World version update

Chapter 276 Underworld Sequence, Sequence Nine: Wandering Soul

As it turned out, with the cooperation of many emerging nobles and capitalists, the development of the labor union was much faster than Lu Yan had predicted.

In just over half a month, more than 80,000 workers joined the union.

In the past, a factory manager was considered a conscientious boss if he could pay wages on time and not deliberately delay payment.

After the union arrived, the factory manager improved the working conditions, reduced the exploitation of workers, and even compensated workers who were injured at work. This was a dream life that the workers could hardly imagine.

In addition, workers who join unions are protected by the unions and spared from exploitation by other gangs.

In just half a month, most of the dozen or so gangs in the industrial zone were wiped out. The remaining gangs either had noble backgrounds or were protected by superhumans.

In an instant, the entire industrial zone was cleared away.

The fundamental reason for the rapid development of the union, besides the deals Lu Yan made with many nobles and capitalists, was the turmoil at the Welton family's mine.

Under Lu Yan's deliberate scheme, Sain led his newly established guild to participate in the mine turmoil. He personally killed Cleo, a Sequence 8 transcendent from the Welton family, and several guards, and hung him on a street lamp.

This incident made the union famous, and the subsequent suppression of the incident by the noble council to prevent the church from intervening further enhanced the union's and Sain's reputation.

Furthermore, Lu Yan's dealings with nobles and capitalists led to better treatment for the workers, which enabled the trade union to develop rapidly.

Half a month later, the union, with 80,000 members, had become a behemoth that could not be ignored in the industrial zone.

However, at this point, the development of the union began to slow down.

Because the factories owned by the nobles and capitalists who had previously traded with Lu Yan had all joined the guild system, and the corresponding factory employees had also become guild members.

However, the industrial district of Orank is the largest industrial district in the entire Kingdom of Victoria, and the new nobles and capitalists gathered at Violet Manor only account for a small part of the industrial district.

A large number of workers belonged to ordinary factory owners or were under the jurisdiction of great nobles.

Ordinary factory owners are relatively easy to deal with, but the union has a huge size and the support of Sein, a Sequence 7 superhuman, so it can easily control ordinary factory owners. The union is gradually expanding its influence through negotiations.

However, those powerful nobles who control a large number of factories are entities that the unions simply cannot afford to offend.

They don't even need to take direct action; the high-ranking nobles only need to push through parliamentary legislation to mobilize the entire government of Orank to suppress the unions.

However, the extraordinary gathering at Violet Manor was not exactly a secret, and most of the nobles already knew that there was a saint behind the guild.

As long as the union did not infringe upon the vital interests of the great nobles, the two sides were able to maintain a semblance of peace.

After all, even for great noble families with long histories, not every generation has a sage presiding over them.

Lu Yan was aware of this, and he did not rush to make a move.

The union was in its early stages, and the workers united to obtain better benefits, but they did not have a clear understanding of all of this.

Lu Yan was waiting, waiting for an opportunity.

When those workers who haven't joined the union realize the brutal exploitation they are enduring.

Union members will come to understand the significance of the union by comparing their lives with those of ordinary workers.

Only when they themselves begin to realize the problem can the potential of the union be truly unleashed.

Of course, Lu Yan did do something during those two weeks.

Since that day when he collected a large amount of knowledge about extraordinary paths, Lu Yan's ideas about the extraordinary sequence of the underworld have become more and more mature.

And now, all that's missing is an opportunity.

The Blacklight Clinic is located deep in a dark alley in the East District of Orange, right next to the industrial area next door. The heavy smoke and dust make the surrounding houses look simple and dilapidated.

The clinic's wooden sign swayed in the cold wind, and the room was dark, with only a few lights barely illuminating it.

Such a dilapidated clinic would not be chosen for treatment by anyone other than low-level workers, not even the most ordinary citizens of Orank.

Anna, thin and with dry, yellow hair, wearing a worn-out textile factory uniform, slowly approached the dark clinic.

She had been laid off from the textile factory for several months, but she was still wearing the factory uniform because it was the best clothes she could find.

Everyone entering the textile factory was required to wear a uniform, and this poor-quality uniform cost the textile factory workers three days' wages.

Even so, people still flocked to work in textile factories.

After Anna was laid off from the textile factory due to serious illness and was not paid her salary, her family's life took a sharp turn for the worse.

Anna's hands trembled as she gripped the kitchen knife hidden in her sleeve tightly in her palm.

Although the illness had left her pale, her eyes burned with an inextinguishable fire of hatred.

A few months ago, Anna suddenly developed a persistent cough and high fever at work and was ruthlessly thrown out of the factory by the foreman.

Left with no other choice, Little Wood asked the factory owner, George, for an advance on his wages. George initially refused, but after hearing that Anna was seriously ill, he suddenly agreed to Little Wood's request and took them to the dark clinic.

The doctor there, Joa, took them in, claiming he could cure Anna's illness.

For the past few months, Anna has been taking medication, but her condition has not improved. Even so, Anna remains grateful to the factory owner, George, and Dr. Joan.

What she couldn't accept was that just three days earlier, her younger brother, Little Wood, was carried back to the dilapidated basement by several workers, already on the verge of death, covered in bruises and wounds, with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

“Sister Anna,” Little Wood said weakly, “I’m going to find Boss George and get our money back.”

“They lied to us, sister,” Little Wood managed to utter. “The medicine was all flour and sugar. The clinic was a hoax by George and his son.”

Little Wood recounted, in fits and starts, how the Black Gang told him that George and the Blacklight Clinic were both a hoax.

Then he went to George to ask for his unpaid wages, but was beaten out of the factory by workers who had been bribed by George, and even lost his job.

Unwilling to give up, Little Wood took the so-called "medicine" to the Darklight Clinic to question Dr. Georgia, only to find that Dr. Georgia was receiving a noble investor from the Upper Town.

After failing to get his money back, Little Wood decisively told the noble investor about Dr. Giorgio's use of fake medicine to deceive the workers.

"I thought exposing them would be useful."

Little Wood's voice was weak, and tears streamed down his cheeks. "When that nobleman heard what I said, he said that it didn't matter whether peasants like us lived or died, as long as we could be squeezed out of money."

He even praised Joa as a talent capable of precisely controlling the clinic's costs, and immediately agreed to help Joa build a hospital in the industrial zone.

Because the union promised that factory owners would provide some necessary medical assistance to workers, building hospitals would allow them to squeeze every last penny out of the workers and factory owners.

Although Dr. Joa had reached a deal with the nobleman, how could he let go of this peasant who tried to interfere with his business?
Dr. Joa arranged for someone to beat Little Wood severely and throw him into a garbage dump. If it weren't for his former coworkers finding him there, Little Wood would have died in the garbage dump.

Even if they brought Little Wood home, it would be nothing more than a slow death for a family that was already penniless.

Filled with bewilderment and confusion about the world, Little Wood breathed his last on that cold night, his young life dissipating like steam from a factory under the gray sky of Orank.

Now, Anna, her body ravaged by months of illness, stands at the back door of the Darklight Clinic. Her lungs ache terribly, each breath a sharp, stabbing pain. She knows she doesn't have much time left, but she remains determined to avenge her brother.

As the last light in the clinic went out, Anna quietly pushed open the back door.

In the dim moonlight, she groped her way forward, while Qiao Ya counted the day's income in the back room.

"Is anyone there?" a voice came from inside the room. "Who's there?"

Joa pushed open the door and saw Anna standing unsteadily in the hallway. In the dim light, he didn't recognize the haggard woman.

"Ah, another patient." Joa gave a professional, fake smile. "Coming so late, it must be an emergency. I'll see you right away."

Anna kept her head down, letting Joa lead her into a simple examination room, her hand still tightly gripping the knife hidden in her sleeve.

"Where do you feel unwell?" Joa asked, his eyes scanning Anna for anything potentially valuable. "I have some newly formulated, highly effective medicine here, but it's a bit pricey."

After a slight pause, Qiao Ya added another sentence.

"Of course, you can rest assured about the efficacy of the medicine. My medical skills have been recognized by the White family."

"In a month, I'll be taking up my position as vice president at Orank Industrial Hospital. At that point, you won't have the chance to see me even if you want to."

Qiao Ya looked proud. In the past few days, he had used this rhetoric to fool dozens of workers, and everyone praised his medical skills.

Even those who knew he was incompetent before began to have doubts, after all, the White family's certification was genuine.

Just as Joa was pondering how to squeeze the last shilling out of the peasant in front of him, Anna suddenly spoke up.

Do you remember Little Wood?

Qiao Ya paused for a moment, then smiled again: "Sorry, I see so many patients every day, I really can't remember."

"That's the boy you had people beat to death three days ago!"

A fierce glint flashed in Anna's eyes. "You and your father swindled us with fake medicine, drained him of his hard-earned money, and almost killed him!"

A flicker of panic crossed Joa's face, but she quickly regained her composure: "Madam, you must have misunderstood. I only provide standard medical treatment here; such a thing would never happen."

With a hint of disdain in her eyes, Qiao Ya said coldly:
"If you're trying to blackmail me this way, you're dreaming. I'm not going to fall for that."

If you have real evidence, then go ahead and sue me in court!

"Of course, that's assuming you can afford a lawyer."

Before he could finish speaking, Anna suddenly pulled out a knife hidden in her sleeve and stabbed it into Joa's chest.

However, the pain and weakness that had plagued her for months made her movements slow, and Josiah easily dodged the vital parts; the knife only managed to cut a wound on his shoulder.

The wound on her shoulder wasn't serious, but the rusty kitchen knife gave Qiao Ya a lingering fear.

"Damn crazy woman!" Joa roared, grabbing a metal medicine box from the table and smashing it over Anna's head.

Anna staggered backward at first.

The second time, she knelt down.

The third time, blood flowed from her temple and spread across the floor.

“Who do you think you are, you lowly worker?” Joa gasped, his face contorted with rage. “People like you are one less to die!”

Anna collapsed onto the cold floor, her vision gradually blurring.

She thought of the look in Little Wood's eyes when he died, filled with disappointment and resentment towards the world.

The chill of death spread from her limbs to her entire body. She had felt this countless times in the past few months, and each time she had managed to hold on only because she was thinking of taking care of Little Wood.

Now, she finally couldn't hold on any longer.

In the blurry vision, everything seemed to be gradually slowing down.

The sounds of Joa pacing back and forth, the clock in the corner, and Joa's increasingly drawn-out curses.

Anna felt as if she were in another dimension, a world beyond reality.

In a slow and silent space, a figure emerges from the darkness.

The man was elegantly dressed and carried a silver cane. Anna felt a sense of déjà vu about his appearance, as if she had heard it from Little Wood.

However, her chaotic thoughts at this moment could no longer sustain her thinking.

"Resentment, anger, despair, and this overwhelming sense of death."

Lu Yan spoke softly, as if he were examining a work of art.

His voice echoed in the space, as if it came from a distant shore, or as if it resonated directly in the depths of Anna's soul.

“Anna Wood, I can give you a chance, a chance for revenge.” Lu Yan’s cane tapped lightly on the ground, making a crisp sound that was particularly clear in the quiet clinic.

Anna floated above her shattered body, her consciousness existing between nothingness and existence.

She saw Qiao Ya's panicked state and her own gradually cooling body; everything seemed to be seen through a thin veil.

"You can become a guardian of order, or you can transform into an avenger feared by all; it's all up to you."

As Lu Yan spoke, Anna's consciousness began to clear more and more.

Her fleeting thoughts gradually solidified. She remembered her brother's desperate eyes before he died, the figures struggling amidst the roar of machines, and the stark contrast between two different worlds within a single city.

“So, what is the price?” Anna asked, her voice no longer hoarse, but as gentle as the night breeze.

Lu Yan smiled slightly and drew a symbol on the ground with his cane, which was a majestic city that looked like it was carved from mountains.

"Walk this path for me, a path that no one has ever walked before."

Anna gazed at Lu Yan. Even though she was in the shadows, Lu Yan's figure seemed divine, almost causing her consciousness to sink into oblivion once more.

"I do."

Lu Yan slowly walked up to her and gently touched her brow with his index finger.

"Drinking the potion called Death is the path to the underworld."

The vitality of her body dissipated, but her soul was conceived outside the body. Anna felt herself being torn apart and reassembled, falling and rising in boundless darkness, passing through countless corridors of cries and whispers.

"Sequence Nine, its name is: Wandering Soul!"

(End of this chapter)