Chapter 395: Chapter 394: Opposition
"Uh... Boss, you’ll stay here for now. What do you think? If you need anything else, just let us know."
Ah Zang held his swollen eye and cautiously opened the door to the room opposite the office.
Lv Bai stood at the doorway, looked around, and smiled noncommittally.
You could tell this room had been converted from an indoor ping-pong court. It wasn’t big, but it was equipped with a bed, desk, and chairs.
By the standards of the people living in this enclave, it was already considered a top-notch environment.
After all, most people could only live in the shacks they built themselves.
Lv Bai wasn’t worried about any traps in the room. He walked straight to the bed, sat down, and said to Dabiao, who was standing at the door, "When we leave tomorrow, remember to let me know."
Dabiao nodded like a pecking chick, fearing that any displeasure from Lv Bai might cost him his life.
"Then I won’t disturb you. Have a rest. If you need anything, we’re right across the hall."
Seeing that Lv Bai had no objections, Dabiao gently closed the door.
The room instantly became quiet.
Lv Bai leaned back and lay down on the bed, letting out a long sigh.
"So the clones in the Death Arena are essentially using these people as raw materials?"
According to Dabiao, the so-called Masters provide fixed food supplies every month, but their management over each enclave is not strict.
The key requirements were twofold: no self-cultivation of food and providing a populace within a set period.
With these two restrictions, it effectively ensured that the enclave could not grow stronger.
The unrestricted retrieval of people clearly served a purpose.
The term ’clones’ was fundamentally misleading.
When Lv Bai first heard about the clones, he thought the ones in the Death Arena were produced through some genetic engineering means. It now seemed otherwise.
However, while nearing the truth, some doubts were clarified, yet many more questions arose.
"I hope when I meet the so-called Master tomorrow, I’ll get some answers."
Lv Bai closed his eyes and tried to sort out his thoughts, but found himself even more energized.
Since he couldn’t sleep for now, he decided to go for a walk.
Quietly, he pushed the door open and left, heading toward the spectator area where over ninety percent of the enclave’s populace resided.
As it was evening, fires were lit all over the enclave for cooking.
Smoke rose from various parts of the stands, drifting and dissipating above the football field.
In truth, if you didn’t consider the regular disappearance of some people, life in the enclave wasn’t too bad.
Desire, when stripped bare, is not about scarcity but about inequality. When everyone has the same basic needs met, and no one has seen better, it’s easier to be satisfied.
The so-called Masters provide timely food, and as long as the populace isn’t overwhelming, people won’t starve even if they laze around all day.
Thus, the people in the enclave wouldn’t be far off from fat, lazy worms fed without effort.
Lv Bai walked through a three-meter-wide inner passage to the second-floor stands.
Inside the newly built railing, a group of children were chasing and playing.
They looked around seven or eight years old with no adults supervising them.
"I’m the real warrior. You cowardly traitors are doomed! I can take on ten of you alone!"
A boy with a handprint on his face ran at the back, particularly excited.
A child turned quickly, wiped his nose, and said hurriedly, "That’s not fair! I’m the warrior this time. You’re supposed to be the traitor."
"Who cares! I’m only a warrior. Die!"
The group of children ended up fighting as they spoke, clearly more energetic than the sullen adults in the enclave.
Lv Bai watched for a while before suppressing his smile. He even suspected this was the work of the Master.
Previously, he’d been puzzled why the boy called Fire Radiance had such a bad first impression of those from the refuge, shouting to fight at first sight.
If Lv Bai hadn’t held back, it would have turned into a life-and-death struggle.
This antagonistic view was undoubtedly deeply ingrained from childhood.
From the children’s games, one could partially infer their overall impression of the underground refuge.
Lv Bai didn’t linger in the inner area long before silently retracing his steps.
The younger ones were fine, but the older ones, once they knew he came from the refuge, immediately changed their attitude, with those less civilized cursing outright.
Lv Bai could easily take them down with a finger, but he didn’t.
He didn’t want to expect these unfortunate people, who’ve never had systematic education, to possess a complete thinking ability.
The knowledge ingrained from an early age can’t be changed easily by words.
Standing at the passage entrance, he looked back at the shacks on the stands and suddenly felt an indescribable sadness.
"Since things have come to this, let’s eat first."
...
A quiet night passed without incident.
Perhaps Dabiao and his group were too afraid after being taught a lesson and didn’t attempt to sneak in at midnight to attack the sleeping Lv Bai.
"Boss, it’s time to set off."
Ah Zang knocked on the door and only after hearing Lv Bai’s response did he muster the courage to open it.
Lv Bai got up and looked out the door, seeing Dabiao and another underling waiting at the entrance.
Since it wasn’t time to offer up the populace yet, Dabiao and his group were mainly reporting on the enclave’s situation, without much preparation needed for their visit to the Master.
It’s worth noting that Dabiao was nominally the Speaker of this enclave. If he brought Lv Bai to the Master and Lv Bai survived, they would lose their food supply. If Lv Bai died at the hands of the Master, they would still face a betrayal penalty.
Regardless of the outcome, this enclave was unlikely to have a good end.
But Dabiao and his two underlings didn’t seem to resist, seemingly planning to abandon their territory and flee.
Lv Bai got out of bed, stretched his wrists, and said, "Let’s get going then."
The four of them arrived at an open space outside the sports hall, where an aircraft was parked.
More accurately, it looked like an enlarged drone.
The main body was square, with a propeller at each corner.
The aircraft’s interior had four seats, just enough to carry their group.
No doubt, this was also a gift from the Master, mainly for the convenience of each Speaker from different enclaves visiting.
After all, the Master they were going to see controlled nine enclaves, covering such a vast area that traveling by foot was impractical.
