Conflux System: I Can Merge Anything-Chapter 52: The Night The Slum Stopped Eating Itself

An exchange of empathy provides an entry point for a lot of people to see what healing feels like.

The slum dwellers were performing atrocities to each other, to their family themselves without any need for the Holocrats to interfere.

Zane wanted to fight for their freedom but he couldn’t fight for them if they killed each other. Selling their wives and children, hitting them, blinding them, for the need of survival they had forgotten whom they should live for.

So as soon as they accepted Zane, he made some reforms without a second thought.

No children should be harmed by their own kind.

And prostitutes should be treated as humans.

If these rules were broken by anyone then he would not send them money.

These rules were necessary as if this didn’t happen then nothing would work no matter how hard Zane fights.

He couldn’t expect the world to treat them as Humans when they weren’t doing it themselves.

Zane let go of Mickey’s shoulder and the people in the crowd agreed with his rules. They all wanted change and money too.

He stood up, looked around and nearly all the population of Cinder Row was present. There were more Gutterborns all over Dwarkam but this was a start.

The man who had snatched the cloth from the woman’s chest also returned it to her and just after that action, Zane’s system bombarded him with windows.

[ Ding! ]

[ New Subordinates Added Successfully! ]

[ Major Quest ⊳ Declaration ⊳ Concluded! ]

[ Additional Rewards will be granted due to extraordinary performance! ]

[ Calculating Rewards... ]

[ Do you want to choose any new subordinates to become your second Ashbearer? ]

Not yet. And if I don’t make any of them an Ashbearer, will they not become strong?

[ No. They will become strong along with you like the Ashbearers. But since most of them aren’t suitable for holding great power, it’s best to make them only soldiers. And you can assign them under any Ashbearer as you want any time. ]

Fair enough.

Zane let the system calculate the rewards and honestly, he had forgotten about the Quest. It had prompted him to set an example but as he moved forward, it became personal and his focus shifted to wanting change for the people as he always wished. He didn’t even know what example he had set.

The windows stayed in front of Zane’s eyes as he heard the people talking among themselves and their voices now had much more volume and spark.

He smiled seeing them as he glanced at the golden windows.

He planned on doing only a passing glance but when his eyes fell there, he frowned.

He read the words and as he read them, his lips curled up.

You finally started talking normally. No host, positive, and negative stuff anymore. Nice.

[ Synchronization. ]

You only have one answer for everything.

The system said nothing and Zane also let it be.

He let the system do whatever it was doing and then a hand arrived from behind, resting around his neck.

The hand was surprisingly heavy but not heavier than the stench of tobacco.

"That’s a lot of responsibility you took upon yourself."

Zane sighed. "Whatever it takes to make them stop hurting each other."

Jammy chuckled. "You are one kind man. What’s your name?"

Did I not share my name?

Zane recalled all his words and reached to the part when he had swore he would change the Gutterborns’ fate.

"You didn’t hear my name? I said it after burning the tire."

"Well, I arrived after you did that. So, no. I don’t know your name."

Right.

Jammy came here after a lot had already taken place.

"Atlas. Zane Atlas."

Jammy slowly nodded. "Atlas. The one who could carry the world on his shoulders. So they chose this."

Zane frowned. "They?"

"Your folks, of course."

"Right." Zane shook his head.

"Do you know why I am called the Janitor?" Jammy asked, staring at the smiling faces of the people.

Zane saw that and he figured the reason would be something deep so he answered: "Because you clean the pain of others?"

"No." Jammy shook his head and looked at Zane with a gaze carrying a thousand words.

Zane gulped and Jammy finally revealed the reason.

"They call me that because I am a Janitor."

"..."

Zane gave up and Jammy continued:

"Nevermind that. If you need me, you can find—"

[ Ding! ]

[ Rewards Calculated! ]

Jammy’s voice drowned under the notification sound and Zane quickly removed Jammy’s hand from his shoulder.

He also made sure to see if the man heard the notification sound but now it was clear that only Zane could see the system.

He looked around once more and then clapped his hands.

All eyes focused on him and Zane said some parting words:

"I am going home now. Tomorrow, I will leave for the Citadel. I will keep sending updates and money from the Runners and you can also use them to talk to me as well. Take care. Sleep well."

Zane would see the rewards in the comfort of his home and it was nearly twelve hours since he had left his home.

The people also didn’t seem to mind it as they also had nothing to say.

They agreed with Zane and the young man nodded.

He then looked at Jammy.

"I will talk to you later too. And smoke less."

"Sure." Jammy did a dismissive wave of his hand and turned around.

He started walking to where he had come from.

Zane didn’t paid it mind and with one last wave of his hand to his new subordinates, his steps finally moved towards his home.

As he walked past huts and shacks, people passed smiles at him and the prostitute with his tunic bowed her head.

Zane shook his head as if saying she didn’t need to do that and the woman’s smile never vanished.

Zane couldn’t help but smile in return as with all their gazes on him, he moved towards the slums among the slums.

The Ashen.

I left the house with clothes and no blood. And now I have no clothes and blood. Well, I at least have my pants.

He let out a dry laugh as he entered the silence of the darkness.

The darkness and the stench of dead and rabid dogs, rats, cats with their insides open welcomed his nose. He could easily distinguish stenches by now.

The huts were smaller, dirtier, and weaker. One gust of wind and people would lose their homes.

Zane kept his eyes low as people here shouldn’t be looked at and he also couldn’t afford another scene. He did enough for the day. Hell, he did enough work in one day he had never done in his life.

Fortunately, no issues happened.

He was the resident here so everyone knew him. He was only cautious because as soon as he got the system, he faced hurdles after hurdles.

In no time, he reached a shack with a tin as its ceiling and a torn black curtain as the main door.

He heaved a sigh of relief and finally entered.

"Big brother? Is that you?"

A child’s voice came from somewhere inside.

"Yes." Zane answered.

"How was your day?"

Zane paused.

He thought back to the start with the Enforcer and the end where he literally recruited over ten thousand people in his legion.

At the end, he laughed and concluded the whole day in his answer.

"It was long. Very long."