In Ark Simulator, why do I always start out as a ruthless person?.

"After all, I never consider myself a good person." Chen Qi smiled lightly and murmured calmly:

"I'm just a guy who will do whatever it takes for myself and the people who support me."

"As long as we live up to all those who stand by our side... let history and future generations judge everything."

Chapter 11: The Beer Hall Putsch

[More than a month later, an unusual piece of news came. ]

[The son of the old Count Wiesheim died suddenly of illness a few days before he was about to be appointed as the next Count.]

[The "Voice of the Queen" was unable to find out the cause of his death. All they knew was that the young man who was about to take over the title of Earl had been eating seafood imported from Iberia, as well as the freshest fruits, vegetables, and high-end red wine every day for more than a month before his death.]

[Even the medicine he took when he had a cold was in full compliance with medical standards, and no poisonous ingredients were detected.]

[Finally, after the "Voice of the Queen" failed to verify the facts, the earl's son was determined to have died suddenly.]

[And the position of Count Visheim fell to the only remaining daughter, Lady Gertrude, without any suspense.]

[There was no possibility of being suspected or tracked. You just used a little common sense "mutual restraint" principle to complete this assassination without leaving any trace.]

[Gertrude then kept her promise and provided you and your organization with a large amount of financial support.]

【But this is not the greatest help Gertrude can give you. 】

[Although you don't know what Gertrude is thinking, you can be sure now that she is willing to stand with you.]

[Moreover, she is willing to help without reservation. ]

[This means that all your actions are guaranteed by "Count Visheim."]

[With the guarantee of the earl's status, you have the greatest capital to negotiate, trade and exchange interests with civilians, merchants, politicians and nobles. ]

[After all, who would not trust the reputation of a landed earl?]

[And you haven’t wasted your time in the past month or so. ]

[With the intentional spread of your organization members, your reputation in the slums has become greater and greater, and more and more people who have lost hope have learned that there is a person who wants to gain more benefits for everyone in the slums.]

[There is a man. In his organization, no matter if it is a brutal bully or a dying infected person, no internal oppression is allowed in his organization. Everyone is an equal member.]

【All those who violated this rule received their punishment—a severe beating with a mace. 】

【And all those who were willing to work for the organization received their remuneration and rewards immediately. 】

[In the end, whether it was out of a passion for hope, or simply to seek shelter, or simply to get a meal. ]

[Your organization has grown stronger over the past month, with the number of members reaching thousands! ]

[After the team has grown in size, you finally named your organization - the Leitanian Socialist Workers' Party.]

[But I don’t know whether it’s because it’s not catchy enough or someone did it on purpose, but the full name of your organization is rarely known in the ghetto, or even within the organization.]

[Instead, it was a title that made people in the slums yearn for it and made the villains who were not yet willing to obey it turn pale at the mention of it.]

[“Son of the Witch King.”]

[As the leader of the "Son of the Witch King", this title has gradually become your symbol due to repeated rumors.]

【And the one who follows you closely, remains silent, and expresses her opinions with the simplest power, gradually gets her first nickname. 】

【“Sword of the Witch King.”】

[And now, with people, money, and power, you can finally take the first step in your plan to overthrow the rule of the Gemini Queen. ]

【At the same time, you heard an important news from Gertrude. 】

[After more than a month of tragedy, the Gemini Queens finally stopped the battle royale to find out who the remnants of the Witch King were. ]

[Perhaps they finally realized that their methods were biased, or perhaps after a month-long investigation, they had already determined that all the core members of the Witch King's remnants had been captured, and the rest were just small, insignificant shrimps.]

【This is undoubtedly bad news for you. 】

[This also means that the number of unfortunate people who will have the same fate as you will no longer increase. Even time will gradually dilute people's memory of anger, and it will once again become an obstacle to you. ]

[And just when you were thinking this, Gertrude smiled and shared another piece of news with you. ]

[Just because the twin queens have calmed down doesn't mean the electors and nobles have calmed down. ]

[The Twin Queens were weapons created by the Electors to overthrow the Witch King, and now they are in power in Leithania. They are certainly not barbarians who rely solely on strength. 】

[In order to strike a compromise, they naturally promised many benefits to the electors and nobles who supported them.]

[Among them, regarding the right to dispose of and supervise the people in the territory they rule, the twin queens have given great convenience to the nobles and electors who support them. ]

[They believe that whether the lives of the common people in the territory are stable is directly linked to their interests. As long as the nobles are not stupid, they will not use heavy taxes, exploitation and other means to seek huge profits just because they have this right, right? ]

[This is indeed the case. Everyone is not stupid. The nobles are aware that they have enough food every day. ]

[But the facts are still very different from what the Gemini Queen thought. ]

[If heavy taxation and oppression are excessive, they will indeed arouse great public resentment. Once a riot occurs, the cost of suppressing it will be even higher.]

[But, who said they would oppress the civilians to the point of explosion? ]

[The balance of Leithania has been relatively stable during the reign of the Witch King. Although the Witch King supported the frontline by increasing taxes during the Four Emperors' War, taxes returned to normal after the war.]

[The nobles who had the autonomy of their own territories all chose to adjust the taxes in their territories to the level during the war.]

[After all, during the war, although the people of Leithania had a harder time, they did not starve to death, and their daily lives were not affected.]

【As long as the taxes on the people of the territory are adjusted below the "threshold" that they cannot tolerate, then won't everything be a happy ending?】

[The common people can survive, and the nobles can reap more benefits faster, it's really killing two birds with one stone. ]

[What? What if the quality of life of the people in the territory declines? ]

What does that have to do with them?

[To the electors and nobles, the common people in their territories were nothing more than slaves who paid taxes to them.]

[I let them live, they should be grateful, what right do they have to ask for a better life? ]

[In such an environment, businessmen naturally smelled the taste of profit, and they began to stage similar scenes in their own companies, enterprises and factories. ]

[Cut wages, reduce benefits, parachute leaders, the businessmen can be said to be reckless, causing great turmoil in the business of Leitania, and the civilian class Leitania people complained, but they could do nothing about it. ]

[As for those who dare to resign in protest, businessmen are even more dismissive. ]

[If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who are willing to do it. ]

[The Four Emperors' War, the death of the Sorcerer King, the liquidation of a large number of the Sorcerer King's remnants... caused many areas of Leithania to be stagnant, and many people were displaced, homeless and jobless. In order to have a stable job, dignity is not worth mentioning. ]

【As for resistance, that's even more of a joke. 】

[Merchants may be more restrained, but nobles have the power to dispose of people, and they can use lynching without restraint for those who disobey their management.]

[As for the accident that happened and people died... Which blind executive officer would dare to mess with the nobles in such a big environment? ]

[Although none of this has shaken the foundation of Leitania, the anger and resentment that have been accumulating in the hearts of countless people... through Gertrude's retelling, you can see it all.]

[You realize that now is the best time for you to raise the banner of resistance. ]

[If you want to overthrow the rule of the Gemini Queen, now is the best time! ]

[So, under everyone's expectation, you stepped onto the stage——]

That day, in the tavern, Chen Qi, accompanied by Jian and Gertrude, stepped onto the podium where he usually gave speeches.

Chen Qi's eyes swept over everyone present, and he noticed that the atmosphere today was completely different from usual.

In the pub that was packed with hundreds of people, no one was holding a glass or making any loud noise.

Everyone held their breath, staring at Chen Qi's every move with eyes filled with anxiety, expectation, admiration, and even fanaticism.

Silence lasted for a long time... maybe ten minutes?

But everyone was waiting for their leader's orders.

Finally, Chen Qi's words broke the silence.

"…Just now, Lady Countess Gertrude handed me a notice."

"It's a new decree from our dear Gemini Queens."

Chen Qi raised the paper in his hand in an extremely calm voice. There was no trace of sarcasm in his tone, but everyone could hear the sarcasm in his words.

"It records that they have adjusted the tax rate. From now on, 5% of our basic salary will be used as tax."

"The higher the salary, the higher the tax rate will be... Of course, officials and nobles are not on the list of those subject to tax increases."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Qi felt that the atmosphere, which was already on the verge of ignition, was immediately shrouded in a long-suppressed anger.

Pairs of eyes filled with intolerable hatred were staring at the decree in his hand, as if they wanted to tear it into pieces.

And Chen Qi also fulfilled everyone's wish.

"Everyone, we are falling into a bottomless pit called 'oppression'."

Chen Qi tore up the notice in his hand, glanced at the angry eyes, and said coldly:

"They are constantly testing our bottom line. They want to turn us into slaves without dignity and backbone, allowing them to exploit us at will."

"Tell me, proud people of Leitania, are you willing to continue to be enslaved?"

"Never!!"

Chen Qi was responded to in unison by the people in the tavern and even outside the tavern! They all raised their fists high, expressing their inner grievances and resistance.

"no way!"

Chen Qi also nodded heavily and responded to everyone in a stern voice.

"We must fight! We must survive! We must take back our bread, jobs, dignity, and even this country from the hands of the nobles and the twin queens!"

"But, Leader! What should we do?!"

Below the stage, a fanatical follower asked Chen Qi eagerly.

"Shut up, the leader is speaking!"

This follower was soon scolded and glared at by others, and the people around him immediately rebuked him for his offense.

But at this moment, Chen Qi answered the follower in a calm and gentle tone.

“That’s a good question, what should we do?”

"We must use action to resist their oppression. I need you to mobilize all your strength to unite with us those people in the city who are oppressed like us!"

"Strike, march, fight... Since the nobles above us cannot see the sufferings of the world, let us fight for the interests of our compatriots!"

"Unite more people, let more people resist like us - this is our next step!"

Chen Qi raised his voice again, and facing the pairs of enthusiastic eyes that were eager to try, he responded to them with absolute certainty.

"My fellow countrymen, I hereby promise each of you that the struggle will be meaningful, there will be bread, there will be work, and the dignity of our existence will be there!"

"History will remember our achievements in resisting oppression today!"

"We're all going to be heroes!"

"Letania! Long live!"

Chen Qi raised his hand high.

The next second, he was responded with an overwhelming momentum!

"Lion! Long live Leitania!"

"Long live the son of the Witch King!"

Below the stage, everyone raised their hands high in unison, row after row, as if with the power to overthrow everything!

On the stage, Chen Qi, who was sweating profusely due to overworking himself, looked at the followers in front of him who exuded the aura of thousands of troops.

They have infected people.

There are unemployed people.

There are people who have just escaped into the slums.

There were even guards, soldiers and even petty officers who rebelled against the government because they were dissatisfied with the infringement of their interests.

His heart was also filled with great excitement.

A few months ago, he was alone, lost everything, and fled to the slums for refuge.