Chapter 1335
Chapter 1335 - 1321: Ferocious
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9 min read
Without receiving a clear response, Lu Ping’an decided to return to his own turf.
He knew that it was not possible to get a response in the short term... Although the Saphire people had become fallen aristocrats, a rotten ship still has a few nails left.
But eventually, they would agree to Lu Ping’an’s request and send a group to cultivate Mercury 42, just as with the Green Planet.
Of course, this was a personal request from Lu Ping’an, and the matter of leaving the country still required an application to the local government... Lu Ping’an estimated that they would complete all procedures with unprecedented speed, asking these ’masters’ to leave the country.
The Ancient City was not resistant to the Saphire people, nor was it expelling them; they had become an inseparable part of the city (an important foreign investment project), but an excessive number of Saphire people clearly disrupted the city’s balance.
Relocating a portion of them was actually a good thing for the Saphire people themselves... Once they truly began to squeeze the living space of the locals, and as tensions gradually fermented, who would end up being cleared out in the end?
The Saphire people’s best course of action would be to integrate the majority of their population into the Easterners, who were the main ethnic group, while still holding onto certain industries.
And this, even if they thought of it themselves, they couldn’t do it... No one could bear the label of "abandoning one’s people."
"... It was simply going with the flow; naturally, they wouldn’t refuse."
Lu Ping’an was not particularly outstanding in politics, but in most cases, his methods pursued "win-win" and "mutual benefit," which made his path relatively smoother.
But he was also the type who wouldn’t stop until he achieved his goal. If the other party really refused the courteous offer and faced the punishment instead? That was another matter altogether.
"They can’t be that foolish, can they? If they refuse my private suggestion, official intervention might follow, which, apart from making both sides lose face, would mean ’If the host asks you to leave and you don’t go,’ you’re clearly looking to cause trouble..."
After thinking it over, Lu Ping’an didn’t head straight back. Since he was invited to the Development Zone, he decided to take a closer look at the local situation as well.
"This is a bit bad..."
Not to mention, Lu’s identity had not changed to date; he still held the position of captain of the first team of the local Special Service Team, theoretically the top person in charge of local public security.
Compared to the situation a few months ago when Lu Ping’an visited, there were no significant changes to the industries here. They still mainly produced "land airships," and this high-profit "automobile manufacturing" industry was relatively generous in hiring, facilitating employment for the locals.
However, with the market not fully opened at present, even with the assembly line fully operational, it could not accommodate the ever-increasing population.
Most directly, Lu Ping’an saw makeshift tents of varying sizes on the streets, in alleys, and beside construction sites under development, and he detected some subtle odors... When the population exceeds a certain capacity and people cannot be properly settled, life forms naturally contribute to environmental contamination and the deterioration of public order.
Even Lu, cloaked in a Special Service Team cape, felt that someone was tailing him.
Gangs? Local tyrants? Or just a common individual criminal? No wonder his colleagues in the Special Service Team mentioned that the security situation in the Development Zone was extremely poor.
This problem was actually quite difficult to solve, as the job opportunities provided by local enterprises were always limited. People without work, wanting to make a living and improve their lives, would naturally resort to extremism when formal avenues could not satisfy them.
Even had Lu Ping’an not come, they would have found a way to "fend for themselves."
It’s worth mentioning that Lu Ping’an’s "Heavenly Eye" project had not included this area, at least the first batch of trials had been stopped.
"... Since I’m here, I might as well make an appearance."
Lu Ping’an made a trip to the local police station, observing the bustling scene where people were constantly escorting prisoners in and police cars were responding to calls... Lu Ping’an also took note that most of the local police officers were now Saphire people and Aliens.
"Hello, may I ask who you are looking for?"
He, theoretically the top local authority, was stopped by a receptionist, who politely inquired whom Lu Ping’an wanted to visit.
After considering for a moment, Lu Ping’an touched his identification but ultimately shook his head.
"I’m from the city over there; I came here on business and just wanted to check on the situation..."
Lu Ping’an felt it would be better not to disturb the current "order."
If he revealed his identity now, he could convene the top management of the police station, special agents, and SWAT team for a lecture... In fact, if he made his identity clear, they would indeed be obliged to come, which would certainly disrupt everyone’s work.
"... Suspicious."
But what Lu did not notice was that the expression on the receptionist’s face was becoming more and more peculiar as she looked at him.
Lu, who would normally appear to be of school-going age, was now loitering at the entrance of the police station, draped in a Special Service Team Captain level cloak and epaulettes, yet doing nothing at all.
"...Call someone over, there might be trouble."
This police station received a threat call every three days on average, with plenty of attacks and bomb threats, so they had developed mature methods of response.
So, as Lu Ping’an was still cheerfully watching others work overtime while drinking tea and enjoying the view outside the window, a group of people came from all directions.....
"Don’t move!"
"If you move, we’ll shoot, put down the cup.... put down the weapon and squat with your head in your hands!"
Lu Ping’an was astonished and looked around, only to realize that his surroundings had emptied.
Then, a bunch of giant men pounced on him... Helplessly amused, he didn’t resist and was indeed swarmed by them.
"...Never mind, just call your BOSS over," but Lu Ping’an was no longer in a mood to tolerate when he felt hands groping clumsily.
Vines expanded in all directions, and the next moment, the entire police station lobby turned into a forest.
Amidst the screaming and shouting, various giant men and older sisters were hoisted up, while the suspects were not so fortunate, as Lu directly bound them to the ground.
Several minutes later, in the Director’s office of the police station, Lu was receiving the fervent attention of a group of uniformed officers, and the Director himself was genuinely sweating profusely.
"Sorry, sorry, Your Excellency, we’ve been short on hands recently and recruited a lot of new auxiliary police... I’ll fire her immediately," the shrewd-looking police Director hurriedly said.
Fine, the same old excuse of being short-handed, using auxiliary police, and firing the temp staff when issues arise.
".....Stop the act, it was my fault for coming without notice. I just came to see the situation," Lu Ping’an said nonchalantly while nibbling on the snacks provided by the Director here.
Theoretically, this Director should still be his "superior," but he seemed to have no resentment about Lu’s outrageous "vacation period."
Thinking about it, the rank-and-file officers were too busy managing their own little territory to spare the time or mood to worry about some big shot from outside, but if someone became the head of a local department and still didn’t know who was the most untouchable person in the city, then clearly they weren’t up to the job.
Now that he had been recognized, Lu Ping’an didn’t just leave... Having caused such a commotion for no reason would have been truly embarrassing.
"What do you think about the new statutes?"
The two new regulations ostensibly targeted the local Exotic Races, but in fact, 90% of those affected were the Saphire people.
The refugee statute focused on identity, residency rights, and social welfare—a clear case of discrimination, but also left a loophole to attract a portion of high-quality refugees to become "citizens."
The labor statute was even harsher, directly restricting the range of work and surveillance rights of regular refugees.
These two statutes were announced and passed on the third day after Lu Ping’an’s return, foregoing all intermediate processes—a fact even he couldn’t deny his involvement with.
".....This is the main reason why we have been so busy lately."
Well, in the end, it was still Lu Ping’an’s mess.
After hearing the complaints from the high-level Saphire police officer and the human Special Service Team Captain, Lu Ping’an felt somewhat awkward.
Previously, as long as Alien people had temporary identity cards, they were actually working locally, but in reality, their salaries were discounted, and now, they could explicitly refuse employment using this statute... The cruelest part was continuing to employ them but treating them as cheap, undocumented labor.
"The most distressing part is the Saphire people’s factories... No, I don’t mean that, I mean the hiring practices in the Development Zone factories prioritizing citizens, causing a lot of dissatisfaction among those without identity."
Now, Lu was truly puzzled. In name, these factories were part of the Ancient city’s industry, no doubt, but in practice, they operated with a lot of "flexible autonomy" and were there to solve employment problems for the Saphire people; it made no sense for them to strictly abide by the regulations like this.
"Those who were originally working in the factories, because they did not have an official citizen status, had their wages directly cut by half to a third, and at the same time, a large number of low-cost laborers were recruited, with some factories offering just food and a little pocket money....."
Alright, it was their own people cutting down their own harshly—these Saphire capitalists were quite ruthless.
"...Show me the documents." Lu Ping’an sighed. The regulations only set limits, but it seemed their own kind wanted to use this as an opportunity to fleece.
— End of Chapter 1335 —