Chapter 1717: Wendy Johnson Buys Melons: A Crowd-Pleasing Delight

At the Savile Town Central Square, Niya, with Xia Duo's Projection, had already begun distributing Holy Water to the territory's people.

Meanwhile, at the Code Plaza on the side of the Tower of Time, Xia Duo did not leave with Niya's Projection after the ceremony ended; instead, he retreated to the area on the west side of the sculpture where Jibu and other territorial officials were located.

"Don't worry too much about that side for now. Let's wait until we finish watching this new play; I already had them move the performance order up."

Xia Duo sent a Sending to Niya, drawing her main attention away from her real body in the north.

At the same time, on the open ground at the foot of the Code Sculpture, a peddler dressed in Langas ethnic attire trotted over, carrying a large bag of melons.

Then, the peddler skillfully pulled the bag open, turning it into a mat, and one by one, the succulent melons lay upon it. "Melons for sale! Freshly picked melons, so sweet and so fresh!"

"What is this new play about?" Niya asked curiously.

But the next moment, she fell silent, her face filled with surprise. Xia Duo was not surprised by this at all, because he had also perceived a piece of Code information related to the current new play—

"Citizens of Daxia must abide by relevant laws and regulations when engaging in commercial activities, conduct them in designated commercial areas, and pay taxes according to the law."

"Individually operated stalls and shops must be registered at the Government Hall. Unregistered stalls and shops, once verified, will be punished by the Security Office in accordance with the Market Management Regulations."

In fact, the information Xia Duo could perceive went far beyond this. If he were willing to completely open his consciousness to the Lord of Radiance, he could perceive all information related to the legal regulations involved in the scenes of the new play on the square.

This included, but was not limited to, how to register commercial activities, how to pay taxes, how to file records with the Security Office, and so on.

This was the Divine Miracle effect of the Code Sculpture's Universal Knowledge. As long as the person concerned was near the sculpture and held no resistance toward the Lord of Radiance, they could simulate legal events at will and obtain answers.

The basis was, without a doubt, the Code itself.

The new style of drama was just one way of utilizing it, because the current territorial people (compared to the well-informed modern citizens on Earth) were mostly very simple and would not actively look for legal loopholes.

They might not even have such thoughts.

But among those above the Commoners, such as the Bards in the Department of Culture and Education, because they possessed a certain amount of power yet were still below the true privileged class—the Mages—they would consider looking for legal loopholes.

It was precisely because these people had been to many places and seen many things that they had the experience to create so-called legal education dramas according to Xia Duo's needs.

In fact, in Xia Duo's view, this "Wendy Johnson Buys Melons" was still a bit too shallow and straightforward. Of course, in the current environment of the territory, being shallow and straightforward was just right.

Only when the population increased and social strata became more complex in the future would more complicated legal events appear, and it would be only natural for dramas to innovate at that time.

"Someone is coming to buy melons!"

This voice actually came from behind Xia Duo. He turned his head and saw a sturdy young man dressed in the orange uniform of a security officer parting the crowd and walking toward the open space in the middle.

While walking, he waved and greeted the surrounding crowd from time to time, looking exactly like a big star making an entrance. He only restrained himself a little when passing by Xia Duo and Niya.

But once he walked further away, he was back to his grinning, cheeky self. For a moment, Xia Duo was a bit suspicious whether this guy was always like this or if his acting skills were truly superb.

"Brother, how much is your melon per jin!"

Almost at the same time the security officer spoke, everyone in the area where Xia Duo was located perceived a piece of information—

"According to the Territorial Security Officer Regulations, during working hours, the public should be addressed using formal titles, such as 'Sir', 'Madam', or 'Citizen'."

Good heavens, he started violating the rules the moment he opened his mouth.

"Is his true identity a security officer?" Niya asked curiously.

"Not sure. Maybe, maybe not. Drama has elements of Reality and elements of performance. Let's keep watching!"

"Mm."

The subsequent performance was almost exactly the same as the script Xia Duo had seen before. Generally, it involved the security officer forcing a sale, the small merchant arguing on the basis of reason, and then the security officer resorting to violence, nearly causing a death.

As for the ending, as a model play, it naturally had to be full of Positive Energy.

In the end, the Security Office received a report from the masses, arrested the offending security officer, and conducted a public trial, sentencing, and most importantly, the execution of the penalty on the Code Plaza in front of the gathered people.

After the performance ended, bursts of cheers erupted on the plaza.

Although only those in the front rows could perceive the real-time legal explanation, even if those in the back did not fully understand certain specific legal details, the process and result of the event itself were not hard to grasp.

The bad guy broke the law, and the bad guy was punished, even though the bad guy's identity was a security officer—in the past, such an identity would almost never have been officially punished for an incident involving a commoner.

Therefore, this was Daxia Territory, and this was the new life!

After watching "Wendy Johnson Buys Melons," Niya's interest was piqued. She completely handed over the Holy Water distribution task at the Central Square to the Priests and focused her attention entirely on the new plays at the Code Plaza.

"Are the other new plays all like this?"

"Not necessarily, it depends on the actors!"

Xia Duo had seen quite a few new-style dramas in the territory before. To be honest, a performance as brilliant as today's was rare.

Whether it was the one playing the law-breaking security officer or the one playing the judge later, both were completely worthy of the word "professional."

Xia Duo guessed that perhaps because it was the first legal drama, the Department of Culture and Education had arranged for more professional people to perform. In fact, while watching "Wendy Johnson Buys Melons," he had also roughly looked at the new plays in the other directions of the Code Sculpture.

It couldn't be called shoddy, but at least it was hard to associate them with acting skills. Many people would either forget their lines and need others to remind them, or make various actions that broke the immersion.

They even communicated with the audience off-stage at will.

Although this fit well with the festive atmosphere of the Midsummer Festival, it didn't fit well with a serious drama.

However, Xia Duo couldn't be bothered to remind them. There was no need for him to remind them about things the masses enjoyed seeing and hearing; as long as it wasn't too vulgar, low-brow, or kitschy, he would let the people play as they pleased.

The next new play was indeed as Xia Duo had expected. Although he could tell that it had been carefully selected by the Government Hall for him and Niya, having the first one as a comparison, the gap was real.

Because Xia Duo had the "buff" of being the leader of these people, and was also well-informed before crossing over, he watched these occasionally awkward new plays with great interest.

But Niya was different. Even with the Code Sculpture forcibly imbuing these new plays with a sense of formality, these trivial, common, and low-brow things would have been considered unpresentable in the past.

Even though Niya had a new understanding of the people because of Xia Duo's influence, it was still somewhat difficult for her to accept these immediately.

During the break after the second new play ended, Niya quietly told Xia Duo:

"Just received news from Seventon that the Evereska delegation is about to arrive. Let's go back first!"

"That works."

Xia Duo looked around and agreed without hesitation. Because he was present, the people were somewhat restrained; once he left, the people could relax and have a good time.