Chapter 367: The Great Strike and the Anti-Grain Law

Wu Chang's consciousness withdrew from the bodyguards' resentment, his gaze filled with sudden understanding.

No wonder he thought these bastards had no memory—after the Superb Refiner at Pine Tree Mine exploded in failure, they still tried to make the Soul Weavers explode.

Apparently, the two groups weren't from the same unit.

The bastards supplying the Soul Weavers to Sloan Textile Factory turned out to be the Church of Stillness.

He recalled how Randy had mentioned signs of Church of Stillness activity near Grimlan during the Superb Gathering—he'd finally run into it today.

Then again, it made sense; such a grand spectacle would feel incomplete without the Church of Stillness involved.

After all, in the Moonlight Sanatorium instance, the Church of Stillness was the hidden boss—it made no sense for them to exit early.

Too bad the dead man held too low a rank to provide useful intelligence.

Aside from the fact that more than one factory collaborated with the Church of Stillness, and that the instance's Church of Stillness was currently overseen by the Initiate, no further actionable leads emerged.

Raven briefly studied the Soul Spindle, then concluded that each craft had its own specialist—he was not skilled in machinery.

He returned the Soul Spindle to Wu Chang, took out his handheld dust sprayer, and sprayed a thin layer of fluorescent powder.

The fluorescent powder drifted through the air, some entering the Soul Weaver, some settling onto the floor.

He watched the direction of the powder's drift and said:

"Sloan is cautious—he's already escaped through a secret passage, leaving these two as decoys."

"But it doesn't matter; with his build, he won't get far. A wanted notice issued jointly with the Secret Police will catch him soon."

Wu Chang tilted his head up, nodding toward the pale red steam spewing from the Soul Weaver, and said:

"We don't need to issue a wanted notice for Sloan—he's right there."

Raven sniffed, his face darkening. "Quick and decisive execution—now the trail's gone again."

Wu Chang said: "This case doesn't need immediate investigation. The force behind these Superb Steam Engines isn't the Steam Council—it's the Church of Stillness."

Raven fell silent for a moment, then asked: "Again, you sensed it through intuition."

Wu Chang nodded. "Correct."

Raven clicked his tongue—he was already getting used to Wu Chang's absurd intuitions.

After retrieving the Soul Spindle, the Soul Weaver continued running by inertia for five or six minutes before finally stopping.

Wu Chang and Raven knew it had stopped not by the machine's status, but by the screams of the textile workers outside.

Outside the Soul Spinning chamber, the workers exhibited withdrawal symptoms—weeping uncontrollably, collapsing and wailing on the ground.

Some who had overdrawn their life force and soul energy collapsed outright, convulsing into unconsciousness.

The entire workshop was filled with pleading cries:

"Please, just let me work a little longer."

"I can't live without this job."

A group of textile workers, too weak to stand, crawled on hands and knees toward the Soul Weaver deep in the workshop—the scene looked deeply unnatural.

Fortunately, their strength and energy had been nearly drained by labor; they didn't move far before passing out, thus failing to notice the Soul Weaver's existence.

Wu Chang and Raven waited about an hour inside the Sloan Textile Factory, watching as Zhu Li arrived with a large contingent of Secret Police, surrounding the entire area.

Under their guidance, Zhu Li saw the textile workers sprawled everywhere and the Soul Weaver deep in the workshop.

After hearing Wu Chang and Raven's account, Zhu Li's expression turned grim.

It was the look of someone unwilling to face what lay before her, yet powerless to change it.

Wu Chang remembered the question Zhu Li had asked him outside the Gray Church slums, and couldn't help asking:

"What do you think of all this? Is this what you wanted?"

Zhu Li shook her head. "Of course not."

"Earlier, you asked us whether our methods in the slums were the right solution. Have you found your own solution yet?" Wu Chang continued.

Zhu Li's eyes were filled with confusion; she sighed and said:

"I don't know. And it seems I'm moving farther from the answer."

Wu Chang said: "As a friend, let me give you some advice."

"Time waits for no one. Don't let fear of failure stop you from making your own choice—wait until others make it for you, and the situation becomes irreversible, then regret won't help."

Zhu Li looked helplessly at Wu Chang. "As a friend, shouldn't you be offering comfort right now?"

Wu Chang shrugged.

"Even among friends, roles differ. If you want comfort, I'll find someone for you."

"Deputy Leader! Where are you, Deputy Leader!"

Wu Chang watched Raven bolt out of the premium fabric workshop like a man fleeing a fire, his lips curling in disdain as he formed the word: "Coward."

"Well, looks like you won't get comfort for now."

Wu Chang gazed at the Soul Weaver and said:

"According to our investigation, the mastermind behind this Superb Steam Engine case is the Church of Stillness—the greatest enemy of the Mystic Knights Order. I assume you understand this well."

"I hope Sloan doesn't have a group of powerful shareholders behind him, forcing us to suppress this case temporarily."

Zhu Li said: "You won't need to suppress it anymore. What happened at Saint George Square enraged Her Majesty. She has already reached an agreement with Acting Prime Minister Glade—no further compromises will be made with those abusing Superb Steam Engines."

"And since this involves the Church of Stillness, you have near-unlimited authority to pursue accountability. Whatever you wish to do, Her Majesty will not stop you."

Wu Chang asked: "Including publishing this on the Lantern News?"

Zhu Li felt a headache coming on. Mainstream newspapers would handle reporting with extreme caution, avoiding major unrest.

But the Lantern News was different—its editor and management were notoriously radical. Once published, the fallout would likely be uncontrollable.

After a moment of silence, she answered: "Her Majesty didn't explicitly refuse—that means she permits it. You're the leader of the Mystic Knights Order. Do as you see fit."

Wu Chang bowed to Zhu Li in a knight's salute. "Thank you. Then we'll take our leave."

Another foggy day—just like the previous days—the thick fog signaled further erosion of the instance realm by the Root Force.

Just looking at the thick fog outside the house, players felt a sense of dread—something major was about to happen.

Unless absolutely necessary, no player wanted to step outside tonight.

Unfortunately, the Multitasker had to go out to deliver the news of Sloan's death to his employer.

He couldn't help but sigh; since entering the instance, he'd had nothing but bad luck.

As a player ranked in the top hundred on the combat leaderboard, he was once a notable figure in the Wasteland Realm—he shouldn't have ended up this miserable.

But sometimes, when fate turns against you, even drinking cold water gives you a toothache.

He was a versatile player; his hidden class transformation, Multitasker, allowed him to alter and mutate his skill set based on circumstances, forming entirely new abilities.

This gave him exceptional survivability—he was never completely helpless, no matter the crisis.

But the Multitasker's versatility also meant he excelled in no single field.

For instance, when facing players weaker than him, he could often fight multiple opponents at once, effortlessly mowing them down.

Yet when facing opponents of equal or even superior strength, he was crushed—this put him at a disadvantage during the scramble for the Supernatural Gathering invitation cards.

To leverage his strength against weaker players, he had been holding back his power, waiting for the final battle over the invitations, hoping to sneak in and snatch the last one or two.

Unfortunately, he was paired with the Phantom.

Before he could act, the Phantom punched him out, robbing him of his final chance.

As he left Saint George Square, he encountered a nearby Member of Parliament who asked if he'd be interested in serving as their security advisor.

Seeing the prompt—"Chairman of the Industrialists' Association has recruited you"—he thought fortune had finally turned, and good luck had arrived at last.

After all, any sensible person could see that the core of the Steam Phantom realm was industry; joining the Industrialists' Association would surely launch him to new heights, wouldn't it?

But after actually joining and completing two or three tasks, he discovered the so-called Industrialists' Association was backed by the Quiet Church.

He was already on the boat—he couldn't easily get off now.

Moreover, since he wasn't from one of the Four Organizations, he didn't strongly oppose the Quiet Church; the Initiate Master had personally appeared and promised him many rewards, so he decided to fully join the Quiet Church.

His first mission was to monitor Sloan and ensure the operation of the Soul Weaving Loom.

Any problem at the Sloan Textile Factory had to be reported immediately to the Initiate Master.

But when he briefly distracted himself to study how to counter the Steam Phantom's mutated skills, he snapped back to find the Sloan Textile Factory surrounded by Secret Police, Sloan himself incinerated on the spot, and the Soul Weaving Loom seized.

The Multitasker, upon realizing all this, felt the sky had collapsed.

He tried using his skills to transmit information to the Initiate Master, but discovered his abilities instantly lost connection upon entering the fog; with no other option, he had to go find the Initiate Master himself.

If he went now, he could still claim the Initiate Master moved too fast for him to react.

But if he waited until tomorrow morning when the fog thinned, the Initiate Master might suspect he had betrayed them and summoned the Secret Police—then he'd have no way to explain himself.

Other players entering the fog feared danger, but he was different—the thicker the fog, the better he could test his mutated abilities.

His flesh hardened into angular, metallic forms, his skin gleaming with a metallic luster as he transformed into a humanoid robot.

This was the skill he had mutated from his Multitasker class transformation: "Life Reconfiguration · Mechanical Life."

A recess in his chest could hold mechanical artifacts; the Initiate Master had promised him that if he embedded a Supernatural Steam Core, he could gain power comparable to top-ranked players within the Steam Phantom instance.

This was why he was so eager to complete his skill mutation.

As a Mechanical Life, he was unaffected by the fog—instead, he felt refreshed and invigorated.

Walking through the mist, he faintly heard the distant roar of a motorcycle.

He remembered that sound—during the final battle for the invitation cards, a mediocre player had summoned a motorcycle whose aesthetics outweighed its power.

The one passing nearby must have been that guy; it seemed even the fog's root power in this instance couldn't affect him.

But his skill was too flashy, easily drawing danger—acting now made him a likely target for something lurking.

At that moment, the distant motorcycle's roar suddenly cut off—as if it had malfunctioned.

The Multitasker shook his head, thinking: See? Trouble had arrived.

He hesitated a moment, then chose not to help—he remembered the man was from Bai Ta, and he himself was now a member of the Quiet Church.

Not laying hands on him was already enough; helping him would be like turning himself in.

Using the perception of his Mechanical Life, he faintly sensed a third person emerging from the fog—someone who had been tailing the motorcyclist.

Good luck to you, unlucky bastard.

Just as the Multitasker prepared to leave, he felt the third person stop—and then move swiftly toward him.

He barely had time to flee when a serrated greatsword flew from the fog and slashed into his shoulder.

He stared at the black-robed figure charging out of the mist, his face filled with confusion and fury—why him?

The black-robed figure seemed to sense his resentment and spoke in a halting voice: "Found a better prey."

Dozens of meters away, Booker frantically tried to restart his motorcycle.

He had been tracking clues from last night's suicide bomber all the way to the southern bank of the Hill River, never expecting this.

He needed to return to the Secret Anquan Force as quickly as possible—he didn't want to stay outside a single moment longer than necessary.

The motorcycle suddenly stalled, filling him with dread—this wasn't an ordinary motorcycle; it was his skill. If his skill malfunctioned, did that mean he'd been targeted?

He poured energy into the motorcycle, trying to restart it.

Once, twice, three times—the motorcycle roared back to life!

He twisted the throttle to the max and shot forward at top speed.

It seemed whoever was after him hadn't caught up—luckily.

The world is balanced: there are the lucky, and there are the unlucky.

Minutes later, the black-robed figure stuffed the Multitasker's body into his loose black robe and vanished into the thick fog.

An hour later, the Initiate Master issued orders to several players:

"The pawn at the Sloan Weaving Factory is dead, and the Multitasker hasn't sent any report—he's likely also compromised. A pity; I actually admired him."

"Move immediately. Before the fog lifts, eliminate every target connected to the Soul Weaving Loom—leave no survivors."

That very night, more than ten owners of large textile factories died in their toilets, reportedly from acute malaria, their deaths utterly miserable.

The next morning, Wu Chang Zhenwo took the materials Levington had compiled overnight and entered the Bright Lantern newspaper office.

Connor had apparently learned through certain channels in advance that the secret police had sealed off Sloan Textile Factory, guessed it was Wu Chang's doing, and had been waiting in his office early on.

Wu Chang laid the intelligence on Connor's desk, returned to his seat, and quietly waited for Connor to look through it.

Connor's gaze was first delighted, then turned to shock, and finally his face grew utterly grim, leaving only anger.

He set the intelligence gently on the windowsill beside him, then slammed his fist down hard, smashing half of the already flimsy desk to pieces.

"These bloodsucking bastards — how dare they!"

Wu Chang offered no comment on this, simply waiting for Connor to calm down.

A few minutes later, Connor emerged from his rage, retrieved the intelligence from the windowsill, read through it twice more, then said:

"This content — can I really publish it?"

To earn Connor's trust, Wu Chang had dared to put everything into writing, including the existence of the Soul Loom, and how it could force workers to labor without sleep or rest until they worked themselves to death.

Even Connor, faced with such explosive news, instinctively felt fear.

Wu Chang shrugged and said: "I only deliver the intelligence you asked for. How to publish it, how far to go — that's your expertise."

"But there's one thing you should know: the deal between us is purely transactional. You provide leads, we give you the truth in return. Nothing else is included."

"If trouble comes from pushing the limits and the secret police surround the Bright Lantern newspaper, we won't admit to any connection with you."

Connor looked at the intelligence in his hands, then said after a moment: "Understood. We'll weigh the wording of the article carefully."

"Your efficiency is impressive, and the intelligence you've given us far exceeds our expectations. If possible, we'd like to establish a long-term partnership with you."

Wu Chang rose, smiling, and said: "That is exactly what we were hoping for."

One day later, a report on the abnormal deaths of textile workers in the textile district on the south bank of the Hills River appeared in the Bright Lantern newspaper.

To avoid attracting the secret police, Connor and the others had trimmed the intelligence — it made no mention of the Soul Loom, substituting instead a certain special drug.

It claimed that Sloan Textile Factory and several other textile factories had all used this drug to extend workers' hours, disregarding their lives and gravely overdrawing their health.

This caused workers to drop dead frequently, and made them more susceptible to malaria, dying unnatural deaths.

Though the truth presented in the news had been pulled back considerably from the facts, it still triggered worker protests in multiple cities across Stellan.

As the site where the incident occurred, Grimland's worker protests were especially fierce.

Compared to the Pine Coal Mine explosion, the Sloan Textile Factory incident lacked the shock of hundreds dying in an instant, yet the conditions it exposed were far more depraved.

It revealed factory owners employing improper means, deliberately overdrawing workers' lives to extract extra profit for themselves.

The Bright Lantern's editor-in-chief Henry even wrote directly in the subheadline: "This is no longer exploitation and oppression — this is naked murder!"

That afternoon, the day the article was published, Grimland's workers organized a general strike.

Slogans like "Care about workers' working conditions" and "Workers' lives are lives too" appeared at protest after protest.

Faced with the overwhelming public outcry, Acting Prime Minister Grad looked utterly harried.

He did not possess Prime Minister Ron's iron fist. At first he tried to suppress the protests by force, but when he found that this time force not only failed to work but actually intensified the conflict and worsened the strike, he dared not continue.

With forceful suppression a failure, he could only play another card to divert the workers' attention and temporarily calm the storm.

The card he played was called the "Corn Laws Repeal Accord."

(End of chapter)