Chapter 653: Before and After Rising to Power

After listening, deep inside, Nie Yuan disagreed.

The person saying that he would be ‘cannon fodder’ in the future, had become a cannon fodder himself. A good foundation was taken away by his cheap Master instead.

Who would have thought that in the end, it would not be Bai Ruocang or him that rose to power, but a former Master that had been a low-profile wuss?

Now, the other party was full of energy, and the entire Greater Rat race was like a new force in history, full of vitality.

Furthermore, the surrounding ecological environment was as good as that of America’s.

There was naturally a lack of competitors deep underground.

They were able to exploit geothermal energy to thoroughly solve the energy problem.

Underground mineral resources were abundant, and there were still very few minerals that could be explored and developed by humans. After all, humans had to consider cost, so most of them concentrate on exploiting surface rich minerals.

The average lifespan of a Greater Rat was 20 years, which was not conducive to the accumulation of knowledge. However, the maturation period was early, and a Greater Rat would reach full maturity around three to four years, which was conducive to the reform and renewal of the underlying labor force.

It was impossible to see the aging society of human beings for Giant Rats because their ‘old age’ was only around two to three years.

An important foundation for an aging society was a substantial increase in life expectancy.

“Judging by your look, you seem to disagree?” Elder Ancestor Bai said coldly.

“Uh, I wouldn’t dare. Elder Ancestor’s is a man of far-sight. In the future, Vigilante A would surely die horribly without even a burial site. He’ll only become a meteor streaking across the sky.” Nie Yuan hurriedly complimented.

However, although he said those words of praise, the meaning was full of sarcasm.

“Hmph, a man of far-sight… I underestimated him. His connection to the Heavenly Axiom was closer than I thought, and with just one wrong step, I ended up like this. It’s no wonder that so many practitioners from the Upper Realm have to break off their worldly bonds before they can get started. I was defeated on this aspect. Everything has long been fated, so no one can be blamed.” Elder Ancestor Bai shook his head.

Nie Yuan sniggered in his heart. ‘Since ancient times, who would care about a son when achieving great causes? Just regenerate after dying.

‘Ah, no. This old man seems to be unable to give birth to children. That’s why he cared about that Cang Gongzi so much and ended up falling into Vigilante A’s trap.

‘As expected, that Vigilante A seems to be straightforward, frank, and only kills monsters to train while fighting for justice every day, but in fact, he’s just an insidious villain who’s full of calculations!

‘He sheltered Bai Ruocang under him early on. At that time, everyone thought that he was righteous and benevolent, but it’s clear now that his intention was far-reaching!

‘Even someone as strong as Elder Ancestor Bai had been fooled.

‘It’s no wonder that since he appeared, no one had been able to scheme against him. It seemed like he never suffered any losses.

‘He should be the number one embodiment of ‘a master that looks like a fool’.

Thinking about this, Nie Yuan could not help but feel awe.

Only then did he suddenly remember the last time he stole, no, borrowed books. He seemed to have been knocked unconscious once. ‘Now that I think about it, it could only be done by Vigilante A’.

He could be considered lucky that he was not killed.

It seemed like stealing books was not a heinous crime. After all, it was a matter for intellectuals. Stealing books could not be counted as theft.

He carefully said, “Elder Ancestor, I’ll leave now and arrange some plans. I believe that it’ll take three to five years at most, and several months at least until Vigilante A will let you out.”

“Don’t be hasty. I’m fine waiting here. It’s also good to avoid calamities like this. I can also see some loyal ministers and filial sons to carry forward my foundation.” Elder Ancestor Bai said lightly, seemingly in no hurry to get out.

Hearing this, Nie Yuan’s heart trembled again. ‘This old man really thinks ahead three steps after taking just one’.

He anticipated the worst case of every scenario, and he would only pick that action if he was sure that he would be able to bear it.

He bowed three times, dropped some food and pills, and left.

From the beginning till the end, he did not explain what his plan was, and Elder Ancestor Bai did not ask either.

…

In the Greater Rat Underground Kingdom, in the Central Wealthy Rats District.

The ‘Wealthy Rats District’ was not just an unwritten title. It had recently begun to circulate among the Greater Rats but had not appeared in any official documents yet.

Those who could live here were basically Greater Rats who could transform into humans. Their lifespan was also longer than some Greater Rat Demon-men.

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No matter if it were strength, lifespan, or wisdom, they were all better than ordinary humans. However, their numbers were too small.

Among a thousand Greater Rats, perhaps only two or three would successfully become Demon-men, accounting for less than 1%.

The Greater Rat population exceeded hundreds of millions, but Demon-men Rats numbered less than a million. However, they were already second to none among the Demons on Earth.

They were the tower of strength of the Greater Rat Kingdom, who mastered the knowledge of social operations and cultivation methods. Even now, they still had great wealth.

Before Bai Shixin came into power, Elder Ancestor Bai pursued the first public ownership, allocating resources according to the size of individual contributions.

All industries were owned by the entire race. All production – foodstuffs, minerals, herbs, foreign exchange et cetera, were returned to the public and then distributed according to individual contributions.

As the founder, Elder Ancestor Bai had high prestige and powerful strength. No one dared to be dissatisfied.

There was no difference between rich and poor Greater Rats, only supplies that were distributed according to individual contributions.

Whoever had high skills and contributed great value would be allocated more things. They would be able to live in a good house, use good pills, eat good food… Everything they used would not be inferior to the rich people aboveground.

On the contrary, those who only knew how to make rude remarks would only have a tiny bit of land and enough to fill the stomach.

From this point of view, Elder Ancestor Bai achieved fair distribution.

After all, apart from a throne that could gather the faith of his clansmen, there was no need for him to be swayed by personal considerations like how humans did.

His goal was to become a god, not to live in pleasure.

However, Bai Shixin was different. After he came to power, he gained his foothold slowly. One thing he did was to distribute houses…

All Greater Rat Demon-men who could transform into humans got at least one permanent property right and a permanent tax-free house in the center city district.

These Greater Rat Demon-men were not fools. On the contrary, they were smarter than humans.

This was the capital of the Greater Rats. It might not appear so now, but in the future, this would be worth a large fortune.

As soon as the houses were distributed, many potential undercurrents immediately disappeared.

After all, after coming into power, a person might not have the courage to overthrow the fulls that the Elder Ancestor established, and directly distribute the houses to them.

In the past, they only had the power to use the house, but they could not sublease. They could not even use it to obtain income, let alone offer it up as collateral.

However, now it was different. They could rent or even sell the house as they pleased.

Few people would choose to sell, but when it came to cultivation, if there was a lack of money to buy pills, they would choose to sell. After all, cultivation was very important, so other additional things could be put behind.

In the past, Elder Ancestor Bai focused on accelerating the development of Greater Rats.

However, Bai Shixin’s current energy was focused on consolidating his own power.

It was not that Bai Shixin was playing favoritism, but that he had to do so.

He needed to firmly grasp the hearts of millions of Greater Rats. They were the Greater Rat Citizens. The remaining Greater Rats could only be regarded as first-class livestock.

Currently, in a luxurious bar in Central Wealthy Rats District, it was very lively.

A group of Greater Rat Demon-men, all dressed in silk robes that marked their different identities, were sitting and slowly drinking in the bar.

“Having a new King really brings about a new atmosphere. Old Ma, you’re a Bucket-level and was given 2 villas. I’m a Cutlery-level, but I was only given one apartment. It’s only one level of cultivation, but the wage gap is so wide.” A Greater Rat Demon-man wearing white robes seemed to be complaining.

“Hmph, if you want more houses, then you just have to cultivate harder. There was no such thing before, but the new King is generous.” A Greater Rat Demon-man wearing a blue robe answered disdainfully.

“The new King is generous, but haven’t you noticed? Recently, I felt that our Greater Rat Clan’s previous drive of bravery and diligence has decreased a lot.” A Greater Rat Demon-man wearing black robes sitting at the side expressed some concern.

“Haha, what’s the point of worrying about that? In the past, it was simply not how a Rat should live. Before the sky even brightens up, we have to start work at 4. If we worked just a little slower, someone would snitch on us. How would we have such a comfortable life as we do now? Now, we can still go drinking after work, and surf the Internet… We can even sleep in until 8.” The blue-robed Rat Demon said dismissively.

“However, the disasters above continue. If our development slows down and it spreads here, how would we deal with it?” The black-robed Rat Demon was still full of apprehension.

“That’s not up to you or me to worry about. Let the King and his ministers worry about that. We should just drink and have fun.” The white-robed Rat Demon consoled.

Thus, the three Rat Demons started to drink and brag. This kind of situation seemed to have pervaded the entire bar.

In the corner of the bar, Nie Yuan, who had just returned from Morality City, sat to the side and looked on with cold eyes.

It really was easy to turn thrift into extravagance, but difficult to turn extravagance into thrift.

If the Greater Rat Clan was not managed well, they would all turn into a bunch of privileged brats.