Luo Zhen frowned: "What are you talking about!" He never thought that Lin Zexia would say such a scary and thoughtless sentence.
Lin Zexia might also realize that this statement was inappropriate. She rubbed her temples while speaking nervously: "D-don't get me wrong! I was just using this as an example as a neutral party!"
Luo Zhen sighed: "Giving an example is a confirmation that you're thinking about that in your head right now. Driving out the Infected? What you're thinking is no different from the Laterans who treat the Infected."
As someone who was called the Holy Son, Luo Zhen had lived in the great temple of Laterano since he was a child. He had hardly ever looked at them in a positive light even once. He knew that the laws and social duties of Laterano were good for them. Because the laws in Laterano were notoriously the strictest in every kingdom. All citizens who had [citizenship rights] had to follow those strict rules and regulations without choice if they wanted to live. Of course, there were also angels who broke the rules and committed crimes, but since committing a crime had very severe penalties, most angels who had been educated from a young age would usually not question the reasons for those strict rules, so there were almost no crimes committed in Laterano.
One of the laws of Laterano was that the Infected were not allowed to live in the country. No matter how noble that angel was, once they became an Infected, they would be exiled from the country and never return. This regulation might be cruel, but it was very fair. Because in this world of Terra, if the Infected were not killed or persecuted, expelling them was considered the kindest thing to do.
What Lin Zexia said now might have the same meaning. She hoped that the slums could become a part of Lungmen once the Infected were driven out. She probably also felt that this statement was too harsh for Luo Zhen. She looked a little guilty: "Because I've been thinking about it for a long time. This method might be the most effective for the slums."
The rat princess looked up and drank all the soy milk in one go. She wiped the foam from her mouth and looked at Luo Zhen sadly: "I've been trying to think of how to make the slums a real part of Lungmen. Have you ever thought that if you leave Lungmen, this place will start to change when there's no one to take care of it? Then this place will get worse and worse. One day, they will rot along with the dilapidated city, and then this slum will no longer be the same."
Luo Zhen understood what the young lady was trying to say: "You want to develop this slum."
Lin Zexia had a great interest in developing the city, and she always hoped to get her father's position so that she could be the one to change the environment in the slums correctly. Luo Zhen understood this well, because in a way, she was right. This slum would only get worse. The people who lived here were not accepted by Lungmen and were even treated by the people in the city like a plague. Even without community development and public construction, everything would have to be resolved by the people in the slums themselves. Just the basic problems of water and electricity were enough, and the people in the slums were also at risk of being arrested by the Praetorian Guard group just by walking into the city. So they could only produce and sell themselves, including smuggling it in to sell. Anyone who saw the situation in this slum would say in unison that this place was beyond help.
In the past few decades, these problems have been consistently solved by the Rat King. That has allowed the slums to have a way to survive and a normal, happy life for decades. But who knows how difficult the life of ordinary people in the slums is. A young girl like Xiao Ling and Xiang cannot get a good education like other children in the city, so it is impossible for the next generation in the slums to grow up correctly. Then what is the way for the slums to become a normal community and a real part of Lungmen?
Lin Zexia agonized and thought about this in her head every day. Her cheeks turned pale as she hugged the pillow in her hand tightly: "I don't see any other way. It's impossible for the slums to compare to Lungmen in every way. The illegal smuggling business is the only thing that allows the slums to survive to this day. Not to mention bigger methods; if it's dangerous or affects the city directly, that old lizard and that female cat will never let us go."
"Wait a minute," Luo Zhen raised his hand seriously. "I understand that the 'old lizard' you're referring to is Wei Yenwu, but who is the 'female cat' you're talking about? Don't tell me it's Shi Huayra? Why are you talking about her?"
Lin Zexia looked at him with annoyance: "Because you're not from Lungmen, so you might not know about this. Actually, Wei Yenwu, even though he's the owner of Lungmen, in terms of power, he's just a ruler. The real main artery of Lungmen actually belongs to that female cat's family who controls all the capital that is the foundation of Lungmen. If her family and Wei Yenwu disappear, Lungmen will collapse in less than two months."
Luo Zhen rubbed his head with a slight headache: "I'm sorry, I don't really know much about economics. Is money that important? To be honest, money is the thing I dislike the most."
The tense atmosphere was destroyed by Luo Zhen acting like a fool. Lin Zexia sighed heavily before reaching out to pinch Luo Zhen's cheek. Then she blinked with surprise: "Shihuaya was right. Your face feels really good. It's soft and feels like a child's skin... how do you have such good skin?"
"I think you're angry about the wrong thing, miss?" Luo Zhen sighed and let Lin Zexia bully him by pinching his cheek helplessly. "I understand the reason you're worried about the slums and your people, miss, and I also understand that it's difficult to change the slums with various actions."
After all, the slums were just a place where a group of refugees gathered to hide and rest, simply because this was the lowest point of society where there would be no discrimination against the Infected within. But for this very reason, one day the slums would have to disappear or be eliminated. With Lungmen continuously developing every day and Wei Yenwu's ability to develop Lungmen being very high, Lungmen today is very different from twenty years ago. To compare, it's like night and day. Therefore, the already stagnant slums would only start to disappear more and more. And as Lin Zexia had said, it was impossible to develop a highly profitable illegal industry in this crowded community without offending Lungmen. The only way to keep the slums going, or to allow the people in the slums to survive, was to 'unite' with Lungmen.
But there was a problem with what was happening now. It was the only insurmountable obstacle between the slums and the urban area of Lungmen, and it was an obstacle that the world of Terra could not pass right now. The Infected...
Lin Zexia stroked Luo Zhen's face and started to speak: "As long as the slums do not accept the Infected—even if they have already quietly accepted them—it is impossible for them to become a part of Lungmen."
To align with the public's perception of the well-being of the world of Terra, Lungmen still had to refuse to welcome the Infected. As a trade city, Lungmen did not need much labor, so they did not need to use the Infected for mining like the Ursus Empire. Lungmen did not need them, just as there was no need for them to keep the poor who could not adapt to the changing way of life of Lungmen. Lungmen did not want the Infected who were likely to become their unstable factor, and the law clearly stated that they did not welcome any Infected.
Lin Zexia had thought far beyond that, to the point of concluding that driving out all the Infected was the only chance for the ordinary people in the slums to have a better life. She continued seriously: "It's not just the Infected in the slums. When calculated by population rate, even including all the smuggled-in foreign Infected, the population ratio of ordinary people to the Infected is only about 70 to 30. Of course, I know it's cruel, but is there any other way? That we can maintain this status quo in the future? When one day the urban area of Lungmen starts to become saturated and those rich people want more factory space and mansions, won't they have to take away the slums and turn this place into a part of Lungmen? No... I don't think they're that stupid."
Lin Zexia's expression looked very desperate now. It was a despair that could not resist the status quo. Luo Zhen, who was currently being pinched, said nothing.
Lin Zexia took a deep breath before starting to speak with emotion: "Wei Yenwu, Shihuaya... they are both enemies of the slums. But besides raising my hands in surrender, what other way is there to help this place? The Infected in the slums, they probably have no other way to survive than to join that Integration Movement and take over Lungmen as soon as possible. It would be good if they got rid of that old lizard and female cat and ruled this place."
"Zexia," Luo Zhen took her hand seriously. "You're going too far. Even if it's just a joke, you shouldn't say things like that right now."
"...I'm sorry." The rat princess lowered her shoulders weakly, like a child who had just been scolded by an adult. Lin Zexia's words were very harsh. Perhaps because she felt she had to bear the future of the slums, she had been thinking about these things for a long time, and she had become more and more desperate over time. Luo Zhen certainly did not agree with her extremist way of thinking. But if you ask how Lungmen can accept the Infected while being able to develop the city's status further...
Luo Zhen held Lin Zexia's cold hand and said jokingly with amusement: "When Ch'en Huijie takes over from Wei Yenwu, and you take over from Uncle Lin, along with Shihuaya inheriting her family's fortune, maybe all of you at that time can create the Lungmen you want."
"...Nonsense, you fool." Lin Zexia muttered softly as she started to laugh again.
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Now : (ZAW)System Acting Zhongli in arknights World? (Now Chapter 54)
Now : (INSL) I Never thought simulating life could screw me up this badly!! (Now Chapter 51)
Now : (POA) Prince of Angels in Arknights (Now Chapter 40)
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