Dark Magician Isekai: Return and make Fantasy World into a VR Game

Over 20 orcs had been rescued on the day the undead took control of Weisshem. After being fed and well-rested for close to 10 days, some adult orcs expressed a desire to leave and find their families. Rex, of course, wouldn't force them to stay and generously provided them with supplies and travel expenses before seeing them off.

After they were allowed to leave freely, the remaining 17 orcs trusted Rex even more.

Rex did not discriminate against the orc race and didn't mind that these orcs had been forced into dirty "professions." He carefully considered how to arrange these orcs that chose to stay voluntarily and, on Ji Tang's suggestion, decided to make them workers.

The orcs possessed a certain level of work capability after having recovered. Positions in the oil mill which required physical strength but weren't too taxing were rather suitable for the orcs.

With the restoration of electricity and the activation of the oil mill, Rex immediately called Ossirian and several adult orcs to learn how to operate these machines.

After Zhao Zhenzhen and Ji Tang debugged the machines and demonstrated how to pre-process soybeans for oil pressing with a steam-frying machine and how to use a fully automatic tofu machine to make tofu from the oil cake after pressing, they patiently explained the steps once and let four orcs practice hands-on in pairs.

The orc race had a lifespan approximately twice that of humans, and despite their lack of proper education, their longer life experience endowed them with wisdom not inferior to that of humans.

In the beginning, Ossirian and the others were still somewhat hesitant and dared not touch the expensive-looking machinery, but after being corrected by Ji Tang a few times, they gradually became more comfortable and soon were hands-on with the machines.

Chinese civil and agricultural machinery had always evolved toward foolproof operation, and the ultimate goal was to make it easy even for novices to operate. Learning was, of course, not difficult.

The orcs focused on learning to operate the machine, and after observing for a while and determining that everything was fine, Zhao Zhenzhen, Ji Tang, and Rex walked to the side to discuss management matters related to the oil mill.

"Given the influx of affordable fabrics, local farmer households can hardly produce any spare coins. We can't charge fees for pressing oil," Ji Tang spoke first.

Leaning alongside the wall and silently listening, Lowell was surprised to hear that they wouldn't charge fees.

"Indeed, it isn't necessary to charge fees. Profit for this factory should be focused on tofu production," Zhao Zhenzhen said, nodding her head. "The adjacent storefront can be used to sell affordable tofu. Get a few people to be in charge, directly coordinate with the oil press factory, and settle payments on a weekly basis, ensuring mutual profitability."

Ji Tang clapped his hands together. "The people at the resettlement points can do this job."

"The oil mill and affordable tofu production have to have local townspeople for the workforce. If everyone is our people, it won't be conducive for local people to accept this matter in the early stages," Zhao Zhenzhen replied.

"Uh… that makes sense." Ji Tang scratched his head awkwardly. He had made an ideological guffaw in wanting to use the people from the resettlement points first.

"Priority for the local workforce should be given to housewives. Teach them to fully utilize the functions of these two multi-functional tofu machines. Aside from long-lasting firm tofu, include silken tofu and beancurd as well," Zhao Zhenzhen continued. "You can set up a tasting point at the entrance of the affordable tofu shop. Let people try it before buying, promote tofu cooking tutorials, and address public concerns."

Ji Tang started to make some calculations. "In that case, the oil mill needs to recruit two to three female workers to assist Ossirian and the others, while the tofu shop would require five to six female workers…"

"…Can I say something?" Rex, who heard them talk about the need for female workers, raised his hand meekly.

"Go on," Ji Tang said.

"Wouldn't it be inappropriate just recruiting female workers alone? There are quite a few unemployed males locally. I think we should also address their employment issues…" Rex suggested nervously.

Although Rex hated his lord father, he did learn some things from his father before his mother became old and feeble, one of which was that if there were too many unemployed males in a certain neighborhood, it would inevitably lead to disorder and frequent incidents in that area.

When women were desperate, their final bit of capital was their bodies; when men were desperate, their bodies were also their final bit of capital—a capital for committing crimes.

The forced closure of Weisshem's red-light district had cut off the livelihoods of many people. The temporary employment opportunities provided by the sanitation bureau, the security team, and the temporary employment for construction in the town's main street alleviated the conflicts between the locals and those from Taranthan.

However, the conflict itself wasn't fundamentally eliminated. Once the transformation of Weisshem's main street was completed and the need for temporary labor was reduced, families that lost their source of income would still exhaust their last piece of bread and spend their last copper coin, leading to the eruption of conflicts.

Rex expressed it tactfully, and it didn't hinder Ji Tang and Zhao Zhenzhen from understanding his point.

At the grassroots level, men were more likely to become social security concerns than women. This was the primary reason why most societies tended to allocate social resources more toward lower-class men, even in the so-called "post-revolutionary" era.

As a female cadre, Zhao Zhenzhen wouldn't argue with Rex about women's rights in this matter. She just smiled and said, "The reason we are recruiting housewives with a good reputation in the town for positions in the oil mill and the tofu shop is that housewives are indeed more suitable for occupations related to food.

"The men of Weisshem have no need to worry about employment issues. Even if we count all the men who have gone to the countryside for odd jobs during the autumn harvest, the town's workforce is far from sufficient."

Rex: "??"

The two couldn't explain too much to him, so Ji Tang said, "Let's focus on the current tasks. I'll go get a few people to spread the news of free oil pressing at the oil mill in the market… Oh, Rex, you need to contact the people at the post office. When the mailman goes to the countryside to deliver letters, ask him to also spread our message to the villages. Also, you're in charge of the coal yard; have them deliver the coal briquettes we ordered previously."

"I'll go pick out a few people at the resettlement points, then get a clerk to arrange for a few industrious housewives to come and learn with Ossirian. We'll solve all the issues of worker training by today," Zhao Zhenzhen said.

Before Rex could ask further questions, these two highly proactive members of the national team had already pushed him into action.

As the three left the oil mill, running hastily, Lowell, who was full of questions, didn't even have a chance to stop Rex and inquire…

"Heh, young people… When enthusiasm arises, it's inevitable for them to overlook others. Please don't mind their impoliteness, Inspector," Yang Qiu said cheerily.

Lowell turned over, a complicated expression on his face. He found it notably hard to express himself in words.

"I must say… this is truly an eye-opener for me." The black-robed inspector rubbed his temples awkwardly. "Your… undead, they are even more… even more…"

"More like qualified rulers," Yang Qiu finished the words that the inspector couldn't bring himself to say. "When power is in their hands, they think more about how to use it to improve the lives of the local people. They believe power is an honor, but more so a responsibility. And this should be the disposition that normal leaders ought to have."

At this point, Yang Qiu deliberately paused, wiped off the seemingly non-provocative smile that made Lowell uneasy, and said, "When a king is crowned, the oath always includes promises to bless his subjects. When a king allocates territory to nobles, the nobles also swear to treat the people on the land kindly…

"Just that these fancy words can never be treated as true and taken seriously. Once the coronation ceremony is over, the king cares more about which noble is more loyal to him. After enfeoffment, nobles care more about how much profit they can squeeze from the common folk.

"On the other hand, 'for the people' has been faithfully executed by these undead. They care if farmers are able to afford the cost of oil pressing, if the town's residents have a sufficiently rich variety of food, if the local population can survive the difficulties of unemployment, and they care if those poor souls, previously toyed with by fate, are able to support themselves and continue living on with dignity.

"Seeing them like this makes you, as revered high-level ascetic, feel torn because you have witnessed countless coronation ceremonies of kings and enfeoffment ceremonies of noble lords. You have deeply accepted that virtuous 'for the people' is mainly empty rhetoric.

"You instinctively resist this reality that would make you embarrassed. You feel that the actions of the undead are naive, childish, and ignorant of the hardships of the world. You genuinely believe that our undead friends and the inexperienced youngster, Rex, absolutely will not succeed; they would only be smacked hard by harsh reality. And you can't help but want to remind Rex not to be too idealistic. Am I right, revered inspector?"

Purple veins bulged on Inspector Lowell's forehead as he took a deep breath and uttered through gritted teeth, "Are you picking a fight, Yang?"

"Of course not." Yang Qiu still smiled warmly. "Please believe me, I have no intention of offending you, Inspector. There's just one thing I need to confirm."

"What?" Inspector Lowell suppressed his anger.

"If our undead friends take up the responsibilities of rulers, will their outstanding performance make them more likely to be viewed with hostility by the world outside?" Yang Qiu asked calmly.

Inspector Lowell, who was on the verge of exploding with rage, was stunned.

Then, the ascetic of the Goddess of Prosperity faith, whose face was flushed, gradually paled. The veins on his forehead subsided and cold sweat oozed from the roots of his hair.

But after a few seconds, color returned to his face, and even his cheeks seemed so scarlet that blood was on the verge of dripping out from them.

"You… really know how to make things difficult for people," Inspector Lowell said somewhat embarrassedly.

"But it is also the most effective way for us to understand the difficult situation our undead friends are in," Yang Qiu said with a smile. "If even an ascetic like you, who transcends mundane interests, instinctively resents the act of the undead taking on the responsibilities of rulers, what about others?"

Lowell nodded silently.

He understood why Yang, after capturing Wagner Pitt and his soldiers, didn't send anyone to communicate with the Indahl lord to resolve the disputes. Regardless of whether it was Lord Rex on the surface or the undead who actually ruled Weisshem, they weren't destined to coexist peacefully with the Indahl lord.

If Weisshem was in chaos, the Indahl lord would still be able to tolerate the existence of Rex and the strange undead from Taranthan.

But if Weisshem was well-governed, then Rex and the undead would become thorns in the eyes of the Indahl lord and the Bartalis family.

"This isn't something to laugh about, Yang," Lowell couldn't help but say. "Since you are aware of this predicament, are you… going to watch Weisshem be engulfed by war?"

With a calm smile, Yang Qiu turned to look at the orcs in the factory, who were carefully taking out the bean curds from the press to make tofu. "Of course not, Inspector. Why do we pursue the path of power? Isn't it precisely to ensure that the beings striving for a better life can have peace?"

Greatly shaken, Lowell stared at Yang Qiu in disbelief.

Yang Qiu droned on nonchalantly, "Predators plunder through force, but protectors need to possess even greater force. Only through struggle can true peace be won. Retreat and compromise will only make peace disappear."

Lowell stared at him blankly for a long time and then couldn't help but nod.

Inspector Lowell hadn't been very convinced the last time Yang spoke of his doctrine of strength. But this time, Inspector Lowell understood how serious the man in front of him really was.

"You want to challenge the Indahl lord… No, you want to challenge the power structure of the Rhine Kingdom. That is what you truly want to do, right?" Inspector Lowell Rowell exclaimed, "No, wait, perhaps you didn't initially set the Rhine Kingdom as your target. Did you also consider the Duchy of Shiga?"

"Yes," Yang Qiu didn't conceal his thoughts. "Initially, I planned to choose between the Duchy of Shiga and the Rhine Kingdom since both are close to Taranthan."

Inspector Lowell grimaced. "Can you tell me why you didn't choose the Duchy of Shiga?"

"Because the social conflicts in the Duchy of Shiga are relatively less acute than that of the Rhine Kingdom," Yang Qiu answered frankly. "Shiga places emphasis on agriculture, and except for the historically special town of Camore, the lower-class people in most areas of the duchy possess lands. Prices aren't too distorted, and they can meet the basic needs of survival. The dissatisfaction of the people with the current status hasn't yet reached the point of urgently needing to replace the current ruling officials."

Lowell: "…"

He finally understood why this guy had shown himself in Camore, and even visited Viscount Lynn and the mayor there…

"I didn't plan on taking action so soon, but our undead friends are so keen on eliminating evil that they got involved in Weisshem early," Yang Qiu said, with a slight shake of his head.

Lowell had sighed many times in this exchange. Yang Qiu's straightforwardness made him speechless. "Fine… You have been tirelessly talking to me about these shocking and unconventional ideas, so presumably, you are seeking something from me, am I wrong?"

"Don't say such hurtful words, revered inspector. I think our relationship should be that of friends. Friends shouldn't be so calculative with one another." Yang Qiu chuckled. "You can tolerate the impolite stuff I say, and if you declare that you aren't at all curious about how the undead can develop Weisshem into a prosperous place, I won't believe you."

Lowell coughed several times.

Having shamed this sensitive ascetic, Yang Qiu said unabashedly, "Of course, right now, I really need your help with a small favor…"

———

November 6, Earth time, a not-so-mundane Wednesday.

Two days before the monthly rare item auction day, the in-game currency circulated among players skyrocketed again to a high exchange rate of 1:12 RMB.

Even so, the in-game currency was in short supply. Various player teams, blood alliances, and whales hired people to camp at various resource gathering points. Whenever a player settled a quest and was about to log out, a bunch of people would immediately crowd around asking if they wanted to sell their in-game currency.

While the rich bosses were competing fiercely, Yang Qiu and Inspector Lowell were riding on horseback to the Sorensen Mountains.

Looking from slightly over a kilometer distance at the miasma covering the outskirts of the Sorensen Mountains, Inspector Lowell felt his head ache slightly. He turned to Yang and said, "Are you sure you want to ascend here, Yang? This really isn't a good place."

"Grave of Those Who Lose Control, Tomb of the Fallen… Some even call this place the Abyss of the Mortal Realm. Indeed, Sorensen's reputation isn't very good." Yang Qiu chuckled lightly. "However, only such a spot can truly be considered a place to sharpen one's spirit. Don't you think so?"

As an ascetic, Lowell wouldn't deny Yang Qiu's theory, but he couldn't support Yang Qiu's risky actions. Thus, he could only say, "I hope you truly get what you are aiming for… I can't substitute you for too long."

"Three days. Three days at most, and I'll be out of the mountains," Yang Qiu smiled, slightly bowing to Lowell. "I entrust my undead to you during my absence."

Lowell nodded solemnly.

After a brief exchange, the two parted. Lowell stayed in place, watching Yang Qiu enter the mountain range alone. He continued watching until Yang's silhouette disappeared in the dense miasma, and then he turned back on horseback.

A black-robed inspector of the Church of Prosperity helping a black mage manage his household… Were it two months ago, Inspector Lowell would never have believed he would be involved with such a matter in his wildest dreams.

I've been greatly influenced by him too much… Lowell sighed.

That was no denying that Yang intrigued him.

The notorious black mage rumored to be lawless, reckless, and chaotic actually analyzed the rules of the material plane with an extremely calm and calculating demeanor.

He mocked the ones supposed to be high-standing and revered, showing no respect for the noblemen. Yet, he would accord respect to the orcs from the Outer Continent, considered by most as an inferior race.

He tirelessly emphasized that when judging the civilization of a territory or a country, one shouldn't look from top to bottom, but rather, focus on the people at the bottom—how they lived and whether their survival needs were met.

Countless times he had reiterated that his undead sought justice and order. At first, Lowell assumed it was all just self-praise and a joke, but reality proved that Yang hadn't been joking—Weisshem had been under Yang's control for almost half a month, and Lowell hadn't seen any bit of chaos.

For quite some time already, Yang and these peculiar Taranthan undead shattered Lowell's long-held perspectives. While feeling uncomfortable, Lowell couldn't help but be curious. Just as Yang said, he was genuinely curious about how the undead would develop Weisshem.

Even though Lowell knew that the results he saw would make him, who was accustomed to the existing rules of the world, uneasy, he still couldn't resist…

With complicated sentiments, Inspector Lowell returned to the large house in Weisshem and handed over his ride to Wagner for care.

After having tea in the hall for a bit, he felt restless; he felt compelled to do something after Yang's entrust. Thus, Lowell put on his cloak and went out, taking a stroll along the bustling town's main street in the midst of reconstruction.

As he passed by a construction site overseen by the undead, a few skeletons curiously peered over at Lowell as he passed by alone.

"Why is the pretty boy alone today? Where's Old Yang?"

With the cuckoo flower lapel badge on his chest, Lowell could hear their words clearly.

Lowell: "…"

Keeping a straight face, Lowell looked at those few undead for a moment, then quickened his pace and walked away.

One player asked in surprise, "Hey, I'm not seeing things, right? Wasn't the pretty boy glaring at us?"

Another player jumped up abruptly and exclaimed excitedly, "Whoa, wait a minute! That pretty boy usually ignores us completely. Today, he actually acknowledged us!"

Upon hearing this, players, who were busy doing manual labor quests, immediately abandoned their tools and took off after Lowell, who hadn't gone far.

"Wait up, Lowell-san~ Is there anything your undead friends can help you with~?"

Lowell: "?"