When they returned to the Knights' headquarters, it was past three in the afternoon. Gongsun Ce got out of the car first and said vently: "Don't follow me!" Lan
Alandia sat in the driver's seat and looked at him through the car window.
"You can act alone, but please do not leave the scope of the Knights' headquarters..."
The Dawn Knight seemed to want to add some precautions, but he didn't listen. Distraught, he strode away, leaving the knight alone in the car. Knights in white armor were coming and going around him. Gongsun Ce looked at this group of glamorous people and recalled everything he had seen in the East District, feeling increasingly annoyed.
It did not surprise him at all that Criqui Hyde was wrong; he was so used to it. Chaotic management, discrimination against people with abilities, and in the end, innocent people are always unlucky, but the higher-ups are happy and peaceful... He has seen countless similar incidents as early as in the flying city. Now that he has arrived in the capital of the majestic Morton Kingdom, he is... I found that this place is just a more peaceful city in the sky.
The world is so fucking fucked up! It’s hopelessly rotten!
"Fuck you!"
Gongsun Ce cursed loudly in the corridor, attracting surprised looks from the knights. He didn't care, wandering around the huge Knights headquarters like a headless fly, without seeing his eldest brother or Orianna. He was fed up, he was hungry but had no intention of eating, he was full of anger but no one could vent it. The door numbers on both sides of the corridor flashed at the edge of the vision. File room, public weapons storage, tea room...
"Bang!" He kicked open the door of the tea room like a bad-tempered game player and walked in aggressively. The three knights were sitting around the table drinking tea. Knight Yulia frowned, Knight Gavri looked surprised. Knight McCollough just put the tea cup to his mouth, opened his mouth awkwardly and said: "... good afternoon?"
"Are you drinking tea?!" Gongsun Ce asked.
McCollough looked down at the tea cup and said awkwardly: "Yes."
"You still have the nerve to drink tea?!"
The old group leader shook the tea cup up and down and said aggrievedly: "...Yes?"
Yulia stood up vigorously like a cheetah and roared like thunder: "Don't be rude to the leader!"
"Mind your manners, gentlemen." Gaffrey quickly put down his teacup and stood between the two young men before they started to fight. He pushed Yulia back to his seat with one hand, and held Gongsun Ce with the other hand to the empty seat beside him, and said in his unmistakable tone: "Please sit down, Mr. Gongsun. I believe you must have met Some controversial issues...why not talk about them with us official figures who are well-informed, born and raised, have excellent vision and rich practical experience?" Lan.
Knight Gaffrey was smiling all over his face, and the young Taoist could not find any reason to refuse.
··
It took Gongsun Ce more than ten minutes to tell the story from beginning to end. He drank the tea angrily and placed the cup heavily on the saucer as the end of this self-narration.
"...Too bad, Gaffrey." The old leader shook his head sadly.
"Yes, Captain." Gaffrey nodded, "It's the same as every day in the East District."
"Are you just making sarcastic remarks here?!" Gongsun Ce's anger grew again, "Like a bystander who has nothing to do with me?!"
Yulia sternly said: "How can you blame Knight Gaffrey? He patrolled the Shadow Mist City all night long, fighting for the safety of Superbia!" Lan
Gongsun Ce was speechless for a moment, and Gaffrey made a gesture: "Control the volume, Knight Yulia."
Yulia took a deep breath and lowered his voice: "Every day, every knight risks his life to defend the royal capital. You can be angry about the injustice and filth in reality, but you have no right to accuse a conscientious person. Old man!"
"——Am I already considered an old man?" Gaffrey opened his mouth.
The old leader looked at his hairline sympathetically and said in a long tone: "Oh, Gaffrey... now is not the time for your hair to be thick..."
"This has nothing to do with our current issue, Captain!" Gaffrey raised his finger excitedly, turned his head and cleared his throat, "Ahem... I'm sorry, what is our current issue?"
Gongsun Ce scratched his head in embarrassment: "Knight patrol... I don't understand. If a person turns into a beast alive, then are all the beasts in the Shadow Mist City the same?"
The old leader nodded regretfully. Lan
"You should be able to guess that the place we live in is not ordinary. This is the residual impact of the dragon phenomenon. Under extreme pressure, desire and strong desire may cause human beings to alienate and change. Become a beast.”
McCollough grabbed a lock of his hair and imitated the beast.
"We call it the Beast of Desire. Before the Shadowmist Barrier was established, symptoms of lycanthropy were spread throughout Albion Island, and everyone had the possibility of turning into a beast. Therefore, our ancestors established this barrier, It isolates the influence of the dragon phenomenon to a great extent, allowing people to live normally."
"But isolation does not mean a complete solution." Gaffrey took over, "Many eager beasts and phantoms have been integrated with some kind of... huge, complex, difficult to analyze and extremely threatening system brought by the dragon. Together. They cannot be killed completely, but will be resurrected again after a period of time with the help of evil power.
You should understand that too many desire beasts and eidolons will threaten the stability of the enchantment. They are likely to cross the realm of virtuality and reality and threaten the royal capital in reality. This is the meaning of knight patrol, to eliminate threats and protect the royal capital. "
Gongsun Ce said in disbelief: "Again and again? Even...even if there are many of them, they can't be killed?"
"This is our duty!" Yulia glared at him. Lan
This is truly a cursed land, haunted by beasts and ghosts since ancient times. People had to take up swords to fight against it. This endless battle has no end in sight. The monsters will come back to life after death, but the man holding the sword will gradually grow old. So they looked for those who had the same courage to replace themselves, let young people take over the old swords, and let the next generation plunge into the fog under the moon to fight bloody battles with the monsters that their ancestors had fought against...
From generation to generation, there is no end.
The anger in Gongsun Ce's heart suddenly evaporated, and was replaced by a mixture of self-blame and guilt. He whispered: "Sorry, I..."
"Your anger is justified, kid." The old leader felt the same way. "No upright person would remain untouched after facing that scene."
"I just... I don't think this should be done!" Gongsun Ce said in annoyance, "You are impermanent mages! There are two world-creating mages in the Knights of Light. Don't you plan to change this situation?!"
"It is precisely because we have strong power and have all the privileges of the society on the outside that it is difficult for us to interfere with the normal operation of the society on the outside." The old leader said seriously, "Power, children, the abuse of power, than the abuse of power. All mistakes within the system are terrible. Because the deterrence of violence has no limit, unlike the law, which has a clear limit.
If I use my power to intimidate everyone to correct their behavior, it also means that I disregard the freedom and independent will of others to a certain extent. Is this not using violence to force others to fulfill my own will? "Lan
Gongsun Ce said without thinking: "This is a necessary sacrifice!"
"Why? Justice?" Knight McCollough shook his head solemnly, "We can only sacrifice ourselves for justice."
The old knight's expression was so serious that Gongsun Ce couldn't even think of refuting. He knows that what the other person says is correct. If the interests and lives of others can be sacrificed for a noble goal, what is the difference between a so-called teacher of justice and an evil gangster?
"But...but..." Gongsun Ce sighed, "What about finding a way within the system? What about within the scope of the law? Even Knight Alandia can't do it?"
McCollough and Gaffrey looked at each other, with wonderful expressions on their faces. They laughed silently at the same time, so much that the teacups in their hands shook.
"Gentlemen!" Yulia said seriously.
"Ahem!" Gaffrey coughed, leaned towards the young man, and said in a very subtle tone, "Mr. Gongsun, I have to explain to you that feat that impressed the whole kingdom... That was Four years ago. Knight Arlandia was just 19 years old. She was as energetic and fearless as you are now. And she did plan to do something."
Damn it, wait a minute. Is Landia only 23 this year? !
Gongsun Ce suppressed the exclamation that blurted out and asked: "...What did she do?"
"She conducted a detailed investigation of all Superbia official personnel." Gaffrey emphasized, "Everyone, not an exaggeration, but a literal fact. In that horrifyingly detailed report There is me, the leader, the chief mage, the prime minister, all the ministers, the chief director of the Kingdom Police Department, and even every grassroots policeman in every branch in the royal capital. Everything they have done is recorded in it. Actions that violate laws and regulations and corresponding evidence!"
Gongsun Ce was speechless with his mouth wide open. He thought to himself what a terrifying document that would be? How many knights are there in the headquarters of the Knights alone? How many more if we include the grassroots police? What about all the civil servants and ministers? Tens of thousands? One hundred thousand? He didn't dare to continue imagining it. He only imagined it in units of one hundred thousand. A person's files are at least as thick as a book, and those white pieces of paper are enough to physically flood the Knights' headquarters, or even bury an entire neighborhood.
And this is just physical damage. How big is the real impact of this information? Even a young man like him can imagine the result. Once this information is released, even just a part of it, the uproar caused by it will become a natural disaster that submerges Superbia and even the entire Morton Kingdom. Tsunami!
Gongsun Ce said unconsciously: "...She is crazy."
"That's what I said at the time." Gaffrey nodded, "Then Knight Airandia took her results to the palace, met with the queen, and summoned all the kingdom's top officials. She announced in front of everyone , This document must be disclosed to all citizens and the problem must be solved in accordance with the law."
Gongsun Ce was really convinced. He now knew that his previous anger had never meant anything. Ordinary angry youths would at most just curse a few words, but the angry youths of Islandia got up and directly investigated the capital of a country. Those capable people are still mighty even if they don't use force. If they really act ruthlessly... they can shake the country on their own!
Gongsun Ce groaned: "Tsunami..."
"Tsunami?" Gaffrey asked back, "The sky is shattering! The sun and the moon are out of light! The heavenly wheel is about to collapse! I was the first batch to get the files, and after reading them, my eyes went dark. I was half surprised by the strength of my colleagues' actions. …”
"The other half was surprised that the darkness in the capital was more than ten times greater than our worst expectations." Yulia said with disgust.
The old leader said with a grimace: "In short, regardless of our position or appearance, all of us are trying our best to persuade the Dawn Knight not to reveal her results. The kingdom is indeed an old building, which has existed for hundreds of years or even There are various problems that have been accumulated for thousands of years, but we all hope to repair this building... instead of kicking it over."
"This, how was this handled in the end?" Gongsun Ce asked weakly.
"A long and arduous negotiation." Gaffrey looked back with a look of dismay on his face. "We spent a lot of effort to reluctantly persuade Knight Airandia to take part of the law enforcement instead of all the law enforcement. Then we started from that terrible The worst offenders were selected from the sea of files... You can't imagine how shocking it was to see all the cabinet ministers and senior civil servants crying bitterly. The finance minister wanted to commit suicide by swallowing a gun, and we had to save him first. Then send him to death row." Lan
"In the end, we succeeded in rescuing the collapse of the heavenly wheel, which turned into a major earthquake in the kingdom. The whole country was shocked, the political arena underwent a major change, and a series of brand-new policies were implemented. Almost half of the people in the East District were replaced." The old team leader said, "What followed was It was the 'survivors'' retaliation against the Knights like a mountain and a tsunami. All authority was restricted, and tricky investigations were conducted one after another... The first person to bear the brunt was Knight Alandia herself. She was already the third member of the Star Council that year. She is the second seat, so she should take over as the deputy leader, and we have even been discussing for a few years to let her serve as the leader of the group as an exception."
"However, the personnel transfer has been postponed due to changes in the general environment." Deputy team leader Gaffrey shrugged, "I still remember the days when I rode a bicycle to work. I didn't dare to drive anymore."
"It's quite difficult, but also quite glorious." The old regiment leader said cheerfully.
"Yes, Captain." Gaffrey said calmly.
Yulia drank the tea dry and said firmly: "She is still the person I respect the most."
Gongsun Ce nodded and wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say. He drank the tea, thanked the three of them, and walked away in silence and shame.
He walked alone in the ancient castle, and his mood became heavier as he thought about it. Everyone has worked hard, and Islandia has even done something as big as that. The Eastern District he saw with his own eyes was the result of several rectifications, but it was still very bad, still very bad. Lan
He didn't like Situ Yi and his troupe, but he had to admit that the man's words made sense, and that extremely pessimistic concept seemed to be correct...right.
"Ace, are you back?"
"……ah."
Gongsun Ce raised his head and saw his elder brother looking at him doubtfully. Mo Yuankai was walking out of a door, holding a pencil in his hand, as if he had just finished some paperwork. He should be making blueprints for repairing the armor.
"Brother," he said, "in an era as vast as the sea, are each of us as small as dust?"
Mo Yuankai put down his pencil.
"Yes, Ace. If you think about it, there are more than six billion people on the earth. You are not as small as a speck of dust in this world." Lan
"Then what's the point of what we're doing?"
Mo Yuankai said in surprise: "Hey, are you doing this again?"
"What do you mean, come again?"
"Didn't I say it many times three years ago? Of course, a person's power is limited, but if you do something, there will always be changes. Isn't it the accumulation of small actions that make huge changes?" Mo Yuankai Patting him on the shoulder, "Chen Chen can shine even if he works hard!"
Gongsun Ce remembered that they had had similar conversations before. When Mo Yuankai first started to engage in hero activities, he stood by and said that it was useless and that the overall environment should be terrible. The elder brother laughed and said, "How do you know it's useless?" Have you tried it? Even if we can help one person, our efforts are meaningful!
Then he kept doing it day by day, and went from being a chuunibyou in the eyes of everyone to becoming a hero that everyone admired.
"I guess you encountered some bad things again today. But after all, you also helped people, right?" Lan
Gongsun Ce thought of the little boy who was almost wronged and scratched his head.
"Yes, brother." He smiled, "Dust can always shine."
He turned around and left without disturbing his friend's work. My heart was still heavy, but much lighter. That was something he had known before, he just realized it again, more profoundly than before.
Perhaps the general environment cannot be changed immediately, but this does not prevent the dust people from living a good life.
·
Gongsun Ce found the Dawn Knight in front of the office of the Eastern District Public Security Management Office. Alandia held a stack of paper documents, which seemed to be a report she had just written.
"Oh my god." Gongsun Ce groaned, "You hand in the documents yourself?" Lan
"Yes." Alandia said.
"Damn it, can you, a world-creating magician, not be such an idiot?!" Gongsun Ce grabbed the report, "Give it to whom? I'll go!"
Alandia looked at him inexplicably: "The second desk on the left after entering the door, Knight Kuran. Thank you."
Knight Kuran was a dark-skinned young man with an honest face. It took Gongsun Ce a few minutes to convince him that he was not a suspicious foreigner but just running errands for a friend. After he handed in the documents and went out, he saw the Dawn Knight waiting in the corridor.
"Yeah, just." Gongsun Ce wiped his nose and was about to say something when his stomach let out a hungry cry. He said awkwardly: "...Are you hungry? I'll treat you to lunch."
】
He cursed himself mentally. So fucking stupid. That was probably the worst opening line he could imagine. He didn't even have his wallet with him.
"Thank you, Mr. Gongsun. But no need." Lan
There was no emotion in Alandia's response, it was as business-like as reporting to a colleague. "Look, we..." Gongsun Ce tried to struggle in embarrassment and heard the second half of Miss Knight's words.
"My treat."
