From Terra to Terra, the Star Emperor's Holiday

The weather in Casimir is good, the bright sunshine makes the mobile city sparkle, and various warm-up and points races make the whole city full of vitality, but in unknown places, a turbulent undercurrent is brewing.

Chapter 43: The Infected on the Edge

As the capital city of Casimir, Kavaleriaki has no infected people.

The answer is of course yes, and there are quite a few of them.

Capital will exploit everyone equally, so Casimir's discrimination against the infected is implicit. The vast majority of infected people cannot tolerate the discrimination in the city and automatically leave the city and go into the wilderness, rather than being driven away.

The simplest example is the workers on the factory assembly line. Because of the fear and panic of mineral sickness, normal workers will refuse to work with infected workers. However, it is difficult to recoup the cost from the infected workers by building a factory alone. In order to stabilize the normal workers, most factories will refuse to accept infected people.

Of course, in order to prevent this discrimination against infected people from leading to rebellion, the Chamber of Commerce has also appropriately released some marginal jobs that can barely allow the infected people to make a living, but it is just a living.

Moreover, the work in these positions is extremely arduous. Excessive labor will quickly worsen the infected person's oripathy. Once they fall ill, their jobs will be taken away. Infected people whose oripathy worsens and cannot receive effective treatment can only wait to die.

And because it is usually other infected people who steal jobs, by diverting conflicts in this way, the Chamber of Commerce cleverly divides the infected people who may share a common hatred into individuals, eliminating possible threats.

And through this means, the Casimir regime has controlled the activities of unwanted infected people within a few plots. It is said that there is a plot zero to be built, which is intended to be used as a place specifically for the placement and treatment of infected people.

Dilapidated houses and pale-faced residents—this was Si Ye's first impression when he and his synths arrived at the infected activity area in the fringe area.

Compared to the Sarkaz who still revealed their bloodiness and ferocity in Kazdel's numbness, these residents of Casimir were even more dull, as if their backbones had been completely broken by life.

However, thanks to this, the abandoned factories and houses in these plots of land were extremely cheap, and the synthesizers bought a large piece of vacant land and old factory area from the agents in this area without much effort.

The infected stood cautiously not far away, watching the busy synths putting up unfamiliar company signs and tidying up the long-abandoned and overgrown factory area.

"Sir, are you looking for workers?"

Finally, a middle-aged infected person couldn't help but step forward to ask. In order to avoid offending the synthetic people, he carefully put his arms behind his back and looked very restrained.

"Yes, we are Rhode Island Pharmaceuticals, dedicated to providing assistance and improving the living conditions of those infected. We will be here for the next three days to provide you with free diagnosis and medication."

A secretary-type synth walked out from behind Si Ye and answered the questions of the middle-aged infected person.

"We will reopen the factory building at the back to produce medicines and other items. We will be hiring a large number of workers. If you want to work, please sign up."

"Sir, I, I want to sign up..."

The middle-aged infected person waved excitedly, but revealed the back of his hand which was covered with crystals due to the worsening of Originium disease. After realizing what he had done, his face turned pale in an instant, and he explained to the synth in panic.

"Um... sir, my oripathy is not that serious, I am still healthy, please..."

As mentioned before, the Chamber of Commerce will also provide some jobs to the infected in order to appease them, but this does not mean that they will do charity.

Only those infected with the strongest bodies, milder symptoms of oripathy, and who can continue to work for longer periods of time can get those few pitiful positions. Middle-aged infected people, whose oripathy has clearly entered the middle or even late stages, are not qualified to compete at all.

The middle-aged infected person took it for granted that the recruitment conditions of Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals were the same as those of the Chamber of Commerce, so he immediately showed such a panic expression.

"Sir, please calm down. Your medical condition will not affect your registration. Rhode Island Pharmaceuticals adheres to the principle of equal reward for equal effort. Anyone who is willing to contribute will naturally receive the due compensation."

The secretary synth comforted him, while the other synths behind him quickly cleared out a fairly empty room and arranged all the equipment in an orderly manner.

"Those interested in signing up, please line up here. We'll provide free physical examinations and medical services. Please don't crowd. Once again, Rhode Island Pharmaceuticals does not discriminate against those infected. As long as you're willing to work hard, we're willing to give you a chance."

The infected people watching around were in a commotion, mainly because what the synths said was too dreamy, and they could hardly believe it was true.

"Is this true? Could it be that those nobles up there want to completely wipe us out and harm us?"

The infected people on the street corner were whispering to each other, their expressions hesitant.

"I'm just a piece of rotten flesh, there's nothing valuable worth plotting against me."

The middle-aged infected person at the beginning raised his hand covered with Originium crystals again and walked straight to the synth.

Yes, what is there worth targeting these infected people who are just on the edge?

With someone taking the lead, some carefree or brave infected people soon walked out of the crowd and followed the instructions of the synths to line up in front of the cleaned houses.

The middle-aged infected man walked into the house tremblingly, and followed the instructions to walk past a large number of instruments. The various flashing lights and indicator lights made it difficult for him to open his eyes. When he walked to another door of the house, the synthesizer sitting at the desk waved to him.

"Yes, moderate mineral sickness, mild malnutrition, and some muscle atrophy in the right leg. Probably from an injury."

The synth was holding a report and looking at it. In fact, the only instrument for detecting mineral disease was the scanner at the entrance, which was taken away from Kal'tsit's medical department before Si Ye came to Casimir. The flashing lights afterwards were just to create a scary atmosphere.

After all, the way to control people is to use both kindness and force. The infected people have been struggling at the bottom for a long time and they always have some wildness. Only by showing them enough unknowns to make them afraid can we avoid chaos.

"Do you simply want to get free medical treatment, or do you want to sign up to be a worker?"

The middle-aged infected person couldn't understand the report in the synth's hand, but after just walking around half a circle, he even found out that his leg had been broken. This kind of inspection method showed that it was from a very powerful company, so he became more restrained.

"As a worker, I have a child at home who needs to be fed. I'm very capable and I have no problem volunteering to work overtime..."

Click!

The camera next to the synthesizer rang, and a card with the portrait of a middle-aged infected person printed on it was spit out by the machine.

"This is your ID. If you lose it, come to me to get a replacement. Take it with you to get the medicine over there, which is also free. The first phase of the factory will open the day after tomorrow. Report here that morning."

Just, that's it?

The middle-aged infected person was a little at a loss holding the ID card with his portrait printed on it. He walked out of the house in a daze only after being reminded by the synthesizer.

"This is a capsule. Take it orally, morning, noon, and night. It can effectively relieve the pain and other symptoms of mineral sickness. Factory workers can get an injection of inhibitor after they officially start work. It's more effective."

The synthetic man at the door scanned the ID in the middle-aged infected man's hand, stuffed a small black bottle into his hand, and explained the requirements for taking the medicine, which made him even more dazed.

Si Ye, who was watching all this, smiled. This was exactly the effect he wanted. In fact, relying on the energy conversion equipment in the Big Radish, he didn't need to open any factories and could easily dump goods to flood the entire Casimir.

But after all, Casimir is a complete country, not a scattered state like Kazdel. If you want to take over a country smoothly, you still need some support besides violence. Although they are infected, it does not affect the fact that they are also citizens of Casimir.

Thanks to the great virtues of these Terran anthropomorphic merchant nobles, the infected have become the easiest force for Si Ye to win over.

Chapter 44: The Work of the No-Hero Alliance

"It seems the Chamber of Commerce has no intention of interfering with me. Are they trying to show goodwill? Or are they trying to observe me? Tsk, what a pity."

Once there is one, there will be two. Once there are two, there will be three. With someone taking the lead and spreading the word, all the infected people in the area were attracted by Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals' recruitment and free medical care. In order to prevent the shortage of factory buildings, the synths even purchased two additional factory sites.

But because the purchase process was so smooth, Si Ye started to think of a problem. The Commercial Federation couldn't have been unaware of his high-profile purchase of land and shops. With the ability of the Commercial Federation, they could make the synths spend more effort with just a flick of their fingers.

Unfortunately, the Chamber of Commerce did not do so and even gave the green light to Rhode Island Pharmaceuticals, which made Si Ye feel a little regretful.

Si Ye, who was sitting in the chair, yawned. The setting sun shone on the ground in the evening, casting a dim light. There was still a long line of infected people coming to the factory gate to get free medicine or register. It was because the synths were tireless. If it were a normal medical operator, he would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

"Ok?"

The drowsy Si Ye suddenly raised his head. His keen psychic perception seemed to detect some commotion, which aroused his interest.

...

"Huchi! Huchi!"

Kuranta, a man in an expensive suit, was breathing heavily. An arrow was deeply embedded in his shoulder, which he was covering with his hand. A bright red stain was spreading across his shirt underneath.

There was a slight noise behind him. The male Kuranta waved his intact left hand, and the exquisite knight sword stirred up a chaotic airflow, deflecting the arrow shot from a distance.

"Very good Originium skills, Bourne? I remember your name in the intelligence. If time passes, perhaps you can be called Storm Knight or Gale Knight? What a pity."

There were rustling figures appearing not far away, gradually surrounding the male Kuranta.

"Platinum from the No-Horn Alliance? I've made a lot of money by getting you, the lackeys of the Commerce Federation, to make a move."

The male Kuranta steadied his breathing, with a hint of madness in his tone. He knew that the consequences of resisting the company would not be good, but he did not expect that the Chamber of Commerce would be so decisive in sending the Knight Killer to take his life.

"Hey, why bother saying such harsh words? You and I are just poor workers."

Walking out from the shadows, Xinteleya stroked the bow hanging around her waist with some helplessness.

Lack of sleep made her feel bad, and killing disobedient knights for the Chamber of Commerce made her feel even worse. But no matter how bad her mood was, she had to do the mission.

She didn't want to do it herself, so she was only responsible for holding the line. As a result, the Wuzhou League's action team took a lot of effort to injure the opponent's hand. They fought and ran all the way and were about to reach the edge of the mobile city.

"Bah! Does the Commercial Federation treat us infected people as human beings? I just want to fight for my own interests, and they sent you to kill me, bah!!"

These infected people who were chosen by various companies to hide their identities and become knights are the easiest to control. The Business Federation only needs to disclose their infected identities to make everything they have come to nothing.

Because of this, the Chamber of Commerce will greatly exploit these infected people whose weak points have been grasped. They may look glamorous on the surface, but in fact, the money they get has to go through layers of exploitation, and in the end they are only slightly better off than the infected civilians in the marginal areas.

This is still the case for the obedient ones. For the disobedient ones, in order to reduce the impact, the Chamber of Commerce is even too lazy to announce the infected status of these knights, but directly sends the Helmetless Alliance to make them disappear, just like now.

"..."

Looking at the somewhat crazy Bourne in front of her, Xinteleya felt even worse.

She was too lazy to argue with the other party about how inhumane the Business Association was, because that would not change anything except making her angry.

Xinteleya took a step back and waved her hand, and the Helmetless Alliance assassins around her drew their bows and arrows.

Whoosh whoosh!

Facing the arrows shot from all directions, Bourne, who was holding onto the wall, had a hint of madness in his eyes.

"Ugh!!!! Get out!!!!!!"

With a loud shout, this time the knight's sword stirred up not the air flow, but a storm. The violent storm gathered on the sword along with Bourne's movements, and then surged out as he swung it madly.

The airflow that was converged to a certain extent took shape and cut into the ground and buildings. The violent storm destroyed most of the arrows of the Wuzhan League assassins, and the remaining force continued to bombard the surroundings.

Faced with such an attack, Xinteleya certainly did not choose to resist. They were all workers, so why would they risk their lives for such a small salary? She jumped out of the range of the storm with a few leaps.

Bourne swung his knight sword, and the remaining Originium skills blasted away several Helmetless Alliance assassins who were unable to dodge. After breaking through the Helmetless Alliance's encirclement, he forced himself to stand up and continued to escape.

"Ahem, cough."

After running for an unknown amount of time, Bourne could no longer hold on and fell to the ground. The Originium crystals on his waist and abdomen were burning hot as if on fire. The severe pain all over his body made him realize that the overloaded use of Originium skills just now had caused his mineral disease to flare up.

Collapsing in the corner, Bourne could hear the conversations of passers-by on the street corner not far away. This was already the edge of the area where the infected gathered. As long as he could hold on a little longer, as long as he could reach a crowded place, no matter how arrogant the No Helmet Alliance was, they would not kill a competitive knight in broad daylight.

"Hey, have you signed up yet?"

"It was reported, but I don't know if it's true. They also gave us medicine to treat the disease. I don't think these big companies are using us for experimental drugs."

Bourne was about to grit his teeth, stand up, and continue running when he heard the conversation of passersby on the street corner.

"A drug trial? As long as this medicine can make my oripathy less painful, I'll accept it even if it's just a trial. Besides, it's free. If you don't want it, just give me yours."

"Hey, hey, I didn't say no. I just felt a little sad. Is there really such a big company willing to treat and help those of us infected?"

Treat the infected?