The fisherman druid is in another world

Chapter 739

Ten days after the outbreak of the plague.

The most destructive wave of calamities, themed around infection and mutation, has largely passed, leaving behind devastation and ruin, as well as a considerable number of opportunities to salvage what is lost.

The dead are gone, but the living remain. Although surviving in a city teeming with danger is extremely difficult, according to Blackrobo's observations and statistics, extraordinary survival stories have already unfolded around the world.

The role played by the Wildflower-type extraordinary individuals was within Black Rob's expectations.

After all, they did not worship the fallen gods as their protectors in the past, so the plague was not ensnared by the fallen gods.

Furthermore, precisely because they do not rely on divine power as an advantage, they need to be more outstanding themselves if they want to stand up to forces with divine backing and protect their own interests.

Whether it's institutional improvements, technological advancements, or even just a matter of competing to be the worst, better performance in terms of cohesion and unity plays a crucial role in major disasters and crises through concrete details.

Take, for example, the Crown of Thorns, which Black Robb is quite familiar with. This faction is mainly based in places like farms and forests. Places like Afrin City are regional centers that were established under special circumstances and are very few in number.

Against this backdrop, the losses suffered by all the forces in the face of the plague were among the smallest.

The information processing system of the old Japanese warship has already confirmed more than 600 strongholds around the world.

These strongholds are not ordinary farms, but rather fortified villages enhanced by supernatural powers. Their overall defensive capabilities are quite considerable.

Whether it can withstand the coming attacks from evil forces, the destruction from the Chaos Ladder, or even survive independently, is still uncertain, but at least it can maintain orderly operation.

The Brotherhood of the Sunstriders performed quite well, even exceeding Black Rob's expectations in some aspects, such as establishing refuge communities in some of the already fallen cities.

When the plague first broke out, Black Rob was pessimistic, believing that no force could do this, not even the Chaos Ladder.

The plague is ruthless and indiscriminate; if it did not possess such a decisive nature, it would not have caused such terrifying destruction.

But as it turns out, when faced with a life-or-death crisis, people can unleash unimaginable power and create miracles.

Of course, with a critical eye, the refuge communities built by the Brotherhood of the Sunstriders have many flaws and a host of problems.

For example, the investment of resources and even manpower is far from worthwhile.

For example, they may only be able to weather the crisis temporarily, but it will be difficult to maintain their position in the future.

But Black Robb also knew that his so-called rational and ungrateful attitude was one approach. The Brotherhood of the Sunstriders' "do it first, worry about the future" approach was another.

While the Sun Chasers' strategy has its problems, at least one thing is commendable: it is compassionate.

Being compassionate in one's conduct and actions shouldn't be criticized, but the price to pay is...

All I can say is that I don't like it, but I respect it.

After all, the principle of "not one less" does not necessarily mean that the outcome will be "mutual drag and shared suffering" or "human nature cannot withstand the test, gratitude for a small favor turns into resentment for a large one, and everything ends in chaos."

However, due to his habitual tendency to assume the worst, he instinctively rejected this approach.

As for the results so far, he feels that his approach has been quite successful.

He lacked the prestige and foundation of the Crown of Thorns or the Brotherhood of the Sunstriders, yet he successfully built over seven hundred shelters worldwide solely through emergency relief operations, with an average population of approximately two thousand four hundred per shelter.

In other words, within ten days of the sudden outbreak of the plague, he successfully protected 1.7 million people with almost no foundation of prestige, relying solely on external pressure, the provision of benefits, and empty words!
He felt that this result was quite remarkable.

Of course, the group he built using his strategies also faces many problems.

But comparisons are inevitable. Compared to the problems faced by the Brotherhood of Sunstriders' refuge communities, these are minor issues. At least on his side, there's a greater chance of resolving several major problems over time. As for the problems of the Sunstriders' refuge communities, to be honest, even if he were in his shoes, he would have to make some difficult choices, such as risking the recovery of supplies.

With inadequate protective measures and poor weaponry, they were unable to accurately determine whether the supplies were contaminated with the plague virus when venturing into areas rife with evil and treacherous forces.

Such actions clearly cost more than just human lives.

While his refugee group also organized similar material recovery operations, their focus was quite different.

His actions were not primarily aimed at recovering the supplies, but rather at allowing selected survivor representatives to personally experience the terrifying dangers of the plague.

Once these representatives return, they will become the "tap water," allowing people in the refugee groups to realize that the audio-visual materials and related explanations presented by the rescuers are indeed true.

Okay, Black Rob admits that the thuggish coercion combined with petty favors is unsustainable. Not only are the management costs extremely high, but the number of refugees will only increase over time.

He couldn't possibly be satisfied with just making these refugees, who were 'oblivious to their good fortune,' obedient.

They need to get moving and participate in mutual aid and disaster relief efforts, actively demonstrating their initiative rather than shirking their duties or procrastinating.

To be honest, Black Robb doesn't care about their labor.

Neither the plague nor the great calamity hindered the expansion of his production base. He fully demonstrated one of the most powerful features of his technological system: self-replication.

It can be said that the combined labor force of 1.7 million people, given three months of dedicated production time, can produce puppets that can perfectly replace human beings, and even consume less energy and have fewer miscellaneous issues.

From a civilizational perspective, these survivors must participate in self-rescue efforts.

Otherwise, they become pets, like cats and dogs. Their beds, toys, cat food, dog food, etc., are all taken care of by their owners. They are called "poop scoopers," but cats and dogs are, in the end, just toys...

But what he wanted wasn't toys.

Civilization should not be anyone's toy, not even a god's.

Therefore, in handling some matters, we ultimately return to the fundamental issues beyond the usual routines, such as revealing the truth.

It can only be said that hearsay and firsthand experience are two completely different things.

The depth of understanding is different.

Black Rob doesn't expect the ignorant men and women he's organized and relocated to truly empathize with the residents of the afflicted city before the plague even strikes. But surely they should at least believe the audio-visual information he's specially gathered?
Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to get people to completely trust strangers on matters that will inevitably have a huge impact on them.

It was precisely for this reason that nearly one hundred evacuation groups collapsed during the first ten days of operation after the disaster.

Of course, this kind of thing is actually quite complicated when you go into details.

Many of these are cases of reaping the consequences of evil deeds in this very life.

After all, he acted out of momentary gratification, using coercion and enticement, violence, and petty favors to lure people away from their hometown.

However, as time went on and the interaction deepened, his disaster relief team's true colors were revealed, or rather, tested.

For example, the relief team did not dare to carry out large-scale massacres of disobedient refugees.

After all, disaster relief should not create new humanitarian disasters. Black Rob actually adhered to this bottom line.

Once the disaster victims realized this, they fled en masse after the initial protests, leaving the relief team completely helpless. They were already short-handed and couldn't afford to be too ruthless, so the victims simply ran away.

Once one thing happens, another will follow, morale will waver, and the team will become difficult to lead.

Of course, there have been instances where people ran away only to slink back home in disgrace.

But for this refugee group, the situation was already lost; too much had happened during the time the refugees had fled and returned.

Even considering the sheer number of AIs specifically tasked with improving people's livelihoods, a comprehensive assessment concluded that the team's value was too low and they could be abandoned. The logic here is simple: if a piece of meat is rotten, it's best not to put it in the whole pot, otherwise the whole pot of soup will be ruined.

Is it really that hopeless?
Not really.

However, the fact remains that administrative costs have skyrocketed.

To put it bluntly: If you refuse to follow the organization's management and arrangements in the face of a major disaster, how can I expect you to have any outstanding performance in post-disaster reconstruction?
The rulers and the ruled—this is a very interesting topic.

Although Black Robb was unaware of the Stanford Prison Experiments, he possessed an extensive understanding of the underlying principles and detailed data.

The situation after the disaster is changing every day.

Since the extraordinary AI said that the value was too low and could be abandoned, Black Rob, who was known for being so rational as to be almost devoid of emotion, naturally chose to believe the AI's analysis.

The disaster relief team immediately relocated to care for more valuable target groups.

For example, there are survivor organizations that spontaneously organize themselves but are struggling to make ends meet and are on the verge of collapse.

Such organizations are mostly composed of surviving city dwellers and astute suburban residents.

They were fully aware of the horror of the plague; what they lacked first was the supplies for survival, and then a wise leader.

The former forces them to confront the test of human nature, making them easily alienated and losing the last bit of trust between people.

The latter leads to severe internal friction, making it difficult for them to reach a consensus, and they are prone to becoming like diodes, going from forced tolerance to unbearable frustration.

Feeling wronged, feeling wronged, still feeling wronged, and then suddenly I exploded...

This situation is not hard to understand, but when it happens, it often causes enormous damage to a group. Many teams end up in a mess because of this kind of problem.

Especially in this era, disciplines such as sociology, psychology, and management have not yet become universally taught. To acquire relevant knowledge, one often relies on experience and family tradition.

Therefore, there is a severe shortage of talent in this field.

Parasitic puppets and soul-mimicking puppets can acquire corresponding professional skills through information infusion.

Why wasn't this used on the initial refugee groups, which led to the disintegration of nearly a hundred such organizations?
All I can say is that prejudice is a mountain; you reap what you sow; and while teaching should be tailored to the individual, luck is also indispensable.

Moreover, given the urgency and lack of preparation, Black Robb's hasty response was commendable; he himself felt that he had done a very good job.

His baseline for judging the success of the response strategy was one million human survivors.

Although things are not yet settled, the number of refugees he has taken in is increasing.

In the foreseeable future, even if half of the survivors are lost due to various circumstances, he estimates that a minimum population can be guaranteed, thereby ensuring genetic and even cultural diversity.

The seed bank project, as a backup measure, is progressing even more smoothly. Collecting this kind of seed is much easier than managing a group of people with ulterior motives; a few rations, or a set of survival tools, and there are plenty of physiologically capable humans willingly cooperating…

The Wildflower faction's extraordinary forces performed better than Black Robo had expected during the plague. But what truly surprised him was the performance of the Federation's noble faction's extraordinary forces.

He had long known that the Federal Nobles and the Fallen Gods were not on the same page; otherwise, there would be no need to distinguish between the Federal Nobles and the cult of gods.

However, within the federal aristocracy, the situation is often extremely complex.

Take S Company as an example. Theoretically, it should be considered a cult of gods, and it is indeed classified as such. Its backer is one of the fallen aspects of the God of Light, and it is called the fallen god of the Dark Moon by Black Robb.

However, in reality, S Company's performance has been more inclined towards the Federal Nobles, especially in recent years.

The reason for this can be said to have been sown from the very beginning of S Company's establishment.

Federal Veterans Mutual Aid Association Alchemy Enthusiasts Society. This is the full name of Company S.

Some might say it's just a name and doesn't mean anything.

Indeed, but the names of some organizations can reflect certain situations.

S Company was founded by a group of visionary Federation veterans who were superhumans, alchemists, and had connections in the military, government, and civilian sectors.

After they were established and operating for a period of time, they discovered their own shortcomings and, driven by reasons that are now difficult to verify, entered into a divine covenant with the Dark Moon.

In other words, the founders of S Company and the deities were more inclined towards a cooperative relationship than a religious one.

Another noteworthy point is that the religious traces on its members are actually very faint.

They spread the Darkmoon faith, but not as a primary activity as religious groups, especially since they themselves are not particularly religious...

Against this backdrop, it's not hard to understand why, after the plague broke out, the two factions within S Company broke apart, and the sectarian and non-sectarian factions clashed violently.

But to Black Rob's surprise, in the ten days following the disaster, the non-denominations actually beat the denominations to a pulp.

Black Rob also thought with a hint of sarcasm, "Where's the Chaotic Staircase? Come and save us! Oh, so many other members of the Chaotic Staircase are also airing their dirty laundry in public? Never mind then."

It can only be said that the plague caused by the Elf King's faction, instigated by the Demon King, was extremely unpopular.

Even if they barely managed to complete the most explosive and crucial first step, they faced a difficult situation where everything collapsed and they were unable to advance subsequent plans.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. The conditions weren't right to begin with. It was the Ghost Emperor who used his authority and influence, along with his meticulous technical skills, to activate the hidden agents he had laid out back then, forcibly creating the Chaotic Ladder organization and enabling the first shot to be fired.

However, this attack also pushed the internal conflicts among the various franchisees to a point where they could not be resolved through negotiation, because it had ruined everyone's livelihood.

One point worth mentioning here is that, under the influence of the trend of low-level demonization, extraordinary forces are inevitably developing towards secularization.

Specifically, this means that authority, which was previously granted by force, has gradually been granted through institutional mechanisms.

The quintessential example of someone granted power by the Great Power is Black Robb. Whether a puppet or a vassal, the reason he could become a tyrant and dictator within the power he built was because he was the most capable fighter. He remained himself even without the power, but the power vanished instantly without him.

The granting of authority by institutions is typically exemplified by worldly power, such as that of a prime minister. Even the servants who guard his household are equivalent to seventh-rank officials. Their authority is granted by the organization and through institutional procedures. The emphasis is on the position, not the person.

The secularization of power among extraordinary forces is most clearly manifested in the fact that those in power not only obtain their positions purely through their own strength, but also, to a certain extent, through the system and the support of the masses.

Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the system and provide positive feedback to supporters.

Against this backdrop, a plague as destructive as killing the goose that lays the golden eggs naturally smothered those who preferred a steady, sustainable approach to life.
Moreover, the lack of prior notice resulted in significant losses for the faction members, their families, and their existing assets.

Therefore, Black Robb completely understands the internal strife that has occurred.

What he didn't expect was that the non-sectarian faction, which had been caught off guard, was so effective in disaster relief and counterattack, actually crushing the sectarian faction to the ground.

What Black Robb didn't know was that because the conditions for doing something big weren't ripe, the concept of a 'surprise attack' was particularly important in determining whether or not a plague could be created.

To ensure the element of surprise, the Chaotic Ladder maintained secrecy to an extreme degree. Not only were non-sectarians unaware of the plan, but even those who carried out the poisoning only learned about parts of it in the final stages.

To ensure the smooth execution of the operation under these circumstances, the fallen god specially distributed medicine and added divine magic, thus ensuring that although the operation was abrupt, its execution did not go wrong.

This indirectly led to Black Rob, piloting Victor, efficiently slaughtering the secret camp of the Chaotic Staircase. After all, most of the members of the Chaotic Staircase hadn't made any prior preparations and only realized they were on a sinking ship afterward...

(End of this chapter)