Chapter 74 Making Ice from Boiled Water (12)
The game once gave a hint—what the crow represents—but Shu Ningmiao still hasn't figured it out.
Now there is a live crow in front of her.
If the "crow" really is a crow, then it conveys a direct message.
However, the system prompts that even avoid using certain fonts have always conveyed indirect information, so "crow" definitely does not refer to a crow in the literal sense.
Ancient Pinhic primers are usually excerpted from ancient myths, which Shu Ningmiao is quite familiar with. She also knows that in mythology, ravens usually symbolize wisdom and thought, and signify the eyes, ears, hands, and feet of the gods.
She noticed the crow in the corner the first time she entered Weston's office.
The raven had a ribbon tied to its leg with words of congratulation written in Old Pinhian, leading her to conclude that it was a gift from someone to Weston.
But why would someone specifically give Weston such a gift? Ordinary people would never consider giving a crow as a gift.
This relates to the imagery in the mythology, as Weston was a substitute teacher of Old Pinhian and was also known for his sharp mind.
As a symbol of "wisdom," the raven was a carefully chosen and appropriate gift—although Weston himself didn't seem to like it very much.
She paused, wondering if the "raven" the game was telling her to find was a metaphor for Weston.
The archive is related to the Crimson Stone, while the other two Crimson Stones are clearly related to Weston.
If she starts with Weston, she might be able to find the whereabouts of the other two stones.
The hint about "crows" is not a clue, but a positive suggestion.
Weston urged her, "Why aren't you leaving yet? Do you want me to personally see you off?"
Shu Ningmiao glanced back at him, then decisively closed the door.
She leaned against the door for a long time without moving, silently gazing at the stairs in deep thought.
How can she get Weston to help her?
She couldn't just be honest; she couldn't explain to Weston what she needed the Crimson Palace Stone for. Even if she did explain it to him, Weston would have no reason to help her.
Or... how about we use the same trick again, and use [lust] to put him into a [submission] state?
No, Weston and Rennagi are different; their levels of vigilance are completely different.
The man before her was Pinheis's most renowned genius, an adult man quite familiar with Pandora. She was unaware of Weston's abilities and could not guarantee that she could apply the buff to Weston without him noticing.
If Weston discovers something amiss, it will be troublesome; he will definitely investigate thoroughly.
Shu Ningmiao temporarily abandoned this idea and decided to start by inquiring about Weston's superpowers.
She had been curious about Weston's superpowers for a long time.
Weston's proficiency in using Pandora's basic control and attacks precisely proves that his superpowers are not very aggressive, or even non-aggressive.
Shu Ning guessed that his superpower was related to the brain, and that it might be a superpower that enhances intelligence. She even wondered if Weston would suddenly become an idiot if he stood within the range of Wei Sheng Qian Heng's superpower.
Looking at Weston's resume again, he became a senior researcher right after graduation, worked at the National Research Center for five years, and was suddenly expelled from both the National Research Center and the Joint Council a year after joining the Council. He was then hired by Principal Aloberia to teach at the String Light Academy.
Lin Chuxu often talked about his desire to join the United Parliament at tea parties, and Shu Ningmiao heard most of it.
To participate in the election for a seat in the Joint Parliament, candidates must first undergo genetic screening to confirm they are Pine people. If they are gifted individuals, they must disclose their abilities; this is entirely for security reasons.
Although those with supernatural abilities enjoy a higher reputation and status in Pinne, they do not make up a large proportion of the total number of members in the United Council.
Members of parliament with greater influence often come from families that have been involved in politics for generations or control a large amount of capital; their special abilities are insignificant in the political arena.
The desire to control and monitor the supernatural abilities of lawmakers who have not yet awakened their abilities is a common demand among most lawmakers who are running for office.
“Those who possess great power should not use that power as a means to interfere in the lives of ordinary people.”
This was a speech given by the previous representative of the Joint Parliament, which once became a headline occupying half of the news pages and received considerable support from the public.
It's normal for people to both admire and fear those with superpowers.
Most ordinary people hope that while those with superpowers can be invincible in other countries and conquer more lands, they can be subject to stricter control in their own country and be treated no differently from ordinary people.
Weston's entry into the United Council due to his outstanding research results means that his supernatural abilities are not entirely kept secret.
She began to pay extra attention to information related to Weston.
However, as a teacher who was not very popular with students, most of the information circulating in the school was outrageous.
For example, a long-standing rumor among the aristocratic students at Cornunos School is that Weston was born in the slums and had to shine shoes until his hands became ulcerated to save enough money to go to school.
Demeaning the background of people they dislike is commonplace among this group, and the resentment in their rumors is so intense that it sometimes disregards logic.
Weston was born in the Intercity District, and with his grades, it would have been easy for him to get a scholarship for top students; it would have been impossible for him to save up for tuition by shining shoes.
Shining shoes costs 2 cin. It would take Weston about 400 years to save up enough for the first year's tuition at Cornunos.
There are also rumors about Weston within String Light Academy, mostly saying that all of Weston's research was fake and that he was expelled from the National Research Center for stealing other people's research results. Although it is still outrageous, at least it has some logic.
After listening to gossip about Weston for several days, Shu Ningmiao could only confirm one thing: Weston was truly unpopular.
Attitudes are mutual, and Weston didn't care about the prejudice and contempt his aristocratic students had for his background, completely immersed in his own world.
Unable to find relatively objective information at school, Shu Ningmiao had no choice but to temporarily set aside her studies and turn her attention outside the school. At this moment, Lian Naqi suddenly came to find her, which surprised her.
Rennagi came to ask her about the fragments and also told her about Eric's threat to tell Achini and Sister Liang about his contact with her.
"...If that's the case, they might still suspect that you are omniscient."
This is what he's worried about: Shu Ningmiao will be threatened again because of him.
Upon hearing this, Shu Ningmiao realized that Lian Naqi was unaware that Achini had no intention of letting her go.
It has nothing to do with whether she is omniscient or not. Achini insists that she is omniscient simply to give the other Prometheus a reason.
"I'm fine." Shu Ningmiao was looking through public information about the parliamentary election meetings over the years when she spoke to him. After thinking for a while, she said, "Also, she probably didn't say anything, so you can rest assured."
She used a tracker to monitor Erice's movements. For the past few days, he had been going back and forth between the classroom and the dormitory, never leaving Cornunos.
For some reason, Erici did not actually expose him like she had threatened Rennagi.
Rennagi looked confused. After Shu Ningmiao finished speaking to him, she lowered her head again to look at the documents in her hand.
Parliament uploads some irrelevant political propaganda videos to its official website every day. The timing and order of the videos are unpredictable. Shu Ningmiao downloaded all the videos from the past two years.
It's quite difficult to pinpoint the exact scene featuring Weston in this haphazardly edited video.
She watched it at double speed for two days and finally saw a familiar face. She had to admit that Weston's face was indeed pleasing to the eye among this group of members of parliament whose average age was over forty or fifty.
In the video, Weston looked even more spirited than he does now. He still had a slender and upright figure, his black hair was tied back with a silk ribbon, and he wore a double-breasted dark gray wool coat over a fine white shirt. He exuded an almost arrogant confidence.
The camera was focused entirely on his face; Weston had thin lips, a straight nose, and long, narrow eyes that were deeply recessed in their sockets, with distinct features.
When he looks at others, it's always with a sharp scrutiny, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through the screen.
When the young man stood on the parliamentary podium, the members below were all looking at each other and talking about their own things; apart from the cameras, no one was looking at him.
Anyone with eyes can see that he was the one being ostracized.
—Shu Ningmiao understood even better. Parliament had its own interest groups. Weston didn't depend on anyone. Even if he was elected as a member of parliament, he was just a monkey performing jumping around in front of a group of humans.
This is really not something someone like Weston would do.
Even Shu Ningmiao could see that he was not suited for politics.
No matter how much research Weston has done, in front of these congressmen, he is nothing more than a naked child.
He was expelled from the parliament and research center in less than a year, which was entirely within Shu Ningmiao's expectations.
Just as Yelü Qi said, Weston is at least a genius in research. Even if he lost the Crimson Palace Stone, he could atone for his crime with merit, and he wouldn't be in this mediocre situation now. It's obvious that he offended someone.
She crossed her legs and watched Weston, who still looked bright and proud, continue his speech on the screen.
She transcribed every single word Weston said.
He was giving a speech opposing the continued use of Pandora's Heart to expand military capabilities and proposing the use of the No. 03 Crimson Palace Stone for research and treatment of related diseases.
However, after he finished speaking, the audience fell silent; not a single person agreed with his point of view.
Weston gave a sarcastic laugh.
The video went black, the segment ended there, and the next segment started playing automatically. There wasn't even a typical meeting discussion process. It was just uploaded to a website by an editor who was just trying to complete a task several months later.
The fact that it appeared on the website shows that nobody takes Weston's claims seriously.
Shu Ningmiao turned off all the videos.
She probably knows why Weston was dismissed and removed from his post.
His proposal was related to the "direction of application of No. 03 Crimson Palace Stone". In the capital city, where even the name Manla disease is avoided, this proposal would naturally be shelved and rejected.
However, the No. 03 Crimson Palace Stone disappeared while it was in Weston's possession.
With all these coincidences combined, the charges against Weston become somewhat ambiguous.
But it's impossible that Weston kept the stone for himself. If he had taken the No. 03 Crimson Palace Stone, he wouldn't have acted that way in the office.
Shu Ningmiao clasped her hands together, her eyes unusually bright—
If she were Weston, what would she want most right now?
Of course, the goal is to find the mysteriously missing Crimson Palace Stone No. 03, prove one's innocence, and return to the National Research Center openly and honestly.
Shu Ningmiao suddenly understood why Weston wanted the stone fragments.
He can trace the other Crimson Palace Stones through the fragments.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
