Steel torrents pioneering a different world

Chapter 216 Elf: The Laborer's Banner is an Evil Tool to Divide Us! (Please Subscribe)

Elf prison area, third prisoner-of-war farm.

Annies gripped the hoe handle, feeling the smooth wood grain as she gently touched the fish's breathing, adjusting her rhythm.

These are the methods she learned during her time farming here to maintain her physical strength and reduce fatigue.

After a few breaths, seeing human guards looking over from above, she lowered her hoe again and turned over a patch of black soil that they had already loosened.

The man bent down, took out two peanut seeds from the cloth bag at his waist, and skillfully tossed them into the pit.

"I heard that these things will yield a lot of fruit when they grow up, and the fried peanuts coated with sugar do taste really good."

With that thought in mind, Annie continued to turn over the furrows and precisely drop the peanut seeds.

This is not an efficient way of working, but it is a way of working that consumes the time and energy of the elf captives so that they have something to do.

Just like in the Earth era, some people who were released from prison found that factory work was even more tiring than prison, and they all wanted to go back to prison.

The only requirement of imprisonment and labor reform is to reshape the values ​​of criminals and to re-convert prisoners into universal values.

However, the elven captives are different from ordinary prison prisoners. They are special personnel, so as long as they do not violate the core principles, their imprisonment is relatively lenient after being captured.

Annie continued working, but her mind was filled with thoughts of what the peanuts would look like when they grew up.

She even thought of a type of peanut called "five-spice peanut".

Deep-fry the ingredients and then coat them with spices; they taste crispy and delicious.

That was one of her favorite snacks.

Unfortunately, her importance diminished significantly after her single room was replaced by a large communal room and the number of prisoners increased from one to several hundred.

Humans kept a close watch on her, and she rarely ate things like peanuts.

When can we go back to single-room mode?

As she thought this, the image of the demonic dragon she had recently seen came to mind, and she sighed repeatedly in her heart.

After these captives discovered that the little dragon was being controlled by humans, many conflicts arose among the elves.

Humans cannot earn money beyond their understanding, just as they cannot comprehend dangers beyond their understanding.

The elves were captured swiftly and decisively. In addition, in order to maintain morale and ensure that the elves were willing to die, the elven high command did not release some key military intelligence information.

This is why most of the elven captives did not witness the terrifying appearance of the forbidden weapon unleashed by humans.

Even if you do see it, it's just a fleeting glimpse, because it's too far away!

This has led to some low- to mid-level commanders of the elven prisoners attempting to boost the morale of the elven warriors and even planning a prison brawl!

However, they were unaware that the elves' cells were already covered with a dense array of sensors, allowing them to be observed even when they went to the toilet.

The only guarantee of rights the human pioneering team gave them was that the women were responsible for viewing these more sensitive private captive information.

After the elves discovered the dragon, visible changes appeared inside its body.

Some of the more stubborn elves wavered in their resolve.

In private, the elves, who used to boast about making humans look good, have significantly reduced their morale-boosting frequency.

Some elves, who were already weak-willed, began to look at humans with hesitation and timidity.

Gong Pengfei, an expert in the psychology of intelligent organisms, immediately determined that the further persuasion and intimidation of the elf captives had reached a critical stage.

A few small sparks, or some small things that humans have specially prepared, may be enough to make a large number of elves surrender.

As the saying goes, a fortress is conquered from within. The Elven clans were not harmonious and friendly, nor did they treat each other equally. Instead, there was a serious hierarchical relationship among them.

And these are all points that humanity can overcome.

Anis, the first female elf to be captured, had many of her genes and metabolites separated and sampled for research. She was one of the important elf targets chosen by humans for capture.

Annies, who was very diligent in farming, had no idea that she had already been chosen as a target.

Only after confirming that her fellow countrymen were some distance away did she dare to squeeze out a barely audible humming.

It was a popular song, with a simple melody, yet it entangled her memory like vines.

I was able to remember all of this by watching magical images (television) during my lunch and dinner breaks and when I was studying and relaxing.

In a prison filled with elven captives, expressing hatred for humans to one's fellow elves was a necessary means of ensuring one's safety.

Anyone who shows even the slightest bit of affection towards humans will be met with hostility or even targeted by the other elves.

After all, the war between humans and elves has never ended!

In the hearts of these elves, their relatives and friends may be fighting on the front lines against the humans of the north.

Although the captured elves knew this in private.

These northern humans were completely different from the southern barbarians, whom the priests and governors described as noble but who were actually raw meat and blood-drinking.

But deeply ingrained memories, deliberately cultivated hatred, and the pride of the elven race prevented them from easily changing their attitude.

Unless... unless the Elf Kingdom suffers some terrible tragedy and needs to ask these former enemies for help.

But how is this possible?

After a moment of confusion, Annie scoffed at the idea.

May the mighty elven kingdom live on forever!
That dragon was merely using humans as pets when it was weak.

Just like the proud and intelligent griffin, traditional methods simply cannot subdue the proud griffin. When the weak griffin can hunt on its own, that is when it begins to break away from its keeper.

pat~
With another stroke of the hoe, the fragrance of the soil mixed with the unique smell of organic fertilizer filled my nostrils.

She dropped the seeds again and covered them with soil using a hoe.

If this slow, leisurely movement were on a human farm, the overseer's whip would probably have already been lashed out.

But here, as long as the quota is completed within the specified time, no one will interfere.

Annie found these humans to be easy to talk to, and it seemed that she just wanted to use these activities to expend their excess energy so that they wouldn't cause trouble in the prison.

"Annise!"

A cool, clear voice came from not far away.

Anise straightened up and saw Lina, the elven captive, frowning at her from a short distance away.

What were you humming just now?

"It's nothing, just a folk song I composed myself."

Annies lied without batting an eye.

Lina, holding a hoe, had a tense expression and a warning look in her eyes.

"Stop having those inappropriate thoughts, and don't forget who we are. Those evil humans are watching us all the time!"

Annies didn't say anything more, but just silently lowered her head and continued working.

Seeing Anise's reaction, the elf named Lina's eyes flickered, wondering if she should find an opportunity to teach Anise a lesson.

However, recently, with the revelation that humans have taken control of the dragon, coupled with the fact that humans are completely different from what the priests previously described, many elves have become hesitant.

Some members of the Water Clan even thought that humans were quite good.

Lina is a stubborn elf representative who hates humans. Before being captured, she was the captain of an elf squad and had unimaginable loyalty to the elf kingdom and her people.

Although she had also been dissatisfied with the fact that the kingdom's higher-ups had withheld some key information and used them as bait during this time.

But she is aware of matters of principle.

As Lina sped up planting the peanuts, she tried to get closer to Anise and say something threatening to her.

Just then, a commotion broke out at the entrance to the plantation.

A human dressed in cadre uniform, under the protection of fully armed human guards, drove to a nearby field road.

He walked in carrying a metal megaphone, while two soldiers carrying guns, one holding a remote control, cautiously looked around.

The spirits who were working in the fields immediately stopped what they were doing and watched them warily.

"Cough cough!"

The human cadre cleared his throat, turned on the translator, picked up the speaker, and a piercing electrical hum immediately filled the air.

"Attention, all personnel! Attention, all personnel! To commend outstanding individuals and encourage productivity, the Field Base Management Committee has decided to award this month's 'Labor Model Workers, Farming Pioneers' with a rotating banner today!"

The entire plantation fell into a deathly silence.

The elves looked at each other, their beautiful faces filled with confusion and bewilderment.

Model worker?

A pioneer in farming?

A mobile banner?

These words were more difficult for them to understand than profound magic.

Is this some new form of torture invented by humankind?
It seems that humanity is finally about to bare its ferocious fangs.

Anise stayed at a distance, but in her heart she thought that when they were first captured, some humans had said that they should be glorious laborers, self-reliant, and actively cultivate the land to reduce the burden on everyone!
The human clearly had a contingency plan in place for the elves' varying reactions.

Ignoring the elves' gazes, he opened a document and read aloud: "After comprehensive evaluation, the honorary title of Labor Model this month belongs to—the Third Farming Group! This group has performed outstandingly in its work this month, exceeding its targets..."

The third farming group?

Annies was stunned.

She was from the third farming group.

The third farming group has a total of 20 people and is responsible for a lot of farming work in the vicinity.

These people were somewhat bewildered when they heard their work group's name being called.

They usually complete their farming work to the bare minimum.

I was unexpectedly praised.

Seeing the bewildered elf, the human cadre smiled and said, "Now, please have the representative of the third farming group come forward to receive the rotating banner!"

In an instant, hundreds of eyes turned to the clansmen in the third farming group beside them.

Annies and the elves of the third farming group suddenly felt like they were being pricked by needles.

The grumpy elves looked at them with a mixture of astonishment, suspicion, and undisguised hostility and hatred.

Lina's gaze, not far away, was even colder than a knife.

Being watched by everyone, Annies felt a chill run down her spine.

"People from the third farming group? Please come and receive the labor banner!"

No elf agreed.

Seeing this, the leader of the humans didn't mind and smiled, "In that case, I'll call on a name!"

He looked down at her and said, "Annise! Please come forward to receive your award."

"Annis?"

"I won't accept it!" In front of everyone, Annies showed a rare moment of toughness.

The human officer laughed: "You're from the third task force. You've done a great job. Now that the flag is in your hands, you'll receive a reduction in workload and more rest time next month. And... time to manage other elves after your approval!"

The human cadre's gaze was deep and unfathomable: "Annis, please come forward and accept the award on behalf of Group Three!"

"I do not!"

“Annis, if you don’t accept the award on behalf of your third group, then we will, according to the prisoner-of-war management regulations, send all prisoners to the solitary confinement room. Furthermore, your food rations will be halved, and if we capture any of your kin in the future, we will not abide by some basic rules of war!”

These words were clearly meant to mislead the elven captives into not knowing anything about the human situation.

However, as soon as the words were spoken, not only did the third group of elven prisoners of war become nervous, but some other elven prisoners who heard that they would be punished also became nervous.

Originally united in their hatred of the elves and their desire to deal with the elves who had captured the third farming group, a small portion of them suddenly abandoned their plans to fight them.

Taking care of the third farming group will also cause me suffering.

Not a good deal!
Forget it!

Under everyone's gaze, Annie glanced at Lina in the distance.

"If I don't take them, will you harm the other elf prisoners?"

"How could that be? At most, you'll have to take off your shoes and experience a few days in a small dark room. The most we'll have to be careful about is the possibility of electrical leaks from the floor!"

Hearing warnings about the dark room and the electrical leak in the floor, Annies was unaffected, but many elves who were hostile to humans and had been to the dark room shuddered.

These people are quite experienced and know the torment of being in the dark room.

The most painful thing is that kind of electricity.

They won't hurt the sprites; at most, they'll remind the tired sprites and help them regain their energy.

Anyway, it's a rather quiet little prop.

Seeing the complicated looks she received from many of her fellow tribesmen, Annie bit her lip and had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to collect the flag.

As she watched the human officer hand him the bright red flag, she felt a pang of irritation.

She looked at the large, square characters embroidered with gold thread on it—"Labor is the most glorious!"

She wondered if she should throw it away later.

“Annis, keep this safe. It’s a mobile flag. Next month, it will stay with the best-performing POW farming group. As long as you do a good job, you can get better food and more benefits.”

"If this flag gets dirty or damaged, then all the elves will be held jointly responsible!"

"Annis, did you hear that?"

Anise nodded, not wanting to look back at her companions.

At this moment, she felt that her companions wanted nothing more than to beat her up again.

"Very good. I hope Annie and the third farming group can continue their efforts, play a leading role, and lead everyone to make progress together!"

"I'll say it again! This flag represents your honor, it's a reward! If your group gets dirty or there are any problems after receiving it, all the elves will be punished!"

"It's all the elven prisoners! Not just one person!"

"Gentlemen, please make sure to keep your 'Labor is Glorious' banners safe and sound!"

The human officer smiled and spoke a few bureaucratic words into the tin megaphone, then left with his soldiers, satisfied.

The plantation returned to silence, but the atmosphere was even more eerie than before.

Annie stood there, holding the conspicuous banner.

Lina walked over from not far away.

“Annies,” Lina’s voice was devoid of warmth, “You third group had better give me an explanation.”

“I…” Annies opened her mouth, but found her throat too dry to make a sound. “I just did my normal job as humans say!”

"Heh, normal work?" Lina sneered, her gaze sweeping over the glaring banner in her hand. "Then tell me, what is this? Is this the glory your group earned through hard work?" She emphasized the last two words, her tone full of sarcasm.

"I didn't do it, they forced it onto our team! We really just completed the work according to their workload."

"Then you should have refused it on the spot! Throw it on the ground! Instead of treating it like a treasure like this!" Lina's voice suddenly rose, then fell again. "You've made us all lose face!"

After saying that, she stopped looking at Annie and turned to leave.

Anise stood alone, clutching the flag, and glanced at the members of the other three groups, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"Damn it, how did our group become the model team?"

"Could it be that those humans deliberately divided us?"

"That's for sure, I've been slacking off while doing the work!"

"Me too!"

"I did not betray the elves! I am not a fallen elf!"

"Annis, drop the flag!"

"Are you crazy? Didn't you hear? If the flag is lost, all the elves will be punished."

"I'd rather be punished than carry this thing!"

"Give it to Annie! Give it to her! Anyway, it was specifically requested by a human."

The other members of the third farming group were complaining and exchanging ideas, while the chess piece in Annie's hand seemed like a foul-smelling object.

Annie looked at the chess pieces in her hand, feeling utterly helpless.

Jingle Bell……

Suddenly, a familiar ringtone sounded.

It's time to finish work and have lunch.

The ringtone also brought Annie back to her senses.

She gritted her teeth, rolled up the chess pieces and carried them on her back. With her slender body on a hoe, she went to the assembly point like the other elven prisoners of war.

She made a decision that went against the principles of the elves, but not against her own instincts.

"I'm a good elf!"

"I didn't betray you!"

"I just don't want the other elves to be punished too!"

He kept this thought to himself, hiding his desire to no longer be locked in the dark room in the deepest corner of his mind.

On the way, her roommate Elena suddenly came up to her.

“Annis, maintain your respect for the Mother Goddess and the Kingdom.”

“I have always maintained this! Eleanor, I believe that the flag we saw just now was also a divisive tactic used by humans to create conflict among us.”

“Really? But yesterday when everyone was watching some entertainment magic scenes, I noticed that your expression was off. Anise, you must not waver! Those are just evil humans trying to use evil words to tempt everyone into depravity.”

Annies immediately fell silent.

Because yesterday she really enjoyed watching some things that humans were playing.

Those video materials were far too horrifying for the elves.

“Eileen, I know!” she answered softly.

"Good to know! If you become a fallen elf, I will definitely punish you!"

Tuk-tuk-tuk...

The sound of the human female guard striking her stick silenced the whispering elves.

They stopped talking and instead skillfully lined up to get their food, then each went to find a place to eat.

The elves are vegetarians, eating mostly fruits and vegetables and less meat, but that doesn't mean they don't eat meat at all.

Sometimes, some strange and unusual meat dishes made by humans are even quite popular with some elves.

For example, sweet and sour fish chunks!

Because today was a day for extra meals every two days, and Annies had accumulated quite a few points, plus the special treatment for the third group, she specially asked the other elf captives to give her two pieces of sweet and sour fish.

The cook readily gave her a reward.

After I've eaten and drunk my fill, it's time for my unwavering "midday study and entertainment."

To Annies, it appeared as the image of a giant magical projection lit up.

Then, a gentle male voice, transmitted clearly through translation magic, reached the ears of each elf.

"Today, we continue from yesterday. What is politics..."

"Politics is the superstructure built upon the economic base, and it embodies economic relations. It involves the distribution, operation, and..."

It's that same kind of popular science stuff again, stuff I don't really want to understand.

Most of the elves showed disdain; some closed their eyes to rest, while others lowered their heads to study the patterns on their fingernails, expressing their protest in a silent way.

The magical images, presented in a translated elven language, depict aspects of modern human society and its systems.

The narration was short, only about fifteen minutes.

When these kinds of messages about human systems were first broadcast, they were met with rebukes from many elves, and even led to several conflicts.

The humans who imprisoned them simply gave these elves a few days of "black room treatment" for disrupting their study time.

Anyway, they became much more obedient after that.

The show is currently showing some shocking scenes. Although these elven captives are still somewhat impulsive and extreme, they are generally quite peaceful.

Annies sat in the corner, secretly watching the magical images.

"The people? What are the people?"

These novel words, like pebbles, were thrown into the stagnant lake of her heart.

The fifteen-minute political lesson ended quickly, and all the elves breathed a sigh of relief.

The magical image shifted, and the style of the painting changed drastically.

A lively and cheerful tune begins to play, and several human girls dressed in strange skirts appear on the screen, waving "magic wands" and shouting embarrassing lines.

"Balala Energy - Salo Salo - Little Fairy - Transform!"

The elves, who had been exuding an air of nobility and aloofness just a moment ago, were now staring at the screen with curiosity.

Even Lina, who had just been as cold as ice to Anise, instinctively sat up straight...

Compared to complex and tedious political popular science articles with various ideologies, these lighthearted things are what they like best.

The one-hour animated film became the most focused moment of the day for these proud elves.

When the video ended and the lights in the prison area came back on, many of the children still had expressions of lingering enjoyment on their faces.

"Your half-hour break is over. After the break, it's time for everyone to continue working!"

Annies returned to her cell, looked at the banner in her hand, then at the marked locations in the room. After thinking for a moment, she hung it up.

The other elves, seeing this, surprisingly did not attack the flag.

Annie lay down, closed her eyes, but her mind was a jumbled mess.

Various things appeared in my mind.

The bureaucratic writings and the things human officials say.

Lina's cold gaze, and the malicious warnings from her roommates.

There are also those human words like "Labor is the most glorious".

The same words, "politics" and "people," also came to mind.

Finally, the camera focused on the human girls waving plastic sticks.

What exactly is humanity trying to do?

These humans... they have weapons that could easily destroy forests, yet they're here teaching them about politics, showing them these... childish images, and solemnly issuing some kind of mobile flag.

What do they want to do?
An absurd and dangerous idea sprouted in Annie's mind for the first time.

"The others didn't attack me, could it be that the other members of the tribe also...?"

Anise suddenly remembered what the priests had said—they had many ways to deal with fallen elves! Destroying the body was far from the most terrifying thing! The most terrifying thing was that evil humans tried to reshape the minds of their race; that was the true beginning of horror.

……

At 2:30 p.m., the bell rang again.

She got up, then took her farm tools, went to the fields, and got to work!

Annie planted the peanut seeds she had given out again, then stepped on the loose soil and looked at the human faces standing on the high ground in the distance.

"Politics and the people?"

She thought about what she had seen during this time, and then she thought about how she had pretended to be extremely hostile towards humans and used vicious language when she was with her fellow elves.

Is disguise really effective?

"Have my fellow clansmen already isolated me, or even the rest of our third group?"

Annies was tormented by her emotions.

The same applies to the elf members of the third farming group.

Many of the elves who cultivate the fields have already developed mental flaws.

The air in the fields was stifling and hot, with only the monotonous sound of hoes digging into the soil.

Annie mechanically repeated the actions she was taking: planting a peanut and covering it with soil.

The chaotic thoughts in my mind were even more scorching than the blazing sun overhead.

What she had seen these past few days was like a boiling pot of mixed stew, churning endlessly in her mind.

Like the other elves in the third group, she still had to maintain the same attitude of hating humans to the core in front of her own kind.

But that labor banner was like a thorn, making her uneasy.

If the humans hadn't specifically mentioned before leaving that anyone who soiled or damaged the flag would be punished, she would have definitely thrown this hot potato away!
Just then, a clear, cheerful cry, not belonging to the prisoner-of-war farm, rang out. It was both joyful and childlike, yet nonetheless powerful.

"Hiss..."

All the elves stopped moving at the same time.

They looked in the direction of the sound and saw Ming Yufei, dressed in training clothes, squatting on the edge of a field in the distance, holding meat in his hand and teasing a magical creature.

The creature was covered in fine green scales and was very small, but when the elf switched to a magical perspective, it resembled the sun.

At this very moment, it was staring longingly at the meat in Ming Yufei's hand, making a flattering purring sound in its throat.

"Here you go!" Ming Yufei laughed as he tossed the meat over.

The little creature flapped its wings, opened its mouth to catch the object precisely, and then swallowed it whole!
Annies's pupils contracted again, and her fingers gripping the hoe trembled slightly from the force.

The color drained from Lina's usually icy face instantly; her lips moved silently, but she couldn't utter a single word.

The elves around, especially those who had only heard of the dragon before but were seeing it for the first time, dropped their hoes.

Some people instinctively took several steps back, as if they had witnessed the most terrifying sight in the world.

silence.

Deathly silence.

The young dragon, which a few elves had seen before, appeared outdoors for the first time, and in an area where elf captives were gathered!

This was a special psychological offensive.

Previously, some of the elf representatives had told their companions that they had been taken away by humans to see the dragon.

However, many elves do not believe what their fellow elves say.

Now that they have seen the dragon with their own eyes, their already fragile psychological fantasies have begun to shatter.

In the long-faded memories of the elves, the dragon was the ultimate creature synonymous with destruction, disaster, and apocalypse.

They are untamed embodiments of rage, and once they reach adulthood, they can easily reduce forests to ashes and burn the forest kingdom to the ground.

But now, this creature, which represents ultimate destruction, is begging for mercy from humans like a harmless pet.

The young human guarding them even reached out and scratched the little dragon's chin.

The little dragon squinted its eyes comfortably, making a satisfied sound in its throat.

It even burped, spewing out flames that were a mixture of red and green.

This scene terrified them even more than when humans used steel weapons to destroy the forests before.

Humans tamed a dragon, shattering their last shred of pride.

Annies watched all this with mixed feelings.

"Damn humans, they have repeatedly used psychological warfare and divide-and-conquer tactics against us."

Humans frequently showed them guns and steel powerful enough to crush any resistance from the elves, clearly sending them a signal.

We are strong and can easily deal with you.

Then, they put these elf captives in prison, taught them to read human language, showed them cartoons, and even selected some kind of model workers.

Everything was designed to tell them that by following human rules and cooperating for mutual benefit, they could live a better life.

Now, they are deliberately showing off this tamed little dragon.

The subtext couldn't be clearer.

“We can have a good talk with you, about politics, about the people, about the future. If we can't reach an agreement…”

"When this little guy grows up, he'll really want to fly around."

"Even if the dragons haven't grown up, humans seem to have quite a few ways to deal with their kingdom, right?"

Annie sighed softly.
The destruction of the body is not terrible; what is terrible is reshaping your mind and replacing your cognition.

This is no longer a conquest, but a replacement at its root.

She looked at the scene of the man and the dragon enjoying themselves in the distance, and then looked at the hoe in her hand that she was using to dig the soil.

Psychological warfare?

isolated?

These petty tricks seem so ridiculous in the face of absolute power!
(End of this chapter)