Chapter 1394: Internal Friction and Infighting
"Fine."
Jian Sheng placed down a food ball, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and continued his inspection.
"This one is also fine."
Every couple of minutes, he would loudly announce the status of each food ball. This routine became monotonous over the next ten or so minutes. The other farmers, not wanting to waste time, had already returned to their fields, listening to his announcements while continuing their work.
Naturally, Lin Sanjiu and Ji Shanqing were the most concerned.
"Silvan"s position isn"t just symbolic of having the most relaxed job," the grand prize whispered into her ear. "He holds the highest authority among us, as well as the sixty-four spheres acc.u.mulated over the past few days."
Lin Sanjiu quickly turned her head to look at him.
"Yes, whoever takes over Silvan"s position will also take control of the food we"ve worked hard to save up for days," Ji Shanqing said, showing an unusual level of concern on his face. "If someone else manages those sixty-four food b.a.l.l.s..."
He didn"t need to finish his sentence.
Even if it were Lin Sanjiu herself, she couldn"t say for sure that she wouldn"t be tempted by those sixty-four food b.a.l.l.s and secretly eat a few. After all, these were taxed food b.a.l.l.s; eating them wouldn"t be an issue.
After hearing her words, the grand prize chuckled. "Sis, when you imagine yourself doing something wrong, you carry the guilt of a good person."
His expression quickly turned serious again. "Whoever takes over wouldn"t need to resort to stealing. Silvan himself made the rule that limited his share to three food b.a.l.l.s a day, so it"s laughable to accuse him. He could have changed the rule if he wanted to. And whoever takes over as inspector will probably do just that. Even if they were to allocate ten food b.a.l.l.s to themselves in a day, what could the others do?"
Nu Yue, whose field was the closest to them, seemed to have overheard a bit, as she kept glancing back. Finally, she couldn"t resist coming over. "Um... I"m quite concerned, too. Do you think Jian Sheng will tell the truth?"
Ji Shanqing looked at Nu Yue hesitantly. In this room, the number of people one could trust decreased with each pa.s.sing day.
"Actually..." Lin Sanjiu replied, not wanting Nu Yue to feel left out, "He"s already inspected five or six food b.a.l.l.s and said they were fine. That surprised me."
She preferred to think the best of people, but given the current situation, the worst scenarios kept replaying in her mind.
"Maybe we"ve misunderstood him," Nu Yue said uneasily, just as Jian Sheng reiterated, "It"s fine."
Ji Shanqing hummed in response.
Lin Sanjiu, restless, plowed the field a few times before asking, "Do you think it"s impossible?"
"Jian Sheng is just one step away from the power and perks that Silvan holds. It"s hard for anyone to resist such low-hanging fruit," Ji Shanqing said, shaking his head. "The truth is, the only one who can seamlessly step into the top role is the second-in-command."
Seeing them deep in thought, he continued, "I don"t know if Jian Sheng hasn"t realized it yet or if he has other plans, but only he"s suited to be the inspector. Once he steps in, his power will be absolute and unchallengeable. Our situation will become nearly hopeless, and it will be almost impossible to leave the game."
"Right, we need to find a way out of this game." Lin Sanjiu ma.s.saged her temples. What might happen in the next hour seemed so unpredictable; escaping the game felt like a distant dream.
"That"s absurd," Nu Yue blurted out, her face draining of color. "A tax collector also being an inspector, essentially monitoring himself? I won"t stand for it!"
"Then none of your produce would be taxed," Ji Shanqing retorted, leaving Nu Yue speechless.
It was absurd. Doing that would be the epitome of abusing one"s position for personal gain... But would Jian Sheng"s behavior even be questioned?
"Would it?" she wondered, then almost reflexively cut off the train of thought.
"So, according to you, he plans to take over Silvan"s position... Are we completely out of options?" she asked, gazing out across the field, deep in thought. An idea sparked in her mind. "What if all of us farmers unite and stop working?"
"He"d still have sixty-four food b.a.l.l.s," Ji Shanqing whispered. "He could outlast us easily."
"Then maybe we should just confront him directly," Nu Yue said irritably. "He"s just one person. If we all work together, we can overpower him, right?"
This triggered something in Ji Shanqing. His weariness and anxiety vanished, replaced by a sense of urgent caution. He sprang to his feet and called out, "Silvan!"
The worn-out figure resting in the corner s.h.i.+fted slightly at the sound of his name.
Jian Sheng had worked his way out from the original starting point near Silvan, always keeping his back to Silvan. At Ji Shanqing"s shout, he glanced over his shoulder and quickened his inspection.
"Watch him closely every step of the way!" Ji Shanqing said, his forehead beading with sweat. "Check the food b.a.l.l.s he just inspected to see if there are pieces missing."
"What are you implying?" Jian Sheng demanded, his face clouding over.
Everything clicked for Lin Sanjiu, who immediately sprang to her feet.
If Jian Sheng had claimed early during the inspection that there was an issue, everyone would have immediately focused on the food b.a.l.l.s. Silvan would be framed, but Jian Sheng would not benefit from it, and he would soon face a major dispute.
However, if he repeatedly claimed nothing was wrong with the food b.a.l.l.s, everyone would eventually let their guard down and focus on their work. Jian Sheng, alone with no one watching, could seize the opportunity to eat some. Once he replenished his strength, he could accuse Silvan of stealing—by then, even if Silvan protested or they wanted to fight, who could overpower a fully energized Jian Sheng?
"I, I know what you"re up to," Jian Sheng said, his face contorting with anger as he stood among the food b.a.l.l.s. "Ji Shanqing, this is ridiculous. To suggest that the food b.a.l.l.s I"ve inspected have discrepancies—what a wild imagination."
"What? W-What"s happening?" Louisa asked. "Who stole the food?"
"The only possible culprit is him," Jian Sheng said, sneering, pointing at the blonde man in the corner. "Think you can blame the shrinking food b.a.l.l.s on me? Let me set the record straight. The food b.a.l.l.s I"ve inspected are all fine. I just haven"t come across any that Silvan nibbled on yet."
He turned to Louisa and Horst, raising his voice, "They know I"ll eventually discover that some of the food b.a.l.l.s have been nibbled on, so they concocted this story to frame me. If Silvan checks now and claims the food b.a.l.l.s are smaller, will that really prove anything? All the food b.a.l.l.s look the same; switch the positions of the normal ones with those that were tampered, and you wouldn"t know the difference. Even if I bring them over for you to check yourselves, they"ll insist I"m the thief and not Silvan."
What seemed like a straightforward issue, the weight of the food b.a.l.l.s, had spiraled into a complex dispute reminiscent of a Rash.o.m.on scenario. As Lin Sanjiu struggled to contain her frustration and anger, she heard Louisa ask, "So, what do we do now?"
"The situation is clear. He must have eaten from some of the food b.a.l.l.s. That"s the only reason his friend would try to set me up," Jian Sheng said, glancing at the unchanged text on the wall. "I think Silvan is no longer fit for his role. I propose relieving him of his duties and nominating myself as his replacement. We should vote on it. It"s the fairest way to handle this."
Lin Sanjiu glanced at the grand prize, feeling that her face must be as pallid as his.
For someone who just crossed most of the room and inspected numerous food b.a.l.l.s consecutively, Jian Sheng looked quite energetic and healthy.
"So, did the number of food b.a.l.l.s you checked actually decrease or not?" Horst challenged unexpectedly.
"You can come over here, and I"ll re-check them in front of you," Jian Sheng replied coldly.
Horst fell silent. Aside from the designated tax collector, no one else had the extra energy to keep traversing the room.
"Why don"t we just forget about who took what and just split the food b.a.l.l.s evenly?" Horst suggested after a pause. "We"ll each take our share when it"s time to eat."
Silvan initially proposed guarding the food b.a.l.l.s to prevent anyone from giving in to hunger and eating them prematurely. If they hadn"t set aside the food b.a.l.l.s, the temptation to consume them would have been overwhelming. If they went with Horst"s idea, Ji Shanqing"s plan would collapse before it even got off the ground.
"If I become the inspector, I"ll consider your suggestion," Jian Sheng said to Horst, then looked around the room. "So, any other candidates? No? Then raise your hands to vote on whether I should become the inspector."
Did they have the freedom not to raise their hands?
Lin Sanjiu clenched her fists, wanting nothing more than to punch him in the face. If they had held on for two more days, the grand prize"s plan could succeed, but at this crucial time...
Silvan, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, slowly stood up with the wall as support.
"You seem to have forgotten one thing," he said, his voice hoa.r.s.e. "In this place, a person isn"t ent.i.tled to be the highest authority if they don"t have the might to back it up. And unfortunately, strength isn"t the same as might."