Chapter 2568: Justice and Righteousness in Every Hand
"Of course we care, how could we not?" the man said. "The more business you take, the more frequently you get checked."
The crowd found it curious. "True, if players resort to underhanded tactics, the district government has no way to deal with them."
"It's not that they have no way. If the district government couldn't handle it, how could Zone 001 have developed?" The man took a sip of hot soup and continued, "Didn't I just say it? This is a tradition of Zone 001. The words 'chivalry and justice' are carved into their bones. They handle what the law can manage, and they also handle what the law cannot."
"Otherwise, why do you think these companies conduct pre-job investigations? They only act against those who are intolerable by both law and morality."
"An extramarital affair is just that—hardly worth killing someone over," someone couldn't help but say. "By that standard, how many people would die in Zone 001?"
"That's the rule," the man said. "Emotion breeds desire, desire breeds greed, greed breeds change. You see it as just an affair, but maybe the other party is planning to secretly kill off the obstacle and run off together."
"Rules—the bottom line beyond the law. Once that bottom line is broken, human nature has no limits."
"No wonder," someone chuckled. "Since I came here, I haven't found any places for entertainment. I thought the men in this district were all monks, but it turns out they're afraid of being killed."
This remark made the locals inside and outside the shop turn their heads, their cold stares landing on the speaker.
Not just ordinary citizens, but even the local players active nearby.
The grinning man's smile froze. The shop owner called over a public service robot and told him to settle his bill and leave.
The man couldn't save face, quickly paid up, but still couldn't help saying, "Are all you people in Zone 001 saints? No one breaks the law or commits crimes?"
"Of course there are crimes and lawbreaking—that's why there are so many companies lining up to take orders," a stranger responded.
The breakfast shop erupted in laughter. The man, having made a fool of himself, left.
While eating breakfast, Xu Huo learned about the situation of these "assassination companies." So-called chivalry and justice, acting on behalf of heaven, didn't always mean killing. Most of the time, it depended on the severity of the case. For example, if someone was inexplicably beaten up, they could place an order to hire someone to investigate and retaliate. Or if someone was bullied by certain individuals or organizations, they could place an order for an eye-for-an-eye retaliation.
In short, compared to the law and the enforcement teams that required procedures, ordinary citizens trusted "everyone is an enforcer" more. And when everyone could enforce the law, rules and bottom lines became something everyone unconsciously adhered to.
Besides resolving minor disputes among local residents, they also intervened in player fights. For instance, if a local was killed by an outsider player, the assassination company would take the order and do everything possible to bring back the killer's corpse within a certain time limit. There was a rumor on the Message Collection Terminal, of unknown authenticity, that two players from other zones once clashed in Zone 001, accidentally killing sixteen ordinary people. The two killers then simply brushed off their hands and left. The district government couldn't pursue the matter to the end, so the families of the victims pooled their money and hired an assassination company.
Such assassination orders were extremely difficult. Not only was it hard to find the people, but even if found, it was no easy task. Yet that company actually completed it in the end. It took half a year, cost more than a dozen advanced players, and they brought back the corpses of those two outsider players to fulfill the contract.
This incident directly led to the small-scale assassination company disbanding on the spot, but their reputation was firmly established. The old site of that company now seemed to be a somewhat famous tourist spot.
In the evolution zones, players doing whatever they pleased was the norm, and even the district government found it hard to effectively restrain them. The phrase "everyone is an enforcer" was something players practiced with their own bodies. Those with a conscience naturally held fast to their principles; those slightly more unscrupulous found life incredibly smooth...
This was the default state everyone accepted, a reflection of human nature. Many people, when encountering player incidents, could only bury their hatred deep and resign themselves to fate.
Zone 001 directly shattered this perception. They had their own evaluation system. Whether law or morality, anyone who crossed the line was severely punished. Since the evil in people's hearts couldn't be stopped, they would use any means to lock that evil in a cage!
Justice and righteousness in every hand... It was hard to imagine that most people in Zone 001 actually accepted this logic.
Of course, Zone 001 would definitely have those who broke the rules. Not every assassination company was necessarily good, which would inevitably breed new problems, possibly even interfering with government management. But interestingly, the district government held a public vote on this issue fifty years ago.
90% of citizens believed it wasn't a problem at all. Whether ordinary people, players, assassination companies, or government personnel—they could kill others, and others could kill them.
What a simple and crude way of thinking. What if someone holding justice committed a crime? Simple—kill that person holding justice. Zone 001 was not short of people holding justice.
Here, ordinary people didn't harbor the deep-seated belief that they were always weaker than players. The mere gap in physical ability couldn't extinguish their passion.
"Don't think ordinary people are weak. Most of the promoters of game technology are ordinary people. Players hold power, but ordinary people also hold power. If they really risk their lives, who knows who would kill whom." The player drinking soup had a flushed face and seemed a bit dizzy. "If you see yourself as weak, then you truly become weak."
At that moment, the boss came out from the back kitchen, wiped his hands, and hoisted the man up to carry him inside. "Sorry, everyone. My brother has been a bit eccentric since retiring from the enforcement team. I've delayed your meal."
Many noticed that the speaking brother had an abnormal leg, likely once a player.
Someone from the shop across the street, who knew the inside story, laughed and said, "That guy used to harass young girls. He got his legs broken three times in a row, couldn't stay in the enforcement team, and now works as an apprentice in a clock shop. He works sporadically and spends his free time bragging to customers in the shop."
He had been "cleansed" by the light of justice until his eyes were clear.
"But he's quite talented. The clocks he makes are pretty good," the person across the street pointed to the clock on their own wall and said without any grudge, "He made this one."
"Let's go." Xu Huo paid and left.
"Where to?" the Painting Woman asked.
"To visit a famous attraction." Xu Huo casually bought a map and went to the old site of the company mentioned on the Message Collection Terminal. He took a teleportation point, went out, and turned down a street to reach it. There was indeed a well-preserved old building with some age. On the wall was a sign reading "Kongyou Service Company," and beside it were many inscriptions in different handwriting, such as "Absolute Justice," "Respect You as a Good Person," "Justice Pioneer," and so on.
At the very bottom of the wall was a flashing advertisement: "The company has moved to Smiling Face Park. Welcome for consultation."