[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-zombie-apocalypse-creation":3,"chapter-zombie-apocalypse-creation-zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-665":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Zombie Apocalypse: Creation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1887425,2510,"Chapter 665: Trust and Laws","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-665",665,"\u003Cp>\"Before you can chop those trees, you need to have someone drive up all the way to the city to ask for permission and give a report on why you’re doing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that’s a problem when they live hundreds of miles away from the city... You see what I’m getting at?\" Yuqi asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They wouldn’t need to do that, though. Doesn’t the mayor already appoint a village leader who can decide on his own?\" Xiaoyun questioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s true on face value. But in reality, there’s a report of village leaders choosing to seek high-ups’ permission first rather than just letting them do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even on the most basic things that clearly don’t need to be asked. But they just don’t want to afford to make mistakes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then what’s the problem? Avoiding mistakes and coordinating with the city is a good thing, no?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember, I said they lived hundreds of miles away from the city center? They would need to rely on the bus or someone else who happened to drive by.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I see... But do you really think removing the city mayor as the high-up of the village leader will fix it?\" Xiaoyun questioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It wouldn’t hurt to try. Do you have any other ideas you want to give?\" Yuqi questioned back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Xiaoyun looked towards Yuqi’s idea, the more he felt there was a massive flaw in her plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait, so instead of the city mayor being the village leader’s high-up, they would be equal, right?\" Xiaoyun asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then their new high-up would just be us... We live even further away from their nearest city. What’s stopping those village leaders from doing the same thing with us?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuqi fell into silence, her mind realizing Xiaoyun’s point had some truth to it. There was a very high chance of the sit repeating, but on a whole other scale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Actually, now I think about it, I doubt they would ask us for permission. That would just be stupid and incompetent.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun suddenly argued back, going against his own point that he had just said out loud a few seconds ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait, why would you say that?\" Yuqi curiously asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because we have the power to fire them. You forgot the city mayors have no power to fire the village leader they appointed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What does that have to do with them asking us questions?\" Yuqi asked again, her face still looking a little confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you saw a letter from a village leader asking you if they can chop down some trees on the road, what are you going to do?\" Xiaoyun asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tell them to go for it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, you sent a small team to conduct a test to see if they are qualified for the job. They should have been able to decide it on their own if they are really capable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh. I get it. So you’re incentivizing them to make their own decision. Am I getting this right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yep. That’s exactly what I’m getting at... But we should probably just give this power to the city mayors, to be honest.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh, why?\" Yuqi asked, her mind unable to catch up with Xiaoyun’s thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember what you said earlier? We are even further away from those towns. Imagine needing to send hundreds of different teams to conduct in the towns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We can just have the city mayor near the town or village to be the one conducting the test if those village leaders can’t decide on their own.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuqi finally slowly nodded her head, understanding what Xiaoyun was trying to get at. However, a concern popped up in her mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But wouldn’t this be too much power for each of the city governments? I don’t really feel like we should delegate that much power to them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yuqi, have you ever heard of the proverb? Trust the people you employ, and don’t employ the people you doubt.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Xiaoyun point it out clearly, Yuqi couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed by not realizing it sooner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re right... But people change. Isn’t there a proverb that goes along the line of power corrupts people?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Xiaoyun fell into silence for a second, but he quickly came up with his own counter-argument.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s why we have Yueyue. If we can’t even trust her, then who else can we trust in this town?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I guess...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her unwillingness to accept defeat, Xiaoyun decided to pull out his trump card.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Here, you say power corrupts people, right? You and I have the most power. Do you think the two of us are corrupt?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Um... No? We haven’t forcefully seized anyone’s personal property or violated their liberty.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly. We have absolute power, but we haven’t gone around robbing people’s money and their families as slaves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reality is, it doesn’t matter if power manages to corrupt people. What matters is being able to serve justice towards those who are corrupt.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You have to learn to trust others first and fix their mistake afterward... As you said it yourself, you want them to decide for themsleve.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay, Mr.philosopher.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite Yuqi rolling her eyes, Xiaoyun smiled as he watched her begin a new draft on restructuring the power dynamic of the city and the rural areas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Governor Chen, Li Fa is here.\" Jianlin’s voice suddenly appeared outside as she knocked on the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay, I’m going now... See you later tonight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"See ya.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Li Fa, what are you looking to talk about?\" Xiaoyun curiously asked as the two of them took a seat in the meeting room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Governor, I ran into a question while I was going through a few of the court cases... Are you above the law??\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Me? Above the law?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun hesitated for a second as Li Fa coldly sat before him with two separate files right in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What makes you ask that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"An elderly couple had been protesting in front of the courthouse for the past few days... And it’s related to this case.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Li Fa slid one of the files over to Xiaoyun, he quickly opened the cover before closing it just as fast the moment he saw the two names listed inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you think? Do you think I’m above the law?\" Xiaoyun asked, not reading the file any further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I hope not, sir... It would be really cruel for those elderly couples never to get an answer for their lost sons.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Xiaoyun reluctantly opened the file again as he began reading through the content one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a court case filed against Yuqi and himself, specifically with regard to the handling of an ’accident’ that happened years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An accident that led to hundreds of prisoners’ deaths, with the plaintiff being one of the parents of those who died in the chaos of the zombie attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Didn’t I already designate this as a terrorist attack by the white lotus? Why are they filing a lawsuit against Yuqi?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun tried to ask as calmly as possible, but deep inside, his mind was in full panic mode, worrying that the secret had been leaked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Although it was a tragic terrorist attack, the two parents had argued that the government had acted with extreme negligence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Fa’s answer made him let out a small sigh of relief as the secret behind the whole ordeal wasn’t actually exposed in the spotlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They aren’t wrong. It is negligence on our part... What do you think the sentencing should be then?\" Xiaoyun curiously asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was leaning more towards giving a small compensation, since nobody expected the terrorist attack on such a scale to happen in the first place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just go for it. Give those elderly couples and those impacted by it enough to live in comfort for the rest of their lives.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But their sons were a part of a coup before... Some might think this is too unfair to those parents whose kid died on the battlefield.\" Li Fa raised his concerns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then give compensation you see fit... But this isn’t the reason why you came here today and asked me if I’m above the law, is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Fa fell into silence for a second before speaking up again as he handed Xiaoyun the second file.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That question is more for this second case... A man had sued you specifically, Governor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Me? Really?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun was instantly intrigued by the prospect as it opened past the cover, reading it line by line before understanding why Li Fa asked that question earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a plaintiff who was suing him for violating the marriage law, specifically, how Xiaoyun had a public record of marrying nine wives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In contrast, the plaintiff tried to register two wives to the government, but was rejected on the grounds of monogamy laws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Li Fa, what do you think my sentencing should be?\" Xiaoyun casually asked, his face holding the urge to crack a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Um... I don’t know, sir.\" Li Fa answered, running out of courage as he felt it was a trick question, no matter how he answered it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just tell me what the normal sentencing would be for polygamy. You won’t get in trouble or anything.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1534,"2026-06-10T06:59:53.682Z",1,"novelbin.me","5142a74e19395837378833542a7d67e52d719a48d8ebe136031d69f35173bcb9","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-666","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-814",829,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fzombie-apocalypse-creation-cover.jpg"]