Hidden Yao Era

"It's nothing, I just don't want it anymore. Sonia winked at Castor and led him out.

After walking out of the store, Sonia said to Castor with a sullen face, "They are trying to steal my data, my preferences, my foot shape and my body, and I just felt that the machine scanned my whole body." It made me uncomfortable, and when I heard that all this data was going to be uploaded to their database, I felt like I was in control. "

"And the account she helped us operate should be the noble lady who died in this Martian battle. I seem to have seen her corpse in Mariner's Valley. It's strange, it's been more than a month, and her information hasn't been written off. "

"Are you saying that the waiter has been using the account of a dead aristocratic girl to help civilians and even clones get custom luxury goods? That is to say, after the aristocratic girl died, her electronic key was used to engage in this kind of gray transaction? There may be a force that deliberately kept her electronic key and sold it to this waiter? I think this waiter may have done this a lot, right? If it is discovered, the waiter will definitely go to jail. "

"If I buy these shoes, I'm probably going to get you in trouble too, right?" asked Sonya.

"Hahaha, small trouble, not a big deal. I vaguely knew they were them, but I figured if you like these shoes you should buy them. "

As soon as Casto finished speaking, Sonia hugged Casto and kissed him. Then he said, "Thank you, I know you love me very much, but don't do that." I don't want you to do something sacrificial. I know there's a problem and do it for me, so I'm going to be very uncomfortable. Moreover, the waiter may have thought about doing this in the first place, and she may have pretended to be deeply moved by you at first. However, she didn't have much experience, and in the end she showed her feet. "

Castor nodded and said, "There may be a group of middle-level managers in this luxury store who are engaged in underground trading, right? I don't think that waiter has the power and capital to get these gray area goods." Their upper echelons certainly don't want this kind of trading to exist. "

Sonia shook her head and smiled: "Hahaha, I don't think necessarily, the upper echelons may turn a blind eye, and they may be the ones who really take the lion's profits." "

"Why?".

"Because the responsibility is not at the top, but the power is in the hands of the top, these people must have the acquiescence of the top to get the information of the nobles. If this group of people is not allowed to earn extra money in this way, they will inevitably change jobs or adopt other ways to make profits, right? In order to stabilize them, the upper echelons have provided them with opportunities to get rich in the gray industry. And the acquiescence of the top management will also bring a lot of additional benefits to the whole company, right?".

"That's right, but I often wonder if this group of people needs to do it. They live a life without worry, and they can be completely content with the status quo. "

"But they must have higher pursuits, right? The stable status quo is always boring, and people always have to seek some higher thrills, right?"

"Well, for civilians, the attraction of some high-end goods is also really great. "

But Sonia also denied the value of high-end goods themselves, saying: "The appeal of these high-end goods lies not in themselves, but in their class attributes." This class attribute gives the person who owns these goods the illusion of transcending class. Therefore, the gray industry of these stores will continue in this way. However, I still have a question, since there are so many gray transactions in this kind, the image of luxury aristocrats should have been torn apart long ago. But why do they still hold on to the face of an aristocracy?".

Castor smiled and said, "If they didn't have this face, no one would buy their luxury goods." "

Sonia suddenly realized: "I understand, aristocracy is to some extent the value anchor of the top business of this society. Without the aristocracy, the image of luxury goods and high-end will be impossible to attach. Although some commoners have now transgressed, the social consensus that luxury goods are owned by the aristocracy has not been broken. Therefore, the crown of luxury goods will not fall either. At the same time, the aristocracy could buy luxury goods at a relatively low price, while the commoners needed to buy them at a larger premium. In this way, the aristocratic class completed a hidden wealth harvest for the common class. In this way, the wealth of the common people is repeatedly harvested by the luxury goods created by social consensus and propaganda, and their wealth can never be accumulated, and it can never pose a threat to the upper class with the advantage of wealth. "

"Makes sense, so you've cracked the underlying code of our social fabric. "

"Hehe, far from it. After all, your social economy isn't just made up of luxury. The values of the whole society will not be completely carried away by one value. To understand how this society works stably, we need to look at other things. "

"Hahaha, I think I'll have to buy you new clothes and shoes. You're all sweating hot. "

"Yes, I used to wear armor and combat uniforms when I fought on Venus and Mercury, but it was the first time I went out in a warm environment, and I was a little uncomfortable with the temperature. "

"I'm going to get you an ice cream?".

"Okay. "

Casto then went to a nearby cold drink shop to get two cones. Sonia saw the cone in Casto's hand and immediately said, "Why are there so many things on your cone?" The cone in Casto's hand was sprinkled with candy and chocolate, and there were two small chocolate cakes on both sides. Sonia took the cone from Casto's hand and said, "What a beautiful cone, I don't even know what to say, it's colorful like a rainbow." "

"Hahaha, you can eat as much as you want. "

Sonia took a bite, she tasted it in her mouth and said, "Well, it's so sweet, I feel like my tongue is bombarded with candy and chocolate." "

"Hahahahaha, kids will love this cone. I loved to eat when I was a kid. "

"Well, the sweet and greasy feeling of happiness, such a direct and intense sweetness, children will naturally like it. But a little less natural and intimate taste. "

"Yes, it's easy to get tired of eating too much. "

"Is this ice cream expensive?".

"Don't want money. This is the free cold drink that is served to pedestrians on this street. "

"Hahahahaha, the free ones are so delicious, so what kind of cold drinks do you pay for?".

"Well, paid cold drinks will be more complicated to make, and some can be customized. "

"Hahaha, it seems that customization is the prerogative of your nobles?"

"Well, sort of. "

"Civilians don't have the right to customize consumer goods?".

"Well, basically, no, but I still have the right to pick and choose products. "

"Is there a shop on this street that belongs to the common class?"

"Yes, there's a small island in the middle of the river that houses a high-level civilian activity area, and there are shops selling clothing and souvenirs for civilians. "

"Take me to see it. Casto then led Sonia into the island in the middle of the river. They strolled through the greenery in the middle of the island, but Casto seemed a little absent-minded. Sonia looked curiously at the island's buildings and sculptures. She said to Castor, "It looks good here, the architecture and sculptures on the island don't make me feel vulgar and low-grade, it doesn't seem to be a good hierarchy here." "

"Hehe, this may be a deceptive disguise, the shops here pretend to be high-end and fashionable, but in fact they sell non-customized goods, which are still fundamentally different from the goods enjoyed by the aristocracy. I'm inspired by you too, hahaha. "

"But this should be the highest level of consumer goods accessible to ordinary civilians, right?"

"Yes, a lot of people work for a year just to buy a piece of clothing or jewelry. "

"It's pitiful, they work just to buy something that looks high-class? Do they really like it themselves? Or do they just think it's high-class because of the media propaganda and the influence of public opinion? Where is their ego?".

"Because of the media, most people don't think outside the social environment. The voice in the environment will sway their opinion as long as there is a little truth to them, especially after that kind of one-sided rational education. After all, the interest system and ideological system of society form a value that is difficult for people to question. "

"Hee-hee, it's not hard to question, but if you do, people will find themselves with no way out, right?".

"It's really hard to walk, what do you need to do to break through the system? Revolution, seclusion, writing articles exposing these things? In the end, every individual will find that it is absolutely impossible to fight the whole society on his own. But even when a group of people come together and want to make a change, it often leads to great social chaos and ends up backfiring. So I thought I needed to go to an alien galaxy and rebuild order. The existing order can neither be broken nor reformed, otherwise the happiness of countless people will be destroyed. "

"Don't be so pessimistic, humanity will definitely find a way out. As long as we are in the midst of it, it will have an impact if we try to change it. The confrontation between good and evil, the game of fairness and efficiency, is the driving force for the long-term operation of the entire human society. "

"There's no such thing as a good society, is it? After I met you, I found that my own heart is actually fragile and sensitive. I always use stubbornness and unreasonable emotions to cover up these weaknesses. Sometimes self-denial. I suddenly felt that the goodness of my heart sometimes leads to weakness, and in this world of the jungle, is this goodness out of place? How can the goodness of my heart be protected? Or is it necessary for it to exist?".

"Of course there is, since your heart is like this, there is no need to live against your own heart. I am also with you because of your heart. Don't distort your own heart to fit the world. There is nothing wrong with kindness, but kind people need a clearer heart and stronger spiritual support to survive. Pure goodness does not exist, neither does pure sin, and man himself is complex and changeable. It is in this complexity that human beings acquire the characteristics of diverse groups, which is one of the driving forces for maintaining the vitality and evolution of society. "

"Evil individuals also have existential value. I hate to admit it, but it makes sense. It is these beastly and savage individuals who remind people not to give up their instincts for survival. If humanity slacks off completely, then humanity will constantly improve itself and lose the motivation to develop itself. "

Sonia shook her head at this time and said, "No, I don't think the motivation for human beings to improve themselves and develop themselves should not be formed under external force. Human work, entertainment and even life should not conform to a certain ready-made values, but should find the basis and motivation from the heart, and act in combination with the original face of the world. If good people have been persecuted by their beastly kind, then human kindness will eventually be distorted into hypocrisy. "

"So, make yourself strong. "

"That's right, your spirit must be so strong that external forces can't distort your will. "

"Hahaha, I'...... It's not enough. Casto smiled wryly.

"What's the matter, you've done so many great things for me, and you've done so many miracles in the war, aren't you strong enough? You just don't realize it, your heart is much stronger than you think. You're stuck in a cycle of self-doubt right now. You need to feel the world now, not dwell on yourself. "

"Well said, then I'll take you to the store now, you're hot, I'll have to find you some cool clothes quickly. Sonia smiled and nodded, taking Castor's hand and walking into a high-end civilian shop on the island.

The island's shops are decorated with emerald green weathered stone tiles, which appear to be gilded in the dazzling sunlight. Casto led Sonia into the store, and the waiter immediately came over to greet him, "Hello, is there anything I can do to help you?"

"I want to pick a piece of clothing and a pair of shoes," Sonia said. "

"Well, okay, what style do you want?"

"Clothes should be loose and cool. Shoes should be simple and comfortable. "

"It's rare for you to ask for something like this, and it's okay to have something for you. There are many of them, so feel free to try them. "

"What kind of attitude do you have? What do you mean that demands are rare? We don't have a hard time for you. "Castor was a little dissatisfied with the waiter's attitude. Sonia was a little embarrassed, she didn't want to cause conflict in such an unnecessary place. And the waiter's face immediately became gloomy at this time.