Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1497 - 7: “I Would Rather Be with Him and Make Mistakes.”
"I agree with you." Sique said calmly.
"Then, when are we leaving?" Boss Rabbit asked, unsurprised.
"I told you, once I’ve settled things here." Sique looked to the distant red sun: "No need to rush, I’ll leave with you sooner or later. Luowasha is too small to contain me."
...
When Yamada Machiichi woke up, he saw countless pairs of eyes.
"Sique, your sister is awake!" A girl with crystal-colored hair peeked around.
"Si Hua is awake!" A boy with red eyes exclaimed excitedly.
Sique lifted the curtain and walked in: "You all can leave now." Under Sique’s urging, more than ten people left the room in droves.
Yamada Machiichi recognized this as the Civilian Area, and he felt a lingering fear... Had he escaped? Did he really escape from Bai Qiu the executioner?
Sique sat down, stirring a spoon: "It’s seven in the morning now."
Outside the window, the morning sun sprinkled sparsely.
Sique slightly lowered his golden eyes: "Last night, on street thirteen of Casello District, one hundred and thirty-six civilians died. Only a dozen managed to escape through the underground passage secretly."
Yamada Machiichi was taken aback... Many of the people he encountered last night were dead? They did nothing wrong, yet they were brutally massacred.
"What does the Royal City say." Yamada Machiichi’s voice was hoarse.
Sique paused slightly, the spoon tapping against the bowl: "The Royal City says they’re investigating, but it’s clear that this is a massacre targeting the Creators. Those Silver-armored Knights are said to be subordinates of Council Vivian from the Nalan Court Scientific Faction."
"No! It was clearly Bai Qiu...!" Yamada Machiichi raised his voice: "It was that guy Bai Qiu who did it!"
Sique’s golden eyes stared at Yamada Machiichi:
"Sister."
"Bai Qiu is the favored contender of the Creator Contest, he naturally represents the Creator faction."
"If it’s confirmed that Bai Qiu orchestrated all this, the public’s outrage will be directed at the Creators. Missing this conference, who knows how long we’ll have to wait for Creation to become an equal concept with Science. The Creator Contest cannot have incidents, and the Creators cannot be blamed."
"Remember, this massacre is targeted at Creators. And the silver armor on the knights represents the scientific community."
Yamada Machiichi suddenly understood a lot, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness engulfing him.
"There have been such massacres before, but no one carried them out within the Royal City, heavily populated with powerful figures, as the Creator Conference was about to begin." Sique stirred his spoon:
"Bai Qiu... truly favored by the Demon Mother Goddess. His means are much harsher than mine. I tried to stop him, tried to have him adopt gentler methods, but I underestimated his resolve. He wants to brand Creators as ’Witches’, and their pursuers as ’executioners’."
"Do you know? Now, the voices outside mostly condemn the scientific community, blaming them for turning their blades against civilians, thinking their competitive methods have become venomous."
His voice bore neither praise nor condemnation, as if merely commenting on a trivial historical event.
Yamada Machiichi wanted to convince himself that this was a necessary sacrifice to push the era forward, yet he still couldn’t accept it, perhaps deep down, he was still a naive child.
"Among the dead last night was a childhood friend of yours named Lottie." Sique said:
"Sister, do you remember? She often accompanied you to the Mechanical Institute, loved steam, loved gears, loved everything about mechanics, but lacked aptitude in science, so she wanted to use words to depict such a story. She once told you, if you were determined to create an airship in the field of Science, then she would create one in the domain of Creation, until both flew into the Universe."
"However, last night, she died. I went to her home, only managing to retrieve this."
Sique took out a manuscript page soaked in blood, the words completely illegible.
... This is not the end. Yamada Machiichi suddenly had this thought. Bai Qiu would initiate another massacre, one without evidence, until the pressure overwhelmed the Scientific Faction’s council members.
In the executioner’s eyes, lives are merely levers for the balance of power.
"Report! We should report this!" Yamada Machiichi suddenly gripped Sique’s wrist: "Go report it to the Royal Family, the light-reverencing ’Dawn Knight’, or the justice-enforcing ’Interstellar Gallery’, or those who praise the Radiant Refulgence ’Divine Presence Hymn’, or even the order side’s ’All Living Beings United’, the pure ’Sanctuary Mountain’... surely one of these powers can use milder methods! Many people we know live in the Royal City, we can’t just watch them get caught in the massacre!"
Even Si Hua couldn’t accept something like this, I’m sticking to my character... Yamada Machiichi thought to himself.
Sique stared at him for a while, then suddenly said gently:
"... Yamada Machiichi?"
What?
Yamada Machiichi thought he heard wrong, but Sique quickly averted his gaze: "Fine, go ahead, there’s a whole day until the Creator Conference, maybe you really can save innocent civilians."
Yamada Machiichi immediately took action, intending to contact more forces.
Soon, he arrived at the Royal City by steam car, presented Si Hua’s Royal Engineer badge, and successfully met with two delegates from the Nalan Court.
In the reception room, a bearded, older man named Ocxi. A ponytailed woman, like the man’s junior, named Shu Rong.
Considering Bai Qiu’s identity as a Creator, Yamada Machiichi did not expose Bai Qiu as the mastermind but subtlely hinted at Bai Qiu and Xi Ting’s movements, hoping to restrict their actions.
"Rest assured, protecting innocent lives is the responsibility of the Nalan Court. We will investigate immediately and track the blonde woman you’ve mentioned." Shu Rong responded resolutely, seeming quite indignant, stomping her foot: "Such inhuman executioners, they must be brought to justice and judged fairly..."
The older Ocxi was much more silent but also made a promise: "A tall woman with golden hair and a delicate face... I seem to have an impression, the Nalan Court will investigate, thank you for the information, Miss Si Hua."
As Si Hua was Sique’s sister, she wasn’t questioned about the source of her information. Yamada Machiichi smoothly left the reception room, letting out a sigh of relief.
Next, he went to see Queen Aisudani, hoping she would track Bai Qiu’s whereabouts, and after receiving affirmative answers, Yamada Machiichi relaxed slightly.
He knew history couldn’t be changed, but whether adhering to his role or his conscience, he would act this way.
"Your Majesty, please keep a close eye on this guy, I’ll head back now." Yamada Machiichi saluted.
"Okay. I will pay attention to this Bai Qiu." The Queen smiled and nodded.
Yamada Machiichi turned, striding out of the luxurious room.
At that moment.
That moment.
Yamada Machiichi’s pupils suddenly contracted, his fingers clenching his robes.
On the scarlet carpet embroidered with peonies, between the golden candlesticks with carvings on both sides.
A man with white hair flowing and deep green eyes wearing golden glasses brushed past him. Behind the man, followed a tall woman with long blonde hair and a delicate face.
They entered Queen Aisudani’s room, and the Queen smiled appropriately.
Amidst the gradually closing doors, Yamada Machiichi saw them engaging in a lively conversation, with no lack of intimacy, raising their glasses to toast.
It was as if a thunderbolt struck Yamada Machiichi, he looked at the scene silently, as if he’d lost his voice.
"Si Hua." A girl with colorful hair stood silently in the shadow at some point, arms crossed, chuckling softly:
"In the joint selection for Royal High Level Engineer, there is a spot for a youth under twenty-five. I think you are very suitable, although your experience does not meet the standards. However, if you can show calmness in the face of big changes, like going home and quietly reading books for a few days..."
"This spot will be yours."
...
Lü Shu passed by Reflection Spirit.
The LCD screen protected by Soybean Man, Hammer Iron Man, and Meme Talker was showing the most popular live footage at the moment.
"——It’s the Knight from Council Vivian’s subordinates! It’s the [Hand of Chaos] behind him! It’s the leader Huizi of Hand of Chaos! It’s the eerily silent [Divine Presence Hymn]! It’s the Red Tower! Even more, it’s the scientific community!" A middle-aged man was howling while crying under the spotlight: "Why can Silver-armored Knights slaughter civilians in the Royal City unchecked! How many dark secrets are there... My proud Creator daughter, my son who just joined the army..."
In the man’s cries, it seemed that everyone overlooked one point: Clearly, everyone knew the Silver-armored Knights were Vivian’s subordinates, so why did Vivian make them wear silver armor.
Occasionally, some comments floated by to question this, but were quickly drowned out by larger volumes of text.
This was Lü Shu’s first time seeing Genesis standing at an opposing stance, as the history of Luowasha had always told him: Genesis was great, it was miraculous, a treasure, a gift from God, it was science oppressing Genesis, it was Sique in The Dark Forest who kindled the firelight, allowing Genesis to be accepted by people...
But now, through the man’s crying face, he saw the blood-soaked primitive accumulation, saw the generally dark crows, saw the brilliantly shining twin buildings.
"Lü Xingdong, what do you want to do in the future?" his partner suddenly asked him.
Lü Shu’s character name was "Lü Xingdong", a [Radiant Knight]. His partner was named Lü Shicheng, a childhood friend who currently worked for the [Nalan Court].
Lü Shu thought about the character setting, and answered, "I should continue to protect this place."
Lü Shicheng said: "Always like this? Every day the same life, only seeking stability, don’t you feel tired?"
Lü Shu said, "Stability is best."
Lü Shicheng laughed: "You’ve always been an exemplary student in others’ eyes since you were young... how nice, a life followed step by step, a solid and steady life. Less stress, high salary, and after retirement, you can enjoy the knight’s high pension..." He glanced at the middle-aged man sobbing on the screen, paused momentarily, and said slowly: "But people like me, always want to do things that follow the heart."
Lü Shu tilted his head: "What things?"
"Foolish things."
"Things following the heart are foolish?"
"This world wants people to go against their true heart, you should take a detour on a straight road, go straight on a winding road, whoever doesn’t comply, the world will teach them a lesson. When toes are completely worn flat, unable to turn the road, people become stable, the road smooths out too. Smart ones figured this out from the beginning, while fools like me keep making foolish mistakes again and again. Foolish things are, therefore, things following the heart."
"I don’t think so."
"You haven’t walked this path."
"What are you going to do?" Lü Shu asked.
Lü Shicheng took something out of his pocket.
Lü Shu focused his eyes, it was a piece of Silver Armor.
"You..." Lü Shu said, surprised.
"In the past, to prove to my parents that I was different from you, an exemplary student, I walked the winding paths... you protect the people in the Royal City, I infiltrate the darkness to protect the people." Lü Shicheng put the Silver Armor away quickly: "And now, I finally hold the truth... this time the executioner is named Bai Qiu."
"Bai Qiu..." Lü Shu chewed over the name, realizing what Lü Shicheng was going to do: "You’re choosing to side with science?"
"No." Lü Shicheng shook his head: "I choose to stand on the side of life, stand on the side of true heart."
"But you’ve surely killed a lot of people while infiltrating Bai Qiu’s side, your hands are already not clean. Even if you reveal the truth, you... you still won’t be let off." Lü Shu was very aware of how those in power discard those who cross the river.
But Lü Shicheng laughed:
"That’s why I came to see you today."
"Though you are an annoying exemplary student, one I’ve never liked since we were young. Yet you are the most loyal, the most trustworthy one."
"If I die in humiliation, without anyone knowing the burden I carried, it would be too tragic. So before I go, I tell you these things, in case I can’t make it out... at least you’ll remember me."
Lü Shu was silent, not knowing what to advise, and there was no place for advice.
This was a fool doing foolish things.
This was an honest heart doing honest work.
He heard Lü Shicheng come closer and whisper in his ear:
"Actually, before I did foolish things, I did smart ones. For example, enduring hardships for twelve years, just to get into the Royal City’s secretary post, living a life worry-free."
"You know, I even sat in the Nalan Court office for a while, my job was to read the emails sent by the people at the bottom, most of which were the world’s injustice, inequity, and unfairness. They pleaded, they cried, their anger surged through the words, their tears wet my screen."
"And my task, was not to solve their difficulties, but to make a perfunctory reply after reading, then throw their letters into the recycle bin, never to look a second time."
"Actually, those above don’t care how many people at the bottom will die to promote a cause. Last night’s hundred-plus civilians were like ants... every day, industrial workers die from tuberculosis numbers that are dozens of times this! But those above would rather invest in new era heavy-duty computers than pay attention to these inexpensive human costs, because their life is cheaper than a component of a computer."
"As long as Genesis is successfully promoted, maybe cancer can be solved by chemical components written in words. Compared to the millions who will die from cancer... what does the number a hundred count as?"
"So, stopping the slaughter, is it a smart thing, or a foolish thing?"
"I want to report Bai Qiu, am I a wise person, or a foolish one?"
"Lü Xingdong."
"Are we saving those who currently might die under the blade,"
Lü Shicheng gently tapped his chest:
"...or are we stifling those who may die because of this later?"
Lü Shu stared, lips slightly apart, without an answer.
Lü Shicheng let out a carefree smile, waved to him briefly, and casually turned away, heading towards the tallest tower in the Royal City. There was the Red Tower’s complaint office, slender as a feather of a white pigeon.
Would this be Lü Shu’s last glimpse of him?
After the figure of the young man with white hair had completely disappeared, Lü Shu raised his head.
He saw today’s Red Tower,
the sky was clear, the blue was washed clean.
...
