Enforcer Manual
Chapter 491: Custom Service_1

Chapter 491: Chapter 491: Custom Service_1

The seventeenth district in 2166 still faced numerous other societal challenges.

Elder care was one of them.

As Lu Xiang put it, the average citizen of district seventeen had a low rate of marriage and child-bearing, compounded by endless gang shootouts, leading most people to face the prospect of becoming solitary elders. Amidst these issues, companies proposed solutions.

For instance, they could gather these elders into small rooms, hook them up to devices and, through scientific means, allow them to spend their twilight years in happiness. In return, they would become corporate property, perpetually generating anti-depressant-type emotional gases for the company.

"I looked into the gas production process, it seems like anyone could be a producer, so why are all the producers here elderly?"

In the manager’s office, there was a cartoon-style brochure that charmingly outlined the basics of gas production.

"Because few people pay attention to their whereabouts, and even if an accident happens, no one would sue the company on their behalf."

For the company, the solitary elders were very trouble-free producers; if a problem occurred during production, they just had to conduct the necessary procedures, and, with an official proof from the prosthetic hospital, they could fabricate a peaceful death.

While talking, Director Glexy returned with the employee handbook.

He had been gone for a long time, and when he returned, his eyes were evasive, inevitably causing one to suspect he was hiding some unspeakable secrets.

Lu Xiang flipped through the Dream Pharma employee handbook.

Moments later, she abruptly asked, "Where is your company’s gas production facility customized? Also in this building?"

At her words, Glexy’s face stiffened, and after a long silence, he finally said, "We engage in legitimate production, we do not offer customized services, my contact is the prosthetic hospital, we have a completely legal contract, I assure you..."

Facing Glexy’s evasions, Lu Xiang simply turned the monitor on the office desk around.

It displayed the chat records between Glexy and his clients.

Song Lan caught a glimpse of part of the content, and it was enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

He had underestimated the extent of people’s perversion and morbid curiosity and had mistakenly thought this device could only produce gases that induced happiness.

But happiness is just a small part of human emotions. The more prevalent emotions people experience daily might be sadness, anger, despair; these might be the main tone of emotions for the residents of 2166. If a satisfaction and happiness survey were conducted, Song Lan feared the results would be quite unsightly.

He just couldn’t understand why anyone would spend a fortune to customize these negative emotions. In the remarks of those clients, he saw many familiar large corporations; from their way of conversation, it was not hard to see they were mostly regulars.

Seeing the secret exposed, Glexy’s expression turned exceedingly unsightly.

He was well aware that producing such customized content was illegal. Due to the nature of the gas production line, to create a gas charged with negative emotions, it was necessary to keep the producers in such emotional states for extended periods. Considering humanitarian concerns, the United Government had banned such practices.

Of course, that was the official statement.

In reality, there had been some annoying pest from some third-rate newspaper who, under the guise of exposing social darkness, infiltrated one of the production lines. Although the company silenced him, the content he captured inadvertently leaked, sparking an uproar in public opinion.

To quell the controversy, the United Government had no choice but to stand on humanitarian grounds and prohibit the production of negative emotional gases.

Now, Glexy’s main worry was not about himself but about all the clients’ names in the chat records.

Under the latest laws, manufacturing, selling, and purchasing were all classified as illegal activities.

"Don’t worry, you can speak freely."

Lu Xiang reassured Glexy, "Not a single one above will get away."

That was her promise to him; before he returned, she had already noted down all the clients who had requested customized services.

"...I’ll take you to the custom production line."

After a prolonged silence, Glexy eventually resigned himself to say, but his expression did not escape Lu Xiang’s notice.

His semblance of desperation was feigned.

This revealed his confidence in the security measures of the custom production line.

The entire production line was located underground in the building. At first glance, it seemed not much different from the levels above—elderly individuals wearing helmet-like devices in nearly identical compartments. However, upon closer observation, one could see their faces marked by fear and pain as if enduring tremendous torment.

"Scientifically speaking, this doesn’t cause any physical damage to them!"

Glexy continued to defend his position tirelessly, "It’s all hallucination, they haven’t actually experienced it."

"Wouldn’t they develop depression?"

Song Lan challenged Glexy’s unscientific theory, unable to hold back his question.

Glexy had a ready answer, "Depression afflicts those who are awake. They signed contracts with us long ago, and we will take care of them until their death. They have no need to wake up."

It was a very long corridor.

Not far down, Lu Xiang stopped in front of one of the compartments and lightly touched the scratch marks left on it with her index finger, asking, "What’s this?"

The creature that left the scratch marks was clearly not human, but some kind of beast.

It seemed that before their arrival, a harrowing chase had taken place there.

Glexy, however, averted his gaze, looking off to the side, "It’s probably just the glass that’s damaged, I don’t know what you’re talking about."

This was his last card to play.

No one understood better than he did what awaited him if the situation were exposed: the company people would never let him off, and to avoid implicating the more deeply hidden interest groups, they would surely find a way to silence him.

Rumor had it that Lu Xiang was such a person.

Once she set her sights on someone, no matter how well hidden, there would come a day when they would be dragged into the light.

For him, the only way out now was to make sure that Lu Xiang and that unknown companion of hers kept their secret forever.

"The control center for the entire underground facility is up ahead."

The three of them reached the end of the corridor, "The console to deactivate the devices is inside. If you want to shut down these units, go on in."

He stepped aside to clear a path for them and, feigning kindness, reminded them, "But I must warn you: given their current mental state, I can’t guarantee what will happen if you wake them up."