48 Hours a Day

Chapter 1048: Dogs and Wolves

“But in recent years, the situation has started to change,” Qiu Ming said. “Someone on the first floor secretly spread Baudrillard’s theory, and it was found out by the management of the branch, so they went to Mr. G for accountability. Mr. G promised to investigate, and a few weeks later, he handed over the disseminator. But it was said that those unlucky fellows had become corpses because of their fierce resistance upon their rearrest. The management couldn’t get anything out of them. After that, Boubaudrillard’s theory still spread everywhere on the first floor.

“Mr. G’s explanation was that it was very difficult to completely kill a theory. Even if you killed all the spreaders, the people behind you might continue to spread it. However, Mr. G also promised to try his best to contain the development of the situation, so the management accepted his way of handling things.

“However, things did not go smoothly after that. According to the management’s statistics, more and more people began to hear about Baudrillard’s name on the first floor in the past few years. Although Mr. G handed over more and more corpses, it at least showed that his efforts had little effect. Thus, the management gradually lost patience with Mr. G.

“If it weren’t for the fact that the first floor had been managed so well by Mr. G over the years, the second floor might have fallen into chaos after losing him, and the cost of management would have increased significantly. The management should have taken Mr. G down by now, but the relationship between the two sides has deteriorated and become tenser and tenser. The police force controlled by first-floor management has had many conflicts with Mr. G’s people. The management knows what Mr. G is planning, and it’s only a matter of time before the two sides completely fall out.

“Some time ago, there was news that Mr. G had ordered something from a smuggler on Earth. This made the management very nervous. Since you’re involved in this, you should know very well that if you’re standing here now, it means that Mr. G has gotten what he wanted.”

“What are you trying to say?” Zhang Heng asked.

“What I’m trying to say is that you don’t have to worry about me telling the company’s management that you’re still alive because we’re actually on the same side,” Qiu Ming said. “Mr. G woke up because of me. Of course, courtesy of this incident, I was severely punished, demoted to a recycling specialist. I didn’t blame Mr. G for that, though. In fact, after he took over the first floor, the two of us still kept in close contact.

“These contacts were kept from the management. Otherwise, how could he have so accurately gauged the management’s tolerance? He kept wandering on edge but was only verbally warned. Until this incident, the management couldn’t agree on how to deal with him.”

“You’re taking massive risks by doing this, right? Why are you helping a person who demoted you?” Zhang Heng continued to ask.

“I told you before—when I was still a special agent, I played all the games I could think of. I was starting to get tired of this city until I gave the USB drive containing “Death and Symbolic Exchange” to Mr. G. Everything that happened after that made this world interesting again. I wanted to see what kind of fruits this tree I planted with my own hands would bear.

“On the other hand, even though I’m tired of my previous job, it’s still a little infuriating to just let someone take me down like that. I have to admit that there’s a part of my personal grudge in this. After all, I’ve kept many of my bad habits, and I can’t continue to contribute to the development of this beautiful city.”

After Qiu Ming said that, he turned to look at Zhang Heng with anticipation.

However, the latter’s reaction was beyond his expectations. Zhang Heng shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, I’m not on your side.”

“You’re not on Mr. G’s side either. Could you be a mole planted by the management?” Qiu Ming’s expression changed slightly. “This explains why you could appear in New Shanghai 0297 without anyone noticing.”

“Stop guessing. I’m not a member of the management, either,” Zhang Heng replied calmly. “I only care about my own business and am not on anyone’s side. I only work for Mr. G because I have a deal with him.”

“We are both quite similar then,” Qiu Ming heaved a sigh of relief.

“No, I’m different. I Won’t change someone else’s life just to satisfy my own bad taste. I won’t treat such things as a sport.”

“In this era, it’s rare to see people like you who still have a bottom line and moral sense.” Qiu Ming was surprised. “When you can’t even be sure whether you’re yourself, there naturally won’t be any moral restrictions. You can only confirm that you’re still alive through stronger and stronger stimuli.”

“Is Mr. G like this too?”

“No, Mr. G is different. His self-control has always impressed me. When you know that the world you live in is full of lies and deceit, it is not easy to maintain self-control. This must mean that his heart holds an even more grandiose goal. To be honest, he grew at a really amazing rate. When I gave him “Death and Symbolic Exchange,” I originally wanted to see how the strongest clone would collapse mentally.

“However, to my surprise, he quickly accepted his situation and turned Baudrillard’s theory into his most powerful weapon. He used it to unite his followers and gave them faith. He is a natural leader.”

“Since you are his ally, then you should also know his plan to rebel against the management?” Zhang Heng asked.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. I don’t know what his plan is. In fact, even if he told me himself, I’m not sure if I can believe him. Just like how I can’t see through you, ever since he became the uncrowned king of the first level, I can’t see through him either. But what I can tell you is that he must have a deep motive, much more profound than everyone thinks.

“The biggest mistake this management idiots have done these few years was to underestimate his ambition. They thought that he was just like how he was in the emergency response team back then, a dog that would be satisfied wagging its tail everywhere after we threw it a piece of meat. Little did they know that his appetite had changed a long time ago. Dogs were originally domesticated from wolves. When its owner could no longer feed it, it would stir up the wolf’s nature hidden in its bones. In order to fill its stomach, it wouldn’t even mind eating its own owner.”