Acting as a minor project observer to see if there was any merit in investing.
"But the Neural Interface and communication equipment are all monitored by the Federation," Zhu Xi Ning reminded from the side.
Their bracelets had been on their wrists since the day they were created. This was the Federation's shackle, permanently etched onto them like a product serial number.
The Scavenger Project was just one of hundreds of large-scale projects run by the Federation. As long as there were no massive loopholes, it wouldn't trigger the monitoring system's alarms.
However, if the truth were broadcasted to everyone's Neural Interface, it would certainly be detected.
At the moment, Wen Xiang Yuan was still exploring the limits of the monitoring system's capabilities, so they, as scavengers, had to act with extreme caution.
"So we have to use the most primitive way."
Fu Xi Ming's eyes looked weary. She was in the same state as Jiang Siyan, barely holding herself together to communicate with Nan Yue.
She kept thinking of Shen Nian, and the words He Jiu Chen had said to her.
"Perhaps this is just our fate as scavengers? Don't sacrifice yourself for something that can't be changed. How sad would those left behind be?"
She shook her head, casting those voices aside.
"Every city state has a Sharp Blade stronghold. We need to seek the opinions of all strongholds and members first before spreading this news further."
They had to be cautious, or they would trigger worldwide chaos.
"Additionally, there is one more thing to put on the agenda. We need to prepare for two possibilities."
Human nature was inherently self-interested and self-preserving; not everyone would be willing to throw away their lives for freedom and dignity.
They were destined to never be fully united.
Telling everyone the truth was simply out of respect for their comrades.
They had the right to know.
But the final battle, the actual resistance against the Federation, could not be forced upon everyone.
They only needed to know what the world was really like, and then... prepare for the coming doomsday.
The heavy lifting would be left to Sharp Blade.
This was Shen Nian's original intention for founding Sharp Blade.
To forge a path toward light and freedom for all scavengers.
"Do you mean exploring the world outside the wall?"
Nan Yue seemed to know what Fu Xi Ming was planning. She had a similar plan herself, but she hadn't expected Fu Xi Ming to be so perfectly in sync with her thoughts.
Fu Xi Ming chuckled. "You really are just a brat fresh out of the training academy. Thinking you can save the world all by yourself?"
Nan Yue's face flushed, and she glared at Fu Xi Ming.
Fu Xi Ming was only teasing her. Now that she knew Nan Yue's history and what she had endured since childhood, she understood why Nan Yue had the temperament to try and shoulder everything alone.
"This isn't a burden for you to carry by yourself. This is the fate of all of us."
"The Federation didn't notice us because of you. You don't need to feel like this is your obligation, and you certainly don't need to feel guilty."
Nan Yue was stunned; Fu Xi Ming had actually hit the mark.
After learning the truth, she had felt a strange sense of guilt.
If she couldn't devour and purify pollution, if she hadn't met Wen Xiang Yuan, if she hadn't been so persistent in digging for the truth...
At least everyone could have continued living in ignorance.
But her logic also told her that this wasn't her fault; it was the Federation's.
"It is precisely because of you that we have the right to know the truth and the right to resist."
"The scavengers should thank you."
Nan Yue lowered her eyes and didn't answer. After a moment, she asked, "When do you plan to go outside the city?"
Fu Xi Ming tied her curly hair back, looking sharp and capable.
"Lan Jing Shui, notify the headquarters members for a meeting. Tell Dongfang Yuelai to come over."
Fu Xi Ming acted with lightning efficiency. She had already thought of a way to spread the news while minimizing the immediate fallout.
She would use Dongfang Yuelai's ability.
Even though everyone would eventually find out, knowing all at once would definitely lead to chaos.
Panic was contagious.
Lan Jing Shui let out a long sigh and began operating his Neural Interface.
"Fu Xi Ming, if Sharp Blade chooses a conservative approach, I want you to know that I will still stick to my choice."
Nan Yue couldn't give up. The pollution in her body, Wen Xiang Yuan's fate—she couldn't just let it go.
Fu Xi Ming suddenly laughed, her eyes full of pride.
"I am Sharp Blade, so Sharp Blade is walking this path with you."
"Those who are unwilling can leave. Sharp Blade exists for the freedom of scavengers. Everything I did before was so that more people could live to see that day."
"But Sharp Blade is absolutely not a nanny. It doesn't exist to protect scavengers."
"The fundamental difference between us and the people of the Federation is that we don't need others to protect us. We are our own saviors."
In Fu Xi Ming, Nan Yue seemed to see the shadow of Shen Nian, whom she had never met.
Equally spirited, equally firm, and equally brave.
She was never alone on this path.
Nan Yue exchanged a look with her teammates. "Then, Department Head Fu, the Beauty is Justice team is at your command."
Fu Xi Ming was an excellent leader and ruler. Nan Yue's self-positioning was very accurate; in the overall strategic plan against the Federation, she was the sharp sword, and she was willing to let Fu Xi Ming be the one who wielded it.
Fu Xi Ming smiled and looked at Nan Yue for a silent moment.
"Very well. I need you to... explore the situation outside the city states as soon as possible."
Nan Yue and the others returned to Eagle City State.
They would wait there for Fu Xi Ming's orders.
Fu Xi Ming's plan coincided perfectly with Nan Yue's thoughts. The most important thing now was to explore the areas outside the city states.
Based on the information Wen Xiang Yuan possessed, the city states didn't exist in isolated timelines; it was highly likely they all occupied the same physical space, merely separated by the pollution the Federation had dumped between them.
The Federation's monitoring system and teleportation system were the only means of contact between the city states.
This greatly hindered communication between scavengers from different cities. Without communication, rules became stagnant, and many scavengers remained forever trapped in the point-based hierarchy established by the Federation.
But if the city states could be traveled between freely, and scavengers could move in and out of different cities at will, it would be beneficial for them in every way.
Back then, the goal of Shen Nian and her group when they left the city states was to find a place without pollution, to find the truth.
That direction itself had been wrong.
If the scavenger world was a vast canopy, the city states were points of starlight scattered across it. The darkness between them was the pollution; someone needed to forge a path through that darkness to connect the stars.
There was nothing beyond the canopy, and there was no place where pollution did not exist.
The canopy itself was filled with pollution.
Therefore, what Nan Yue and the others had to do was find the roads between different city states. To put it simply...
They had to walk out of the city, trek through the pollution to another city state, and prove that the cities could be interconnected.
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