In Ark Simulator, why do I always get a tough start?

Chapter 91 The Tiger Emerges from its Cage, Plotting to Seize Power and Usurp the Country!
[Your mind went completely blank; you even forgot how you got to the scene.]

When you arrived, half of the Shiva'ish family had already gathered there.

[Under Fiona's guidance, everyone has just rescued your blood-covered parents from the overturned train and rushed them to the only hospital in Kjerag.]

[Of course, calling it a hospital is just a euphemism for an old doctor in Shelag who, it's rumored, traveled abroad and studied some professional medical skills.]

More importantly, he had relatively advanced medical equipment, comparable to that in Shelag.

However, when your parents were brought to this old doctor, he only glanced at them, indicating that it was beyond his capabilities.

In this situation, you, who are usually good-tempered, finally snapped.

"If you don't dare to do it, then get out of my way and leave everything to me."

"Do as I say, assist me properly, and make the most of your remaining strength, understand?"

[With that, you took the scalpel from the old doctor, forced yourself to calm down, and began the longest surgery of your life.]

[You studied Traditional Chinese Medicine in your past life, and you learned your surgical skills during the Great Yan Dynasty.]

You know surgery isn't your forte, but you have no other choice at this point.

You can't bear to watch your beloved adoptive parents die like this; for you, it would be the cruelest punishment imaginable.

[The long-term isolation of Shelag, coupled with its harsh winters and heavy snowfall, has resulted in a shortage of many crucial medications at the hospital, and even medicinal herbs are scarce.]

You did your best to save your family.

But in the end, after a day of tireless work, you only managed to snatch your father from the clutches of death.

[And when you turn around, wanting to save your mother.]

The heart rate indicator on the electrocardiogram, representing your mother's heartbeat, had long since stopped showing any amplitude.

The piercing "beep," a symbol of life's end, seems to mock your incompetence.

At that moment, it felt as if all the strength had been taken from you, and you collapsed unconscious on the ground, everything going black.

When you opened your eyes again, you were still in this hospital.

[The only difference is that you've gone from being the one undergoing surgery to someone resting in a hospital bed.]

Surrounding you are your two sisters, whose eyes are red and swollen from crying, and Fiona.

Within your sight, only your younger brother, Enciodes, who is a year younger than you, remains relatively calm.

"Enciodes".

"Brother..."

Hearing his brother's call, Ensiodis, with dark circles under his eyes, finally snapped out of his daze.

Chen Qi gazed at Enshiodis, the man who had always affectionately called him "brother" and who had always been just an ordinary younger brother in his eyes.

However, amidst such a dramatic change, his own fall seemed to have made this younger brother mature considerably all at once.

After a brief silence, Chen Qi forced himself to sit up and asked his much-grown younger brother:
"How long have I been in a coma?"

"...two days and one night."

"Then, how is Father?"

Chen Qi asked the question that was of most concern to him at that moment.

"Yes, thanks to Sister Fiona's early discovery and your timely rescue, Father's condition has stabilized."

Enciodes delivered the only piece of news that could be considered comforting for Chen Qi at this moment:
“We transferred him to the nearest mobile city hospital. The doctor said that my father’s internal organs were not severely damaged, and with the timely surgery, he would be fine.”

"...However, my father's legs were crushed when the train derailed, and the doctor said that amputation was necessary."

"As for Mother..."

Ensiodis's eyes dimmed slightly, but he still conveyed the truth to his brother.

"I have already arranged for her body to be collected, and the funeral is in five days."

As soon as Enshiodis finished speaking, Enya and Enshia, who could no longer bear the grief, began to sob with tears streaming down their faces.

"……It was my fault."

Knowing this outcome all along, and facing his younger siblings who were plunged into grief, Chen Qi, as the elder brother, chose to take all the responsibility upon himself.

"If only my medical skills were better, and I could be faster."

"Don't say that, brother (brother/Qi)."

However, this time, before Chen Qi could finish speaking, his younger siblings, and even Fiona, all interrupted him in unison.

"Without my brother, we might have lost our father as well."

"It's more accurate to say that we are too useless, not even capable of helping our elder brother."

Enciodes spoke on behalf of the sisters, expressing their shared sentiments.

"Please don't feel sorry for yourself, brother. You have already done your best."

"If my mother's soul has returned to Jeragund, I believe she will understand."

"……Um."

Enciodes's words of advice made Chen Qi feel somewhat better.

After a long silence, Chen Qi turned his gaze to the side, to Fiona, who was staring at him with sad and sorrowful eyes.

He forced a smile and said to Fiona:

“Fiona… thank you. If you hadn’t found them in time, my poor younger siblings might have been separated from our parents forever.”

"Our father is alive now, thanks to your help."

"Don't say that, Qi."

The understanding Fiona knew very well that her best friend was experiencing what could be described as the deepest pain in the world.

But at this moment, this innocent country girl didn't know what to say to comfort her friend.

After a long pause, Fiona finally managed to utter a muffled sentence:
"If there's anything I can help you with, please be sure to tell me."

"I will do everything I can to help you."

"...I've got it."

Chen Qi forced a smile and nodded, but looking tired, he lowered his head and said in a muffled voice:

"Fiona, could you please take Enya and Enshia to see Mother again?"

"I have something I want to say to Ensiodis alone."

"Ah."

Fiona nodded silently and led the still young Enya and Ensia away from the hospital.

The moment the three girls stepped out of the hospital, the eldest, Enya, with red eyes and a puzzled look on her face, asked Fiona:

"Sister Fiona..."

"Why are you talking to my second brother and kicking us out?"

“We are also Mom and Dad’s children. Are there any topics that we can’t talk about with you and Encia?”

“…Enya, you’re still young, you don’t understand.”

However, Fiona, a country girl with many siblings, understood Chen Qi's choice very well and patiently explained to the two younger sisters:

"Some problems should be solved by adults; the less children know, the better."

"Although I don't know what your older brother and second brother are talking about... I believe it must be something very important concerning your family and future."

Upon hearing this, the two sisters simply nodded as if they understood.

However, Fiona, who was equally distraught at the moment, had no time to pay much attention to the sisters.

Having experienced such a tragic event for the first time, Fiona, as Chen Qi's friend and assistant, seemed helpless.

But she knew clearly that her parents' accident meant that the burden of the family would soon fall on Chen Qi's shoulders. So now, what Chen Qi needed most was a helper to share the pressure and a friend to help him relieve his pain.

"Perhaps I should write a letter to Chen Chen (Chen Huijie)... Chen Chen should be more adept at handling this kind of thing."

"Besides, if it were Chenchen, she would definitely be able to help Qi even more than I am."

……

“Enciodes, tell me.”

Based on the information you have now, do you think what happened to your parents was an accident or murder?

[And after your two younger sisters left, you recovered from your exhaustion and daze almost instantly.]

Right now, you have absolutely no time to rest.

You must find out the truth behind all of this. Was this tragedy an unexpected accident, or a premeditated murder?

[And you know very well that your younger brother, just like you, is eager to find out the truth.]

Therefore, he is definitely the person you can find who knows the situation best.

Enciodes did not disappoint you.

“After the accident, I asked the Victorian laborers who had built this railway to come back and conduct a special inspection.”

With her sisters no longer around and no longer worried about hurting them with her words, Enshiodis was finally able to speak freely.

Mingming had always grown up under Chen Qi's protection.

However, now, at the most critical moment for his family and relatives, Enciodes has shown his superhuman calm and composure.

The younger brother, who had always been protected by Chen Qi, finally understood what "the responsibility of an elder brother" meant.

"Based on their investigation, they said that the screws securing the rails showed signs of being deliberately tampered with."

“I also sent our people to search carefully within a kilometer of the railway, but we did not find the missing screws.”

"The tribesmen who patrolled the area that day did not find any suspicious persons."

"This means that the perpetrator must be very familiar with our family's patrol schedule and must be someone in a high position in Sherag."

“Brother, I suspect that what happened to our parents was not an accident, but a premeditated murder!”

At this point, a ferocious rage appeared on Ensiodis's still handsome face, though he was still young, and he said through gritted teeth, each word distinct:
"And I firmly believe that this murder is related to the other two major families, or the Manju Academy!"

“Our family is growing stronger, and all the people of Shelag have benefited from our foreign trade.”

“Even if there were dissidents among them, they couldn’t possibly have done something like murdering our parents, let alone come up with such a meticulous plan.”

"Only the two major families and the Manju Academy have a reason to do this!"

"As our family grew stronger, they felt their position was being threatened, which is why they plotted to kill our parents!"

“By then, even you, my elder brother, will still be young. They will take this opportunity to divide up our family’s political legacy and even expel us from the Three Clans Council!”

"—Calm down, Ensiodis."

However, after listening to your brother's reasoned analysis, although you shared the same thoughts as him, you promptly stopped him from continuing.

[Meeting your brother's bewildered gaze, which didn't quite understand, you sighed and said softly:]

"We have no evidence."

"Besides, even if we have evidence, what do you plan to do?"

"The worst outcome is a murder orchestrated by the Manju family and the other two major families."

"Are you planning to refute Manju-in and the other two major families just by relying on so-called 'fairness'?"

"Even if that were true, given the status of the Manju Academy and the other two major families in the hearts of the Sherag people, do you think they would believe us?"

"Brother, do you mean we should swallow our anger and keep quiet?"

At this moment, having understood your words, Enciodes regained his composure and offered what he considered the most rational solution.

You all understand that you cannot get this "justice" from the other two major families and the Manju Academy.

The best course of action is to treat this as an accident, and do everything in our power to preserve the family's position and prevent it from being swallowed up by the other two major families.

But is this the result you wanted?

[Note: The following is a branching path in this simulation. Please choose carefully.]

[A. You have promised your parents that you will protect the family and also protect Sherag.]

You firmly believe that under your leadership, the Shivaesh family will be able to stand firmly at the pinnacle of power in Sherag.

And when that time comes, having seized control of the entire discourse in Sherag, you will naturally reclaim your justice through a fair trial. (Power Line)

【B. Your parents poured their hearts and souls into supporting Sherag, only to suffer this terrible tragedy! This is not only due to the other families and the Manju Institute, but also to Sherag's own folly!】

Such a Sherag is not worth protecting, much less worth your family fighting for!

Since justice cannot be restored, then let your revenge be achieved with blood! Let the impending war slaughter this land! (Treason storyline)

"—We will never let this go, Ensiodis."

Looking at the two routes laid out before him, Chen Qi remained silent for a long time. After some deep thought, a smile appeared on his lips.

Under Ensiodis's blank stare, he did see his brother's inappropriate smile.

But for some reason, he couldn't detect even a trace of joy behind that smile.

Instead, it was a dangerous smile filled with cruelty, as if a conspiracy had succeeded.

“They must pay the debt for murdering our parents, whether it is other families or Manjusaka.”

"But now, we must be patient."

"Until we have the power to reclaim this justice, until the moment we strike, until the opportunity arises to annihilate all our enemies!"

"...If they want to wipe us out completely."

As he spoke, Chen Qi slowly raised his head.

Under Ensiodes's gaze, his brother, who had always been gentle in his memory, suddenly had eyes as sharp as an eagle that had spotted its prey!
With the eyes of an eagle and the gaze of a wolf.

For some reason, at this moment, the evaluation of his brother by the elder he disliked echoed in Ensiodes's mind.

In Ensiodis's eyes, his brother was like a ferocious beast.

A ferocious beast that waits for its prey to make a mistake and become complacent before pouncing and killing it instantly!

"Then let them come."

"In the future, we will make everyone who has caused us bloodshed pay for their debts in blood."

You already know the answer in your heart.

What is justice? The words of those who wield supreme power and can control everything are justice.

What is power? The highest power is the one with a strong army and the ability to command the people of the land.

You cannot obtain justice simply because your power is not strong enough to complete your revenge.

You promised your parents that you would protect your family, and more importantly, protect Shelag.

Since the ignorant Manju-in family, and the other conservative and foolish families, are incapable of shouldering this heavy responsibility.

[I'll let you be the all-powerful, unchallenged king!]

To protect this home, to ensure that no one in this country is harmed by foreign powers, ignorance, or political infighting.

Are you willing to bear this eternal infamy?

[Congratulations, host! You have discovered another route and entered the "Strategic Planning" branch.]

[The success rate progress bar for the "Planning the Nation" strategy has been issued to the host. Please make plans as needed based on your own judgment and requirements.]

(End of this chapter)