Chapter 616.1: Price Of Growing Stronger

Chapter 616.1: Price Of Growing Stronger

The coldest month which was January had already passed, and the sunshine in February carried with it a faint trace of warmth.

Throughout the entire winter, very little snow had fallen in Brocade Lake Municipality, so it seemed unlikely there would be any dampness from thawing. Still, Hammer’s heart held unease. In the future, there would be no more blessings from Na Fruit.

If anywhere ached again, the Torch Church would no longer be there to care for them.

Fortunately, that gray-green fog had finally dispersed completely, and the steel beast floating in the sky was gone too.

Hammer could not help but wonder if that musty-smelling fog was brought by the strange metal thing in the sky?

Otherwise it was hard to explain why the moment that thing arrived, the fog came too.

And when it left, the fog followed and vanished as well...

Just then, the sound of the bell rang outside right on time, followed by a long crow, like a rooster’s call.

“Assemble!”

It was the voice of their group’s leader.

A burly man emerged carrying a gong and drum, beating them as he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Men weren’t the only ones shouting. Women, the elderly, and even children joined in.

Though the words varied, the urgency in their voices was the same.

Hearing the bell and the clamoring noise outside, Hammer paid no mind to his wife and children. He hurriedly put on his clothes, rushed out the door, and under the leader’s scolding and urging quickly lined up to assemble.

Ever since the arrival of the new mayor, new rules had been brought into the settlement.

Singularity City was reorganized into blocks. 10 people formed a group, 10 groups made a crew, and 10 crews a district. Regardless of men, women, children, or the elderly, each had their own unit. Their work included farming, construction, resource collection, handicrafts, and even studying.

In short, each district was assigned its own production tasks, which were delegated step by step, becoming more specific at each level. From a broad construction zone down to a single door or window of a building, from a plot of farmland down to what would be planted in a single acre.

Performance evaluations followed the same chain. The mayor assessed the district leaders, the district leaders assessed the crew leaders, the crew leaders assessed the group leaders, and the group leaders managed the nine others.

If a district failed to meet its production quota, the district’s material rations were downgraded one level, lowering the living standards of everyone there. The district leader would then review each crew’s responsibility, passing blame and punishment downward until the exact crew at fault was identified. That crew’s standard of living would then be downgraded another level.

Thus, although the mayor had set only three official living standards, in practice they were subdivided into three tiers of three.

In a sense, it was a kind of collective punishment.

If one person slacked off, 10 people would be punished. The other nine would resent the slacker, and no one wanted to become the scapegoat that everyone hated.

Still, though Singularity City’s rules were unusually strict, the selection of management was absurdly casual.

He still remembered when they were assigning numbers, everyone was still wondering what the new rules meant when the new mayor suddenly said that whoever wanted to be a manager should step forward. Immediately, the managers of the old farm stood out.

Those who stepped forward first became group leaders.

Eventually, by some method Hammer never understood, they chose the crew leaders and district leaders.

Every time he thought about it, he regretted not daring to step forward then. When he saw those people in charge stretch out their feet, he had pulled his own foot back.

If he had been quicker, perhaps he could have been a group leader too.

Then it would have been his turn to shout at people to get them out of bed.

...

When the bell rang at 6:00 in the morning, every house in Singularity City emptied.

Households split apart and, under shouted orders, assembled into their groups. Led by group leaders, they shuffled off to join their crews.

Apart from eight hours of sleep, the rest of the day, whether work or rest, was spent within the organization.

Although that broke apart family units, the uniform schedule and timetable kept management from descending into chaos.

Nor did anyone dare refuse to cooperate.

Rations were not distributed to households but allocated entirely through the organization. It was impossible to sneak food home to one’s family.

Clothes could be given to their family members to wear, but only within the home.

Once outside, they would be seen by group members, reported, and both giver and receiver would be punished.

The informant, however, would be rewarded.

Reporting violations was simple. There was no need to go through the group leader. One could directly report to the patrolling drones.

At 6:20 in the morning, all groups had assembled and began jogging laps for warm-up. Once the exercises finished, it was time to eat.

Breakfast was usually a bowl of hot porridge. After eating, it would be 7:00, the official start of work.

Some carried axes and saws, cutting down the Camu Trees outside the walls where Na Fruit had been planted, clearing land with flame weeders in preparation for spring sowing.

Others busied themselves at construction sites, building public facilities and new dormitories.

No one slacked off.

On one hand, everyone wanted to show their worth to the new master. On the other, no one wanted to survive on two shofar potatoes and a finger-length protein paste each day.

Though the middle-tier living standard was still monotonous, shofar potatoes were replaced with proper potatoes or rice. The menu included a boiled vegetable dish, and the finger-length protein paste was replaced by 100 to 300 grams of meat.

Yes, they actually got meat!

The residents of Hope Town, whose lives had already been better than most, aside, the freed slaves worked with all their strength.

The only person who looked out of place was Kong Lingkai who wore a bitter face, groaning endlessly at the construction site.

Accustomed all his life to luxury, how could he ever have done such labor?

He already regretted coming over with the residents of Hope Town, cursing Ma Hechang for deceiving him.

It was a shame it was impossible to leave now.

In pursuit of the New Alliance’s protection and new power, he had willingly handed over his slaves and property to the new mayor, only to receive nothing but a shabby house and a serial number.

He didn’t even get a single silver coin.

Later he learned, to his dismay, from the guards that it was just Singularity City, not the New Alliance itself. Naturally, New Alliance law did not apply to them.

The guards told him he was free to leave at any time, but how could he?

Outside was the wasteland!

He could not even handle heavy work in the city. On the wasteland, he wouldn’t even leave bones behind when he was slain!

Ma Hechang, also from Hope Town, wore the same pained expression, gasping under the weight of bricks, his shoulders and arms aching as if his tendons had been torn.

He had thought his eager displays of loyalty would earn the New Alliance’s trust. Yet it seemed they did not care at all. Not only did he receive no privilege, not even slightly better treatment.

Worse, they dismissed his leadership skills. Rather than employ a former town mayor who had managed a thousand households, they preferred those who simply stepped forward quickly.

He felt as if his warm face was pressed against the New Alliance’s cold buttocks.

Ma Hechang cursed to himself, but there was nothing he could do.

The New Alliance was the one holding the guns. Since he had come, he could only endure...

Standing at the gate of the manor, Yinyin’s face was full of astonishment as she watched the busy, bustling settlement before her.

Living on the farm for so long, she had never seen people so eager to work.

“Did we come to the wrong place...?” she whispered softly to herself.

Beside her, Eclipse held her little hand, its face equally astonished.

However, it was for a completely different reason. Singularity City was less a settlement than a prison.

It finally understood what Kang Le had been worried about...

The fool, Frost, had indeed been observing New Alliance settlements, seriously studying how they operated, searching for management models suited to wastelanders.

However, it had to have mistaken a New Alliance labor camp as a proper settlement...

“Ah, Eclipse, you’re finally back!” Noticing the Orca at the gate, Frost strolled over in its maid’s dress with a wide smile on its face.

Satisfaction shone on its face, especially when its gaze fell on Yinyin. “So? Are you happy with the new body?”

Yinyin nodded politely and softly replied. “Thank you.”