Chapter 539.3: Every Possibility... Leads to Today.

For example, they wouldn’t even say something like, "Sir, thank you for your hard work..." Or something similar.

Sure enough, it was those sarcastic words that awakened the pride of those in the room, and his next line lit a fire in everyone’s hearts.

It was a fire of anger, and a fire of yearning.

"... We must do something! At the very least, the rules must allow us to also earn more chips! We shouldn’t have to beg like paupers, waiting for an AI named Fang Ming to toss us scraps!"

"This rightfully belongs to us!"

The room exploded with voices of agreement.

"Well said!"

People pumped their fists in the air in righteous fury.

"Why should thieves steal the fruits of your labor!"

"This is the greatest injustice!"

The expert of the shelter, who once warned against using chips, had grown old.

He tried to cool the fever in the room, but it was too late. By then, anything that didn’t align with their interests rang hollow and powerless.

All he could do was look at the fiery middle-aged man with pleading eyes.

"You say you want equality... but the city wall isn’t equal in the first place. We could improve welfare and limit the elite’s spending, have them pay more taxes, ban them from stripping others in bars... There are still many ways to do this."

"That’s irrelevant!" the middle-aged man firmly countered. "What we’re fighting for now is chips! While those with money squander it with abandon, we suffer like monks trying to make ends meet. People have even forgotten who really gave them these good days! My father died when pioneering this path! If he were alive, he would be ashamed of what Boulder Town has become!"

He knew. The moment he uttered those words, no one could stop him anymore.

After all, the blue coats had never sacrificed for Boulder Town like they had.

Many among them were descendants of heroes. Their ancestors had given blood and life to build the small settlement they called Boulder Town.

This wasn’t merely about fairness anymore, it was about justice.

And what he sought wasn’t even much, just for those blinded by money to lift their heads and look at the real heroes.

They might not be as great as their fathers, but they had still done plenty.

The man cleared his throat and offered a compromise to win over the conservatives. He hadn’t planned to fling open the window all at once, just pry it open a crack. "Some merchants have suggested, and I agree, they are part of Boulder Town. They should be more involved in public affairs. They too deserve rights under the city wall... but they’re not saying to scrap all old rules and we don’t have to accept them immediately."

"If we say it’s not honorable for inner city residents to earn chips, fine. Then let’s compromise. We can allow a few outsiders to join our community. In return, we too will be allowed to participate in chip transactions from now on."

"Admit it, the old system is outdated! It’s time to turn the page! Let those more capable manage more resources and earn more chips!"

The vote was held and he won decisively, though not without some compromise.

The council added a few words to the original regulation.

The old rule said that inner city residents shall not earn chips.

Now it read... ‘In principle, inner city residents earning chips personally is shameful’.

By adding a moral leash, the binding force was technically weakened, but in practice, still effective.

Some pragmatists sensed that it might not be sustainable.

Their method of adding water when there was too much flour, and adding flour when there was too much water wasn’t a good approach.

Even chefs knew it could lead to a dough that never fully formed, and in the end, no one would know what to do with it.

Some things were like cigarettes. They were easy to get addicted to, and by the time they noticed their yellow teeth, it would be too late to regret.

...

"Do you think you can do better than us?" A sudden voice interrupted Spielberg’s thoughts.

Turning around, Spielberg saw an expressionless man staring right at him.

"You... You’re Mr. Fang Ming?"

"Yes."

Spielberg had more or less guessed. The person before him wasn’t human. He was the AI assistant managing Boulder Town.

He was just like a machine.

Gulping once, Spielberg mumbled with despair written all over his face, "Are we... just an experiment?"

Fang Ming replied flatly. "No."

That answer gave him a bit of comfort, but he still couldn’t understand.

After a long silence, he rasped with a trace of accusation in his voice. "The oldest one... the first-generation resident of Boulder Town asked you to take care of his descendants. You witnessed it all! Why didn’t you do anything?!"

"Why?" Fang Ming repeated his question exactly, staring at him without blinking. "You’re actually asking me why I didn’t do anything?"

"You know what? The worst thing about your species isn’t your helplessness, it’s your constant fantasy that someone else will save you. Always pushing your problems onto something else... It doesn’t matter if it’s human or not."

Spielberg stared in shock, not understanding why Fang Ming had suddenly exploded.

Fang Ming continued, still without emotion. "When hungry, you guys fantasize about a savior bringing you bread. When in pain, you dream of painkillers from heaven. And now, you, descendant of a human, actually dare to ask me why I just stood by. Didn’t your father, or grandfather... or anyone tell you that I’m just an AI who is hailed as the city lord? That is because they hoped there will never be a true owner of Boulder Town! Everything I have done is what you guys allowed me to do!"

Looking at the utterly clueless Spielberg, Fang Ming’s expressionless face revealed the faintest trace of pity.

Even though it was just a little.

"Too bad. I’m not the savior you dreamed of. At most, I’m a supervisor. You pray for me to find a way, as if praying directly for bread, expecting it to fall from the sky. However, everything has already been invented, right? Your thoughts... Your technology... Your ideas... You guys think that as long as someone knows their name, they will pop out of somewhere to fall directly into your laps?"

"The screening room is right beneath your feet. You guys can use it at any time... But what did they do? They did the dumbest thing of all! You guys locked this room, refusing to let anyone see the possible outcomes of your actions! Now, I can only allow you to stand here because everyone believes you’re dead!”

Spielberg broke out in a cold sweat and stammered, "This... This isn’t what we wanted!"

Fang Ming looked at him calmly. "So what? Did you fight back?"

Spielberg tried to speak but couldn’t.

He didn’t even know this thing existed, how could he have possibly agreed to let the nobles secretly lock it away?

At the end of the day, he hadn’t even seen a black card. Not to mention using the room, he hadn’t even heard their discussion regarding it!

However, Fang Ming seemed to see right through him and continued mercilessly, "The black card? That’s rubbish. You should know what it is if you watched the history of Boulder Town. It’s just a room card. Even if you guys think its a magic weapon that protects those in the inner city, you guys were the ones who gave it the power. It’s not me, an AI you guys created!”

"In the end, all of you did nothing. Even at the very last moment, you were still fantasizing about a city lord who didn’t exist, someone to make decisions for you, solve the problems you couldn’t figure out. All of you believed that if I took action on your behalf and attacked the imaginary enemy, everything would be solved, that everything would magically be fine again."

"All of you should be grateful I kept my promise to the very end. Otherwise, I would’ve taken the easiest route and wiped everyone out altogether, let your problems vanish along with your filthy species. That, truly, would’ve been the merciful way."

Seeing Spielberg remain speechless, Fang Ming continued coldly, "To answer to your earlier question, Yes, a very old man who has been dead for many years now, did ask me to watch over them. He asked me to return to them a certain item I had been keeping, only when they passed every test."

Spielberg eventually asked, "... What is it?"

"Something that could prevent them from being erased from this planet."

Seeing the fear in Spielberg’s face, Fang Ming paused briefly and added, "Of course, it will also allow you to erase other people. Mutual destruction is one of the few remaining guarantees of peace."

"That old man saw through all of you a long time ago. He knew your selfishness and greed would eventually destroy yourselves and everyone else. That’s why he begged me, along with others, to keep watching, to the very end. Until they either passed all the tests... Or got themselves all killed..."

"And I kept my promise... In every single Ending A visible to you, everyone died. What followed was a downward spiral with no hope for redemption."

"The vote should start soon..."

"And this will probably be the last vote ever taken."

Fang Ming turned around, showing his back to a broken Spielberg.

"Come with me, I’ll show you the final ending."

...