Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 345 - 264: Seizing One’s Means of Livelihood

Chapter 345: Chapter 264: Seizing One’s Means of Livelihood

The Judge felt that Norton should be the first to be stripped of his Prison Governor duties and spend a few years in jail to further his education since he seemed so interested in jailbreaks. Perhaps by doing so, he could even secure an important role within the team of inmates.

Despite everything unfolding according to their plan so far, the Judge’s heart was heavily blocked.

Especially after seeing people’s reactions, which made it even more depressing.

Just as Jiuyue had predicted, the premiere of "A Day of Great Wisdom" was a major success. An 89% approval rating said it all. If one were to dig deeper into the data, they would find that among the remaining 11%, the majority were gambling companies and gambling addicts who had been having a rough time since Norton was shot in front of everyone.

Every day, there were gamblers making trouble, and the company received more than a dozen lawyer’s letters daily.

The bets had been placed, the odds set; everyone was waiting to see who would be this year’s champion. However, the trial suddenly turned into some inexplicable inmate’s escape plan, which frustrated the majority of viewers. It was vexing to them, making it inconvenient to even voice their complaints.

Provoking antagonism between gambling websites and ordinary viewers was extremely detrimental to the company’s future development.

After all, they were a legitimate subsidiary of the Universe Company, and business naturally had to be viewed in the long term.

Everything that had happened today weighed heavily on the Judge’s mood.

In truth, very few people actually cared about justice versus evil; most were just there for the spectacle. As long as the show was lively and the audience found something amusing, they were satisfied.

The Judge specifically observed that almost no one in the comment section pointed out that jailbreaking was wrong.

The viewers enthusiastically discussed Wanwan’s identity and speculated on who might be the next to join the genius in planning the jailbreak.

Passionate and harmonious.

This couldn’t help but lead the Judge to reflect on whether it was really necessary to build a final refuge for humanity.

"Still feeling down? You should listen more to Old Duan’s advice. The very fact that people can discuss this matter without any psychological burden shows that they believe everything in prison is under your control, and therefore they view the characters as if they are in a TV show,"

Norton suggested.

The Mechanical Maid was summoned by him.

Aside from hoping the Judge would secretly favor them with some spoilers about the first season’s storyline, he also hoped that the girl dressed as a silk-stockinged maid would let him enjoy the view for a bit longer.

What does it matter if she’s mechanical, as long as she’s pretty?

It’s a diversified universe after all. With incomplete statistics, there are tens of thousands of different ethnic groups, and Norton felt it was time to include the Mechanical Race.

The only downside was the Judge ignored his and Owl’s request, refusing to spoil the plot for them.

He continued to persuade, "You should be proud. Only people in a peaceful era can enjoy entertainment so recklessly."

"Just like you."

Finally, the Mechanical Maid glanced up at Norton.

It now understood why someone had successfully escaped before; the Prison Governor of a planet imprisoning the universe’s most dangerous criminals was such an incompetent fool.

It indeed should listen more to Duan Mingyuan and learn from his decisive spirit to kick Norton off the team without hesitation.

"Well, who made me born into a wealthy family?"

Norton shrugged his shoulders, he felt that a person only needed to be lucky once in their lifetime, like him, being born into the high ranks of the Iron Guard Consortium, his grandfather had even been a military academy headmaster. This meant that even if he had lain down on the ground from the moment he could remember, his life would have been smooth sailing.

"You freeloader."

"That’s a bit harsh. I’m under a lot of pressure too, it’s just that my efforts are usually invisible."

"For example?"

"For example, your program messed up the gambling companies’ big plans, they are important revenue generators for the company. Plus, with the potential conflict with the Shan Clan People looming and the urgent need for funds, just five minutes after your show aired, someone from above called to reprimand us."

The tone on the phone was heavy-handed, chiding him and even implying that if he couldn’t handle the situation in the prison, they’d kick him out.

"By rights, I should be using whatever means necessary to stop this show, like immediately punishing the smart aleck or finding a way to secretly reveal to them that it’s all just a script, that even his favorite Wanwan is an artificial intelligence disguise."

That was the company’s stance.

End this farce and steer the filming back to the trials.

Any trial would do. If the Judge wouldn’t cooperate, create one ourselves. The content of the competition didn’t matter, what mattered was having topics, having a list, having odds, being able to set up a betting pool.

Those legal letters hoped the company would give refunds, but it’s not easy to get money back once it’s been invested.

"But I didn’t do anything, and even told them that if they could send someone capable of taking over his job, he’d resign and go home any time."

This reply choked the person on the phone quite a bit.

Norton knew that the company had no idea how to enter this digitalized world, and although he had chosen to slack off since the moment he started school, a slacker could also get pissed.

Imagine you’re lying at home, ready to enjoy some leisure time. Suddenly, a leader from a department that has nothing to do with you calls your home and starts scolding you. How would you feel?

"So I should commend you, then?"

The mechanical maid had not expected Norton to make laziness sound so lofty and refined, as if he had made some great sacrifice.

But everything in the prison was within its sight; surveillance footage showed that Norton had lain on his lounge chair all day today, and other than taking a 37-minute phone call, he did nothing else.

"No need for commendations; I’ve already received my reward," he said.

He was very satisfied with having appreciated a mechanical maid in white stockings all evening.

The aesthetic judgment of artificial intelligence was beyond question. As long as the Judge was willing, it could understand all the mainstream aesthetics of the moment in a second and generate a beauty without a single flaw.

"If you really want to call it something, consider it a well-intentioned warning," he continued.

Norton straightened up, his expression grew more serious, "Among humans, there’s a saying, ’Taking someone’s livelihood is like killing their parents.’ This is different from ordinary disputes. You’ve tampered with the gambling companies’ cake, and now they’ve set their sights on you. From what I know about them, they will spare no effort to sabotage your program."

He paused, then added, "If I were you, I would investigate every person currently in prison to see who is most likely to be brainwashed by the gambling companies’ promised benefits."