Technological practice: leading the human race to the stars

Chapter 24 Hatred and Power

After the flood, there was an indescribable smell in the air.

This is a unique muddy smell emitted by wet soil, rotting vegetation and water-soaked ground, as well as a faint smell of mold and a strong smell of blood, with a disgusting and damp feeling.

Occasionally, a breeze blew by, bringing a hint of coolness, but mixed with these unpleasant smells, it made people nauseous and there was no sense of comfort at all.

This complex combination of smells seems to be a unique mark left by nature after the flood.

"Now you understand why I want to develop the C virus." Li Haisheng took Yuanze out of the laboratory.

Yuanze looked at the post-war scene and felt no joy of winning at all.

The price of victory is heavy, but victory is inevitable.

The entire city was in ruins, with countless houses collapsed, the streets filled with puddles of varying sizes, and people's cries and calls for help could be heard everywhere.

"clear."

"Master, have you experienced this kind of situation many times?"

"This is the third time. The most recent one was ten years ago. You should still have some impression of it."

"So what happened back then?"

"It's a long story."

Li Haisheng was in front and Yuanze was behind. The two of them shuttled through the post-disaster city and met all kinds of people.

Some people lay quietly on the ground, their relatives and friends were crying and calling beside them, but those familiar faces no longer responded.

There was a group of children, displaced, standing alone at the crossroads. Their figures looked fragile among the ruins, their eyes were filled with endless confusion, yet full of vitality.

There were also countless people clenching their fists, staring at the direction where the source beast was retreating. The hatred in their eyes seemed to be bursting out, and they were determined to be irreconcilable with the source beast.

Li Haisheng stood on a small hill where the flood had receded, with his hands behind his back and facing Yuanze: "You should know that Province S is another hub of China besides the capital, and it is home to the four most influential families in China - the Li family, the Ji family, the Zhang family, and the Kong family."

"know."

"The Li and Zhang families are relatively weak, so their relationship is relatively close. The Ji family has deep ties with China, and the Kong family is mainly good at doing business and has a relatively wide range of connections."

"After I invented the C virus, my brother Li Haiming changed his mind and became thirsty for power. He wanted to use this technology to control the Source Warriors and use it to strengthen the family's combat effectiveness to ensure that the family can continue to be passed down."

"So he colluded with the top leaders of other families to frame me. It was my father and the elders who protected me that I was only punished by having my source power sealed and being expelled from the family. But not long after, there was a turmoil in the Li family. My father died, and Li Haiming, as the only heir, naturally took control of the power of the Li family."

"Could it be Li Haiming?"

"Yes."

"Then why would Elder Yang help us? Shouldn't he submit to the new heir?"

"But he is the elder's man, and also my father's man. He is also my master. Since my father died, as the former intelligence chief under my father, he didn't want to follow Li Haiming, so he changed his name. It is said that he is now working for other organizations, but I don't know who they are."

"What about the elder?"

"The elder is my father's master. He is one of the few strong men in the family who has surpassed the Nirvana level and has a transcendent status. He helped me remove the seal of the instrument and accidentally removed the oath that the instrument had imprinted in my brain, allowing me to teach you the secret method of my family."

"But I hate him. He didn't help my father at all and even caused his death. I also hate my brother. For a little power and to join the 'Ghost Plague', he was willing to sacrifice his own blood relatives as a token of his loyalty." "Ten years have passed, and Elder Yang has only found out that Li Haiming joined the organization and some of its actions. As for the other members of the organization, its organizational structure, and its purpose of action, nothing is known."

"..."

"If it weren't for you, I would have listened to Old Yang's advice and let the matter go long ago. But now even Old Yang, who is half buried in the ground, has been moved by you." Li Haisheng turned around and smiled.

Yuanze listened to his master talking about the family's past intrigues and deceptions, and understood the chilling feeling his master had felt in the past.

"Yuan Ze, take a look at the inner ring of the Mechanical City."

Yuanze took the X-ray glasses that Li Haisheng took out. He remembered that he had used them at the last auction. This was a special prop developed by Li Haisheng that could ignore camouflage.

In the distance, the gap between the image in the perspective mirror and the reality in the eyes is so huge that it is a strong contrast.

A never-before-seen mechanical gate stood there. Surrounding the core area of ​​the inner ring, except for a little bit of water seeping in, there was almost no impact, and it still looked like a paradise on earth.

It is like a huge and solid gate, completely separating the outer ring from the inner ring. The torrent of life rushes here, unable to pass through, unable to break through, unable to avoid, and unable to circumvent.

Countless people roared in despair here. They struggled in vain and finally sank in pain, turning into a wisp of dust in the long history.

"Isn't it ironic? Every time this happens, the inner circle is almost unscathed, and the people inside are singing and dancing as usual."

“Isn’t this to protect important people?”

"But why hide it and deceive everyone?"

Yuanze looked at Li Haisheng's back, he lit a cigarette skillfully and started smoking.

"That's what I thought before. Although I hoped that everyone could protect themselves when facing the source beasts, I still looked down on those servants at that time. I felt that they were born to protect us. I even felt that their strength and fighting outside only helped them to better protect us."

"It was a long time later that I realized that the gate of the machinery city could be expanded to every corner of the machinery city, but some people deliberately didn't do it. They let the civilians hate the source beasts and then took advantage of this hatred."

"Shouldn't the source beast die?"

"Yes, that's what your book says. Before the catastrophe, humans trampled on other creatures wantonly, claiming to be the spirit of all things, and led the sixth mass extinction. But you have also seen so much, do you think this must be correct?"

Yuanze did not remain silent this time, and recalled what his master had said before:

"But Master, you are not entirely right. You once said, 'Sometimes the area of ​​justice is only 1/n in the end.' But sometimes the world needs this 1/n of hope, because a single spark can start a prairie fire."

Yuanze paused and lowered his head as if he was thinking about how to organize his words.

Li Haisheng stretched out a hand, wanting to touch Yuanze's head as he did before, but found that Yuanze's height had increased rapidly during this period and was almost the same as his own. He retracted his hand, put out the cigarette that was almost finished, and stepped on it.

“This time, you’ve grown up.”

Yuanze suddenly thought of something and looked ahead:

"I want to be that 1/n hope!"

Power brings hatred, and hatred consolidates power.

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(End of this chapter)