Chapter 70: Already, There Is No Going Back

"Hmm..."

Her eyelids twitched slightly, and Li Lingling slowly opened her eyes.

She did not get up immediately, but instead just stared quietly at the ceiling, enjoying the final lingering traces of a peaceful sleep.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, her mind finally truly cleared.

After another half-moment passed, Li Lingling slowly crawled out of bed and sat down in front of the vanity.

Looking at herself in the Mirror, her soul finally returned into her body.

"Ha—"

Letting out a very unladylike yawn, she thought for a moment, then lay back down on the bed...

Although it was quite troublesome without palace maids to help her wash up, it was also nice not having anyone watching her wake up.

She could sleep for as long as she wanted!

How wonderful...

There is joy here; I do not miss Wentian.

Mother, your daughter can no longer go back.

I slept too late last night, let me sleep a little longer.

Just as her consciousness was about to sink back into stillness, Li Lingling's body suddenly moved, and her eyes, which were about to close, narrowed.

"... Last night?"

Clatter!

Sitting up abruptly, Li Lingling widened her eyes and frantically felt all over her body.

"Phew..."

After carefully checking a series of chastity-preserving methods, including the cinnabar mark, Li Lingling's hanging heart finally settled.

It's fine!

"What exactly happened at the end of last night?"

"How could I have absolutely no memory of the end?"

She clutched her head and thought hard, trying to recall what she had done in the end.

"Did I say goodbye to Senior Brother Ren and go straight to sleep after returning to my room?"

Although the image was not clear, there was indeed a vague impression.

"Could it be that I was too tired?"

She was safe and sound, and all signs indicated that she was just being overly sensitive and that nothing had happened last night.

But why was there such a strange feeling in her heart?

It felt as if she had been molested and ruthlessly humiliated by someone.

And, that person, it seemed to be Senior Brother Ren...

"!!!"

Could it be!?

Did she have such a dream because of her guilt and affection?

Her cheeks gradually flushed pink, and Li Lingling covered her head with the quilt, leaving only her eyes exposed to look outside.

The young girl was confused and let out a faint whimper:

"How am I supposed to face Senior Brother Ren..."

What she did not know was that lying by her pillow was a small Ying Dragon with tears in its eyes.

That man.

He is simply not human!!!

After rolling around under the covers for a while, Li Lingling, unable to calm down, found that the more she tried to stop herself from thinking about it, the more she could not control her wandering thoughts.

"What... could Senior Brother be doing right now?"

Thinking of the aura of Merit on Ren Yidao, Li Lingling guessed:

"He must have gone to do good deeds."

"Blessings! This is simply a blessing!"

"Very good, very good indeed!"

Putting down the conductor's baton in his hand, Ren Yidao ended his night of Merit-gathering practice.

However, this time, he did not wake up in his own Merit Workshop.

Looking at a group of haggard-looking convicts and feeling the significant increase in his Merit Value within his body, Ren Yidao felt a momentary sense of loss.

"As expected, when it comes to work, it is better to let others do it."

Why didn't I discover such a good thing earlier?

I am so stupid, really.

Why did I have to do the work of gathering Merit myself!

For things like this, wouldn't it be better to let others do it from the start, and I just sit back and reap the rewards in the end?

The cycle of this world is just like this:

At first, one hates the capitalists, then one understands the capitalists, and finally, one becomes a capitalist.

"I'm sorry, I cannot let this evil cycle end with me!"

The boy who slays the dragon is now turning into the evil dragon—

"No, that's not right, I was thinking about it wrong. How can I be considered a capitalist? At most, I am a Merit entrepreneur!"

"I am giving them a chance to turn over a new leaf; this is an opportunity others couldn't beg for, they should be thanking me!"

Ren Yidao is currently in a special room within the Luoyue Peak prison.

No, it should be called a custom-made labor reform suite—a Merit concentration camp.

Hanging on the walls on both sides are banners reading "Reform well, become a new person!" and "Accumulate Merit, benefit others!"

In the middle hangs a giant banner coated in fluorite powder—"Merit Party 1.9 Closed Beta Test".

In the dim space, roughly the size of a basketball court, dozens of prisoners with vacant eyes are crowded together.

These people are all the remnants of the Disha Sect captured during the last sect turmoil.

They hold various Merit tools in their hands, constantly performing mechanical movements, and not one of them dares to look up at the young man on the high platform.

It is not that they cannot.

It is that they dare not.

When they were first captured, they thought that at worst it was just death, and there was nothing to be afraid of.

But when they saw a pile of singing meat mountains, they hesitated.

And when they discovered that the meat mountains were all their own acquaintances, they were terrified.

Finally, when they themselves began to become a part of it, they went mad.

A large number of people collapsed during this process, and were then thrown into other prison cells like trash, never to return.

And those of them who remained, it is not that they dare not die.

It is that they simply cannot die!

There is no sun or moon here, it is impossible to tell the time, and they, with their spirits scattered, have stayed here for who knows how long.

A week? A month? Half a year?

They are not clear on the specific time; they only know one thing.

They... are actually starting to enjoy this repetitive mechanical labor.

There is an unknown emotion budding in the depths of their hearts.

And this strange emotion deepens every time they look at that figure.

No, I cannot look at him anymore!

We must persist, we must maintain our sense of self!

Cannot compromise...

No.

There is no going back.

"Great Master, praise be to you..."

Ren Yidao on the high platform did not notice the gazes and whispers of those people, and even if he had noticed, he would only have ignored them.

Struggle to your heart's content.

I hope you can persist a little longer; while providing me with amusement, you can also leave behind more experimental data.

Look, isn't this a win-win?

Of course, I mean that I win twice.

Pushing up the custom-made plain glasses on the bridge of his nose, Ren Yidao, wearing a white lab coat, tapped his notebook with a pen and recorded the data from last night.

"After several rounds of internal testing, although the number of testers has dropped by fifty percent due to some accidents, the overall output has not decreased, but instead increased by sixty percent!"

With the gains and losses, rounding it up, I have made a huge profit!

Very good.

Not only can wages be reduced, but performance has also become better.

Truly nice.

It can be officially named "Merit Party 2.0"!

"Everything is proceeding according to plan."

Ren Yidao's next goal is to explore the operating mechanism of the Merit Assembly Line to see if "Merit Party 2.0" can be upgraded into "Merit Factory 1.0".

However, since the number of labor reform prisoners will not rise in the short term, this great plan must be put on hold for now.

If jumping straight to a factory is too difficult, transitioning to a "Merit Banquet 1.0" is also a good choice.

Closing his notebook, Ren Yidao was filled with emotion.

"Truly interesting!"

As expected of an instinct carved into the soul, I like farming wherever I go.

"Sure enough, I still like farming and climbing the tech tree; this down-to-earth, stable feeling is just too great."

Calculating the time, it is about time for his understanding Senior Brother to wander in the sunlight.

"Speaking of which, the matter asked about yesterday still needs to be verified with others."

Recalling the fragmented words coming from Yinglong, Ren Yidao's expression was quite subtle.

"Does this Beiganhuangdi have some special hobby?"

"Why send his daughter to someone as a foster daughter!"

Sending away a daughter, not watching anymore!

I was angry for a day, and my body started to feel uncomfortable, my waist has been hurting for a day—after changing the name yesterday, the comments have decreased a lot, everyone who is still watching, please say something, otherwise I will really have to go comment myself (lol)

(End of chapter)