Protest Rally

The passage of time is independent of anyone's will.

The sunlight emanating from the top-floor holographic canopy diminished, indicating that it was already afternoon.

Lu Bai got up from the newly bought sofa and clapped his hands at the siblings.

"It's time to go."

"Wait a moment..."

A slightly Lu Ziyi voice came from the bedroom. "Wait a few more minutes."

Hearing this, Lu Qingyan held her phone, pursed her lips, and sighed in a worldly manner, "See? Women are just troublesome."

He didn't lower his voice intentionally, and naturally received a warning filled with shame and anger.

"Lu Qingyan, shut up!"

Lu Bai didn't get involved in the siblings' bickering and waited quietly.

About ten minutes later, Lu Ziyi opened the bedroom door and came out.

She wasn't exactly stunning, given her family's previous circumstances and the fact that Lu Ziyi had never studied makeup or anything like that.

She simply changed into a crisp white T-shirt and jeans; the cotton top was soft enough to fully showcase the youthful energy appropriate for her age.

Lu Bai nodded. "That's good, let's go."

Pu Xueli's home was naturally not in a place like Livability City, but in the central area of the refuge.

After all, there are only a handful of principals in the entire Vault, and their administrative rank and social status are incomparable to those of ordinary people.

Based on what Lu Bai learned, the land occupied by Pu Xueli is more than enough to build another Livability Building that could easily house over a thousand people.

"Brother, can we live in a house like this too?"

Upon entering the central area of the shelter, one sees luxuriously decorated detached villas on both sides, some even featuring their own private green spaces.

Even a child like Lu Qingyan, who didn't have much of a sense of hierarchy, clearly felt the difference in status, and his emotions weren't as lively as they were in the Livability City.

"Then you should try your best."

As Lu Bai walked, he casually replied.

Lu Qingyan's eyes lit up. "Can I live in a house like this just by working hard to earn money?"

"No, as long as you work hard enough, you'll be too tired to think about these things."

"..."

The harsh reality caused Lu Qingyan to visibly become depressed.

Seeing this, Lu Bai felt that speaking so bluntly was indeed a bit too cruel for a child.

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Actually, you don't need to think so much. You should know that it's often the unassuming shops on the street that make the truly delicious food, while those grand, brightly lit restaurants..."

Lu Qingyan thought Lu Bai was going to give a lecture, and with a disinterested look on her face, she said, "Those expensive and awful things are just a waste of money, right?"

Lu Bai paused before completing his sentence: "... I've never eaten it."

Lu Qingyan: "..."

The little kid fell silent again; he always felt that his older brother was making fun of him.

"Why are there so many people? What are they doing?"

Lu Ziyi looked at the Clock Tower Square in front of the Administrative Building with a puzzled expression.

Although she rarely came to the central area of the shelter, she knew that there shouldn't be many ordinary people visiting the Administrative Building area.

However, now...

The Clock Tower Square, paved with tiles, was packed with people.

People gathered in small groups, chatting amongst themselves, while a significant number sat cross-legged on the ground, facing the Administrative Building not far away.

Among the crowd were quite a few people wearing cheap red vests, walking through the crowd with excited expressions on their faces, bordering on fanaticism.

Lu Bai's attention was also drawn to the massive crowd, but the [load save] function had no effect, meaning that among these people, there were no Formal Deathmatch Participant with the ability, but it was clearly an organized and premeditated action.

He listened carefully for a while and could vaguely hear words like "change the world" and "live like a human being" from the crowd.

Lu Bai stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Can Society to produce something like this?

Having lived in this world for so long, he was well aware that the current social system had many problems, and it was completely understandable that some people were dissatisfied.

The problem is that these makeshift teams are basically competing to be the worst.

Can Society's not even as good as a city-wide shelter.

At least the council members aren't thinking about how to sell humans for a good price.

In fact, it's impossible for the authorities not to have noticed the large number of people gathering around the Administrative Building.

If you look closely, you'll also see many reporters carrying cameras in the crowd, asking people about the reasons and demands of this large-scale rally.

The hundreds of people sitting in protest directly opposite the Administrative Building were noticeably more fervent.

They didn't even make a move to communicate; they just sat quietly in the square, expressing their dissatisfaction with the ruling group through their actions.

Just as Lu Bai was observing the crowd, Pu Xueli, who was supposed to be waiting at home, was also drawn to the scene unfolding here.

After accidentally spotting Lu Bai and his two companions by the roadside, Principal Pu went up to them and greeted them.

Lu Bai understood the proper etiquette in normal interpersonal interactions, and formally introduced Pu Xueli's younger siblings, whom he had met before, to the principal.

Pu Xueli didn't put on any airs; he was very friendly and even asked Lu Qingyan if she had any plans to become a deathmatch fighter.

After exchanging polite pleasantries, he suddenly turned to Lu Bai and asked, "What do you think of this kind of gathering?"

Lu Bai raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem too surprised?"

"Yes, I've seen it all."

Pu Xueli shrugged and explained, "Those rats in the gutter Can Society do this kind of thing. Although it doesn't happen once a month, these protest rallies happen several times a year."

They enjoy inciting the public, even encouraging them to storm city halls; otherwise, why do you think the authorities would crack down so severely on Can Society?

"It's quite rare to see a protest rally of this size."

With his ability to "load saves," Lu Bai could accurately determine that there were no high-ranking members of the Can Society among these people, but only he could be certain of this.

So he asked with some confusion, "Then why don't the authorities take action to arrest these people? Why are they just being allowed to disrupt order here?"

Pu Xueli smiled and said, "There's no need. It's impossible to completely eliminate unstable factors in society. Rather than letting these people who are dissatisfied with society hide, it's better to expose them to the light of day, which makes them easier to monitor."

Finally, Principal Pu added, "Anyway, these rallies, marches, and other protests have all been reported and registered."

After giving Lu Bai a general explanation, Pu Xueli turned to his younger siblings and smiled.

"Alright, these people will disperse on their own if we stay any longer. There's nothing to see. Let's go home and have dinner."