Chapter 606: The Witch Contract and the Rhetoric of "Contractual Correctness"
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 606: The Witch Contract and the Rhetoric of "Contractual Correctness"
As more and more people gathered in Ninglan New City, many began to spontaneously organize, firmly dedicated to their own tasks.
Of course, the primary objective for everyone entering Ninglan New City was to help the humans outside the city rebuild their civilization. This had been explained to everyone when they entered the teleportation channel and signed the contract, though... it wasn't strictly mandatory.
When those filled with compassion sought to help the refugees trapped in misery, they discovered they couldn't even communicate with them. To persevere, they would have to self-study one or even several languages!
Progress in such matters was undoubtedly slow; "the first step is always the hardest" was an apt description of their predicament.
But who were they? They were witches!
Even though many people had come from other Transcendent academies, the majority of the foreign visitors in Ninglan were still from the Witch Academy. Not everyone was solely focused on the resources of the Expansion Realm.
Upon entering Ninglan New City, the contract didn't force anyone to rescue refugees or help them rebuild civilization, but it highly encouraged it. Furthermore, the contract explicitly stipulated one thing: no one could interfere with or sabotage the progress of civilization rebuilding in any form within the established shelters and civilizations.
In essence... you didn't have to participate in this noble and selfless endeavor, but you could not become an obstacle to it. Otherwise, according to the Witch Contract, you would be expelled. At the very least, for the duration of the contract, you would be barred from returning to the Expansion Realm by any means.
Just as the group of people intent on helping rebuild civilization hit a dead end, they quickly found a breakthrough.
To help the refugees rebuild their homes, they needed to communicate, and currently, the only people in the city who could manage even a modicum of communication were those from the Literary Association. However... learning one or several languages through conventional study simply took too long.
Later, they obtained some vital intelligence from the elderly Mr. Shentu Le.
"The translations for these languages were provided by Scholar Xiao Han. I heard that Scholar Xiao Han is a teaching assistant from your Witch Academy. She knows many languages of that civilization and possesses a spell that supposedly allows for barrier-free communication with those people."
"Xiao Han? Is it that Sister Xiao Han? No way, we’re hearing legends about Sister Xiao Han even here?"
"Mr. Shentu, can you tell us what kind of spell it is? Can we learn it?"
"I'm not sure. I heard it involves a translator that only you can see following you around. I don't know how to explain it properly. Perhaps you can visit the City Defense Barracks and speak with the City Defense Commander, Mo Le. He is a beneficiary of this spell; you might be able to learn more from him," Shentu Le said. "If there’s nothing else, this old man needs to get back to his studies."
"Then we won't disturb you further. Goodbye, Mr. Shentu."
"We'll be going now."
After gathering this information, the group hurried off to their next destination.
Mo Le was naturally willing to make time for a group of visitors from the Transcendent academies who were volunteering to help the refugees. After all, who doesn't love free labor?
Mo Le spoke with them for a long time, covering everything from the spell called Knowledge Shadow to language translation issues, the arrangement of refugees within Ninglan New City, and settlement problems outside the city.
The visitors offered many suggestions regarding the demarcation of a settlement zone outside Ninglan New City, proposing the use of disaster relief tents from the outside world as the primary means of housing.
However, the prospect of thousands upon thousands of refugees converging on the area was the real headache for Ninglan New City. Ultimately, it came down to a question of money. Money, resources, and manpower were the primary tools for disaster relief.
Money was of little consequence to a witch—unless that witch studied arts like Alchemy or Pharmacy, which were notorious for draining a student's finances. But even for students, money didn't just fall from the sky.
So, what other ways were there to get money?
In the Transcendent crystal mining zones outside the city, whatever resources you extracted were yours. Theoretically, making money here wasn't difficult.
One could even organize donation drives. You could choose not to donate, but you could not hinder those who intended to help with the rescue and rebuilding. This was a way for people to express their determination to help rebuild civilization.
Not everyone had to be on the front lines personally to complete the work of rebuilding; donating resources was also a form of help.
All they needed was a justification. By siding with justice and the suffering, such actions were highly encouraged even by the Witch Contract.
In Ninglan New City, you might face obstacles or ridicule for almost anything you did, but helping people rebuild their civilization was off-limits. This was the rhetoric of "Contractual Correctness" derived from the Witch Contract.
If a contract is used well, the power of language alone is enough to make many people shut up or back down. Otherwise, why would it be called a "Witch Contract"?
Had others not noticed this?
They had, especially the teaching assistants. They naturally saw how to exploit this contract. Did anyone truly think they were just simple bandits?
Being a bandit was nowhere near as convenient as making money just by moving one's lips.
If everyone were that short-sighted, then on the first day Ninglan New City opened to teaching assistants, every single one of them would have rushed in. Instead, only five or six went, and even they didn't go to snatch things immediately.
The first batch of witches to scout the Transcendent energy crystal mines realized the difficulty and the threshold for mining those crystals. The mining threshold for zones formed from Transcendent Origin Crystals was extremely high, but the Transcendent material mines formed from World Origin Soil didn't have such intense energy radiation.
These mines were treasures that could be exploited on a large scale with a low entry threshold. One only needed to pay attention to the mining techniques; everything else was of little concern.
The only thing that caught them off guard was the trouble and unexpected changes encountered during this period.
What gave the teaching assistants the biggest headache was the Dream Overlap. It forced many to waste a lot of time learning new spells, and the number of variables they had to account for increased significantly...
But that didn't matter. As long as they felt they could profit, they would continue.
It was a simple matter, yet it had been made so ugly because of conflicting interests. What should have been a collective effort to rebuild civilization had turned into a gambling arena for profit because there was gain to be had. Taking it a step further, even the act of rebuilding civilization itself could be exploited.
* * *
Calamity Shelter.
"If you've come here just to waste my time, I think our conversation ends here. I have important things to do and no time to play games with you." I stood up and glanced at the group that had arrived. They were led by Winnie, the teaching assistant from the Jack-of-all-trades Club whom I had met once before at Ninglan Township Castle.
"Wait! Don't you want to help these people rebuild their civilization? With our help, this Calamity Shelter you're in will surely grow much larger. As a large-scale shelter closest to Ninglan New City, it has the foundation to temporarily alleviate the pressure outside the city..."
"Winnie, you're a teaching assistant with a Great Knowledge Seed. Do you really think your little schemes will work on me?" I said, looking directly at her.
"My apologies... I think you've misunderstood us. But I hope you can understand that there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. I wonder... is your desire to dominate the Calamity Shelter perhaps a bit too strong? Can you not bear to let others have a hand in it?"
"I am simply doing what I need to do. What happens to the Calamity Shelter is none of my business. If you want to use this foundation to build a super-shelter, I have no objection..."
"Are you afraid of losing your power over the people here? If I may be blunt, you're acting like a slave owner right now. I suppose the only difference is that these slaves can't help you yet, and you don't want to exploit them."
"Can I take that as you testing the limits of my temper?" I wasn't angry at her words.
I simply hated talking to people full of bad intentions. it was exhausting. If you didn't take them seriously, they would push their luck, smiling while they took advantage of you. But the moment you flipped the table, they would immediately start pointing fingers, playing the victim to gain sympathy because they couldn't win a fight.
"You're joking. How could we do such a thing? My phrasing was poor just now; I apologize. I'm only thinking of the people here. Can you really bear to let them keep living in a place like this?"
"Do whatever you want. Just don't cross my bottom line, or I'll flip the table." I gave a cold snort, effectively ending the meeting.
As for my bottom line?
I hadn't explicitly told them what it was. I had only told them earlier not to touch the area around the Omni-Link Main Network Tree. As long as they didn't know exactly where my line was, they wouldn't dare to go too far.
However, there was a downside: if they were shameless enough, they would constantly manufacture opportunities to talk to me, perpetually testing my boundaries.
I hoped they wouldn't overdo it—at least, that they would tone down their "witchy" attitude. But they hoped to map out my bottom line and then maximize their profits based on that standard.
That was why I said we were destined to walk different paths. Once in contact, they would push their luck and dance right on the edge of my bottom line. To them, the "bottom line" was simply the boundary of what they could "reasonably" acquire.
It was an irreconcilable conflict. I had given my warning; it just remained to be seen when they would finally exhaust my patience.
Yes, from the very beginning, I predicted they would inevitably reach that point.
"So, you've agreed? Rest assured, we are completely sincere. We will publicize your contributions so these people never forget what you've done for them. So... please stop talking about flipping tables," Winnie said with a face full of smiles.
As for flipping the table? She wasn't afraid. What if the other party was powerful?
One couldn't kill each other here, and one certainly couldn't sabotage the rebuilding of civilization. As long as they controlled the pace and rhythm of that rebuilding, they could accomplish so much.
Once they took over the foundation of this uniquely advantaged shelter from Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan, they would be in charge of the reconstruction. With the massive population outside Ninglan New City, it would be enough to support a super-shelter. Eventually, they wouldn't even have to use a name as ugly as "shelter."
What did it matter if they publicized Yang Yuehan's contributions? Those they put on a pedestal could just as easily be pushed off. Everything was viewed through the lens of development. Even if they touched her bottom line, could she really just swing a blade at them?
Mastering the narrative was enough, because they held "Contractual Correctness." No one could sabotage the rebuilding of civilization.
"Whatever." I turned to leave, but she called out to stop me once more.
"By the way, since this exchange was a success, I wonder if we could learn what it is you're working on?" Winnie’s tone and posture suddenly became very humble.
They were indeed very curious about what she was doing, but they didn't dare interfere. Because the things she was researching involved a Transcendent Mentor!
A single word from a Mentor could make them disappear. Although they had held the initiative in the conversation just now, in her view, whatever the other party was doing must be very important and backed by a Transcendent Mentor, which was why she was so fearless.
This was something they had to take seriously.
To them, they felt they could step on Xiao Han's bottom line, but they absolutely could not step on a Mentor's!
"It's none of your business. You should worry about how to rebuild this shelter and then prepare to receive the people's gratitude."
After saying that, I stood up and showed them out.
Once they were gone, seven figures gathered around me—the same ones who had just helped see the guests out. These seven were the managers currently elected by the Calamity Shelter, the spiritual leaders who led the people in their survival.
And these seven... were the very first ones I had encountered: six men and one woman. They were the ones who had shown the strongest initiative and sense of responsibility from the start.
Of course, the most important thing was that they recognized me. After all, I was the actual founder of the Calamity Shelter and held absolute power.
"Lord Witch, those people just now..." one of them asked cautiously. They hadn't understood the language of our conversation, so they didn't know what had been discussed.
"They're here to help you build the shelter. When their people arrive later, you will be in full charge of coordinating with them. If you don't understand these matters, find someone skilled in negotiation. Don't let those people eat you alive," I said.
"Is... is it true? They're willing to help us build a sanctuary?"
"Sigh... don't get too excited. Who knows if they have good intentions." The person next to the first speaker cautioned him; he was better at reading the room.
"They plan to turn this place into a super-sanctuary and take in more people," I continued. "Their task is to help you rebuild your civilization. Whether they are sincere doesn't matter; they will actually do it. That's why I said to be careful not to be eaten alive. There's no such thing as a free lunch."
"We know. We'll be careful!"
"Anyone can say pretty words. Rebuilding a civilization means your society will be completely reshuffled. You're standing at the center of the storm right now; surely you have your own ambitions?"
"We wouldn't dare..."
"We don't... absolutely not..."
Hearing my words, several of them quickly denied it, while more chose to remain silent.
"Having ambition is a good thing. I will help you just as they will, but not in the same way," I said, reassuring them.
It was inevitable that they would have ambitions. I didn't mind that at all. That was why I continued, guiding them to willingly do what I wanted them to do.
"Do you want power? If you have the resolve to pay the price, I can help you master Transcendent power."