Survival Is the Top Priority

As the last rays of the setting sun completely disappeared below the city's horizon, the corresponding Red Moon had just risen, signifying that another day was about to become the past.

Altair had already finished dinner and was leisurely soaking in a hot bath. When the washroom door opened, Vivian, tired from a busy day, calmly entered Altair's bathtub as if they had arranged it beforehand.

Seeing Vivian in a visibly bad mood, Altair asked with concern, "You seem down today. Did something bother you?"

Vivian, frowning, nodded slightly and let out a soft "Mm," sighing helplessly, "The Witch Cult has assigned new tasks, and they're also urging me to train new recruits."

"Sigh, I'm really asking for trouble."

Altair asked curiously, "Don't they consider bringing people over from Intis for the tasks? And if it's tiring you out, it must be large-scale training of new recruits. Aren't you afraid of them betraying you?"

Vivian rolled her eyes at Altair's sarcastic remark and slowly explained, "I know that, and they know it too. But the Witch Cult isn't united; there are different factions. My faction has a significant portion who don't want to come, plus those who can't. If it weren't for the Extraordinary Traits needed for future advancement, I wouldn't want to be involved in this."

"Also, you don't think these new recruits are like you, with no control measures left on them, do you? You were lucky to meet me, and I didn't take any measures against you. If you had met someone else, you'd be in big trouble."

"Don't you forget what Sequence Seven is called."

Altair moved closer to Vivian and said solicitously, "It's my good fortune to have met our kind Vivian, otherwise, I might have been eaten down to the bone by now."

"Mm," Vivian patted Altair and said, "It's good that you know." "Mm." "Do you know what's been happening in the Industrial Zone lately?"

This question was a bit beyond Altair, who rarely left his home. He asked in confusion, "What's wrong there?"

Vivian leaned sideways and backward, pressing close to Altair's ear, and whispered, "Things have gotten crazy there lately. It seems your Instigator Potion will be digested soon."

"Why did you stop? Keep massaging me; I was just starting to feel it."

"Mm."

"This is so comfortable."

"Is it related to me?" Altair asked, confused.

Vivian, still immersed in the comfort of the massage, didn't reply immediately. She continued to enjoy it, saying pleasurably, "Mm, of course."

"Although you've united many people for industrial reform this time, some haven't participated. For their own benefit, they've started spreading rumors that 'reform will lead to factory closures and worker unemployment.' The incited workers have already begun smashing factory machinery and are planning to storm government institutions in a couple of days."

Altair stopped his movements and asked in shock, "Our factories?"

Vivian, annoyed, applied more force, saying, "No, your factories have compensation, so most workers aren't involved. Only a very small portion, incited by greed, have participated."

"The vast majority are from factories owned by nobles without real power, famous entrepreneurs, or Mafia members. Their workers have joined in."

After hearing the explanation, Altair became even more confused. "What does this have to do with them? We're reforming and expanding our factories; why are they making a fuss?"

Vivian found Altair's expression amusing and chuckled, "You don't actually think most people are rational, do you? Don't be too surprised; this kind of thing is normal. The commoners lack the channels and ability to discern information and are easily incited and manipulated."

"Survival is their top priority. Those who are incited will try to stop you for their survival, while the rational ones will stand against you for minor gains."

"They aren't supporting the factory owners; they just don't dare to gamble with their own and their families' survival."

Vivian looked at Altair, whose expression was shifting, and continued, "Don't worry, your plan is still proceeding as scheduled. They are not capable of stopping you."

Vivian paused, looked up, touched her lips with a finger, thought for a moment, and then said with a smile, "I think in the next couple of days... Oh... No... No... No... After two days, yes, after two days. Only commoners will die in the next few days. After two days, a large number of organizers will die."

"What's wrong? Are you sad?"

"I ignited the Steam Age with my own hands, and it became a breeding ground for Evil Gods? This is not the civilization I wanted." Altair's mind began to recall Rochelle's words, unable to extricate himself.

Vivian shook Altair and asked, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Woken up, Altair smiled self-deprecatingly and asked, "I remember our involved factories were only in the steel and weapons industries. Why such a big reaction?"

Vivian patted Altair, indicating for him to continue his previous actions. Once he resumed, she slowly said, "Mm. The main reason is your fully automated production; they're envious. And don't think weapons manufacturing doesn't make much money; wars are constantly happening in various countries, and military spending remains high."

"Besides, others aren't fools. You registered so many companies at once. Although you've only revealed your weapon technology so far, it doesn't stop them from guarding against you entering other fields."

"I think these people originally just wanted to cause trouble and see if you would compromise. But they lost control of the situation, and then others took advantage of it, so they became prey."

"After all, your agreement with various parties at the time only required you to protect your own workers. Other people's workers and your own are not the same concept."

"Now they are just recovering their strength in advance. After all, tasting the 'dessert' before the main course doesn't affect anything."

Altair sighed, "Human lives are sometimes really cheap."

"Hahaha," Vivian laughed, "Sometimes I really feel you're so naive, like a child who hasn't grown up."

"Mm, you're angry." Feeling that Altair's current strength was significantly different from before, Vivian asked helplessly.

Altair retorted, "No."

"Really?" Vivian immediately countered, "Then can you explain why the water ripples are so large now, and why you're using so much force?"

Altair directly said, "Isn't this good? You look like you're enjoying it."

Vivian let out a soft "Hmph" and didn't reply. Instead, she asked, "Did Simon advance?"

"How did you know?" Altair asked back, then explained, "He advanced at noon today. Last night, I asked him to attend a party, and there happened to be a Dawn Knight Extraordinary Trait, so I bought it. We had the formula at home, so I gave it to him."

"We... Altair... Count... are truly... exceptionally talented... multitasking... can even... speak so fluently," Vivian said with difficulty.

"What, you don't like it?" Altair retorted. "I thought you quite liked it. If you don't like it, I won't give you massages anymore."

"Don't!" Vivian said anxiously, "I like it very much, okay? Hurry, hurry. Today has been depressing enough. Now that I'm finally comfortable with your massage, I don't want to lose it."

Vivian sighed softly, "Mainly, I saw him when I came back. I really don't know if the Warrior pathway cheated, or if the Sun pathway had an affair. Why would a Warrior need light-attribute abilities?"

This indeed made people want to complain that "Dawn Knight" belonged to the "Eternal Darkness River," one of the three dark pathways. Its adjacent pathways were either darkness or death. He was an anomaly, carrying some light.

Could these three pathways represent different times of the night: dusk, evening, night, dawn?

Even if "Red Priest and Witch" were included to become "Time-Space Unifier," they didn't seem to fit well, as these two pathways represented war and disaster, respectively.