Chapter 122 Soul-Searching Torture (Part Two)

When Scotland saw the first meal delivered today, she had a momentary daze: Look at this celery juice, look at this carrot! Is this some kind of nutritious rabbit meal I designed for Qizai?

He had been interrogated for quite a while and was inevitably a little thirsty. He picked up the celery juice and drank it all in one gulp: "This tastes really good! Is it made with honey or something? It tastes a bit sweet."

"As expected of a food blogger, you guessed it right away." Osiris's voice floated down from the ceiling.

Scotland takes a rare moment of rest and enjoys a delicious vegetarian meal. Little does he know, the young detective downstairs is also drinking the same celery juice.

After Scotland finished eating, the interrogation continued.

"Scotland, you just asked me what my ideal is? I can answer that question, but you must first tell me: what is your ideal?"

Scotland smiled slightly, as if a little embarrassed, and said, "To be honest, I think you are a very ambitious person. But I am not a person with great ambitions, and I really don't have any ideals. If I had to say, I would like to have a happy family."

"But as far as I know, your family of origin was quite unfortunate."

“Yes, so I hope other families don’t suffer the same misfortune as ours. Parents have a deep bond, siblings help and love each other, and the whole family is happy and harmonious, enjoying the joys of family life. That’s good enough.” Scotland said, a warm smile appearing on her face.

"Everyone else is living a happy life, so what about you?"

"Me? I'll be content as long as I silently protect them."

However, Osiris was clearly unmoved by this heartfelt confession, and he asked, "Scotland, how did you protect those people?"

"As you can see, I work for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Public Security Bureau, and my job is to protect the safety of the people."

"This is quite different from your ideal, isn't it?"

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Children's wishes are innocent and lovely, but the price to pay for them is unimaginable. Your ideals may sound simple, but the issues involved are far too complex."

"First of all, the prerequisite for a happy and fulfilling family is to have a complete family. Even the simplest family structure requires two people. Generally speaking, it is a couple, which involves the issue of marriage for young people of marriageable age."

"Furthermore, if the couple has children, they will have to spend a lot of time and energy on their education in order for the children to grow up happily. In order for every child to receive a good enough education, this involves the issue of the allocation of educational resources."

"Education is only one aspect; birth, aging, illness, and death are all part of human nature. This involves the medical system, welfare system, and so on, all of which are based on economic support. Therefore, your ideal is not a simple family issue or a public safety issue, but an extremely complex social and livelihood issue."

After delivering his lengthy speech, O'Shea concluded: "If you really want every family to be happy and harmonious, you should run for prime minister, or at the very least enter politics and exert your influence, instead of running to the Ministry of Public Security to become a policeman!"

Scotland was deeply shocked after hearing this speech: "Thank you for your advice, but I have limited personal abilities and do not feel that I am suited for politics."

"How will you know if you don't try? Besides, I think you have a lot of potential."

Scotland never expected that his arrival would not result in the severe torture he had anticipated; in fact, the conversation gradually veered towards career planning!

"With the miracle of being resurrected twice, many people would be willing to follow you and become your believers, right?"

"It's not good to publicize this kind of thing, or people might think I'm crazy."

"With a little packaging, why worry about anyone not believing? Human nature cannot resist the power of miracles; they will all submit to you and worship you!"

"Can you do that too?"

Osiris answered bluntly, "No, but I'm curious: how did you do it?"

"I am also looking for the real answer."

"Huh? What does death taste like?"

“It was very cold, everything seemed to be frozen,” Scotland recalled.

Osiris paused for a moment, then said, "Scotland, you say your job is to ensure the safety of the nation. What if I told you that I am not a security threat?"

"Based on my understanding of you, the organization has indeed brought many destabilizing factors to social order."

Osiris laughed: "Is that so? Now that you've answered my question, let me tell you my ideal! Simply put, I want to create a better world—a more advanced, more civilized, and more intelligent one. Do you still see me as a security threat then?"

Scotland was stunned by these words: Taro Ibe said, "I have served my country diligently for more than 20 years and have no regrets," while Osiris said, "My ideal is to build a better world."

"Are all villains these days so eloquent?"

What saddened and frustrated him most was that, unlike those criminals who were deeply tormented by their conscience, people like Osiris didn't think they had done anything wrong at all, and his tone made it seem as if the organization was the one who held the truth.

Scotland feels that its perception seems to be a little off: What is wrong with the world?

"Scotland, it seems you don't believe me at all?"

"Forgive me for speaking frankly, but I simply cannot reconcile your actions over the years with your sincere vision."

"I think the fundamental difference between us lies in what truly constitutes 'good.' There's never just one standard for good and evil, is there?"

"So what is your ideal world like?"

"As I said, we need to be more intelligent and more civilized."

"You want to improve the education level of the population?"

"Admittedly, education can solve a small part of the problem, but it's still far from my ultimate goal. Why don't we talk about some things in real life first? Take the people around you as an example. Last year, there was a bombing case. One of your police academy classmates, Kenji Hagiwara, was cyberbullied. You should still remember that, right?"

Scotland, puzzled as to why Osiris would suddenly bring this up, honestly replied, "I remember."

"After the case was closed, the police reported that Hagiwara had perfectly resolved the bomb disposal issue. But that's not the case, is it? Apparently, he was working in the archives that day; it's impossible for him to have been at the scene defusing the bomb, is it?"

"Hagiwara was commanding remotely."

"That's not what the police said. Don't you think that's deception?"

"The case was indeed solved by the police, and Hagiwara deserves a lot of credit. It's not a big deal to write it like that, is it?"

"What a harmless statement! Did the police really solve all the problems? What did Conan do?"

Scotland was startled, realizing she had underestimated Osiris's intelligence network: "Conan certainly helped, but we..."

“We can’t reveal that a 7-year-old child helped the police. Otherwise, the public will think that all the police are useless. That’s what you think, right?”

Scotland was speechless, partly because of this, and partly because they didn't want to reveal Conan's identity and attract the organization's attention. However, in this case, half of it was enough.

O'Shea stated in a serious tone: "In this world, those who hold the power and are more influential always consider themselves superior. They forbid the weaker party from doing this or that, using all sorts of excuses to deceive and mislead. Ultimately, their rhetoric is always, 'I'm doing this for your own good.' Parents forbidding their children from playing games, employers encouraging employees to work overtime, and police selectively issuing announcements are all for the sake of public order. Scotland, do you agree with this?"

“I admit that the police withheld some information, but our intentions were good. Many times, we just can’t disclose all the details to the public, as this could cause confusion and panic.”

"So you're tacitly admitting it! But why can't people have the right to know the truth? You've trapped ordinary people in an elaborately woven cocoon, taking credit for others' achievements to glorify yourselves, creating a false image of peace and prosperity. Is this what you call an excellent police force protecting national security?" Osiris sneered.

"This is just one example; you can't generalize from it!"

“Very good, Scotland, you’ve finally hit the nail on the head. You must have seen plenty of people who generalize from limited experience, right? Many people who are hostile to the police are often because they had some unpleasant experience with the police in the past, which leads to prejudice against the entire group.”

"Yes." Just like the hatred that Yuuki's father and the brother and sister who kidnapped Yosuke and Ai harbored towards the police.

"Although internet technology is becoming more and more advanced, and people seem to be able to learn a lot from the internet, the information they have is not necessarily true and accurate. People who lack judgment are easily misled by opaque information. Once someone stirs up trouble, driven by herd mentality, they become puppets to be manipulated. In this era, the speed of rumor spread has greatly accelerated."

"That's right. However, I don't understand what you're trying to illustrate with this example."

"Cognitive limitations are the breeding ground for all human prejudices and folly, and the root cause of threats to social security. The crimes committed and the harm caused by people stem from a lack of understanding between them."

Scotland thought about it carefully and said, "I admit that you have a point. However, the reality is that humans cannot break through the limitations of their own cognition. We can get closer by deepening communication and exchanges. But we can hardly even understand ourselves. Even the closest friends cannot truly empathize with each other, let alone overcome the huge cognitive barriers caused by differences in cultural background, life experience, and religious beliefs."

"What if I said I could solve all of this? When every individual on Earth can better understand themselves, others, and the world, the level of civilization in society will inevitably improve dramatically, won't it?"

Scotland couldn't tell whether O'Sirius's tone was condescending arrogance or unreserved sincerity. He tried with difficulty to understand him: "You're saying that all living things on Earth can understand each other better? Isn't that a bit... well, take this glass of celery juice in front of me, for example. In your ideal society, humans can feel the pain of celery being crushed to pieces, and celery can also experience the pleasure of humans drinking it?"

"Haha, Scotland, you really know how to get to the point! But breaking down the cognitive barriers between species is a more complex issue, so let's not talk about it today."

"What do you mean? You've actually considered this?!"

“Scotland, I have gained some new insights into you through this conversation.”

"Me too."

"Oh? Tell me about it?"

"My family of origin was unfortunate, and yours wasn't happy either, was it? I think your mother didn't love you: she wouldn't let you play games, she never comforted you or wiped your nose when you cried, and she strictly restricted your diet. But she probably never cooked for you, right? Because in your conversation just now, your mother wasn't portrayed as a very positive figure. And I suspect your mother was very strict about homework. Was your insistence on Yuuki finishing his homework due to a sense of revenge or resentment?"

"Just like a little kid."

Osiris said calmly, "Well, it seems you know me quite well. But actually, I don't know you that well yet. There's still a crucial piece missing before I can truly know who you are."

Scotland's heart was in his throat, and he prayed frantically that Zero would be safe and sound.

However, things did not go as planned.

Osiris's haunting voice pierced to the bone: "Scotland, I'm so curious, what kind of twisted relationship exists between you two?"

Scotland looked up and saw a face that was all too familiar on the wall screen: "Zero, how did you get locked up too?!"