This society is full of hidden signals and countless rules people don’t fully understand but feel forced to follow.
Take the Federation’s social insurance system, for example. It’s ruthless. Once soone reaches adulthood, if they don’t imdiately start working and continuously pay into social insurance over the years, they will have no support when they grow old.
This makes changing jobs, starting a business, or trying to improve one’s work situation extrely risky—one wrong move could ruin a person’s entire life.
In such an environnt, people beco timid. Even when facing problems, they barely struggle, never truly resist. With the unions smoothing things over, people ultimately give in.
Everyone compromises. This isn’t a standout social phenonon. Coupled with dissidents dying suddenly as warnings, the balance of power between labor and capital has already begun tipping.
But these rules also create a class of beneficiaries: those who obey, accept exploitation, and pledge loyalty to their exploiters.
When they grow old, they receive generous pensions and can live off them even without working.
Before this strict social insurance system was established, the Federation and capitalists conducted health surveys on the working class, revealing bleak results. This led to the first introduction of pension systems.
Capitalists also use clever tactics.
They divide workers into tiers, giving them staged incentives—goals that seem attainable if they try hard enough—justifications to accept exploitation and oppression, creating role models for others to follow, encouraging resignation.
The centuries- or millennia-long struggle between capital and labor is quietly reaching its conclusion.
Capitalists sit atop thrones built from the bodies of laborers, looking down on all, while laborers willingly lift those thrones ever higher.
Self-worth, life goals…
Behind every seemingly beautiful phrase lies one or more traps.
The best way to realize self-worth isn’t by proving yourself to others, but by showing that you serve a certain class of capitalists. This twisted social reality has replaced the old narrative of labor’s honor and capitalist villainy.
Now, serving big capitalists is considered honorable, sothing to flaunt.
When people take pride in serving capitalists and seek self-worth through accepting exploitation, when corporate culture and virtue are idolized, they beco an essential part of the new capitalist system, defending it.
Consider this: if you try to escape exploitation, everyone around you—family, friends—will advise you to accept it, give up unrealistic dreams. You realize then there is no real, unresolvable labor-capital conflict.
After countless years, capitalists have made society believe wealth is truth. Society revolves aHarmony Capitalists and capital—they’ve undeniably won this war.
This explains why Vera felt at ease hearing those two female soldiers worked for Lynch. Unless those soldiers want to be excluded by society, their best and only choice is to obey Lynch.
Loyalty to Lynch, demonstrating their ability, realizing their value, then accepting praise.
This is also why the Federation’s corporate culture has terms and phenona like sexual dominance.
People lack the courage and ability to escape. Bound by social values, they remain silent, endure quietly, telling themselves it will be okay—echoing the daily self-encouragent of Mr. Jonathan in earlier chapters, revealing how brutal capital’s internal struggles truly are.
As they talked, Vera’s child suddenly interrupted, “Uncle Lynch, will you live here from now on?”
Lynch looked at him curiously and forced a cute smile. “I have my own room, and I don’t wet the bed—I’m not a burden at all!”
The child’s words weren’t fully clear, but Lynch understood: the boy was nervous, worried that if Vera started a new relationship, he might beco a burden. ɽÅ₦ỌВËš
This year-long concern had matured the child beyond his years. Watching Lynch try to appear harmless and adorable, he didn’t want to be sent to soone else’s ho or boarding school.
Vera grasped her child’s aning, holding his hand. “Of course not. Uncle Lynch is just a good friend. Sotis we’re together, but we won’t marry. You’ll always be with !”
The boy was surprised but not happy. After a mont, he looked downcast. “Maybe I said sothing I shouldn’t.”
Lynch chuckled, rubbing the boy’s soft dark brown hair. “Have you ever been to Eminence?”
The boy shook his head. “No, Uncle Lynch.”
“You’ll like it there!” Lynch said as he withdrew his hand and cut a steak. “Soon, you and your mom will move to Eminence. You’ll have a new ho—a big house with a pool, a court, a hill, and a huge garden.”
“New school, new friends, new life. Will you like it?”
The boy nodded vigorously, flashing a broad smile with baby teeth showing.
Lynch laughed. “Don’t worry—no bad luck. The goddess of luck is my friend; she’ll protect you!”
He made a playful gesture popular in kids’ shows, pretending to catch sothing in the air and blowing it away.
The boy ate lightly, then left to wash his hands and face. Lynch sighed softly. “A very mature little boy.”
Vera looked at Lynch thoughtfully. “Do you like kids?”
Lynch nodded, then shook his head, confusing her. He quickly explained, “I like sensible kids like him. Sotis people have the urge to prove they’re kind and loving, so they like children.”
“But not everyone truly likes kids. The more selfish they are, the less willing they are to waste ti on others—even their own children.”
“But if they need to show those traits, they’ll occasionally act like they like kids, because society expects it.”
“I like kids who don’t bother or waste my ti chasing my own goals,” he joked, “and girls are even better!”
Vera understood—sotis once relationships cross a certain line, open flirting and risqué jokes beco part of the conversation.
“That’s too complicated for . I don’t think I can understand it anyti soon,” she said, “But basically, you don’t hate kids too much, right?”
Lynch nodded, though it wasn’t necessarily agreent.
In his previous life, he never knew if he’d have children. He was busy striving in youth, lost interest in marriage in old age. Famous star, many won, but no real attachnt until he ca here.
He wondered if his old self died upon arriving, and if so, whether many dutiful descendants would suddenly appear.
“You smiled. What’s funny?” Vera asked.
Lynch shook his head without answering.
“Nothing. Just so funny stories,” he said, noticing her curious expression and deciding to entertain her.
“There’s a bunch of fools…” He put down his utensils, dabbed his lips with a napkin, and began enthusiastically, “You know, many fools in Eminence are not only stupid but rich.”
“Recently, a con artist showed up from who knows where with a blueprint, claiming he would build an artificial island off the coast of Eminence and create a small city on it, only allowing billionaires worth over five million to move in.”
“Many people have invested in this project. I heard the total has already exceeded ten million. This shows the upper class is still very wealthy; the economic downturn has mainly devastated the lower classes.”
“People find it an exciting plan and are very enthusiastic about it—I even put in so money myself!”
Vera looked at him in surprise. “You said that person was a con artist and that others were fools. So, you…?”
Lynch smiled slightly, ignoring the question, “I’m not picky!”
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