aircannonsinc Page 68
Page 68
Swire also took a deep breath, "Of course, the price for bulk orders won't be that low; it could be three figures, four figures, or even nine figures."
"Ha..." The equation that a hundred yuan = a human life = a person's life could actually hold true?
Yun Yi subconsciously glanced at the hundreds of large and small figures on the screens in front of him. All sorts of vivid people were struggling for themselves, facing paper and pen, facing temporary workers, and facing the cell next door.
In the projections at the very center, the child's missing hand and limb overlapped with Connar's claws and body covered with deep scars on his abdomen in her eyes.
Yun Yi's fingertips unconsciously rose and tightened around her collar, a surge of disbelief and predictable emotion swirling within her at that moment.
She suddenly realized but was still puzzled. "I can understand this situation; it's all about interests."
Despite the constant suppression and pressure exerted by various countries overtly and covertly in the past, and their annual performance was excellent, human traffickers, various forms of slavery under other guise, and secret revelry never ceased.
Things that prioritize profit can only be accomplished in the long run.
"But if I remember correctly, Terra began to enter modern society as a whole, right?"
“Yes.” Swire looked at the disheveled people in the projection, hesitated for a moment, but still nodded firmly in affirmation, “This land has begun to move into a new era.”
"Modern society... openly selling people?" Yun Yi pursed her lips. After saying this, the confusion that had been churning in her heart dissipated, replaced by a sense of helplessness that all crows are black. "It really is the same everywhere."
In modern society, the legalization of human trafficking sounds like being able to cook ice cream in a hot pot.
It sounds quite shocking at first, but once you realize it, you'll find that it actually existed and is still popular today.
Just like cooking ice cream in a steaming hot pot—it sounds absurd, but it can actually be served.
In a modern society where technology is advanced and rule by men is increasingly prevalent, it doesn't prevent a country from legally trafficking people on its own territory without any problems.
Yun Yi gave a bitter smile. This kind of dystopian reality—no matter when or what kind of society, this kind of thing will always happen, no matter how many times it is banned, it is always happening.
PS:
These two chapters will be more serious.
While it's acceptable for the main characters to casually solve problems while eating hotpot and singing, it still feels a bit hasty in terms of how they think.
Given the author's limited intelligence, they couldn't write that kind of political intrigue, so they could only focus on the protagonist's mindset and perception.
This is also the process of the protagonist integrating into Terra... Of course, the core is still the exhilarating unification and close bond, so I will try to shorten this part (if you like, you don't have to shorten it, I will mark these more career-themed chapters to avoid you buying content you don't like).
If there are any errors in the labeling, please point them out, and the author will correct them immediately.
Volume Two: Fireworks at Longmen: Chapter 110 Shi Huaiya: The Prologue to Change (This chapter mainly advances the career storyline)
Yun Yi did not wallow in this sense of powerlessness, just as she had previously realized—the world is so similar, only she is different.
Through the system shop and his own powerful soul as a transmigrator, Yun Yi no longer needed to resort to the same powerless rage and existential doubts he had in his previous life when he saw these disgusting things.
She already possesses everything needed to truly change the landscape and can personally intervene in it!
Gazing at the various victims projected on the screen, Yun Yi's eyes reflected each person's expression—whether joyful, bitter, or hesitant—and her crimson irises shone like the sun in her golden, blood-red eyes.
She exhaled a breath of stale air, turned her gaze to meet Swire's eyes, who had been intently observing her condition, but before she could utter any grand pronouncements...
Swire, whose mind was focused on the Dragon Gate and who had not yet grown up enough to pay attention to the situation in each country, preemptively and bluntly reassured her: "Actually, the open sale of people is gradually decreasing. Most of them have turned to underground transactions because of the high profits in underground transactions."
"In addition, several major powers, including Yan, are already considering abolishing these outdated policies, and therefore will suppress them from time to time."
The results were minimal.
Swire glanced at the projector emitting a noisy sound; for some reason, a commotion had broken out inside.
This can be seen from the ominous situation where the more than four hundred people they rescued were hostile to each other without any external intervention.
Even if they may have all gone hungry before, been whipped by the same slave owner, and are now trapped in the same group, it cannot erase the "common sense" and "contradictions" imprinted in their minds by society.
From a small perspective, when so-called "backward" policies are abolished, countless causes and effects, such as infections, racial segregation, national and personal grievances, will intertwine throughout society, much like the mutual hostility among victims in a projection.
This violent causal chain is a disaster for anyone who touches it—no one in power wants to be the unlucky one.
However, there's no need to worry. An inevitable trend is about to take shape. The current state of limbo is like the undercurrent that precedes every change.
"The day when human trafficking is definitively defined as an illegal industry will come sooner or later."
Hearing Swire's positive conclusion, Yun Yi's eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked, his clear voice revealing a hidden eagerness he himself was unaware of: "How long exactly will it take?"
"How long? That depends on you and how much I want to be involved."
As she spoke, a smile suddenly appeared in Swire's eyes.
She relaxed and leaned back in the chair, elbows on the armrests, chin in her hands, her right leg neatly crossed over her left, and the tiger's tail drooped down behind her, the luster of the flowing downy fur at the end of the tail flowing gently with the swaying.
Swire maintained this casual posture, and with his other hand gently turned Yun Yi's somewhat childlike face, which was furrowed in deep thought, toward the projection.
Yun Yi snapped out of his reverie and obediently looked up at the projection, trying to understand the subtext in Swire's words.
Swire glanced sideways at Yun Yi, who was focused, and watched her thick white eyelashes fluttering and her eyes reflecting the projection.
Those eyes were like burning rubies, bright and radiant, and one could almost glimpse a trace of divinity from who-knows-where.
Swire easily saw through her resolve through her golden-red pupils.
Well, since Yun Yi himself is already so eager to change the way people are sold, then...
She smiled confidently, "Then, once you've made arrangements for the victims, let's work together to take care of the cell tower and the new terminal."
"I will work with you to successfully promote this invention that is destined to affect countless people, to spread information and connect the entire continent, to eliminate certain false barriers between people, and to accelerate the process of human trafficking becoming a completely illegal industry."
Yun Yi blinked, pulled away from Shi Huaiya's warm hand that was supporting his face, and leaned back in his chair, looking at Shi Huaiya sideways. "Is it that simple?"
She thought she would have to fight several national wars, after all, she knew who was most reluctant to sell people and who had the ability to stop it.
"The saying 'There are hidden masters among the common people' is not just an empty phrase, k—" Kazdel's mercenary hissed, using this example as if it were a bit hellish.
Swire casually changed the subject: "There was once a folk master in Kazimierz known as the 'Black Knight'."
"She easily won the Knights Major for three consecutive years despite the intervention of officials who were worried that the fixed championship would affect commercial revenue, and amidst the siege of many people."
"You can treat it as a national-level competition for combat strength and honor."
"Subsequently, this civilian knight who came from afar to Kazimierz escaped to the border after being expelled by Kazimierz. It was only when the Kazimierz Commercial Federation dispatched its highest combat force that she was temporarily stopped."
"However, the Black Knight is still active today."
“Black Knight…” Yun Yi tilted his head. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “It sounds impressive.”
She knew that the Business Federation wielded influence in Lin Guang's hometown of Kazimierz, almost reaching the level of a national power.
One person against an entire nation, that sounds pretty cool.
She also knew a cool Sarkaz woman with red hair and a greatsword, a lone strongman like herself.
Thinking about it, Yun Yi couldn't help but ask, "Are there many people like this in the Terran countryside?"
Swire nodded affirmatively, "Not enough to overturn or dismantle anything, but more than enough to shatter an irrational idea."
"As long as we guide the new terminal well enough, countless virtuous and righteous people will gather and lead people from all over the world to spontaneously launch a fatal charge against those scum at the forefront of the ideological wave!"
Yun Yi understood: Should we leverage the power of the people?
Mid-to-high-level amateur martial arts masters, plus the local people who were jokingly called the Terra mobs in their previous lives...
Yun Yi instantly felt that this method might be extremely useful, and he couldn't help but be delighted with 002's efforts. Well done! It directly created a magical artifact that could easily connect the entire surface of the earth!
But Yun Yi's feverish mind quickly cooled down. She thought of the military strength of various countries, "However, not all major powers possess organized combat forces capable of breaking through mountains and have extremely sophisticated and powerful technology..."
"Are these experts and ordinary people really capable? Won't they be easily suppressed by powerful nations?"
After all, this is not about opposing one or two countries, but about opposing the prevailing ideology among most of the high-level officials in various countries.
The countries of Terra have not yet hesitated to act for fear of harming their citizens, incurring public anger, or drawing international criticism.
Because the definition of "human" is very flexible in different countries.
Take Ursus, which Yun Yi is more familiar with, for example. Infected people are not considered human at all here, otherwise Frostnova would not have ended up in such a miserable situation as a child.
What made Yunyi feel uneasy when watching the plot was that this point was not simply due to national-level guidance, but rather spontaneously felt by the people—including most of the infected themselves—that the infected were not considered "human."
In this situation, if Ursus were to use inhuman weapons, such as white phosphorus bombs, to indiscriminately wipe out these "commoners".
Yun Yi had a premonition that very few people would have any complaints or be willing to speak out, and that such comments would not shake the upper echelons' considerations.
How long can these so-called folk masters withstand these merciless armies?
After Yun Yi told Shi Huaiya about these thoughts, he looked at her with concern and said, "I feel like your method isn't very feasible. Why don't we wait until I'm strong enough?"
Swire shook his head. "There's no conflict. Let's first use the new terminal to create momentum and gradually reverse the public sentiment issues you're worried about."
"Then, we can subtly guide the process, exposing injustice on one hand, and delaying the outbreak of the final battle until you have reached the peak of your power—or the power you support has reached the peak of your power—before launching a swift and decisive attack, thus avoiding the brutal suppression by the army with 'inhuman weapons' that you fear."
Volume Two: Fireworks at Longmen: Chapter 111 Yun Yi: I really want to be a Netherworld!
Should we proceed gradually?
Listening to Shi Huaiya's rambling, rough plan, Yun Yi pondered and looked at the projection.
The arguing among the victims inside gradually subsided, and most of them quieted down, writing or waiting for Conner to record.
Only a few individuals remained locked in a stalemate with Amso and Minerva.
These few who persisted the most were visibly in poor physical condition. One of them was pale and his face was stitched up with brightly colored thick thread, making him look even more pitiful than a child who was missing some body parts.
Without any mosaic or artistic embellishment, a face made of pure, real flesh and blood, stitched together, suddenly appeared in Yun Yi's eyes.
Yun Yi felt nauseous and wanted to vomit. He sat up straight and covered his churning stomach and sour mouth uncomfortably.
"Yun Yi?" Swire immediately stopped talking, her ears and tail bristling as she calmly and quickly determined that Yun Yi was nauseous.
She immediately looked worried and gently patted Yun Yi's back from bottom to top. At the same time, she used her other hand to help Yun Yi lean forward, lowering his head below his chest, and guided him: "Yun Yi, relax, don't clench your teeth, breathe through your mouth!"
Yun Yi rested his forehead on Shi Huaiya's palm, followed her instructions, opened his mouth and took a deep breath, and sure enough, the nausea subsided a little.
As the urge to vomit subsided, Yun Yi recovered from the shock of the victim's face. She straightened up and waved to indicate that she was alright.
Swire, however, did not stop his somewhat affectionate back-patting gesture.
As she gently patted him, she asked Yun Yi, whose breathing was still a little heavy, with concern, "What happened to you just now? Is something wrong with your health?"
I didn't do anything or smell anything, so why do I suddenly feel like vomiting?
"Uh..." After escaping the nausea surrounding his senses, Yun Yi finally felt his back being gently soothed again and again as if being cared for as a child, and he couldn't help but blush.
"Cough cough, don't worry, there's nothing wrong with my body, I just accidentally saw something rather..." She coughed and pointed to the image of a person in the projection whose features were sewn up, "...something rather explicit, I felt those human traffickers were really disgusting."
To be precise, it's absolutely insane!
No wonder they're trash; they actually turned their own kind into this. They must have something wrong with their brains!
This kind of trash deserves to go to the eighteenth level of hell and suffer there!
Thinking of Hell and then of the soul technology and reincarnation system that actually existed in the system shop, Yun Yi suddenly had an idea.
Simply labeling human trafficking as an illegal industry is too lenient on these sellers and buyers. It would be better to actually build an eighteen-level hell and let them truly "experience" the hardships of life!
However, realizing this idea is far more complicated and difficult than the method Swire described, and it also involves the issue of the world's cycle of reincarnation.
Even with the mall at his disposal, Yun Yi could only put it on his to-do list and take it slow.
Unaware of Yun Yi's sudden inspiration, Shi Huaiya followed the direction of her fingertip.
Seeing the particularly tragic victim, Swire couldn't help but sigh, "It's truly despicable. Even if your medicine can repair his pierced face, the horror these wounds inflict on him will likely haunt him for the rest of his life... I hope his family is safe and sound."
That way, at least the person will have something to look forward to.
Swire had already seen these people who had suffered inhuman torture while observing the victims.
But she was at a loss for what to do and couldn't say anything nice to ease Yun Yi's anger. She could only suggest, "There's no point in us just brooding and getting angry here."
"How about this, you call 002 over, and let me discuss with it the details of the new terminal's performance stability, mass production feasibility, technical protection system, cost, etc., to prepare for our plan."
“That’s true.” Yun Yi patted his head, which was a little confused from anger, and nodded repeatedly. “Actions speak louder than words. I’ll have 002 come over right now—and 001 too. If any victims are willing to stay, it can help me plan a suitable place to live on the spot.”
Those who are willing to stay will have to confess some things; we can't keep putting them in jail.
“It’s your decision,” Swire encouraged.
Now that Yunyi has something she wants to do, she should get used to making her own decisions.
"Hmm." Yun Yi was also used to Shi Huaiya's habit of letting her think about her own decisions from time to time. She agreed without thinking and pulled 001 and 002 from the edge of the prison to her side in one thought.
A flash of blue light, representing teleportation, appeared, and two fluffy Manju appeared in a dazzling display.
"Chirp, chirp?" This is... the Commander? 002, holding a wrench, looked around and saw Yun Yi, a real cartoon question mark popped into his head.