Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 464 Have you thought about it?
"What did you say?" Ling suspected that he had heard it wrong.

"I say, do you want to join us? You have learned a lot of information from Rochelle, including our existence. In this case, I might as well make it clearer: do you want to join the Witch Society and become one of us, Mr. Ling?"

Fei'er's outstretched hand was like an invitation letter, about to lead the young man into a world far more mysterious than all magic and aliens. In the shadow corners invisible to the world, gravel surged like tides, and the shadow of the giant beast was looming in the mist. Before, Ling Ge had dealt with this beast from many angles, including the Ouroboros Project, the Religious Decree, and the history that had been tampered with by humans, but it was undoubtedly just a fragment, and could not piece together its complete appearance.

He was like a blind man touching a whale. When he touched the slippery skin, he thought it was mud in the deep sea. When he touched the long baleen, he thought it was an octopus's tentacle. With only a limited angle, he could not see the infinite truth of the world. Now, Fei Er gave him a chance to remove the blindfold and see the true face of this huge beast. He saw how the whale swam in the sea deeper than the night and colder than ice, crashed into countless islands with its huge body, and opened its huge mouth to swallow countless ignorant fish and shrimps.

Joining an organization that hides behind the world and secretly manipulates the direction of history, and personally encountering those mysteries that cannot be found in history books, is a temptation for a history student who is determined to go deep into the vast fog and explore the vast truth. If he refuses the invitation, he will become one of the fish and shrimp.

But the young man knew that every gift in this world must have its price, so he controlled his emotions well, maintained a rational attitude, and asked in a tone that was not joyful but vigilant: "What does this have to do with the previous topic?"

"There is a deep connection, but I can't tell you now. You will understand after you join us. As for now, you can put aside other unnecessary interference factors and make a decision based on your own will."

Just by your own will? Lingge was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Why?"

Fei Er blinked: "Why?"

"Why did you choose me?" Linger glanced at the silent Langning Laville next to her and said, "Before, Mr. Langning has revealed to me that when he was in Linville City, he intended to invite me to join the association and become one of you. Now, this is the second invitation I have received from you. I am very curious, what exactly is the reason that made you all choose me?"

"For example, I don't want to fight with you at all." Fei Er grinned, revealing two rows of neat white teeth. "This is the truth. I am not against fighting. Sometimes fighting even makes me excited. But for some reason, it is difficult for me to convince myself to attack you. This requires a difficult psychological threshold. But what I hate most is this kind of tangled and repeated ideological struggle. In this case, why not choose the simplest and most perfect solution, which is to let you join the association. Since everyone is a companion, there is naturally no need to fight. Congratulations, right?"

What kind of weird reason is this?

The young man was not so conceited as to think that the Witch Society could not do without him, so he was more concerned about the reasons behind it.

Including Lingge, no one could react for a while. Among the crowd, only Avella frowned deeply, because Fei'er's words made her feel familiar.

"Well." Fei Er took back the hand that had invited him, scratched his cheek, and looked a little unnatural. "Lang Ning invited you because he thought your personality fits the style of the association very well. He thought that if you are willing to join us, you will have great potential. Of course, I also have this consideration, but another more important reason is that if you are willing to bring your companions to join the association, you can solve a problem that has troubled me for a long time."

"For example?" Lingge didn't know that he had this ability.

She vaguely remembered that at the bottom of the castle, the ruler who cursed her also said the same thing: I don't want to fight with you.

However, if it weren't for her curse, the princess of the Leslie royal family wouldn't have to suffer such hardships, losing her parents, losing her home, and in the end even her beloved teacher sacrificed himself to save her. So, even now, she still felt that it was a very hypocritical statement, and Fei'er's words also gave her a feeling of untrustworthiness.

She quietly reached out her hand and gently tugged at the corner of Ling'er's clothes, using this small action to convey her attitude. Ling'er didn't seem to notice the very light force coming from behind him. After he came to his senses, he said to Fei'er: "Are you sure this can solve the problem? If I remember correctly, your attitude towards magicians and aliens has never been friendly, right?"

It's not just unfriendly. To exaggerate, the history of the mysterious world in the past few hundred years is the history of the cult's joint cruel persecution of magicians and aliens. Nothing is left except blood, fire and bones. And Lingge himself is a magician, and his companions are basically aliens: Saint Xia Liya is a silver elf, Aoweila is a light elf, Xie Mi is a traveler fairy, and Leticia and Nevi'er, who have just met, are vampires... It's a bit ironic to let magicians and aliens join an organization whose only purpose is to persecute them.

"Well, I don't deny that." Fei Er said noncommittally: "But it doesn't matter, you are special."

"special?"

"That's right. Based on your status, if you are willing to join the Witch Society, we will give you some... special treatment." Fei Er raised a finger. "For example, Mr. Linger can still retain his identity as a magician, but he needs to comply with the provisions of the Management Regulations and obtain the corresponding position before he can continue to be promoted. Our Witch Society has always used the power of magic with caution and restraint. The more powerful the magic, the more determined it is to control it. For example, you know Lang Ning, my fourth ship officer. His current position in the society is an apostle, so he can master the highest level of sequence 5 magic. Only after continuing to be promoted and being observed and approved by the society, he will be allowed to cross the threshold of demigod. This is a restriction we have made to prevent the abuse of magic. I hope you can understand. However, if you are willing to give up magic, at least we can provide the latest models of various magic guides, because this is a more rational choice. It is obvious that it is only a matter of time before the magic guide system replaces the magic system."

At this point, Fei Er smiled and said, "Regarding the job system and promotion mechanism within the association, I will explain it in detail after you join, but at least one thing is certain: we do not judge a person's value based on the strength of his or her power, but on other things, such as the thinking, logic, or wisdom you demonstrate."

It sounded fair, but Ling remained silent and did not comment.

Fei Er continued, "As for Miss Saint Xia Liya and the others, it is even less of a problem, because to them, whether they are aliens or humans is actually not important. What we care about is never the appearances such as race and identity, but the essence of their souls. They will always be the same person as they were at the beginning, that's all."

Not the appearance, but the essence of the soul.

Whatever you are at the beginning, you will always be that kind of person.

These two sentences seemed to have touched upon the secret in the young man's heart, causing his expression to change slightly. Fei'er's words were actually somewhat idealistic, because every life in this world is limited by appearances, and no one can escape from appearances and only focus on the state of the soul. Similarly, every life in this world is in a state of change, and their past may not be the same as their future, and there may not even be any similarities.

However, there is indeed a kind of people in this world who have nothing to do with appearances, but only grasp the essence of the soul; they are in a state of change, but the only thing that does not change is their own state. In the future, present, and later, until the moment when the world is created, they will retain their original appearance, that is...

"How about it, have you thought about it?"

Fei'er's words interrupted Ling's thoughts. Her eyes were full of seriousness, indicating that this was not an invitation made on a whim, but a method she got after pondering for a long time - from the end of the witch meeting convened by Sister Carabosse to the report on a young man sent to her by the A-1152 Arbitration Team. When she knew that she would inevitably face the memories of the past, and she did not want to disappoint her ideals, nor did she want to succumb to a helpless fate, she thought of this method.

If she is rejected, she will be very sad.

Fortunately, Linger did not refuse immediately, but he did not agree to it either. After thinking silently for a few seconds, the young man suddenly asked, "If I join the Witch Society, what should I do? Just like you - and these people." He looked back and saw the silent magic knights like solemn statues, and the mechanical soldiers suspended in the sky like majestic angels. Their armors were shining with a colder light than the pale cold moon, which stung people's pupils and caused a slight pain. "Go hunt other magicians and aliens?"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)