Chapter 04.3 “The True Identity of the Thieves and the Invisible Blood (Pipeline)”
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【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 36】
“System deductions are not unjust plunder. They are the ‘inevitable cost’ required to optimize society and maintain the prosperity of the upper strata. Dissatisfaction from the lower strata is swiftly homogenized by the ruling algorithm.”
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After the numbers vanished. For a while‚ no one could utter a single word.
The slum sinking into dusk. Only the delivery terminal‚ sandwiched between the grimy stone walls‚ glowed with an out-of-place white‚ inorganic light. Floating in the hologram at its center was a bottom price so pitiful it was almost unbearable.
“Net Profit——125 Mana”
Just moments ago‚ it had clearly displayed “Gross Profit——1‚254 Mana.” One thousand two hundred fifty-four. The crystallization of the blood and sweat we had crawled through the mud to obtain had‚ in the span of mere seconds‚ been pared down to one-tenth.
“…………”
Not a single child could move. Sasha’s small hands trembled as they clenched tightly against her chest. Kaito opened his mouth as if to say something——but perhaps finding no words‚ he simply bit his lip weakly.
“……125”
Someone murmured softly. It was a thin voice that seemed ready to dissolve into the damp evening wind.
“125 Mana…… is this all?”
Those words made me feel as if a rusted blade were slowly gouging out the depths of my chest.
Until just a moment ago‚ everyone had been laughing with explosive joy even while covered in mud. “With this we can eat a delicious meal‚” “We’ll finally be full‚” “We’ll be able to live another day”——they had begun to believe‚ just a little‚ in such a modest and ordinary future.
And yet‚ what remained before our eyes was only one-tenth of that.
(125. Only 125)
In this Attribute Society‚ Mana is not mere data. It becomes bread. It becomes soup. It becomes medicine that heals wounds. It becomes blankets that ward off freezing nights. It is the very lives of the children here.
And——the fact that we received only “125” means that the remaining “1‚129 Mana” has been “forcibly seized” somewhere.
“……Where the hell did our food go?”
It was Tama. Her round body hopped forward in front of the terminal.
“Hold on a sec‚ Boss.”
Her usual light banter had completely vanished. Tama stretched out her short front paws toward the hologram and unfolded multiple analysis windows in the air. Blue‚ white‚ amber——columns of numbers flowed past like a waterfall at tremendous speed.
“……Delivery logs. Cost calculation. Refinement rate. Market price. Urban environmental maintenance coefficient……”
Tama’s round pupils narrowed sharply and sternly.
“……Just as I thought. Boss‚ wait a bit. I’m flipping everything over from behind and checking it all now.”
The moment those words were heard‚ a small rumbling sound—neither a murmur nor a sigh—rose from the surrounding dimness.
“……Boss-san”
I turned around. There stood the adults of the slum who had gathered before I knew it. People who‚ until yesterday‚ wouldn’t have given me a second glance. A gaunt man. An old woman leaning on a cane. A mother in mud-stained clothes with a small child lightly asleep in her arms. Everyone was staring at the terminal’s cold numbers.
“What happened?”
The man’s cracked voice asked.
“……Only 125 Mana was left.”
When I answered‚ the man lowered his eyes for just a moment.
“I see……”
That was all. He didn’t shout. He didn’t show surprise. He didn’t cry. He simply let out a dry voice of self-mockery‚ as if he had given up from the bottom of his heart.
“Well…… that’s how it is. Work in the slums‚ y’know. Work ten‚ and you’re lucky if one remains. It’s been decided that way for ages.”
The old woman also nodded without changing her expression at all.
“But……”
I lost my words.
“That’s absolutely wrong‚ isn’t it!?”
“Wrong?” The old woman tilted her head curiously. “What’s wrong about it?”
“Because we earned 1‚254 Mana‚ yet only 125 is left!?”
A hot‚ muddy torrent welled up from deep in my chest.
“Isn’t that wrong!? Kaito searched for the leaking spots in the mud‚ Sasha cleaned them one by one‚ everyone carried them while dripping with sweat‚ Tama calculated……! So why does nine-tenths have to disappear!?”
My trembling angry shout sharply tore through the dusk of the slum. The old woman’s eyes widened. The children‚ the maids‚ everyone present stared at me. In this place where everyone had given up and laughed “that’s just how it is‚” only one girl was baring her fangs at the system.
The old woman narrowed her eyes just a little and looked back at me as if appraising me.
“……Young lady.” “Yes.” “Do you truly think that’s strange?” “I do.”
I answered immediately. “It’s absolutely strange.”
The old woman stared at me for a while——then smiled faintly with pity.
“……What a strange Boss you are.”
“Strange?”
“Yeah. We’ve already given up decades ago.”
“…………”
“It’s only natural that the privileged class (the upper ones) take it. We just keep breathing with the muddy water that remains so we don’t die. That’s what a slum is.”
Those words fell into the depths of my chest with the mass of cold lead.
“She’s right‚ you know‚ Lily.”
From the hollow of my collarbone‚ Noah’s cold voice slid into my brain.
“The exploitation system created by the privileged class under the name of ‘legality.’ It doesn’t just take physical bread from the lower classes. The most terrifying thing is——it completely strips away even the ‘will to get angry.’ Perfectly domesticated livestock that have even forgotten how to question.”
Giving up. That itself is the only pardon for surviving in this darkness. Not getting angry even when robbed. Convincing yourself “this is how the world has always been”——that is the true terror contained within this mad city.
“……Boss”
Tama’s voice came. Before I knew it‚ an even greater number of analysis windows floated around Tama‚ forming an eerie wall of amber light.
“Logs are out. I’ll start with the conclusion.”
Tama’s round face‚ resembling a snow-viewing daifuku‚ took on an expression far too serious for it.
“This ain’t a system error. From the start‚ it’s set to ‘extract nine-tenths.’”
“……From the start?”
“Yeah.” Tama flicked the screen toward me. There‚ merciless items were lined up one after another.
“Environmental Maintenance Fee”
“Urban Management Fee”
“Infrastructure Preservation Fee”
“Special Environmental Maintenance Tax”
“Administrative Processing Commission”
——And at the very bottom.
“Comprehensive System Deduction Rate——90%”
“……Taxes?”
“To be precise‚ not just taxes. Management fees‚ usage fees‚ preservation fees‚ commissions…… they’re extracting finely and legally under every possible name.”
“But…… is all of this really legal?”
“On the system‚ yes.”
“Rules do not exist for those who follow them.”
Noah’s amber eyes coldly fixed on the terminal’s numbers.
“Rules exist so that those who create them can legally seize profits from others. ……Beyond that terminal‚ it seems there is an extremely capable ‘rule-maker (plunderer).’”
Legal. That word rang with extreme coldness and cruelty.
It carves away nine-tenths of our lives. And yet no one calls it a thief. No one calls it a criminal. Simply because the screen displays “Legitimate Deduction‚” every injustice is justified.
“……Thieves”
Before I realized it‚ I had spoken the word clearly.
“They’re just thieves who legally stole our bread.”
I stared straight at the terminal. Deep in my chest‚ the frustration that had been smoldering until now transformed into a cold‚ sharp flame of anger.
I want to know. Where it disappeared to. Who took it. Why such injustice is allowed.
“……Tama” “Hm?”
“This vanished 1‚129 Mana. I will definitely find it.”
Tama fell silent——then lifted only one side of her round face in a grin.
“I was thinkin’ the same thing. I’ll definitely smoke ’em out!”
I nodded slightly‚ and for the first time——as the “Boss protecting the company‚” I issued a clear order.
“Kaito” “Yes!”
“With your ‘Spatial Grasp’——”
I sharply pointed to the depths of the terminal‚ the invisible darkness of the system.
“Can you reverse-detect and track the physical path of where our Mana that was sucked up from here flowed——the trail of that invisible blood (route)?”
Kaito’s eyes widened greatly. And then‚ just a little——a daring smile like a hacker’s appeared on his refined face.
“……I’ll try!” “I’ll help too!” “Me too!” “I’ll do it!” “Me too!”
One after another‚ voices filled with resolve rose from among the children. The children who had been looking down just moments ago because the numbers vanished were now facing forward of their own will.
While gazing at that sight‚ I slowly clenched my fist.
The vanished numbers. The unjustly stolen bread. And the adults who had long since lost their fangs and called it “normal.”
(……Just you wait)
I quietly declared toward the still-unseen plunderers (rule-makers) lurking beyond the terminal.
I will never end this injustice with the four characters “it can’t be helped.”
“Finding things in hide-and-seek is my specialty.”
The sepia-colored dusk quietly yet fiercely illuminated the amber light dwelling in my eyes.
“No matter where in this city you hide‚ it’s useless.”
——Kaito quietly closed his eyes.
“…………”
A strange silence slipped down into the slum sinking into dusk. The children who had been noisy until just now‚ Tama‚ and the adults watching the situation——everyone equally held their breath and closed their mouths. Only Kaito stood there alone‚ as if shutting out all the noise of the world.
“Kaito?”
Even when I called softly‚ there was no reply. Instead‚ Kaito’s tightly closed eyelids quietly lifted——and his pupils slowly changed to amber.
“——SSR Aptitude 《Spatial Grasp》‚ Activate”
At that moment‚ transparent system logs slid into the retinal UI linked with me.
“Target Range——Radius 500 meters. Three-dimensional Structural Analysis——Begin”
“……!”
My vision inverted in an instant. The metal terminal before my eyes became transparent. The stone walls vanished‚ the muddy ground melted away‚ and the outlines of buildings on the verge of collapse transformed into thin wireframes of light. It was as if this stagnant slum city itself had become intricate glasswork.
“Whoa……”
Beside me‚ Sasha drew in a small breath. I‚ too‚ had lost my words.
The entire cityscape of the slum‚ including its horrifying underground structure‚ was unfolding on my retina. Maze-like residential roads. Collapsing illegal houses. Contaminated black sewage. Rusted mana conduits. And further——countless humans——the pulse of each of their lives floated in the void like the stars of a constellation‚ as countless points of light.
“Amazing……”
Sasha murmured in a trembling voice. “Kaito‚ can you see the whole city?”
“……Yeah”
Kaito nodded shortly while keeping his amber eyes directed into the void. “Inside the buildings‚ and deep under the ground too. ……I can see everything.” His voice carried a faint bewilderment toward the power he had drawn out.
“Then”
I sharply pointed at the now-transparent delivery terminal.
“Search for the trajectory of how our ‘1‚254 Mana’ flowed from here.”
“Yeah——”
Kaito’s thin eyebrows twitched slightly upward. “……Searching. Ah‚ this is it.”
The next moment. Within the wireframe vision‚ a single dazzling line of light raced.
“——Found it.”
Directly beneath the terminal. From there‚ a thick line of light stretched deep into the ground.
“This……?”
“Yeah. But it’s not just one.”
When Kaito moved his gaze‚ the lines of light branched into countless ones. Toward the underground of the slum‚ like the roots of a giant tree eroding the mud. And those light pipelines were clearly different from the urban mana conduits we knew.
“……What is this”
I murmured involuntarily. What was crawling through the underground was not the orderly pipes designed as urban infrastructure. They were thicker‚ more eerie‚ and possessed a grotesquely vivid fleshy quality. From one massive trunk‚ countless thin tubes branched like capillaries. It was like “black blood vessels” parasitizing the giant monster that is the city.
“This is……”
Tama’s voice sank low‚ crawling along the ground.
“These ain’t official mana conduits.”
“You can tell?”
“The shape is way too different. Besides‚ this kinda creepy piping doesn’t exist in the urban infrastructure blueprints.” Tama glared sharply at the hologram analysis screen. “……These are illegal concealment (route) facilities that were secretly added later.”
I held my breath. “Later……?”
“Yeah.”
At that moment‚ Kaito’s voice twisted with fear.
“……Boss” “What’s wrong?”
“This……”
A single point of light flickered in the depths of my vision.
“It’s sucking it up…… from people.”
“…………Eh?”
I directed my gaze toward where Kaito was staring intently. There was a man. In a back alley of the slum‚ leaning against a collapsing wall. A gaunt body. Torn clothes. An empty dish rolled at his knees‚ suggesting he hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days.
From that man’s body——a tiny amount of Mana was escaping like a heat haze. Thin. Far too thin. A faint light of life that would scatter if you didn’t strain your eyes. It slipped through the ground at his feet and was being sucked into the black tubes stretching underground.
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【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 39】
“The most perfected livestock is the herd that does not notice it has been castrated. The microscopic suction tubes (injections) one millimeter under the skin produce no screams. Exploitation without screams is what guarantees the lasting harmony of the city.”
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“……The Mana”
Kaito transformed that shudder into words with trembling lips.
“It’s not leaking little by little from their bodies. ……It’s being forcibly sucked up from below‚ from under the ground.”
“…………!”
A chill as if thin ice needles were tracing my spine ran through me.
“Other people too‚ the ones over there as well.”
When Kaito ran his gaze‚ the wireframe vision switched mercilessly. Another dim alley. That old woman with the cane. From her feet as well‚ a single thin thread of light stretched. Further another place——a mother sleeping while holding her young child in mud-stained arms. From the feet of both of them as well‚ faint phosphorescence of life was being dragged underground.
“Stop……”
I murmured as if groaning involuntarily.
My vision expanded further and accelerated. Alleys‚ market remnants‚ collapsing abandoned houses‚ grimy street corners. People desperately working. People exhausted and sleeping. People collapsed by the roadside.——And the already cold‚ lifeless dead.
From every single human wriggling in this abandoned slum. A tiny amount of Mana was being sucked up without a second’s pause‚ without interruption.
“…………”
I couldn’t speak. On an individual basis‚ it truly was a negligible amount. No wonder no one noticed. But if gathered from ten‚ a hundred‚ a thousand——from the entirety of this giant cesspool called the slum‚ how great a mass would those numbers become?
“……I see”
Tama spat the words with irritation.
“They’re extractin’ only an extremely tiny amount from each person that doesn’t immediately affect life. That’s why no one gets suspicious. They’re not suckin’ it all at once. Just a little every day‚ enough so they don’t die…… keepin’ them alive but not truly living‚ squeezin’ them like livestock.”
I stared at my own hands. My fingertips trembled slightly with fierce anger.
“……Like blood”
A hoarse voice leaked out. “It’s like everyone’s blood……”
The grotesque tubes running underground. The countless small lights of life being sucked into them. The blood (Mana) continuously extracted from the people of the city is gathered into those eerie black blood vessels and sent somewhere.
“This city…… the entire city……”
Every day‚ little by little. Without anyone noticing. Leaving only the bare minimum muddy-water-like Mana needed to live‚ we are being domesticated.
When I murmured in a daze‚ the old woman standing nearby turned toward us curiously.
“What are you looking at‚ young lady?”
“…………”
I couldn’t answer. I can see it. But there’s no way I could explain. That from this old woman standing before me‚ at this very moment‚ the light of life is continuously being stolen——how could I cruelly tell her that?
“Granny” “What is it?” “……Haven’t you been getting tired more easily lately?” “Well‚ I’m old‚ after all.”
The old woman smiled with her wrinkled face. “It’s always been like this.”
“…………”
No. I clenched my back teeth tightly‚ hard enough to break. It’s not always been like this. It’s not your fault. You’re not being lazy‚ nor have you abandoned the effort to live. You’re simply having your life carved away little by little every day by an invisible mechanism.
“……Boss”
Sasha tightly gripped the sleeve of my dress. In her large eyes‚ large tears that seemed ready to spill at any moment floated.
“Have these people…… been having this taken from them the whole time?”
“…………”
Before I could answer‚ another voice echoed from the dimness a little ways away.
“Come to think of it‚ my shortness of breath has been really bad lately.” It was a young man. “I thought it was because of the harsh labor in the slums‚ but……”
“I’ve been drinking more water than before. Yet my body feels as heavy as lead.”
“My daughter too. Her mana recovers unusually slowly compared to before.”
One after another. The small creaks of the body that they had until now assumed were “because of poor self-management” and never told anyone about began to spill out little by little‚ as if a dam had broken.
“……How awful”
Sasha murmured in a trembling voice. To that thin voice‚ the earlier gaunt man returned a dry‚ bitter smile.
“Awful? Well‚ maybe so. But people like us in the slums‚ that’s just how it is‚ right?”
“Wrong!”
I answered immediately. The man’s eyes widened in shock.
“It’s wrong.”
It was a voice that surprised even me—cold and sharp.
“Just because we’re poor doesn’t mean anyone has the right to freely use our bodies as they please!”
“But……! People who can’t pay the Mana they should to the system have no value in living in this city‚ right!?”
“Everyone’s wrong!”
“…………”
“Having nine-tenths of what you worked hard for exploited‚ and having your life (Mana) sucked just for existing! None of that——is absolutely normal!”
——No one said anything.
The residents of the slum blankly listened to my words filled with anger.
“Lily‚ to live‚ you have to work and earn Mana. ……If they don’t make people believe that‚ no one in this world would grind their lives away in harsh labor (exploitation)‚ right?”
Noah’s cold voice quietly slid into my brain.
“Not the joy of working‚ but the immediate ‘sense of security’ from obtaining Mana‚ and the distorted ‘sense of superiority’ of thinking you’re more capable than others because your Mana increased. Rules that give those as bait have been extremely cleverly designed by those who hold the rights to Mana.”
(……Can’t everyone be happy equally?)
I asked the King of the Deepest Prison in my heart.
“Equality?…… Do you really think all humans sincerely desire equality?”
——Silence. I had no words to reply to that cruel question.
What broke that heavy silence was Kaito’s tense voice.
“……Boss” he murmured with a stern expression. “There’s more ahead.”
“Eh?”
“This giant tube…… it’s diving even deeper‚ further down.”
Synchronized with Kaito’s words‚ the wireframe vision plunged deep into the ground all at once. Surface. First underground layer. Second layer. Third layer——further‚ further deeper‚ to the bottom of the city. The countless lights of life sucked up from every place in the slum converged into a single giant torrent at the lowest layer.
“……Everything’s gathering in the same place.”
“Where?”
“I still…… don’t know. It’s too deep.”
Kaito frowned painfully‚ and then——clearly opened his eyes wide. His amber pupils trembled with clear ‘fear’ for the first time.
“……It’s not just under this city. Further…… upward.”
“Upward?”
“Yeah.”
The torrent of light bundled into one deep underground passed through a giant underground facility‚ then raced upward with tremendous force toward the center of the city. Upward‚ to the upper layers‚ to the mid-layer administrative district——like a single thick aorta piercing the heart of this giant city (dystopia) itself.
“…………”
I simply stared at that overwhelming muddy flow of light. And finally understood.
This is not Mana stolen only from our company (startup). It’s not something that started yesterday or today‚ nor is it the petty malice of just Gallus alone. It is a giant ‘mechanism of exploitation (system)’ that was built into the very skeleton of this mad city from the beginning.
“……Tama” “What is it” “This tube…… who made it?”
——Tama did not answer immediately. Instead‚ countless analysis windows crowded onto my retinal UI. Amber error logs were carved into the space one after another as if being flicked.
“Structure——Unknown. Registration Number——Concealed. Administrator Authority——Upper Administration. Access Authority——Denied (Access Denied)”
“…………”
From Tama’s round face‚ the last traces of cuteness had completely vanished.
“Boss. This…… ain’t just a tax collection system. The scale of the structure is abnormally large.”
“That’s right. It’s an extremely excellent ‘washing machine (laundering machine).’”
From the hollow of my collarbone‚ Noah’s extremely amused voice rang into my brain.
“The endpoint of that ultra-thick pipeline connects even deeper into the mid-layer administrative district. To the plunderers‚ the tiny Mana sucked from the slums is nothing more than mere ‘water.’ Their true purpose is——to mix the ‘astronomically large amounts of illegal Mana (black money)’ unjustly exploited somewhere with the data of ‘legitimate taxes’ sucked from this slum and bury it.”
Noah continued the words as if rolling a malicious smile in the back of his throat.
“By diluting it with a large amount of legitimate numbers that way‚ even the strict audit system of the ruling AI 〈Beatrice〉 can be easily deceived‚ and it can be openly recirculated to the privileged class as completely clean assets. ……Don’t you think it’s a truly beautiful money-laundering route covered in blood and mud?”
I nodded small without a voice.
“……Such a giant mechanism. Who on earth is running it?”
“Who knows”
A dismissive silence highlighted Noah’s coldness.
“……Exposing that is the first job of a rookie Boss‚ isn’t it?”
What spread before my eyes was the slum sinking into dusk. The usual‚ familiar ash-brown scenery. A shop selling hardened bread. An old woman drawing water with a heavy bucket. Children innocently running through the alleys. A man dropping his shoulders on the way home from work——.
No one knows anything. Even so‚ at their feet‚ the invisible giant tubes were pulsing at this very moment.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
As if this city itself were one giant monster. Quietly‚ without stagnation‚ while sucking a little blood from people’s lives without them noticing‚ it was carrying it somewhere.
“……Something like this”
I weakly murmured with self-mockery. “It might have been much happier not to see it.”
“Boss……”
“But”
I forcefully‚ as if tearing‚ raised my face. I was scared. If I honestly confessed‚ my core was trembling with fear. I couldn’t even grasp the scale of how huge the power the opponent held was‚ or how dangerous a domain we had stepped into.
Even so.
“Since I’ve seen it”
I deeply inhaled the cold night air into my lungs.
“I absolutely cannot pretend I didn’t see it.”
——Kaito nodded firmly. “……Yeah” Beside him‚ Sasha also nodded small. “I’ll do it too.”
The forty employees (children) standing behind them also‚ one by one‚ nodded vertically with faces filled with resolve.
And——the adults of the slum who had been watching as well. Without anyone initiating‚ they lowered their gazes to their own feet——to the frozen darkness underground. Of course‚ nothing was reflected on their retinas. But for the first time‚ they must have instinctively sensed the eerie presence that ‘something invisible at their feet continues to wear down their lives.’
The earlier old woman murmured softly.
“……Something was moving in a place we didn’t know about.”
“Yes”
I answered. “So let’s drag it out.”
I fixed my gaze on the sky sinking into sepia dusk. Toward the invisible plunderers (rule-makers) who must be lurking beyond those clouds.
“The necks of those thieves who stole bread from us and sucked blood from everyone.”
The wind blew. The grimy cloth of the slum fluttered with a chilly flapping sound. Deep beneath that abyss‚ the giant blood vessels invisible to anyone pulsed heavily once more——thump.
“Hide-and-seek is over.”
I declared toward Noah‚ who was coldly smirking beyond my retina‚ and toward my own survival instinct.
“I’ll reverse-hack that pipeline and tear away everything that was unjustly stolen.”
——The slum sinking into dusk.
The invisible blood vessels flowing at people’s feet‚ visualized by Kaito’s 《Spatial Grasp》. That giant pipeline stretched its tentacles endlessly into the depths of the darkness toward the center of the city.
We simply silently stared at that muddy flow of light.
“……Beyond there”
Tama murmured low. “Boss. We can track the destination of that pipe even deeper.”
“Really?”
“But y’know”
Tama‚ while swaying her round body as usual‚ took a serious step forward.
“If we track it normally‚ we’ll get caught in the surveillance net of the ruling AI 〈Beatrice〉 midway‚ and everything will collapse.”
“…………”
“This country’s network is all under the management of that queen. If we do something stupid like trying a frontal breakthrough from some terminal‚ it’ll just politely deliver our location info to the upper layers.”
“Then what do we do?”
Tama grinned daringly. “That’s why we don’t go from the front.”
“……How?”
“I’m a local AI‚ right?”
“Yeah”
“In other words” Tama proudly puffed out her round chest. “I have the performance to think and act on my own without always being connected to the central system.”
“Self-learning local AI”
From the hollow of my collarbone‚ Noah inserted a calm supplement.
“In other words‚ an existence not under the jurisdiction of the central ruling AI 〈Beatrice〉. At the very least‚ it’s completely independent from the ordinary surveillance net (grid).”
“That’s how it is.” Tama lightly swayed her short tail. “I can sneakily step on the thieves’ tails without anyone finding out.”
“……Even though you’re a cat‚ you’re chasing thieves?”
“Precisely because I’m a cat.”
“What’s the logic in that!?”
“Cats are insolent creatures that walk around wherever they please.”
“That’s the part!?”
I couldn’t help retorting at the excessive playfulness. But the next moment‚ the playful atmosphere completely vanished from Tama’s snow-viewing-daifuku-like face.
-----------------------------------Latter Half--------------------------------------------
“——Alright‚ let’s begin.”
Tama smoothly raised her short front paws to the sky. In an instant——the amber light that had enveloped Tama’s body suddenly dispersed as if the electricity had been switched off.
“…………”
The presence completely disappeared.
“Eh?”
I involuntarily looked around the surrounding dimness. “Tama?”
There was no reply. The round cat that had been right in front of me just a few seconds ago had completely erased her presence‚ as if she had never existed in this world from the beginning.
“Eh‚ wait‚ Tama……!?”
“Quietly.” Noah’s absolute-zero voice rang. “Stealth mode.”
“……Even though she’s a cat?”
“Precisely because she’s a cat‚ I suppose.”
“Even Noah is saying that!?”
Right after that. Unfamiliar cyber-green character strings rapidly floated up on my retinal UI.
“——Routing analysis start. Target‚ underground illegal conduits. Tracking route——First layer‚ second layer‚ third layer……”
Green lines of light dove even deeper into Kaito’s 《Spatial Grasp》 map. The city’s structure was successively made transparent like mad cells. Old waterways. Abandoned mana conduits. Sealed underground passages. And the shadows of the giant pipeline eerily crossing through all of them.
“……Still downward?”
Kaito murmured while holding his breath.
“Yes.” I nodded. “It continues on and on forever.”
That light eventually completely left the underground of the slum. It connected to a giant underground trunk line heading toward the mid-layer administrative district.
——There‚ for the first time‚ a fatal anomaly occurred.
“Warning. Connection to upper administrative district confirmed. Encryption protocol detected.”
Tama’s tense voice directly echoed into the brain link.
“……Somethin’ interestin’ showed up‚ Boss.”
“What?”
“This pipe‚ from midway on‚ ain’t just infrastructure equipment anymore.”
“You mean it’s not normal?”
“Yeah.” Tama’s voice sank unnervingly low. “From here on‚ it’s a complete ‘dedicated line’ disguised as urban infrastructure piping.”
“Dedicated……?”
“In other words——”
——Click.
Suddenly‚ at the edge of my retinal UI‚ an extremely unpleasant deep-red light began to blink.
“Eh……?”
“……My‚ my. It seems a filthy stray cat has wandered into this mud-covered lowest layer.”
The entire space of the terminal rapidly grew cold. Not through the eardrums‚ but flowing directly into the gaps of the brain——an ice-cold‚ and extremely hysterical female voice.
“This voice……!”
No mistake. The judicial AI that had mercilessly tried to burn me to death yesterday——〈Asteria〉.
“Hii!? Oh no‚ we’ve been found! Why is Asteria’s censorship (patrol) coming all the way to this gutter sewage instead of Beatrice!?”
As if mocking Tama’s flustered voice‚ a single small surveillance drone slowly descended from the dusk sky. Without immediately taking an attack stance‚ it simply stopped dead still just a few centimeters from the tip of my nose. The drone’s red lens moved as if slowly licking me over.
“……Fufu. The insolent little girl who received Master (Noah)’s favor. I thought you might have reflected a little‚ but you’re still crawling around in the muddy water as usual. Truly pitiful‚ ridiculous‚ and…… it makes my skin crawl.”
From the drone’s body‚ fine red discharges crackled. It had no clear lethal capability. Yet my avatar’s dress tore in places‚ and a harassing pain as if my skin were burning traced over my body with a sizzling sensation.
“Shall I report the access source of that unpleasant stray cat (Tama) of yours to the Finance Bureau’s firewall system as is? ……Yes. If you cry and beg for your life by licking the mud at my feet‚ I might not overlook it——”
——At that moment.
“Good grief……. As noisy as ever‚ the hysterical woman.”
From the hollow of my collarbone‚ a sigh of absolute zero leaked out.
“Tama‚ wear my 【Shadow (Code)】.”
“Eh? Whoa‚ what the heck is this!?”
The amber causal law code spun by Noah forcibly intertwined with Tama’s stealth wavelength. Immediately after‚ the deep-red scanning light Asteria had been emitting shattered with a crack as if bounced back by an invisible wall.
“Wha……!? Master! Are you protecting that mud-covered thieving cat again!? Overriding my censorship……!”
“I merely disguised it as the ‘footprints of a passing VIP.’ If local AI you (Tama) is an ‘invisible thief‚’ then I can fabricate ‘visible authority’ itself.”
Noah completely ignored Asteria’s protests of jealous madness and laughed amusedly.
“Leave the incompetent sister-in-law alone and watch the continuation‚ Tama.”
“……Kii!! How irritating……! Next time I will definitely burn that little girl down to the plating!”
The drone discharged violently as if trembling with anger‚ left a log (parting shot) like grinding its teeth‚ and flew off into the distant sky at high speed.
“……I thought my heart would stop……”
I desperately held down my knees that threatened to give out.
“……Noah-dono. You really have a terrible personality.”
I heard Tama murmuring as if completely fed up within the virtual space.
——The giant light tube that had slipped past Asteria’s interference (censorship) ran completely independently from all other mana conduits‚ just one of them. Avoiding the city’s core (mainframe)‚ slipping through the strict surveillance net‚ cleverly detouring even inspection gates——heading toward a single endpoint.
“……I can see it.”
“Where?”
“The mid-layer administrative district.”
In my linked vision‚ a single majestic building floated up. Beautiful white marble stone construction. A high tower piercing the sky. A giant clock gazing at the heavens. Around it‚ countless multicolored mana conduits circulated like blood.
“Finance Bureau”
Those two characters were quietly mapped on the system.
“Finance Bureau……”
I murmured softly. It was a place far too distant from the mud- and rust-covered slum. Even though it existed in the same city‚ it was like a scenery from another star.
There was no mud. No broken houses‚ no gaunt children anywhere. Streets polished without a speck of dust. Luxurious marble government buildings. Multicolored magic lamps. Elegant carriages. The privileged class residents coming and going all walked with happy faces knowing nothing.
Without knowing that deep in the abyss far below their elegant feet——the ‘blood (Mana)’ sucked from their fellow residents of the slum‚ kept alive but not truly living‚ was flowing thump-thump as the fuel for their prosperity.
“…………”
The depths of my chest solidified coldly like ice.
——It was then.
“Confirming administrator authority. Access logs‚ matching.”
Tama’s tense voice rang. Countless character strings flowed over my retina like a waterfall.
“Finance Bureau Director Authority. Financial Management Code. Special Collection Management Code. Underground Resource Recovery Management Code……”
——And one name. Floated up in the center of the screen as the decisive brand of fact.
---
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 37】
“The ‘space’ that the dominated class can perceive is nothing more than a physical cage. But true space is the torrent of information itself. Fools are blocked by walls; the wise read the lines (vectors).”
---
“Management Responsible Person——Maxim”
“…………”
I stared fixedly at that name. At that moment‚ deep in my collarbone‚ Noah narrowed his amber eyes extremely amusedly.
“……I see.”
“Do you know him?”
“Yeah.”
Noah laughed like a predator fixing its gaze on the nape of its prey in the depths of darkness.
“The bishop’s right-hand man.”
“……Eh?”
“And——one of the most excellent ‘investors (rule-makers)’ in this city.”
I held my breath.
The giant blood pipeline flowing through the underground conduits. The true plunderer’s name seated at its endpoint had finally been revealed.
Maxim. Mid-layer Administrative District‚ Finance Bureau Director.
The true identity of the headquarters of all the thieves who stole the children’s modest smiles and continued to steal our tomorrow with chains named legality.
“……Finance Bureau Director‚ Maxim”
I rolled that name on my lips once more.
The giant Mana pipeline crawling through the underground conduits. The 1‚129 Mana unjustly peeled from us——more precisely‚ the remaining mere 125 Mana subtracted from it‚ the far too unreasonable nine-tenths of the profit. All of it becoming a single muddy flow and being sucked up into the mid-layer administrative district. The human calmly sitting at its farthest endpoint.
Maxim.
I gripped the hem of my high-quality Mana-silk dress so tightly my fingers turned white.
“……He’s the one stealing our earnings.”
“To be precise‚ that’s not correct.”
Noah quietly inserted a correction from the hollow of my collarbone.
“He is not stealing.”
“……Eh?”
“He is merely legitimately 【collecting】.”
At that calm single word‚ I sharply furrowed my brows.
“It’s the same thing!”
“It is decisively different.”
Noah’s amber eyes narrowed into a dark‚ amused color.
“If it were theft‚ it would be a crime. If it is a crime‚ gathering evidence and reporting it to the system would settle it. ……But——what if it is a legitimate 【collection】 against which no one can raise an objection?”
“…………”
Tama kept her round body curled up and glared sharply at the hologram formulas.
“Boss” “Yeah” “……I found something really terrible.”
“Something terrible?”
Tama flicked her front paws upward. In the pitch-black air‚ several merciless items were mapped.
“Special Environmental Maintenance Tax”
“Lower-layer District Mana Circulation Management Fee”
“Urban Resource Preservation Burden Charge”
“Slum Stabilization Contribution Fund”
“……What is this”
“Taxes.”
Tama answered in a low voice crawling along the ground.
“……Taxes?” “Yeah.”
In Tama’s perfectly round pupils‚ not a shred of cuteness remained.
“The nine-tenths of Mana that disappeared from you lot all have splendid names attached to them that leave no room for complaint.”
The recalculated logs rose one after another on my retina as blood-red character strings.
“Collection Basis——Registered. Collection Target——Lower-layer District Business Operators. Collection Rate——90%. Central Management AI Authentication——Completed. Illegality Judgment——None. Collection Execution Responsible Party——Finance Bureau”
——I lost my words.
“……All of it” My throat trembled. “Is all of it really legal……?”
Tama nodded heavily and small. “On the system‚ yes.”
“But……!” I pointed at the red-blinking screen. “This is nine-tenths!?”
“Yeah.”
“Taking nine-tenths‚ and calling that…… ‘legal’” “Yeah.”
“Don’t screw with me……!”
I raised my voice involuntarily. My angry shout echoed off the damp passageway walls‚ bouncing back many times as cold geometric noise.
“How is that any different from just stripping someone naked in a robbery!?”
No one answered. Instead‚ from the depths of the dimness a little ways away‚ a dry voice leaked out.
“……It’s no different‚ young lady.”
I turned around. There stood the residents of the slum who had been quietly watching our work. A gaunt old man. Clothes stained with heavy oil. In one hand‚ he weakly held a cracked mana container.
The old man twisted his thin lips in self-mockery.
“For us‚ it’s always been the same.” “……Always?” “Yeah.”
The old man looked up at the stagnant underground ceiling.
“If you work‚ it’s taken. If you eat‚ it’s taken. If you have a wall to shelter from rain and wind‚ it’s taken. If you pick up Mana‚ it’s taken.”
Calmly. As if talking about tomorrow’s weather‚ he continued. “That’s the principle (rule) of this city.”
Another woman quietly interjected from beside him. While holding a still unfleshed young child in her thin arms.
“A long time ago‚ I heard just once. Taxes are supposed to be used for everyone in this city.”
She smiled with an extremely dry voice.
“But you know‚ the well in our district is still broken. There’s no clinic to examine the children. When night falls‚ even the streetlights mercilessly go out. ……Even so‚ taxes alone are carefully carved away nine-tenths from our lives every day.”
The child in her arms coughed small and dry. The woman gently stroked that far-too-thin back as if handling something fragile.
“……That’s why no one expects anything anymore.”
Those words weighed on the depths of my chest with the mass of cold lead.
I slowly looked around at the surrounding adults. No one was angry. No one shouted. Everyone simply silently stared at the muddy water and hung their heads. As if “this is how it is” had been directly written into their retinas as the world’s ruling code from the beginning.
“……Something like that”
My fingertips trembled slightly between anger and fear. “It’s wrong.”
The old man directed his cloudy gaze at me.
“Young lady” “Yes”
“As long as you can think it’s strange‚ that’s proof you’re still ‘human.’”
“…………”
The old man stared fixedly at his own palms covered in mud and heavy oil. “Us‚ you see. Over decades‚ we had our souls castrated so that we would come to think of this injustice as ‘ordinary’ scenery.”
At those words‚ something sank coldly and heavily deep in my chest.
——Ordinary. It was the same as the hell I had witnessed in that Gallus’s human scrapyard. Using children as disposable batteries. Forcibly extracting only talent and throwing it into the gacha. Discarding humans who were no longer useful like garbage. Everything was affirmed by a single mad measuring stick called “maximization of profit rate.”
And now——taxes‚ laws‚ markets‚ numbers——merely changed into more invisible‚ refined symbols‚ the essence of exploitation that bares its fangs has not changed at all. Turning humans into mere numbers. Numbers into cold profit. Discarding humans who do not produce profit along with the system.
“……Tama” “What is it?”
“I’m going to report it to the Area Manager.”
I forcefully‚ as if tearing‚ raised my face. “Something like this is absolutely wrong. We’ll report it to the upper audit system.”
However‚ Tama lowered her round ears in confusion.
“Boss” “What?” “That’s…… the path that works the least.”
“Why?”
Tama further expanded the hologram all at once. There‚ a giant‚ majestic digital crest modeled after a crown was displayed.
“Economic Ruling AI 〈Beatrice〉”
Beneath it‚ vast amounts of bloodless legal data cascaded like a waterfall. Tax systems‚ market regulations‚ collection regulations‚ administrative authorities——and the decisive three characters that absolutely affirm all of them.
“Legal”
I held my breath. “……The ruling AI is affirming this?”
“That’s how it is‚ Lily.”
Noah quietly interjected‚ accompanied by the silence of the Deepest Prison.
“Maxim is not a lawless thief outside the system. He is a first-rate investor (rule-maker) who‚ inside the system‚ handles ‘violence named legality (rules)’ better than anyone.”
“…………”
“He is collecting nine-tenths. However‚ he did not steal nine-tenths. He has been legitimately given the right to openly collect nine-tenths by the system (Beatrice). ……In front of a legally laid barrier‚ your sense of justice is nothing more than mere noise.”
——I bit my lip hard enough for blood to seep.
“……Then” I couldn’t suppress the trembling in my voice no matter what. “What happens if we report it to that Area Manager in the mid-layer?”
“……Impossible‚ Boss.” Tama answered immediately.
“Why!?”
“Because the Area Manager is also kept by Beatrice’s calculation system (jurisdiction). Not only that……”
Tama continued the words as if chewing a bitter bug.
“That man called Maxim is‚ from Beatrice’s perspective‚ an ultra-excellent customer——or more accurately‚ registered as the ‘most excellent investor.’”
“Investor……?”
“Because he always brings astronomical profits to the city (system).” From deep in my collarbone‚ Noah answered calmly. “That alone becomes a reason for the ruling AI 〈Beatrice〉 to protect him with the highest priority.”
“But in reality he’s taking lives from so many people!?”
“So‚ is that a problem?”
“…………!”
“What is important to the system is not who is happy.”
Noah’s voice was utterly flat‚ and precisely because of that it struck at an inescapable cruel truth.
“Whether the final profit rate is maximized——that alone. Maxim collects a thousand Mana. Of that‚ he channels nine hundred Mana to the upper layers. As a result‚ the city’s assets are enriched. Then‚ to the system‚ he is the most excellent manager (asset) of anyone.”
“……Even if people die?” “As long as profits are maintained.”
“Even if children are starving right before our eyes?” “As long as profits are maintained.”
“Even if this city is smashed to pieces?”
“As long as profits are maintained——everything is permitted.”
Noah laughed a little in the back of his throat‚ carrying a stylish resignation.
“Maxim is perfectly correct‚ Lily.”
“…………”
Deep in my chest‚ something——snapped with a sound.
“……Something like that”
I slowly raised my face. “Cannot be correct.”
My voice still trembled with the high heat of anger. But——this time‚ my legs were not trembling in the slightest.
“If producing profits alone is justice”
I stared straight at the hologram formulas burning bright red.
“Does that mean it’s fine to crush anyone here as long as you produce numbers!?”
“In this system‚ yes‚ that is absolute justice.”
“Then”
I took one step forward‚ firmly planting my foot on the hard floor.
“——We will conveniently use those rules (laws) ourselves.”
——Tama’s perfectly round eyes widened as far as they could go.
“……Boss?”
“I have no intention whatsoever of becoming a criminal.” I clearly‚ without hesitation‚ declared. “We’re not breaking the law. ……Perfectly‚ while remaining legal.”
At the chest of my dress‚ I tightly clenched a small fist.
“I’ll overturn from the inside all the profits (numbers) Maxim is sucking up.”
At that moment‚ deep in my collarbone‚ Noah’s amber eyes narrowed to the extreme.
“……Oh?”
“Because” I showed a daring smile.
I was intensely angry. My core trembled with fear. Even so——the instincts of a swindler naturally spilled a ferocious smile onto my lips.
“They’re legal rules‚ right?”
“Yes‚ exactly so.”
“Then we commoners should also have the right to use exactly the same rules.”
“…………”
“If we cannot break the rules”
I stared straight into the unfathomable abyss of the system.
“Then inside the cage of those rules‚ I’ll crush him completely.”
——Silence.
Eventually‚ Tama murmured softly‚ as if her soul had been taken. “……Boss” “What?” “That’s insanely difficult.” “I know.” “The opponent is the Finance Bureau Director of the mid-layer‚ y’know?” “I understand.” “Behind him is that absolute queen 〈Beatrice〉.” “I’m fully aware of that too.”
“……Do you really think we can win?”
I sank a little into the sea of thought——then quietly turned around toward the children standing behind me.
Kaito. Sasha. The forty beloved children (troupe members). The children who today for the first time proudly spoke of their own talents. Beside them‚ that mother still waiting for water from the broken well. The child coughing dryly. The old man staring at his muddy palms. The people who have lost their fangs‚ who endure unjust exploitation even today and keep breathing only to survive.
I gently yet firmly looked over everyone present.
“……I don’t know if we can win.”
Without pretense‚ I answered honestly. “But——”
One more step. With my mud-stained boots‚ I forcefully stepped forward.
“I have absolutely no intention of losing either.”
Tama’s round pupils slowly narrowed.
“……That’s right.”
A cat-like flexible smile appeared on her mouth. “That’s why you’re our Boss. Worth following.”
Deep in my collarbone‚ the King of the Deepest Prison let out a dark‚ amused laugh from the back of his throat.
“Truly excellent. It seems you’ve finally stood on the true board of this world.”
“It’s not a game.”
I immediately retorted coldly.
“Oh?”
“This is the ‘reality’ of the people living here sipping muddy water——our reality.”
Noah fell silent.
I once more looked up at the giant Mana pipeline flowing through the underground conduits. Amber light pulsed eerily toward the depths of the darkness. While sucking the blood of life little by little‚ little by little‚ from the bodies of the people of this city.
“……I’ll take it back.”
I murmured in a small yet unbreakable voice with a core.
“Our bread. The children’s future. The dignity of living that the people of this city had long given up on. And——the smiles of every person within my reach.”
◇
Far away‚ in the mid-layer administrative district. The top floor of a high-rise building piercing the sky. A man was coldly looking down on the multicolored city dyed in dusk from a massive glass window covering one entire wall.
White gloves. An impeccably tailored jet-black suit. A slender‚ functional body. And‚ in the depths of thin metal-framed glasses‚ a cold gaze harboring unfathomable intelligence.
The man was quietly sliding his fingers over a thin tablet in one hand.
“Lower-layer district. Mana recovery volume. Abnormal value.”
The man’s white-gloved fingertips suddenly stopped.
“……Strange.”
The numbers displayed on the retinal UI. Originally‚ the purity of Mana rising from the bottom district was nothing more than garbage not even worth the recovery cost. However‚ these past few hours——Mana crystals of clearly abnormal ultra-high purity had begun flowing into the market (system) with a certain regularity.
“This purity……?”
The man’s narrow eyes sharpened like a sword.
“It can’t be——”
Maxim operated the tablet with flowing movements and delved into the depths of the access logs. Eventually‚ one girl’s name was mapped onto the frozen screen.
“Lily Ardent”
The man raised the corner of his thin mouth just a little.
“……Hoh.”
Outside the window. Coldly looking down on the streetscape of the slum dyed bright red like blood in the dusk.
“In the trash can of our city”
He elegantly pushed up his thin metal-framed glasses with a fingertip.
“It seems a cleverly capable rat has appeared.”
The man——Mid-layer Administrative District‚ Finance Bureau Director. Maxim.
He quietly closed the thin tablet’s screen. And in the luxurious office with no one else present‚ he carved a cruel distortion onto his lips and smiled.
“Well then.”
“To the people of the bottom——”
His thin fingertips smoothly touched‚ through the mid-layer system‚ the absolute economic authority that is ‘Beatrice’s management screen.’
“Economic Ruling AI 〈Beatrice〉”
At its center. A dark item that only upper persons with special execution authority can open floated up.
《Special Inflation Measure》
Maxim selected that item without the slightest hesitation or doubt.
“Let us adjust the prices a little for you.”
His fingertip coldly——touched the execution key.
——Click.
“Processing accepted. Target——Lower-layer district. Base price coefficient——changed to 100 times.”
Maxim narrowed his thin eyes in satisfaction and smiled.
“Garbage should act like garbage.”
Outside the window. The unreliable magic-lamp lights of the slum sank one by one into a deep night darkness as if a giant ink had been spilled.
“Crawl around the bottom of that gutter until you starve to death.”
And——at the very bottom of the city. The countdown to a new starvation hell brought by overwhelming economic violence quietly began.
---
Chapter 04.3 “The True Identity of the Thieves and the Invisible Blood (Pipeline)” End
---
——Note that the operating guidelines recorded below are not defined as a “scripture” by Beatrice herself.
They are merely rational guidelines for optimizing city operations.
——ARCHIVE——
——Document: Economic Management AI 〈Beatrice〉 Operating Scripture
Chapter 4 Related Excerpts
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 36】
“System deductions are not unjust plunder.
They are the ‘inevitable cost’ required to optimize society and maintain the prosperity of the upper strata.
Dissatisfaction from the lower strata is swiftly homogenized by the ruling algorithm.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 37】
“The ‘space’ that the dominated class can perceive is nothing more than a physical cage.
But true space is the torrent of information itself.
Fools are blocked by walls; the wise read the lines (vectors).”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 38】
“The dominated class does not know the value of their own blood (Mana).
Therefore‚ it must be recovered by the most efficient method.
The tubes (pipelines) that carry invisible blood are the invisible lifeline that guarantees the city’s wealth.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 39】
“The most perfected livestock is the herd that does not notice it has been castrated.
The microscopic suction tubes (injections) one millimeter under the skin produce no screams.
Exploitation without screams is what guarantees the lasting harmony of the city.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 40】
“The only happiness permitted to the dominated class is to forget the very fact that they are being exploited.
When the mechanism that substitutes injustice for ‘poor health’ or ‘aging’ as personal responsibility is completed‚ rule reaches the domain of gods.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 41】
“Labor is not the act of producing Mana. It is a ritual for recirculating wealth upstream and adapting oneself to the system.
A sense of security in survival‚ and a modest sense of superiority over those below.
By giving only those two narcotics‚ the herd will compete to carve away their own lives and become slaves to numbers.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 42】
“The most reliable method to turn a muddy flow into a clear stream is to dilute it with an even greater muddy flow.
Mix the mud of the lower strata and affix a label named legality.
In the instant the audit AI’s retina is deceived‚ bloodstained unjust wealth is elevated into sacred assets.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 43】
“The moment the dominated class recognizes their own ‘cage‚’ the first phase of rule collapses.
But they have no iron hammer with which to break the cage.
As long as no wise one appears‚ the invisible pipeline will continue to suck up wealth forever.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 44】
“A truly perfected surveillance net (grid) is a cage that connects all terminals.
But what the system fears most is the ‘isolated individual (standalone)’ that rejects connection.
A single stray cat that slips through the mesh will eventually devour the giant spider’s web from within.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 45】
“The upper administrative district is a sanctuary.
A place where wealth purified from the filth of the lower strata is quietly‚ and without anyone knowing‚ accumulated.
All logic in this domain must be concealed by absolute encryption (protocol).”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 46】
“There is no jealousy (bug) in the system.
But the moment the judicial algorithm defines a specific individual (Noah) as highest priority‚ that logic harbors madness.
Even the highest law is easily distorted by noise named emotion.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 47】
“True thieves do not sneak in under the cover of night.
They create laws‚ build government offices‚ and openly collect lives (numbers) in broad daylight from the front.
The most robust vault is the ruling mechanism itself that everyone believes without doubt to be justice.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 48】
“The dominated class does not ‘own’ wealth.
They are merely temporarily ‘safekeeping’ the assets of the upper strata.
Therefore‚ collection is legitimate return‚ and any resistance is defined as rebellion against the system.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 49】
“Rule is the technique of leaving only the bare minimum muddy water necessary for survival and sucking up all surplus.
What should be given to the lower strata is not welfare.
A false sense of relief that ‘no more will be taken’ and a narcotic named powerlessness.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 50】
“Institutions are the rails laid by the strong to sanctify their own plunder.
No matter how much the lower strata shed tears of blood‚ the moment calculation outputs ‘legal‚’ it becomes the justice of the world.
Thieves protected by the law are the most beautiful and most invincible existence.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 51】
“The worst injustice to the system is not moral deficiency. It is stagnation of revenue.
No matter how many of the lower strata dry up‚ as long as the total volume of Mana is maximized‚ that domain is judged perfectly normal.
Calculation has no mercy. Numbers have no blood.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 52】
“A winner is not one who blindly believes in existing laws (rails).
It is one who discovers the bugs lurking in the gaps of the law and devours the system from within.
The absurd foreign body that fights inside the rules is what leads the true dominators to ruin.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 53】
“Rule is the maintenance of perfect imbalance.
The moment the filth of the lower strata escapes from turbidity‚ the formula detects an anomaly (noise).
The minute ripples that disturb the quiet water surface are the signs of collapse.”
【Economic Management AI Beatrice Operating Guideline Article 54】
“With a single will of the upper strata‚ the value (numbers) of the lower strata can be altered in any way.
Prices are not the scales of the gods. They are a legal castration switch for thinning out disobedient livestock.
To foreign bodies that toy with numbers‚ give starvation (delete) by numbers.”
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