89 Something Within Expectations (2/2)

Believing in pragmatism… In essence, this should be considered a false believer.

However, this didn't really concern Roland. He waved his hand at Jett and led him out of the city.

On the construction site by the riverbank, Roland found Hawk.

Upon seeing him, Hawk immediately brought them into a house, which was newly built but had no furniture inside.

Inside the rooms, it smelled of fresh mud, and for some people, this smell was quite pleasant, but others didn't like it. Jett didn't like it. He gently fanned the air in front of his nose.

”You asked me to put some beggars on the lookout for the Ritter family in the slums. Some time ago, the beggars came to report that something had happened. I guessed that you would come to me soon.” Hawk looked somewhat angry. ”I don't know much, and the beggars aren't professional scouts, but the perpetrators were definitely north-district gangsters. They killed Old Ritter's sons that night and kidnapped the Ritter couple. They're quite arrogant, treating human lives like bugs.”

Roland looked at Hawk's expression and sighed. ”There's no need to be so furious. Didn't we already know that humans devour humans in this world? No matter whether it was the heart-feasting incident you took part in, or the missing-girl case Betta and I were caught up in, those important figures honestly never treated the lives of commoners as human lives. Take it easy.”

Jett knew that Roland was involved in a missing-girl case, but he didn't know about the heart-feasting incident that Hawk participated in. This was why he looked very curious right now.

”What infuriates me the most is that the commoners here have no intention at all of resisting. They're only glad that it didn't happen to them, as if resigning themselves to fate.” Hawk's square face was filled with resentful disappointment. ”This has made me want to carry over the contents of the little red books[1].”

Upon hearing this, Jett was immediately excited. ”Well, that sounds quite interesting. I think something can be done.”

It was evident that he was someone who liked to join in on the fun and cause more trouble.

However, Roland shook his head. ”It's impossible. This world's productive capability and military strength are all centered in the hands of professionals and nobles. They can use magic to improve crops, so the land also belongs to them. A fully armed physical professional, not even at an elite level, can easily get rid of dozens of villagers—even if these villagers took up simple weapons. Not to mention there are still professional ranks of Master, Legendaries, and so on, so the disparity in battle power is too great. I'm personally not too optimistic about such a course of action, unless we players increase our levels to a certain degree and possess our own organizations and influences. Otherwise, it's best not to start something like a revolution.”

The three of them had all mechanically memorized political textbooks, or else they wouldn't have been able to pass college examinations.

The simple truth was clear—one had to have enough firepower to seize political power. The two of them were discouraged upon hearing this, but they had to admit that Roland made a good point.

Roland saw that they had given up on this idea and continued: ”Although we can't do anything major right now, we can still do some minor things. How about we take a stroll in the eastern suburbs?”

With a cheerful expression, Jett said, ”Sure, no problem.”

Hawk nodded. ”Give me a few minutes, I'm going to have a few words with Link.”

After roughly twenty minutes, Roland and the other two arrived at the slums of the eastern suburbs.

Things like criminal gangs often developed better in impoverished lands, whereas in the nobles' neighborhoods, who had their own private soldiers and guards, they would only be hammered violently. So, they could only bully commoners and absorb the flesh of the weak, relying on such a way to survive and expand.

In the alleys of the slums, it was very quiet. There wasn't anyone walking around.

Roland looked from side to side, occasionally seeing the eyes of a pauper peeping through a crack in a window, but noticing Roland staring at them, they immediately retreated into the darkness and closed the window tightly.

These pairs of eyes were filled with alarm and fear.

In the alleys, there was an indistinct scent of blood.

[1] Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung, usually printed in red