Chapter 359 - 355: Changes

"Daddy, where are we going?" Wang Caixia asked, skipping forward as she held her parents’ hands, her feet bouncing on the ice-cold white tiles.

Even though their surroundings were unchanging, she found interest in everything.

She was in a great mood. It was rare for her dad to take her out. He always said it was too dangerous outside, and ever since they came to this place, he had strictly forbidden her from going out to play.

"How about Daddy takes you to live in a place with a school?" Feeling her father’s hand stroke her head, Wang Qiaoling smiled happily. "Okay! Okay! I want to go back to school! I miss Teacher Ouyang."

To keep her parents from worrying, she rarely showed how much she yearned for the world of the past, but she truly did miss her old world.

She missed her classmates and teachers, and she especially missed the snack street by the school gate. She even found herself desperately missing the Youth Palace, despite the accident that had once happened there.

But ever since that flash of golden light, there was no going back. Everything was different. They had no home anymore, and her dad, who used to have an adorable tiger head, had changed back into a person.

She had to eat all sorts of strange things, some of them raw, but she knew her dad had gone through great trouble to get them.

Looking at his sensible daughter, Wang Song’s heart ached. His daughter had endured too many hardships on this journey; she had never suffered so much in her entire life.

Just then, he suddenly heard footsteps ahead. His expression immediately grew wary. He sheltered his wife and daughter behind him and quickly had them cover their faces.

Soon, a group of six or seven middle-aged men carrying bags of all sizes walked toward them. When the two groups met by the edge of the pool, the expressions on both sides were tense.

But soon, when the small group saw that Wang Song’s party consisted of only three people, one of whom was a child, their expressions relaxed.

Even with their faces covered, it was easy to tell they were a family. Immediately, the group’s gazes turned brazen, and they began to whisper among themselves.

Seeing this, Wang Song felt his scalp tingle with dread. After months of struggling to survive, he knew all too well what was about to happen. He immediately pulled out the handgun that only had three bullets left.

"What do you want?! Don’t forget the new rules for Area 2 that the Federation just established! Any robbery or murder will be severely punished if caught!" Wang Song’s words echoed across the empty pool, and the atmosphere instantly grew incredibly tense.

After a brief calculation, the men ultimately decided not to act. After all, if the Federation found out, forget severe punishment—even being banned from using the trading post would be a huge loss.

With a tacit understanding, the two groups slowly moved, eventually trading places and disappearing from each other’s sight.

Seeing them go, Wang Song breathed a sigh of relief. ’It really is different now,’ he thought. ’Order is returning. My judgment was correct. Even if this is just the beginning, it’s so much better.’ He then quickened his pace.

Just then, he caught his wife’s worried gaze. "Is it really okay? I’m still a little scared."

Hearing this, Wang Song comforted her in a low voice, "It’s okay. I deliberately waited a long time to see if this Federation had some ulterior motive. But I found that the man they call the Director, whether it’s establishing new rules or sharing all intelligence, he really does what he says he’ll do."

"But... if you join, you’ll have to risk your life for that organization."

Wang Song didn’t say anything more, but he had already made a silent resolve. ’I’ll give my life to any person or organization that can protect my family!’

As they got closer to the trading post, the number of people increased, and the tension on their faces had visibly lessened. Even for those who didn’t join the Federation, the variety of new goods inside the trading post was enough to make everyone in Area 2 want to linger.

When the three of them emerged from another passageway, the view suddenly opened up before them. The cold white tiles were gone, replaced by a small city made of concrete. It was bustling with people coming and going.

This time, Wang Song didn’t head for the bustling market street as he had before. Instead, he walked toward a line of people off to the side. This was the recruitment point for the Federation; as long as you passed the screening, you could join.

It hadn’t always been like this, but since the appearance of the little girl in the school uniform, many rules had changed. The Federation now had entry requirements, which made those who had held back to wait and see beat their chests in regret.

Moreover, after the arrival of the girl named Hu Maomao, a whole system of rewards and punishments was even established, ranging from minor food deductions to expulsion, and even the death penalty.

Honestly, although she looked very cute, no one within the Federation, from the top down, truly treated her like a child. And no one liked her.

There were even rumors that she was a monster with the ability of Mind Reading. In everyone’s mind, her image had become particularly dark, even evil.

In contrast, juxtaposed against Hu Maomao, the Director’s image grew ever greater in everyone’s hearts. He not only implemented the new rules and broke the chain of suspicion, but he could also use a device to conjure food and had provided shelter for everyone.

Furthermore, when speaking with others, the Director was extremely amiable, sometimes even giving candy to children.

In fact, the Director had intended to distribute the conjured apples, meat, and noodles to everyone for free, but Hu Maomao stopped him. It became a reward within the punishment system and an incentive to climb the ranks.

Wang Song didn’t know how others saw this, but as a former manager himself, he could clearly see it for what it was: a classic case of people management.

No matter how strict or harsh Hu Maomao was, to put it bluntly, she was still working for the Director. It was absolutely impossible that the Director, as the highest authority in the Federation, didn’t know about these things.

If he was truly so considerate of everyone, he could have played the bad cop himself. But he didn’t. In every situation that would offend people, he never showed his face, letting his subordinate do all the dirty work.

He gets to be the amiable big boss, taking all the credit and fame for himself, while his subordinate gets all the blame and infamy. His methods were incredibly shrewd; this guy had definitely worked in an office and managed people before.

And if public anger ever boiled over, he could just kick his subordinate to the curb, replace them with a new one, and carry on as before. Wang Song had seen this trick countless times in the past, and he was sure the Director was thinking the same thing.

Although it all seemed incredibly cold, Wang Song didn’t care about any of that. In fact, it was precisely because he saw through the Director’s methods that, after careful consideration, he had decided to end his period of observation and join the Federation.