Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost-Chapter 479: The Fate of All Living Beings, Hidden Dragon in the Abyss_1
"What? Recall the steam plows? How can this be? It was initially agreed they would be leased to us for ten years, free of charge!" Yuan Lin shouted at the minor official.
Yet the minor official just smiled. "Agreed upon? Who said that to you?"
"Of course, it was King Heaven Equivalent," Yuan Lin replied without hesitation.
"Then go find King Heaven Equivalent. Why are you complaining to me?" The minor official’s tone was full of disdain. "Whoever made the promise to you, go find them. I don’t believe a dead man can rise from the grave to fight for justice for you."
However, after the official finished speaking, the surrounding area fell silent. Everyone stared at him.
Those stares made his heart tremble, but he mustered his courage and retorted, "What are you looking at? Are you trying to rebel?"
He knew he had misspoke. The former King Heaven Equivalent, now Heaven Equivalent Benevolent Holy Emperor, was highly esteemed among the people. Despite his slip of the tongue, there was no unsaying it.
Moreover, he was an official. How could he be intimidated by a crowd of commoners?
"We don’t wish to rebel. On the contrary, it is you who is rebelling," an old man stepped forward, pointing accusingly at him.
Upon witnessing this, the minor official’s legs gave out, and he fell to his knees instantly.
"Sir, I was ignorant! I should not have disrespected King Heaven Equivalent!" The minor official immediately recognized the elder as the county magistrate.
"You always have ill intentions! Strip off your official robe and get out of here!" After scolding the minor official, the county magistrate turned back to the people. "Fellow villagers, it is not that the county wants to recall the steam machinery; the order came from the Capital."
"I know King Heaven Equivalent gave this to everyone, but King Heaven Equivalent was killed by the Royal Family. I really am..."
Here, the county magistrate could not help but break into tears, which also moved the crowd.
"The steam machinery in every place is registered, including the numbers and owners. I also wanted to keep them, but there was no way."
"The emperor even ordered that owning steam machinery is the same as possessing armor. If a household has one machine, all members will be beheaded. If there are three machines, then... sigh."
"Please hand them over. If any are missing when discovered, and the Court’s army arrives, we will undoubtedly be executed." The words became increasingly grim as the county magistrate continued.
"If King Heaven Equivalent were alive, how could we have suffered such an unprovoked disaster!" Yuan Lin shouted out with rage.
The crowd turned their eyes toward the young man.
Seeing this, the county magistrate shook his head. "Even King Heaven Equivalent could be killed over baseless accusations. What about us?"
"I don’t believe that this world is void of fairness!"
Yuan Lin knew his ability to live, and live well, depended entirely on the various benefits King Heaven Equivalent had brought. Otherwise, he would now be a mere skeleton.
Here, every household had a Longevity Card of King Heaven Equivalent in their homes.
"When King Heaven Equivalent was alive, there was," the county magistrate said calmly, then looked up at the sky. "Now, there is none."
"Three days ago, the Court abolished all the benefits King Heaven Equivalent secured for us. Donations and taxes were reinstated. The price of grain escalated, while the price we received for our own grain remained low. Everything has returned to how it was."
"No, it is worse than before because now the Court is even greedier," the county magistrate said helplessly.
This was the Northern Prairie. Everything here was built by Wang Linchi. The county magistrate was not from any Great Family; he had risen from commoner status, so he didn’t beat around the bush and prioritized practical matters.
As for that minor official, he was different. He was dispatched by the Court to supervise.
He hadn’t conceded due to the county magistrate’s status, but because if he hadn’t, he genuinely risked being beaten to death on the spot. Then, some fabricated excuse would ensure no one investigated further.
Also, because this place was built by Wang Linchi, after the full withdrawal of the memory bodies, the speed of collapse was much faster than in areas such as the Central Plains.
"I want to go to the Capital and ask what exactly happened," Yuan Lin said.
"There won’t be any outcome. You might even die on the way," the county magistrate objected.
Indeed, such an idea seemed great, but it had little feasibility in practice.
A poor boy from a remote village entering the Capital intending to inquire about such a sensitive topic would likely be arrested and thrown into the Sky Prison the moment he spoke up.
"If I don’t go, I won’t be satisfied. Anyway, I have no strings attached. I’ll consider it making a contribution to the villagers." Yuan Lin knew that some things had to be done by someone. In that case, why couldn’t that person be him?
Upon hearing this, the county magistrate’s eyes dimmed a bit. "Leave tomorrow. I’ll scrape together some travel funds for you from the county government."
"If you can, make a detour to Dai Temple and offer incense in honor of King Heaven Equivalent."
"Our county received such great kindness from King Heaven Equivalent, yet we couldn’t do anything in return. Now that you’re going, taking a longer route to express our gratitude is fitting."
In most places, Wang Linchi was still commonly addressed as King Heaven Equivalent rather than Heaven Equivalent Benevolent Holy Emperor. That was the official deification, but popular belief took its own course.
Yuan Lin naturally wouldn’t refuse. He had always wanted to see King Heaven Equivalent, even if it was just his golden statue in the temple.
As for the 365 Holy Emperor Temples built by the Great Families, they were naturally located in the Central Plains where Dajing is. It’s impossible for them to have been built in the east, west, south, and north.
The Great Families, after Wang Linchi’s death, constantly kept their guard up to prevent rebellions by these Hu Lu and Barbarians.
In fact, that was indeed the case. Whether it was the Hu Lu, the Barbarians, or remnants of other destroyed nations, they were all itching for action. They hadn’t moved yet only because they were waiting for the right opportunity.
Normally, that opportunity should have been far off, but no one could have imagined the Royal Family would personally deliver one for their own exclusive benefit.
They were gorging themselves so much; weren’t they afraid of choking to death on the spot?
"There’s one more thing. You’re coming from the north, and it’s not easy to cross the border. Even though we are both Jing People, we were previously considered Hu Lu. So, you will inevitably face difficulties. You’ll need to endure when the time comes," the county magistrate cautioned Yuan Lin once more.
Yuan Lin nodded. "I understand."
During King Heaven Equivalent’s era, there was no discrimination, but now, who knew what changes had occurred in the Central Plains.
Therefore, matters that could be endured should be tolerated rather than resisted.
"Off you go. Go back and pack up," the county magistrate said, sending Yuan Lin home to prepare for the long journey.
What about taking a flying ship?
That would have been fine in the past, but after the Court ordered the recall of steam machinery, flying ships also came under strict control. Unless absolutely necessary, ordinary people couldn’t ride them.
Not to mention an ordinary person like Yuan Lin; even the county magistrate couldn’t arrange passage on a flying ship, let alone anyone else.
Yuan Lin acknowledged and ran home to start packing.
There wasn’t much to pack; being just one person, how many belongings could he have?
「...」
Wang Linchi lay in his coffin, suddenly noticing some kind of fluctuation.
What’s that disturbance?
He could feel it but couldn’t probe it in detail; it settled down instantly.
This thing... it gives me the sensation of life waves.
His Mana could intervene in life waves to some extent, so naturally, he also possessed corresponding monitoring abilities.
Lately, he had been continuously stimulating the Royal Family to act, hoping to quickly provoke turmoil across the world. This would further his two sacred positions and allow him to rapidly advance from the Cicada Molting Stage to the Feathered Transformation Stage.
Divine Power and Divinity are Mortal Liberation; sacred positions are Cicada Molting; and the final Feathered Transformation is one’s complete Deification, becoming an existence similar to a deity.
The reason it’s described as ’similar’ is because this pertains to his abilities, not his fundamental nature.
It feels like wind rising from the smallest beginnings... Could a Hidden Dragon be about to be born?
Wang Linchi compared the data and soon found a slightly similar piece.
This piece of data was the Hidden Dragon effect, one of the manifestations of the World Real Dragon Effect active on the Saint Master.
Regime change? I thought there were still ten years of national stability left... Oh, but ten years of national stability doesn’t guarantee no trouble within that time. Besides, there are less than five years left now.
Since Wang Linchi obtained the Devil, more than five years had passed. If there were to be a change of regime, preparations should be starting around now.
However, Wang Linchi was also puzzled: how was the other party planning to change the regime?
At least, faced with the combat capabilities of various steam machinery, neither Spirit Masters nor Shamans had any power to resist.
No, there really are ways to resist steam machinery.
Wang Linchi immediately thought of himself.
Speaking of the world’s biggest cheat, besides himself, the Heaven Equivalent Benevolent Holy Emperor, who else could it be? The other party might come looking for him soon.
A regime change, investing in the future Founding Emperor in advance...
Wang Linchi knew, even if he had to think with his toes, that this was an investment with extremely high returns and very low risk. Not betting heavily would be an insult to his Luck.
