Chapter 122
The drink on the table had been left out for too long, and its faint sweet fragrance had dissipated, now revealing a brown-green color under the setting sun.
Lin Lai sat at the table with his hands on his forehead, motionless for a long time, as if he had turned into a stone sculpture.
Mo Gui leaned back in the chair next to him, his long legs stretched straight, his eyes staring at the ever-changing orange, red and golden clouds in the distance, his expression serene.
The postures of the two people seemed to have nothing to do with each other, yet it seemed as if they were connected by countless invisible threads, with no barriers at all.
After a long while, Lin Lai let out a long breath, raised his head and said, "He didn't agree."
"But I didn't refuse either." Mo Gui said calmly.
"Yes. But I..." Lin Lai's throat surged, and he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He smiled bitterly and said, "If he is really the person I guessed, I thought... I felt... he might have a little sympathy for us... All of this, all of this... might be caused by him!"
"You are wrong. Even if it is as you think, I don't think there is any responsibility involved." Mo Gui said: "More than two hundred years ago, humans rebelled against aliens because they did not live like humans, just like why aliens are rebelling against humans today. History always repeats itself. If there really is no god in the legend, there would certainly be no oppression of aliens by humans today, but would you be willing to be a slave?"
"That's true..." Lin Lai rubbed his face and said with a cheer: "Maybe I had too much hope. I didn't get the expected answer, so my mentality was a little unbalanced. Anyway, he didn't refuse, so I still..."
Suddenly, a ringtone rang from Lin Lai. He immediately shut his mouth, looked at Mo Gui, and connected the call.
"Yes, mission accomplished... yes... yes... understood."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Lai looked at Mo Gui and said, "The boss told us to go back immediately."
Mo Gui nodded, not much surprise on his face. The information they discovered this time was too important, so important that it could not be spread by any technological means. Moreover, it was difficult to accurately describe everything they discovered in words or text. It would be safest for him to report it in person.
…
——The bloody tulip tragedy.
Tonya said this is what people privately called the massacre that took place that day.
Thirty thousand people is not a huge number considering the capital’s population of over eight million, but what does it mean that more than thirty thousand people turned into corpses overnight?
The strong smell of blood made it almost impossible to breathe. The gurgling blood plasma seemed to turn the road into a river of blood. Corpses were piled on the ground as far as the eye could see. Fear and the desire to survive were still in the eyes that could not be closed, but they had become numb and dim.
The executioners who once forced these people to their death with guns were not completely cold-blooded machines. Perhaps when executing orders, they forgot the emotions that they should have as human beings because of the atmosphere at the time and some mechanized emotions. But after the incident, facing the bloody scene caused by their own hands, many people suffered mental breakdowns because they could not bear it. Some cried and screamed, some knelt down to repent, and some could not help twitching or vomiting. However, such a situation could not gain the understanding or sympathy of the victims.
Because the damage has been done, the dead can never come back to life again.
But many people, like Tonya, also understand that what they should really resent are not these soldiers who are simply following orders, but the bigwigs who are giving orders behind them.
There has always been a group of people on Zhongwu Star who take it as their mission to resist the humiliation of aliens by humans and call themselves the resistance army. After the bloody tulip tragedy, the number of resistance army increased by 30%. They hugged each other, encouraged each other not to give up, and patiently waited for the opportunity of revenge. But in fact, does such an opportunity exist?
In fact, many people know in their hearts how slim the hope of this matter is. The longer they wait, the lower the possibility that their wishes can be fulfilled.
Of course, there are still some things they can do, such as causing some bloodshed, assassinating some people, or creating chaos to rescue some people. But what they can do and what they can save are only a few, and they cannot fundamentally change the overall situation.
Because the most advanced technology and knowledge in the world are always in the hands of humans. The longer time goes by, the greater the gap between the two sides in technology, and the smaller the space they can struggle in. However, this point cannot be changed no matter how brave they are, how they fight, or how they risk their lives. Even humans who sympathize with aliens will subconsciously not pass on high-end knowledge that can subvert the entire society to aliens like the rebels in order to protect their own race. At most, they will only teach them some basic knowledge that makes it easier for them to make a living.
But that's not what they really want.
The arrival of Rong Yuan's spaceship gave the resistance army new hope. In their view, although Rong Yuan and his group looked very similar to humans, they were aliens after all, and they did not have the same deep-rooted racial concepts as the humans of Zhongwu Star. Perhaps they looked at the various races of Zhongwu Star just like humans look at monkeys, bison, goats, rabbits and other animals. Although monkeys are the most human-like, they are all animals in the eyes of humans, and there is no fundamental difference.
Therefore, these days, the rebels lurking near the manor have tried every possible means to avoid the government's eyes, reveal the true situation of Zhongwu Star to Mu Xiaohu and his group, and try to arouse their sympathy and compassion for the alien race. Although it sounds shameful to pin hopes on the mercy and charity of alien races, as long as they can win a future with more freedom, power and dignity for the tribe - according to Tang Na - the leader of the rebels is willing to swear allegiance to Rong Yuan and others until death.
Lor couldn't help but laugh.
Although they said they were pledging allegiance, the rebels now had nothing. What was the meaning of their loyalty to Rong Yuan and others? Unless Rong Yuan helped them gain a certain status and power first, it would be meaningful to control a certain force.
The rebels' proposal is not entirely a free-for-all. If Rong Yuan and his group are not as friendly as they appear, then using the rebels to manipulate the situation on Zhongwu Star is still useful. It is difficult for conspiracy theorists to believe that aliens would have complete goodwill towards a strange and backward planet.
Of course, it would be even better if they were really as kind as they appeared. Mu Xiaohu and the others did not show any discrimination or disgust towards the aliens in their interactions with Lacini. On the contrary, they were very friendly and even showed some sympathy for their situation. Such young people with a conscience, passion, and no deep-rooted racial ideas are very likely to choose to help the rebels and the aliens out of sympathy.
An ordinary teenager might feel infinite sympathy for them in the face of Tona's crying and tears, and if he is moved by the ideas, temperament, and words of some of the rebels in further contact, he might even be willing to become a warrior who can fight to the death for the cause of the rise of alien races. But Lor is not an ordinary teenager. He is not without his own emotional tendencies at this time, but he can abandon this tendency from his own thinking and analyze the whole thing with the most rational and objective attitude.
The rebels saw one thing very accurately, that is, Lor and others had no preference for different races. Given the current tragic situation of the primitive race of Zhongwu Star being oppressed by humans, they sympathized with the alien races. But Lor knew better that their final choice of which side to stand on was not determined by their personal feelings, but by Rong Yuan's attitude. Although he had experienced a voyage across countless light years with Rong Yuan, his understanding of Rong Yuan was very shallow, and he did not dare to say that he was his companion. He did not know what Rong Yuan would choose, and would not easily make any promises.
Therefore, when Tonya finished describing the situation of the alien races and asked for their help, under her tearful gaze, Lor pondered for a moment, considering how to make her request vague.
But before he could open his mouth, he heard Mu Xiaohu beside him say, "Well, no, at least not now."
"Why?" Tang Na screamed and looked at him in disbelief. Compared to the treacherous and cold Luo Er, she had always been more fond of the cheerful and enthusiastic Mu Xiaohu. In the story just now, the black-skinned boy was obviously moved and almost shed tears several times. Therefore, Tang Na did not expect that Luo Er, whose expression did not change from beginning to end, had not said anything before, but Mu Xiaohu rejected him first.
The girl looked angry, then she bit her lip as if she had thought of something, and put away her angry expression as if she had been betrayed. Tears could not help falling, and she wiped them away roughly with her hand. She stared at Mu Xiaohu and asked, "Why... why? Are you like those people who think that only humans have human rights? Or... or... your sympathy, your emotion... are so hypocritical? Because it's troublesome, because it has nothing to do with you, so... so no matter how miserable others are, you can turn a blind eye, right?"
She was originally suppressing her anger while making her accusation, but as she spoke, her expression was filled with sadness, perhaps as if she was thinking of someone from the past.
"No." Mu Xiaohu shook his head and said, "Although I don't know if I have the ability to change anything, if what you say is the truth, I am willing to do my best to help you - the premise is that what you say is the truth."
"I'm not lying to you! What I said is true!" Tang Na almost shouted.
"Even if you say so..." Mu Xiaohu's eyes were clear, but he was also very stubborn: "That's just your one-sided statement! Besides, how do you know that what you know is all?"
…
Tang Na left angrily. Watching her figure disappear into the twilight, avoiding surveillance, Luo Er said to Mu Xiaohu, "You shouldn't say that."
"Ah?" Mu Xiaohu blinked and said, "Even if she looks very sad, this matter is of great importance. We can't just listen to a girl crying, right? We have to investigate it!"
Luo Er sighed, feeling that he and this guy had no chemistry at all. He said, "I mean, you shouldn't have made her a promise."
"I don't."
"You do. Don't you mean to say that you'd be willing to help them if what she says is true?"
Tangna was too young. She came with great expectations but did not get a positive answer immediately, so she only heard a rejection. But Lor knew what the real promise in Mu Xiaohu's words was.
Mu Xiaohu frowned and said, "Shouldn't it be? If the humans on this planet really oppress other intelligent races to this extent, according to the laws of the Interstellar Alliance, no interstellar citizen should turn a blind eye to this situation! Isn't it reasonable to help them?"
"But this is not the Interstellar Alliance. This is the Dark Star Region, a lawless place." Lor tried to make him understand what he meant. "Besides, even in the Interstellar Alliance, do you think this kind of thing is rare? It's just that no one talks about it."
"No one said that this is a lawless place, but does that mean this kind of thing is right?" Mu Xiaohu's expression was very stubborn, full of childish innocence and obstinacy.
Luo Er was speechless. After a moment of silence, he said, "But you have to know that you are not representing just yourself now. Your actions may very likely involve Mr. Rong. Do you know what Mr. Rong thinks about this matter? What if he disagrees? What if he stands on the side of the indigenous people?"
"I will investigate first, and then go to Brother Xiaoyuan with my findings. If everything is as Tang Na said, then I will try to persuade Brother Xiaoyuan to help them. Even...even if Brother Xiaoyuan disagrees, I will do it! Because I think it is right. But by then, this will be my business alone, and I won't let them implicate you. Moreover, with the development level of Zhongwu Star, I don't think they have the ability to hurt Brother Xiaoyuan and you . If you don't want to be dragged into this muddy water, you can leave first."
Luo Er heard a certain determination in his words and said angrily: "Are you crazy? Don't forget that we are just passing by! Do you still want to stay in this place?"
There was no hesitation or confusion on Mu Xiaohu's face. He ran his fingers over the lines of names that represented death and once represented hope, and whispered, "I don't know... but I know that if I just turn around and leave as if nothing had happened, I will never be able to let go of this place and these people!"
