A troubled Babalu quickly regained his composure, hiding his vigilance in his heart, then said to the friend who came to report: “You haven’t seen him! He has never been here.”
“Don’t worry, Big Brother Babalu, I know…” The other party thought for a moment, then said, “The brothers are ambushing nearby. If something’s wrong, just smash your cup…”
“I told you to stop reading so many novels from ancient Earth! Also, isn’t it time for work? Can you finish this week’s production quota?”
This Lumina worker quickly clutched his head and fled in a panic. He didn't want to be kicked in the butt by Big Brother Babalu, nor did he want to be dragged into a half-hour lecture.
After sending off his young friend, Babalu thought for a moment, then returned to his office, took a folding knife and a pistol from the cabinet, stuffed them into his backpack, and then brandished the (mining) power hammer in his hand, feeling that he could easily smash one or two Dinosaur Birds and five or six crawling sharks to death. Only then was he satisfied and headed to Warehouse No. 3.
This place was located at the westernmost edge of the factory area, which was actually already the outermost suburb of the city. Beyond an iron wall with an electric fence, there was a vast expanse of open fields and hills.
Of course, recently the factory had a considerable number of idle laborers, so Babalu and his companions organized them to reclaim land outside the city, and they did manage to cultivate some not-so-regular farmland. Although not very professional and with low output, it was still a small subsidy for all the citizens.
Babalu walked along the wall, looked at the farmland not far away, and felt that once he finished the few urgent tasks at hand, he would lead everyone to try and divert another canal from the big river to the east to expand the fields a bit. With hundreds of thousands of people in the city, relying on this kind of primitive barter trade to sustain life was not a long-term solution after all.
However, the land near Maple City was really not fertile and was not a good place for agricultural development.
But if he led everyone to leave here; wouldn't this city, these neat factory buildings, and these machines emitting pleasant hums all be gone?
As soon as he thought of this, Babalu felt a bit annoyed.
He also thought that even in such times, there were still people stirring up trouble, and his annoyance turned into a kind of malicious fire, making him eager to destroy something.
That pale guy directly in front was quite suitable for destruction, smash him up and throw him into a machine to be squeezed, maybe he could be made into nutrient paste! Babalu gritted his teeth, looking at the figure of a Lumina person who appeared not far from him, and took a deep breath.
This was a Lumina person with a moon-white carapace, of average height for his race, even a bit slender. Compared to the strong, black-shelled Babalu, he looked more like a protagonist.
This was once one of Babalu’s best friends, but now he was one of the people he found most annoying.
Keep calm! Keep calm! Annoyance and anger solve no problems.
Babalu told himself, then said in a cold tone: “You shouldn’t have come, Kermo!”
“But I still came,” said the white Lumina person named Kermo.
“You are not welcome here! No one welcomes you,” Babalu said coldly.
“Is that so? But I walked in openly, and someone saw my face but didn’t stop me. Someone even specifically led me to avoid the patrolling security robots and came here specifically to wait for you,” Kermo let out a knowing sneer.
Lumina people rarely had such effeminate reactions, which immediately made it seem a bit affected.
The carapace on Babalu’s face twitched. He was a little disgusted.
“You see, Babalu, this is human nature! You lead them to survive! But they betray you.”
“Has your brain really been sucked dry by the sky god? I’m not their boss, much less their master, so what betrayal are you talking about? You guys who lick the sky god’s butt are always good at doing such despicable things!” Babalu couldn’t help but laugh, saying frankly, “There are hundreds of thousands of people in the factory, and now is the most difficult time. As long as they haven’t stabbed me a few times, they’re already very supportive of me!”
At this point, Babalu patted his chest: “I’m not like you cultists who lick evil gods’ hooks; I’m very upright.”
Kermo seemed a little wronged, and explained earnestly: “I am not a follower of the sky god. Babalu, I have received the highest level of civilized education and know how illusory so-called gods are! However, our people are different! They are so confused, so they need a slogan, something to rely on. That’s why the sky god has spread in recent years.”
Babalu understood the other party’s meaning, but couldn’t accept such a worldview, and immediately showed a look of disgust: “Yes! You’ve read many books, I can’t compare. But after reading so many books in the Empire, I haven’t seen much progress in you, and your soul has become increasingly withered! Now it’s completely shriveled like a bald old Dinosaur Bird!”
Kermo sighed, and squeezed a helpless expression onto his snow-white carapace face: “Why be like this. What happened at A Factory has nothing to do with me…”
If it were confirmed to be related to you, you would have been beaten to death long ago! If killing you could restore A Factory and make the machines run again, I would have killed you twenty times already! Would I still be talking to you about these things?
Seeing that the other party still had a resigned, mocking expression, Babalu’s attitude finally softened a bit, and he said indifferently: “Speak, what exactly is the matter?”
Kermo pondered for a moment, then said in a gentle, even seductive tone: “Babalu, it will be over soon! The shackles that the old guys imposed on our race are about to end. And then, just bear with it a little longer, Earth’s rule here is also about to end.”
Babalu did not answer, but silently reached into his backpack and pulled out his pistol.
“The sky god… is about to revive, but it is also about to show all of us Lumina people its illusion! Then, new arrivals and leaders are about to arrive! I only hope that during this time, you must stabilize everyone in the city, remain calm, and not get involved in anything! Once everything settles, come with me. Babalu, let’s welcome our new era!” Kermo continued, speaking with the long and short tones of Imperial court pronunciation.
This tone, if spoken by a graceful Imperial noblewoman, would certainly be elegant and serene; if spoken by a suave noble uncle, it could at least be considered a refined scoundrel. However, when spoken by a Lumina person, it truly sounded awkward no matter how you listened.
“Now I know, you studied in the Empire for two years, and all you learned was how not to speak like a human!” Babalu felt his ears were being spiritually polluted, and without hesitation, he raised his gun and unleashed a barrage of bullets at the other party.
His pistol was a Red Star Model 199, specially designed for “large-sized” humanoid races like him, with astonishing power, capable of one-shotting even a five or six-meter-tall Lumina Dinosaur Bird King.
However, these bullets, with their swirling spiral shockwaves, all hit the other party as if passing through an illusion, and finally all of them smashed against the wall behind.
Babalu still didn’t feel surprised, he contemptuously spat, yet it was mixed with seven or eight parts of disdain.
Your spirit, as expected, has degenerated to the point of being comparable to a mud crab on the Eastern Great Plains.
The gunshots finally attracted everyone’s attention, and in just a minute or two, a dozen human and Lumina workers had already rushed over with various homemade weapons.
“Big Brother! We’re here to help you!”
“Boss, are you alright?”
“Brother Babalu, don’t panic, I’m here!”
They shouted chaotically for a long time, only then realizing that Babalu was the only one Present.
“Brother, brother? Where’s that Kermo guy?”
“He clearly came…”
“Yeah! I was thinking if he dared to do bad things again, I’d smash his bones with a hammer…”
“Smashing your bones is more like it!” Babalu slapped the forehead of the closest Earth worker without a word: “I told you to go back to work? If you don’t finish this week’s production quota, I’ll deduct your rations first!”
Babalu was punching and kicking to drive everyone back.
His prestige among the young people in this factory had long been maxed out. The others dared not say anything, laughing and begging for mercy while running away.
But at this moment, someone else came running towards them, and upon closer inspection, it was Buska.
“Why are you also coming to join the fun?” Babalu felt he was having too much trouble.
Most of his worker subordinates were simple-minded, but Buska, who was skilled, capable, steady, and meticulous, had always been his most important assistant. Now that even he had come, it either meant that he too had degenerated, or that something else had happened at the factory.
Neither was good news.
Of course, looking at Buska’s sweating appearance, the latter possibility was naturally greater.
“What happened again?” Babalu asked, then realized he had actually said “again.”
“The officer… phew, the officer, is here again!” Buska panted.
“The officer? The representative from the General Headquarters hasn’t left yet?”
“No, no, a tougher one has arrived!” Buska finally caught his breath: “It’s your special envoy from Earth!”
Babalu nodded, but was a little confused. It sounded like a big shot had arrived, but what did that have to do with him?
“As soon as he got off the ship, he went straight into A Factory!”
Babalu’s expression immediately sank.
That place was once the core of this vast factory area, and even the entire city. Now, although it had ceased operation, it remained the only hope for Red Maple Factory to return to its original state. At least, Babalu and his companions firmly believed this.
No one can destroy this hope!
“Follow me!” Babalu glanced at the dozen strong worker brothers beside him and shouted loudly.
There should be more updates for 1800, 1900, and 2000… but no rush, let’s take it slow. I’m a slow typist, that’s just my speed.
