Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste
Chapter 82: So-Called Choice

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: So-Called Choice

Perfikot gathered the indigenous people on the island, and because she had previously hanged the plantation owner, these indigenous people, although not exactly grateful, still felt a certain sense of appreciation and were willing to believe what Perfikot said.

Therefore, when Perfikot gathered them to say that she wanted to demolish the plantations on the island and build something else, and employ them as workers, these indigenous people did not think that Perfikot intended to replace the plantation owner and continue to enslave them.

Though from a factual standpoint, being a worker in this era might not be much better than being a slave, and Perfikot indeed intended to make them work for her.

But to these indigenous people, Perfikot was much better than the plantation owner, so they chose to trust Perfikot.

And when it came to making a choice, these indigenous people were quite confused for some time.

The reason was simple: most of them had actually forgotten their past way of life, long accustomed to living as plantation slaves.

Thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t surprising. After all, this island had been enslaved for over twenty years. Most of the elders and the young adults from back then had almost been wiped out by the plantation owner during these years. How could one expect an illiterate indigenous tribe to remember its culture and history?

There were only some murals and ancient primitive songs left on the island, and Dr. Jones, being experienced and knowledgeable, somewhat understood the living habits of the indigenous people in this area, allowing him to speculate a bit about their past way of life.

Expecting these indigenous people, who had lived as beasts of burden for the past twenty years, to return to their primitive way of life on their own was quite unrealistic.

Perfikot recognized this fact, which is why she arranged a future for these indigenous people as workers and confidently made a bet with Dr. Jones to give these indigenous people a chance to choose.

Because she clearly knew that they had no second option, they had long since lost their former way of life and could not go back.

And even if these indigenous people truly wished to return to their past way of life, Perfikot, who was unwilling to give up building a material distribution point on the island, was not going to give them the necessary conditions to return to their primitive life, let alone allow them to affect her plans.

At this moment, Perfikot realized clearly that she was quite a ruthless person because she knew full well that if these indigenous people didn’t choose the direction she provided, only death awaited them.

And she did not really want to save them; it was just something she did by following the trend.

What she wanted to save was the world, the concept of humanity as a whole, not any specific person.

For this goal, the existence of individuals was an acceptable sacrifice for Perfikot.

This was actually a fairly dangerous idea because Perfikot didn’t care about anyone. Under the big goal of saving humanity, what she might do was unpredictable.

After all, if sacrificing a million people could save the rest of the world, Perfikot might not hesitate, considering that a million lives were also lives. She would only calculate whether such actions could indeed save more people.

When ice and snow truly descended, if the indigenous people on the island did not choose to work at the material distribution point but instead chose to return to their primitive way of life, only freezing or starving would await them.

The most advanced and powerful Victor Empire of this era had no ability to counteract the apocalypse and natural disasters; expecting a group of indigenous people living a primitive life to survive? That was a cold joke.

Luckily, these indigenous people were not that clueless. Their choice did not deviate from Perfikot’s calculations. Despite some hesitation, they ultimately chose the life Perfikot offered.

And this was obviously a blow to Dr. Jones; he was so frustrated that he wanted to leave the exploration team and return to Langton to continue teaching.

But before that, he still found Perfikot and wanted to have a good talk with her.

"Perhaps, as you said, it was my arrogance that made me presumptuously think they should return to primitive life, ignoring their own thoughts," Dr. Jones reflected and shared his feelings and frustration with Perfikot. "But I never thought they would choose to be workers. Why are they unwilling to return to their past life?"

Perhaps it was the naivety of a scholar; Dr. Jones still had a touch of bookish air, finding it hard to wrap his head around.

Faced with Dr. Jones’s frustration, Perfikot merely smiled and said, "Because you overlooked the fact that their living environment has long since changed."

"Perhaps, I did miss that point. But I would really like to know, if they had chosen to return to their past way of life, what would you have done? Would you have kept your promise and given them freedom?" Dr. Jones looked at Perfikot intently, eager to know if she would keep her word.

Facing this question, Perfikot was quite honest. She replied to Dr. Jones, "I wouldn’t have done much. Their choice wouldn’t affect my plans. It would just mean bringing in more labor from elsewhere. The Empire’s plans wouldn’t change because of a group of indigenous people; the construction of the material distribution point wouldn’t make any alterations.

Even if there were any changes, they would be due to other reasons, not because of a group of primitive indigenous people."

Dr. Jones understood Perfikot’s response, knowing that Perfikot wasn’t one to easily change her decisions due to external factors.

However, he still couldn’t help but ask, "If they choose to return to primitive life and you have built docks and warehouses on the island, what will happen to them in the future?"

This was what Dr. Jones wanted to know, as the life of the indigenous people on the island had significant academic research value. He was reluctant to see it disappear.

However, faced with this question, Perfikot frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "They would die, there’s no other possibility unless they submit to me."

This answer clearly was beyond Dr. Jones’s expectations, and he instinctively thought of the corpses in New Shaker City, exclaiming, "You’re going to kill them? That’s a massacre! How are you different from a slave owner?"

Facing Dr. Jones’s questioning, Perfikot was not angry, merely responding coldly, "I wouldn’t go so far. I would fulfill what I promised. A mere group of indigenous people isn’t worth using such means."

"Then why would they die?" Dr. Jones was greatly puzzled.

Perfikot did not directly answer but asked, "Doctor, can you keep a secret?"