Chapter 14.1 – The Martyr
“Hmm.” Shi Yuan nodded cautiously. “I know.”
“The Watcher is not a good job,” Xia Fang said. “The abyss will pollute all living things. People who can be Watchers are talented and have very strong resistance. They will be injected with inhibitors every three days. But the influence of the abyss is imperceptible. After living next to it for a long time, no one knows if they have been affected.”
Shi Yuan asked, “Isn’t it possible to draw blood for examination?”
“Drawing blood can only check if you are physiologically infected.” Xia Fang pointed to his head. “But no one can tell the changes here, right?”
“What do you mean?” Shi Yuan asked. “Will your head change?”
“…” Xia Fang collapsed. “Shi Yuan, I’m talking about thoughts! Thoughts!”
“Oh.” Shi Yuan was a little confused.
Xia Fang took a few deep breaths before calming down and said, “Among the Watchers, the proportion of mental problems is very high. Many people’s thinking has become…different from ordinary people. Some are cruel and violent, some are paranoid, and some are delusional about being killed, and of course, most are tainted with the habits of monsters – just like Tracy.”
He flicked the orange cigarette butt: “Even if it is a normal Watcher at the beginning, over time, there may be new problems, as if the abyss is hidden in their heads. They have become timed bombs, which will explode at any time. This kind of person as a commander is a great hidden danger, if he suddenly becomes insane, one order can kill countless people. Therefore, people who want to be officers will not become Watchers, that is equivalent to self-destruction.”
Shi Yuan suddenly reacted: “But Lu Tinghan was also a Watcher.”
“That’s right.” Xia Fang said, “So no one knows what he was thinking. He graduated early from the Higher Military Academy at the age of 18. His grades are so good that the grandmothers on the street know his name. Everyone thought he was going to show his ambitions. But what did he do? He went and became a Watcher. Don’t you think that’s crazy?”
Shi Yuan curled up the tip of his tail guiltily, and whispered, “That’s a good abyss, it won’t infect people.”
“Good abyss? What kind of shit are you talking about?” Xia Fang sneered. “At that time, everyone was against General Lu. His talent shouldn’t be wasted. He should be the commander and blow the heads of those monsters. He didn’t listen, he had to go to Abyss No.0, and he was there for ten years.”
He smoked and spit out a mouthful of white smoke into the air. The inferior cigarette had a pungent smell.
He continued: “But a genius is a genius, worthy of an exception from the Alliance. When he was in the observation tower, he used the military terminal to command many battles, and won many of them. Later, he rose to the top and became the only Watcher to be a senior commander.”
Shi Yuan heard Lu Tinghan’s story for the first time.
He asked, “Then, why did Lu Tinghan become a Watcher?”
“I don’t know,” Xia Fang said. “No one knows. Maybe he was just too young, his brain was too weak to distinguish right and wrong – also, some young people think the Abyss Watchers are very cool. Then again, he was only 18 years old at that time, and it’s normal to get excited.”
He crushed his cigarette on the railing and turned it a few times: “Cheng Youwen can’t stand General Lu for the same reason. He’s seen Watchers go berserk and can’t accept a Watcher as a General, commanding those battles that will decide our fate.
“Simply put, someone else’s mistake may kill dozens or hundreds of people; if General Lu’s time bomb exploded, the consequences would be unimaginable.” Xia Fang sighed. “To be honest, I have a bit of a problem with him too. We need his talent, and I appreciate his dedication, but I don’t understand that choice he made, no one can.”
Shi Yuan was a little confused: “Then why…”
“Why do we still need him to command?” Xia Fang said, “Because it won’t work without him, it’s that simple.”
After Shi Yuan returned from the balcony, he was a little confused.
He never knew what it was like to be an Abyss Watcher.
He had never infected any creature, so of course, he couldn’t have affected Lu Tinghan’s mental state, but the others didn’t know that.
He got company and rejoiced during those ten years, but those ten years were an indelible stain, a fault that could be described as capricious, and turned into a sharp knife pointed at Lu Tinghan.
He was very sad.
He sent a message to Lu Tinghan: [I changed my mind, you can touch my tail even if you don’t sleep with me]
Lu Tinghan, as always, did not reply.
Shi Yuan knew he must have seen it.
Shi Yuan packed his things in the backstage, and didn’t see Cheng Youwen until after lunch.
Cheng Youwen walked over with his crutches and swore: “What kind of cattle, ghosts, snakes, and gods are auditioning for today? It’s too bad, it’s too bad, these bear children still want to play the “God of Salvation’, they will only destroy the world! Forget it!”
“Calm down,“ Qin Luoluo comforted next to him. “There are still a few people the day after tomorrow.”
“There is no time!” Cheng Youwen coughed a few times. “The performance will be held in two months, and the actors have not been found yet. It’s over!”
Wolfgang smiled kindly next to him. He was very taciturn, and of course, he was not good at comforting people.
Shi Yuan knew what role they were talking about.
He finished reading the script yesterday and knew all the plots.
This stage play was called “The Martyr”. The protagonist Leo was a gangster who was idle. After accidentally killing a child in the village, he absconded to a distant town for fear of being punished.
There was a forest outside the town that no one dared to set foot on. One day, Leo drank too much wine in the tavern, boasted that he was a hero and could slay demons, and walked into the woods.
There was a tree demon in the woods – the one played by Shi Yuan. Leo was so scared that he sobered up, he couldn’t escape so he killed the tree demon with a sword. After returning to the town, he was treated like a hero. It was not until this time that Leo realized that he turned out to be such a talented warrior.
He was a vain person. After he had been sought after once, he wanted to have a second time. There were many monsters in this world. In this way, under the Yin and Yang mistakes, he continued to hone his skills and slay monsters, and he really became a famous person.
No one knew his past, and no one knew his hypocrisy.
He was a hypocrite and a fake hero.
And in one ordeal, Leo changed and knew what sincerity, strength, and love are. At the end of the story, with a wound, he found the legendary God of Salvation.
Rumor has it that the God of Salvation can fulfill the wishes of believers, and he can also wipe out all monsters and completely end this nightmare.
Leo held his breath and saw the appearance of the God of Salvation—
It was a child.
It was the child who was killed by him.
At this moment, Leo’s shiny armor couldn’t resist the child’s calm gaze. It plunged into his heart fiercely, leaving him nowhere to hide and revealing his original form.
The Savior said, ‘I will make the monsters disappear, but I want your life.’
So, Leo died in the golden dawn.
He was a martyr and a true hero.
According to Cheng Youwen’s design, the God of Salvation is a child.
Children can express that sense of holiness and innocence that adults always lack. But the people who came to the audition were all bear children, tall, short, fat, and thin. Two were playing with boogers and three were yawning, which almost angered him to death.
“There is no good child in this world.” Cheng Youwen was still scolding. “F*cking hell! Just go and do your homework, give them ten copies of “Happy Winter Vacation”!”
He was in a terrible mood, and Shi Yuan didn’t want to disturb him at this time, but he had to show his new lines.
He curled up his tail and walked forward: “Mr. Cheng, can you listen to my lines?”
“No, absolutely not, I will only suffer when I listen to it!” Cheng Youwen waved his hand.
Shi Yuan: “Mr. Cheng…”
“Don’t say it! Don’t say it!” Cheng Youwen shouted. “Don’t irritate me. I’m afraid my blood pressure will explode. I still want to live two more years.”
Shi Yuan: “I really want to…”
Cheng Youwen picked up his crutches and ran, Qin Luoluo was stunned: “You can actually run so fast?!”
一一一一一一一一一一
**TN
Happy Winter Vacation – a kind of homework textbook for elementary students, I think. XD Yeah, I think it was for kids.
Military Terminal – Military ‘light brain(?) or photon computer, I often see this term ‘light brain’ in Interstellar stories. It’s a super advanced smart communication/computation device. I tried searching what it looked like, but I only saw a photon computer concept, like a chip thingy? If you have a better term for it, do tell me, and I’ll change it. XD
