If a military police officer on the street suddenly stopped a stranger, there was a fifty percent chance he was Infected, and the other fifty percent was a Tara person.
It's hard to imagine that the Tara people, as a large branch within Victoria, could have their status in their own homeland plummet to the point of being compared with the Infected.
"Did you notice? The military police look at the Infected differently from how they look at the Tara people. They look at the Infected with disdain and disgust, but when they look at the Tara people, there's a hint of vigilance. Every time they inspect a Tara person, they subconsciously place their hand on the most convenient spot to draw a weapon. This shows how severe the conflict between these military police and the Tara people is."
Kanna pointed to a military police officer not far away who was questioning a young man dressed very simply.
The military police officer was cursing and checking the man's clothes, but no matter how much his left hand pulled, his right hand remained on his longsword. If the man made any resistive movements or actions, he would draw his weapon immediately.
"That's why I say, 'Heaven's wrath may be forgiven, but one's own folly is unforgivable.' So, all of this is self-inflicted. I think Outcast is right; it's best we pack our things and leave early to avoid getting into trouble."
In Nian's view, when the military police of a country, who should protect its citizens, subconsciously raise their weapons against their own people, then rebellion and war are inevitable.
After all, no one would willingly accept such oppression for a lifetime. As long as one person stands up, a single spark will surely ignite a prairie fire.
Chatting casually, the two unhurriedly finished the desserts in front of them. Nian said with a touch of annoyance,
"Tsk, is dessert the only thing left in Victoria that can satisfy people..."
"Keep your voice down, everyone around us is looking!" Kanna tugged at Nian's sleeve when she saw people around them looking over because of Nian's remark.
On the way back, Kanna suddenly said, "Did you notice that people here use two languages? Most people speak the official Victoria language, but a small portion of people, when chatting, speak another 'dialect.' And those who speak the 'dialect,' judging by their attire, are mostly Tara people."
Hearing Kanna's words, Nian perked up her ears and listened carefully for a while. Indeed, as Kanna said, Tara people were often seen hiding nearby, chatting in an unfamiliar language.
Crucially, these chatters would always be wary of their surroundings; as soon as someone approached, they would switch back to the official language and talk about everyday trivialities.
It was only because Nian and Kanna's strength far surpassed that of these ordinary people that they could remotely eavesdrop and discover the anomaly.
Unlike their aimless wandering on the way out, the two didn't continue to stroll idly on their way back. They quickly returned to the office, where Oliver and Shredder were still tidying up the items inside.
Despite being a small office, it was responsible not only for information transmission and relay but also served as the distribution point for treatment potions for local Infected. Therefore, there were many things to pack, and even after half a day of work, the two had only packed a small portion.
"No need to rush too much, take your time. Even if this city runs into trouble, we can protect everyone and evacuate the city safely." Seeing the two, who were sweating in the winter from their busy work, Nian waved her hand, appearing unconcerned about rushing.
"Take a break, let's chat a bit. Work-life balance, you know, and you two are clearly exhausted." Nian, holding a cup of water, sat down confidently and said to the two at the office.
Oliver and Shredder exchanged glances, then decided to listen to Miss Nian and take a break.
"You've been in Hillock County for so long, don't you think the relationships between people here are strange?"
"Strange in what way?"
"We noticed on the road that the Tara people here have very little contact with others, and their relationship with the military police is quite poor," Nian began, offering her initial observations.
Hearing Nian's words, Oliver and Shredder both gave a wry smile. "Miss Nian is indeed an Elite Operator. We didn't expect you to notice the problems in Hillock County after only half a day out.
Yes, because the Victoria authorities have always adopted a relatively strict 'oppression policy' towards the Tara people here, their relationship with the government has always been quite bad. And because these oppressive methods are mainly economic, the Tara people generally have low wages, which often leads to trouble. As a result, the relationship between Hillock County's military police and the local Tara people has always been very tense. Even now, the presence of many Tara people in the local garrison hasn't reduced this hatred.
Due to these circumstances, the Tara people also stick together. They mostly live in adjacent neighborhoods in the city, and these neighborhoods have become places that the local military police detest."
"Then has no one ever thought of a solution?" Kanna asked curiously.
"How could they not? The Tara people are quite numerous within Victoria, but only the Tara people of Hillock County still reminisce about the glory of the ancient King Gael, and only here has the original Tara language been preserved to the greatest extent.
Victoria has tried many methods, such as prohibiting the spread of the Tara language, but the result was that the Tara people still used their language in private.
Or they would transfer Tara people from other regions to manage the locals, but the effect was minimal. Even a small conflict could easily destroy the trust painstakingly built over many years.
Later, Victoria's attention shifted away from here. Coupled with Hillock County's poor geographical location and lack of special products, the Victoria authorities paid less and less attention to it. As long as the Tara people didn't rebel, they wouldn't interfere.
And the leader of the garrison here has always been appointed by the military, who are prejudiced against the Tara people. So, in present-day Hillock County, the relationship between the Tara people and the military police can be said to be at its worst. However, because the military holds absolute power, these Tara people dare not openly resist and can only express their dissatisfaction in private."
Regarding the Tara issue, Oliver had conducted an in-depth investigation after arriving here, but the conclusion he reached was that it was too deeply entrenched to be easily resolved. The hatred and distrust accumulated by both sides over so many years were simply not a problem that one or two outsiders could solve.
"So, it's a vicious cycle: Victoria suppresses the Tara people—the Tara people hate Victoria—Victoria worries the Tara people will cause trouble—Victoria continues to suppress the Tara people. Pfft, I'm sorry, although this problem is indeed very serious, it's also quite amusing!" Nian, after organizing the information on her fingers, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
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