Resurrection Empire

Chapter 667 251 You Look Beautiful Today [4700 words, thanks to Doclamur Alliance Hierarch!]_2

After contacting her parents, Ju Qingmeng confirmed that they would set off for Starfire Town tomorrow. Her emotions were still surging as she nodded gently, "Mm-hmm."

As they were about to depart, Ren Zhong greeted Han Yaren, who stood beside him with two male "playmates."

There was another Liao Yuan County Government department manager alongside Han Yaren.

This person had three female "playmates" around him, a privilege reserved for Fifth Level Citizens.

He extended a warm invitation, hoping to become kindred spirits with Ren Zhong.

Ren Zhong politely declined with a smile, wishing them a pleasant time, then gracefully departed.

As soon as Ren Zhong left, Han Yaren exchanged glances with this colleague. Their looks were not filled with resentment from being refused, but rather quite amused.

Han Yaren chuckled, "Director Ren is known for being quite a lecher in Starfire Town. I thought he'd have stronger desires than the average person. I didn't expect that, beneath this façade, he still believes in love."

The man nodded, "Indeed. But that's not a bad thing; this way, he can leave behind offspring more quickly. Now, he's incredibly wealthy, and his talent evaluation by the Association is exceptionally high. His genetic inheritance holds great value. I have a feeling that even with the imminent large migration, our Liao Yuan County will certainly see the rise of a new family."

"Yes, he still has the drive to fight. He's different from ordinary citizens. I've seen others who advanced from Fourth Level to Fifth Level before. They usually indulge crazily right after their advancement. But I didn't see this characteristic in him."

"He's quite an idealistic guy."

...

Sitting next to Ju Qingmeng in a specially modified, highly private flying car, with his wrist watch wrapped in a sleeve, Ren Zhong's smile faded, turning into a face so grim that it seemed capable of dripping water.

He felt disgusted.

What disgusted him wasn't these people.

Nor did he blame these people's intentions.

People are products of the times, creations of their environments, inevitably influenced by societal conditioning.

The era tells everyone what's "right" or "wrong."

People's values never exist in isolation.

In the history Ren Zhong remembers, the social atmosphere of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties was no less than what he sees before him now.

Similar phenomena must have similar reasons behind them.

Short lifespans make people live like mayflies. In the blink of an eye, forty years pass swiftly. The concept of indulging in life when successful is maximally expressed in the citizenry.

Meanwhile, the Source Star Business Association cuts off advancement pathways, while crazily encouraging reproduction to obtain human brains. To this end, the Association's subsidiaries use fabricated histories and contrived literary works to continually open people's sexual perspectives.

Furthermore, as citizens who can enjoy a life of luxury and plenty even as couch potatoes, material needs are easily met, but advancing further is extremely difficult.

It might be that these people's inherent characters can only support them to this extent, or perhaps no matter how hard they try, their limited talents doom them to never realize the next level of class transcendence.

In such a backdrop, only a very few brilliant citizens can maintain moderate self-discipline due to their desire to realize personal life values, but the majority are left with an endlessly hollow heart.

The other side of emptiness is often desire amplified to an extreme.

Citizens also have the so-called primitive people, though technically their kind, forcibly classified as subhuman slaves for exploitation and amusement.

Amidst these various temptations, thus, the citizens' minds generally crumble.

What makes Ren Zhong, this "archaic and outdated relic," uncomfortable is precisely the entirety of Source Star.

Seeing his extremely grim expression, Ju Qingmeng, who had been immersed in the joy of achieving her dream, cooled down a bit and asked, "So is this why these people at most can only be something between me and passersby? Right?"

Her words were somewhat roundabout, but the meaning was not complicated.

Ren Zhong nodded, "Yes."

Ju Qingmeng: "I've never attended banquets before, but I know that in the daily lives of upper-level citizens, sex is indeed as common as eating, drinking, chatting, and watching movies."

"I'm indeed different from them. I appeared somewhat eccentric at the time. But it was this very difference that made me pay the price. If you had appeared a few months later, I probably would have become one of those people."

Ren Zhong forced a smile, "Indeed."

"Actually, before you came, I also had some understanding of your current team members Zheng Tian and Hanyu Chen. I'm not too sure about Hanyu Chen, but Zheng Tian was once similar to these people, but she couldn't find a suitable attachment. But the current Zheng Tian is different from the past. You changed her."