[Half a Month Later]
Until the World Government's ship arrived at Drum Kingdom, Dragon still hadn't done anything, as if he had completely given up on Moa.
After slaughtering nearly half of the Sorbet Kingdom, Arlin also left and continued to track the Freedom Fighters.
However, after Arlin left, Rosse received news that Kuma and Ginny had stepped forward in the damaged southern region of the Sorbet Kingdom, calling for everyone to advance and retreat together.
Although they weren't flying the banner of the Freedom Fighters, just those two names alone, Rosse already understood what was going on.
"The handover over there is complete. The woman is temporarily locked in the basement. As for the Sorbet Kingdom, Zannie asked whether it needs to be dealt with," Gion walked up to Rosse and asked aloud.
Compared to Rosse, Gion had been extremely relaxed these days. Without needing to think about so many things, she just had to finish the job of delivering messages, and then could do whatever she wanted.
With Zephyr and Rosse as sparring partners, plus Sora giving her suggestions on fruit development and Stella providing post-battle treatment, her strength was improving daily.
"I'll go take a look in the basement later. As for the Sorbet Kingdom, ignore it. Let them develop freely. If it's destroyed right after development, it won't hurt as much," Rosse chuckled lightly.
"You're still this nasty," Gion's tone carried no reproach; she had already gotten used to it after boarding Rosse's ship.
The key was that during these days she'd heard from Zannie about the developments in the Jaygar District and had become somewhat numb.
"By the way, this is the annual report of Jaygar District," Thinking of this, Gion hurriedly pulled out a document from her bosom, and the paper was still faintly fragrant.
"This report is narrated by Zannie and written by you, right? Why don't you summarize it first?", Rosse took the paper and smiled as he looked at Gion.
Gion had no issues with memory; she was just especially sensitive to management and scientific knowledge, but quick at remembering combat-related knowledge.
"I did write it, but I only remember the general outline," Gion didn't refuse and recalled the content she had written, "Jaygar District had only been a Special Administrative Zone until the end of 1500 for just over half a year. The original population was 4 million, capable of generating 60 billion Berries in revenue. As of the end of 1500, Jaygar District's population exceeded 10 million, with 200,000 deaths, generating an additional 60 billion in revenue. It's estimated that in 1501, the new population will increase by 1 million..."
These were the figures Zannie had reported to her. The number of newborns and deaths had more detailed reports, all compiled using the method Rosse had provided.
It could be said that every person in Jaygar District was Rosse's asset. Any entry, exit, birth, illness, or death of any resident in the Special Administrative Zone had to be recorded.
According to Rosse's words, every resident had to have a file.
Gion didn't quite understand the intention behind this, but watching living people turn into cold numbers really made her feel numb.
"After reading this report, what are your thoughts?", Rosse smiled and asked, in a good mood.
This report matched his expected figures, maybe even slightly better.
"200,000 deaths... isn't that a bit much?", Gion hesitated and pointed out a part that made her uncomfortable.
She didn't understand the meaning behind these numbers, so she could only try to interpret them from her old perspective.
But 200,000 wasn't a small number. Even during Heavens Hunts, not that many people died.
"The number seems high, but there's nothing that can be done. It'll be even more in the future. There are too many people, all sorts of age groups. Even if we provide enough food, just water and soil acclimation or illness can take their lives," Rosse shook his head gently.
Ever since Jaygar District announced that people didn't need to pay the Heavenly Tribute but could still enjoy World Government protection, countless people had flocked there.
In the Great Pirate Era, safety and survival were what ordinary people cared about most.
Among these people were the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled. After long and arduous journeys, their health worsened. Some couldn't acclimate and died not long after arriving in Jaygar District, but their families rooted themselves in the district.
"Are there really that many people who die of natural causes every year?", Gion asked in surprise.
"200,000 isn't really a lot," Rosse smiled and explained, "Not counting those who die from illness or accidents, based on research reports over the years by the World Government, the average lifespan in allied nations is 51 years."
"Using 51 years as the death line, in a population of 10 million evenly distributed across ages 1–50, you'd get about 200,000 people reaching the age of death each year."
"Of course, as living conditions improve, lifespans will increase, and the age distribution isn't perfectly even. There will also be more long-lived or prematurely deceased cases. So overall, there'll be fluctuations every year, but not too large."
From this number, having only 200,000 deaths since taking over Jaygar District was already pretty good.
However, Rosse was very clear that this number excluded the batch he killed. The count only started after Jaygar District began establishing files.
"Then, converted to the entire world, just natural deaths every year would exceed 10 million," Gion showed a look of astonishment.
She had never paid attention to these numbers before, but after Rosse's explanation, she realized how terrifying this number was.
People dying from pirates probably weren't even that many.
"Just the population of the allied nations alone is over 50 times that of 10 million, not to mention the non-allied areas. Their total population exceeds that of the allied nations, and their average lifespan is even lower," Rosse explained with a smile.
"So, the people who die naturally each year is much higher than 10 million," Gion clicked her tongue slightly.
Faced with such terrifying numbers, she suddenly felt like Rosse wasn't that evil after all.
Even if he enjoyed ten people a day and killed them afterward, that's only a bit over 3,000 people a year, not even a fraction of the total.
"Don't let macro numbers blind you," Rosse instantly saw what Gion was thinking and shook his head in warning, "If you only focus on these big numbers, then your heart will slowly turn cold and only evaluate things in numerical terms. Remember, whether they die of old age, childhood illness, or accidents, these people are all living beings."
"I understand what you mean," Gion gently nodded, a strange expression on her face, "But when you say it, why does it always feel off?"
"That's your bias against Celestial Dragons," Rosse laughed helplessly.
He just liked to enjoy things, what's wrong with that?
Precisely because he liked to enjoy things, he saw those people as human beings.
If they were just numbers, then there'd be no pleasure in enjoying them.
Humans, after all, can only obtain the greatest pleasure by surpassing, belittling, and bullying others of their kind.
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