Saint Orchid Kui's Ambitions and Blueprint

After arriving at the study, Saint Orchid Kui carefully locked the door and drew the curtains. After repeatedly checking to make sure no one was around, she looked at Lin Yu and spoke.

How did you know?

Lin Yu had just heard someone ask the same question and say the same thing.

Therefore, his answer remained unchanged.

"Do you think my connections in the Outer City are any less than those of you Royal Nobles?"

Saint Orchid Kui nodded thoughtfully. "It seems my disguise isn't perfect enough..."

"I thought no one would ever imagine that Royal Nobles would secretly slip out and risk their lives to take on such a commission."

Lin Yu was somewhat surprised to hear Saint Orchid Kui's words. "Doesn't the Saint Orchid Family know what you've been up to outside?"

"They don't know," Saint Orchid Kui said smugly. "They just think I went to the Outer City to have fun...which isn't wrong, but they probably don't know that my way of 'having fun' is by taking on commissions."

Then he boasted, "This is what makes me better Saint Orchid Lai and even most of the Royal Nobles —I'm not some hothouse flower; I've actually taken on those commissions and worked my way up in the Outer City!"

"In the City That Never Sleeps, no Noble understands the true state of this city better than I do."

"Therefore, I am certainly more suitable Saint Orchid Lai to lead the Saint Orchid Family..."

"Our Saint Orchid Family is different from the other four families. The heads of the Saint Orchid Family have always presided over the Council, made laws, and issued titles. The chief justice and the Speaker are all subject to the review of our Saint Orchid Family... Therefore, we need to understand the people's livelihood of City That Never Sleeps better than those guys who are based in companies. After all, we need to make laws that all residents of City That Never Sleeps can accept and implement policies that are conducive to the development and stability of City That Never Sleeps."

Hearing Saint Orchid Kui say this so proudly, Lin Yu looked at him and spoke up in surprise.

"Is that so? Then, Your Excellency Saint Orchid Kui, what do you think is the biggest problem City That Never Sleeps right now?"

"Of course it's the wealth gap and the increasingly difficult upward mobility," Saint Orchid Kui said without hesitation. "The Outer City fringe, the Outer City, the Inner City ... the citizen ranking system was originally introduced with good intentions... but now it's been completely ruined."

"The people in the Outer City are getting poorer and the people in the Inner City are getting richer. It is almost impossible for the people in the Outer City to work for big companies or settle in the Inner City, so they can only do dangerous jobs."

Lin Yu listened to Saint Orchid Kui talking so earnestly, counting on her fingers, and his opinion of Saint Orchid Kui changed somewhat.

It's unbelievable that this guy, born into Royal Nobles, could see and think of this... truly remarkable.

For a fleeting moment, Lin Yu even considered genuinely supporting Saint Orchid Kui —after all, he wasn't truly bound to the Nightless Sky Huo Le, and Saint Orchid Lai was completely unfamiliar with him.

In any case, it doesn't matter to Lin Yu who rises to power in the Saint Orchid Family, so why not choose someone who would truly benefit the City That Never Sleeps?

Lin Yu looked at Saint Orchid Kui and asked again, "So, where do you think the crux of the problem lies, and how do you plan to improve it?"

"The crux of the problem," Saint Orchid Kui pondered for a moment, then said, "Is that those lower-class people aren't working hard enough!"

"Of course, their lack of effort can't be entirely blamed on them. Ultimately, it's the other four and Three Great Corporations that enacted the 'Nightless City Production Human Rights Act,' which prohibits those at the bottom from excessive overtime—now they can only work a maximum of 60 hours a week, which is simply outrageous!"

"Of course, I certainly won't repeal this law outright, but I will loosen the restrictions—first, the working hours for the lowest class will be increased to 90 hours per week, the middle class to 75 hours... and the highest class will remain at 60 hours per week."

"This is killing two birds with one stone, rendering this evil bill ineffective and revitalizing the corrupted class system of citizens."

At this point, Saint Orchid Kui became even more smug. "Furthermore, I heard about the 'social welfare' system from your 'Otherworlder' —it's a really good thing, and I'll have to follow suit when the time comes!"

"As the head of the Saint Lan family, I can have the council distribute substantial subsidies to every resident. This will increase everyone's asset level and boost their willingness to spend, ensuring the City Never Sleeps will thrive and prosper!"

Lin Yu looked at Saint Orchid Kui: "Where did the subsidy money come from?"

"Just print it! Do you think the Three Great Corporations would refuse to print money?" Saint Orchid Kui exclaimed, slapping her thigh. "We could even issue Asset Points directly—saving on printing costs!"

Saint Orchid Kui continued, seemingly unsatisfied, "Furthermore, I've noticed that the crime rate in the Outer City is actually quite high, with the number of serious crimes and violent deaths rising year after year... While the support of Gangsters by the Inner City residents and Noble is a factor, it's undeniable that these lower-class people are constantly harming each other. Some Gangsters and societies don't even have Noble behind them, yet they still spontaneously organize themselves... This fully demonstrates their inherently belligerent nature... I suspect those people may have lived in the Outer City for too long and picked up the habits of the Great Wilderness People."

"Therefore, it is necessary to station more security personnel in the Outer City, increase the number of 'Security Stations,' and have people from the Outer City govern people from the Outer City —selecting a large number of people from the Outer City to participate in security management as unofficial members."

"Of course, the supporting laws also need to be improved... I think perhaps we could try more severe public security penalties in the Outer City and give public security personnel more power, allowing them to carry weapons freely, and to detain and investigate suspicious persons before releasing them. Perhaps we could also try policies like 'curfew' and 'alcohol ban'."

Hearing Saint Orchid Kui's enthusiastic words, Lin Yu fell silent.

He felt ashamed of the slight fantasy he had had about Saint Orchid Kui just now.

"I shouldn't have had any illusions about these Royal Nobles."

If Saint Orchid Kui's three policies are truly implemented, the lives of the lower-class residents of the City That Never Sleeps will become even more difficult.

However, this also reflects that Saint Orchid Kui probably had extraordinary talent in Noble matters such as political Struggle.

Otherwise, how did someone like this become one of the two leading heirs?

Surely we can't rely on a "thorough understanding" of the lower classes?

But no matter what...

Lin Yu still hopes that Saint Orchid Lai can win over Saint Orchid Kui in the internal competition of the family—this guy absolutely cannot become the leader of the Saint Orchid Family.

Of course, Lin Yu was more cautious this time.

"I should ask Nightless Sky Huo Le later what kind of person Saint Orchid Lai really is..."

Based on the current sample, none of the Royal Nobles are normal.

So, even though Saint Orchid Kui is already pretty absurd...

But who knows, maybe that Saint Orchid Lai is actually even more of a heavyweight!