Enforcer Manual
Chapter 222: Turns out I am the Clown_1

Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Turns out I am the Clown_1

In version 2.0, Chai Ke’s identity as a terrorist remained unchanged.

In the end, he decided to retaliate against the world in a spectacular way, for him, the greatest success wasn’t killing or defeating someone, but rather welcoming everyone into this new world with which they were unfamiliar.

"In my view, if you’re to measure a villain in a series of films, the expectation for them shouldn’t be limited to the extent of destruction they cause, but also the impact they have on the protagonist."

Films differ from reality; in the virtual world, people can always endow any dark and brutal story with a romanticized ending, and audiences know the moment they step into the cinema that, no matter what schemes the villain in the play concocts, they will ultimately be thwarted by the hero.

At least in the world of film, good triumphing over evil is artificially achieved.

No version of Chai Ke could truly destroy "Libra," so in the film, the message he wished to convey would always stop short with the protagonist, a.k.a. the "zealous citizen."

And just now, a screenwriter from Kolo Film and Television Media had crafted the image of the "zealous citizen" born from a major corporation through actual deeds.

The extent of his understanding of sin was much like the screenwriter making up impromptu stories, believing that the city’s crime originated from some lunatics discontented with life, and naturally, given his innate wealth, power, and capabilities, he believed that everyone had the right to choose their own destiny.

"I think I pretty much understand what you’re saying."

The director fell into deep contemplation, the Chai Ke that Song Lan described was no longer the villain familiar to them for committing evil due to sin, blowing up "Libra" seemed more like a challenge and destruction of existing rules to him.

In comparison, their concept of the "zealous citizen" was still focused on the sins before them.

The words that Song Lan had just spoken extended into a new question.

What kinds of expectations did they really hold for this city, which the film was using the Seventeenth District as a prototype?

In their initial concept, this was a city where crime rates skyrocketed, with severe economic decline and full of social conflicts, but all their imagination was still stuck on the stage set design, like creating some dilapidated buildings, or designing a gang shootout in the street.

They hadn’t actually continued to think along these lines.

If the sin of this city had decayed to the rules themselves, then, to some extent, Chai Ke, who challenged these rules, also possessed a certain legitimacy, didn’t he?

In the past, they wouldn’t consider giving a villain legitimacy; in films, the good were good, the bad were bad, they came with clear labels upon their entrance, without requiring the audience to distinguish between them.

Whether to heed Song Lan’s advice was another matter, but now the director himself was intrigued by this character, and he couldn’t help asking, "Assume, I mean just assume Chai Ke had achieved his goal and destroyed ’Libra,’ what kind of change would that bring to the current state of the city?"

"He would become a legend talked about with relish, but beyond reputation, it would bring no change."

"No change?"

The director repeated in astonishment, his eyes deepening with doubt, "Then why would he still do it?"

"That’s the difference between a terrorist and a revolutionary, we are now discussing a villain character."

The Chai Ke who wished to destroy "Libra" was equivalent to the embodiment of sin bred by the city itself, representing anger, dissatisfaction, and an endless desire for destruction.

"He wouldn’t, and he doesn’t intend to change the existing rules; this is an emotional catharsis."

Suppose Chai Ke really did blow up "Libra", people filled with hatred for the big corporations would regard him as a legend, celebrating wildly throughout the city for three days. Then, life would go on as usual, because after all, time wouldn’t stand still at the moment of the nuclear explosion.

And once he succeeded, it would bring an even more intense shock to the local law enforcement environment.

After he became a legend, more and more people would imitate his actions. If they couldn’t blow up "Libra", they’d target the Inspection Department, the Law Enforcers’ departments, and if they couldn’t get those, they’d bomb newsstands, street shops, blowing up everything they could think of that they hated and was associated with it.

So, whether in movies or in reality, Song Lan wouldn’t want such a villain to realize his ideal.

"This is why even if ’Concerned Citizens’ could understand Chai Ke’s motivation, they must stop him. What Chai Ke wanted to achieve wasn’t just a personal ideal, but also to bring about a carnival of destruction with his own death," Song Lan reflected.

Song Lan felt that he was really breaking his back for the sake of the crew, thankfully he had watched enough movies, and in the year 2166 the movie industry did not overlap with what he was familiar with in 2020, so that he could directly borrow many settings created by his predecessors.

If things continued in this vein, the relationship between "Concerned Citizens" and Chai Ke would be similar to that of Batman and The Joker.

The city they lived in was even more desperate than Gotham.

The power of the United Government and the large corporations had reached an almost invincible level. During the time when the Foster Family controlled District Seventeen, even if The Joker really appeared, they would strangle him in the cradle...

Huh?

At that thought, Song Lan suddenly paused.

Because he realized that in challenging the existing rules and driving the big families out of District Seventeen, his actions were similar to those of The Joker.

He didn’t possess Batman’s principles of salvation and non-killing; whenever someone threatened him, he never hesitated to take them out.

The Joker, could it be myself?

But fortunately, he had no intention, for the time being, of deploying nuclear weapons against the big corporations or the core areas. Rather than pure Destruction, he was more concerned with how to develop District Seventeen’s military forces, because he knew that blowing up "Libra" in reality would be utterly useless. If the Foster Family disappeared, it would simply be replaced by another powerful family.

Only by liberating the city economically and militarily from the control of large corporations and families could real change be brought about.

"What, have you thought of another new idea?"

Seeing Song Lan fall into contemplation, the director quickly asked, intrigued by the unconventional villain.

This was a path untraveled by others, which might turn into a great opportunity.

"How to change this city is the job of ’Concerned Citizen’, who just might have the right resources to push certain changes," Song Lan replied.

Unexpectedly, Song Lan found that the high executive status of the big corporation—originally intended for whitewashing—might still be of some use. In this era when the large families and companies have absolute control over the lower levels, initiating change would probably still require their power.

Just as their Law Enforcers’ department could only clean up the criminal groups along the border trade lines, taking control of the trade lines would require the power of the District Seventeen government or even that of the Twelfth Nation.

"Change doesn’t happen overnight; it may well be the content of the next few films," he mused.

As the one portraying Chai Ke, he had completed the glorious mission of failure at the first step, and how the story of the movies developed afterwards had nothing to do with him.