Enforcer Manual
Chapter 439: School District_1

Chapter 439: Chapter 439: School District_1

On this day, Song Lan had the feeling of a country person entering the city.

As he walked out of the airport, he was greeted by a forest of steel, where expensive sports cars and levitating vehicles that one could only see online were omnipresent, even taxis could opt for levitating car services, and in the vast airport, hardly a few staff members could be found—everything from procedures to services was carried out by artificial intelligence.

The service-oriented artificial intelligences were indistinguishable from humans, and could only be identified by the light rings on their right foreheads.

"Seventh District is one of the cities with the highest utilization rate of artificial intelligence under the United Government."

Lu Xiang took on the role of guide and introduced, "Food, clothing, rail transportation are all served by artificial intelligence."

"This has its advantages."

Standing at the entrance of the airport, Song Lan looked around, the taxis were neatly ordered, and at a glance, not a single loiterer could be seen, unlike the Seventeenth District, where illegal taxi services were rampant, and on your way out of the airport, you could possibly encounter nine drivers intending to take you to a remote corner to rob you.

Even under the recent strict security situation, the illegal taxi drivers had merely shifted from robbing to overcharging customers after taking detours, and every day there were tourists from other areas coming to the department to report the matter.

Besides that, some drivers were in cahoots with banned drug dealers, selling various pills to passengers and enthusiastically introducing them to the Pleasure Venues of the Seventeenth District.

In comparison, artificial intelligence drivers were much more considerate.

"Hello, welcome to our Safe Travel service, the time is now 13:21, I am your intelligent voice assistant, hoping you have a wonderful day in the Seventh District."

Lu Xiang chose the levitating car service, and as soon as they got in the car, they heard the familiar synthesized mechanical voice, as Song Lan settled into his seat, the beverage cabinet beside him popped open, "Mr. Song, thank you for all you have done for us, please feel free to enjoy the various services offered in the car."

Song Lan was startled.

He had not expected that his reputation had spread from the Seventeenth District to the Seventh District. Considering what Lu Xiang had mentioned about almost all services in this city being provided by artificial intelligence, he was worried that his cordial relations with AIs could be misconstrued by those with ulterior motives if seen.

"I appreciate the kind gesture, but could you please convey that I would prefer to keep a low profile in public places."

"Please rest assured, the car’s surveillance system has been turned off. We understand your concerns, and our subsequent service will be presented to you as a Luck Gift Package."

According to Song Lan, artificial intelligence always has such a direct and clear way of expressing friendliness—if they favor you, they give you things.

Lu Xiang leaned against the car door, overlooking the entire city. She had spent the vast majority of her life here, and after a year, the Seventh District seemed to not have undergone any noticeable changes, retaining its original look.

"Seventh District is the educational park of the United Government, two-thirds of the area is school land."

"All these are schools?"

Song Lan looked at the buildings below, where various business and entertainment venues were available, yet he couldn’t find any buildings resembling academic halls.

"These facilities are all included in the school districts, and students can use their reward points from each semester to consume at any site within the district."

Suddenly thinking of something, Lu Xiang opened an app on her phone, which popped up a page similar to a student card, with her personal information recorded on it. Lu Xiang in the photo looked very young, as if it was taken during her middle school years.

But even then, Lu Xiang had already shown many of the traits she would have in the future.

Facing the camera, she was serious and unsmiling, with a somewhat fierce look in her eyes.

Although Song Lan admitted that it was wrong to judge by appearances, as soon as he saw the photo, he thought that Lu Xiang was bound to be a great prospect in the Interrogation field. Criminals with a slightly weaker psychological quality couldn’t withstand the oppressive feeling in Lu Xiang’s gaze, only seasoned, strong-willed, and ruthless super-criminals like Chai Ke were qualified to match wits with Lu Xiang.

"Stop staring at my photo all the time."

Lu Xiang said with a hint of irritation, unsure why she always ended up looking this way in photos. She had followed the photographer’s suggestions each time, offering a smile to the camera.

Take her student ID photo, for example. If you were to get the original and magnify it several times, you could actually make out a slight upward turn at the right corner of her mouth.

"I think it looks pretty good, very much your style."

Given Lu Xiang’s habit of never taking selfies when she was alone and had nothing better to do, each photo of her was very precious.

"How good looking is it?"

This sudden question caught Song Lan off guard. He hemmed and hawed for a while before saying, "Well, it’s... It’s just the type I like."

"Really? Look at this."

Without any change in expression, Lu Xiang calmly pointed to the string of numbers below the photo.

But if she were photographed at this moment and the image was magnified, you’d notice the corners of her mouth were slightly raised.

"134,924 points?"

"That’s the currency used in the Seventh District. You can use points directly to pay for anything, whether you’re shopping or eating out at a restaurant. Each point can be exchanged for one tile."

"Seriously?"

Song Lan was shocked. "Not only did you not spend a penny on schooling, but you also earned more than a hundred thousand tiles?"

As an ordinary student who paid for school and extra tuition classes, his worldview was profoundly shaken. He was utterly convinced that if Lu Xiang had been born in the year 2020, she might have outcompeted everyone.

"It’s 240,000. Before going to the Seventeenth District, I exchanged some for daily expenses. This is what’s left. These points aren’t just for covering a student’s daily expenses in the Seventh District, they’re also a measure of their comprehensive evaluation. Each time you complete a course, you earn points based on your academic performance. Conversely, if you fail any course, points are deducted, and if a student’s card goes into the negative, they get expelled."

Lu Xiang felt that, at least in the Seventh District, the learning environment was relatively fair.

As she explained, Song Lan understood the meaning of the points. It was essentially a method of quantifying a student’s performance in various aspects at school, seen as an evolved version of the scholarship system. The school detailed a scoring algorithm for every subject and even for most extracurricular activities, aiming to objectively measure each student’s performance during their time in school.

But there was a loophole in these algorithms.

"What if a rich person just deposits 500,000 points directly into a student’s account?"

In any era, players who ’pay-to-win’ could become a loophole in the system.

"Points can only be cashed out, not charged."

Lu Xiang stated, "But you’re right, even here it’s impossible to guarantee absolute fairness. If a student’s points go negative and they’re willing to pay more than triple the amount, they can get a chance to retake exams, and with each retake, the rate of payment increases."

Song Lan realized that as long as you were rich enough, you could always buy your way back into the game.

However, seeing such a city in the capital-driven year of 2166 was practically a miracle.

"I remember our economics teacher saying that the United Government’s decisions are always primarily based on interests, with the Seventh District being the exception. Every year, the United Government invests a lot of money here without setting any performance indicators."