Chapter 538

In the study of the core laboratory of the Purgatory Sulfur Plane, Jie Ming was immersed in an ocean of knowledge.

Dozens of memory crystals floated around him, and Jie Ming's mental power was like countless tentacles, probing into these crystals at the same time, greedily absorbing the knowledge contained within.

This has been his normal state for a year.

After the war ended, he almost locked himself in the study.

Every day, except for necessary rest and cultivation, the rest of the time was used to make up for the shortcomings in knowledge.

As for progress, there was indeed progress.

It's just that the time was too short, and there really wasn't much progress.

Just as he was concentrating on calculating a part of the formula, the Magic Net terminal on his wrist suddenly vibrated.

Jie Ming frowned slightly, split a strand of mental power into the terminal, and after seeing the message on it, was slightly stunned.

【Emergency Mission Notification】

【Issuing Unit: Nuolun Workshop Central Command】

【Mission Content: Assist in receiving the "Ears Plane" under the Chaos Secret Sect. There are 17 mission personnel in total, all of whom have gathered through the teleportation array. Please arrive at the designated coordinates before 18:00 today to complete the handover.】

【Mission Level: Low】

【Mission Reward: Basic low-level military merit, additional rewards based on reception progress】

Jie Ming looked at the time on the terminal.

17:32.

He was stunned for a long time before realizing a problem: A year?

A year has passed without knowing it?

Jie Ming put down the memory crystal in his hand and stood up to stretch his stiff neck.

This year passed too quickly, so quickly that he could hardly feel the passage of time.

With the increase in level, his concept of time was also gradually changing, and now he had a feeling of "not knowing the years in seclusion."

Jie Ming opened the Magic Net terminal and browsed the internal information channel of the workshop.

Sure enough, it wasn't just him.

Almost all the official Wizards of the entire Nuolun Workshop who were free received similar missions—going to various planes that had been allocated to assist in the reception work.

Those planes originally belonged to the Chaos Secret Sect and the Tower of Silence, and now, according to the defeat contract, they all belong to the Nuolun Workshop.

Although those two forces used a year to crazily transfer most of their resources and population, their scale was too large, and there were always many legacies.

And these legacy planes became the objects that the workshop needed to receive.

"Reception mission—" Jie Ming sighed, putting away the surrounding memory crystals, "Looks like I have to go out for a trip."

He called up the mission details and took a look at the basic information of the Ears Plane.

【Ears Plane】

【Type: Small agricultural plane】

【Area: Approximately 320 million square kilometers】

【Population: Approximately 800 million】

【Resource Assessment: Low (already mined out by the Chaos Secret Sect)】

【Reception Difficulty: Estimated to be low】

【Note: This plane has been ruled by the Chaos Secret Sect for about 300 years, and the ruling mode is a feudal theocracy. Please note that the local people may have cognitive biases.】

Jie Ming finished reading and nodded slightly.

A small plane, no resources, and the ruling time is not long—300 years is more than a dozen generations of change for mortals, but for Wizards, it is just a snap of the fingers.

In general, this mission shouldn't be too difficult.

He tidied up his personal belongings at will and stepped onto the teleportation array in the palace.

Coordinates entered, light lit up.

The next second, his figure disappeared from the Purgatory Sulfur Plane.

The weightlessness of teleportation lasted only for an instant.

When Jie Ming stood firm again, he subconsciously scanned the surroundings first to confirm the safety of the environment.

However, this scan made him freeze in place.

Around the teleportation array, it was densely knelt with people.

The number of people was exaggerated, it could be called thousands, and it was endless at a glance!

Men, women, old people, children—

They were wearing rough linen clothes, with fearful yet pious expressions on their faces.

After seeing the Wizards who teleported over, they knelt neatly on the ground, a black mass, like an inverted sea of people!

The scene was too shocking, so much so that Jie Ming didn't react for a while.

And beside him, among the dozen or so Wizards who teleported together, some even instinctively unfolded defensive wizardry.

A pale blue energy shield was suddenly supported, shrouding the area within a few meters around them.

"What's the situation?!"

"Enemy attack?!"

"Wait, not enemies, they are civilians—"

After a brief chaos, the Wizards finally saw the situation in front of them clearly.

Those kneeling people were indeed civilians.

No weapons, no energy fluctuations, no hostility, only deep fear and awe.

Jie Ming took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the surprise in his heart, and his gaze fell on the person kneeling at the very front.

That was a middle-aged man wearing relatively exquisite clothes, with a goatee trimmed neatly, and a strange pointed hat on his head, looking like some kind of local official or priest.

He knelt the furthest forward, his head buried the lowest, and his whole body was almost stuck to the ground.

Jie Ming raised his hand to signal his colleagues behind him not to be impatient, and then stepped forward, asking in as peaceful a tone as possible: "Who are you? What is going on?"

The middle-aged man heard the voice, his body trembled slightly, but he didn't dare to look up, just answering in a trembling voice: "Respected Saint—Saint Master—the small one is the Governor of the Central Province of the Ears Plane, ordered to lead representatives from all over to welcome the arrival of you Saint Masters—"

Saint?

Jie Ming pinched the bridge of his nose.

He hadn't heard this word.

However, it reminded Jie Ming of another memory.

That was the so-called "Saint Son" he met in that war a year ago.

Although there was a gap, the word was very similar.

And now, these people used this word to address him and his colleagues.

Jie Ming suddenly understood one thing.

This plane once belonged to the Chaos Secret Sect.

And the ruling mode of the Chaos Secret Sect—

He rubbed his temples and quickly called up knowledge about the governance models of various forces in the Wizard civilization.

The ruling system of the Nuolun Workshop is actually similar to the countries in Jie Ming's previous life memories.

The workshop acts as the core, and each plane cluster led by the academy is equivalent to a province, with a certain degree of autonomous governance, but must obey the unified scheduling of the workshop at critical moments.

And at the social governance level, no matter what the technological level of the people in each plane cluster is—some planes have developed interstellar civilizations, some planes are still stuck in the Middle Ages—theoretically, ordinary people and Wizards are "equal" in "race" and "personality."

Of course, because Wizards are powerful, they will indeed be higher in actual status.

But this kind of higher status is essentially because Wizards are indeed stronger than ordinary people, not because Wizards are inherently superior.

This point is the same even within the Wizards.

It is all about the strong being respected and strength speaking.

For example, the Nuolun Academy No. 13 plane where Jie Ming came from looks like an ordinary medieval world.

But in reality, there is no essential difference in the quality of life of the residents there and those planes with lower numbers and more advanced technology.

Because of the regulation of Wizards, it has always been windy and rainy there.

As long as you are willing to work, you can have sufficient living materials.

Basic education and medical care are also fully popularized.

More importantly, all the middle and high-level rulers of cities and villages are artificial humans—no selfishness, no corruption, only absolutely fair execution of rules.

Therefore, the life felt by the residents of the "medieval-looking" Nuolun Academy No. 13 plane is no different from those advanced planes governed by AI.

It can even be said that the Nuolun Academy No. 13 plane is essentially governed by AI, but the manifestation of AI there is artificial humans.

As for those Wizards called "nobles"—

They are less like rulers and more like "protectors."

Those Wizards just took the workshop's mission to watch over that area for a certain period of time.

It's just that the lifespan of Wizards is too long, and ordinary guard missions start at two hundred years.

In the short life of mortals, they naturally mistakenly think that this area has been ruled by a noble family "since ancient times."

But in fact, those Wizards stationed in the city are similar to the "college student village officials" in Jie Ming's previous life memories—rotation system, with a term of office, and they leave when the term expires.

This is the Nuolun Workshop model.

But the Chaos Secret Sect is different.

The ruling mode of the Chaos Secret Sect is a typical feudal theocracy, and it is a feudal mode where the divine right of kings is granted.

The church and "gods" represented by Wizards are the highest level.

Below are nobles, bureaucrats, and civilians, layered and hierarchical, with strict levels.

Of course, with the great power of high-tier Wizards, calling themselves "gods" is indeed no problem, after all, they can do things that gods can do in the eyes of mortals.

The two modes have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of providing population development, and it is hard to say who is better.

But in terms of specific "ways of getting along," the difference is very obvious.

Just like the "Saint Son" that Jie Ming met on the battlefield, the four maids following him had clearly been promoted to Level 5, but they still followed him in the capacity of servants.

That kind of attitude of regarding oneself as a servant from the heart would absolutely not appear in the Nuolun Workshop.

Jie Ming withdrew his thoughts, looked at this "Governor" kneeling on the ground without daring to raise his head, and finally understood completely what he was facing now.

This plane has been ruled by the Chaos Secret Sect for three hundred years.

Three hundred years is indeed not long for Wizards, but for mortals, it is enough to form a deep-rooted social structure and way of thinking.

In the cognition of these people, Wizards are "gods" or "saints."

They are high and above, untouchable existences.

They kneel and worship, not because they are timid, but because they have been taught to do so since they were young.

"Troublesome." Jie Ming sighed secretly in his heart.

It's not that this matter is difficult to handle.

For Wizards who have mastered absolute power, changing the ruling mode of a plane is just a matter of time.

But the problem is, this time might be much longer than expected.

He looked to the side.

Sure enough, among those dozen or so colleagues, many had already shown expressions of "sighing."

Someone whispered: "It's over, this kind of plane is the most troublesome—"

Another echoed: "Yeah, just reversing their concepts will take ten or twenty years—"

Jie Ming understood their mood.

After all, these people are already considered to belong to the Nuolun Workshop, even if they took the mission, the violence they can use is limited.

Under such restrictions, even if there are Wizards here to correct them at all times, it is impossible to completely reverse the ruling system of a world and make it continue stably without ten or twenty years.

What's more, various basic magic arrays need to be laid, the specific situation of this plane needs to be probed, and a new management system needs to be established—

Forty or fifty years will pass just like that.

If it is a newly conquered plane with a lot of resources to mine, then spending forty or fifty years is worth it.

But the more valuable resources in this plane are obviously all taken away by the Chaos Secret Sect before retreating.

In other words, this mission—

Although it will take a long time, the harvest is probably only the military merit given by the workshop.

"Pure hard labor—" Jie Ming thought helplessly.

Just then, his gaze swept across the dozen or so Wizards around him, and suddenly stopped on a familiar face.

That was a male Wizard who looked about the same age as him, with brown hair and a gentle face, looking helplessly at the crowd kneeling in front of him.

"David?" Jie Ming blurted out.

The Wizard turned his head when he heard the sound, and when he saw Jie Ming, a surprised expression appeared on his face: "Jie Ming? Didn't expect us two to be assigned together again."

Jie Ming stepped forward, looked him up and down, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Not because of the reunion, but because—

"You upgraded?" Jie Ming asked.

The aura emitted from David was more than ten times stronger than a year ago.

Undoubtedly, he had been promoted to a Level 5 Wizard.

David sighed bitterly when he heard this: "The pressure on the battlefield was too great, I could only be promoted to Level 5 to save my life first."

His tone was light, but Jie Ming could hear the heaviness in it.

That year of war was a life-and-death test for every participant.

Being able to survive is already a kind of luck.

Jie Ming wanted to chat a few more words, but the crowd kneeling around had already begun to show slight commotion.

Probably because they saw that the Wizards hadn't responded for a long time, and some people's fear in their hearts couldn't hold on anymore.

Jie Ming glanced at the "Governor" kneeling at the very front and sighed helplessly: "Let's deal with the matter at hand first."

David nodded, fortunately he also had experience in this area, stepped forward, and said to the governor: "You, raise your head."

The governor shook all over, carefully raised his head, but didn't dare to look directly into David's eyes, his gaze falling on his toes.

David adjusted slightly and said in a slightly more serious tone: "Let these people go back first. Tell them that you have nothing else to do today, you can go back."

The governor was stunned, a dazed expression appearing on his face: "Go, go back?"

"Yes." David said, "Go back. We will issue new orders later. Before that, everything remains the same."

The governor opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to ask something, but didn't dare to ask.

He just nodded repeatedly, then turned to the dense crowd behind him and loudly announced the order of the "Saint Master."

The kneeling people heard this and also showed dazed expressions on their faces.

But they didn't question, didn't resist, just stood up silently, and then slowly dispersed like the receding tide.

Jie Ming watched this scene, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

He could feel that these people were not afraid, but believed from the bottom of their hearts that the words of the "Saint" were the truth.

They kneel and worship, not because they are forced, but because of habit.

This deep-rooted concept, to reverse it, really takes a long time.