Who Is Harming Us

The sun was blazing, and the weather was getting hot; the temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius ushered Nagaril into summer mode.

However, this summer is much better than in previous years because it won't smell so bad! Nagaril used to be filled with a suffocating stench, but as various places have begun to clean up their cities, Nagaril is rapidly becoming cleaner.

It's about hygiene, not just cleanliness. Some areas may still not be so clean, but it's much better than before. Most importantly, hygiene issues have been effectively resolved.

Without mountains of garbage and sewage teeming with bacteria, the country has seen far fewer sudden medical emergencies since last autumn.

Everything is changing, and it all happened as the United Development Company began to help Nagaril achieve industrialization and common prosperity, which has indeed given the locals a very conflicted feeling.

Not long ago, people hated and loathed these foreigners, but now they don't think that way anymore. They don't know how to express their feelings. Perhaps this is the change of the times.

If sanitation is a visible change, then there is another invisible change happening rapidly and having a profound impact on the country: literacy! Literacy Class are free, but a Literacy Class must be signed beforehand. Any adult, healthy, and working Nagaril People can receive free literacy education.

They also had to sign an agreement stating that if they could complete the basic education in the Literacy Class and pass the final cultural exam, they would get a job.

The contract stipulates that two-thirds of the recipient's income in the first year will go to the Literacy School, one-half in the second year, one-third in the third year, and the Literacy School will not charge any fees thereafter.

This... sounds a bit unbelievable, even a bit ridiculous. Foreigners would be so kind as to come to Nagaril to help people with literacy and even give them jobs? You know, the most sought-after thing right now is an opportunity to work for foreigners, because foreigners will actually pay people's wages. They won't deduct anything or default on payments; they will genuinely pay wages, never delay, and act in accordance with the contract.

This also makes people willing to work for foreigners, as they can earn more money and then use it to buy exquisite foreign goods that they never even dared to dream of before.

Some people have even achieved financial freedom to a certain extent. They are engaged in highly technical jobs and earn two or even several times the salary of others. Some ordinary locals have even bought televisions through installment plans, which were previously only enjoyed by the Privileged Class and Ruling Class, and have started watching foreign television programs!

All of this revolves around one word. "Work." If we break this word down, we find a prerequisite: "Working" for foreigners.

People can now not only learn knowledge for free but also get a job, which has led to a surge in popularity for Literacy Class across the country after an initial lukewarm reception.

Foreigners value the spirit of contracts and are willing to abide by various agreements; this has been the impression that all Nagaril People have of the Federal people over the past six months.

As long as they do what is required by the contract, the foreigners will not withhold their wages or fire them arbitrarily. They now have great faith in the power of contracts.

After the contracts were signed, almost all the Literacy Class were full. After more than two months of basic literacy training, some people were able to start reading and writing normally and were about to graduate.

This situation has also led to the rise of a new industry in Nagaril: newspapers and magazines.

The more Nagaril People acquire literacy skills, the larger the market for various newspapers and periodicals becomes. Coupled with people's impulse to use newly acquired knowledge, newspapers continue to emerge in various places, bringing a new trend to the entire country.

Newspapers were no longer something only the upper class could read; more and more people were involved in them.

That morning, a Nagaril People had completed most of his literacy course received the day's newspaper. His school teacher told him that reading the newspaper would have a very significant effect on improving his literacy.

So everyone would subscribe to a newspaper—the cost would be deducted from their future wages.

He returned to his room, and as soon as he unrolled the newspaper, he was drawn to the headline on the front page.

He read slowly, his expression turning serious. The title gave him a sense of a peculiar emotion at play; it was titled "《Who Is Harming Us》?"

The timing of this article is very clever. It comes at a time when the public is just beginning to understand the world and when foreign cultures are flowing into Nagaril. This is a period of intense clashes between old and new cultures and between internal and external ideologies.

People have long been oppressed by power and have not yet developed a sense of national pride around the country. Populism has not only failed to rise, but is still in the nascent stage of development.

This is also when people are most receptive to foreign viewpoints; they are relatively neutral and easily persuaded.

The report essentially asks the question: why is Nagaril developing so rapidly now, when before the Federal people came in, Nagaril probably hadn't seen such dramatic changes or such rapid development for decades or even a couple of centuries?

This is a very normal phenomenon; it's a question that people raise when society is in a state of confusion and self-reflection.

If it's just asking a question without giving an answer, then it's relatively mild, but it does give an answer.

This report details why Nagaril society did not develop for decades or even centuries: the ruling class.

The ruling class does not need the country, society, or nation to develop, because the development of society and the nation would bring uncontrollable risks to the ruling class.

If people begin to awaken to self-awareness, and to a sense of nationalism and the collective consciousness of the nation as a whole, it will be a disaster for the Ruling Class.

Their rule will be challenged. They would rather let the country and society stagnate for decades or even centuries, falling far behind the rest of the world, than fail to consolidate their power.

The core of almost the entire article is to constantly raise and reflect on these issues while pointing the finger at the ruling class and at the most fundamental contradiction—power.

The young man holding the newspaper grew increasingly serious, even grim.

In fact, he and many others had similar thoughts: why was Nagaril so backward? What was hindering its development? They once had a glorious civilization, so why did they completely degenerate into Small Country that was not even as good as a third-rate power after entering the new era?

Now, these questions may have been answered to some extent, all because of the greed and selfishness of the rulers!

The young man was exceptionally angry, and there were many more angry people like him throughout Nagaril, whose anger needed to be vented.

Just as this Tidal Wave was beginning, a series of new contents emerged, completely igniting the crowd.

That was the news the next day; the headline on the front page was "《Who Is Doing What》?"

The newspaper was divided in two. One side featured ordinary Nagaril People facing difficult living conditions, disease, and poverty. In short, they were just like any other ordinary Nagaril person, facing similar problems that people had all encountered.

On the other side of the page, however, is the life of the members, led by the Nagaril royal family.

They lived in luxurious palaces, ate exquisite food, and had dozens of people serving the royal family every day. They lived such a happy life every day.

If that were all, it would be one thing, but the newspaper also contained a large number of photos of royal family members enjoying themselves abroad. Looking at those pictures, people's anger was pushed to the limit!

The stories of horrific suffering from the lowest rungs of society stand in stark contrast to the photographs that radiate an unbridled lust for power and the sweet allure of wealth.

People have never hated their royal family as much as they do now, which is of course related to Nagaril's ruling structure.

Provinces and Provincial Governor were the highest administrative Chief in each region, and they were not subject to the Central Government. Each of them was like a local emperor, which led to a level of respect for the royal family that was far less than outsiders imagined.

The indifference of local governments accelerated the outbreak of these problems, and large numbers of people waved newspapers and spread everything they knew to the whole society.

Some people began to talk about their own experiences, the despair they had endured—all of which became necessary factors in the formation of the storm! "King Majesty, there are many protesters outside the palace; they are very agitated. Should we disperse them?"

The Old King stood on high ground, looking down at the angry crowd that had gathered outside the palace gates. He could even faintly hear their angry roars, as if they were questioning him about something.

Listening to the servant's report, he sighed heavily and shook his head. "No need. It's not a good time to provoke them, and I believe they won't do anything rash."

"Even if we haven't handled things perfectly, we are still the symbol and representative of this country. Knowledge and freedom haven't clouded their judgment to the point where they'd storm the palace to show off!"

"Let them vent for a while, and we'll issue a statement later."

"Just like every time we've encountered a problem before, people will eventually trust us!"