Chapter 1211: Chapter 51: Living Beings of the Vena Refuge
"Have you forgotten who rescued you from the church and restored your identities?"
Matthias seemed out of options, resorting to emotional blackmail with the council members.
Davi Godoy fell silent, but Krejci Johan, belonging to his faction, softly cleared his throat and said, "We have always held gratitude for you, Mayor Matteus, but the council, which decides everyone’s fate, should not involve too much ’personal emotion.’"
"I second that." Bark tightened his robe.
Matthias remained silent, surveying the hushed council chamber.
Not everyone sided with Davi Godoy, but in an obvious disadvantage, no one wished to take the lead.
Matthias decided to stop pretending this was an earnest performance. He turned his head towards the stone pillar in the council hall, slightly bowing, "Mr. Lu Li, did you see their response?"
Surprised whispers erupted, and the council members stared at the figure emerging from behind the pillar, then looked towards the silenced Davi Godoy.
Satisfied with their reactions, Matthias loudly proclaimed, "The decision to open the Deep Layer is one jointly made by Mr. Lu Li and me. This council session’s essence is to inform, not to request. However, as a member of the council, I am still willing to abide by the rules..."
Pausing slightly, Matthias re-evaluated the council members in front of the round table.
"Now, regarding the ’Vena Refuge Migration to the Deep Layer’ bill, please vote, raise your hand to signify agreement."
The council members, who remained relatively calm after Lu Li appeared, were the first to raise their hands. They were either from Matthias’s faction or knew some clues. In any case, they all knew Lu Li was in the Vena Refuge.
Then those who inherently agreed with the bill and the hesitant members, opposition members gradually raised their hands as well.
What usually took months of repeated discussion and modifications achieved the two-thirds majority in just a few seconds.
What accomplished this result wasn’t only Lu Li’s reputation.
The Exorcist merchant controlled over 90% of all resources in the Vena Refuge; without him, most people here would die of hunger and cold.
Additionally, the council members somewhat hoped they might one day go to the Land of Light.
Bark loosened his open robe, hesitantly raised his hand, afraid to look at Davi Godoy.
After a dozen seconds, only Davi Godoy and his two loyal faction members remained who hadn’t raised their hands.
Raising hands to represent opposition was actually more effective because even Davi Godoy didn’t dare defy Lu Li by raising his hand—however, Matthias wanted the council members to see who the real opposition was.
Thus far, this mayor still subtly retained restraint, not using "disgrace" or harsher terms to satirize these council members.
"The ’Vena Refuge Migration to the Deep Layer’ is officially passed, the execution plan will be sent from the mayor’s office to your residences shortly. Mickson, you are responsible for ending the council session."
Matthias told his aide, who couldn’t suppress his joyful expression, then left with Lu Li, the twisted figure beside him, and Ophelia.
"You are the mayor, why listen to the council?"
On the way back, the twisted figure asked.
"It’s the rule, city development must be approved by the council." Matthias said.
Even if he was the mayor, the actual controller of the Vena Ice-Free Port and the Refuge.
Matthias never opposed the council, as the council system was the best choice to prevent the city from being led astray by those in power. It’s just regrettable that inevitably, it also entangles with higher-level interests.
"Migration to the Deep Layer would make them safer, what’s the reason for refusal..."
The underground is safe—this is the consensus for everyone. The Old Era’s shelters and the ancestral relics found by Lu Li testify to this. However, for most settlements, retreating underground either means difficulty in obtaining food and water or lack of fuel.
"Because they haven’t truly realized the crisis..."
"Are you the Exorcist..."
Suddenly, a startled exclamation arose, and Lu Li, not wearing a cloak, was spotted by the residents. Someone couldn’t contain their excitement and approached.
"The young from the Levens Family, I have reserved as the seventh batch migrating to the Land of Light." Matthias had no choice but to let him leave, then continued, "The people here have been too well protected, to the point of laziness. The outer ring environment report I sent to you is just numbers to them... Until the threat reaches the Inner Ring residents, and the crisis is apparent, they won’t want to leave here..."
Fortunately, Lu Li came to change this slow death.
"When will your allies arrive?"
Deciding was harder than imagined. But once the decision was made, Matthias only felt relieved and hopeful: relieved it hadn’t reached the worst, hopeful for a safer Deep Layer.
"They should arrive tomorrow."
The Vena Ice-Free Port and the worm-infested Gauss Basin are separated by just a strait; they only need to cross the seabed.
Matthias summoned guards to disperse the gathering residents, apologizing, "It should have been us helping you, but it’s still you helping us..."
Returning home, Matthias gestured to Lu Li that they could freely wander around, as he needed to issue an urgent order: the worms will arrive in two days, the Refuge must hurry to notify the residents.
The twisted figure curious about the Refuge left the residence, while Ophelia chose to stay with Lu Li, observing Matthias issuing instructions.
Compared to the council’s delays in the passing of the bill, most residents supported the migration to the Deep Layer—the outer ring had long been unbearable and the Inner Ring was constantly facing crisis.
The twisted figure returned after a few dozen minutes, telling Lu Li about the chaos in the outer ring: for example, a resident trying to abduct her. However, what concerned the twisted figure was, he saw many polluted people tied up like pigs, being driven away.
"Those are low Sanity Value and polluted residents... Over time they will go mad and become Aliens..."
"Are there many such residents?" Lu Li asked.
"Hundreds... every day."
Food, water, environment, everything people could ingest or contact were contaminated.
"What will happen to them?"
"They’ll be driven to the surface, Aliens will be... executed."
Matthias narrated the heavy truth.
"Can you convert them into Followers?" Lu Li suddenly asked the twisted figure, "As Believers, they can assist in protecting the Refuge and after the migration can choose to take them back to the Land of Light."
"I don’t know... Is it possible?" Matthias also looked at the twisted figure, stunned.
"I can do it," the twisted figure replied.
So the proposal passed without any hesitation.
For Matthias, it spared him from facing the guilt of abandoning his people; for Lu Li, it expanded the camp’s strength; for the twisted figure, more Believers; and for those abandoned residents... they found redemption.
Faced with being thrown out to fend for themselves versus becoming Lu Li’s allied Followers and going to the Land of Light, there was almost no choice needed.