131. A Certain Young Lady Nearly Exposed

Thinking of this, the intermediate officer couldn't help but sigh.

Because now, not only was there "dead weight" being pushed from above, but the number of such people below was also increasing. The plainclothes unit of the police department had essentially become a nursery for the incompetent everywhere!

However, in matters like this, a mere intermediate officer like him had little say.

Still, looking at Chen Sheng, the officer felt a sudden surge of sentiment. His tone deepened, and he said with earnest advice: "So, when there are benefits to be had, you must never miss them. Like this matter I just told you about."

"But what if we don't find any results?" Chen Sheng asked tentatively, feeling a bit confused. After all, according to a certain young girl, this was caused by the fixed "Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth" within this healing game.

But normally, shouldn't the "NPCs" in the game know about such things, while only the players are kept in the dark?

"Who told you that this matter must yield a result? Go look at the archives—what are the final outcomes of these kinds of strange cases every year?" The officer, having grown quite fond of Chen Sheng, couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.

This answer, however, left Chen Sheng completely baffled.

"Is it just going through the motions?" He raised an eyebrow, speechless. The lousy developer of this healing game was once again using tricks to fool the players.

The NPCs go through the motions while the players actually try to complete the tasks. Although that should be the case, in this environment, it was simply too ridiculous!

If only there were a few NPCs who actually did some real work!

"Naturally. So just go ahead and recruit people, list them under my name, and when the time comes, you will definitely get your fair share." The officer promised directly.

Chen Sheng finally understood why there were so many police officers in that town; they were all there to skim off the benefits, not to investigate the mystery behind the disappearance of the Upper Sanjiang City.

While speechless at this game setting, Chen Sheng couldn't help but ask: "Does the person in charge of this not care?"

"Do you think we would dare to do this if it wasn't tacitly approved?" The officer burst into laughter.

Chen Sheng nodded, indicating he understood.

He reckoned that in the later stages of this healing game, there would be a choice for players: something like "Join the ranks of a General of the Yellow Turbans" or "Join the Imperial Army."

The information leaked by this "NPC" was simply too much.

To put it simply, when someone rises to power, they inevitably bring their friends, family, or trusted subordinates along. Because these people benefit from that individual, a faction naturally forms around them.

The scene before him was a perfect example.

Even though this officer was part of such a faction, judging by his earlier words, he was likely on the periphery rather than at the core.

The formation of such interest groups inevitably affects more people. For instance, those like Chen Sheng who were "recruited" were indirectly joining this group.

Once this group grows large enough, it begins to monopolize all the benefits of a region.

From this, something common emerges—the solidification of social classes.

Because the essence of the world is that one side gains while the other loses; the larger the interest group, the more people are exploited. To consolidate their own interests, those in power naturally try to block the upward mobility of those below and extract more from them.

When the disadvantaged cannot rise and their space for gain is narrow, they have no choice but to engage in internal strife, much like raising poisonous insects in a jar. But one day, someone will awaken.

This process, from ancient times to the present, in the rise and fall of dynasties, has always been the same.

Therefore, Chen Sheng always felt that those fallen monarchs were just scapegoats. After all, even if an emperor were incompetent, surely his subordinates weren't all useless bags of waste?

Was Emperor Yang of Sui overthrown because he was tyrannical?

Not entirely. Ultimately, it was because he created the imperial examination system, which threatened the interests of the various powerful clans.

As someone who broke the solidification of class, even an emperor would not be tolerated by those clans.

And the reverse is also true.

Was the Chongzhen Emperor incompetent? He was even very diligent. Why did he become the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty?

Setting aside unavoidable natural disasters, wasn't it ultimately due to the solidification of classes and the interest groups frantically seizing power?

And didn't anyone see the problem at the time?

The answer is yes.

Anyone with a bit of historical knowledge and social experience could see it.

But at that time, none of the great families dared to stand up.

Because whoever stood up first would be the first to die!

And they would die a death that left a bad name for eternity, like that fool from the Shang Dynasty—Di Xin.

To abolish slavery in that era—he was truly daring to think of such things.

Chen Sheng reined in his thoughts. He considered that besides this possibility, there was another: the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth occurs, the whole world is destroyed, and the player must lead the survivors to struggle for survival.

After all, judging by the fact that he had obtained firearms in the game but could never hit an "NPC," the lousy developer of this healing game still had a strong instinct for self-preservation!

While constantly playing tricks, the desire to survive was exceptionally strong.

Therefore, relatively speaking, the latter possibility seemed more likely!

With this in mind, Chen Sheng agreed.

Although he wasn't interested in the quest rewards, he chose to accept the task anyway.

After all, side quests were optional!

Speaking of which, to recruit a team, the first step was to find suitable "partners"!

In this regard, his guiding light—the little female ghost—could count as one, and the headless girl could count as another, but two were clearly not enough.

"A pity about that young man in black," Chen Sheng sighed.

He recalled the unlucky fellow he met when he went to the Skull Temple to do a quest. The guy started off like a great detective, but in the blink of an eye, the young man in black was gone.

If he were still alive, he could have been recruited to fill the numbers.

Realizing he could only recruit two, Chen Sheng set his sights on a certain young girl. Surely this side quest allowed for "recruiting" another "player," right?

Thinking of it, he did it; Chen Sheng "logged out of the game."

...

A certain young girl, who was still serving as Chen Sheng's temporary "shadow fan" in the "Demons and Monsters" realm, suddenly felt someone appear beside her.

Glancing over and seeing who it was, her little face couldn't help but change slightly.

It was too late for the "Demons and Monsters" to leave, so she quickly changed her outfit. Then, the moment Chen Sheng took off his glasses, she reached out to cover the gold-rimmed frames.