Chapter 172 I am the legend of the story
I am often afraid.
When my friends cheered and called me a hero, was it just some coincidence or a lie? I might not be the savior they thought I was, but just an ordinary fraud.
Maybe I should clarify this with them.
But the development of events has exceeded my expectations.
Under the influence of Miss Muli, they firmly believed that Losa in Xingquan's writing was me. They had an almost absurd expectation of me. Every night I questioned myself, what virtue and ability do you have to dare to compare yourself to a hero?
Prophecy and fate are just tricks used by liars to deceive people. But none of them are willing to listen to my clarification.
I may have saved some lives, but my companions did more.
The company's uniform distribution of working lunch cakes to employees in the mining area actually contains brainwashing drugs. The company has different proportions of drugs in each color of cakes according to the level of the employees. After realizing this, it was Miss Muli who asked Lianna to secretly persuade employees to eat less cakes. This is also the reason why the newcomers who came later awakened earlier than our group. Lianna is the initiator and leader of the underground rally, Tita is responsible for collecting intelligence and contacting employees in various factories, Ajin from the radio station is the propagandist of the underground organization, and Uncle Toye is responsible for the review of people joining the rally. In addition, there are many partners who are doing their own things in secret.
Compared to them, what I did was insignificant.
I just want to save a few more people.
I don't think we can overthrow this behemoth. All we can do is make more people wake up and let more people escape from here.
I'm not a hero.
When I said this to Miss Mulley, she said, "You are really a good person, oh no, a good fox."
"fox?"
"There is an animal in my hometown that looks a lot like you." Miss Muli showed her nostalgia for her hometown again, "But they are smaller than you, they can't talk, and they can't stand and walk like you."
I immediately understood what Miss Muli meant. "I am a fox man." I corrected Miss Muli's misconception, "I am different from the wild animals on those planets. Our race originated from Kanta. In fact..."
"What?" Miss Muli tilted her head and asked me seriously.
"No one in the galaxy would associate the word 'good' with the fox people."
"Why?"
She is really a girl who doesn't know the world. I explained: "Most of our race are good at business, uh, but they have a bad reputation."
Miss Muli looked at me and asked tentatively, "Are you saying that most of your race are unethical profiteers?"
I was speechless for a moment. Although as an orphan I had no sense of racial honor, I was still shocked to hear her call me that.
She smiled: "No wonder you were able to fool those supervisors and ministers without any flaws, and even easily pass the assessment of pure thought review."
Well, my race does seem to have a talent for deception, I have to admit with some dismay.
She seemed to sense my emotions, and she said, "Ah, actually I want to say that you are really a very good fox person."
"Do you mean I'm a good liar?" The anxiety of pretending to be the hero Lothar created by Liu Xingquan surged into his heart again.
"No, you doubt yourself all the time. Even though you have saved so many people, you have never been complacent and considered yourself a hero." Miss Muli looked at me and said calmly.
No, Miss Mulley, this is all thanks to you.
"I'm leaving." I said, and then I noticed that the gray-clawed raccoon Xixi was still not with her. "Where's Xixi? I haven't seen it these days."
The expression on her face did not change. She pulled at her sleeves and said, "What a coincidence. Xixi ran out to play again."
I said goodbye to her. She watched me go away at the gate of the courtyard as usual. Later, I often hated myself for my carelessness at that time. Why didn't I notice it at that time? Xixi obviously liked to stick to Muli. But I never saw that little thing once when I visited Miss Muli in those days. Miss Muli always used a smile to hide everything, hiding the hurt she suffered... Why couldn't I find it earlier?
The days that followed passed one by one.
Our underground resistance organization is developing in an orderly manner. The employees I sent out in the past have established a secret resistance organization in the south. Xiong Shi, who was taken out by Wu Haixi, sent me a letter. He has completely awakened from the brainwashing fog of the company. He thanked me sincerely, and at the end of the letter, he asked about the slug man Nirou hesitantly. I really can't give him an answer.
Although we tried several times, we still couldn't figure out how much Nirou knew. Nirou kept her distance from us. She seemed to know everything about us. She obviously knew about Lianna's underground organization activities, but she never participated in it and never reported it to the company. Lianna had been observing her carefully.
More and more employees joined us. This was not an easy task. The company's brainwashing was carried out by multiple means at the same time, using multiple control methods such as psychology, spirit, and drugs to cultivate a large number of believers who were willing to be squeezed dry by them and die for that grand and nihilistic goal. And we could only awaken them gradually in secret.
In their eyes, I am the hero Losa who keeps rescuing people from the fire and escaping from the company.
But in fact, I am just a deputy security captain of the factory area, and there is very little I can do. There are still very thoroughly brainwashed liberators being sent one after another into the underground secret hall where the "Heart of Asa" is running. They bid farewell to everyone with tears in their eyes, firmly believing that they can get rid of all suffering, and are led by the company to the paradise full of joy with laughter. "The company gave me a house under the sea in the paradise!! I can observe the deep-sea fish floating performances on the seabed every day in the future." A liberator boasted to his companions with a beaming face. Whenever I see this scene, I hate my own weakness and powerlessness.
The number of people I can save is really too few.
I'm not a hero.
Unconsciously, winter has arrived on Asa. Heavy snow fell from the sky and white frost formed on the ground. This is the coldest winter since I arrived on Asa.
On that day, I received a new message from Minister Ebert.
Something went wrong with the Heart of Asaph.
The "Heart of Asaph" in the underground secret hall was screaming violently, and electric lights were constantly flashing in the hall. Invisible strong winds were swirling in the hall. The zombie-like engineers and scientists were busy in front of the equipment with expressionless faces. I heard some whining and crying, which were like ghosts singing. They came from the employees in the fuel tank who "voluntarily" dissolved their bodies into liquid fuel.
Several liberators were sleeping in the fuel tanks. An engineer pulled down a gate, and fierce lightning jumped in the fuel tank. An unfortunate liberator was suddenly awakened, and he desperately knocked and scratched the glass door in panic. His eyes found mine, and our eyes touched. Don't ask me for help, please. Then soon, he screamed desperately in the lightning and melted into liquid.
These wailing and wailing sounds were like invisible claws penetrating the box, trying to scratch me, bite me, and pull my nerves.
"Did you hear that?" Minister Ebert asked me.
"What?" I asked subconsciously, his cold eyes observing my expression.
"Look upon the most sacred property of the Company. This is a critical moment for the Heart of Asaph. One hundred fuel bodies are needed now."
"100?" I asked in surprise. 100 fuel bodies meant 100 liberated employees who had been brainwashed and were determined to devote everything to the company. This was far beyond the normal consumption of the Heart of Asa.
"Yes, at least 100. Those engineers made a mistake in their calculations. Something went wrong with some of the programs in the Heart of Asgard. More fuel is needed to repair it. The factory that provides the most fuel will have the best results." Ebert said meaningfully, "This is your chance, a good opportunity for you to officially climb to the position of captain."
Can't you hear the cries that are screaming in the strong wind and electric current? Their wails make my head almost split. Those lives that died in vain are crying.
"Did you hear that?" Minister Ebert said unfazedly, "Go find more fuel right now."
He couldn't hear. He never cared about the lives of those employees. I said, "But there are not so many liberated people now. There are too few individuals who can fully meet the pure fuel standards of the Heart of Asgard."
He scolded me impatiently, "Now is a critical moment of competition in the factory. Whoever can hand over more people will be favored by the company's top management. Do you understand?" He looked at me and added, "If it really doesn't work, pure fuel can be obtained by physically instilling the brain to forcibly correct thoughts. Do you understand? Do it for me now!!"
I left Minister Ebert's office.
I came to the company's restaurant and ordered a plate of local Yasa grilled fish. Employees came and went with tired and exhausted expressions. I was once one of them. Each of them has been working hard all day from morning to night, and some people's bodies have been worn out by this super-intensive work forever. Some people can't even straighten their backs. They swallowed the food silently and quickly, and then trotted back, just to sleep more at night. I ate the fish casually and put the plate on the wall. There was a big slogan on the wall: "Cherish every meal given to you by the company." "Laziness is the source of degeneration, struggle is the basis of happiness." "The beautiful paradise opens its doors to hardworking people."
They are the company's employees, fools like me who believed in the company's promises and came here to fight for their own happiness. They are just like me. They used to be mediocre but always wanted to jump out of the mire. They are ignorant and powerless but are trying to survive.
What right do I have to decide their life or death?
Minister Ebert wants 100 people.
How could I possibly choose between them?
…
…
Run away, just run away. An idea came into my mind.
I can't be a hero at all.
So I suddenly started to have crazy thoughts: I've had enough. I want to escape now. The company hasn't discovered the secret passage yet. As long as I want to escape, I can escape quickly. The people in the southern base will definitely welcome me. As long as I escape, I won't have to bear so many responsibilities anymore, and I don't have to think about who to let die in order to gain the company's trust.
Yes, run away.
The responsibility of picking 100 people to die should be left to someone else.
I am not that hero Lothar at all.
Just when I was immersed in my wild thoughts and was about to put them into practice, Tita suddenly rushed into my room. He shouted, "Lothar, it's bad, someone has reported it to the company! Miss Muli has been reported!!!"
I turned to look at him, and at that moment time became so slow. It was not until Tita repeated it for the third time that I understood what he meant.
"Miss Muli!!" I stood up. What would happen to her? How would her master treat her? That terrible, gorgeous giant, just thinking of him made me feel like I was falling into an icy cave.
"I'm going to save her," I said.
"No, Losa, run away!" Tita said anxiously, "Miss Muli has been reported, and the next target is you who was recommended by her. Run away!!"
"No, I want to save her..." I shook my head. She was just an ordinary Homo sapiens woman. Since I joined the security guard, I knew the horrific punishments in the guard. Some of them were terrifying enough to scare everyone with just a few simple descriptions. I have witnessed countless cruel scenes of torture and punishment. It was a pain that even the strongest races could not endure. She was just an ordinary Homo sapiens woman.
She is just an ordinary Homo sapiens woman.
"Don't stop me!! I want to save her!" I reached out to push Tita. But then I was hit hard in the abdomen, and with a fierce stinging pain, Tita stabbed something into my arm, and I was injected with some kind of liquid. My head began to spin.
"I'm sorry, Losa, you are the only one left. You must escape." Tita grabbed my shoulders fiercely. His tone was fast and fierce, with a plea that was almost crying. "I saw them coming to catch you!!! You must escape no matter what."
My consciousness gradually became sticky, and the Tita in front of me was becoming blurry . My friend, Tita, please, don't do this to me. "Tita... don't do anything stupid..."
A group of employees rushed in, and they shouted urgently: "The security team is here!!!"
"I'll leave Losa to you." Tita pushed the limp me to one of the employees.
"Tita..."
"Lothar, my friend. Run away," said Tita, and that was the last thing I heard from him.
The security team rushed in with guns in hand. The employees rushed forward one by one. They used their bodies to block the security team's advance.
I tried my best to pull my consciousness out of the chaotic swamp. The sound of gunfire continued to ring in my ears.
“Let Losa go!!!” “Take Losa away!!”
One voice after another. They were relaying me with their bodies.
They had all cheered for Losa at rallies.
Now they are dying one by one just so that I can live a little longer.
No.
I'm not a hero, I'm just a coward who only wants to escape.
"Carry Lothar! Come here!!"
"Lothar!"
"Let Losa go!!!"
Those familiar voices and blurry faces passed by my ears and eyes. Don't do this. Don't do this.
"Let Losa go!!!"
"Walk!!!"
Bullets exploded violently behind me. Another employee who was carrying me fell down covered in blood.
How many people, how many of my companions died?
Please leave me alone. I am not your hero.
Explosions continued to roar, and hot air washed over the crowd. I saw arms of different races, they were firmly transporting me, just to let me leave.
I landed in a soft female body and I could smell her scent: Lianna.
I used all my strength to say, "Let...let me go. You...are not worth it."
"Losa, stay alive." Lianna said softly, "You are the light of hope for everyone."
"Walk----!!!"
"Send Lothar away!!!"
No, no. The hero Lothar is not important.
Don't you understand? Without his companions, there would be no hero Lothar.
Please...
I fell into a complete black stupor.
…
…
In a desperate dream, I wandered between pain and panic.
I cried in the darkness, but no one answered.
When I woke up, I was lying on a hill far away from the mining area. Uncle Toye was sitting next to me, and it was he who finally carried me away from the company.
Above the night sky, the beautiful fountain of stars flows with pale light, staring at me coldly and ruthlessly.
How many companions have I lost?? Tita. Lianna. Miss Muli...
I took deep breaths of the cold air.
"How many people died when they escaped?" I asked Uncle Toye hoarsely.
Uncle Toye shook his head silently.
A stronger fear swept through my body. The 100 lives that Minister Ebert demanded would definitely be chosen from the living employees.
In Xingquan's writing, Lothar is a hero who overthrew the evil group that oppressed everyone.
But I'm just a bastard who can only survive by relying on everyone's sacrifice.
This time, I won't run away again.
I will never run away again.
At any cost.
At any cost.
I looked at the figures approaching from a distance. They were the resistance group that came to pick me up after I had rescued and sent them away before.
"Lothar!!" "Great!! Lothar is still alive!!"
Snowflakes fell on me on a winter night.
The snowflakes melted into water and penetrated my fur. The cold water seemed to penetrate my heart, like the tears of my favorite companions. At that time, in the touch of the snowflakes, I heard Miss Muli telling them those exciting stories in the underground warehouse. They talked in whispers and looked at me with excitement and expectation. Their crisp laughter is now like ice cracks. The strong cold wind whispered in my ears with a biting low hum. Everything is irreversible. The snowflakes flew to the buildings on the distant skyline. That is the Shizun Company, the venom and shadow of the Asa Star, the source of evil that devoured countless lives. I stood on this land, standing under the beautiful Star Fountain, it flows and swirls as always. Just like the day I first came.
The resistance group came over, they greeted me warmly and hugged me. I never dared to guess what kind of person I was in their eyes. But at this moment, I knew who I was.
I am Lothar. I am both the legend of stories and the roar of reality. I come from the Sharadi Cave. I am Tita’s best friend. I am the listener and terminator of the Heart of Asgard.
I am the destroyer of Sakyamuni’s company.
