Chapter 457: Progress
“What Wright just said makes sense. Maybe the Rat Folk really do intend to deify their First Empress. But have you considered this? The Rat Folk believe in these things—they understand what it means to have a god. Whether their god represents the Swarm or something else, a native empress daring to place herself on the same level yet being neither stopped nor punished, living out her natural lifespan, and continuing to be celebrated to this day—isn’t that, in itself, very strange?” Blanca analyzed.
“It’s true. If I raised a colony of ants and their queen dared to place herself on equal footing with me and divide my authority, I’d dump a bucket of hot water on them without hesitation,” Wright joked with a grin.
“Maybe the relationship between the Rat Folk and the Swarm is far closer than we’ve imagined.”
“Yes, especially considering the Rat Folk’s backward technology and their mere two satellite colonies. Their societal segmentation plan seems utterly pointless.”
“Unless they gained some significant benefits from it!”
“Exactly! For those upper-level elites who know the truth to willingly maintain such a divide, lofty ideals wouldn’t be enough. There has to be substantial benefit involved.”
“Perhaps there are also restrictions, like limited quotas? That would give them a strong incentive to protect the secret and prevent more competitors from taking a share.”
“Such benefits must be incredibly tempting.”
“Silja, can you continue to pose as a Rat Folk and extract more intelligence?” Blanca asked.