No one spoke, and an oppressive silence filled the room.
"……leader?"
Kreya was the first to react. She asked in panic: "Sorry, I didn't understand. Is this a new mission? We need to go outside the city..."
"No." Orus shook his head, "The light core has failed, the organization will be disbanded, and there will no longer be tasks. I just put forward my own suggestions, as a friend rather than your superior."
"Yes, but we are still preparing for the welcome party for new members in the afternoon!" Kreya was at a loss. "You were still giving a speech to everyone this morning... and you were still discussing the power expansion plan after annexing Death Wing!"
"It's never difficult to act when the occasion arises." Orus explained to her, "I'm also good at acting, although not as good as Gongsun Ce."
Gao Yu couldn't sit still anymore, he stood up anxiously: "Chief, what are you talking about?! The optical core has not failed, we have always--"
"The idea of light cores was wrong from the beginning." Aulus gestured for him to sit down, "We once thought that gathering enough geniuses could change the world, but this was just the childish fantasy of students. A variant of the old electorism, even more absurd than that.
We are all small characters, Gao Yu. No matter how smart we are or how powerful we are, on a world scale it is only equivalent to a bright light in a small town. Enough to light up a house, but not the entire world. "
Gao Yu racked his brains, but couldn't think of a rebuttal. He had never been good at this. In the end, he just said eagerly: "But we all believe in the concept of light core. We all believe in you, leader!"
"I know, Gao Yu." Orus smiled, "And I also know that as early as the moment I failed three years ago, no one really believed in me anymore.
You are still willing to help me because you regard me as a friend more than a leader. It's because I have helped you before, and you care about the kindness I left behind. I'm grateful, friends. I appreciate everything you do and that's enough for now. "
Gao Yu's mentality was completely correct, and he sat down sadly. Kawai Ryozo took over. He has always been a pragmatic person and he spoke pragmatic words.
"Chief, where do you want us to go?"
Aurus had obviously already made arrangements.
"Gao Yu can return to his hometown, Qiaoshan City in the northern part of the empire. Most of your childhood friends are still in that city. I know that you still keep in touch with them. This is a friendship worth cherishing. I think You’d love to talk to them face to face.”
"Kawai, you like your current job, taking care of money and staying away from fights. I have arranged a position for you in Weihara City. The rebuilt ninja army needs talents just at the time."
"Ed, you..." Aurus smiled, "Actually, you enjoyed your stay in the Sky City. But Hazy Moon City is also a good place. It is one of the cities in the world that is most tolerant of prosthetic technology. , it’s also very close to your hometown.”
The ministers had nothing to say, and all the solutions Aurus gave struck a chord in their hearts. He always knew his subordinates and he knew what they wanted.
"Using the popular saying among ordinary citizens, these are the four quotas for leaving the Sky City." Orus said, "Of course you will continue to be monitored by the officials, but you will be freer than in the Sky City, I guarantee it."
Ed looked at the expressions of his companions and scratched his face.
"Okay, Aurus. This arrangement is very good, really great...but..." Ed shook his white coat, "Open the skylight and speak frankly. We know quite a lot, especially me. . Let us people leave the Sky City directly? This is not like you, Aurus. Even I know that the risk is too great."
Aurus walked up to him and reached out to rub Ed's hair. It's not like the deliberate intimacy in the past, but really as casual as Ed's brother.
"Aurus?" Ed asked in surprise.
"Don't worry, Ed. There is never a real secret in this world. One thing will always be known to others, it just depends on whether it will be sooner or later." Orus raised his hand, "This is irrational, but it doesn't matter. I've made a lot of wrong decisions, and I don't care if I make more mistakes... at least this will reassure me."
He gave Ed a deep hug. He hugged Gao Yu and Kawai in turn, like a truly considerate best friend. Finally, Aulus took out three envelopes and handed them into the hands of his friends one by one.
The ministers knew that his mind was made up, and once Aulus decided something, he would never change his mind. They all chose to accept Aurus' arrangement. So the three of them said goodbye one by one, and left the room with the surprise, confusion and nascent understanding that still hadn't dissipated, leaving the space to the two people they had known for the first time.
Kreya Kalash resisted the leader's arrangement with silence. Orus shook his head in confusion and reached out to her.
Kreya hesitated and grabbed the palm of the brown-haired young man. In an instant, the world was turned upside down. They left Orus's office and flashed like phantoms across the campus and across the streets of the central district.
Kreya was dizzy from the continuous teleportation, and finally she felt down to earth. Claire groaned and opened her eyes, then let out a cry of surprise.
"this……"
She saw a clear blue.
A huge amount of seawater envelops the channel where she is like a cradle. Turtles swim lazily in the water. Corals of different colors are like rocks. Transparent jellyfish float slowly next to the fish school, as if interacting with the gorgeous little fish. They play. A big flat fish swam from a distance, frightening the little guys and scattering away, occupying most of the field of vision with its huge body.
Kreya watched in intoxication for a while, until Aurus's voice sounded with a smile.
"I hear ladies like aquariums."
"Not all ladies." Kreya corrected subconsciously, "But I do like...oh...sorry..."
Claire lowered her gaze, feeling surprised and confused. She really didn't understand it, she didn't understand everything that happened tonight.
"It's nothing, Kreya. I just remembered that I rarely go out alone with you." Orus said, "Maybe I can explain to you the habits of these animals?"
"Why not?" Claire held her sweetheart's hand tightly.
So she slowly walked through the passages in the aquarium, listening to Orus teach her about every animal she saw. Aurus gave a great lecture, making boring knowledge very interesting, as if he had actually worked in the aquarium for many years. They walked and talked around the deserted aquarium and sat down on a bench in the hall.
"Have I spoken too much?" said Aurus. "Forgive me, but this is the last time."
"This won't be the last time!"
Kreya came back from her excitement and interrupted him excitedly.
"It won't be the last! Orus, don't try to drive me away from you!"
Aurus seemed to have expected this. He said helplessly: "Why? You know, the concept of the organization is outdated."
"Aurus, I love you!" Kreya stared at her sweetheart's eyes with her beautiful green eyes and said impulsively, "Even if you don't want to run an organization anymore, I want to stay by your side. "
The brown-haired young man let go of her hand little by little.
He clasped his hands and looked up at the ceiling of the aquarium, as if praying.
"Kreya, did I tell you what happened when I came to the Sky Capital?"
Claire shook her head. Aulus never mentioned the past to her. She only knew that Orus was on that ship because he was one of the original superpowers.
"I was sitting on the restraint chair, looking at my two inmates, and felt elated. Gongsun Ce and Caldesia were both panicked, but I was always calm because I knew more than they did. More than most people on that ship.”
"I had plenty of time to think. I surveyed the ship, my restless roommates, and assessed the operation from an outsider's perspective. Anxiety was everywhere and the crew was filled with doubts. The superpowers were almost oppressed to the breaking point. I quickly got the answer: This operation will definitely fail. Sooner or later, one of us will lose control due to harsh treatment and destroy everything. .”
Aurus was completely immersed in his memories, and his tone of voice gradually changed, becoming as confident and stubborn as he was three years ago.
"I think this is ridiculous! There are so many hidden dangers hidden in the action jointly discussed by various countries. This containment plan is as stupid as a joke! I firmly believe that they are stupid and incompetent, and I think that I must be able to do better than them - Even when I was just a kid, I believed in that."
Aurus changed his perspective and looked straight ahead.
"But then I had a different view, Kreya. I realized that people who can participate in decision-making and stand at the top of power, even if they have evil intentions, will never be stupider than ordinary people. They are smarter than me, a child. , more experienced than me, and have seen a wider world than I have. But even so, the powerful still make mistakes."
"Why?" Claire asked.
"Because they are not one person. The emperor, the president, the queen... they must pay attention to each other's opinions. They have to compromise in all aspects and come up with a plan that is not perfect, but enough for everyone to accept. When each other's intentions emerge Disagreements and contradictions arise in decision-making, and mistakes arise from this. Our world runs on the basis of compromise, and is supported by endless mistakes.
From these mistakes came the spaceship accident, the ignorant and short-sighted me, and the many tragedies that happened when the Sky City was first built. "
Aulus lowered his gaze and looked at his feet.
"So I think there must be a ruler who is better and more powerful than anyone else. He must be talented and able to be keenly aware of the value of everyone and put them in the right position. Don't waste anyone's time or energy.
He must put himself in a high position, think rationally without personal emotions, and make correct and quick judgments with absolute power. Only in this way can we avoid errors to the greatest extent. "
Kreya was too familiar with this routine, and she said anxiously: "You are just——"
"I'm not, Kreya."
Aurus stood up. He was obviously smiling, but in Claire's eyes, he looked very sad.
"I'm not perfect, never have been. I'm complacent, I think highly of myself, and I care about my reputation. I always want to solve problems behind the scenes, but this is just meanness and cowardice. This fear is because I don't believe that I have absolute power. Subconsciously I know I’m not strong enough.”
"But these can all be overcome, and this is not the key. I can defeat despicability, and I can become stronger. The dilemma I cannot avoid, but I must face, is: I still have my own feelings and personal likes and dislikes .
I despise Caldesia and Yun Yinglang, and I especially hate John and Gongsun Ce. I think Badman and Chiguchi Maho are just ordinary people. Chi Zijing and Mo Yuankai are the people who are truly qualified to talk to me... "
Orus raised his hand and let a strand of Kreja's hair slip through his fingers.
"As long as my personal emotions exist, I will definitely make mistakes." Aurus said softly, "Just like now, my reason tells me that I should find ways to kill you all without leaving any danger...and I myself But I hope that my friends can fly away, stay away from the whirlpool of fighting, and live a stable life."
Come and try it quickly. 】
Kreya grabbed his hand: "You are planning to do something again, Aurus. But you never have to be so determined. You can let us help you more."
Orus shook his head firmly.
"I have made a decision, and that decision will not be tolerated by the world. It is an evil and despicable atrocity in the eyes of the public. I will become a heinous sinner, so you must not stay by my side. Go back to your family..."
He put the last letter into Kreya's hands, and then completely returned to his usual self.
"Thank you for loving me, Kreya."
Orus's smile looked gentle and sunny.
"I'm sorry, I don't love you."
Claire lowered her head and tried to hold back her tears, but failed. Big tears wet the envelope, and she tore it into pieces in her hands without even looking at the words on it.
"Don't even think about it, Aurus Optimis! I will not give up... No matter where you go, I will follow you!"
So the perfect Aurus turned back into the imperfect brown-haired young man. He shook his head in distress, hugged Kreya deeply into his arms, and when the woman was at a loss, he gave her a gentle blow, causing her to close her eyes and fall unconscious.
Aurus gently placed the stunned subordinate on the bench.
Click, click, brisk footsteps came from the depths of the aquarium. Aurus turned his head and saw a little girl in red jumping out of the darkness.
Ayane came closer and looked at Kreya who was knocked down.
"She is so interesting! She is a good girl that I like." Ayane sniffed and looked at Orus, "You... have become interesting too!"
"Have I changed?" Aulus asked.
"Oh, oh! You know it very well!" Ayane replied singing, "You have taken a path that is not your own. Your temperament has changed drastically and your mind is twisted, but this makes you see it clearly! Look, child , you discovered how stupid what you did was, you found that you were powerless, and you wanted to rely on the gods in your heart!"
"I just figured it out." Orus smiled, "I am the seed of a dragon."
Ayane turned around in a circle and threw the phone to Orus. The screen flashed several times, and the outline of a young man in black appeared. This man looked dumbfounded, his eyes staring, and only occasionally a glimmer of wisdom flashed through him.
"You look bad, Lord Hidden Rhythm."
The Lord of Hidden Law stuttered: "Deal... I will help you hide... take you into the city... take me to find... Aurus..."
"The deal is completed." Orus explained as Ayane snickered, "I am Orus Optimis."
"Heart...take me...heart..."
"Yes, we will wait for two more days before the real big shot arrives."
Aulus looked at the unconscious woman: "Can you do me a favor? Give Kreya a hint. Tell her that I set up a trap to deceive her when I owed the debt, just to gain her talent. Tell her what the round is. Her family’s request is that her parents want to reconcile with her.”
The Lord of Hidden Rhythms nodded dully, and Ayane chuckled.
"Now we have four idiots here. Idiots and idiots are the most interesting people in the world! Let's talk slowly, I'm going to start playing games!"
Aurus stopped Ayane who was leaving: "Let's wait until the day after tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Wouldn't it be more fun if we all play together?"
Ayane looked up at him and smiled.
"Ah...ah! You are so right! Then wait, wait, and see who is the winner in the end!"
