White-clad deliveryman serving wine (7)
Media outlets flocked to the event and broadcast the news live on various platforms.
—On everyone's devices, televisions, and public projection screens, the live broadcast cameras all played similar images: the representatives of the joint parliament, dressed impeccably, passionately addressed the people watching on screen.
Tonight, all the people learned from him that the Union Buildings had been attacked by the Intoli.
The Union Buildings were the heart of Pines' government, and this was a great humiliation for them; they had to retaliate.
This middle-aged man with a short beard had no particularly striking features, except for his smooth, waxed voice.
Most Pinnesians wouldn't remember his face either.
After each year's election, different people sit in the delegates' seats. The delegates are merely the mouthpiece of parliament, and sometimes they can also be seen as the tie that adorns Pinheis.
They would rather focus their attention on the fleeting figure of the driver than stare at the boring, boastful speech of a middle-aged man.
To be precise, it's about Zhao alone.
Shu Changyan wore a mask and hid in the shadows. He disliked cameras and didn't want to be in the limelight.
More importantly, if he attracts too much attention, it will cause Shu Ningmiao a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Zhao's overly ornate attire and luxurious clothing give this wielder, known for his martial prowess, a contradictory charm. Zhao is like a poet sitting in a palace garden in the Middle Ages, gentle and beautiful, contrary to the common perception of violence and bloodshed.
This is the "hero" that Pinheis wanted to present to the public—a bright and shining figure without any negative image.
Born into nobility, with a noble and elegant demeanor, Zhao was practically a trademark tailor-made for his wielder. All he needed to do was show his face, wear layers upon layers of ornate shirts, and make others scream.
Pinheis created "heroes" much like he created stars. The more glamorous the image of the person in charge, the more the bloody meaning symbolized by that identity is diluted. People entertained heroes and war, and no one thought about whether their actions were truly just.
In the shaky footage, someone reaches out from the crowded cameras and hands a bouquet of flowers to Zhao.
The representative's speech was coming to an end, and the camera trembled slightly with the cheers. Zhao nodded indifferently, signaling the security personnel to return the bouquets, his smile gone.
But under his somewhat detached and distant gaze, the cheers around him grew even louder.
The television screen paused for a moment, then suddenly went black.
The man sitting in front of the hospital bed turned off the screen, then sighed deeply and stared blankly at the reflection on the television for a while.
After a moment, he seemed to come back to his senses, and his expression returned to a calm one, as if the melancholy he had just felt was just an illusion.
The terminal on the bedside table lit up because of a new message. The screen's wallpaper was of a six or seven-year-old girl with a round face, a cheerful smile, and cheeks as red as if rouge had been applied, looking rather silly.
Yelüqi picked up the terminal, rubbed the screen with his thumb for a while, and then clicked on the new message.
The message came from Alo Beria, the principal of Cornunos: "Mr. Yelü, the United Council has contacted me, hoping that you will reconsider your resignation. Your current health condition is unstable, and if this happens again, there may be some bad speculations on campus."
Yelü Qi chuckled, a bitter smile tinged with his own.
He thought his health had stabilized and he could hold on for a few more months—at least until the children went on their autumn break.
But clearly, things didn't go as smoothly as he had imagined. Yelü Qi looked down at his hands, his thick palms covered with crisscrossing calluses, his joints slightly deformed from holding weapons.
These hands bear the marks of his journey from adolescence to adulthood, but as time passes, all that remains are subtle physical deformities.
Beneath the thick, calloused skin, faint black veins were visible, flowing with filthy blood.
He is now just a monster.
——
Yu Lu took her to the nearest car, turned on the heater, and covered her legs with a blanket.
The car window was fogged up by the heater, forming a natural privacy film that blurred Shu Ningmiao's silhouette.
Shu Ningmiao took a deep breath. Because of the rising heat, the blood in her frozen calves belatedly began to flow again, causing an unbearable stinging pain, as if countless insects were gnawing at her flesh.
Yu Lu turned the car's heater to its maximum, then lowered his hand and sat up straight.
It's wrong to speak first. Shu Ningmiao was waiting for him to ask questions so she could decide what to say based on his questions. So she just stared at him.
The man had a fair complexion and delicate features, but because his appearance was so plain, he didn't have any striking features that would immediately catch the eye. However, after looking at him for a while, one would feel a sense of peace.
After staring at him for a while without hearing a word from Yu Lu, Shu Ningmiao had no choice but to bring up some unimportant topics: "Mr. Yu, could you please turn off the air conditioner?"
Yu Lu stood upright, his suit accentuating his tall and slender figure. He looked very serious. Upon hearing this, he looked down at her and said, "My surname isn't Yu."
He reached out and turned off the air conditioner.
That means she has no surname. Shu Ningmiao's pupils shifted in confusion for a moment.
There are many people in Pinhé without surnames. To be precise, those with surnames are the special ones. Surnames represent families and the wealth and power passed down through generations. Of course, ordinary people can also have surnames, but in the minds of most Pinhé people, surnames are often associated with blood ties and heritage. A poor surname has no meaning in terms of inheritance, and even if one registers a surname, future generations may not be willing to inherit it.
Many people, such as Weston and Erice, do not have surnames, but Weston used to live in the Intercity District, so it is very likely that he originally had a surname, but he chose not to inherit it.
Using a surname to determine a person's origin is the quickest and easiest method, but it is not accurate. After all, in the civil service hall of Pines, changing one's name only costs 15 cin.
People who are troubled by their surnames can make up a surname for themselves at any time, as long as they do not violate the laws of Pinhás. They can be called whatever they want. Only children in orphanages and foreigners cannot change their surnames at will.
This is what puzzled Shu Ningmiao. Yu Lu's posture was very proper and dignified. Whether walking or sitting, he never relaxed. Such etiquette cannot be cultivated in a day or two. He seemed to have received very strict etiquette training since childhood, unlike someone without a family.
“Piné does not recognize our country’s surname format,” Yu Lu said calmly. “You can just call me by my first name.”
"He's not from Penelope," Shu Ningmiao was slightly surprised.
However, to be able to enter the Public Security Bureau, one must be at least a third or fourth generation immigrant, not much different from the Pinhians. Shu Ningmiao casually asked, "Which country?"
“Pingyi.” Yu Lu stared straight ahead, his expression unchanged, his eyes unblinking: “My great-grandfather was invited to immigrate to Pingyi by Pinne. He was a senior engineer from Pingyi.”
After that, Pingyi was polluted, and he probably never returned to his homeland, but he still developed the habits of Pingyi.
In contrast to Pinie, Pingyi places great importance on family, and the daily etiquette within large families is exceptionally respectful. Shu Ningmiao initially thought it was just his personality.
He seemed quite happy to chat with her about these less serious topics, without mentioning Prometheus at all.
But this was just setting the stage for the upcoming trial.
Shu Ningmiao remained tense, not relaxing for a moment.
Why did Prometheus attack her? She had to give a plausible reason, otherwise she would be unable to survive alone, squeezed by both the Pines government and Prometheus.
Her test results at the start of the school year showed that she had a Pandora concentration in her body that was different from that of ordinary people.
The people of Prometheus somehow obtained her report and used it as evidence that she was omniscient; perhaps it was stolen from the system library of the "Neural Connection" superhuman.
But no one from the Pigne government has paid any attention to her so far, and Shu Ningmiao couldn't muster any hope of luck, thinking it was just a matter of chance.
Most likely, someone has already discovered it, but has suppressed it for some purpose.
Even if Prometheus had planted people within the official ranks, he couldn't have achieved that level of success.
It wasn't her brother either. If the files were suppressed, they shouldn't have ever left Kornunos in the first place. The more people involved, the less likely it is to be kept secret. Besides, Shu Changyan wouldn't hide something so important from her.
Weston's image flashed through her mind—Weston knew her file and didn't show any unusual reaction when he mentioned it, but he was the only person she knew who knew about it.
Shu Ningmiao pondered for a moment and then ruled out the possibility. Weston was just a teacher now, and it would be too much trouble to cover up her file without leaving a trace. Weston was not related to her and had no motive to cover for her.
Regardless of whether the abnormality of her Pandora value in her body would be exposed, she had already prepared her explanation. The best way to eliminate the threat was not to cover it up, but to make it seem reasonable.
First, she needs to dismantle the equation linking the abnormal Pandora value within her body to her 'omniscient' ability.
After chatting about many casual things, Yu Lu finally broke into a question in the relaxed atmosphere: "Did those people say anything to you just now?"
When she arrived, Shu Ningmiao did not flinch, allowing Yu Lu's questioning gaze to meet hers directly.
If she had completely relaxed during that casual conversation, and he had caught her off guard with that question, she would have had a hard time quickly organizing her thoughts, and he might have asked her something.
Her expression remained unchanged, as if she were simply going along with what he was saying: "They say I am omniscient."
Neither of them showed any emotion on their faces. Yu Lu calmly asked, "The Omniscient One?"
“Yes.” Shu Ningmiao looked up and replied, “I explained that I am not the omniscient being they claimed to be, nor do I have any ‘omniscient’ abilities. After hearing that, they planned to kill me directly.”
Yu Lu's face remained expressionless, his brows as calm as still water: "Do you know what an omniscient being is?"
"Omniscient and omnipotent... or something like that?"
Shu Ningmiao really didn't know; such a description sounded too abstract, unlike other superpowers that had a clear functional focus: "Like predicting the future?"
To what extent is it omniscient and omnipotent? In what way does it manifest itself? Can it predict the future? How can it predict it? These questions are all unknown.
But if someone knows everything and can do everything, what's the difference between them and a god? They can't be considered a superhuman.
Yu Lu said, "That's a misunderstanding. The 'omniscient' ability cannot predict the future."
Shu Ning's heart relaxed.
"The lifespan of omniscient beings is exceptionally short; many do not even reach adulthood. There is only one recorded omniscient being in Pinheis. He left behind the words that omniscience is a supernatural ability of communication."
"communicate?"
"You should know that our world is made up of moving particles, and inside each particle is a vibrating string."
Yu Lu traced the shape of a musical string with his fingertip: "The vibrating string inside a particle is like a musical string. Different vibration patterns of a musical string produce different tones; and different vibration patterns of a string produce different particles."
Shu Ningmiao knew this, and the name of String Light Academy originated from this.
The Penelope government named the special academy for gifted individuals "String Light," which is based on the fundamental "string" of the world and the most important "light" for humanity, precisely because they believed that gifted individuals would be humanity's hope and future.
"Particles make up everything in the world, but it is only because of the vibration of strings that a continuous stream of particles are produced. To put it simply, everything that happens in the world is just the splitting and combining caused by the vibration of strings."
Yu Lu said, "The omniscient can hear the sound of strings vibrating and 'communicate' with this world. What they can sense, perhaps only they themselves know, but I am certain that the omniscient cannot see the future; the ability to foresee the future does not exist in this world."
Shu Ningmiao was silent for a moment: "But those people say that the omniscient one is a prophet, and that the omniscient one can see the future."
“Because they’re just a bunch of lunatics.” Yu Lu rarely showed any personal emotion, and frowned slightly. “They don’t know what an omniscient being is, and they’ve never truly possessed an omniscient being as a prophet. An omniscient being’s body is very fragile and cannot hide and run around like them. The ‘prophet’ and what they believe in are both lies fabricated to achieve their own selfish desires.”
"Then why did they come to me?" Shu Ningmiao looked directly into his eyes.
Yu Lu listened quietly to her, his eyes deep. He didn't give an answer, waiting for her to speak.
Shu Ningmiao paused for a moment before carefully considering her words: "My special ability doesn't seem to be just about enhancing strength. I don't know if it has anything to do with 'omniscience'."
Her voice was soft, with a hint of vulnerability, as if she genuinely wondered if her superpower was related to omniscience: "A few weeks ago, my brother used his 'Transfer' ability on me, and I discovered that all my additional superpowers seemed to have no effect on me. Actually, I once saw a pendant with the symbol of Prometheus around his neck. I think... he probably found it strange, so he told the people of Prometheus."
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