The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 48 The Great Harvester
When Yan'er heard that there were fun activities, she excitedly exclaimed, "I want to go!"

"We'll talk about it tonight. Do you remember the location where Gu She died suspiciously last night?"

"Of course, I remember it one hundred percent."

"Okay, then you and Furong can stroll around that area during the day and see if anyone goes in or out of that courtyard, and who goes in or out. Try to remember all the unusual details."

Yao Dan hurriedly asked, "Husband, what should I do then?"

Yu Qing laughed and said, "How about you go out and set a fire for me in the street during the day?"

"Arson? I don't understand, husband, what are you planning to do? Are we really going to rob someone in broad daylight? No way..."

"Steal your head, you actually believed that? You and Chang'e go and cause some trouble for me on the street, I need to stir things up and test the waters."

The real challenge is how to achieve one's goal without getting into trouble...

Daji asked, "How about we part with some money? We can buy some things, then deliberately drop them in the street, causing a frenzy of people to scramble for them..."

Yu Qing laughed and said, "I didn't expect my Daji to be such a bad person. This method works and can be implemented, but we need something bigger to make it work."

Chang'e: "Big? My lord, do you intend to start a fight in the street during the day? That would really get you into trouble."

Yu Qing pondered for a moment, then muttered to himself, "That's the only way..."

Chang'e exclaimed in surprise, "No way, is it really going to be like this?"

Yu Qing said, "Oh, you misunderstood. Didn't you say that all of us entering the city would have five weapons pointed at our heads? If we did this, we'd definitely be in big trouble. But there's one exception; as long as he can sneak into the city quietly..."

Chang'e shouted, "Erlang! It's still in the chariot. You want it to sneak into the city through the sewers or something to attack the people and cause a fight, right?"

“My darling, you’re so clever. You’ve taken care of this matter in one trip out of the city. I’ll go with Yaodan and Daji and become money-giving boys in the streets.”

With arrangements made, everyone went their separate ways, agreeing to meet again in front of the hotel before 4 p.m.

After Chang'e, Yan'er, and Furong left, Yu Qing took Yao Dan and Daji to the streets to carry out their mission.

Before long, they arrived at a shop, bought a bunch of reasonably priced items, and Daji carried them in front, while Yu Qing and Yao Dan followed behind for about ten meters.

Upon reaching the bustling area, Yao Dan walked behind Daji and deliberately "stole" something from her backpack. Taking out an item that didn't seem suitable, she casually tossed it on the ground. Someone then tentatively picked it up, and seeing no harm done, pocketed it and slipped away.

Seeing this, several people rushed to grab the items whenever Yao Dan threw them away. Yu Qing noticed that someone seemed to be electrocuted during the fight, so he gave up and left.

They wandered around to more than a dozen places until they had lost everything in their backpacks. The situation was basically the same each time. Although it caused several disturbances, it did not escalate into a major riot.

Daji said disappointedly, "This has no effect at all, and all this stuff has been wasted."

Yu Qing laughed and said, "Who said it had no effect? ​​This has already clarified what I wanted to know."

Yao Dan shook her head: "Husband, what does this prove?"

“I ask you, if the people of Changlin saw what you did today, do they know that you were deliberately causing trouble?”

"Even a fool would know it was intentional." "But did anyone from Changlin come to stop you? Or did they use some means to stop you?"
This shows that Changlin is not managed by people who can adapt to changing circumstances, but by an automated system that operates according to fixed procedures. Changlin itself doesn't even have people!

Furthermore, when someone participates in the scramble for an item, they are not attacked as long as they haven't yet grabbed it, but are immediately electrocuted once they do. The procedural nature of this operation is too obvious.

Yao Dan said, "So, Changlin City might just be a big machine that harvests wealth according to the rules?"

"It's pretty close. If we're lucky, we'll find out tonight. Now, come with me to get something to eat. The rest is up to Erlang."

While Yu Qing was eating, Yao Dan and Da Ji sat opposite him, their hands supporting their chins, staring intently at him. He said, "What's wrong? What's with that expression?"

Daji said, "My dear, you are so clever. I like you."

Yao Dan then said, "My lord, I feel so good right now."

Yu Qing spat out a mouthful of soup and laughed, "You guys are becoming more and more like women..."

At this point, he suddenly realized that this indicated their sense of autonomy was slowly growing, and he couldn't help but be secretly surprised. As long as humans give them a certain level of intelligence, their sense of autonomy will inevitably emerge sooner or later, and given time, it will develop from quantitative change to qualitative change.

Daji taunted, "You went to the Second Paradise just to find a woman, didn't you?"

Yu Qing said, "Nonsense!"

Suddenly, chaos erupted in the street, and everyone eating there rushed to the doorways and windows to watch the commotion. Yu Qing sent Yao Dan out to check if Erlang had entered the city.

Yao Dan didn't return for an hour or two. She recounted with great enthusiasm how Erlang had turned Chang'e upside down. Erlang and Chang'e maintained a distance of twenty or thirty meters, and Erlang followed Chang'e wherever she went, barking and biting anyone he saw.

Some people simply dodged, while others grabbed things and started smashing it. Erlang ignored everything, charging around recklessly, making quite a commotion. But surprisingly, no one tried to stop it, nor was it attacked by any weapons.

This indicates that Changlin's automated system has a loophole. For someone like Erlang who enters through unconventional underground channels, the system has no weapons or tools to target him, nor any emergency measures to deal with him; it can only let him go unchecked.

If Erlang were allowed to enter Changlin with weapons, there would likely be no obstacles. If anyone discovers this loophole, the rules established here will immediately collapse.

Moreover, this once again proves that Changlin's management is completely unattended; it's just a bunch of man-made machines keeping it running. If someone were there, they would definitely have dealt with the chaos caused by Jiro.

However, this does not preclude the possibility that the remote monitoring system is not functioning properly. Therefore, Yu Qing instructed Yao Dan to inform Chang'e to stop while she was ahead and return to the inn to await further instructions.

Yu Qing led Yao Dan and the others to wander the streets for a while longer, then called Yan'er and the others over to ask about the situation. Yan'er told him that not even a fly had gone in or out of that courtyard that day.

After everyone returned to the hotel and reunited, they went to their rooms to rest. Seeing Yao Dan looking at him several times as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, Yu Qing laughed and said, "If you don't understand anything, just ask. Don't keep yourself bottling it up."

Yao Dan said, "What makes you think you've solved all your doubts just because Gu She killed someone last night?"

"Pay attention to the details: it wasn't a person who died, but a humanoid woman. Think about it, how could a humanoid woman be so fragile and bleed? This means she was a prop specially made by Changlin to warm up the atmosphere of Changlin's nightly gladiatorial arena. The fact that the prop came out of there means that it was not a simple place."

Furthermore, Gu She's death was shrouded in mystery. She simply wanted to hide inside to escape you, yet she died instantly without any fighting, indicating that she was attacked by an automated defense weapon.

Where would such weapons be deployed? In a crucial location, of course… Changlin's central control room! Based on the information we've gathered these past two days, no one has seen the person controlling Changlin, so I've tentatively concluded that this small courtyard is the unmanned control center that ultimately controls Changlin.”

Yan'er said, "No wonder you asked me to keep an eye on that place. It was to see if anyone went in or out of there when trouble broke out in Changlin. If no one went in or out, it means it's a deserted place."

(End of this chapter)