Chapter 357: Friendship as Indifferent as a Phantom (2)
"Good sir, please buy me a bouquet of flowers!" The blind girl chased the car pitifully.
Chu Hengkong rolled down the car window and reached out to ruffle the blind girl's hair into a mess: "I really admire your perseverance... Damn, there are lice in your wig!"
"The value of disguise lies in authenticity."
The blind girl ripped off her blindfold, revealing Wang Quan's lewd eyes. She, or he, slipped through the car window like a cat, passed Chu Hengkong, and sat down on the passenger seat. Chu Hengkong waved his hands repeatedly, "Get out of the way! This is my boss's seat."
"He's fussy about even a seat, and values women over friends."
Wang Quan took off his wig and transformed back into the image of a handsome white-haired boy. This seemed to be one of his favorite disguises. When he spoke in this image, he often wore a self-righteous smile, making people want to punch his handsome face.
Chu Hengkong rolled his eyes: "You have a lot of free time, don't you? You don't do anything all day long but just sit here and disgust me?"
"Unfortunately, my workload is much greater than yours. I'm currently on a mission," Wang Quan said. "That mission is to observe you. So I need to interact with you regularly, observing your reactions in various scenarios and trying to understand your thinking. One day, I'll understand you thoroughly and be able to completely simulate your thinking. Only then will I be considered a successful apprentice."
Its tone was like that of a medical professor explaining how to dissect a mouse, treating humans as materials rather than living beings. The natural indifference it exuded could send shivers down the spines of sensitive people, but Chu Hengkong showed no reaction at all, like a student sleeping in anatomy class.
"How much have you learned?" He sneered.
"Four points... maybe three?" Wang Quan hesitated. "It's really hard to imitate you. You look like a simple person, but I can never figure out what's going on in your head. You have no goals, no persistence, no meaning. You're like a lonely black hole. No one can imitate a black hole, right?"
It glanced at Chu Hengkong and asked, "What exactly are you pursuing? What is most important to you?"
"No one can imitate me." Chu Hengkong said disdainfully.
"Maybe I should change my mindset and start by imitating the people around you?"
Wang Quan cleared his throat, using his most familiar voice, and casually snatched the cigarette from his hand: "Akong, this is your fifth cigarette today. It turns out that you completely ignored my instructions."
Chu Hengkong laughed heartily. After all, the imitation was so convincing that with eyes closed, it would have been easy to mistake it for the boss nagging at him. He snatched the cigarette back and lit it, then suddenly said in a deep voice, "You are not allowed to pretend to be Velvet, or I will start a war."
"You are really strict with your friends!" Wang Quan sighed hypocritically, rolled down the car window and floated out.
Chu Hengkong subconsciously braked and glanced over. He was driving on an overpass, and jumping out of the car at this speed could easily cause an accident. But there was no tragic sight of someone falling from the bridge, nor was there any smell of blood. A breeze passed through the angry horns, like someone's evil laughter.
He felt relieved and rushed forward with his foot on the accelerator. At this moment, he realized that he really regarded Wang Quan as a friend.
·
They had never been through life and death together, so there was no deep affection between them; they had known each other for a very short time, and the longest time they had spent alone together was when he first brought the box containing Wang Quan; their communication was full of meaningless responses, with Wang Quan throwing lies at him and he rarely responding.
There is no relationship between these two people, but Chu Hengkong has to admit that he likes getting along with Wang Quan.
Because this person is strong enough.
When interacting with anyone around him, even Velvet, he had to be restrained, reserved, and bound by invisible shackles. Because their power was not on the same level, his slightest exaggerated movement would bring pain or even death to the other person.
But Wang Quan was incredibly strong. Both his technique and physical prowess were top-notch. Even without his masterful camouflage, he was still a world-class martial arts expert. Communicating with such a man was effortless. He could pat his shoulders, pinch his head, even playfully massage him like a normal person. He knew Wang Quan wouldn't get hurt. Like him, he didn't mind these little tricks. He could even fight him in a serious fight.
They could exchange meaningless gossip while clashing with daggers, could use deadly assassinations instead of greetings, they didn't care, they lived in the same world. Many times they exchanged martial arts during casual conversations, sharing their views on certain moves and styles. He learned the secrets of many joint techniques, and in return he taught Wang Quan how to harness the power in his bones.
They could talk about the mission, the details of the mission, and jokes about the aliens. He couldn't mention these things when communicating with his younger brothers, because they were all afraid of the aliens, and when they did, they would just brag about his strength. But he didn't want bragging, he wanted...
Ordinary communication.
"Last month, I went to deal with a group of cultists. Their faces were covered in eyeballs and scales. I didn't want to get close to them." Wang Quan made a disgusting gesture. "So I put one hand on its back and said I was an ophthalmologist doing a free clinic. Would you like to give me a ride?"
"Are you a weasel?" Chu Hengkong laughed.
"That cultist screamed 'Ah!' and I twisted its neck. I saw dozens of eyes staring at me in the room..." Wang Quan said seriously, "Then I apologized to them because I realized I forgot to bring eye drops."
Chu Hengkong covered his forehead and laughed, like an ordinary American high school student. After laughing, he commented: "Bad joke."
"I'm serious." Wang Quan spread his hands. "After the mission, I led scientists to dissect those cultists. The report said that their existence may be even more ancient than that of modern humans."
"It means your boss should fire these amateur scientists."
"Who knows if it's true?" Wang Quan shrugged. "All aliens have their origins. Don't you think they all have some seemingly similarities? Like those who worship the sea, those who worship the fog, those who worship the moon... Perhaps one day we will discover that they are the true form of life, and we are aliens born on this planet, who think they are the primates and violently drive out other life forms."
"Then when the Dinosaur Empire revives, surrender and I will kill you, the traitor, for the Blood Alliance."
"I don't want to. I will drive the GaiX robot and fight on the front line against the dinosaurs."
Chu Hengkong was surprised: "You are still reading such old comics."
"I'm not watching, you're watching." Wang Quan said lazily, "Have you forgotten that I'm imitating you? I've read all the works and games you like. I'm the person who knows you best in the world."
Chu Hengkong raised his eyebrows: "What am I thinking about now?"
"You're wondering what kind of reward the Blood Alliance King gave me to make someone like me obey his orders."
"You guessed right this time."
Wang Quan smiled triumphantly. The night was clear, and moonlight gently streamed down the river. He leaned against the stone bridge railing, his dark eyes reflecting the white moon.
"The answer is 'no', no pay."
"You're so kind to volunteer."
"This is necessary work," Wang Quan said. "Chu Hengkong, have you ever considered the significance of your work?"
This issue is Chu Hengkong's advantage area, he has always been a person who is obsessed with meaning.
"It's about protecting my boss's house and getting rid of those weirdos so they don't scare the kids."
"You used a very interesting metaphor!" Wang Quan's eyes sparkled. "Scaring the children. You're absolutely right. Our job is to protect children!"
Chu Hengkong was stunned for a moment. He had only casually told a joke, but Wang Quan seemed to agree. He turned and looked under the bridge, pointing at the tourists on the boat under the moonlight.
"Look. Those people under our feet, do you think they are happy?"
"They're doing well."
"But they don't see it that way," Wang Quan said. "They feel life is too difficult, too stressful. They worry about mortgages, car loans, their children's education, family conflicts, careers with no clear future, and their aging parents. The vast majority believe their lives are far from peaceful and happy, and they harbor a lot of complaints in their hearts.
Yet, in our eyes, their lives are so blissful, free from fighting, death-defying struggles, and the need to live or die. They have never seen truly terrifying things—pagans, werewolves, dark wizards, and so on. Their ignorance allows them to enjoy harmless troubles.
Wang Quan looked at him and whispered, "Suppose one day, the aliens and the blood alliance were exposed to the public, would they still be able to be so happy?"
Chu Hengkong had pondered this question long ago, and he suspected that every member of the Blood Alliance had pondered similar questions. Is it a good thing to allow the public to face the truth? Will allowing the forces of the sun to participate in the campaign to eradicate the alien make the world a better place?
"impossible."
The Blood Alliance possesses experience, capability, the constraints of a covenant, and thousands of years of inherited discipline, but the masses lack these. Naturally, some powers will consider studying the aliens. Naturally, oligarchs will view them as resources. In this process, the public will be infiltrated by the aliens, just as those Blood Alliance traitors who chose to worship the evil god during their long missions. And many more will panic, fear, and become restless because of the aliens.
They will discover that the world is not a peaceful continent, but an isolated island surrounded by the unknown.
"That's why our work is so important." Wang Quan smiled. "We ensure that humans live in the unknown, just like a parent placing a child in a cradle. They don't need to know crazy knowledge, nor do they need to face bloody battles. They can enjoy the luxury of worry in ignorance."
"This is love, Chu Hengkong, unconditional love. The Blood Alliance must exist because we protect humanity's childhood."
Even if Velvet were here, she would admit that this theory was correct. But for some reason, Chu Hengkong retorted, "Children will eventually grow up."
"That means the Blood Alliance's mission has failed!" Wang Quan chuckled darkly and turned around. "So I won't let that happen. Humanity will finally enjoy happiness in its cradle."
·
For nearly a year after that, Chu Hengkong's social life had returned to its former pathetic state. Apart from arguing with his younger brothers and occasionally fighting with Bai Lang, he hadn't seen Wang Quan again.
Perhaps his mission to observe him had failed, and the creature had decided it was no longer a waste of time if he couldn't imitate him. More likely, Wang Quan had lost interest in him and turned his attention to observing other peculiar human beings. He felt the latter was more likely, as Wang Quan was more like a monster than a human. Monsters in stories were always fickle and capricious, adoring something to the point of madness when they liked it, but discarding it once they lost interest.
With Wang Quan's disappearance, the boss's interest in him piqued. She began collecting information on children who had gone missing 15 to 20 years prior, meticulously investigating every orphanage she could find and the illegitimate children of wealthy men who had vanished without a trace. Chu Hengkong remained silent until one day, when the boss produced a stack of printed paper and asked which child he thought was most likely Wang Quan.
He folded the papers and set them aside. "Trust me, Boss, this trick won't work. It can't possibly leave any records of its own. It's probably just a test-tube baby cultivated in a secret room by some assassin organization in the Blood Alliance. It's probably been genetically modified. It has no ID card, no household registration, no trace of the surface world. Nothing at all."
Velvet refused to give up. “What’s your reason?”
"Any normal person wouldn't come up with that childhood theory," Chu Hengkong said. "It thinks it's something other than human, a faceless protector above all living beings. No one with a normal life experience would think that way. I can only assume that it's been subjected to the Blood Alliance's ridiculous cradle education since birth, which has led it to believe it's a dark hero contributing to human society."
Velvet stared at him speechlessly. Chu Hengkong frowned and said, "I'm not that kind of person."
"In the eyes of many, you and Wang Quan are the same kind of people. Powerful, alienated, and incomprehensible."
"I have no responsibility to humans," he said with a grin. "I only have responsibility to you."
Velvet ignored him. This girl was becoming increasingly difficult to amuse.
(End of this chapter)
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