————————————

Next to the rose field.

Hundreds of kilograms of confiscated roses piled up into a small hill beside the flower field. Qi Yifang stood in front of the rose field. He took out a compass that swayed left and right with the wind, pointed it at the hill of roses, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"…Relative humidity of air is 78%, temperature is 26 degrees Celsius, cloudy to overcast, no sustained breeze to light breeze, wind direction is northerly force 1…"

Qi Yifang suddenly opened his eyes, scratched the wooden direction indicator with his thumb, and said in a steady tone: "Now let's start the weather forecast for today."

[System prompt: Player Qi Yifang uses skill (weather report)]

[Skill Usage Range: Local Circular Area with a Radius of 10 Meters]

[Skill effect: Can predict the weather in a local area, and monitor and control wind direction, wind speed, sunshine, rain, and possible weather features within a certain range]

[Warm reminder: This skill will cause the player's physical strength and mental value to decrease to a certain extent. Are you sure you want to use this skill? ]

【Sure.】

The wooden direction indicator in Qi Yifang's hand fell as the system broadcast sounded, and began to swing rapidly from side to side, while the physical and mental value bars on Qi Yifang's personal panel also began to decrease.

Qi Yifang exhaled and began to announce in a deep voice:

"...Today during the day, there was a localized tornado with a wind force of about 2g...The next day was a continuous 12 hours of sunshine, with light winds at night, and cloudy to

clear……"

As he finished speaking, the weather vane in his hand started to sway from side to side and then started to rotate continuously.

A swirling cold wind blew and strangely stopped in a small area next to the flower field and began to swirl, moving back and forth around the piled hills of roses. The roses weighing about 2 grams swirled into the sky on the gentle rotation of the wind, blowing away the lighter impurities while the heavier impurities remained on the ground without being taken away.

The magical tornado, which was set with weight parameters, was like a high-precision centrifuge, perfectly separating the rose from other things.

These fresh dried rose leaves, which would take a whole day and night to pick and dry, were cleaned and neatly arranged in just ten minutes this time. The mild tornado soon disappeared, and the bright sunlight poured down, illuminating the delicate pearls on the petals and making them sparkle.

Qi Yifang retracted the weather vane. He looked at the pile of dried rose leaves in front of him that had already entered the "drying" stage, patted the grass residue that was blown all over himself, turned around with satisfaction, and smiled at the other two people.

"Everything has been processed. We can move on to the second stage tomorrow morning."

——————

Rose Factory Plaza.

There was a long queue next to a fully automatic mesh screening machine.

This is a relatively rare modern mechanical equipment in rose factories. You only need to pour the roses in and screen them for a few minutes to get the sorted, dried rose leaves.

However, because the Rose Factory focuses on hand-made, anti-industrial perfume brands, there are only a few such instruments, all of which are occupied by veteran workers and are considered their privilege.

Previously, Qi Yifang and his group were preparing to line up here to use this instrument to sort roses, but they were driven away by several old processors with harsh words. They scolded them for being lazy in using the instrument just after being promoted, not doing their job properly and thinking about cheating all day long. Newcomers, get out of here and squat on the ground to pick up dead leaves!

Although Qi Yifang and his team were not afraid of these processors, they considered that it was best not to offend NPCs in the game, and they also had a way to handle the work - that was Qi Yifang's skills.

In a game where spirit value cannot be automatically restored, using skills that consume spirit value to complete tasks is not a good choice, but Qi Yifang did not want to cause too much trouble. Their main goal was to save the little witch, so in the end he took the other two people and left in silence.

But now the situation has changed significantly.

The moment the tall and strong Tang Erda stepped into the queue, the old workers who noticed that he was a new worker began to grumble impatiently:

"How can you newcomers be so ignorant?! Huh?! You insist on snatching our old people's instruments! Just do what you should do!"

"That's right, I don't understand why you guys just started working and want to use the machines for free. If you don't train yourself, you will soon be useless and will be demoted. We are all doing this for your own good."

Tang Erda glanced at the processors who were arguing with him with a serious look.

He didn't speak directly, but Tang Erda was tall, with long and strong limbs. The originally wide protective suit fit him like a sports jacket, and he looked like someone who was not someone he was going to mess with. The look from above was extremely oppressive.

The workers were silenced for a moment by him. No one spoke loudly and they only dared to whisper.

But just as Tang Erda was about to get his turn in line to use the instrument, an old worker cut in line directly, looked back at Tang Erda in an extremely provocative manner, and then clapped his hands to ask the people behind Tang Erda to cut in line as well.

This person was clearly trying to intimidate Tang Er and prevent him from using any equipment to beat the newcomer.

The newcomers can use instruments, so won't their work efficiency be higher? !

The elimination rate of workers in the Rose Factory was already high. If they didn’t squeeze out these newcomers, it would be even more difficult for these old workers to be promoted to factory workers!

Newcomers should be made aware of the unspoken rules, and these unspoken rules should be used to squeeze their living space, exploit their labor results, and facilitate their own promotion - this is the conventional idea of ​​all old processors.

Although this idea and practice is no less than cutting off the jobs of new workers and sending them to death, the old workers don't care about it.

They even hope that as many new workers as possible will die so that no one can take their places and force them to quit.

Qi Yifang also encountered this dilemma and had to leave - they haven't figured out the specific routines of this third-level game yet, and it is not a good choice to offend a large number of NPCs rashly.

But Tang Erda is not afraid of offending NPCs.

His strength is enough for him to do whatever he wants in the third-level game. Even if Tang Erda attracted hatred because of this incident and all the workers in the Rose Factory turned into monsters and chased Tang Erda, Tang Erda was sure that the one who would die in the end would be the worker who turned into a monster, not him.

So Tang Erda moved the sack of roses to his left hand, and with an indifferent expression he made a straight line with his right hand, and suddenly a silver gun appeared in his hand.

The heavy gun fell down, and was lightly hooked on Tang Erda's index finger, turned a circle, and then raised up, pointing the muzzle of the gun at the back of the head of the old employee who cut in line in front.

"I don't mind killing people before work." He said calmly and coldly, "My previous job was to kill people who turned bad. Do you think you are bad enough now?"

The old worker in front, who had been looking smug, trembled like a dustpan after hearing the sound of a gun being loaded behind him. His face turned pale and he moved aside with gritted teeth.

Carrying the sack, Tang Erda walked forward as if nothing had happened, poured the roses into the instrument for screening, and then took the screened roses and put them into the sack. He put the gun behind his waist, carried the sack on his shoulder with one hand, and walked out.

The old processors who had just been trying to stop Tang Er from doing this made way for him with gloomy faces.

"What's wrong with these new workers?" The worker who was pointed at by Tang Erda started to curse after making sure that Tang Erda's back had completely disappeared from his sight. "Either they are trying to steal the equipment from us, or they somehow finish the work in a short time. There are two who haven't even started the screening yet!"

"It's almost noon now, and I don't know where they are. If we don't dry the roses quickly, we won't be able to deliver roses of the qualified weight when we weigh them tomorrow." The worker said, and then he began to gloat over the misfortune. "I guess these two workers will be directly demoted to flower pickers."

——————————

Inside an abandoned factory.

Bai Liu stood on a rusty container, surrounded by a group of refugees who had regained consciousness.

The refugees who had just been awakened by Bai Liu with perfume sat obediently on the dirty ground around the container. They all looked up at Bai Liu on top of the container with a burning gaze that was almost like looking up to a savior, seeing the last glimmer of hope in despair.

"I believe you all know Mr. Bai Liu." There was another refugee standing on the container. He was the refugee who led the group last night. He stood half a step behind Bai Liu very respectfully and introduced Bai Liu to the people below with shining eyes. "The rose perfume you received this time was earned by Mr. Bai Liu while working in the factory, and then distributed to us for free!"

This remark caused a small commotion among the refugees, which was quickly stopped when the refugee who spoke pressed his hands down.

"Okay, okay, everyone, please don't get excited for now. Mr. Bai Liu will bring us more good news." The refugee looked back excitedly and bowed to Bai Liu who was behind him. "Now, please ask Bai Liu to say a few words to us!"

Bai Liu walked forward leisurely. His voice was not loud, but the people below were surprisingly quiet in order to hear what he said. This made Bai Liu's voice echo clearly and powerfully in this empty and dilapidated factory.

"I want to help you for free from the bottom of my heart." Bai Liu took out a new bottle of perfume from his pocket. His brows were calm and his tone was sincere. "But the number of refugees I can help alone is too limited. I am just a low-level worker in the factory, and I just get paid on time every day."

"I can earn at most three bottles of low-grade perfume a day now. One bottle of low-grade perfume can last for four hours at most. According to the amount of perfume, even if I give each of you a bottle, it won't be enough to keep many of you awake for a long time. At this rate, I won't be able to help you for a long time."

Bai Liu's words made the eyes of the refugees under the container dim.

But they did not blame Bai Liu for not continuing to help them.

After enduring a long period of torture, Bai Liu, a figure who seemed to appear only as a manifestation of God, gave them completely selfless help. Even if this help was only short-term, it allowed them to recover their human form and survive for a while, without being immersed in the pain of having their minds dominated by rose perfume and the itching of the endless tentacles on their bones. They were very grateful.

They haven't maintained their human form for so long that they can't tell whether they are humans or monsters. Now, even if they are sitting on the ground, they have the urge and trance to lie down, kneel, crawl and walk around.

"But as long as you are willing to help me, my help to you can be extended indefinitely." Bai Liu changed the subject, causing the refugees who had lowered their heads to raise their heads in unison and look at him nervously and eagerly.

Bai Liu continued slowly, "My power is limited, but if you can help me complete more work in the factory, obtain more perfume, distribute it to more refugees, and help more refugees to wake up, I promise that every bottle of perfume you produce will be used to help more refugees and let them join our team until I become the factory director."

"When I get the rose perfume formula and become the factory director," Bai Liu said solemnly, "I guarantee that every bottle of rose perfume produced in the factory will be free, forever."

This is obviously a very tempting proposal.

The refugees below couldn't help swallowing, but their faces showed joy and fear at the same time - this promise was too familiar to them.

When rose perfume was popular, manufacturers also used such sweet slogans to lure them in, but what about now?

Those manufacturers who originally said they would distribute rose perfume to them for free would now like to sell a bottle of perfume at a sky-high price!

They looked at the peaceful white willow on the container with suspicion, fear, uneasiness and tearful eyes, as if they were looking at the last straw in a dark swamp. They didn't know whether this person was deceiving them or leading them into a bigger, deeper and impossible quagmire.

But what's the use? They have no choice but to believe that Bai Liu will be a good factory manager.

When they unconsciously accepted and abused rose perfume, the ending was already doomed. They could only choose to accept this ending or escape it through death.

After a long time, someone raised his trembling, withered hand with only white bones left, very gently and carefully, and asked in a very low voice: "...Mr. Bai Liu, can you really be a good factory manager?"

The woman who asked the question had half of her body rotten. Only the temples on her face were withered. In her arms was a baby with withered legs who looked only a few months old.

The baby curled up in her arms, dying, sucking on her withering thumb. In its pure and round black eyes were two old and withered roses that looked completely inconsistent with the baby's age.

She looked at Bai Liu with tears in her eyes, which were filled with withering roses. Her voice was choked with sobs: "If you become the factory director, will you always be a kind person who is willing to help us?"

"No." Bai Liu replied bluntly, "It's very likely not. I'm only saying this now to trick you into working for me, just like the factory manager who promoted rose perfume before."

There was silence below. Bai Liu's words were seen in the astonished eyes of the refugees below, just like a drop of water dropped into a frying pan and exploded.

The refugees stood up with clenched fists, their chests heaving violently. They glared at Bai Liu fiercely. Their eyes, which originally held a glimmer of hope, became angry and lifeless. Some of them hung their heads numbly, as if they had already expected this outcome.

The young mother who had just asked Bai Liu a question weakly put down her hand. She covered her face and cried softly, seeming to be muttering her child's name.

But still no one among them rushed up to attack Bai Liu.

——Because even if Bai Liu exposed his evil intentions so bluntly, Bai Liu was still their last hope, as well as their despair.

As long as they can temporarily avoid the addiction caused by rose water, the helpless refugees will be swept away by those who control the source and forced to fall into a deeper hell.

Bai Liu's eyes casually swept across the faces of the refugees below, who were showing various emotions because of his words.

He could have used the same excuse to deceive these desperate refugees.

You see, even if he told them now that he was deceiving them, they would still deceive themselves and follow him, working for him for free, just for a whiff of ethereal fragrance.

As long as perfume exists, this vicious cycle will definitely exist. When civilians begin to hope that "good people will be factory managers" can make everyone happy, this itself means that other things can no longer restrain evil.

——If morality is used to constrain interests, interests will only be presented in the form of morality.

But Bai Liu doesn't like perfume, he likes money. This world is meaningless to him. Even if he gets more perfume from these refugees, it only symbolizes a sense of superiority on the spiritual level.

Bai Liu is indifferent to this sense of superiority.

He prefers a world where money circulates as hard currency, so he wants to end the existence of this world.

"You can't expect me to be a good person. I'm not a particularly good person. In other words, when that time comes, as long as rose perfume exists, no factory manager will be a good person."

Bai Liu looked down at the refugees below calmly, his tone as calm as ever, "But if I tell you that I can make the rose perfume disappear and stop you from withering, will you help me?"

The refugees below the stage slowly raised their heads in disbelief, and Bai Liu's emotionless face was reflected in their eyeballs implanted with roses.

"You help me become the factory manager, and I will help you end your fate of withering." Bai Liu said, "This is not some kind of free help, but an equal trade. Will you do it?"

The young mother stood up first with tears in her eyes. She held up her child and asked incoherently, "Really?! Mr. Bai Liu, do you really have a way to end us and end my child's withering?!"

Bai Liu smiled. The rose in his right eye had blossomed into its sixth petal. The cracks at the edge of his eye socket were so deep that the bone was visible. "If I can't do this, I will wither."

"I've given you most of the perfume I've got. You can supervise me to do this all the time, but if I can't find a way to relieve it, I'll be the first to wither. Are you willing to trust me now?"

There was a brief, pin-drop-audible silence.

The mother hugged her child tightly, lowered her head, and cried out with trembling lips: "Thank you, thank you!!"

The abandoned factory was filled with an inexplicable buzz of excitement.

The refugees lifted up the white willows on the container and threw them upwards. The roses in their eyes were like dying flames, burning weakly yet firmly.

The author has something to say:

Let me explain here, Qi Yihang's skill does not exist!! In normal weather forecasts, a tornado cannot have a rating and unit of 2g. The wind force is level 1 and level 2, and the wind direction is northerly. The skill is exaggerated here. I hope everyone will not bring it into reality. There is no 2g tornado. It does not exist theoretically. I made it up. It is limited to the game to simulate the feeling of a centrifuge. Thank you!