Chapter 168
Under Yu Tu's gaze, the dim mirror fragments gradually became stained with a layer of hazy gray, like the color of a lightless place. In silence, the gray fragments weathered and disappeared, as if they had never existed.
[Qilin] The door of the meeting room slowly opened to both sides, and some kind of ancient instrument sound came from outside the door, like a sad horn. Yu Tu walked outside the door. It was not his illusion, there was really a sound, lingering in this building.
When he came here, he was the only one in the building, and now he is the only one here. After listening to his senior's instructions to find Director Jiang, he didn't know where to start.
Just when he was confused, he heard hurried footsteps, coming from below and approaching his direction very quickly.
What appeared before the people was the smell of medicine mixed with lingering gunpowder smoke, with a faint smell of blood. Jiang Jiang appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
The last time I saw her, she had wounds on her face, gauze wrapped around her right arm, and her black combat uniform was covered in dust. This time she didn't look as ferocious as last time, but there was a kind of visible fatigue in her seriousness.
"Director Jiang, Senior [Jing] has something to tell you." Yu Tu looked at her and said softly, "When the fog is looming, you must examine your heart."
It sounds like an insignificant piece of chicken soup-style advice, but it is the last farewell that is left and relayed.
Amid the circling voice, Jiang Jiang's expression did not change, and his voice was as calm as ever: "I understand, thank you."
"Are you leaving?" she asked. "I'll arrange for someone to take you there."
Yu Tu suddenly recalled a comic from long ago, the argument between Director Jiang and the clan leader.
[No one deserves to die for this plan.]
How did Director Jiang respond at that time?
She said——
[Human life is short and we don’t have the right to choose.]
It's not "I", it's "we".
In a chess game that has lasted for thousands of years, what role does Jiang Ju play at this juncture?
It seems that part of the secret has been solved, but there are more secrets behind it.
During the few seconds when Yu Tu hesitated, Jiang Jiang raised his hand and looked at his watch: "Yu Tu, I need you to give an answer within one minute."
Yu Tu suddenly asked: "If I stay, will you tell me some of the truth that I don't know?"
"No." Jiang Jiang said bluntly, "It won't do you any good."
"I don't agree with [Jing]'s decision to meet you at the last minute," she said, "but I have no right to comment on [Jing's] arrangements."
"Most people want you to stay out of this." She showed a smile that Yu Tu didn't quite understand, a smile that sounded like mockery, but also like resentment, "So the less you know, the better."
Yu Tu understood the implication of her words—the more he knew, the deeper he would fall into it, and the harder it would be to extricate himself.
She had clearly told the tribe leader before that "follow fate and break the situation, there is no way to avoid it", but now she wants them to "avoid it". Her behavior before and after... there is always a weird sense of disconnection.
While waiting for Yu Tu's answer, Jiang Jiang closed her eyes slightly and rubbed her temples. Her brows were slightly wrinkled, and the fatigue on her face was so heavy that it was difficult to conceal. But when she opened her eyes, she looked serious and steady again.
"There's no need for Director Jiang to arrange for someone to take me back." Yu Tu had just had a sudden thought, and it was expected that he would not get a positive answer. "I can go back to the Chongming Branch through the teleportation array I came from."
Jiang Jiang turned his gaze to Yu Tu, as if to confirm the truth of his words: "Will you use the fixed-point transmission array in that building?"
Yu Tu: “Yes.”
So the two of them nodded to each other and passed each other on the platform in the corridor. Yu Tu walked down the stairs and disappeared on this floor, while Jiang Jiang walked towards the direction of the Qilin meeting room.
After leaving the building, Yu Tu walked in the corridor and always felt that someone was looking at him from behind. He turned around and saw someone from the top floor of the building behind him, but he could not see anyone.
*
After verifying his identity, Jiang Jiang entered the Qilin conference room. On the huge table inside the conference room, the mirror with a long crack disappeared.
As an ancient magic weapon, it carries the consciousness of Di Ting that is intertwined with the lightless land. After Di Ting's death, the magic weapon will also turn into flying smoke.
Jiang Jiang pressed her hands on the table. The cold feeling spread from her fingertips to her brain. The [mirror] disappeared. She always had a feeling that it was unreal.
Jiang Jiang didn't know what happened, and suddenly remembered the conversation he had with the chief of the Grass and Tree Clan.
When she said "follow fate and break the situation, there is no way to avoid it", she was not only referring to Yu Tu, who had the gift of insight, and Gu Hongying, the reincarnation of Bai Ze, but also to—
she.
She is also a part of fate, or rather, all the directors of the Department of Special Affairs since the appearance of the [Mirror] have voluntarily become a part of fate.
No matter what talents you have awakened before taking over this position, they will be transformed into a talent called "Connected Fire" under the guidance of the "Mirror".
Until death.
The director of the alien bureau will gradually become more and more in tune with the new talent, making the talent as easy to use as his arm, turning people into the most precise and calm "instrument".
Using the smallest sacrifice to obtain the most beneficial results is the core of the new talent.
Jiang Jiang has been in this position for twenty years, and she has almost forgotten what her original talent was.
But when the ancient horn representing sacrifice sounded, she felt a slight sadness in a trance.
She suddenly thought of Di Changqing.
She hasn't had the time to think about this person for a long time.
In the Alien Bureau, Di Zhangqing is at the top of the inner world's wanted list, and has committed countless murders directly or indirectly.
But few people know that the more compatible she is with the [Mirror], the higher the degree of transformation of her talent. Among the candidates for director that year, she ranked second and Di Changqing ranked first.
The final result is left to [Mirror] to decide.
The [Mirror] chose her.
[Mirror] Shuo Di Changqing is not suitable for this position. He is already cruel enough. If he were to transform his talent, it would only be a disaster.
On the day the results came out, she met Di Changqing. She still remembers the strange smile on Di Changqing's face.
He said: "Jiang Jiang, you will become like me sooner or later."
Become just as cold and ruthless.
When faced with a decision, put everyone on the scale and make the best solution.
At that time, she had just graduated early, was famous, and was full of energy. She defeated many candidates of different ages, including the man she had always regarded as her rival.
She firmly believes that with her efforts, the world will become a better place and everyone will have a bright and happy future.
But soon...she stopped thinking so.
The pain of the talent transformation process can still make my muscles tremble when I recall it, but what is more difficult than the transformation is the conscious choice.
Her consciousness told her that she wanted to choose the plan of preservation, and wanted to try her best to keep everyone alive, but her natural rationality and calmness told her that she couldn't do that. It was wrong to cause unnecessary casualties just for the sake of something.
It's like the famous trolley problem, two cars are coming at the same time, there is a person lying on one road, and there is a group of people lying on the other road, and the handle that decides the gate is in your hand.
Kill one person to save the others? Or kill the others to save one person?
There is no perfect solution, and any choice you make will only lead to pain.
She experienced this pain countless times, and each time the feeling was stronger and deeper than the last.
She was not the person who was most compatible with [Mirror], so the talent of [Fire of War] was not fully transformed successfully, and she still retained some of her former talents.
Every time she stored the files of her dead comrades in that magnificent and cold archive, her former talent would make her dream at night.
She always dreams about the archives of her dead comrades' last failure. She is a bystander, watching desperate deaths one after another.
Over the past twenty years, she has seen off thousands of comrades. Some died in battles with monsters, some died while dealing with monsters, some were killed by people on the wanted list, and some chose to sacrifice themselves in order to allow other comrades to escape...
The Alien Bureau has a tradition of recording "dark history", and these photo stones recording "dark history" are also stored in the archives. Every year, newcomers will enter this archive to check similar cases they have encountered, and then make plans to reduce casualties.
Some of the authors of those files and reports are no longer alive, but when we read these reports, they are recognized and remembered by others, and they come back to life.
When Jiang Jiang had finished her official duties and was not on a mission, she always liked to stay in the archives. She would look through the reports of her old friends and then find the corresponding "dark history" photo stones.
The person in the photo stone is so vivid; every move, every frown and every smile seem to be right next to me.
“Boss!”
"Director Jiang!"
"Sister Jiang Jiang!"
…
She always hears a lot of noises.
But the faces of the owners of these voices gradually become blurred as time passes.
Photo stones will wear out, just like photos taken with electronic products. When you look at them again many years later, you will find that the portraits are blurry, the details are unclear, and they are hazy, like flowers in the fog.
Time will take away everything.
She could no longer see the smile on his lips or the clear eyes, and could no longer hear the trustworthy calls and energetic noises.
She seemed to be getting older and more stubborn.
Anyone can put themselves on that scale to gain the greatest benefit with the smallest sacrifice.
Whether it's someone else or her.
If she needs to sacrifice herself, she will never hesitate, and if she needs to sacrifice others, she will do it.
This is [the flames of war].
This is also the consequence she must bear when she chooses to sit in this position.
[Mirror] has disappeared. It was a magical instrument created by humans to protect humans, but no one will ever have their talents changed by [Mirror] again, and no one will ever have to endure such pain again.
Jiang Jiang withdrew her already cold hands and walked to the window of the Qilin conference room. She saw Yu Tu's leaving back. He looked so young and energetic, just like her former comrades-in-arms, or like those newcomers who had just entered the Special Department.
When the fog is looming, look within.
This is the most basic, simplest, and most important "conscience" in cultivation.
She hasn't had any regrets for a long time.
Jiang Jiang asked herself, what did she want?
want to……
Distant memories suddenly came back.
She wants...
There is a bright and happy future for all.
This idealistic answer was born out of her past talent.
【Passing on the Torch】
【Fire of War】
There is a world of difference.