Chapter 9: 004. Arrive at the world's most terrifying country—Frost Plated!
Li Aozi stroked his chin, beginning to ponder.
Unlike the "Destroyer" class "Martial Artist," which one could obtain by finding a martial arts dojo certified by the Martial Arts Alliance and spending a large sum of money, practicing for just a couple of days.
Also different from the "Fine Artistry" system Magician or the "Mysterious" system Spirit Medium, which could be attained by joining formal organizations and acquiring inherited knowledge.
The number of Transcendents on Azure Star was not many, and there weren't even any rating standards; it was almost like they were barbarically left to fend for themselves without any system in place. The knowledge given by alien civilizations was even firmly bound by the Four Nations.
"The 'Sovereign' profession is attained through genetic mutation and the awakening of 'Arcane Energy' before one can be considered Transcendent," he thought.
Li Aozi felt a bit troubled.
For players, the awakening of Arcane Energy was actually very easy.
After completing three initial Descend tasks, players who unlocked the game function tab could open the "Game Mall" and purchase an "Omega-level Gene Awakening Drug" for just 9,888, which would allow them to select the desired type of Arcane Energy and undergo awakening.
Alternatively, those who believed they had overflowing luck and were not willing to spend money could purchase the cheapest "Alpha-level Gene Awakening Drug." What if they awakened to a Disaster Level Arcane Energy?
But now, as an NPC template, whether he could unlock the Game Mall was still uncertain.
After thinking for a long time, Li Aozi dismissed the idea of smelting gold; the ways ordinary players could become a "Mutant" were limited to only three, two of which were in the Red Arrow Empire, and only one was in Frost Plated.
"Why was I even born in Frost Plated? It's such a hassle. Me, a noble envoy from the Galaxy Civilization, stationed in the Fenesis Federation, ended up in such a place," he lamented.
Li Aozi clicked his tongue in annoyance.
In his previous life, his starting point was from the Red Arrow Empire, and he had never faced this kind of problem.
After all, what kind of place is Frost Plated?
Kings tattoo King Yan on their bodies, and King Yan tattoos Frost Plated on his!
With female superiority and male inferiority, this place isn't just a gathering spot for female fighters; it completely treats men like slaves, exploiting them without restraint.
Ninety-nine percent of government officials are female.
The ratio of male to female college graduates is 1 to 987.
Frost Plated law stipulates that only women may enjoy paid leave.
Men can only work in enterprises or government agencies if they have a master's degree or higher, a family wealth that reaches the standards of the salaried class, and a fair and beautiful appearance without aggressiveness.
As for the judicial system, it deals leniently with female criminals, tenderly handling them. Underage female criminals bear no criminal responsibility, while male criminals, even those under eight years old who lack civil conduct capacity, receive more severe treatment, and in serious cases, they can even be sent to the borders and deprived of their citizenship.
However, all these are nothing compared to something else.
What truly causes one's hair to stand on end is the extremely cold and cruel 'Fourth Rule' investigative agency of the Frost Plated Republic.
The main function of the 'Fourth Rule' agency is to oversee the safeguarding of women's rights, prevent crimes against women, and stop factual infringements upon women.
It sounds quite normal, but in reality, when these female agents execute their duties, they often kill the good and claim the credit for themselves.
So, are women's rights well protected in this country?
——Hardly.
The women of the upper echelons control Frost Plated, and their primary victims of oppression are not just men but also the vast number of lower-class women.
To prevent the status of upper-class women from being shaken, they continually intensify the conflict between lower-class women and men, covertly encouraging women to engage in direct physical confrontations with men and induce men to focus their grievances on the lower-class women, who are also victims.
Although there are many female players in the Frost Plated Republic, most show a hint of fear when talking about the storylines there.
Even after entering the 1.0 era, when Frost Plated entered the Federal Era, the government was still controlled by women. The "Fourth Rule" was not abolished, until the 2.0 era when Azure Star was bombarded by the Galaxy Civilization, it was then completely buried along with that sinful history.
"Looking at it now, my situation is also very troublesome,"
Li Aozi reflected.
The bank suffered a Spirit Monster attack. As an ordinary person, he should have immediately reported it to the police and then let the Transcendents' institutions intervene to launch a clean-up and investigation task.
The same problem faced by citizens of the Red Arrow Empire could have earned them a sum of consolation money from the local government, the company would also give them a leave of absence to take some time off, and then decide whether to continue working or not.
But that's the Red Arrow Empire, known as "the light of humanity," not Frost Plated Republic, bearing the sign of King Yan on its back.
According to Li Aozi's experience, if he reports now that there has been a Spirit Monster attack that caused casualties, the ones who would arrive were definitely not going to be police or Transcendents, but female agents of the Fourth Rule.
Don't think that these female agents, being public officials, would responsibly deal with the case seriously.
The Fourth Rule was different— in seventy percent of criminal cases, when female agents of the Fourth Rule arrived, they would not even glance at the scene, just directly take people into custody, starting with a beating, and then continuously shine an incandescent lamp into the suspect's eyes, not allowing them to sleep, repeatedly asking questions. If there was any slight discrepancy in the details, there would be a bout of bashing and torture to compel male suspects to confess.
Then, what if the criminal suspect was a woman?
The answer: it depended on whether the suspect had money.
If the suspect came from a notable family and forked out some money, the female agents of the Fourth Rule would welcome them with a smile and let them go home.
But if the suspect was a poor, lower-class woman, then the Fourth Rule would interrogate her depending on their mood. In a good mood, they would just let her go; in a bad mood, they would first detain her for seven or eight days.
If a male suspect refused to confess and couldn't endure the humiliation, leading to an outbreak of resistance, that's unfortunate— our law enforcement officers are all women, and your acts of resistance could be construed as an egregious infringement of women's rights, indecent towards them, not only insulting to public officials and obstructing law enforcement but also suspected of insulting and infringing on women, directly combining multiple charges to take the person down.
This case was not isolated. Some female players who initially arrived in Frost Plated thought they had reached heaven, enjoying many privileges. However, it wasn't long before they deeply experienced what's known as "obstruction and mutual destruction among women."
"Comrades can forever be more reliable than the same kind."
Li Aozi gently tapped on the bank counter, the electronic clock on the wall ticked over to 05:42, and the artificial light source outside the window shone on the back of his pale hand, faintly burning.
"If I don't report it, and no Transcendents intervene, then that Spirit Monster wandering outside will sooner or later target me."
"But if I report it, and the agents of the Fourth Rule come, I'd rather fall into the hands of the Spirit Monster."
The bank opens at ten, but staff arrive at seven to check the premises, and the branch manager even comes an hour earlier. By six at the latest, there would be people arriving.
The time left for him was not much.
"Stay calm, Li Aozi, stay calm..."
This was the earnest advice left to him by his deceased grandfather. He reflected for a moment, then began to horizontally compare his two sets of memories.
"This is Jianlin County's county town, but in reality, it's only a 20-kilometer journey to the outside world. If I spend some money, I can completely escape."
"The government of Frost Plated is very corrupt and decadent, the Fourth Rule is rampant and tyrannical, but there is one place where they cannot be overbearing."
"As an internal affairs agency, their jurisdiction is only within the country. Frost Plated, Red Arrow, Zhengxu, Sky Ring, the Four Nations are far apart, each dominating an orbital elevator and a satellite city. Even if an international arrest warrant is issued, it takes a good while for the other three nations to respond."
"The law can only govern where there is civilization."
Li Aozi narrowed his eyes:
"Go to the outside world."
"There is no light, but also no darkness."
"Most importantly, the inheritance of the Mutants is right there."