Under One Person, Engage in Black Technology

Chapter 166

Liu Ke had heard Chen Duo's story from Village Chief Ma for about fifteen minutes.

As we all know, every story has a 'perspective'. Whether it's a typical protagonist story or an ensemble story, perspective is the entry point of the story.

The perspective from which Village Chief Ma tells this story is rather strange, as he focuses on Chen Duo most of the time.

However, during the "bomb defusal" segment, the "camera" shifted from Chen Duo's head to the front of Village Chief Ma's head, which indirectly proves one thing.

The story told by Village Chief Ma was merely based on Chen Duo's oral account, which was then edited and revised, inevitably containing some subjective assumptions.

Even so, based on his own observations, Liu Ke currently considers Lao Ma to be a fairly decent 'honest man'...

Therefore, he wouldn't think that what he said was exaggerated or embellished, and that there was very little exaggeration.

In summary, Village Chief Ma did indeed tell Liu Ke everything he knew, and quite a lot of it...

For example, Chen Duo's initial experiences and her story in the Dark Fortress.

For example, the last task the company assigned her was to hunt down the woman from Biyou Village.

For example, as Chief Ma personally witnessed, the company put a bomb around Chen Duo's neck, who was practically a blank slate and knew nothing.

Finally, there's the matter of how things ended for Chen Duo and Liao Zhong.

……

After hearing the whole story, Liu Ke felt that there was something slightly 'strange' about it.

He genuinely believed that if a 'dangerous element' like Chen Duo suddenly lost control, the company might choose to eliminate her immediately.

Because these high-ranking officials didn't know 'Chen Duo', they were ruthless and hard-hearted when they chose to take action, since all they needed to do was give a simple 'order' and 'press a button'.

However... the relationship between the regional manager and the temporary worker is by no means so cold-blooded. Just like how Old Xu chose Feng Baobao as a 'temporary worker,' the relationship between the manager and the temporary worker can be described as one of absolute trust and mutual protection.

What Liu Ke couldn't believe was that Liao Zhong could simply choose to kill Chen Duo because she was disobedient and didn't want to go back with him.

After all, if Lao Liao could treat 'Chen Duo' as an optional item that could be discarded at any time...

There's absolutely no need for someone like that to go to great lengths to try and guide Chen Duo, this 'patient,' back to normal.

Although the headquarters of NaDuTong Company frequently conducts spot checks and controls on its branches, it actually doesn't have any of that ridiculous thing called 'performance appraisal'...

In other words, Chen Duo was able to escape from the bunker not because she could be regarded as some kind of political achievement or exhibit, but because of Liao Zhong's ideas and goodwill.

Although Village Chief Ma's words were full of dissatisfaction and disdain for Lao Liao, Liu Ke knew that Lao Liao was probably a good person, perhaps not a very smart one.

After all, as everyone thinks, putting aside the coldness of human relationships, 'Chen Duo' is in fact a problem, and indifference to her is the best choice for the 'cold-blooded'.

……

Before he knew it, Liu Ke was frowning and thinking. But he had never talked to Chen Duo about this matter face to face, nor was he a witness to the event. It was unrealistic to try to find the 'logical problems' in the story based solely on his own ideas.

Seeing him frown, Ma Xianhong merely shook his brow slightly and said nothing more.

After a dozen or so breaths, he said again, "Although I don't have a good impression of the way Na Du Tong behaves, I'm not involved in it."

"As to what exactly happened between Chen Duo and her supervisor, I, like you, can only look at the 'facts,' and that's all the 'content' I see."

"I am not bringing this up with you to try to influence your opinion."

"It's just to prevent you and Chen Duo from having any problems during your 'discussion' and ending up fighting."

After hearing this, Liu Ke breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and said, "...Ignoring Chen Duo, Liao Zhong, and the company's thoughts, what you did was not wrong."

"A person who was captured by a cult as a child and trained to become... [Gu Body Saint Child], is rescued but has to do 'odd jobs' while wearing a time bomb."

"This behavior, which seems 'appropriate' for public safety... is indeed unreasonable, and even somewhat cruel, for Chen Duo."

"As for... between Chen Duo and Liao Zhong, although I feel there must be a problem somewhere, that 'problem' mostly only exists in their 'thoughts' and doesn't interfere with the 'facts'."

At this point, Liu Ke couldn't help but chuckle and said, "...Something's really not right. It seems like nothing's wrong."

After shaking his head, Liu Ke replied, "Don't worry, I understand what you mean. As for Chen Duo's matter... I can't comment on it, and I can't comment on it well, so I won't comment."

Seeing this, Ma Xianhong nodded, then got up and walked to the stream. After washing his hands, he said, "Since the opportunity is right, I'll ask while I'm at it."

"Although a day is a bit short, how well did your observation go?"

"Whether or not to join us, we need to think about it some more."

"Or... if you don't like us, you can choose to leave."

------

Although, as Village Chief Ma said, Liu Ke's observation period before entering the village was very short, but...

Based on the information gathered so far, his impression of Biyou Village is quite positive.

Whatever Ma Xianhong's purpose may be, at least he did "incidentally" embark on a path of doing good deeds, and those patients were indeed being "treated."

Although Liu Ke has never seen the Body Cultivation Furnace and doesn't know how it works, there's a saying in the novel "Medicine God" that goes something like this.

"Do you think we wouldn't know whether that 'medicine' is real or fake?"

Regardless of how the stove worked, the group of ragged people did manage to survive thanks to it, and did not die because they ran out of money and had to stop treatment.

Therefore, Liu Ke now has a strong sense of identification with this village and with Old Ma.

As for the trick of transforming 'Outcasts', although it sounds rather strange, that's all it is.

Liu Ke had met the "transformed" superhuman in the village today. Although he had some skills, it was questionable whether he could defeat the armed elementary school students from Florida across the sea.

If you had a hundred strange people from Biyou Village fight a hundred middle school students from Florida with submachine guns, who knows who would win?

In his mind, most superhumans were "less than bullets," even if some of them were highly skilled and adept at dodging, they still couldn't escape the baptism of "bullets."

Therefore, Liu Ke didn't take the Body-Cultivation Furnace that could 'transform' superhumans seriously at all. Moreover, he himself only obtained his superpower by consuming [Compound No. 5].

Who knows, he might find a way to extract blood and obtain serum, mass-produce it, and the effect of converting [Outcasts] would be hundreds or even thousands of times faster than Old Ma's furnace.

……

Of course, while he may agree with Biyou Village, the village is, after all, the stronghold of the 'New Intercept'—a newly emerging secretive school of supernatural beings—and its style of doing things will inevitably gravitate towards that of supernatural beings.

As for the style of the extraordinary people, to put it bluntly, it can be replaced with the Jianghu style in 'wuxia novels'.

It wasn't that Liu Ke was boasting; he believed that his entry into Biyou Village was like Qiao Feng entering the Liao Dynasty or Guo Jing returning to Mongolia—he would most likely be forced to "change sides." Therefore, he genuinely didn't expect that the words "I can leave" could be so easily uttered by a leader of an "extraterrestrial" group in the 21st century.

"What? Surprised?"

Seeing Liu Ke's surprised expression, Ma Xianhong chuckled and asked.

"Cough, indeed, I thought this was the kind of place reserved for certain 'technical' personnel..."

"It's the kind of place where 'since we're already here,' or 'no one who's useful is allowed to leave.'"

Liu Ke cleared his throat and then spoke somewhat awkwardly.

However, Liu Ke felt that Ma Xianhong's expression froze for a moment after he said those words.

But the next second, the village chief returned to normal, though his breathing did become erratic for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

Liu Ke was indeed very interested in Ma Xianhong, this "talented person," and when he noticed something unusual about him, he directly asked him.

Village Chief Ma seemed to realize that something was amiss. He first regulated his qi and evened it out, then replied, "Nothing, phew."

"Heh, I have a particular trait: I never force anyone."

Upon hearing this answer, Liu Ke felt there was a subtle inconsistency in the other person's words, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

However, he also knew that in interpersonal relationships, one should never speak too intimately with someone you don't know well.

Sometimes, it's better to see through things than to say them out loud; it's better for everyone that way.

So, Liu Ke remained silent for a moment before changing the subject and asking, "I heard you built a stove in the village?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Xianhong made no attempt to hide anything and said directly, "You've heard about it? But it's true, it's not something that's deliberately being concealed."

"That furnace is called the Self-Cultivation Furnace."

"Both of us are weapon refiners, so we naturally know that everything in the world can be refined."

"Humans are also tools; they can be refined!"

"That furnace is what I have been working on day and night, with the aim of cultivating people's physical and mental well-being and supplementing their natural talents."

"When the perfect cultivation furnace is born, as long as the recipient is willing, they can elevate themselves to an unimaginable level."

“By transforming ordinary people into extraordinary beings, we can further elevate the realm of extraordinary beings. In this way, over time, there will be no more conflict between extraordinary beings and ordinary people in the world.”

Since Liu Ke had already heard Liu Wu Kui, the child, explain the general effects of the Body Refining Furnace, he was not particularly surprised by Director Ma's 'explanation' of the furnace.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "I've heard from the villagers that your stove is indeed very magical; it can cure diseases and has cured many people so far."

"But even if it's for the sake of the ideals of 'education for all' and 'refining human beings into tools,' there's no need to be so obsessed with this furnace, is there?"

"Can you tell me? What is the purpose of your creation of this self-cultivation furnace?"

When Liu Ke asked this question, Ma Xianhong's momentum deflated once again.

After a long while, he spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Is it that obvious? Hey, whatever, if you want to hire people, you should be honest with them."

"That stove was my only hope. I'm sick."

“Cultivating oneself, cultivating oneself, the key is cultivation. I want to use that furnace to cure my ‘illness’.”

As he spoke, Ma Xianhong raised his hand, pointed to his forehead, and said, "There's something wrong with this part of me."

"I lost my memory, forgot everything from before, and also lost my family."

After Ma Xianhong finished speaking, the conversation on 'BOSS Zhipin' became rather somber.

Liu Ke nodded and said, "Thank you for your trust. You... are an honest person, but actually, if that's the reason, lying a little isn't a problem."

After hearing this, Ma Xianhong replied, "I hate lying, whether it's others lying to me or me lying to others."

"So even if we're not very familiar with each other, there's no need to lie."

"To put it bluntly, my illness is nothing more than amnesia of unknown cause."

Liu Ke nodded, then prepared to change the subject again, avoiding this potentially hurtful question, and asked, "A lot of people come to the village for medical treatment?"

After hearing this, Ma Xianhong closed his eyes and did some mental calculations, then said, "Not many. Including those who left, there are only two or three hundred people."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ke raised an eyebrow and said, "Two or three hundred people? Your village doesn't have that many people in total, does it?"

Ma Xianhong did not deny it, saying, "Indeed, if we count the number of people, that's how many."

"My body-cultivation furnace still has some limitations and cannot achieve the level of 'limb regeneration,' but it is still very effective for problems such as heart, liver, spleen and stomach."

"Those who have been cured will not stay in the village. I did not mean to stop them from leaving, but the village is not big enough right now, so I asked them to spread the word as little as possible."

"but."

At this point, Ma Xianhong's expression darkened: "It seems there really are endless sick people in this world."

"Initially, only the relatives of a few 'extraordinary people' in the village were cured of their difficult and complicated diseases by the Body Cultivation Furnace, which doesn't count as a large number of people."

"But those tormenting and deadly diseases, they were cured by the furnace, so how could they bear not to tell their fellow patients who suffered from the same disease?"

"So, the rumors spread and got out of my control. But I don't blame them."

"This cultivation furnace is mainly for cultivating me, but helping others is also what I want to do."

After saying that, Village Chief Ma added, "However, this stove is not perfect yet, and my illness has not been cured."

"Their illness wasn't cured either."

“Cancer, leukemia, those diseases that can’t be cured in hospitals can only be suppressed here. Most of the people who come to the village seeking a life end up trapped here.”

"Although the pressure is increasing day by day, so what? We are ultimately 'New Intercept,' the Intercepting Sect. The purpose of our founding is to seize a glimmer of hope for all living beings."

"Why would I keep something secret when it comes to self-cultivation?"

(End of this chapter)