Resurrection Empire-Chapter 887 - 341: A Failed Brainwashing
"From now on, you are all my employees. I've come to pick you up."
Standing in the lobby of the villa clubhouse, Ren Zhong spoke to the hundred or so people below him.
Huo Donghua, Qian Wangshen, Hua Yuelan, and the smuggling trio looked up at Ren Zhong on the stage, with somewhat complex feelings.
Different people don't come together easily. Everyone present had achievements in their respective fields, and most were principled and unyielding individuals who refused to follow the rules.
You could even say that before their imprisonment, everyone had a certain degree of understanding of the "Net" and knew the consequences of their actions.
Yet, for the sake of profit, a guilty conscience, or dissatisfaction with their unrecognized talents, they all knowingly broke the law and got caught.
When the Law Enforcers began to systematically slaughter low-level criminals, everyone thought they were doomed.
But no one thought of resisting or escaping; it was meaningless.
Even without the Net, this seemingly lax Second Prison still had a powerful surveillance system, with lots of manually operated cameras and weapons capable of instantly killing most Professionals in the villa area.
Quietly waiting for death, at least dying without disgrace, was the unanimous choice of Ren Zhong's fellow inmates.
They never imagined they could still have a chance to survive.
The person reversing their fate turned out to be a fellow inmate with whom they had only a brief acquaintance of a few days.
This feeling was hard to describe.
Suddenly, everyone present owed Ren Zhong their lives.
Biting the hand that feeds you and finding oneself unexpectedly in such heavy debt, they all felt quite uncomfortable.
After exchanging formalities, Ren Zhong did not impose himself with the favor he did, simply instructing the inmates to go home and pack their belongings.
Time was tight; they needed to board the airship and start their return journey before evening.
They had less than forty minutes to pack their things.
Without the Net, and unable to rebuild the electromagnetic communication network, the airship could only be operated semi-manually.
The flight mode involved inputting the flight route into an offline navigation map, using the navigation module Ren Zhong acquired from Deep Communication Group's lab for data guidance, and having two experienced agility-type mecha warriors, now pilots, maintain manual intervention throughout.
The mode of operation was somewhat similar to civilian aviation in the 21st century.
The difference was that pilots of that era had undergone long-term professional training, accustomed to high familiarity with the performance of large flight vehicles, visual awareness of terrain, control of navigation charts, and familiarity with common flight routes, commonly known as high proficiency.
However, legitimate pilots on Source Star had long been used to high-ranking intelligent assistance from the "Net," never needing to care about the flight craft's performance or constant course adjustments, making them now uncomfortably less proficient.
Although Deep Communication Group had ample talent reserves, allowing Ren Zhong to immediately select two qualified pilots, for safety considerations, the pilots would fly at a lower speed, with a flight duration of ten hours.
After everyone else dispersed, the three S-level criminals remained behind.
They were the first ones Ren Zhong notified.
Their luggage was already pre-packed.
"Mr. Ren, I want to know what kind of deal you've struck with the Association for us," Huo Donghua asked slowly.
He was very clear on his own value, understanding that even Purple Crystal Mining couldn't realistically extract him from here prematurely.
Ren Zhong did not answer directly, merely saying, "The details of the transaction with the Association aren't important. What's important is what kind of enterprise we can create together."
The three exchanged looks, falling silent for a moment.
Hua Yuelan asked the question everyone wanted to know, "So, Ren Zhong, why were you willing to risk breaking the law to kill off those Chongyi Wang clan members early on?"
Ren Zhong held up two fingers.
"Firstly, as a potential criminal, I was very curious about who exactly could end up imprisoned on Source Star. According to my theory, the Association could easily strip a merely heinous criminal of their wealth and erase them. Imprisonment is both punishment and privilege. So, saying that I came specifically for you isn't wrong."
