Save the simulator and make Sarkaz great again!

Conflict is a common occurrence in Kazdel, but many are defused through your skillful words and performance.

You've gradually gained some fame among the Sarkaz. Although many Sarkaz look down on the profession of entertainer, no one can resist a free performance.

At the beginning and end of each performance, you have a unique opening statement to promote your ideas.

You advocate that the rights of the Sarkaz should be respected, and you advocate for an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Many of the Sarkaz were drawn to the fighting spirit in your music; you shared your ideas with them, and they immediately agreed with you.

You gradually gained followers, who helped you distribute flyers and spread your ideas after each performance.

[Thanks to your personal charisma and pragmatic approach, you quickly gathered a group of Sarkaz people.]

[One of the Sarkaz mercenaries, Ersura, is one of the more capable ones among your followers. She always consults with you first on everything, making her your true second-in-command.]

With her help, your journey will be much smoother.

After completing these tasks, you discover that several shining stars have appeared within you, surrounded by about a hundred dim stars, like the moon surrounded by stars.

You can feel that both your art and strength have increased to a whole new level; ordinary Sarkaz mercenaries are no longer a match for you.

This improvement further convinced you that the path you're on is the right one.

In just a few months, you visited every settlement you could name, compiling your findings into reports.

[At the same time, you and your followers have helped many Sarkaz people, and your reputation is gradually growing among the lower classes of Sarkaz.]

During this time, you and your followers witnessed a Sarkaz man being whipped by a Victorian man in a certain settlement.

[After questioning bystanders, you learn that this Sarkaz man had half a month's salary deducted by the Victorian businessman simply because he was five minutes late.]

[Next month is the Sarkaz man's daughter's birthday, and he begged that his salary not be withheld, offering to make up for it with extra work. This led to the scene described.]

The Victorian angrily denounced the Sarkaz for being lazy and greedy, saying he shouldn't have been so lenient with them, and announced that as punishment, his total wages would be reduced by ten percent.

According to your understanding, this smelter forces Sarkaz employees to work extremely demanding jobs without providing them with equitable compensation, and also deducts from their food and wages. This is reportedly the third such deduction this month.

All the Sarkaz workers in the factory were furious, but the matter was eventually quelled after the Victorians had the people of Babel maintain order.

The Sarkaz factories never lacked cheap labor; for these workers, enduring hardship and toil was better than dying an untimely and meaningless death as mercenaries.

You are furious; you never imagined that the Tower of Babel would maintain order in this way.

This is not about protecting the legitimate rights of the Sarkaz people, but about protecting the interests of unscrupulous businessmen who exploit local citizens.

You feel the time is right, and you're ready to make this factory your first target.

You shared your ideas with your followers, and they were very supportive of your approach.

Ersula asked you what your specific plans were, pointing out that the Tower of Babel's attitude was biased towards the Victorians, and that directly reporting them might be ineffective.

One of the followers suggested that they could turn to the military commission, which might solve the workers' plight.

You didn't rush to express your opinion; you knew that for your viewpoint to be persuasive, it first needed to be proven feasible through practice.

It's normal to feel indecisive at this point, because we don't have a complete understanding of the situation.

[You pointed out that we now need to conduct in-depth investigations with a group of people to understand the relationship between these workers and the factory, and then analyze the specific issues on a case-by-case basis.]

Your suggestion was quickly accepted by everyone, and you swiftly assigned tasks to each group.

In just two days, you have gathered a great deal of intelligence, information, and combinations of information, gradually painting a picture of the current situation of the workers and factories in Kazdel.

After meticulously analyzing everything, you discovered a chilling truth.

Not only will the Tower of Babel not help you, but your chances of getting help from the Military Council are also extremely slim.

The Military Commission's funding partly came from the Tower of Babel, which in turn relied primarily on the taxes and tributes from these foreign entrepreneurs. Therefore, in a sense, their interests aligned.

This factory operated for five years, and starting in the third year, it severely exploited and deducted wages from its workers. The fact that there were no changes during those three years, and that the situation actually worsened, speaks volumes.

Most importantly, any complaints submitted to the Military Council were ignored, and the Tower of Babel treated these entrepreneurs with a dismissive attitude.

The military council values ​​capable Sarkaz more than low-level Sarkaz laborers, so they don't actively protect the rights of these groups.

In other words, you cannot rely on any external force to solve this problem; you can only rely on your own strength.

Many people have begun to lose heart regarding the issue of protecting workers' rights, because it's a problem that neither the Tower of Babel nor the Military Council is willing to address.

Even the well-informed Ersura shook her head and sighed. She felt that your current strength was too weak; this was impossible.

[You can see that class consciousness is deeply ingrained in their minds; they believe that problems that those above are unwilling to solve are problems they themselves cannot solve.]

Tell them this is a great undertaking, that every failure is a lesson learned for our path, and that you will lead the way and take full responsibility for them.

If justice does not come to us, then we will go to justice.

That's what you said.

Chapter Five: The Choice of History

If justice does not come to us, then we will go to justice...

They looked at each other, clearly sensing Shen Lin's sincerity and confidence—something that would have been impossible in Kazdel...

Finally, as they looked at each other, their gazes gradually hardened, and they smiled knowingly at each other.

Shen Lin's trust in them deeply touched them, especially when he was willing to take full responsibility, which meant that he had completely trusted them.

Indeed, that's the case; Shen Lin is prepared to go all out this time.

Through this period of time together, Shen Lin understood what the Sarkaz needed most.

Betrayal and conflict are constantly unfolding within the Sarkaz community. If no one can open their heart, then no one will ever open their heart, because no one is unafraid of getting hurt.

If you want something, don't be afraid of losing it.

This has always been Shen Lin's code of conduct.

Ersula watched with her arms crossed, her golden eyes flickering slightly at the sight. She couldn't help but chuckle and tease.

"It seems we've followed someone who won't turn back until he hits a brick wall."

Shen Lin shrugged and then joked.

"That's because I believe that even if we hit a wall, our incredibly powerful Ersula will overcome it with her invincible strength."

The previous atmosphere of disappointment and depression vanished in an instant.

Shen Lin could clearly sense that Ersula's attitude towards him was more friendly than before.

"Before that, let me tell you about my plan."

When it came to serious matters, everyone's expressions turned serious, and they waited for Shen Lin to speak.

“Our months of travel and observation have not been in vain; we have learned some things about the people of Kazdel.”

"The Sarkaz and the Empires have a long-standing feud, and it's almost reached a tipping point. This is our opportunity."

With her golden eyes fixed on the man's serious face, Ersula silently nodded in agreement with his words.

Her years of experience as a mercenary had led her to frequently travel between various dangerous missions, and during this time she had also arrived at all sorts of places. She understood that what the man said was absolutely true.

Most Sarkaz people dislike... or even hate the Empire, because Kazdel's current state and their miserable lives are entirely due to the Empire.

As Shen Lin said, this is an opportunity.

But... discovering an opportunity is one thing, being able to seize it is another.

Ersula was eager to see what kind of plan he would come up with.

"To defeat the Empire, we would be throwing an egg against a rock with our strength alone. We need to use our wisdom to defeat them."

Shen Lin pointed to his head, then looked around at the still solemn expressions on everyone's faces.

"I will hold a free concert where I will expose the evil deeds of the Empire and the current plight of the Sarkaz workers, and inspire the people of Sarkaz."

"We need to follow the trend of the times and elevate the conflict between workers and entrepreneurs to an ethnic conflict, or rather, for the Sarkaz people, this is an ethnic conflict."

"That is my purpose: to paint a picture of the atrocities committed by the Empire against the Sarkaz, and to use it to mobilize the Sarkaz, making them realize that they now need to resist and unite."

Ersula rested her chin on her hand, her narrow eyes flashing slightly, and instantly understood Shen Lin's intention in making such an arrangement.

"So, Shen Lin, you mean... that you plan to use the Sarkaz's public opinion to put pressure on the Empire and Babel, forcing them to back down?"

Shen Lin was somewhat surprised by Ersula's statement. He hadn't expected the girl to think of this so quickly. He nodded slightly.

“Ersula, your keenness surprises me.”

"Yes, that's one of my ideas."

After receiving Shen Lin's approval, everyone looked pleased.

"Isn't this a bit too radical? After all, as you know, public opinion won't cause them any real damage, but it will push you into a very dangerous position."

"If they..."

One of the followers hesitated for a moment before speaking his mind, and his thoughts were shared by most of the people present. Instantly, all eyes turned to Shen Lin.

“In our investigation, most of the workers in the factory were scavengers before they started working, and their strength would be negligible in the event of a conflict.”

Ersula frowned slightly, somewhat disappointed. She felt that Shen Lin's plan did not take the consequences into account.

"If a conflict breaks out, we are already struggling against a single mercenary group, and casualties are inevitable if there are two or more."

“Those mercenaries are no pushovers; they won’t show any mercy just because we’re also Sarkaz.”

"I hope that you, Shen Lin, will... think it over carefully before making a decision."

Shen Lin listened quietly to everyone's opinions, then waved to them, signaling them to come closer.

Everyone exchanged glances and, filled with curiosity, crowded around. Shen Lin quietly explained his complete plan.

Upon learning the full extent of Shen Lin's plan, they couldn't help but gasp in shock.

Even Ersura's golden eyes were filled with disbelief.

She sighed:

"I'm sorry, I take back what I said earlier..."

"Shen Lin, you're practically dancing on a knife's edge."

Ersula thought the man was just an unrealistic, idealistic fool who only cared about ideals and not about the present.

Just now, she felt that she should correct Shen Lin's unrealistic thinking.

After hearing Shen Lin's complete plan, Ersula was completely impressed by it.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Shen Lin was very satisfied, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

“In the past, our fate was in the hands of those big shots sitting at the negotiating table. This time, I want to take back the power to decide our fate.”

"History is not something that so-called rational and objective people can sit around a large round table, speak in an orderly manner, exchange opinions, and then make a pleasant decision."

"Abandoning objective analysis of the current situation and merely repeating rational, objective and neutral statements over and over will only make things a mess in the end."

"What we can't get on the battlefield, we can't get at the negotiating table either."

"Therefore, struggle is our only means now. If we give up the struggle, we will be no different from livestock waiting to be slaughtered, but we will not sit idly by and wait for the butcher's knife to fall."

"If they refuse a win-win situation, then a lose-lose situation will be our only option."

"We will bring progress to Kazdel, progress that conforms to the objective laws of development!"

Chapter Six: Flowers in the Mud

Ersula had been a mercenary for many years, experiencing conflicts of all sizes and seeing all sorts of faces. She thought she had a pretty good understanding of the Sarkaz.

It wasn't until she met Shen Lin that she realized she had been living in a well and had a limited perspective.

Courage, boldness, and wisdom are all excellent choices.

His brilliance always draws attention...

Ersula recalled the first time she met Shen Lin; he was singing in a pub.

His pure voice rang out in the bustling environment, like heavenly music, easily attracting her attention.

The pristine banshees... stood in stark contrast to the chaotic, stinking settlements everywhere; his place seemed like the only pure land.

Like a flower blooming in the mud, no one can help but stop and admire it; even she could not resist the urge to pick it.