Mystery: A Spark

Because he was afraid that Arthur might suddenly say, "Who should be held responsible for oppressing our people and causing all this tragedy?"

Then someone below, or a shill, shouts out the name of a certain group as a response.

Given the current atmosphere in the tavern, these workers, who have already fallen into a frenzy, might actually start a riot.

That's going to be big news tonight.

Fortunately, Arthur in front of him was still clear-headed enough.

He didn't add fuel to the fire, but simply watched quietly, waiting for the crowd's emotions to gradually cool down.

Meanwhile, Audrey and the other three were also shocked by the current situation.

We won't discuss Hugh and Fors, who frequently interact with ordinary people and are already familiar with these situations.

Audrey and Gretchen were the ones who were truly shocked.

Looking at the workers around her, their faces flushed and their expressions varied with excitement, Audrey felt a sudden, inexplicable fear, but also a surge of genuine power.

The power that comes from within people's hearts.

In the past, when she read the books that Arthas brought her, although she could understand the contents, she always felt that she couldn't quite grasp the main points.

Even though she felt she had grasped the underlying ideas, she still felt that something was off.

Now, seeing the roaring crowd around her, Audrey felt that her understanding of the books had deepened.

But is this really something that can be done solely through language, without using any extraordinary abilities? Audrey had a hint of doubt.

However, when she saw that Grelint hadn't fallen into fanaticism, her doubts vanished.

Grelint is not yet a pharmacist; he is still just an ordinary person.

Since he didn't get agitated, it means that the blond youth really didn't use any extraordinary abilities, otherwise Grelint would definitely have been affected as well.

So, is this the power of language? But why don't Grelint and I feel the same way? Is it because we're not the same group as them? Audrey looked at everything happening in the tavern, and a word she had seen in a book before inexplicably came to mind.

class.

This was the first time she had such a profound understanding of this word.

Audrey realized that the reason she couldn't empathize with the workers was because she came from a different class than them.

Her education, upbringing, the people she met, and the things she experienced were all completely different from theirs.

This made it impossible for her to empathize with them.

So, do I actually belong to the class that oppresses them? Audrey suddenly felt a deep doubt about herself.

After sensing that the workers' excited emotions were gradually subsiding, Arthur once again raised his hand and gestured for silence to return to the tavern.

His voice regained its calmness, and its clear tone echoed through the tavern:

"Fellow workers, the reason they dare to use us as tools at will is because they don't have to pay any price for doing so."

"On the contrary, they are able to gain even more from it."

"So, how do we change this situation?"

The crowd grew noisy, whispering amongst themselves, trying to come up with a suitable and usable solution.

Among them, Arthur heard many people saying things like "destroy the factory".

He shook his head, and as people quieted down and looked at him again, he said:

"We should unite and fight against unreasonable salaries and working conditions."

"But this kind of resistance should not be the first resort to violence. Comrades, we should never resort to violence first."

He used the word "first," implying that violence might still be used in the future... Audrey understood Arthur's unspoken meaning.

“Blindly using violence is not advisable; it will only make things more chaotic.”

"Therefore, our priority is to use measures including, but not limited to, strikes, marches, and protests."

Arthur's tone became more forceful:

"We should prioritize using legal means to fight for our legitimate rights, rather than recklessly destroying society."

"We must be mindful of our methods and approaches, rather than arbitrarily harming others, even if they are their lackeys! Because that would give them a powerful excuse to suppress us!"

“We are a legitimate workers’ organization, not criminals! If we hurt even one person or damage even one piece of property, those people have every right to contact the police and throw us in jail!”

"At that time, they can call us a mob, they can slander our reputation at will, and they can stigmatize all the workers who are willing to fight as criminals in the newspapers, making all our efforts futile!"

"At the same time, we should also be wary of those who infiltrate our ranks and try to create chaos and disrupt our struggle. We should be self-disciplined and supervise each other to avoid being attacked from within by those with ulterior motives."

As Arthur's speech drew to a close, he held up his fingers in front of him, shook them gently, and said:

"Comrades, we no longer have to live in darkness as we did before."

He slowly raised his hands in front of his chest, then clenched them into fists:

"When we tear away the obstacles and deceptions in front of us, that will be the turning point in our lives!"

Finally, Arthur gave a classic ending to his speech:

"Fellow workers, as long as we remain steadfast in our will and persevere in our struggle, one day we will all be able to afford bread and milk!"

"Wow!!!" The sudden burst of applause seemed capable of lifting the roof off.

Arthur's simple and unpretentious promise at the end instantly ignited the emotions of all the workers.

Goodness, this sounds pretty Yuna-esque... Klein couldn't help but exclaim.

Is it really possible for everyone to be able to afford bread and milk...? But if it were, what a magnificent thing that would be... Audrey stared blankly at the confident, smiling blond youth in front of her, her mind filled with countless thoughts.

At this moment, she did not notice that Hugh had quietly left and gone somewhere.

……

“Arthur, I have brought Miss Audrey here. She has watched your entire speech.”

In a room of a building next to the tavern, Hugh stood beside Arthur, looking at the tavern not far away and speaking in a low voice.

“Yes, thank you, Hugh,” Arthur nodded and said.

"Is that all? I thought you would talk to her," Hugh said, somewhat surprised.

Arthur's lips curled into a meaningful smile, and he said:

"Now is not the time."

"Then how do you know when it's time?" Hugh asked, puzzled.

"When Miss Audrey came to me on her own initiative, she should have already been fully aware of the situation."

"By the way, try to get her to come to the East District more often," Arthur said, gently tapping on the windowsill.

Xiu nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Chapter 199 Audrey's Surprising Decision

"By the way, there's one more thing."

Hugh suddenly remembered something and then told Arthur about his encounter with the little girl in the tavern.

"She said there was a river near her home, so it was most likely the Tasok River. That means the so-called Mr. Jeston was probably a member of the Dead Water Gang at the docks."

"So what about the Dead Water Gang?" Arthur asked in surprise when Hugh stopped talking after he finished speaking.

“Shouldn’t we keep a low profile right now? After all, once tonight’s events get out, it’s hard to be sure what those people up there are really thinking,” Hugh replied.

"So that's what you're worried about. There's really no need for that," Arthur chuckled.

He looked at Hugh and said seriously:

"While we may sometimes have to compromise with others, a gang doesn't have the right to ask me to do things that don't align with my own beliefs."

"Besides, we'll take over the dock sooner or later anyway. After all, the grain Frank sends over will be unloaded there. It wouldn't be convenient for us if the dock were in someone else's hands."

"There's no need to worry about what kind of backing the Dead Water Gang has. As long as Miss Audrey gets involved in this matter, no matter what kind of backing she has, it won't matter. After all, anyone with a normal IQ wouldn't risk offending the daughter of a noble family for a black glove."

"So, just do what you need to do, Hugh. The New Year is coming soon, and we should celebrate it cleanly. It's better to clean up all that filth and garbage as soon as possible."

“I understand.” Hugh smiled with relief.

Actually, she wasn't the type of person who would think too much before doing things, otherwise she wouldn't have been teased by Fors so often.

But now, as the responsibilities on her shoulders grow heavier, she is no longer bearing the fate of just herself.

If we continue to act recklessly and blindly when faced with problems, we'll inevitably drag everyone else down with us.

Therefore, Hugh had to force herself to think things through more when she encountered problems, so as not to make mistakes that might affect those who placed their hopes on her.

This refers not only to Arthur, but also to the members of her security team.

They placed a heavy trust in Hugh, but also a heavy responsibility, which made Hugh extremely cautious when faced with problems, and he gradually became more mature.

However, there's no need to think too much about this matter, because Hugh received the instruction to "go with the flow" from Arthur.

In other words, she can do whatever she wants.

As long as he doesn't blow Backlund to the sky, Arthur can clean up the mess for her.

Not to mention that Miss Audrey clearly intended to get involved in this matter as well.

Of course, this is actually an exaggeration. After all, dealing with just one gang wouldn't cause such a big commotion.

Even if Xiu hadn't wanted to do it herself, she could have simply reported it to MI9 and pinned a crime on the Dead Water Gang and that would have been the end of it.

Whether MI9 believes it or not, as long as they investigate, the Dead Water Gang will scatter and flee like a flock of startled birds.

Then it will be much easier to deal with it later.

You can't expect loyalty from gangsters; they might bully the weak or oppress the kind-hearted, but that's about it.

But once the iron fist comes down, they all wish they had two more legs so they could escape faster.

However, this approach also has a downside: it would damage Hugh's credibility with MI9.

Therefore, if it's just to deal with such a gang, there's naturally no need to use such methods, because it's not worth it.

It's better to use framing and false accusations against more valuable targets.

"Oh, right, Hugh, since you want to take action against the docks, why don't you go check out the dockworkers' union for me while you're at it?" Arthur suddenly said, remembering something.