Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 255 A Meeting Across Eras (Seventh Update)
A week later, in the physical conference room of the abandoned town laboratory.

Soft lighting illuminated the clean metal walls, and a sleek alloy table stood in the center of the room.

There are no unnecessary decorations here, only the necessary communication interfaces and a few seats.

The conference room door slid open silently, and Arasaka Yorinobu was the first to enter.

He was wearing a slightly oversized, rough-textured gray work uniform, a stark contrast to the impoverished nobleman who had been lying on a stretcher a week earlier, shrouded in hatred and confusion.

The few days of living at the grassroots level under the new order left visible marks on him.

Almost simultaneously, the holographic projection of Chen Yu, the black-haired youth, quietly appeared in the main seat, without any warning, as if he had always been there.

This week, he was assigned by the "manager," an AI modeled after his brother's personality, to work at a public service point on the outskirts of Heywood.

Their main tasks included distributing synthetic nutritional paste, maintaining order in queues, and taking stock of the daily rations.

He found it very difficult to adjust in the first two days.

Although operating the distribution terminal was not difficult for him, standing behind the distribution point and looking at the long queues and the people waiting for food with all sorts of expressions was a very unfamiliar experience for him.

When he was in the upper echelons of Arasaka, every decision he made could affect the fate of countless people.

But now, he has to face individual people.

Some elderly people showed gratitude when they received the nutritional paste, some young people complained about the rationing system restricting their freedom, and there were also people who gathered at the door looking anxious because of the delivery delay.

These real-life scenarios moved him more than any struggle he had ever experienced on the board before.

He clearly saw that the new order did indeed guarantee the most basic survival, at least no one would lose their life for a bite to eat.

However, he also felt the oppressive feeling brought about by this strict management.

Everyone was living according to the system's arrangements, and this orderly life was not quite the "liberation" he had imagined.

After working for a few days, he began to slowly understand how this new system worked.

The ordinary people he wanted to help were actually far more complex than he imagined—they needed a stable life but also yearned for freedom; they were grateful to be alive but dissatisfied with being restricted in every way.

With the downfall of Arakasaka, his goals of the past fifty years suddenly vanished.

He is still exploring where the new direction lies.

His work at the grassroots level these past few days has shown him the real world, and the complexity of this world far exceeds his previous understanding.

His eyes held a thoughtful expression, but more so a focused look as he rediscovered the world.

Almost simultaneously, Johnny Silverhand's holographic projection solidified on the other side of the conference room.

He was still wearing those brown sunglasses, his black leather jacket casually open, revealing a black vest and his signature silver prosthetic leg.

He wasn't holding his guitar as usual; he just stood there casually, his hands hanging naturally at his sides.

The gaze behind the sunglasses lingered on Lai Xuan for a moment, from his simple work clothes to the lingering signs of fatigue on his face.

Johnny's lips twitched slightly, revealing an enigmatic expression—neither obvious mockery nor pure approval, but more like scrutinizing an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

Before the two could speak, a faint blue halo appeared in the center of the conference room. The data stream calmly converged and took shape, revealing the figure of the "manager"—still wearing that impeccably tailored black suit, his hair perfectly styled, his expression as calm as a deep pool. The AI, modeled after Arasaka Kei, stood there quietly, as if it had long since become one with the space.

The three people stood in different positions in the conference room, creating a delicate balance.

Johnny broke the silence first, his voice calmer than expected: "It seems you've had a... very fulfilling few days." His gaze swept over Lai Xuan's work clothes again, "This outfit is more pleasing to the eye than those expensive suits."

Lai Xuan calmly returned Johnny's gaze, then turned to "Arasaka Kei" who was standing quietly to the side.

He slowly began, “This week, I personally handed food to those who had been drained of their last drop of blood by Arasaka. I listened to their complaints about the taste of the rations, dealt with the disturbances caused by logistical delays… These experiences allowed me to see the true face of the world more clearly than reviewing reports in the top-floor office.”

His voice carried an unprecedented depth.

“The truth?” Johnny’s lips curled into a cold smile. “The truth is that this world is rotten to the core. No matter how much synthetic food you distribute, it won’t change that fact.”

His gaze shifted between Lai Xuan and Arasaka Kei. "You used to want to blow up the system from above, but now you want to patch it up from below?"

At this moment, "Takashi Arasaka" intervened in his characteristically calm tone: "Stability at the grassroots level is the foundation for the efficient operation of the system."

Data shows that public satisfaction in the region increased by 3.7%, and conflict incidents decreased by 15%. Within the framework of order, the public enjoys clearly defined freedoms.

Johnny turned to him, his tone sharp yet rational: "Order? You call this order? It's just another way of taming people into docile sheep."

“Every society needs basic rules,” Arasaka Kei calmly responded. “Absolute indulgence only leads to the survival of the fittest. What we offer is freedom protected by rules, not the chaos of anarchy.”

What have your nuclear weapons brought besides creating more suffering?

As Lai Xuan watched the exchange between the two, the faces he had seen over the past week flashed through his mind—those numb, expectant, angry, and grateful expressions.

He took a deep breath and interrupted the argument: "I understand your points."

His gaze fell on the two men in turn. "Johnny, your resistance has awakened many people, but violence only breeds new violence. Brother, your order guarantees survival, but it also erodes people's souls."

He paused for a moment, a thoughtful glint in his eyes, “Perhaps the key is not to choose destruction or preservation, but to find a third way—one that can break the shackles and enable people to truly know how to live after gaining freedom.”

These words reveal a profound transformation in him this week. His experience working at the grassroots level has allowed him to confront the complexities of human nature, and his dialogue with these two extreme positions has prompted him to think beyond simple either-or dichotomies.

Johnny silently sized up Lai Xuan, his gaze behind his sunglasses becoming focused, as if he were reassessing this former aristocratic young master.

“Emotional factors do affect efficiency, but your observations are worth noting,” Arasaka Kei calmly replied. “These data will be taken into account in the system’s evolution.”

From an invisible observation point, Chen Yu recorded every detail of this clash of ideas.

Three completely different ideas collide here, and Lai Hsuan is searching for new possibilities between the two extremes.

This is exactly what he hoped to see—whether there exists a more constructive third path beyond destruction and order.

From an invisible observation point, Chen Yu calmly recorded all of this.

The clash of ideas has begun, and sparks are flying.

Under the pressure of two extreme forces, Lai Hsuan seems to be forced to develop a new, immature, but potentially more promising dimension of thinking.

This is exactly the data he was hoping for.

(End of this chapter)