Chapter 154
Lor walked slowly along the stream. The water was gurgling and clear, and a few small fish were swimming freely among the rocks at the bottom of the river. On a big tree not far away, a few birds were staring at the water surface, waiting for the moment when a fish would poke its head out.
Three years had passed in a flash. When he first decided to stay in Zhongwu Star, Luo Er had not thought that he could stay in this backward place for such a long time; but now it seemed that it was time to leave, and he felt reluctant.
In an orphanage not far away, Lin Qingge was telling stories to some children. The face of the nearly twenty-year-old young man no longer had the innocence and naivety he once had, but his smile was as gentle and clean as before.
Although the disputes three years ago were generally under the control of the empire, the territory was not lost, and the war did not spread to the whole country, the casualties were still extremely heavy. Later statistics showed that the death toll in the entire country during that period was close to one million, and there were also hundreds of thousands of missing people, most of whom were dead. The large number of deaths caused many homeless orphans on this land, and also led to the proliferation of welfare homes like this in the past two years, and the country's policy restrictions on adopting orphans have also been relaxed a lot.
Although Lin Qingsi has become the current head of state of this country, Lin Qingge has not changed because of his brother's power. He is still clean and simple, still studying hard in school, and trying his best to help those in need in his spare time. Many people lost their relatives and friends because of the chaos of that year, and they are full of hostility towards Lin Qingsi and his brothers who reached the top in that incident, but this young man has never changed himself because of those resentments or abuses, and he has been unwavering in doing what he thinks is right.
Back then, Lor and Lin Qingge became friends because they felt they got along well and there was not much pressure. Deep down, they did not think the other was remarkable and even looked down on him because he was a native of a backward planet. But now he feels that in many ways, he is not as good as this friend. Lin Qingge is much more powerful and stronger than he appears.
In fact, more than a year ago, Lin Qingge was under pressure far beyond what most people could imagine. Because his elder brother had become the actual controller of the country, and it was said that Lin Qingsi himself had no intention of getting married and continuing his bloodline. The head of state and the noble position of Zhongwu Star have always been hereditary, so many people naturally regarded Lin Qingge as the next heir to the country. Some people flattered him, and some people feared him. His world seemed to have become a strange one in an instant. Even a year and a half ago, a carefully planned assassination almost killed this harmless young man. After that incident, Lin Qingsi was furious and purged a large number of people in a very bloody way, including some of his subordinates who had followed him from the beginning.
Lin Qingge was not interested in politics to begin with, and after that he explicitly announced that he would give up his right to inherit the throne. Not long after, Lin Qingsi promulgated an unprecedented new law - the election law. Before he abdicated or died, he would designate several successors, and the Imperial Parliament, representatives from various provinces, and government officials would jointly elect one person to become the new head of state. This system would become a law, and the country's leaders would always follow this law for elections in the future.
Zhongwuxing has been following the hereditary system of father-to-son succession and elder brother-to-younger brother succession since ancient times. The introduction of the election law can be said to be like a nuclear bomb thrown into the sea, which shook the world. For a time, the focus of everyone's heated discussion was the election law. The news media, major colleges and universities, government agencies, streets and alleys... Every place has set off a heated discussion, and there are many people who fight for it. Some people cried and begged the imperial capital to abolish this law, believing that it would damage the foundation of the country and destroy the stability that was hard-won. But more people saw the benefits of it, and even completely forgot their previous fear and resentment of Lin Qingsi, and vigorously advocated how wise the election law was and how great, broad-minded, and far-sighted Lin Qingsi was.
Lin Qingge was completely forgotten. Because of this, he was able to lead a peaceful life now.
"Hey, Lol!"
A handsome and slightly weathered man strode towards Lor. He had a circle of black stubble on his chin and his clothes were old and a little dirty, as if he had just come out of a construction site. But when he walked, he had an unstoppable aura, which was very eye-catching even from a distance.
Luo Er smiled and said, "Brother Yun."
Yun Yi opened his arms and hugged Luo Er tightly, patted his back, and then let him go and said, "Are you leaving?"
"Yeah." Lor nodded.
"Well, I wish you a safe journey!" Yun Yi said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work over the years. You and your friends have helped us a lot, but I have nothing to repay you! If you can be of any use to me in the future, no matter what it is, just ask! I will go through fire and water for you!"
"Okay." Luo Deng paused, then said softly: "I won't forget you."
In fact, he knew in his heart that Zhong Wuxing was located in such a remote area that after this separation, there might be no chance for them to see each other again.
Over the years, all the large and small forces that had sprung up in the Tulip Country were beaten down by Lin Qingsi, including many religions, societies, private gatherings, etc. that were popular in the past. The only remaining unofficial force is the Free Wing Resistance Army established by Yun Yi. Of course, they have now changed their name to the Mutual Aid Society.
Under the leadership of Yun Yi, the Mutual Aid Society has been working hard to fight for the rights of vulnerable groups such as foreigners, the poor, lonely elderly people, children, and patients. It has made many achievements and helped many people. It has a good reputation in the eyes of the public and even the official high-level officials. This man who looks like an ordinary worker is revered like a god in the minds of many people. But such a group can easily evolve into a fanatical religious group. The only reason why Lin Qingsi can tolerate its continued existence is because Luo Er and Lin Qingge are both here.
Now, Lor is about to leave, but Lin Qingge will continue to stay here. Maybe he will become the next head of the mutual aid association, or maybe he would prefer to live the rest of his life in such a peaceful and simple way. But no matter what, his existence is always like a talisman, maintaining the mutual aid association and the dreams of many people.
After bidding farewell to Yun Yi, Luo Er walked around the town along the river, looked at the house he once lived in, touched a tree he planted, and visited a few friends from afar. If there was anything to say, it had already been said at the dinner last night, and the work that needed to be handed over had been handed over and completed. Some people wanted to hold a farewell party for him, but Luo Er never liked the noisy banquets where people he knew and didn't know came for various purposes, so he refused all farewells, said goodbye to this land silently, and then turned around and left without any nostalgia.
Three days ago, Lor received a text message from Alpha. Mr. Rong believed that their purpose of staying on Zhongwu Star had basically been achieved and they could return to Landia, so he notified them to be prepared and the spacecraft would come to pick them up in three days.
Of course, Alpha also said in the notes that if they have people they really can't bear to leave behind and want to bring them back to the Interstellar Alliance, or want to stay here, that's fine. Landia is very large and very inclusive, and it also has some corresponding welfare policies for intelligent life from lower civilizations, so it's not a problem to bring people to Landia. But if they want to stay on this land, then they may not have the chance to return to the interstellar in the future.
There is no doubt that both of them chose to return to Landia. No matter how good Zhongwu Star is, it is not their hometown. Moreover, in their eyes, this place is far from being "good".
Luo Er has a cold personality. Although he has made some good friends in the past three years, the relationship between them has not yet reached the point where they have to live together inseparably. Of course, there may be many people who are willing to pay any price to enter the open, free and prosperous interstellar alliance they imagine, but Luo Er believes that if he brings people here to Landia, then he has the obligation to be responsible for their future lives. However, he does not intend to bear this heavy responsibility for anyone at present.
Mu Xiaohu was different. He was a lively person and enthusiastically invited many of his favorite friends to go to Landia. Although everyone was very yearning for the interstellar space he described, most people backed off after learning that it was a journey without a return ticket. Some were afraid of that world, while others were reluctant to leave their important relatives and friends behind. In the end, only a few people accepted his invitation.
Silently walking around the places where he had left his traces, Lor saw the schools and hospitals he had built; he saw some famous sayings inscribed on the huge stone tablets, which were considered axioms in the alliance and in front of which many people would stop and stare; he saw some human and alien children playing together with no grudges between them; he also saw many changes in science and technology.
What is more common is that more and more foreigners are walking openly on the streets. The new government has not only protected the safety of foreigners to a certain extent, but also provided them with more job opportunities. The relatively fair opportunities and reasonable remuneration have changed the lives of many foreigners. Lor saw two young foreign men and women snuggling together and discussing buying a set of expensive jewelry, with shy and happy smiles on their faces as if they were about to enter into marriage.
Of course, not all people can accept this change, but the bloody killings and hard-won stable life have made people lose the courage to oppose. Some racists can only glare at the foreigners on the street with disgust, but dare not openly express any discriminatory and insulting opinions. But seeing those children with clear eyes, Lore believes that as time goes by, this concept will gradually disappear from people's hearts.
Thinking of this, Lor felt great admiration for Lin Qingsi.
The basis for Lin Qingsi to control the entire country lies in the large number of high-tech weapons that are ahead of their time. Because he was once the official who was directly responsible for contacting Rong Yuan and others, and Rong Yuan passed a lot of information to Zhong Wuxing through him, most people, including some of Lin Qingsi's subordinates, thought that his weapons came from the guidance of aliens. Many people secretly criticized this, thinking that if they had obtained the technological information from aliens, then the head of state should be replaced now.
But in fact, both Lor and Mu Xiaohu knew very well that this was not the case at all.
In fact, most of what Rong Yuan told Lin Qingsi at the beginning were about the laws, history, social structure, major forces, various rules, etc. of the Interstellar Alliance. These could help Zhongwuxing avoid many detours when entering the interstellar era in the future, and avoid things like being secretly enslaved, massacred, and bullied by higher-level civilizations. However, they did not directly intervene in the technological development of Zhongwuxing. At most, they could summarize some correct directions for technological development from those materials.
Of course, this kind of help is not small, but it will not make countless scientific and technological achievements come out of thin air, nor will it directly hand over a large number of black technology weapons to a certain person as some people speculate. In other words, those technological achievements that transcend the times, those dazzling technologies and powerful forces, those amazing crystallizations of wisdom, actually come from the natives of Zhongwu Star, or more precisely, from Lin Qingsi.
His wisdom alone was at least fifty years ahead of his time.
But all along, Lin Qingsi had never fully displayed his wisdom and talents to others. He only showed an above-average talent, which was excellent but not outstanding. Just like an iceberg above the water, people only saw a small part of the surface, but could not perceive the huge and terrifying energy in the deep sea. It was not until he occasionally stirred up waves that people vaguely realized the horror hidden in the darkness.
Therefore, among all the people he knew in Zhongwu Star, including many people he had met in Landia, only Lin Qingsi made Luo Er feel a little afraid, even more than the awe he had for Rong Yuan. Because he could feel that Rong Yuan's heart was always soft, but Lin Qingsi was different. He was forbearing, cruel, cold-blooded, and could do anything to achieve his goals. His only weakness might be Lin Qingge.
Luo Er always thought that those who tried to assassinate Lin Qingge were very stupid. Because of Lin Qingge, Lin Qingsi was the current head of state who was tolerant and restrained; if Lin Qingge died, perhaps that man would become a devil who was willing to destroy the world?
So, when Lor suddenly felt the hairs on his back stand up, his sixth sense had already discovered before his visual sense - someone was nearby!
Sure enough, when he turned around, he saw Lin Qingsi getting out of a car, surrounded by a group of men in black forming a tight security line, and he was striding towards Lor.
"Are you ready to leave?" Lin Qingsi lowered his head slightly and looked at Lor, and asked straight to the point.
"Yeah, that's right." Facing the man's cold gaze, Lor answered a little nervously, groaning in his heart, wondering why this busy man would take the time to see him off.
"Please tell him that I want to see him." Lin Qingsi said.
"Him?" Lor was stunned, then reacted, nodded, and said hesitantly: "I will tell Mr. Rong, but..."
"I know." Lin Qingsi said, "It's up to him to decide whether to meet or not."
