The First Order

Translator: Legge

Ren Xiaosu was not trying to be annoying at this moment, but he really believed he did not have any grand ambitions for the world. All he wanted was to live happily with a group of people.

Whether it be a wolf or a pig that became his teammate, Ren Xiaosu would not mind. The teammates he wanted should all be real people with compassion.

For some reason, Ren Xiaosu placed a lot of importance on human compassion.

After going through so much, he could only identify with the Northwest because he could sense the compassion he needed there.

This compassion was not about whether his comrades were strong and powerful during battles, but that when the battles were over, everyone could support each other while bantering and cursing as they made their way home together.

But Ren Xiaosu did not see any of this in the Wang Consortium. He could only remember the Wang Consortium’s artificial intelligence and how the Anjing House plotted from afar to bring down the supernatural beings and the outlaws in the underworld.

That was right. After the cave-in at East Lake and the expedition to the Sacred Mountains, the Wang Consortium and the Anjing House had indeed made Ren Xiaosu change his opinion of them. The last time he met a genius strategist like that was Qing Zhen.

Actually, Qing Zhen was also decisive in killing people. But his sincere brotherhood with Luo Lan made Ren Xiaosu feel that Qing Zhen had more compassion in him. This was the difference between Qing Zhen and Wang Shengzhi in Ren Xiaosu’s eyes.

Wang Shengzhi managed to react after a brief moment of surprise. Actually, Ren Xiaosu had already answered his question.

He said seriously, “I had the same thoughts as you when I was young, but I’ve seen too many shady things going on within the consortiums. So I gradually started to believe that humans managing humans is the beginning of a tragedy, not unlike my own.”

Wang Shengzhi continued, “I’ve met a girl who was violated, but the Public Order Division did not dare to punish the accused because he was a member of the Wang clan. In the end, I had to personally give the order to sentence the accused to life imprisonment. Even today, there are still people pleading for him.

“I’ve come across a traffic accident where a few pedestrians were horsing around in the streets. As a result, they fell down accidentally and were hit by a car. The driver was not in the wrong at all, yet the Public Order Division made the driver compensate the victims on grounds of humanitarian reasons.”

“I’ve even seen…” Wang Shengzhi sighed and said, “I’ve seen too much, so I want to make a change. Many people think I’m doing all this because of what happened to my legs. But I’ve never defended my reasons and just let them think what they want.”

Ren Xiaosu fell silent. In truth, none of Wang Shengzhi’s reasons could be said to be wrong. In fact, Ren Xiaosu even supported Wang Shengzhi a little. That was because, at present, it seemed that an absolutely fair artificial intelligence could indeed solve those problems by managing society in place of humans. At the very least, it would make the family members of the Wang clan and stronghold officials behave like they were treading on thin ice.

If it weren’t for the fact that Wang Shengzhi’s authority was stable, these wealthy and privileged people would have already flipped the table.

But when Ren Xiaosu suddenly remembered the “therapy,” he felt a thorn stab his heart.

While this was only a minor matter, Ren Xiaosu somehow felt he could pry into the logic of the entire artificial intelligence through it. That was a world based on absolute rationality.

A world without any compassion.

Wang Shengzhi said, “I’ve run the Wang Consortium for 17 years and brought the troops under my firm command over that period. I’ve completed the purge within the Wang Consortium’s political system just so I could wait for today to arrive. For the sake of an impartial world, I can sacrifice everything I have now.”

Ren Xiaosu thought for a long time before saying, “Maybe you won’t like what I have to say, but I think you’re acting too hastily. Perhaps I don’t know how to manage a stronghold or a consortium. But I think that the world you dream of might be realized one day when everyone becomes educated and has their basic needs fulfilled. No, it might never be realized even then. I still refuse to accept a world without any compassion in it.”

He knew full well that even if the world were rich in resources and most people could afford to attend school, there would still be beggars, thieves, and criminals around.

But even at that time, the majority of people would still be passionate about the world and their own lives.

Meanwhile, with the implementation of the artificial intelligence’s governance, Ren Xiaosu could only see pedestrians walking on the streets with their heads lowered. He could not even sense any warmth in them.

Jiang Xu’s initial opinion was not wrong. It was already good enough that the refugees could have their basic needs fulfilled in such an era, so why would they insist on more?

However, Jiang Xu gradually realized what a cold and rational world would do to human civilization.

Then Ren Xiaosu looked at Yang Anjing. “When I first learned about the Saboteurs some time back, I thought that you advocated for peace. But now that war has broken out in the Central Plains, the perpetrator turned out to be your Anjing House. I believe that the Pyro Company and the Kong Consortium wouldn’t start a war for no reason. It should’ve already been foreshadowed by the expedition to the Sacred Mountains.”

Yang Anjing said calmly, “Only by reunifying the entire Alliance of Strongholds can the flames of war be completely extinguished. You’ve been through quite a few wars too, haven’t you?”

“I can understand the logic, and you’re also right.” Ren Xiaosu said, “But that sounds more like an excuse that a politician would make.”

The two sides had started debating. Yang Anjing said seriously, “I never created the Saboteurs to maintain peace. Rather, I did it to get rid of all nuclear weapons in the world. After the AI takes over the running of society, it’ll be fair and impartial in regulating all possible nuclear generation methods. Only then can we achieve a truly nuclear-free world.”

Ren Xiaosu suddenly realized this was the basis of Yang Anjing and Wang Shengzhi’s cooperation. Yang Anjing knew that only by working with Wang Shengzhi could she finally achieve her goal once and for all. At that time, even the Saboteurs would not need to exist anymore, because no one could escape the detection of the artificial intelligence to research nuclear weapons.

That was Yang Anjing’s ultimate objective.

“Are nuclear weapons really that terrifying?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“Of course,” Yang Anjing looked at Ren Xiaosu. “How else do you think we ended up in this era of the wastelands? It was not easy for humans to get some respite for 200 years. Now that someone has brought out such weapons again, what is a war in the Central Plains compared to the impending disaster of a nuclear winter?”

Ren Xiaosu sighed. Actually, both of them were right from their respective points of view.

The atmosphere in the dining room turned heavy. No one spoke anymore, and Ren Xiaosu lowered his head and ate his food. It was clear he did not want to debate this any further.

After completing the three tasks, he would be leaving the Wang Consortium anyway.

The dishes were so exquisite Ren Xiaosu could not bear to eat them. However, Ren Xiaosu felt the essence of food was not to appear attractive but to fill one’s stomach.

People who had lived in the wilderness had a much more down to earth appreciation for food.

“Do you have any noodles?” Ren Xiaosu asked, “May I get a large bowl of noodles here?”

Wang Shengzhi looked at Ren Xiaosu and sighed in his head. This was probably Ren Xiaosu’s way of expressing that their paths did not cross.

So was Ren Xiaosu really hinting at something?

No, he really just wanted to have some noodles.