47: Chapter 47: The First "Backlash" of Benefits Within the Peak

The nights at Hengchuan Peak had changed.

Once, it was a dark, isolated island, completely out of sync with the other peaks of the Qingheng Sect, falling into dead silence well before the Hour of the Boar.

But now, it had become the most glaring existence in the entire Sect.

If you were to look down from mid-air, you would find that every inch of Hengchuan Peak was illuminated.

It was not the glow of spiritual power, but the most mundane, exhausting candlelight and the cold light of Formations.

The Utility Disciples no longer slept; under the moonlight, they frantically chopped at already-broken wood. Every axe swing had to land precisely on the same cut, all to farm the meager performance points for "Repetitive Labor"—though the weight had been lowered, the accumulation was still enticing.

The Outer Sect Disciples were even more crazed.

Some squatted in the herb gardens all night, de-worming herbs one by one; their eye circles were as dark as a panda's, and their fingers were stained blue-purple by the herbal juices.

Others even actively challenged "High-Risk Cleanup Tasks" that didn't need to be completed immediately, just to gamble for that high "Risk Factor" score.

"Push a little harder! If I farm ten more points, I can trade for that 'Single Meditation Room Voucher'!"

"Hold on! Don't sleep! If you fall asleep, you won't get any Resentment Pool points!"

"I still have two Healing Talismans in my hand; even if I work until I cough up blood, I can just patch myself up and keep going!"

The entire Hengchuan Peak was like a tireless, roaring, dilapidated machine, every part operating in overload, groaning with a creaking sound.

That night, Bankruptcy Peak became the "most grind-heavy peak" in the entire world.

...

The next morning, Shen Xingzhou sat in his study, his scalp tingling as he looked at the System report before him.

The data was beautiful, so beautiful it was alarming.

[Recent Data Overview (Seven-Day Statistics)]

[Positive Indicators (Surging):]

Average Task Frequency per Person: +63% (First in the entire Sect, even three times that of other peaks)

Average Cultivation Duration per Person: +48% (Seemingly diligent, but actually mostly mechanical repetition)

Nighttime Cultivation Ratio: +72% (Severely overdrawing mental energy)

Resentment Pool Income: Surpassed the 3000 mark

[Negative Hidden Dangers (Undercurrents):]

Accidental Injury Rate: +19% (Mostly Qi Deviation or operational errors caused by fatigue)

Elementary Heart Demon Breeding Warning: Triggered 3 times

Emotional Fluctuation Value: Increased instead of decreased (At the critical point between excitement and collapse)

"This isn't getting stronger at all." Shen Xingzhou looked at the skyrocketing "Accidental Injury Rate," his brows locked in a frown. "This is overdrawing future lifespan in exchange for good-looking reports now."

...

"Peak Master Shen, if you keep looking at this, these reports will turn into obituaries."

Wen Xi pushed the door open and entered, holding a thick stack of paper charts that smelled of ink.

She didn't use the System's projection but instead, in a very traditional manner, pasted those charts one by one until they covered the entire wall.

The red handwriting looked like gashes, shocking to the eye.

"Look at this line."

Wen Xi's finger pressed heavily onto a chart, tracing a curve that had originally been flat but had recently suddenly spiked.

"This is the 'Error Rate.' In a state of extreme fatigue, the Disciples' reaction speed has dropped by 40%. Low-level traps they used to be able to dodge, they can no longer avoid now."

"Look at this one." She slid to the next chart, which showed the projected future trend. "If we don't intervene, at the current rate of involution, this line will hit the ceiling in seven days."

Shen Xingzhou followed her finger and saw the prediction text written with cold ruthlessness:

[Projection Result: 7 Days Later]

Battle Damage Rate: Will rebound from the current 12% to 26%.

Give-up/Slacking Probability: Rebound from 8% to 33% (Retaliatory rest after overwork).

Number of Severely Disabled: Expected increase of 5-8 people.

"A 26% battle damage rate..." Shen Xingzhou sucked in a cold breath. "That's even higher than before we reformed. In other words, we're grinding with all our might, but in the end, more people will die?"

"Yes." Wen Xi calmly pushed up her glasses. "Because they aren't Cultivating; they are 'burning.' The welfare is the fuel, the performance points are the bellows, and they are burning themselves like firewood."

Bzz—! The System's cold pop-up window appeared right on cue, stamping Wen Xi's deduction with official validation.

[Overwork Trend Warning]

[Monitored Subjects: All Personnel of Hengchuan Peak]

[Projection Interval: 7 Days]

[Warning:]

Group physiological and psychological functions detected to have reached critical values.

If intervention measures are not taken immediately:

Battle Damage Rate: Expected to soar to 26% (Primary cause: operational errors due to delirium).

Resentment Backlash: Welfare will be unable to cover the pain; the Resentment Pool will transform into a "Hatred Pool."

[System Suggestion:]

Immediately implement the [Mandatory Rest System].

If working continuously for over 12 hours, force freeze permissions.

Set a weekly task quota cap.

...

Shen Xingzhou walked out of the study and stood by the training grounds.

The scene before him gave him a strong sense of absurdity.

A few Outer Sect Disciples were sitting together, each of their faces flushed with excitement.

One of them had an arm that was still trembling slightly, clearly from overdrawn spiritual power, but he was clutching a newly traded "Healing Talisman" tightly in his hand.

"Ha... haha, this thing is really useful." The Disciple tore open the talisman paper while giggling. "I sprained my waist while moving Spirit Stones just now, but once I stuck this on, it didn't hurt anymore. I can work for another three hours!"

"Brothers, keep working hard! As long as we don't die, we can trade for resources! This time, we're making a killing!"

The others around him chimed in, their eyes glinting with greed and madness.

Even though their steps were unsteady, even though their eyes were bloodshot.

In their eyes, that Healing Talisman wasn't life-saving medicine, but "lubricant" that allowed them to continue working.

Shen Xingzhou watched this scene, feeling his stomach churn.

He had originally wanted to use welfare to save people, to give them a little sweetness so they could catch their breath in despair.

But now, the welfare had turned into a kind of "stimulant."

It had turned the Disciples into "addicts" who only knew how to work.

For the next talisman, for the next meal voucher, they would unhesitatingly overdraw their own lives.

This wasn't management.

This was another form of "cannibalism."

It was just that before, they were eaten bite by bite by the Sect; now, they were being ground into powder, little by little, by the System he had designed himself.

"What is this..." Shen Xingzhou gave a bitter laugh, his voice so low that only he could hear it.

"I built a meat grinder, and then I gave them the best painkillers, so that when they are being ground up, they don't feel the pain, and can even laugh out loud."

This sense of absurdity left him feeling more powerless than facing the Demon Race.

Because he knew, if he didn't do this, they might die even faster.

This was a dead end.

Just as he was struggling internally, preparing to grit his teeth and authorize that "Mandatory Rest Order," a line of extremely subtle, yet pricking-like-needles-on-his-back, notification quietly appeared in the corner of the System.

[Environment Monitoring: External Signal Access]

[Source: Law Enforcement Hall · Audit Department]

[Content Summary: Application for a special Audit of Hengchuan Peak's recent "abnormally active data performance." Reason: Suspected "illegal money laundering of Karma" or "use of forbidden techniques to boost production."]

[Status: Application submitted, awaiting approval from the Central Continent Heavenly Dao Institute.]

Shen Xingzhou's fingers trembled violently.

He raised his head and looked toward the distant, cloud-shrouded main peak.

So, this meat grinder had been spinning too fast, and the noise it made had finally awakened the wolves over there.

And if he implemented the "Mandatory Rest" he had just wanted to stop, at this critical juncture, and production dropped, what would the Law Enforcement Hall think?

"Stopping means admitting there's a problem."

"Not stopping means working my own people to death."

Shen Xingzhou closed his eyes. On the System panel before him, that cold suggestion was still flashing:

[Suggestion: Immediately implement the "Mandatory Rest Order."]

And behind those words were countless bloodshot eyes, and the net of the Audit Department that was quietly closing in.