Chapter 409: Protecting the Love of All Living Beings (Part 1)
"I want to give you all the love in the world."
The aging king said to her.
"I hope you can love this world."
·
Subject No. 987 has almost no concept of growth.
From the moment she became conscious, she possessed a highly developed intellect, capable of naturally understanding complex concepts, deciphering the thoughts of others, and mastering advanced techniques. As far as living beings are concerned, she could almost be called a complete being.
The reason I say "almost" is because her body will continue to grow slowly, and her mind will also change with education. These changes in thinking are like a "diary" engraved in her mind, allowing her to clearly grasp how she is different today than she was yesterday.
Most human minds are like Theseus's ship, constantly changing, day and night replacing the old with the new. However, she could always reset her state using her journal. If she felt she had made a mistake in her progress today, she could simply go back to yesterday and start over. She shared this ability with the old man, who said it was proof that she was nearing perfection.
"You can recognize and correct your mistakes in time," the old man told her. "This is an extremely rare ability, because each of us makes mistakes all the time."
She understood, and then replied, "Then you are already making a mistake. You shouldn't be training killers in this way."
She knew she was a manufactured life, without ethical parents. The old man had a long production line, and each experimental subject was given a number, just like she was 987. The old man brought many teachers to teach her about weapons, fighting, and poison. She received a complete killer education—perhaps the best killer education in the world.
Yet, this education wasn't harsh, because everyone treated her very kindly. The instructors cared deeply about her well-being, and she could see genuine affection in their eyes. The old man never questioned her grades; he always took her to the movies, to the amusement park, to eat and drink, and strolled through the spring meadows. He bought her beautiful dresses and fairy tales, and told her innocent stories by the window.
These actions seemed meaningless to her. If the old man wanted to train a killer, he should instill obedience and discipline. It would be more efficient to let the killer become a pure machine.
"I think it's meaningless to train killers to be machines that only know how to kill," said the old man.
She tilted her head in confusion.
"It's true that a killer like that works quickly and effectively, but why does she act like that? Is it simply because she should obey orders? If the orders are wrong, or if she finds it all extremely boring, will she continue?"
"I don't think so," she said.
The old man nodded slowly. "I think so too... because I've seen so much. Lack of understanding leads to estrangement, estrangement breeds hatred, hatred drives tragedy, and finally the covenant is stained red with blood. A machine that doesn't know love is meaningless!"
He squatted down and touched the girl's head: "So, I want to give you all the love in the world. Our world is not perfect, but I hope you can love this world."
"I hope these beautiful memories can give you the motivation to protect it."
[Pointless]
She thought indifferently.
[It's just an old method used in ancient times to train assassins. Give love and wealth, in exchange for a deadly blade.]
But at the same time, her heart was slightly touched, because there was no falsehood in the old man's eyes. He needed to cultivate her, but he also loved her.
·
"I want you to observe as many people as possible."
At the end of her killer training, the instructors bestowed upon her a name that would be passed down through the generations. From then on, she was no longer Subject 987, but the "Dark Kingship" of the Blood Alliance.
Her first mission was to observe humanity. This mission was rather broad and vague, with no specific requirements. So, she left the base and journeyed to the small town at the foot of the mountain, observing the lives of the people there. She often spent her missions in hospitals, where she could see nearly every kind of person. She could witness the birth of babies and the passing of the dead, witnessing people's joy, sorrow, and anger.
The old man likely hoped she could use this opportunity to integrate into human society. He had specially prepared several prongs hidden throughout the town, ready to "accidentally" encounter her at any time. But these methods were too naive for Wang Quan; the old man hadn't yet realized the depth of the killer he had trained. She secretly hid, watching the prongs frantically whirling around like headless flies, her faces filled with anxiety, but she found no amusement nor any guilt.
Confused about her situation, Wang Quan continued to observe and noticed that a car accident was about to happen. She casually saved a child in the middle of the road, and the mother was filled with gratitude.
"It's great to have you here."
The woman cried and said to her.
"I don't know how to thank you. You're just... you're such an amazing person!"
She felt a sense of satisfaction, happiness, and the significance of the skills she had acquired.
No.
I don't feel anything.
She simply found herself untouched, perhaps because all humans were the same in her eyes. Beautiful, ugly, strong, fragile, none of them brought a "different" feeling. She could easily understand every human thought, and she could easily save or end a human life.
There is no difference between humans in her eyes.
All human beings are weak beings.
She looked at the woman weeping with gratitude and realized she felt exactly the same way the old man did. Her cold heart began to beat again, just as it had when the old man had named her. She could even go back to her "journal" and find the exact same emotions and heartbeat.
【Just like love】
Wang Quan realized the truth. She seemed to have no feelings for humans, she just liked their "love".
As her observation mission neared its end, she was still troubled by her conclusion. If she told the old man the truth, he would surely be deeply disappointed. A deeply disappointed person would find it difficult to give love again, and she didn't want to lose the old man's...family love.
So Wang Quan came up with a good idea. This method was very easy to implement and the effect was very good. The old man did not doubt her words and was so happy about her growth that he cried.
She said, I like all human beings.
This mission was meaningful because Wang Quan had learned a lesson from it: lies. Lies were the most effective tool in the world, offering immediate rewards without much effort. As long as she wove a well-crafted lie, she would continue to receive love.
As she thought about this, she sneered coldly in her heart.
[Use lies to get cheap love]
·
Wang Quan didn't know how the previous experimental subjects were treated, but at least she was quickly assigned to a formal mission. She began to turn to professional education, learning that she belonged to the "Blood Alliance" organization and that the old man was its king. The world not only existed as humans, but also impure "alien" beings, and her mission was to slay them.
This mission was somewhat difficult for Wang Quan, because she saw aliens and humans as the same, and she needed to kill with love. She didn't care about this - because killing had no effect on love. She could kill those she loved because she was born that way.
Even, feel happy about it.
[Keen in killing each other]
[Defining distorted love and enjoying cruelty]
When she realized this, she found it difficult to smile. But doing so would make the elderly sad and disappointed. She began to learn to adjust her expression and occasionally show the smile that people expected.
She won't be hurt by it, but she will get more love.
·
"How have you been lately?" the old man asked her.
"I'm in perfect condition in every way. Isn't it time to give me a more challenging mission? If I just deal with aliens, I won't even get hurt."
Perfect acting, a perfect smile, a touch of falsehood mixed in with 90% truth—that's the best way to weave a lie. When she practiced in front of the mirror, even she herself was convinced of the ease of the person in the mirror.
But this time, the lie seemed to have gone awry, for the old woman's brow furrowed. Sensing something strange, she adopted a naive yet cruel tone: "Please allow me to take on more missions targeting humans! I know this is the mainstream within the Blood Alliance!"
A foolish child who was excited about killing, with just the right amount of sadism, this was the mild abnormality that best suited her status. This way, the old man could rest assured, with a gentle scolding and appropriate teaching, his love would not be shaken.
The old man squatted down and hugged her gently.
"Son, I think you're tired."
For the first time since she regained consciousness, Wang Quan felt overwhelmed. Not because her disguise had been blown, but because the old man... the human being had suddenly become something she couldn't fully control. She had never experienced anything like this before; she could easily control everyone.
She heard the old man's gentle voice.
"If you feel tired, stop. If you feel depressed, go and rest. If you don't understand something, remember to discuss it with me. But don't keep everything in your heart, it will only make you suffer and it is meaningless."
"Why do you know this?" Wang Quan asked. "You shouldn't be able to see it."
“Because I love you,” the old man told her. “Even if you lie to me, I still love you.”
Her heart was filled with love, and even her indifferent self was silent. She told the old man the truth about her abnormality, the human beings in her eyes, and her feelings when she was carrying out the mission.
"I have no objection to killing. I should have killed them normally, just as I saved people normally. But I... felt happy."
"I felt a strong sense of pleasure and satisfaction when I broke their limbs, just like the children who tortured ants. I enjoyed this game, but at the same time I felt... disgusted."
She pressed her chest tightly, feeling the coldness spread from her heart to her blood.
"I feel disgusting."
The old man didn't sigh, but just hugged her tighter.
"Don't be afraid. This is proof that you are human. When you observe humans, you must understand that everyone has an ugly side, and you and I are no exception."
"Like me, like all living things in the world, we cannot correct our mistakes. But you can, child, you have the ability. When you overcome this nature, you will achieve true growth."
“But I don’t know how to change.”
"Child, I'm here." The old man looked at her kindly, "I will help you."
·
From that day on, Wang Quan's mission was temporarily suspended. She was allowed to enjoy her life, and the old man spent a lot of time reading ancient books, burying himself in the library, investigating the remaining test subjects, and occasionally assisting her with psychological tests.
She found her situation had stabilized—as long as it didn't involve killing or fighting, she could continue to play the human role perfectly. But she couldn't tell the old man this, because he needed a perfect killer. If she couldn't fight anymore, her existence would lose its meaning.
The old man's research seemed to have hit a bottleneck. He often sat alone in his study, gazing at the moon in the dark night. His research was too in-depth, and too many people were involved. Even though he was the king of the Blood Alliance, he could not truly and perfectly bury the secret.
Some instructor had leaked the news, and the other clan leaders of the Blood Alliance came to hold him accountable for the plan. The old man went alone to avoid attracting Wang Quan's interest, but he always underestimated Wang Quan's ability.
Wang Quan sneaked into the meeting place without any effort, saw the pale faces of the other family heads, and heard their angry voices.
"You are truly insane! How dare you use the flesh and blood of the fallen!"
"You are artificially creating heresy, and we are allies!"
(End of this chapter)
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