Enforcer Manual
Chapter 221: Three Things That Made Me a Criminal_1

Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Three Things That Made Me a Criminal_1

"Libra".

This was a name with multiple meanings.

It is located to the east of Virgo and to the west of Scorpio, the seventh house of the Zodiac.

The tallest building in the Sixth District was thus named, and when people looked up at its dome that seemed to lead straight into the starry sky, they hoped to see justice and fairness.

There, it symbolized the hall of justice of the United Government. The people within that building defined fairness and justice for this country and even the world. Its presence inherently possessed a sense of the sacred and the distant, like looking up into the starry sky.

Above was the information Song Lan found online while researching the Foster Family.

It was obvious that the one who wrote these words was also one of the countless beings looking up at the stars from outside the building.

Song Lan had to declare that setting "Libra" as the target for destruction was not, or at least not solely, due to a personal vendetta between himself and the Foster Family.

But he didn’t expect why the entire film crew looked at him with shocked expressions. As a movie enthusiast, he had seen plenty of superhero movies produced by Kolo Film and Television Media, and compared to the super-villains in those series, blowing up the "Libra" building was hardly a big deal.

In Song Lan’s mind, there had been several villains whose mission was to destroy the world.

And unclear motives for the villains had almost become a common problem with Kolo Film and Television Media or films in the year 2166. In that era, movies served merely for entertainment itself. Directors and screenwriters’ entire understanding of the villains’ importance was that they had to find an image for the villain that would resonate deeply with the audience.

This included but was not limited to madmen and Rebel Army officers, or perhaps mad Rebel Army officers.

Because in their view, only such individuals would have the capability and actively engage in activities against the United Government or destroying the world.

And this, perhaps, was also the real reason they found the character of Chai Ke so difficult to interpret.

Chai Ke’s prototype was a local snakehead focused solely on making money, even having myriad connections with the Foster Family. After elevating him to a major villain dealing in nuclear weapons, their line of thought reverted to the usual clichés of madmen and rebels.

"But why does Chai Ke want to destroy the "Libra" building?"

After a long silence, the director spoke.

"Because this act will define what kind of person he is."

If one wants to confirm a person’s motives, one must return to their life experiences, "For instance, why did Chai Ke take the path of crime?"

The real-life Chai Ke, harboring dreams of wealth, had responded to the Gold Rush and, like countless dreamers, arrived in this city. Therefore, after achieving his dream, he settled in District Seventeen, willingly becoming the Foster Family’s Eagle. Clearly, this version 1.0 of Chai Ke wouldn’t suddenly wake up one day with an impulse to lob a nuclear bomb at the core district.

So if they wanted to rationalize the script, they had to find a version 2.0 of Chai Ke.

"According to the information, Chai Ke came to District Seventeen in his early years and became a Gold Seeker..."

The screenwriter read from the script mechanically, not understanding why Song Lan would ask this.

"Do you think such a person would come up with the idea of using nuclear weapons to bomb the core districts?"

"...unless he’s crazy."

The screenwriter frowned, finally realizing the problem at hand. It was no wonder his only explanation was to portray Chai Ke as a madman.

His early experiences had blocked all reason.

"That’s exactly the issue, so now we’re going to rewrite Chai Ke’s criminal history," Song Lan paused, then asked, "What kind of person do you think ends up on the path of crime in such a city?"

When the subject turned to brainstorming stories, the screenwriter’s engagement immediately increased, and he quickly proposed a hypothesis.

In version 2.0, Chai Ke was born into the lowest social class family in District Seventeen.

In the screenwriter’s description, this lowest-class family had their own apartment, a private car, and parents divorced from an early age; now, he lived with his mother every day.

To make ends meet, Chai Ke had to find a job he didn’t like, acting according to his boss’s mood every day. His boss was a thorough villain, often verbally abusing his subordinates—including Chai Ke. One day, Chai Ke talked back to his boss and had a fierce argument with him. Bearing a grudge, the boss kept Chai Ke late at work one day, using overtime as an excuse, but actually contacted a local gang to teach Chai Ke an unforgettable lesson.

In the dispute, Chai Ke accidentally killed his boss in self-defense, and thus became a wanted fugitive in District Seventeen.

After telling this story, the screenwriter was invigorated, believing he had found a brilliantly clever idea, "Chai Ke held a grudge against the big corporations and the local justice system, so once he gained power, he planned his revenge against the justice system. It’s a story of fighting oppression!"

To this, Song Lan commented that it was an improvement.

Despite the fact that in the end, Chai Ke was still inevitably portrayed as a terrorist planning to attack with nuclear weapons out of personal vendetta, at least they provided a reason for Mr. Chai Ke’s transition from simpleton to madman.

Regrettably, this was obviously not the reason most people in District Seventeen turned to crime.

Or rather, you couldn’t expect people from large corporations to understand the true plight of those at the bottom.

As an industry insider, Song Lan had much to say on this.

"Usually in District Seventeen, it only takes three things to push someone to crime."

The life experiences of criminals here were nothing like the complex narratives found in scripts: "A young man witnessed a murder where he saw the gunman steal all the valuables from the victim; a few days later, he saw on the news that the murderer was declared not guilty by the Inspection Department; then, with a nervous heart, he bought a gun, robbed a convenience store in a panic, and accidentally shot the owner. After his arrest, his lawyer asked him for a sum of bail. He was released without charge the same day he paid the bail."

This is the powerful influence of "examples."

Such was the situation District Seventeen faced for a long time, but for the people at Kolo Film and Television Media, and even those in the "Libra," such a thing was nothing short of a fantasy.

Because the limit of their imagination regarding the lower-class people was that these individuals live in a small apartment, have a job they despise, and a boss who is irritating.

To put it simply, life’s disappointments pushed them onto the path of crime.

They were completely unable to understand why some people had to choose between becoming a criminal or a corpse.

"Chai Ke’s purpose in blowing up ’Libra’ was to send a message to those living in the ivory tower, those who decide the world’s justice," he said.

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