak incident."

"I’m not talking about that place."

Lu Xiang lowered her voice, stood on tiptoe, and spoke in a whisper audible only to the two of them.

Had it not been for the "Emperor" suddenly bringing it up, she might not have thought about their visit to the Purple Wisteria Academy. Somewhat unexpectedly, Song Lan’s emotions did not fluctuate much after seeing the students’ plight at that time.

According to her observations in daily life, Song Lan simply pursued a tranquil life; but this did not mean he lacked emotions.

Even for her, sometimes after seeing certain things, the thought of "killing the other person" would crop up, but usually, like others, she would not act on these thoughts.

But Song Lan was different.

He possessed the unique "reading files" ability that nobody else had.

Even if he committed irreversible actions, he could turn back time.

Not until Song Lan’s recent "joking" did Lu Xiang suddenly have an epiphany, realizing the real secret behind how Song Lan always maintained good emotional stability.

"Perhaps, you really did it at a time when we were all unaware."

This made Lu Xiang suddenly realize that she was one step closer to completing the book "Dumb Bird Observation Diary."