Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

At least a week had elapsed under the management of that esteemed individual since the last demon incident on Black Street.

So regardless of what kind of policies the "mysterious figure" had put in place, by now they should have already manifested tangible effects. Your next read awaits at empire

She wanted to see what Black Street, once tainted by demons, could become under the governance of that individual.

"I wish to settle down here, but I simply do not know what life is like for everyone here," Franca said with a smile brimming with laughter, as she looked at the man before her whose complexion was sallow and whose body was emaciated from hunger.

"Life, ah~" The Stray Dog was stunned and a silly smile spread across his face.

His mind was not burdened with many thoughts and could not entertain considerations on multiple threads.

Talking about current life, the minor annoyances he had were instantly forgotten, "It's wonderful! Life is now so good, miss!"

More people were willing to join the big family that was Black Street, and the lady appeared to have quite the temperament—wasn't this all a good thing?

Perhaps in the future, we might all become friends...

Heh heh! Friends!

The Stray Dog enthusiastically introduced the current way of life to the potential friend before him.

"Now we all have to work every day. The boss says..."

Before he had finished speaking, the miss interrupted him impatiently, "But I haven't seen you work all day as I walked by today... Everyone was chatting, resting."

"Because today is a day off. We work six days and rest one day. Only with ample rest can we perform better at work. The leader said this is called a balance between work and leisure."

"Oh~" Franca only smiled, eyes narrowing.

That seemed to hark back to the Golden Age—nowadays... nowadays those "rules" were no longer followed.

"And actually, each day's work does not require much time. Miss, do you know? In the past, we didn't need to strain ourselves every day just to survive. If each of us works for a period of time every day, it is actually very easy to sustain everyone."

"Oh?" Franca raised an eyebrow, "How do you know that?"

As someone from Black Street with limited horizons, it should be difficult to observe the living conditions of every other person from a higher perspective.

"We've got ledgers, miss," the Stray Dog said, his eyes dancing, and his typically timid personality seemed to radiate with light at the moment, "The bulletin board lists our daily output and consumption. It is updated daily, always reflecting the statistics from the previous day."

Resources produced—

Food and daily necessities could be stored for use.

Handicrafts could be traded abroad, and the money from trades could purchase resources needed on Black Street.

Resources were managed and stored collectively.

Gone was the money, gone were the trades, gone was the competition, gone was the idea that if someone else had more, one would have less.

As long as everyone completed the daily production, the resources needed for a normal life could actually keep on growing.

That was too unbelievable!

The Stray Dog learned for the first time that life... didn't have to rely on taking survival materials from others to be fulfilled.

"Come come come! Let me show you," the Stray Dog said enthusiastically, leading the way and proudly presenting everything Black Street had as if he were showing off his own home.

"This is just the beginning. The food we had in the past was quite inferior, and the variety was very limited."

Mostly some plant tubers and animal meat, or a small amount of synthetic food produced within the city.

"But we're cultivating land now. Yesterday they brought seeds, and seeds can grow into grains, can be used for brewing, can make bread... We've also installed nets in the lake so our fish fry won't stray outside... The Guard is clearing threats from the surroundings every day, and the game they catch can also be added to our food reserves..."

Humans are amazing.

We are amazing.

It turns out that life is really simple when people work together...

"Look, this is the land we have cultivated..."

"Look, this is the spinning wheel we use for weaving garments..."

"This is the water wheel..."

"This is the workshop..."

All of this, we've built with our own hands.

The Stray Dog ran around with Franca, introducing every little detail of his home with exceptional care.

A gentle smile hung on Franca's lips as she listened quietly to the ramblings of this ordinary, but happily hearted Black Street resident until she finally spoke softly, "So this boss that you've been talking about, do you like him?"

"Like him! I think everyone probably likes him... The boss doesn't come by often. On the few occasions he has, he talked to us a lot... A lot of what he said I didn't understand, like things about life, goals, freedom, and stuff. But I don't know why, I just enjoy listening to the boss talk. Whenever I see the boss, I feel happy, as if everything is good. To be more concrete, his spokesperson says that I like to hear the boss say those incomprehensible words... just listening to them is very... very... very joyful! Yes, that's the feeling... I wish the boss could visit us more... But a person as formidable as him probably has many places that need him more."

"Oh, miss, where do you plan to stay?" The Stray Dog seemed to finally remember the substance of the matter, a bit embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head—blaming himself for getting excited and forgetting the time, which caused it to be already late.

The sun had set.

But the sun will always rise again.

"We might have to start work tomorrow only."

"Okay~" Franca smiled, her eyes narrowed, and she readily agreed.

As an officer of Arbitration Place, she was accustomed to dealing with the ugly matters related to demons.

This kind of ordinary and pure happiness was something she was encountering for the first time, filled with a novel feeling.

...

The spokesperson's house was not more impressive than ordinary houses.

Nor was it much larger than ordinary houses.

However, at the moment, shadows crowded the entrance.

Those shadows stood silently in the darkness, like so many walking corpses, wordless and creating a heavy atmosphere.

"Sching!"

The Longsword half-drew from its sheath, revealing a glint of cold light.