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Chapter 1061: The Biggest Problem with the Clean-up Bureau
Chapter 1061: The Biggest Problem with the Clean-up Bureau
Sure enough, you’re not unwilling to change; you just can’t accept the consequences of failure.
After noticing a hint of hesitation in the eyes of the directors, Leon confirmed his judgment and felt a slight relief.
Through his interactions with the directors, he had already gauged their personalities. While each had their quirks, those who had risen to the position of director seemed to have decent moral standards.
However, perhaps due to their backgrounds as cleaners, most of the directors were inclined to be cautious. Coupled with the past failures, they naturally viewed any reform lacking "guarantees" as reckless, which is why the current situation has come to this.
In a way, this cautious nature wasn’t entirely bad. The entire human race is like a large company, where the middle and lower levels are best suited to be daring and innovative. But if the decision-makers who control the fate of the entire "company" were also this way, it would be like playing with the fate of all humanity.
However, the directors’ overly conservative decision-making has indeed led to some negative outcomes. With the cleaners’ abilities far surpassing those of ordinary people and the powerful effects of various Anomalous Objects, the Clean-up Bureau could do so much more!
“Next, let’s talk about the issues of plagues, wars, poverty, and disasters.”
Having thoroughly understood the directors’ “weak points,” Leon continued to secretly sense their mental states while speaking.
“These severe issues often occur simultaneously or in sequence, reinforcing and exacerbating each other.
Wars and disasters are likely to bring plagues, and in turn, wars, disasters, and plagues can lead to poverty and hunger. Large-scale poverty and hunger can trigger wars, and due to population loss and the destruction of economic and infrastructure, the ability to resist disasters is significantly weakened.
For specific examples, pages six to ten of the booklet contain a few suitable cases found by the Redwing Fourth Research Institute from the past five hundred years of the kingdoms. The wars between the Thrush and the Northern Kingdom are the most typical... Would you like to flip to that section and follow along as I explain?”
“Oh, oh!”
Realizing what Leon was getting at, the directors, whose minds had been racing, quickly started flipping through their booklets. Amidst the rustling of pages, Leon cleared his throat and began:
“Take the war seven years ago as an example. The major trigger was the Snow Catastrophe in the Northern Kingdom, which led to a severe shortage of food and coal, forcing them to attack the south.
After the war, two counties of the Thrush Kingdom were almost destroyed, losing a large population and suffering extensive damage to factories and infrastructure, leading to the spread of plagues and widespread famine.
Lyon County, once a prosperous industrial center, never recovered until Veronica took office and implemented a series of measures to repair infrastructure and redistribute production... What can we see from this?”
“?”
Seeing Leon pause, the directors were momentarily stunned.
Noticing that Leon’s gaze eventually settled on them, and with the others looking over as well, Scorpio Director hesitated and said uncertainly:
“Queen Veronica did a good job?”
Oh, for the love of... While she did do a good job, that’s not what I’m asking. You should change your name to Director of Stubbornness! Your mind is just too inflexible.
Blinking in exasperation, Leon gave up on guiding them and directly provided the answer:
“What we can see is that if, during the Snow Catastrophe in the Northern Kingdom, a cleaner with a weather-related Anomalous Object had been sent to disrupt the snowfall, or if transport had been facilitated after the Snow Catastrophe to help the Northern Kingdom obtain essential food and fuel, all the subsequent problems could have been avoided.
Disasters, wars, plagues, poverty, and hunger... These five issues are extremely difficult to handle, and once one erupts, the others are likely to follow. But if we can identify the root cause, solving them becomes much easier!”
Exactly!
After hearing Leon’s words, Virgo Director, the quickest thinker among the directors, immediately understood.
Compared to forcibly intervening in the governance of the Twelve Kingdoms and demanding they eliminate hunger and poverty, this approach is much simpler.
For the Twelve Kingdoms, solving the Snow Catastrophe and plagues is a monumental task, but for the Clean-up Bureau, it’s relatively minor... It’s a bit of an exaggeration to call it minor, but at most, it’s a moderate challenge.
The headquarters’ secret vault has dozens of Anomalous Objects capable of altering weather or dispersing plagues. Even if the twelve directors have more important tasks, the regional directors and elite cleaners can handle it... So why didn’t the Aquarius Subdivision director do it?
“He did, but only halfway.”
After Virgo Director asked his question, Leon, who had done his homework, replied:
“During the nationwide Snow Catastrophe, the Aquarius Subdivision director was leading a joint operation to handle the Storm God’s altar. Although he set aside his work and rushed back to mitigate the subsequent Snow Catastrophe, significantly reducing casualties, he then returned to clean up the storm altar without considering the post-disaster food and resource shortages, which could lead to war. This is the biggest problem with our Clean-up Bureau... arrogance.”
“...”
Glancing around at the puzzled directors, Leon asked:
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a question... Do you still consider yourselves part of humanity?”
“Leon!”
Seeing the other directors’ faces change, Taurus Director quickly interjected:
“Don’t say such things! If we didn’t consider ourselves part of humanity, how could we be here as directors? Including you, we all hope for the betterment of our respective groups!”
“Apologies, my wording may have been unclear. I’m not accusing anyone of betraying their roots, which is beyond doubt.”
Nodding apologetically to the directors, who looked somewhat displeased, Leon blinked and asked again:
“What I’m asking is... Have you ever tried to communicate with the twelve royal families and other ‘ordinary’ humans?”
Communicate?
The directors looked at each other, and Cancer Director responded:
“Of course! We receive many reports every year...”
“I mean face-to-face communication, where we sit down, understand each other’s needs, and express our own demands in a more equal manner.”
“Is that necessary?”
Cancer Director frowned and asked:
“The threats we face are not something ordinary humans can handle. Even the organized armies of the kingdoms are often of little help and can cause significant casualties.
Moreover, due to the cleaning effect of the Phantom Canister, most people are unaware of the existence of Anomalous Objects. Excessive communication with them could expose them to contamination and more danger...”
“That’s exactly the arrogance I’m talking about...”
Sighing slightly, Leon said with a hint of frustration:
“While you consider yourselves part of humanity and are willing to dedicate, and have already dedicated, your lives to it, deep down, you still see cleaners and ordinary people as two completely separate groups.
If the Aquarius director had not seen himself as a higher-level protector and focused solely on his immediate problem, but instead had communicated with the Northern Kingdom, he would have understood the more critical issues and found ways to help gather food and resources.
The Storm God’s altar is indeed dangerous and could cause large-scale disasters, but compared to the potential deaths of tens of thousands from cold and hunger, and the subsequent plagues, famines, and poverty from war, it’s really a minor issue.
All of this could have been avoided with just a bit more communication...”
“...”
“Ladies and gentlemen, most ordinary people are unaware of the Clean-up Bureau’s existence. Even those who know about us are unaware of our capabilities due to the lack of communication. We know, however, that we can be more proactive!
And ordinary people are not necessarily helpless. Not all anomalies are like the ones we face, involving true gods and world-threatening crises. Many anomalies have a small impact, perhaps limited to a street, a town, or a port.
In such cases, ordinary people can help. Even if they can’t resolve the issues, they can provide valuable information, preventing our already highly dangerous cleaners from blindly rushing into investigations and risking their lives.”
“...”
“I also understand that non-physical, mental anomalies are beyond the reach of ordinary people, but there are many other anomalies they can handle.
Sea monster tribes occupying ports, beasts mutated by Demon blood, fishmen raiders in shipping lanes, and small gatherings of evil deity worshippers... Once the situation is clear, why not just bombard them? Why use the lives of cleaners to fill the gap?”
“...”
“And...”
And?
“Wait, wait! Hold on!”
“Let’s think about this...”
“Wait, just a moment!”
Seeing that Leon seemed intent on continuing, the directors, feeling overwhelmed, quickly interrupted. They exchanged glances, and finally, Taurus Director, representing the others, spoke with a hint of guilt:
“Leon, we have indeed been... too arrogant and too conservative. You’re right; we can do more. How do you propose we change?”
Hmm... It seems the timing is right?
Glancing at the directors’ mental states and feeling the moment was right, Leon nodded and, instead of continuing his moral high ground, directly presented his ideas.
“I propose that the Clean-up Bureau bring the royal families of the Twelve Kingdoms together, sit at the same table, form a federation, share resources, resolve conflicts, and meet each other’s needs... At the very least, reduce the number of wars.”
“...”
“...”
“Then what?”
“?”
Looking at Taurus Director, who had fallen silent, seemingly awaiting more, Leon blinked.
“That’s it. Important issues can’t be rushed; we need to take it step by step!”
“Hiss...”
Seeing Leon’s matter-of-fact expression, Taurus Director and Cancer Director, who knew him better, couldn’t help but gasp.
This doesn’t seem right! Given your style, shouldn’t you have proposed hanging the troublesome royal families? Instead, you just want to have a peaceful talk? That’s not like you at all!
(End of Chapter)
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