Chapter 175 Cutting the Reality of Demonic Reality 3
It must have been an unpleasant experience to have someone grab your heart and ask you questions, and this senior researcher was probably also suffering from excessive blood loss, with his body temperature dropping lower and lower.
However, under the coercive force of the black rope heart-locking ring, he still had to move his lips and desperately pull out the information he knew.
“After summoning the ‘Doctor’ clone, Ying Lingyun transferred the position of the highest authority to him, while he himself went to the outside world and frequently created so-called monsters… ‘Monsters’ is what he calls them, while we internally call them modified humans,” the senior researcher said with difficulty.
“I heard that the purpose of your Humanitarian Division is to create extraordinary warriors who are completely obedient to mortal society, but now you are allowing Ying Lingyun to spread the seeds of the heart in society and create monsters who slaughter the weak. Isn’t this putting the cart before the horse?” I asked.
"The Humanitarian Affairs Department's activities require massive financial support, and we must produce results sufficient to justify the government's funding. To this end, we need to proactively use cyborgs to create bizarre events in society, draw out the unpredictable beings of Luoshan, and confront them, so that the government can see the prospects of the cyborg program. At the same time, it also serves to collect data for our subsequent research." He said expressionlessly, "As for how many ordinary people die in the process, the government doesn't care. They are only concerned with maintaining the power they hold."
"Who is the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau's backer?" I asked.
"...People at my level are not qualified to inquire about that kind of information, but most of us suspect that they are important figures in this country, those with high positions of power and super-rich...and there may also be some foreign government and capitalist forces among them," he said.
In other words, the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau may be backed by the ruling class, which is in a precarious position after the "Fantian Incident".
In the past, many local dignitaries in Saltwater City were killed by the Shadow Changer. However, in the eyes of the ruling class, which is powerful enough to be the backer of the Humanitarian Department, those so-called dignitaries were probably no different from ordinary citizens.
Although these are all speculations from senior researchers, they are indeed reasonable.
"Serving those rulers who disregard human life... are you really willing to do it? Judging from your conversation with Dr. Silver Mask last time, you weren't initially a ruthless mad scientist, but were forced to do so by Ying Lingyun, right? But it seems you're already enjoying it now?"
I'm not asking this to make any moral judgments about him; I'm just curious about his journey as a researcher.
"Enjoy it? How could I!" he sneered. "I admit, Ying Lingyun has something on me. If I don't obey, it won't just be me who suffers, but also my wife, children, and parents... But even without that leverage, I would still take the initiative to join this work."
"Once Luo Shan overturns the social order and seizes the power to rule the country, the social values will be turned upside down. What will become of us ordinary people? Even someone like me, who has worked hard to become a scientist, is destined to lose his current status and rights, let alone others."
"Whether one can wield magical power—this single criterion is enough to distinguish people's social status in that terrible society. I don't want to be categorized as a lowly commoner along with my parents, wife, and children, or even as a slave."
"...No, compared to the 'worst future,' that's still a 'relatively good future'...In short, once the ruling order of the Witchers is established, ordinary people will have no possibility of resistance whatsoever. It will be absolute rule, lasting until the moment humanity perishes."
"Absolute power breeds so much corruption and terror that a child like you, who hasn't read many history books, simply cannot imagine..."
As he spoke, he seemed to recall countless terrifying scenes, and his expression turned trembling.
I think even in the Witcher community, a scientist like him with extensive knowledge might not necessarily be categorized as a "lowly commoner" or even a "slave," but most of what he said makes sense.
The ruling class in Luoshan hopes that demon hunters will integrate into society, but transcendentalists like Lu Youxun believe that they will eventually embark on the path of "enslaving mortals." Transcendentalists, on the other hand, regard mortals as "worthless weeds that have no value even in enslavement." Although Lu Youxun claims that "doing so is actually better for mortals," I cannot believe that the future will really be as peaceful as he describes.
However, there is one point that neither Lu Youxun, nor I, nor even Zhu Shi can deny: in this world where the demon hunter community exists, the replacement of the ruling order of mortals is a historical inevitability. Rather, it is more accurate to say that the history up to this point is rather strange, a history distorted by the "divine seal," a thing of unknown origin.
Even if the Humanitarian Division were to develop demon-hunting powers that ordinary people could use for its backers, I still find it hard to believe that "the lives of ordinary people will actually get better." The facts have already proven that the Humanitarian Division's backers simply don't care about the lives of ordinary people.
"Terrifying absolute power" may not only originate from Luoshan, but may also originate from among them.
"For this, you're willing to stain your hands with the blood of innocents and commit countless crimes against your conscience?" I asked. "Your experimental subjects include not only demon hunters, but also ordinary people, even pregnant women and infants, right?"
“You don’t understand. Luoshan could start a war at any time right now. It wouldn’t be surprising if it were a month later, a week later… or even a day later,” the senior researcher said. “We don’t have time anymore. We have to race against time to produce results and create cyborgs that can rival the Great Impermanence. But that doctor… even he himself has attacked so-called ‘innocent ordinary people,’ yet he’s still agonizing over whether they’re children or not!”
Towards the end, he became gritted-teeth.
To create a monster comparable to the Great Impermanence is truly an extraordinary dream. In other words, they want to create a "god".
However, considering that Chenlong, who was at the peak level in the past, was likely elevated to the Great Perfection level through monster-transformation technology, this dream might not be entirely unrealistic. If they could actually achieve it, they might actually be qualified to sit at the negotiating table in Luoshan.
The problem lies in this "monsterization technology"—this shouldn't be a technology that exists in this era.
"Where did your monster-transformation technology come from?" I asked.
"...That was also brought out by Silver Mask. The reason he was able to become one of the highest decision-makers in the Humanitarian Affairs Department is because of this contribution," the senior researcher said. "He can summon self clones that symbolize different possibilities... Perhaps among them is 'the self that becomes a scientist and invents technology to modify humans'."
it's out of the question.
The technology of transforming people into monsters bears clear traces of the apocalyptic era. No matter how rich a person's potential is, it is based on their past life, not on the future.
Could it be that Ying Lingyun has a secret channel to access the post-apocalyptic era?
I continued with the question that concerned me: "Is Ying Lingyun currently inside this base?"
“No, he’s not here,” the senior researcher said. “He did come back once a week ago, but he was in very poor condition. It seemed he had suffered a fatal injury somewhere and spent several days recovering using the facility’s medical equipment before waking up.”
"After waking up, he seemed to give an order to Chenlong, and then left the stronghold in a hurry after only half of his injuries had been treated. I don't know what kind of work he went to do. Chenlong also temporarily left the stronghold and then brought someone back from outside."
Hearing the rest, I couldn't help but tighten my grip on his heart with my right hand, and he looked pained again.
"Arrested? Who was arrested?" I pressed. "Where is that person being held?"
“…I don’t know him, I only know he’s a young man around college age,” he answered with difficulty. “We are forbidden from asking him anything. We don’t even know if he’s still inside this base.”
The young man who was captured by Chenlong could only think of Chang'an.
As for the senior researcher's statement about "Ying Lingyun suffering a fatal injury a week ago," it clearly refers to the incident where I destroyed Ying Lingyun's consciousness network. He did not die, but he was still greatly harmed.
Why did he immediately order Chenlong to kidnap Chang'an after waking up? And why did he leave this place despite his serious injuries?
Is this related to his wish to "revive the Silver Moon"?
"Does this alternate dimension have an entrance or exit? How do you enter and exit this place?" I asked.
“Only Ying Lingyun and Chen Long have the authority to enter and leave this place. We researchers and the guards are like the test subjects; we can neither leave nor inquire about entry and exit,” the senior researcher said. “However, we can submit an application to the doctor, specifying the materials and types of test subjects we want… The latter usually won’t approve it, so I originally planned to apply to Silver Mask himself, but he left quickly…”
I then asked him another question, this time wanting to confirm the discrepancy between "his view of the stronghold" and "my view of the stronghold".
Before I could get the truth out of them, several hurried footsteps suddenly came from the corridor outside, rapidly approaching.
I had a bad feeling, so I pulled him back and summoned the Heretic Impermanence Sword again.
He, however, wore a gloating expression.
“Too late… We researchers all carry devices that monitor vital signs at all times, and an alarm will be triggered if we die. My vital signs have dropped to the point of being critical, which will attract the guards to come and check.” He said sarcastically, his face weak. “Although I don’t know how you brought the Impermanence Sword in, you are destined to have no way to escape now.”
He had barely finished speaking when the iron door to the cell was violently kicked open from the outside.
(End of this chapter)
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