Chapter 536: The Monsters’ Puzzlement
“Of course you have to hate the monsters! They’re the ones who caused all this!” Meng Chao could not help but retort loudly. “Monster Mountain Range surrounds Dragon City, causing us to have an unprecedented lack of s.p.a.ce and resources. The frontlines constantly need to use a lot of resources as well so that the normal citizens don’t have to live such difficult lives!
“Pearl Bai Shan, if you really want to seek vengeance for your mother’s misfortune, you should be venting your rage on monsters! I don’t understand why you would be willing to join the monsters’ side when we’re supposed to be eternal enemies with them!”
“Yeah, the monsters created everything. Monsters are the source of pain, poverty, and unfairness in Dragon City. They’re the source of all our problems. That’s what the old village chief told us as well.”
Bai Shan smiled. “The children in the village have always listened to the old village chief’s teachings. He said that humans and monsters are engaged in a long war, and this war has used up most of our resources, which is why all Dragon Citizens are suffering.
“Not only are the villagers suffering, most of the people in the lair are not living good lives either. It’s the same for the normal citizens outside. Perhaps a handful of superhumans are able to live good lives, but that’s because they risked their lives to fight against monsters to earn those ‘good’ lives.
“Survival has always been this difficult. We can only grit our teeth and endure it. One of these days, humans will completely destroy monsters, and at that time, we will enjoy good lives that will never end.
“Originally, all the children believed in the old village chief’s words.
“After all, he was suffering just like us. He didn’t eat an extra can of earthworm meat or drink an extra ladle of water. For the sake of Leprosy Village’s survival, he offered up practically everything he had. Why would he lie to us?
“Wild Wolf, Zhang Tie, and I snuck out in the past to the monster coliseums controlled by the gangs to watch the performances.
“While the fights between monsters were really exciting, the normal people’s lives were just like what the old village chief said. They were only slightly better than us in Leprosy Village, and they didn’t live much better lives. Even those gang members who seemed to be flaunting their powers were only able to survive by fighting with everything they had, just like Leprosy Village. There was no difference in essence.
“So, I thought, the normal citizens outside must be living the same way, right?
“If that was the case, even if my mother died in such a horrible and sad way, I would still be willing to listen to the old village chief and endure quietly. I’d grit my teeth and along with the lair citizens and normal citizens outside eagerly hope for the day humans won against the monsters so that we could enjoy good lives forever.
“Heh. But suddenly, one day, we had the internet.
“At that time, I started growing up slowly, and through genetic mutation, I awakened to supernatural abilities. I worked together with the Wild Wolves for the old village chief, and I remember very clearly that the old village chief was very hesitant as to whether we should connect Leprosy Village to the high-speed internet in Dragon City. I could sense his worries. It was as if he believed that the internet would destroy Leprosy Village.
“But as the situation in Dragon City gradually stabilized, spirit energy magnetic field interference grew weaker, and more signal stations were set up in the world outside. Even if the old village chief didn’t take any initiative, many villagers privately used all sorts of methods to connect to the internet and start searching through the astonishing amounts of information to seek the truth.
“I was one of them.
“Even up to this day, I still remember the first day I went online.
“It was as if… a shining door to a new world had opened slowly in front of me, and it was a door that was ten thousand meters tall and more than one thousand meters long.
“Endless information instantly drowned me, and I personally saw just how the world outside the lair looked like.
“The normal people’s lives were just like what the old village chief said. They lived slightly better lives than the lair citizens, but not much better. It was still within the boundaries of my imagination. I could understand and accept it.
“But I also saw the lives of the superhumans.
“More accurately speaking, I saw the descendants of elites who created the nine great mega corporations, nine great cultivation families, those who set up the Survival Committee, and those who controlled Dragon City. I saw the lives of those superhumans who stand above us.
“There was a cultivation video filmed by someone powerful to teach others how to summon strength.
“The shooting location was his mansion; it was a mansion in Dragon City No.1.
“Since the cultivation method was also related to a nutritious meal, the superhuman brought the camera out of his cultivation room. He then moved through the entire mansion to the kitchen.
“In my shock, I saw just how lavish the superhuman’s mansion was in Dragon City No.1 and just how big his living s.p.a.ce was. His kitchen and storage room was filled with piles of food, and even the pet dog he reared was fed until it was fat and looked satisfied.
“That fat dog lay by its master’s feet and seemed sated as well as carefree. It had an expression I’ve never seen on any villager!
“Wild Wolf, Zhang Tie, do you remember me sharing the video to you at that time? Once you finished watching it, you said nothing, but when you trained later on, you trained with even more frenzy. Day and night, you tortured yourself and the cultivation machines. You were so fierce that it looked like you wanted to eat the cultivation cabins and would not even spit out the screws.
“By the looks of it, you were the same as me. You were filled with puzzlement and anger in your hearts, but you didn’t know where you could find answers for your questions and where you should vent your anger.
“Meng Chao, you come from the outside world, so you might have a hard time understanding our feelings. It’s a feeling of your entire world shattering with a bang.
“I couldn’t accept this reality, so I searched for more information online, wanting to understand more about those superhumans who stand above us.
“The more I did, the more shocked I became.
“In truth, the giants who have the most power in Dragon City are known as the nine great mega corporations, and the nine great cultivation families who control these nine great mega corporations are the real masters of Dragon City.
“Dragon City No.1 doesn’t even have the best mansions in Dragon City. The superhuman who filmed the cultivation video isn’t one of the core members of the nine great cultivation families either.
“The real masters of Dragon City are all living in places filled with spirit energy. They build mansions and manors over there to enjoy everything inside.
“While the villagers, lair citizens, and Dragon Citizens are quietly suffering the pain of surviving and doing everything they can to live, this group can dress in lavish clothes, are swathed in luxury, act carefree, and obtain power and authority as if it’s their G.o.d given right to do so.
“As humans and as Earthlings, our individual differences are so big! I once saw a graduation prom video from a private school that belonged to the nine great cultivation families. The boys and girls there were beautiful and at the height of their youth. All of them looked like princes and princesses. I watched them laugh and dance, and it didn’t look like they were living in the Other World that’s surrounded by monsters. It looked like they were living in the peaceful Earth filled with bright sunlight!
“In a daze, I wondered, could it be that the days when we won against monsters and could enjoy good lives forever have already arrived?
“However, when I removed the helmet computer and looked around, all I saw was a sky shrouded in exhaust smoke, streets filled with smog, and workshops releasing piercing noises. I also saw strangely-shaped bodies and deformed, hideous faces.
“In the past, I had never thought that there was anything wrong with the villagers. After all, I’ve seen them since I was young. Everyone looked like this, and it was the same for my mother and me.
“So, I didn’t understand why the outside world despised us so much, and I felt sad. The lair citizens were also covered in dirt, so they didn’t look that much better than us. What right did they have to look down on us?
“Then, I saw those children from rich families, and I finally understood that this is how a real Earthling should look. I finally understood just how ugly my mother, the people around me, and I look. We’re basically deformed monsters.
“If I were someone from a rich family, I’d also look down on us.
“So, I finally understood everything.
“The old village chief mentioned that we’d enjoy good lives forever, but those days have already arrived. Unfortunately, they only arrived for those rich people. Heh! Hehe!”
Bai Shan started laughing strangely again.
That laughter was like a dagger that was laced with poison by her mother, and it stabbed into Wild Wolf, Zhang Tie, A’Ji, Ms. Mulian, and the other Wild Wolves’ hearts.
They felt the same as Bai Shan.
Perhaps they were not as resentful and extreme as Bai Shan, but they were as puzzled as she was.
“Meng Chao, you come from the outside world, and you’re smart. I heard that you have quite a lot of mega corporations supporting you, and you’re ambitious as well. You want to turn Superstar into the next mega corporation, right? I wonder, can you answer my question for me?” Bai Shan said.
“Didn’t you just say that all of our tragedies are created by monsters? The war between humans and monsters has made us waste most of our resources, which is why we can’t change our lifestyles for the time being. We can only solve our problems once we win against the monsters.
“But the Monster War hasn’t ended yet, and we have just turned to tactical counterattacks. So why is it that today— No, why is it that since a long time ago, the rich superhumans from the nine great mega corporations have owned huge houses, eaten lavish meals, and lived luxurious lives?
“If the resources they used to enjoy their lives were used to change the environment and working conditions in the lair and Leprosy Village, wouldn’t countless people be saved? Or at the very least, wouldn’t their suffering be reduced?
“I’m not asking them to sell their mansions and manors, then offer up all their wealth. If they would just keep one less pet, the resources they saved could feed a child in the village, couldn’t they? This is a very simple mathematical problem. Even an elementary school kid can solve it. So why is it that they’re unwilling to do so?
“If the powerful people controlling Dragon City were willing to pay attention to the work conditions in the lair and the village and give some of the resources they used for their lavish lives to the weapon forgeries in the village, wouldn’t my mother not have died so early or been in so much pain?
“Meng Chao, since you exposed me, I don’t intend to live. Even if you don’t kill me, I’ll be too ashamed to face everyone, but before I die, I really want to know the answer to these questions. So, tell me. Is my mother’s death and the tragedy that happened in Leprosy Village were really caused just by the monsters?”