I said you are all war criminals

And in this rain of books, Hakuno roared in a voice close to pain.

"Then, grant wisdom to those fools now! Show me the wisdom of mankind!"

Hongxia was pinned beneath him, scattered book pages falling like snowflakes on her face. Bai Ye's breath puffed against her neck, rapid and hot. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest, each one beating like a drum against her eardrums. She wanted to push him away, to scold him, to question him, but she couldn't say anything.

Hongxia's mind was blank, and the only sound she could hear was Bai Ye's breathing nearby.

"Tell me, Hongxia, how to destroy this deeply ingrained system, how to allow half-demons and humans to coexist..."

Bai Ye's voice seemed to be about to cut off.

70

Chapter 70: Bai Ye’s Combing.

"Yeah, it feels so good to say the famous line!"

Hakuno rolled around on his bed.

If you were to ask what hobbies an otaku has, "delivering lines" would definitely be one of them. Being able to deliver the right lines in the right scene, and then continuing to deliver them without feeling awkward, is arguably the ultimate dream for any otaku.

However, from another perspective, this is a bit of a stretch.

"I just carried on with my momentum... I don't know if Hong Xia can accept this performance."

Shiroya sat up in bed, a hint of embarrassment crossing his face as he recalled the "act" he had just had with Hongxia. Thinking about it, he had been acting a lot. If Hongxia saw through him, it would be truly disastrous.

Fortunately, Hongxia didn't seem to pursue the matter further.

She ran back to the safe house again, and this time, Hongxia really started to do the logistics of the wildfire.

…Looks like Hakuno doesn't have to worry about Nijigas attacking at supersonic speed and severing his head for now. While it's definitely going to come to that, it would be unpleasant to be cut off mid-sentence without sufficient foreshadowing.

If you die, you must die for a good cause.

"Anyway, Hongxia's situation has been resolved for now. Next, we'll have to deal with Xiangzi."

Hakuno turned his attention to Xiangzi's simulation record.

Xiangzi's simulation records were quite boring. They mostly consisted of him going on missions, completing them, preparing meals for his fellow members, using the power of a demon-level chef to destroy the evil laboratory, and so on. Boring as it was, judging by the simulation records, Xiangzi truly viewed Wildfire as an organization dedicated to saving half-demons... No, it wasn't just Xiangzi; I'm afraid the vast majority of Wildfire members viewed Wildfire in the same way.

On the surface, Wildfire's purpose is peaceful.

"Use non-violent means to save half-demons and other persecuted people. Half-demons and humans are equal, and a half-demon's life is a life too."

Yes, it is so naive, so naive that it makes people want to laugh.

Of course, this ideal, written on paper, was never realized. For example, the storming of Parliament a few days ago was definitely not a "non-violent" action... However, Hakuno convinced the Wildfire Organization by saying it was a "necessary evil."

Those who have naive ideals have no idea of the nature of the wildfire organization.

Xiangzi is such a person.

...And on a deeper level, there are characters like Yukinoshita Yukino, who are considered to be Hakuno's "confidants." What these people know is another lie woven by Hakuno.

"Weaken humans as much as possible to allow half-demons to survive."

"We won't exterminate humanity, but we must reduce the number of humans to the point where they must coexist with half-demons."

To achieve this goal, these henchmen would do whatever it took. Like before, they staged attacks on other members of the Wildfire Organization, which was commonplace for these henchmen.

These confidants were essentially individuals who had been severely persecuted by various nations... Don't get me wrong, Bai Ye wasn't manipulating the nation to persecute these people. He was only interested in specific individuals. He found the mere sight of a massive institution like the nation disgusting, and he didn't want to personally touch it.

These miserable guys simply became half-demons after the existence of "half-demons" was added to the world view. Unfortunately, they were used as materials by various countries and were simply unlucky people who fell into misfortune.

The anger of these people is a very useful tool for Bai Ye.

However, even though they were confidants, they did not know the full extent of Hakuno's plan.

...Yamada Ryo and Kita Ikuyo only then learned about Hakuno's "Moon Eye" plan.

"All humans turn into monsters together!"

That plan.

In this simulation, Yamada Ryo develops gene sequencing technology that can detect youkai. After Hakuno discovers that all humans are half-youkai, Ryo optimizes the gene-enhancing light to transform even those without enough youkai blood into youkai.

She is Hakuno's loyal technical support.

For this reason, Hakuno revealed the Moon Eye Project to Ryo. He pledged his life to Ryo, saying that this would save the world... However, Hakuno felt that Ryo didn't really believe in the Moon Eye Project and was just letting Hakuno vent his anger.

Meanwhile, Kita was Hakuno's logistics manager. She hadn't asked for any guarantees, but despite her limited education, she'd actually believed the Moon Eye Project was feasible—a fact that had previously made Hakuno worried about potential issues with Wildfire's accounting. Fortunately, nothing had happened so far, likely thanks to the hardworking and dedicated Kanesada, the first generation of the swordsman.

All in all, this is the architecture of Wildfire.

If Bai Ye wants to cause trouble, he certainly cannot continue to use the guise of a "non-violent organization".

"We need to find an opportunity to separate the surface wildfire tissue from the deep wildfire."

Hakuno stroked his chin.

In reality, separating them is simple. Simply bring up one or two things Yukino and the others have done, and the surface wildfire will be separated from the real wildfire. After all, apart from the persecuted half-demons, most of those who join the wildfire are idealists. And what idealists can't accept most is having their ideals tarnished.

If Wildfire's reputation becomes tarnished, these idealists will naturally leave. They might create a new organization like Streamwater Konoha, but they certainly won't continue to call themselves Wildfire.

However, what Hakuno wanted was a classic move or a classic line like the legendary pretentious senior Aizen Sosuke...

"...Hey, then if I had pretended to be dead after being hit by the fireball, wouldn't that have been a perfect replica of Aizen's plot? Although I don't have the power of mirror flowers and water moons, I could at least steal Aizen's words, right?"

Bai Ye began to regret it.

After a few minutes of regret, Bai Ye decided to let the matter go. He was not only unnecessary but also bad for his health to dwell on it.

As a healthy adult, Hakuno is very forward-looking.

Since copying Bai Ye's plot is no longer feasible, why not just copy other plots...

Who should I copy?

Hakuno began to recall the past. In Japanese comics, what were some classic plots when a character who once stood on the side of the protagonist turned against him?

...Hmm? Instead of letting the villains defect, how about using the good guys to cause massive casualties?

How about Lelouch?

In the Half-Demon Autonomous Region, I was... uh, manipulated by some stellar-level mind-control amplifier or something, and personally killed all the Half-Demon present?

No, no, that would leave me with nothing to blame, and it wouldn't be enough to hurt Hong Xia. Besides, there's the plan to demonize all of humanity, so I can't lose my mind here.

Bai Ye touched his chin and continued to think about how to abandon the wildfire in a gorgeous way.

To him, wildfires weren't important, but performing well in the simulator—that, was important.

71

Chapter 71: No discrimination against half-demons.

The noise will always pass.

Even though the world was once in chaos, it gradually calmed down. Even though the Wildfire members led by Yukino caused disputes everywhere, they could not prevent the arrival of peace.

Five years have passed since that New York speech that shocked the world.

The existence of half-demon has been brought to the fore by various countries and is regarded as a kind of human. Discrimination against half-demon is considered illegal, and allowing half-demon to awaken is also illegal... In this delicate situation, humans and half-demon coexist.

This coexistence is certainly not perfect.

First, due to mandatory global genetic sequencing, half-demons are separated from humans. While they theoretically enjoy no different rights than ordinary people, they become the primary suspects in supernatural events. Furthermore, half-demons face numerous restrictions in their daily lives, with many high-end venues even posting signs prohibiting them—not because of discrimination, but rather for "safety reasons."

In fact, due to the huge unrest that had occurred earlier, many people were dissatisfied with the existence of half-demons. These people said that "half-demons should not have special privileges" and that they should be imprisoned or at least isolated from ordinary people.

The current coexistence is such a subtle peace.

As a result, a considerable number of people in the Wildfire organization are dissatisfied with the current "delicate peace". They believe that the society they want to fight for is not one that allows half-demons to continue to be discriminated against in such a blatant way.

And "this group of people" are not radicals like Yukinoshita Yukino.

“…What are we working so hard for?”

By the gurgling stream, Xiangzi pressed his hands against his face, gasping for breath.

Why, why hasn't the world changed?

Clearly, Wildfire has exposed the persecution of half-demons by various countries, so why are half-demons still the ones who get hurt?

Why is this happening?

Xiangzi tugged at her hair in frustration, the sound of the stream like noise in her ears. Peace? What kind of peace was this? Like leftovers from charity, tasteless to eat, a pity to discard. She thought back to the future Hakuno had so loudly proclaimed, a future where half-demons and humans were truly equal. That future had been so beautiful, so dazzling, so bewildering. And now? It was just discrimination in a different form.

"Huh, equality? I finally see the true colors of those politicians."

Xiangzi gave a self-deprecating laugh and reached out to play with the stream. The water splashed up, then quickly fell back, just like her current mood: after the excitement, only weakness remained. She even began to doubt the meaning of the wildfire. What was their struggle really all about?

Xiangzi walked aimlessly by the stream, feeling increasingly lost and lost. She began to doubt whether everything she had done was worth it, and felt lost about the direction of the future. She didn't know how to continue, or even if she could continue.

She staggered a few steps and leaned against a tree by the river.

A light sound of footsteps came from behind. Xiangzi turned around suddenly, her nerves tense, like a frightened animal. Only when she saw the person coming did she relax and her tense shoulders droop slightly.

"Nana?"

Xiangzi didn't expect to meet his former band member, Nana Ohba here.

Nana was wearing casual clothes, with her hair tied into two banana-shaped ponytails. She had a faint smile on her face and was holding a bag of snacks in her hand.

"Long time no see, Xiangzi."

Xiangzi forced a smile and said, "Yes, long time no see. Why are you here?"

She hadn't seen Xiangzi much since he and Bai Ye joined forces to found "Wildfire" seven years ago.

Nana walked over to her and sat down, opening the bag of snacks. "I was just passing by, I didn't expect to run into you. You seemed to be in a bad mood, what's wrong?"

Xiangzi sighed and poured out all the distress in his heart.

"We fought tooth and nail, and what did we get in the end? More blatant discrimination! They didn't even bother to cover it up!"

Xiangzi slapped the water hard, splashing water everywhere.

Nana listened quietly without interrupting her until she finished speaking, then handed her a bag of banana-flavored potato chips and said, "Eat something first."

Xiangzi didn't take the potato chips like he did when he was a student. Instead, he lowered his head and asked softly, "Nana, is what I do really meaningful?"

Taking back the bag she had just handed over, Nana took a bite of potato chips and said, "Xiangzi, I understand how you feel."

Nana spoke slowly, her voice as gentle as a feather brushing across water. "Over the past few years, I've toured with the troupe and seen many places. I've seen half-demons shivering in dark corners, and I've also seen half-demons smiling confidently in the sun. The world isn't as beautiful as you imagined, and discrimination still exists, but it's slowly getting better, isn't it?"

Nana continued, "Before, when we were on tour, we noticed that many places didn't allow hanyou to enter, or even get close to them. But now? Although there are still some restrictions, at least they can walk on the streets openly, enter some public places, and..."

"It can be discriminated against in a more 'civilized' way."

Xiangzi's tone was full of sarcasm.

Nana sighed helplessly, "Xiangzi, I know you feel bad, but think about it, if the wildfire hadn't exposed those dark things, what would the situation be like now? I'm afraid it would be worse than it is now, right?"

Xiangzi fell silent. It was not that she did not understand the truth, but the resentment and anger in her heart made her unable to calm down.

"But this is so far from what we originally envisioned... We've made so many sacrifices..."

As a prominent organization, Wildfire has been threatened by various countries on more than one occasion. Xiangzi herself has been attacked several times by the mysterious half-demon who manipulates fire. If it weren't for Yanami's help, she might have died long ago.

In fact, many people died.

Among Xiangzi's subordinates alone, more than ten people were killed... Was so much blood shed just for the society we have today?

"No, I can't accept it!"

Xiangzi staggered and stood up.

She knew it was a simulation.

This is just a "possible future", and the real her is still in her own bed before the night she made the decision.

but……

This is still a cause she fights for.

"We must continue to change, to make this society, to make those whose souls are bound by gravity..."

All of this is...

...for justice.

Xiangzi murmured, "In order for the half-demons to survive...we, we must continue to fight."