Enforcer Manual
Chapter 726 - 724: Preaching_1

Chapter 726: Chapter 724: Preaching_1

Time flies like an arrow; days and months pass like a fleeting shuttle.

These phrases, originally metaphorical, now became a literal reality for the people of The First Region.

Time had been redefined: it rushed by from dawn to dusk and then slowed to a crawl at sunset. In the limited history of the United Government, or the world for that matter, such a bizarre phenomenon had never occurred. The High-level Parliament held four emergency meetings in a single day but failed to come to any conclusions.

They couldn’t even be sure if this was a man-made event.

Some believed it was a harbinger of a coming calamity, for in the visions of the future revealed by gods to humankind, the environment and order of the world would shift with the onset of the apocalypse, much like the indelible mark left by the Third War, which had yet to be completely erased even after the establishment of the United Government.

Not coincidentally, some had discovered that even the unknown doctrines of the Void spoke of the "apocalypse."

They seemed to think that, in the not-too-distant future, the projection of another dimension would overlap with the real world, forcing a mandatory fusion or replacement of environments and species between the two different worlds.

All signs pointed to an unprecedented change looming over the United Government.

However, the concerns of the High-level Parliament did not trickle down to the office buildings of The First Region. The working class continued to ignore the affairs outside their windows, living their monotonous lives. The varying speeds of time seemed unable to directly affect their lives; the only change for them was the new addition of a "rest" option to their daily schedules.

Only Lu Xiang knew the reason behind this anomaly.

She recorded her new findings in "Dumb Bird Observation Diary," noting that keeping the Dumb Bird in a state of constant fatigue and sleep deprivation could potentially lead to it using its abilities to aid in its own laziness.

With the alteration of time’s flow, Song Lan became the most direct beneficiary, gaining much-needed rest.

Every time Song Lan’s abilities changed, they surpassed Lu Xiang’s understanding. She slowly realized that despite his daily procrastination, his development of his abilities had reached an unfathomable level.

For this, Song Lan explained it as a side effect stemming from his abilities, where feeling tired and wanting to sleep affected each person differently.

The more stressed and pressured individuals were, the more susceptible they became to his abilities.

It just so happened that The First Region was notorious for overtime work.

The Dumb Bird always had a justification, insisting that promoting a balance between work and rest, as well as the importance of sleep, was a science-based and philanthropic act. As the saying goes, "the law does not punish the many." If all workers chose to rest, then the higher-ups who exploited them to the fullest couldn’t punish them.

"The First Region’s work environment is an example of internal competition. If one person opts for overtime without rest, it spurs competition."

Song Lan sat peacefully in his chair, delivering these lessons that Yeying, now awake, might never need in her lifetime.

Seeing Yeying’s confused expression, Song Lan elaborated, "It’s like when you were with the Lunar Eclipse Sect. If an Angel of Death decided to overwork herself to earn the Archbishop’s praise and reaped benefits from it, others desiring the same would follow her lead. Yeying, what do you think would result from that?"

"...Everyone ends up receiving praise and rewards?"

"That’s the ideal outcome. But in most cases, it results in those who don’t work overtime facing criticism and ostracism, and they might even be branded lazy and tossed out of the Angel of Death ranks."

"But if everyone actively completes their tasks, wouldn’t the total number of tasks completed increase?"

Yeying pondered, which wasn’t easy for her.

Yet, Song Lan’s example was all too relevant. Had there actually been a sister rewarded by the Archbishop for her overtime, she would have emulated that behavior without hesitation.

"True. Suppose the Archbishop makes 100 watts for each task you complete; your overtime work would make the Archbishop wealthier. But once rich, she wouldn’t be inclined to share that extra wealth with you."

Yeying responded indifferently, "It doesn’t matter. I don’t like money anyway."

"What if it was meat, though?"

At that, Yeying’s eyes widened, her face filled with reluctance.

"So, you understand now?"

"Yeah."

Yeying nodded vigorously. "The Archbishop is a bad person who won’t even let us have meat!"

She completely misunderstood!

Lu Xiang covered her face, as Yeying, as expected, demonstrated her remarkable ability to misconstrue. By the looks of it, she seemed to have taken the Archbishop’s unwillingness to share meat quite literally.

The Archbishop of the Lunar Eclipse Sect, Helifis, thus became a victim of poor reputation without even knowing.

"Your Archbishop wouldn’t do that; if there was meat, she would surely think of you all."

She felt compelled to defend Helifis, as the Bug Swarm and the Neutral Country had formed a strategic alliance. They were currently allies.

"That’s good."

Yeying finally nodded in relief and then began to look around restlessly, "I want to eat meat."

She completely threw aside inward competition and contemplation; to her, the topic of meat was much more appealing than these issues. Ever since she arrived in The First Region, Song Lan had not cooked personally anymore. Moreover, the plant that she had consumed in the sewer was about to be fully digested.

She truly disliked The First Region from the bottom of her heart.

There were many tender-skinned city folks here, but they never treated their bodies well, almost every one of them stuffed some strange metals into their bodies, which caused great trouble for eating. If one was not careful, they could easily chip a tooth.

Song Lan and Lu Xiang sighed in unison without prior agreement.

Lu Xiang indeed understood what Song Lan meant; he was indeed speaking about the current situation of The First Region, especially concerning the United Government.

Every corporate person was creating value at all times, but regretfully, this value was not shared with them in the end. Instead, it was widely applied to the arms race and the research and development of biotechnologies. With their round-the-clock efforts, the average lifespan of corporate rulers had increased from 120 years to 160 years, and they were still committed to extending this number further, all the way to immortality.

It was said that in the near future, they could store their consciousness in the digital world after discarding their fragile bodies, allowing their consciousness to exist forever.

At the same time, corporations held unparalleled military power.

Lu Xiang remembered reading in a book that nowadays, a small company possessed the military force capable of wiping out a border city’s gang members, and if they pleased, they could prevent those "world-renowned" figures from ever seeing the sun tomorrow.

If it weren’t for the emergence of Psychics, there would never be any force among the people that could stand against the corporations in this era.

And indeed, that was the case.

From the dark ages to the Rebel Army entrenched in the Neutral Country, and now the Dumb Bird, all those who dared to square off against corporations, without exception, were Psychics.

"You’re right, but no one can change the situation."

Lu Xiang said, as these corporate people entered the companies, they were already caught in the whirlpool. Those who were assigned to work in The First Region were legendary figures, the kings of the corporate world from various areas. They were well aware that once they could no longer keep up with the work pace of The First Region, they would be eliminated, just like Orman.

"So, I plan to give them a hand."

As Song Lan said, this was the power to bring happiness to the hard-working people.

Under the influence of that power, the most severely affected were those corporate kings. They might be able to deceive their own thoughts, but they couldn’t deceive their bodies.

"I think I’m beginning to understand, you’re not doing it just to be lazy."

Lu Xiang suddenly had a moment of realization, quickly seeing through Song Lan’s conspiracy, "You want to spread the Way of the Salty Fish."

By nature, the corporate kings are actually the natural predators of every salty fish.

According to the theory proposed by Song Lan earlier, if they were in the same position, Song Lan could very well be the one getting swept out the door.

Essentially, this was the same as the "god’s" preaching.

"God" chose those who stood at the very top of the United Government, allowing them to establish the Fishing Boat Club, plan the assassination of the Chairperson of the Council, and through the High-level Parliament, step by step took control of the entire United Government.

On the other hand, those selected by the will of the salty fish were the exact opposite; they were in each and every corporate building, and even their names would not be known by too many people.

The difference lies in the fact that compared to grand reasons such as "end of the world" or "changing one’s fate," the way Song Lan "preaches" is much more subtle.

"It seems you finally understand, the person surrounding me to complete this task is you, Old Lu."

For a moment, Lu Xiang felt an incredibly contradictory aura emanating from Song Lan.

The starkly contrasting auras of a salty fish and a Black Hand were interwoven, "I have always believed in you. If even you cannot withstand the side effects brought by the power, they too will certainly get a good night’s sleep just like you did."

Under the influence of that power, Lu Xiang had slept for nearly an entire day since the afternoon until she woke up!

At that moment, Lu Xiang finally understood where this sense of contradiction came from.

—This Dumb Bird, with a tone suggesting he was about to destroy the entire city, was suggesting, "Everyone should rest well and pay more attention to their health."

He continued, "Belief is absolute for anyone."

"God" made the members of parliament believe in the existence of fate and the impending civil war and the end of the world, while he hoped that people would follow the signals of their bodies and their true inner thoughts.

Lu Xiang couldn’t compare the potential impact and destruction that might be brought by the will of the salty fish.

But she was certain that this was definitely the kind of opponent the United Government had never encountered before; they might not even be aware of the crisis approaching them.