The old guard, represented by conservative local bureaucrats and entrenched vested interests, fears that the changes brought by Chang Wei will shake the foundations of their power. They repeatedly obstruct her infrastructure projects, steal her technological achievements, and try to smear her as a “witch” or “heretic.”
Every attempt Chang Wei makes to promote technology and build infrastructure directly affects the lives and deaths of hundreds or even thousands of people, whether in the face of famine, plague, or military preparedness. Failure would not only shatter her personal ideals, but could also doom the community she protects, and even alter the course of the nation at critical turning points in history. Chang Wei must continually weigh the choice between “using the resources of her spatial realm to resolve immediate crises quickly” and “guiding the development of local technology slowly but sustainably.” Relying too heavily on the realm could expose her secret and provoke uncontrollable attempts to seize it. Relying entirely on local development, however, might mean she cannot save enough lives within the narrow window of time available.
