Chapter 297: Chapter 287: Shattered

Tang Mo drove the car straight into the courtyard. Then, carrying Bo Niou wrapped in clothes, she quickly slipped into the house.

"Sister Tang Mo... Bo Niou, you’re back!"

Xiao Fei and Xiao Mo had been waiting in the living room. They were afraid of causing more trouble for Sister Tang Mo if they went out again, so no matter how anxious they felt, they could only sit obediently on the sofa, their eyes glued to the door.

When they saw Tang Mo push the door open, they were disappointed to see that aside from Mr. Hu, the giant yellow figure wasn’t behind her. But then, Bo Niou caught his owner’s scent and struggled out of Tang Mo’s arms, and Xiao Fei’s eyes instantly lit up.

This was the companion he had given up so much to keep by his side, the only family he had left. How could he not be thrilled?

"Xiao Fei, Xiao Mo, you two wait in the living room for now. I’m going to get everyone. There’s something I need to discuss with you all."

Mr. Hu gently set aside the small sapling he was holding and prepared to go knock on each door, calling everyone to gather in the living room.

Seeing how much Mr. Hu treasured the sapling, Tang Mo retrieved a flowerpot filled with soil from her Space for him.

Mr. Hu thanked her profusely and carefully planted the sapling in the pot. He was so meticulous that anyone watching might have thought he’d raised the sapling himself from a seed.

After calling everyone out from their rooms one by one, Mr. Hu cleared his throat, ready to speak about the matter at hand.

Tang Mo scanned the twenty-odd people gathered. In just a dozen or so hours, the deathly pallor on their faces had vanished, replaced by contentment with their new lives and hopeful anticipation for the future.

Using words he had already prepared, Mr. Hu explained what he had just learned about this world. He then described the problems he saw with it and his proposed method for change.

The method for change was simple. On Rules Day, they must not vote for the options that maintain the world’s current operating rules. Instead, they needed to vote to restore manual labor and other things that should exist from the old world. They had to reduce the use of AI in daily life, so that humanity could have a more authentic existence, a way of survival that filled Life with meaning.

"Rules Day is our only chance to change this world’s rules, and our opportunity comes on the first of next month!"

Mr. Hu spoke with surging passion, completely oblivious to the expressions on the faces of his audience.

In Mr. Hu’s eyes, this world was inherently flawed. Humanity shouldn’t be put on a pedestal, served and supplied without lifting a finger. AI was meant to be an aid, not a complete replacement for humanity’s societal value. Moreover, humans were not the sole masters of this world. A healthy, normal ecological relationship could only be achieved by coexisting harmoniously with other living beings and shouldering the responsibilities that came with it.

But not everyone shared the same definition of "right." Clearly, this group did not.

After Mr. Hu’s passionate speech, the people sitting on the sofas and chairs fell silent for a long time. Everyone was busy processing the enormous amount of information.

Fortunately, most of them were intellectuals, so grasping new concepts wasn’t that difficult. After all, this world was already surreal enough; a little more strangeness wasn’t out of the question.

"Hu Bin, we understand what you’re saying. But isn’t the world just fine as it is? Why go looking for trouble?"

The speaker was an elderly man with salt-and-pepper hair, a former professor from their university.

’So this is the first time I’m learning Mr. Hu’s full name,’ Tang Mo realized. ’It’s Hu Bin.’

"Exactly. Look at us—we’re old. If you go fighting for the ’right to work’ and we actually have to do it, won’t that be the death of us old folks?"

Most of the people in this group were over fifty, and their physical health was certainly not what it used to be.

To them, this new world was perfect. They didn’t have to worry about food or clothing and could live a better life than they had in the old world without any effort at all. They couldn’t have been more satisfied.

"There are so few of us. You think twenty-odd people can change the world? Young man, you shouldn’t be so impetuous. It’s better to be realistic."

Now that they were in this new world, the old people—who had been like beggars under Hu Bin’s care—suddenly found their backbones. They adopted a lecturing tone, reclaiming the authoritative air they once had as professors.

It was true. At the university, Hu Bin had merely been a counselor, handling student affairs and logistics. In terms of academic achievement, prestige, and status, he was indeed no match for the men standing before him.

But perhaps these old men had forgotten who it was that shouldered the heavy burden of their cruel existence, allowing them to survive to this day, back when they were huddled in a junkyard like abandoned dogs.

And who was it that had brought them to this paradise they were now so unwilling to lose?

"Come on, let’s go. We still have half a game of chess to finish."

Having heard all they needed to hear and made their positions clear, the professors rose one by one and returned to their rooms to continue exploring the joys of their new lives.

The only ones left in the room were Hu Bin, Tang Mo, and Xiao Mo and Xiao Fei, who were sitting on chairs to the side.

And Bo Niou, of course. But Bo Niou didn’t have the right to vote.

Hu Bin stood there, stunned. Everything had gone differently than he’d expected. The rest of his prepared speech was now stuck in his throat.

’How could this be happening? Why?’

’Even if the native people of this world are like that, these people shouldn’t be. Not them.’

Hu Bin found it all hard to believe.

Tang Mo shook her head. She had predicted this outcome long ago.

Hu Bin had been too confident that the people he had cared for for so long were comrades who would stand with him through thick and thin. He didn’t realize how heavy a word "comrade" truly was.

’Everyone looks out for themselves,’ Tang Mo thought. ’From their own point of view, their decision wasn’t wrong.’

Tang Mo had heard from the people in the sunroom that new arrivals to this world might be different at first, but they quickly became just like everyone else.

’Those people just now were the norm. Mr. Hu was the anomaly.’

"Mr. Hu, we support you!"

Xiao Fei and Xiao Mo could sense Mr. Hu’s palpable disappointment and quickly spoke up to show their support.

He had always taken such good care of them. They had seen what kind of person he was, so of course, they would stand with him now.

Besides, a world so cruel that it didn’t allow plants or animals to exist was something they simply couldn’t accept, especially given their deep bond with Bo Niou.

’This world is sick,’ they thought. ’And it needs to be cured.’

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