Chapter 353 - 350: We Need Dreams

Tis couldn't understand Casue's unshakeable confidence.

Or rather, the vast majority of temporary workers didn't understand the confidence of the formal employees.

Many of these temporary workers had come here simply to earn some money and improve their standard of living; they had no grand ambitions of changing their lives.

As Casue had said, there were far too many "old worlds" like Kom Ombo on this planet. And the old worlds that existed within people's hearts were even more numerous.

Tis and the others had no idea why they were trapped in the old world.

Now, Casue's mission was to help them break their shackles and guide them to become fanatics of the Homo Sapiens Company.

Casue was brimming with confidence about this task. He himself had emerged from the old world and become a "new human" who possessed both dreams and power.

Fanaticism was a double-edged sword.

When there was a huge gap between dreams and reality, you could make grand promises to motivate people and temporarily maintain their confidence.

But this motivation was like a hormone, and it came with severe side effects.

Why were so many people full of passion when they were just starting out, only to rapidly fall into degeneracy and despair in middle age?

It was because they had been injected with too much of the "dream hormone." Their frail bodies could no longer withstand the side effects. An immunity inevitably developed, and their systems collapsed.

So, did that mean the "dream hormone" was useless?

No, quite the opposite.

This hormone was crucial. For any human being, the dream hormone was, to a certain extent, as important as growth hormones or sex hormones.

A life without dreams was no different from being dead.

In other words, many people were actually already dead.

They were merely empty shells in the concrete jungle, turned into tools and parts, into so-called carbon-based robots.

We need dreams.

So we accepted the initial hormone injection.

Now, Casue was going to inject Tis and the other temporary workers with a brand new dream hormone: the *Homo sapiens* dream hormone.

But the dreams provided by this hormone were ultimately just a form of mental consolation. Over time, people would build up a tolerance. The euphoric high from these dreams would become increasingly rare until it dried up completely.

Then, to keep people energized and maintain the entire system, one had to resort to more potent hormones with even more severe side effects.

Was there, then, a dream hormone with no side effects?

The answer was no.

But there was a way to treat the side effects.

It was to make dreams a reality.

As long as the weakened body received enough nourishment, the dream hormone would, in fact, make a person stronger and more spirited.

This was exactly what the Homo Sapiens Company did. It made grand promises to these new employees, and then, bit by bit, it delivered on them. In this way, the employees not only avoided becoming jaded or giving up, but they actually maintained their vitality and fighting spirit.

If you dared to make grand promises, you had to have the power and skill to fulfill them, as well as a fair method for distributing the rewards.

Otherwise, the employees' enthusiasm and fanaticism would sooner or later be worn away.

Why had East Japan stagnated for over thirty years after the 1990s?

Before the 1990s, East Japan's economy was booming. The prospect of a wonderful future allowed many to ignore the side effects of the "dream hormone," enabling them to withstand immense pressure and persevere through sheer grit.

But after the 1990s, East Japan's economy stagnated, and the side effects of the "dream hormone" began to surface. Many people suddenly found their future bleak and chose to "lie flat."

East Japan's strong foundation was the only reason it could maintain this middling, neither-good-nor-bad state for over three decades.

But now, with the outbreak of a global economic crisis, soaring prices for oil, natural gas, and grain, and stagnant sales of industrial products, East Japan was starting to buckle.

In the fourth quarter of last year alone, the number of people immigrating from East Japan to Homo Sapiens reached a staggering 830,000.

Across the entire Far East Region, the number of people immigrating to Homo Sapiens in the fourth quarter of last year hit a new high, reaching a record 15.36 million.

Ujima Beiyang, for instance, who came to work in Kom Ombo, had immigrated last September.

Casue had seen too many empty shells who had lost their dreams. Many of the company's new recruits were just planning to coast, to escape the miserable lives they had before.

And these empty shells needed to be injected with the "dream hormone" once more, then nourished bit by bit to reignite their vitality and fighting spirit.

This was also why, even though the environment within the Homo Sapiens Company was perfect for coasting and living an aimless life, many people worked without the slightest intention of "lying flat."

Because they saw the possibility of their dreams coming true.

Casue watched these rookies with a knowing smile. The company would soon answer their doubts and suspicions with action, showing them that their hard work would build them a better life.

Even the special cultural barriers in West Asia and the North Africa Region couldn't withstand the overwhelming advance of the Homo Sapiens Company.

Who doesn't want to feast on delicacies?

Who doesn't want villas and mansions?

Who doesn't want to be carefree?

Everyone has desires. There's no such thing as a person completely without them.

Casue himself had all sorts of needs and desires. He understood human nature all too well, and the Homo Sapiens Company could satisfy the vast majority of most people's wants.

As long as the material wealth kept pace, the dreams could be continuously amplified.

As their dreams were continually realized, these people would quickly become fanatics of the Homo Sapiens Company. Their loyalty would deepen, and they would easily transform into "new humans."

Casue saw the distant Nile River as the last ray of sunlight disappeared below the horizon.

He finished his bottle of Coke.

He turned to look at the shower truck and saw that three stalls had opened up. "Spots are free. Let's go!"

After their showers, they tossed their dirty clothes into baskets in the laundry room. The staff would wash and dry them, then place the clean clothes in cloth bags marked with their personal ID numbers. They could just pick them up from the laundry room the next day.

Refreshed, Casue took Tis and the others to eat.

Even out here in the wilderness, the facilities provided by the Homo Sapiens Company were quite comprehensive.

Two kitchen trucks supplied three meals a day for the 241 employees. Each truck was staffed by a team of five cooks.

"What's for dinner tonight?"

The short-haired cook smiled. "Lamb pilaf, shredded cabbage salad, celery stir-fried with cashews, chicken soup with termitomyces mushrooms, plus orange juice and watermelon."

"Not bad!"

Casue quickly got himself a large plate of lamb pilaf. A fist-sized piece of lamb shank rested on long-grain rice soaked in savory juices, all of it covered with chickpeas, shredded yellow carrots, and sliced onions.

He also got the shredded cabbage salad and orange juice.

Tis did the same.

Dining tables were set up around the kitchen trucks, sheltered by tents that blocked the wind and sand.

The moment he sat down, Tis began to dig in eagerly. He cast all his worries aside, focusing solely on the delicious meal before him.

As an ordinary Egyptian, it wasn't that Tis had never eaten meat. But his typical diet consisted mainly of flatbread, macaroni, cornmeal, and chickpeas, accompanied by eggs, cheese, grilled fish, and vegetables.

As for meats like beef, lamb, and chicken, he ate them maybe once or twice a month.

Tis was overjoyed with the free food the company provided. His only minor complaint was the lack of desserts and the small portion of rice.

In reality, the local eating habits were quite unhealthy. The three daily meals were typically high in carbs, sugar, and oil, with low intake of protein and vegetables. This resulted in a high obesity rate among Egyptians, and many suffered from the "three highs"—high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar.

Therefore, the company adjusted the employee meals in Egypt, increasing the proportion of protein, vegetables, and fruit, while reducing carbohydrates and sweets.

This was also for the sake of the employees' health.

The temporary workers didn't have much of an opinion on this. After all, if the company was willing to replace carbs and desserts with meat, vegetables, and fruit, they had no complaints, as long as they could eat their fill.

And so, against this backdrop, the process of changing the temporary workers' dietary habits began, subtly and silently.