Chapter 195 Initiative
"Tell me, why should I not hand you over to Kayul Company, but instead help you escape?"
As soon as they met, Archon Geosio asked the same question. Of course, what people say and what they think are often two different things. So Rong Yuan said calmly: "If it is really as you said, then we would not be sitting in front of you and talking to you peacefully now."
He could feel the subtle and rapid breathing of Emilida behind him. There seemed to be no one else in the room except the three of them, but Rong Yuan certainly didn't believe that the old man would be so careless as to meet two dangerous people alone, so either there were various high-tech protective measures or bodyguards in the room, or the old man in front of him, who seemed to be dying at any time, was more dangerous than he looked.
Rong Yuan and Geoso looked at each other. The powerful oppressive force displayed by the old man in an instant made Aimirida shrink involuntarily. Rong Yuan gently patted her hand on his shoulder, facing the other's sharp gaze without retreating or being afraid. There was a sharp edge in his calmness.
After staring at each other for a while, Geoso returned to his old and peaceful appearance. He looked at Rong Yuan, then his eyes fell on the girl who was trying not to show her fear, then looked back at Rong Yuan and said something that had nothing to do with their topic: "You are not a Landian. She is, but you are not."
Just like the Tang people can't tell the difference between Europeans and Americans, the Biqiu people can't tell the difference between Earthlings and Landians, so Paco initially thought Rong Yuan was a Landian. But as a planetary governor, Geoso's vision and knowledge are far beyond that of Paco, who is immersed in technology. A slight difference is enough for him to make the right judgment.
Emrida's eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment she forgot who they were facing, but she was sensible enough not to ask any further questions.
Rong Yuan sighed. He had hoped that there were different races in Landia, and perhaps some of them looked similar to Earthlings, so that he could get an identity when traveling in the Interstellar Alliance in the future. But now it seems that he is not so lucky. So he did not deny it and said frankly, "Yes, my hometown is a remote small planet. I was able to come to the Alliance thanks to Paco's guidance."
He brought the topic back to the current matter, not wanting the other party to extract more information. It was also because he hated the way people spoke in a roundabout way that mostly relied on guesswork. Although it was not impossible to understand, wouldn't it be better to just keep it simple and say what you want to say?
Although Rong Yuan has grown a lot over the years, at heart, he is still the little boy who couldn't use polite words like "thank you" or "you're welcome" to build relationships.
When she heard Paco's name, even though so much time had passed, Emilida's eyes couldn't help but turn red, and Rong Yuan felt as if his heart was pulled, with a numb pain.
The old man leaned forward, did not emphasize the charges against Paco that he had once accused himself, and asked in a slightly softer tone, "He is your friend?"
"Yes." Before this, Rong Yuan had never thought that he could so frankly admit that someone other than Jin Yang was his friend, but when he said it this time, there was no reluctance at all, only regret.
"He is also my child, but I never had the chance to get to know him." The old man sighed heavily, with a look of genuine sadness, and said, "Perhaps you would like to tell me about this friend?"
Rong Yuan believed that after the incident, he must have sent people to investigate Paco's life in great detail. He probably knew many things that even Paco himself did not remember. However, the governor could only understand Paco before he escaped from Kaiul Company. What he really wanted to know was Paco's actions and thoughts before and after the escape, which were not recorded in the data, and the reasons for the change of this originally mediocre and kind monk.
Rong Yuan actually didn't want to touch upon this memory, because every time he recalled it, he seemed to be re-examining the cold and selfish self of the past. That naked selfishness and the coldness of disregarding other people's kindness made him feel ashamed, and it also reminded him from time to time how he went further and further on the wrong path and how he was pulled back.
But this conversation was what he had been trying so hard to get.
So he briefly talked about how he met and separated from Paco, and embellished his hometown. Most of the time, it was Emerida who talked to the old man. Being able to talk to someone about the past of knowing Paco without hesitation made Emerida feel relaxed. Moreover, the old man was really a master at controlling people's hearts. After restraining his momentum, he was like an ordinary grandfather who liked to bask in the sun. He was also good at comforting and listening. In fact, he rarely asked questions and almost never took the initiative to guide the direction of the topic. Although his expression was gentle, he didn't smile obviously. But unconsciously, when Emerida talked about Paco's death and sobbed softly, she suddenly found that she didn't know when she was sitting on the chair, holding a cup of hot, sweet-smelling drink in her hand, and told almost everything she knew, even that she only had one set of underwear, so every time she washed and wrung it out, she basically relied on her body temperature to keep the clothes dry.
——Fortunately, she was still alert and did not confess that she had prepared poison for Rong Yuan.
Amirida looked at Geoso with a very tangled expression, but even so, she couldn't hate this old man in her heart. In fact, she even had a faint feeling that he could be trusted. So Amirida turned to glare at Rong Yuan who was obviously listening but never reminded her, feeling a little angry.
In fact, this attitude can also explain the true closeness and distance in her heart.
Rong Yuan did not stop it because this was exactly the situation he wanted.
When he saw Geoso walking down from the spaceship with his own eyes, he suddenly had the idea that they should meet and talk. At that time, this idea was only vague. Later, Rong Yuan sorted it out and understood why he made such a risky decision.
Not only because it was their only room for maneuver at the time, but also because he felt that even if they had no evidence, they might be able to gain the trust of the planet's top leader.
What he was betting on was the old man's wisdom, experience, and vision, as well as Amirida's simplicity, youthfulness, and ignorance, and his own immaturity.
Rong Yuan had never been around such a person, so he had no way of guessing what kind of thoughts and wisdom a person who had lived for more than 500 years and had seen all kinds of things in the world would have. Although he always thought highly of himself, he also knew himself well. The combined age of him and Amirida was just a fraction of the old man's age. It was simply stupid to play tricks and show off one's cleverness in front of him. In the eyes of this old man, the two of them were probably like a blank sheet of paper or a bowl of clear water. There was no need to guess, he could see through it at a glance.
That's why he asked for a meeting, because he knew that as long as he saw them in person, the Archon would be able to judge whether what they said was true or false without any evidence. Evidence could be forged, but looking into Amirida's eyes, anyone would believe that she was not lying.
…
After Rong Yuan and the other person left, a wall split in the middle and shrunk back to both sides. A long table and a few stools rose in the middle, and it instantly became a meeting room. Several people walked out from behind the original wall and sat down on a chair. The atmosphere was dull and no one spoke for a long time.
General Dakuka looked around at the solemn expressions of the crowd, then looked at Geoso and said with certainty: "They are not lying."
Everyone present here is Geoso's most trusted person and the person who holds the highest power in this country. The youngest is over 150 years old. Not to mention Amirida, even Rong Yuan, who always has a blank expression on his face, is not good enough to conceal his appearance in their eyes.
The ups and downs of officialdom, even if the political environment of Biqiu Star has been relatively clear and clean under the leadership of Geosao, it is not easy to deal with. Who has not trained a pair of sharp eyes to climb to the current position?
Geoso nodded. A skinny old octopus at the conference table sighed and said, "Now I really hope they are lying. This will make things easier."
The other two silent people at the table nodded sympathetically.
Dakuka glared at him coldly and said angrily: "Kayul Company brutally killed the people of Biqiu Star, acted recklessly in our territory, fabricated charges, spread terrorist rumors, endangered the normal social order, and played tricks on the Executive Office and the people of Biqiu Star. If we don't punish them severely, the majesty and sacredness of the Executive Office of Biqiu Star will be gone, and we will become the laughing stock of the alliance. My lord, please give the order! I will immediately mobilize the army to surround Kayul and capture the main culprit!"
Geoso frowned. Only one person at the table responded to his request. The others remained silent unexpectedly. There was no anger in their expressions. Instead, they seemed to be thinking about something, and their faces became increasingly uglier.
…
"Rong Yuan, if they believe us, will they protect us?"
In the lounge arranged by the Executive Office, Emilida sat by the bed and said uneasily. She didn't understand many things, but one thing was clear to her - there were very few people in this world who would protect strangers without caring about themselves, like Rong Yuan and Paco. What she saw most in her eyes was the evil of human nature. So after calming down, the magical trust faded, and anxiety and worry returned to her face.
"Of course not." Rong Yuan said without hesitation, "Justice is based on interests. For people at their level, seeking justice for one or two people is not justice. What is justice is to gain greater benefits for their own planet! So if there is enough interest in exchange, they will hand us over smoothly."
"What should we do then?" Emilida thought she could feel a little relieved, but after hearing Rong Yuan's words, she realized that their danger had not diminished in the slightest.
"Don't worry, they won't make such a decision right away." Rong Yuan didn't seem very nervous. He said calmly, "The one who can decide whether we stay or go now is not you and me, nor that old man Geoso, but Kayul Company."
Emilida was even more frightened and stammered, "Does it depend on...how much they are willing to pay?"
"No." Rong Yuan shook his head and said, "It depends on how much they are prepared to pay."
There were some things that Rong Yuan did not discuss with Aimirida. Although he knew that the girl could provide him with a lot of help, he still hoped to protect her as much as possible from being exposed to darkness and cruelty.
The star network base station connecting the Biqiu star to the interstellar space was destroyed and had not been repaired, but the network inside the planet was still intact. Noah II was like a fish in water on the Internet, and obtained a lot of information silently, but some key places, such as the Executive Office and the interior of Kayul Company, had protection and alarm levels that were enough to sound an alarm at the first time of Noah II's invasion, so Noah II had never touched them and could only collect some marginal information, just like looking for various scattered puzzle pieces, trying to piece together the full picture of the incident.
During this process, some actions of Kaiul Company aroused Rong Yuan's suspicion.
At the same time, in the conference room, someone else discovered the same problem as him.
