Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Managing Black Street was a novelty not only for its original residents but also for the players.

At the start of their jobs, the players were full of interest; besides meeting their daily work targets, they roamed around Black Street with nothing particular in mind.

Once they donned the uniforms provided by Gilder, several players felt like they were part of a city management team, consciously wielding supreme authority.

Black Street was neither too big nor too small. Explore hidden tales at empire

All kinds of small workshops cooperating with each other were nestled among the households, while farming the land and raising livestock required venturing even further afield.

These tasks had always been undertaken by someone, just not on a large scale. Moreover, they were susceptible to being undone by various natural and man-made disasters.

Those involved in production never enjoyed the fruits of their labor, while the idle and arrogant could squander resources at will.

Black Street had not been without order or rules in the past, but they were so fragile they could be shattered with a single poke, like a sheet of paper.

That's why the old Black Street always seemed so gloomy and grey, suffused with a deathly stillness.

Picking everything up again, there was suddenly a vibrant and thriving vitality.

Of course, doing things they had never done or were unaccustomed to always required learning.

Everyone needed to undergo military drills and standardized training; the sheer number of miscellaneous tasks was overwhelming.

However, everything was arranged in an orderly manner.

That elderly man named Gilder was truly remarkable. The adult organization was indeed teeming with talent, with each member pulled out at random possessing such managerial skills.

A few patrolling players sighed to themselves until they reached the edge of a piece of land being cultivated, where Gong Yan suddenly stopped.

She watched a few people swinging hoes in the field and noticed the red glow above their heads.

Hatred...

But one among them did not have it.

These were the underlings of the previous gang boss, Wallis. The more evil acts they committed or assistance they lent to tyranny in the past, the heavier their current burden of drudgery.

A person must always pay the price for their actions—whether now or in the future...

That was the origin of their identity.

As these pieces of information flashed through her mind, Gong Yan maintained a gentle smile on her face. She removed her delicate leather boots, paying no mind to the damp black mud of the cultivated land, and walked barefoot towards them.

With each step sinking deep or just grazing the surface.

The others considered following, but, glancing at the black mud under their feet, they dismissed the idea.

Yanzi was driven by curiosity; let her be...

Gong Yan, with hands clasped behind her, approached the only colorless man.

"Hey!"

The stray dog looked up and was momentarily dazed by the radiant smile of the girl before him, "Sir... Sir."

"Tired?" Gong Yan giggled, her eyes tenderly focused.

The man in front of her didn't look very old, his face still showing some youthfulness. However, long-term malnutrition made him appear rather frail.

"Not tired... not tired..." The breathless stray dog quickly tucked his mud-caked hands behind his back, and his dark feet attempted to burrow into the ground as he pressed them downward.

Soon after, the stray dog realized how dirty he was.

Even his clothes were filthy...

"You can rest if you're tired," Gong Yan said cheerfully, "From what I've seen of the work targets you need to meet, the six of you working together should have it easy."

The stray dog cautiously looked back and, without seeing anything, knew that several burning gazes were fixed on his back.

"Not tired... I enjoy this work," the stray dog replied earnestly, flashing a simple smile with slightly yellowed teeth.

"Hmm~" Gong Yan nodded, neither approving nor disapproving, but then she asked, "Do you know what the purpose of the work you are doing is?"

"Purpose?" The stray dog blinked in bewilderment, recalling the words of the "spokesperson" from the morning assembly—

"The purpose of your work is to make sure each of you can eat a meal, wear clothes that fit, and then continue working, eating better meals, wearing better clothes. Until one day, you won't have to struggle for your livelihood, finding your true pursuit in life. Remember, your work is never for us adults! It's for yourselves!"

"The production reports you produce every day will be posted on the bulletin board for all to see. How much work you do, how many resources you use, everything will be clearly displayed. No one can slack off, but nobody will be treated unfairly either. Everything that comes from you will ultimately be for you!"

The spokesperson's words were straightforward, without any complex and incomprehensible jargon.

Compared to the words about "equality, freedom, happiness" that the adult had mentioned the night he saved everyone in the street, these seemed far more substantial.

Of course, the adult must have his purposes; it was only that he didn't understand them at the moment.

The only thing he did understand was...

"The purpose of work is to support myself."

"Cough cough cough!" A few coughs suddenly came from behind.

The stray dog's gaze flickered with panic for a moment, and then he looked down, not daring to meet the eyes of the "Law Enforcement Team" again. "Sir, you should leave now; I need to get back to work."

His voice was low, tinged with guilt.

"One last question..." Gong Yan raised her tender, jade-like index finger, grinning as she asked, "Do you have a dream?"

"A dream?" The word left the "stray dog" staring blankly.

A dream? What is a dream?

Money, guns, women!

Who on Black Street wouldn't envy someone like the previous gang boss Wallis?

But... is that kind of life really what I want?

He must be very lonely too, right?

When he looked at someone, they subconsciously looked away.

When he wanted to talk, others would just hum and haw in response.

He had money, guns, and women.

But it didn't seem all that enviable.

Maybe it was enviable before.

After all, compared to the days when I followed the boss like a lapdog, grovelling behind the underlings' underlings, and punching and kicking the even more lowly common folk while laughing and cursing, a life like boss Wallis's was certainly better.

But compared to now... every day I wake up with a purpose, and after finishing our tasks, we can all gather and chat and boast as equals.

The brave ones can even try to strike up a conversation with the girl... the girl they admire.

The same goes for girls... the girls now seem more attractive than the disheveled women in the boss's arms back then.

Why is that?

Wild Dog couldn't figure it out.

But regardless, this kind of life was much more interesting than before.

Work was always fresh.

Each day was new.

Not like before, when I lived a single day like it was a lifetime.

Now, a day is just a day.

Wild Dog didn't want anyone to disrupt these fresh new days, so he was always reluctant to get involved in the things his companions discussed privately.

This new life is so good, he didn't understand why those people weren't happy.

But dreams...

What are dreams? No one ever taught him that word.

"I don't know, ma'am..." Wild Dog said with a pair of confused eyes, blankly staring at the bright girl in front of him.

'She is so pretty... prettier than all the women I've seen before.'

"Set one for yourself... maybe one day, it'll really come true~"

Gong Yan waved her hand and turned to leave.

Arriving at the clear flowing stream, Gong Yan stretched her feet into the water to wash off the dark mud, her fair feet gradually returning to their original appearance under the water's flow.

"What were you talking about with him for so long?" Dai Lian asked curiously, standing aside.

When everyone was together, Yanzi rarely had her own opinions, but whenever she took action, there was definitely a deep meaning behind it.

Gong Yan turned her head back, smiling radiantly in the sun, "It's exciting... the only innocent flower among some unaccepting rebel rousers— isn't that a fun thing?"

"There are rebels?" Kuang Xin immediately picked up his axe, "I'll go chop them down!"

Maintaining the stability of Black Street was their mission.

"They haven't actually done anything yet." Gu Lan, the older sister character, rolled her eyes at Kuang Xin. After spending a couple of days together, she had learned about this guy's straightforward nature.

If they were to punish without due cause before any wrongdoings had been committed, it would be a minor issue for the Law Enforcement Team's prestige to be damaged, but losing the trust of the residents of Black Street and shaking the foundation of E's governance would be the real trouble.

As for how Gong Yan discovered it...

Gu Lan took a deep glance at the girl's back, being a woman herself, she understood all too well the little schemes of this woman.

In the presence of others, she always allowed others to show off, and to some extent, Dai was the "puppet" she had pushed forward, yet the development of any event had never escaped her control.

Impressive.

But not detestable.

One could only say... admirable.

The friends I've made in the game, each one indeed has their own excellence.

"So what should we do?" Kuang Xin asked, looking bewildered.

"Ask the boss~" Gong Yan shrugged, "The boss will see things more clearly than us."

...

Faced with the question posed by Dai Lian, Bai E slightly furrowed his brows.

Unaccepting?

Normal.

People who were wild and suddenly shackled would naturally feel resentful.

But as Gu Lan had said, without any actual facts of wrongdoing, others would certainly not comply if they were punished.

"Don't worry about it," Bai E instructed softly, "Be vigilant, watch out for people who might be involved, but until they actually act, do not disturb their normal lives."

"But, sir... what if they cause some sort of loss we can't accept?"

Bai E smiled, "It's okay, we can accept anything."