Enforcer Manual
Chapter 672: Digital World_1

Chapter 672: Chapter 672: Digital World_1

Song Lan strongly agreed with Rose’s suggestion.

As a being who had long preferred the comforts of home, a marathon to him was tantamount to a natural enemy.

The Second Region was not far from the First Region, and as they chatted idly, the plane slowly landed on the rooftop helipad of a high-rise building.

As soon as they disembarked, Song Lan felt an intense sense of oppression—the city was simply too crowded. At a glance, skyscrapers rose everywhere, packed so closely together that only narrow gaps remained for pedestrians and vehicles to pass through.

The utilization of space by the people of the First Region had reached an astounding level; to facilitate more pedestrian traffic, the United Government’s top architects had constructed "highways" in mid-air, with colored lights outlining several routes designated for hover cars.

Looking up at the sky, even the azure blue seemed almost obscured by airships.

Some of these airships displayed important directives issued by the Review Meeting, while others advertised company ads or recruitment information.

Waiting to meet the four of them was a middle-aged woman in a professional business suit, her makeup delicately applied, fitting perfectly the image one might have of a corporate female executive.

In reality, her true identity was that of a secret agent for Military Intelligence Section Seven.

"Welcome, you can call me Natalie. That’s the name I use at work,"

the middle-aged woman introduced herself proactively.

This was one of the most common names in the United Government, familiar yet unlikely to leave a lasting impression on anyone. It was clear that Natalie was somewhat restrained in their presence.

After all, to these old hands of Military Intelligence Section Seven, they were still adjusting to the sudden emergence of the CP0 department and now had to welcome the highest-ranking officer from the top action department.

Even though the orders from above indicated that the top action department and they were part of two different systems, with no interference between them, the images from the Second Region had already spread within Military Intelligence Section Seven. Each of them had "reviewed" these meticulously several times, and they all knew that the newly promoted chief executor was a truly tough character.

Alone, he dared to challenge the entire Iris Consortium in the Second Region.

To them, this sounded more like a plot from a fantasy novel, but now it was happening right before their eyes.

In the past, Military Intelligence Section Seven had lost many excellent agents in their efforts to investigate the internal intelligence of the Iris Consortium.

"I presume you must be Mr. Rob Lucci,"

It was not difficult to recognize the identity of the executor, as the intelligence reports indicated that he always had a talking vulture perched on his shoulder.

Natalie was surprised to find that the vulture seemed to be assessing her with a scrutinizing gaze, and after about three or four seconds, it shifted its gaze away with some disappointment.

"That’s me,"

Song Lan nodded.

The presence of Natalie changed the atmosphere among the four of them. The pleasant exchanges they had on the plane were gone, replaced by a serious silence.

This was indeed the first impression that Military Intelligence Section Seven tended to give everyone.

"I will now introduce our department’s new office location,"

Natalie collected herself, diligently starting to introduce the building, "This is Galaxy Transport Company, one of the industries under Military Intelligence Section Seven. We have prepared a lounge where you can rest during the meeting... If you have any travel plans, you can call for a hover car service through room service at any time. We have also prepared all the necessary paperwork and related documents for you."

Upon entering the company, Natalie handed out four briefcases of the same standard to each person.

The briefcases contained laptops, along with work badges for Galaxy Transport Company.

This information had already been inserted into the network. Starting now, one of their identities could be that of a company employee, as disguising their identities was the normal way of life for Military Intelligence Section Seven. With each new location, they would adopt a new identity. Everything that had occurred before no longer had anything to do with them.

And now, her identity was that of a company assistant named Natalie, lending support to the four individuals for their activities in the First Region.

"If there is anything you need, please contact me at any time. I will do my best to solve any problems you encounter in the First Region,"

"Thank you for your efforts,"

The restrooms for the several of them were located on the same floor, with room facilities as luxurious and functional as those in the Second Region.

It was only upon arriving in the big city that Song Lan truly felt the backwardness of the infrastructure in the Seventeenth Region, with even the hotels in the bustling downtown areas built for the rich falling far short of this place.

While he pondered the tiers of material life, Lu Xiang had already finished organizing his personal belongings and entered his room.

"How does it feel?"

She glanced outside the window.

Here, on the 72nd floor of Galaxy Transport Company, the view outside was not the endless beauty of the First Region, but another high-rise of similar height. Through the one-way glass, they could make out the scenes of people working in the company opposite them.

The time was 13:12, just the beginning of a busy day for corporate workers.

"Quite oppressive, isn’t it?"

This had also been Lu Xiang’s first impression when she came to the First Region, when she only stood on the outskirts of the city looking far into the "prosperous" metropolis, understanding that she did not want to live in such a place.

And for someone like Song Lan, who slacked off at work, arrived late and left early, and just wanted to lie down when he got home, the First Region was probably the most unsuitable place in the world for him to live.

Song Lan nodded, then asked curiously, "Where do these people normally live?"

When they had looked down at the city from the plane earlier, they didn’t spot any residential areas, and even essential facilities like schools and hotels were scant.

"They live in the company, of course."

Lu Xiang responded with a tone that suggested it was only natural, "The company has prepared hibernation pods for the employees, but most of them don’t use the pods to rest; they just nap on their desks when they’re tired and continue working after they wake up."

"Hibernation pods?"

"Yeah, haven’t you seen the ads that were popular a few years back?"

Lu Xiang was somewhat surprised; given how frequently Song Lan watched television, she thought he should have seen most of the advertisements.

"A few years ago, weren’t you still not in The Seventeenth Region? I wouldn’t dare to slack off that much at work."

This matter was a bit subtle.

For a long time, Song Lan had believed he was a transmigrator, his new life almost perfectly synchronized with Lu Xiang’s transfer to The Seventeenth Region, but after later learning about the special aspects of his abilities, he also was not sure whether the transmigration had really happened or if it was just part of the side effects of his abilities.

The only certainty was that, a few years back, while the previous department head was still in office, he could still be considered a hardworking employee.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang narrowed her eyes and sneered, "What? Now that you think I’m easy to talk to, you’re gradually revealing your true nature?"

"This..."

Song Lan was momentarily at a loss for words.

He once again realized what it meant to bring disaster upon oneself through careless talk.

Luckily, Lu Xiang was never one to quibble over the minor details of everyday matters.

After all, any laziness shown by Song Lan at work would inevitably need to be compensated for elsewhere.

She cast a deep glance at Song Lan and walked to the wall, gesturing with her hands, "It’s a device about this big; inside, there’s a sliding bed with restraints. After lying down and securing the hands and feet to prevent rolling over in sleep, the employee is pushed in, and the pod releases a hypnotic gas to help them fall asleep quickly."

Lu Xiang remembered the advertisements saying that this was the scientific resting method of 22nd-century humans and that with the help of drugs and other scientific means, they only needed to sleep for four hours a day to feel completely refreshed.

But in her view, the real reason was that the hibernation pods maximized the saving of space.

The company no longer needed to arrange dormitories for the employees, "A room this big can provide rest for 40 employees at the same time."

"Have you tried the hibernation pod, how did it work?"

"I tried it a few times when I was on missions outside of school. You can’t move your arms and legs, and the bed board is so hard it hurts your back. You always complain about back pain, you definitely couldn’t stand it."

The only advantage, perhaps, lay in the fact that it indeed could help some insomniacs.

Anyone who entered the hibernation pod could fall asleep instantly.

"Feels like it’s not as good as a hug pillow," Song Lan muttered to himself. No wonder the company people from big cities like Medea were so fond of hug pillows; he thought that if hug pillows could be produced on a large scale and marketed, they would have great potential for profits in The First Region.

However, he had to clarify that his back pain always had a reason.

"Yes, it’s not as good as the hug pillows. If they had those, they wouldn’t even need to leave the office," Lu Xiang concluded, "In short, taking a job in The First Region means you have to give up almost all of your personal life’s time. Look, like those people in the building across the way, many of them probably haven’t left the company in weeks."

This was also one of the reasons why buildings were so densely packed in The First Region.

Although the population here was large, there was not much need for transportation; for a long time, companies had been working to ensure that their employees remained wholly devoted to their jobs.

"They can put up with this kind of life?"

"Because of massive debts, I must have mentioned this to you before. Most company employees need to undergo cybernetic implant surgeries upon hiring to facilitate their future work. The costs of these implant surgeries are deducted from their monthly wages as loans, and for the average employee, working for about ten years should be enough to pay off this debt."

Lu Xiang paused, then said, "But they also can refuse to work for the company and go back to those high-crime peripheral cities, earning a paltry salary each day and risking being robbed by criminals."

At least in The First Region, when staying inside the company, they did not have to worry about facing those vicious criminals.

And indeed, the company did offer them a decent salary, enough for them to support their families.

Although with their workload they personally had little chance to enjoy the benefits of a high salary, the family circumstances of many had changed because of these jobs.

In the words of the company managers, all of this was their own choice.

"From what I know, although the work stress is high, jobs in The First Region are very sought after, and only a very few people have the chance to work here."

She didn’t understand the company’s internal systems very well, but the upper echelons clearly had established a set of effective management and competition methods that made countless people desire this kind of life.

Song Lan also came to the window, standing next to Lu Xiang, looking out at the monotonous scenery.

Here, everyone’s lifestyle seemed to be more or less the same.

Looking at those buried in their work in the offices, he finally remembered where this familiar feeling of the whole situation originated from.

The entirety of The First Region seemed to resemble those management games on the market.

To the players of the games, the company employees were just like cold numbers. What they needed to do was manage those numbers well and maximize their value to the company.

Perhaps, in the eyes of the company managers, the entire world was no more than this.

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