Meng Chao and Lu Siya did not want to alert the managers of the trash treatment center, so they could only sit in the shack in the depths of the trash mountain and wait.
When Meng Chao saw the recyclers drenched in sweat in the terrible environment, he could not help but say, "I didn't expect that there would be such a place in Dragon City!"
"Do you think they work hard?"
"In truth, they're already very lucky. At the very least, they have a full-time job. There are plenty of people who want to be recyclers, but they can't!"
Meng Chao fell silent.
He knew that Lu Siya was telling the truth.
The unemployment rate in Dragon City was always high.
According to official statistics, the unemployment rate was "only" 10%.
But that was the result of fighting against the monsters when they attacked, repairing the cities destroyed by the monsters, hiring all sorts of temporary jobs, and providing work as a form of relief.
These temporary and relief jobs could only guarantee basic nutrition and shelter at most. There was no quality of life at all.
If a full-time, formal job was the standard, the real unemployment rate of young citizens in their twenties and thirties was very likely to exceed 50%, which was a very terrifying number.
It was no wonder that even a job like "recycler" was sought after by countless people.
The scene in front of him gave Meng Chao a vague understanding of why Lin Chuan said that the Ultimate Style could not save Dragon City before he died.
He also came to understand just how Dragon City would end up in the future.
When he thought about Lu Siya's luxurious car and the price of a meal in a high-end restaurant with an elegant environment near Blessed Paradise, he felt even more conflicted.
Lu Siya keenly sensed his emotions. She snorted and said, "I know what you're thinking. I want to change everything I see, just like you. But if we use Lin Chuan's method, we won't be able to solve any problems."
Meng Chao frowned. "Why? The expansion and upgrade of Blessed Happiness Street Primary School will be completed soon. "
"So what? It's just a school. It won't solve the root of the problem."
"The root of all the problems in Dragon City is that we don't have enough resources, space, and market. The current Dragon City mainly relies on crystal mining and hunting monsters to obtain resources. You can say that we're a high-tech fishing and hunting civilization.
"The fishing and hunting civilization is destined to be unable to support tens of millions of people in such a small space.
"Only an industrial civilization can allow tens of millions of citizens to live a comfortable and dignified life.
"However, for an industrial civilization with tens of millions of people to operate well, in addition to raw materials, the market is more important. It is a huge consumer market with hundreds of millions or even billions of people.
"Dragon City is a lone army in a foreign land. It's impossible for us to find a consumer market that is ten times larger than ours, so how can we provide enough jobs so that everyone can live comfortable lives?
"This is the core of the problem. As for us superhumans who come from rich families, whether we want to enjoy life, whether we drive sports cars, live in mansions, and whether we're willing to contribute to society, that's secondary. After all, more than 95% of the citizens in Dragon City are normal people, and less than 1% of the people from rich families are really rich. Even if we come to a realization and donate all our money, how many schools can we build and how many normal people's problems can we solve?
"So, I'll say the same thing again. Instead of being like Lin Chuan and wanting to donate all our money to build elementary schools, it'd be better for us to continue pouring it into cultivation and increasing our fighting strength so that we can expand our territory and conquer the Other World.
"It's only by conquering the Other World and opening up a consumer market that is ten times or even one hundred times larger than Dragon City's. Then, we can sell all the industrial products in Dragon City and build factories that are ten times or one hundred times larger. We can then provide jobs that are ten times or one hundred times larger so that most of the normal people can earn money and live dignified lives. They won't have to crawl around like scavengers.
"How are we supposed to conquer the Other World? Of course, we can only rely on superhumans! But superhumans aren't stupid. The Other World is huge, mysterious, and dangerous. The steel army that can wipe out all enemies is just a slogan to appease the people. No superhuman with a clear mind would think that the path of conquering the Other World will be smooth and that it's only natural.
"There are risks in conquering the Other World. People might even die. Superhumans can stay comfortably in Dragon City and live dignified and glorious lives. Why should they run out of the fog and fight to the death against the creatures of the Other World? The reason of 'for Earth' is too vague. Sports cars and mansions are more practical.
"So, to help the pitiful normal people in front of us and save our only home, we superhumans should earn money and enjoy ourselves. We should turn our endless desires into endless motivation. We should train hard and expand outwards. In the end, we can build a market that is one hundred times larger for the normal people and create jobs that are one hundred times more high-paying. Then, we can use the taxes to build more and more advanced schools. This is the solution that will solve the problem once and for all. It's much more logical than Lin Chuan's childish thoughts, right?"
"…"
Meng Chao was silent for a long time before he said, "Let's change the topic. Big Sis Ya, your earrings are pretty."
As they spoke, the tattooed man returned.
Behind him was a dirty little girl.
The girl wore a filter mask and a cloak. Her arms were wrapped in thick sleeves that could prevent cuts and corrosion. She hid behind the tattooed man and stared at them with slight fear.
"She saw the person in the picture about half a month ago. She can't remember the exact date," the tattooed man said.
Meng Chao and Lu Siya looked at each other and saw the delight in each other's eyes.
"Girl, don't be afraid. We're just asking."
Lu Siya put the two stacks of cash together and handed them to the tattooed man. She smiled and said, "Tell me. You saw the person in the picture half a month ago. Where was he at that time, and what was he doing?"
"He was wandering around the trash mountain," the girl said timidly.
"He missed a step and fell from the trash mountain. He cut his hand. I saw it by the side, so I went up to bandage it for him. Later, Uncle Li came over, and he ran away while he was halfway through bandaging his hand."
The tattooed man frowned and asked gravely, "Why didn't I know about this?"
By the looks of it, he was Uncle Li.
"Forget it. The trash mountain isn't an important military place. Don't make things difficult for the girl."
Lu Siya cast a cold glance at the tattooed man before she turned around to look at the girl. She said gently, "Girl, do you remember what the person in the picture was doing at the trash mountain at that time?"
"I don't know."
The girl bit her lip and said hesitantly, "He was heading in the direction of the biochemical treatment plant. He seemed to be looking at something."
The biochemical treatment plant was the place where the Giant Sandworms provided by Spirit Creation Creatures ate trash.
Lu Siya thought about it for a while before a thought appeared in her head. She touched the girl's head, and her voice became even gentler. "Girl, I'm done asking. The two pieces of information you mentioned are very important to me. Thank you so much."
The girl sighed in relief and was about to leave when Lu Siya suddenly thought of something.
She asked casually, "By the way, did you meet the person in the picture before or after the Giant Sandworms went out of control?"
The girl did not even think about it. She blurted out, "Before."
The tattooed Uncle Li coughed loudly. He could do nothing to Lu Siya, but he glared at the girl.
The girl knew that she had said the wrong thing, and her face turned stark pale.
Lu Siya smiled faintly and brought out another stack of cash from her bosom. She slapped it on the tattooed man's chest, drew closer, and whispered, "If I learn that you dared to touch even a single hair on this girl, I'll skin you alive."
The tattooed man's face twitched, and he nearly screamed in fear.
"So, half a month ago, the Giant Sandworms here did indeed go out of control, right?"
Lu Siya removed her sunglasses and stared at the tattooed man with an icy gaze. "What happened at that time?" she asked coldly.
"It's … It's nothing."
The tattooed man stuttered. He could only tell the truth. "Usually, there are more than one hundred Giant Sandworms working here at the same time. Due to spirit energy magnetic field interference, it's normal for a few Giant Sandworms to go out of control sometimes. In any case, when they go out of control, they just refuse to eat or crawl all over the ground. Once the monster controllers summon them, they will soon return to normal."
"Are they the monster controllers from Spirit Creation Creatures?" Lu Siya asked.
"Yes."
The tattooed man nodded. "There are a few technicians from Spirit Creation who are stationed here for a long period of time. They're all elites in modifying and controlling Giant Sandworms. But that day, for some reason, a few Giant Sandworms crawled underground, and we can't find them anymore."
"How many?" Lu Siya asked.
The tattooed man thought about it. "I think it was five. Yes, five."
"What happened later? How did you deal with it?" Lu Siya asked.
"We didn't really deal with it. In any case, Giant Sandworms are docile and rarely attack humans. Spirit Creation searched for them for a few days, but they couldn't find them, so they decided to give up. They helped us make up for the missing Giant Sandworms, and this matter came to an end," the tattooed man answered honestly.
At that moment, a ruckus suddenly came from outside the shack.
A few recyclers ran in in exasperation and shouted, "Big Brother Li, this is bad! The rat horde came out again and caused trouble!"
"What?"
The tattooed man slammed his fist against the ground. "Damn it, those damn rats!"
"What's going on? Rats?" Lu Siya narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah, they're rats."
The tattooed man told Meng Chao and Lu Siya that it was normal for pests to occupy the depths of the trash site.
But under normal circumstances, they would move around stealthily at night. In broad daylight, they rarely ran to the Recyclers' iron pincers and drills to their deaths.
Recently, for some reason, the rat horde in the trash site had been incredibly active. Even if it was daytime, they dared to swagger around and run amok. They were also much more aggressive, and they often scratched and bit the recyclers.
"How long has it been since then?" Lu Siya asked.
"It's only been a few days. Around ten days," the tattooed man answered.
Meng Chao and Lu Siya looked at each other.
"Let's go and take a look," they said together.
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