Chapter 583 - 567: The Era of Mass Production
Chapter 583: Chapter 567: The Era of Mass Production
The fanaticism in the plaza reached its peak the moment the divine statue was erected.
However, fanaticism couldn’t feed empty stomachs. As the tidal wave of shock, awe, and hope receded slightly, a much more practical question confronted everyone—what now?
The statue stood tall, the nobles were dead, but what came next?
Hundreds of thousands of survivors stood in the freshly cleaned plaza, looking around in bewilderment. The stench of blood in the air had dissipated, replaced by a profound confusion about the future.
Suspended in midair, Allen took in the entire scene. He knew all too well that the will of the people was like water—it could carry a boat, or it could capsize it. Now, it was time for him, the new god, to fulfill his promise to ensure that everyone had enough to eat.
Gabriel’s voice echoed once again. This time, absent the icy tone of judgment, it was filled only with a solemn declaration.
"Year One of Truth. The first Oracle."
Everyone in the plaza, including the newly appointed Chairman Reyno, instantly held their breath and pricked up their ears.
"Effective immediately, money and taxes are abolished. Within the borders of the Divine Kingdom, all land, minerals, factories, and food supplies are now the property of the divine. They shall be distributed by the divine according to one’s contributions."
Chairman Reyno’s mind went blank with a loud BUZZ.
Abolishing private property? Did this mean confiscating the assets of everyone on the entire continent, from the highest nobles to the lowest commoners?
"Within the Divine Kingdom, the system of Contribution Points shall be implemented.
"All citizens of the Divine Kingdom may proceed to their local Temple of Truth—formerly known as churches—to register their identities and receive a personal terminal.
"Land reclamation, mining, construction, research, child-rearing, cleaning... any labor beneficial to the Divine Kingdom will be rewarded with Contribution Points.
"One point of contribution can be exchanged for one standard unit of black bread. Ten points can be exchanged for one unit of meat. One thousand points will grant the right of residence in a new home."
Gabriel’s voice paused, giving everyone time to digest the information.
"The Divine Kingdom does not harbor idlers.
"The Oracle is the law."
As his words faded, Gabriel’s figure turned into a streak of light and vanished into the distant Steel Fortress known as Cybertron.
The plaza remained dead silent for a full minute before the crowd completely erupted.
"We only get to eat if we work? Isn’t that just common sense?"
"My fields... they belong to the god now too?"
"Contribution Points? Personal terminals? What the hell are those?"
Doubt, confusion, and even a faint sense of resistance spread through the crowd. Centuries of belief in private property couldn’t vanish in an instant, even in the face of a miracle.
Reyno’s expression was incredibly grim. As a former intelligence chief, he knew exactly what kind of backlash a reform touching upon such core interests would provoke.
He walked briskly to the edge of the plaza and found a Peacekeeper Golem responsible for maintaining order.
"I want to see the Lord Divine Envoy!"
The golem’s electronic eyes flashed, and a synthesized voice rang out. "Authorization confirmed. Chairman Reyno, please follow me."
Cybertron Fortress, Central Control Room.
Contrary to Reyno’s expectations, there were no sacred murals or swirling incense here. There was only a massive holographic projection sand table and hundreds of floating surveillance screens.
Allen had already disengaged from the Gabriel golem and switched back into the body of an Alchemy Puppet. He was standing in front of the sand table, his fingers swiping rapidly across it as he deployed the Golem Legion across the entire continent.
When Reyno walked in, this was the scene that greeted him.
There were no angels and no divine light, only an exceedingly young-looking black-haired man commanding those steel Demon Gods as if he were playing a sandbox game.
Reyno’s heart sank like a stone.
"Lord... Lord Divine Envoy?" he asked tentatively.
"Just call me Allen. I’m the general director of all operations on this continent." Without turning around, Allen kept his eyes fixed on the sand table. "The Conductor has returned to the Divine Kingdom, and I have taken over here. Mr. Chairman, do you have any questions?"
"The Oracle from earlier..." Reyno gritted his teeth and forced himself to speak. "Abolishing private property is too big of a leap! The merchants and craftsmen who have a bit of wealth will absolutely never agree to it! This will trigger a continent-wide rebellion!"
"Oh?" Allen finally turned around, his deep blue eyes looking at him calmly. "They won’t agree, and then what? Are they going to organize a rebel army and fight the god’s Golem Legion?"
Reyno choked, unable to utter a single word.
"Chairman Reyno, you need to understand one thing," Allen said, walking up to him with a flat tone. "The god isn’t discussing this with them. He’s informing them that the world has changed."
He pointed at the sand table, where countless points of light were moving about densely like worker ants.
"Six hundred and twenty million mouths to feed. The old order has already been destroyed. If we leave them to farm and trade on their own, a new exploiting class will rise from the ashes within a year. There might even be a continent-wide famine due to the unequal distribution of resources. When that happens, the death toll will be ten thousand times higher than the number of nobles killed in the plaza today.
"There is no time to play the nobles’ little house-playing games. The god has ordered me to twist all the labor forces together into a single rope in the shortest time possible."
Every word Allen spoke slammed into Reyno’s heart like a sledgehammer.
"But... forced labor... how is this any different from the Blood God Sect?" Reyno couldn’t help but retort.
"The difference?
"The Blood God Sect drained your blood to feed a parasite that produced nothing. But I am making you work so that you and your descendants will never have to experience the pangs of hunger again. It is to build an unprecedented civilization out of steel and gears upon these ruins."
He raised his hand and swiped through the air.
A screen of light instantly enlarged, displaying a resource exploration map of the G-771 Plane.
"Do you see this?" Allen pointed at the ore vein markers flashing with red and blue light. "High-purity Silver Ore veins, seven of them! Large Magic Stone Ore Veins, over twenty! Buried underground, these resources are just piles of useless rocks. But if we dig them up..."
The screen switched. Massive Interstellar Battleships and floating Magic Cities flashed across the display.
"They will become the armor that protects you, be exchanged for the food that feeds you, and serve as the ticket that takes you to the sea of stars.
"Do not question the god’s decisions. Time will prove everything."
Reyno stared at those breathtakingly magnificent images he had never seen before, then looked at the man in front of him, who was as calm as if he were just describing tomorrow’s weather.
He suddenly understood.
The world in the eyes of this Divine Envoy was completely different from his own, and from that of everyone else on this continent.
"I... I understand," Reyno said, his voice a bit dry. "But how do we go about it practically? The public’s resistance..."
"It’s simple. Drive human nature with profits," Allen interrupted him.
"Jarvis."
"I’m here, sir."
"Execute the ’Hoarder Liquidation Protocol.’ Publish the locations of all hidden granaries and warehouses registered under the old nobility and wealthy merchants to all newly registered personal terminals in the form of anonymous whistleblowing quests.
"Quest Reward: Anyone who reports and assists in verification will directly receive Contribution Points equivalent to 10% of the total value of the confiscated goods.
"At the same time, mobilize Golem Squads to cooperate with the public and execute the confiscations."
Reyno’s eyes widened to the extreme.
This... this was inciting the masses, making the commoners raid the homes of the old powers themselves?! It was directly detonating class conflict!
"Commander, this action may trigger large-scale armed brawls and bloody conflicts," Jarvis prompted.
"Then let the ’envoys of the god’ teach them how to abide by order," Allen said calmly. "I only need one result: within half a month, I will have all the hoarded food and supplies on the continent enter circulation. I will make everyone understand a single truth—"
He looked at Reyno, enunciating every word. "The old era is completely over."
"Chairman Reyno, go tell anyone who still harbors illusions..." Allen leaned forward slightly, his gaze as if watching a colossal set of gears about to turn. "Welcome to the era of mass production."