Chapter 228 Agreement
The rain had stopped, and the breeze blew gently, with drops of water rolling down from the green leaves from time to time. A black swallow flew across the calm lake, leaving behind a string of fine ripples.
Rong Yuan had been gone for a long time, but Jin Nan was still sitting in the pavilion. He closed his eyes and recalled the entire meeting process in his mind two or three times. He remembered every subtle movement and expression clearly. He then planned what he was going to do in the future step by step. After repeated consideration and making sure there was nothing left out, he got up and left.
He walked out of the pavilion, crossed the wooden bridge, passed the corridor formed by the wisteria trees, walked out of the park at a constant pace, and got into a black car. The driver of the car was originally leaning on the chair with his eyes closed as if he had fallen asleep. When he heard the sound, he glanced at him in the rearview mirror, and saw that Jin Nan had his eyes down and did not seem to have any further instructions, so he started the car directly.
Jin Nan, who sat in the back seat, always had an unhealthy face, a thin body that seemed weak, and looked a little fragile when he lowered his head, but the power contained in him was beyond anyone's imagination. He had made many achievements, but they were kept secret. In the eyes of those who knew him, he was the strongest warrior and the best soldier in the Sugar Country, but for Jin Nan, these titles were not important. Everything he did was just to follow his heart.
Including this time, he single-handedly facilitated the meeting with the Crow leader, and insisted on not revealing the true identity of this "leader" to anyone. He said to the outside world that the man was very cautious and did not meet him in his true face; but the real reason was to avoid the secret being leaked and some fools who stole high positions and thought they could control everything would destroy the peace he had worked so hard to build.
The car stopped at the bottom of an ordinary residential building. There was no parking lot here, so he could only park in the open-air parking space in front of the green belt of the community. He walked into the small building, closed the door, and then turned on the voice-activated switch of the corridor light. He pressed his hand on the blank wall. After a moment, with a slight "ding" sound, the seemingly ordinary security door slid open with unreasonably lightness and silence.
Inside the door, it was like another world. The walls of the entire floor were broken through, and various instruments and documents were placed on them. Five or six people were busy inside. When they heard the noise, they all turned their heads to look over. When they saw Jin Nan, they all gathered around him, saying "Boss, you're back", "Boss, are you okay?", etc., and greeted him. Some took his coat, and some brought him a cup of hot coffee. They did these things not because of any regulations or to curry favor with him, but purely because they wanted to do so.
A moment later, Jin Nan was sitting in a casual posture on the comfortable and large sofa, with a cup of coffee in his hand and snacks beside him. No matter what the people in the room were doing before, they all gathered around him. Some sat on the sofas on both sides, some brought a stool, and some leaned against the back of the chair or the wall, all looking at him eagerly.
"Boss, is the negotiation going well?" Maidong with small eyes was the first to couldn't help but ask anxiously.
Jin Nan didn't mean to keep the secret, so he nodded and said, "Yes, he agreed."
"That's good." Poshi breathed a sigh of relief. He had thick eyebrows, a round face, a short flat head, dark skin, a pair of big, piercing eyes, and a strong and sturdy figure. Even sitting there, he gave people a feeling of being like a mountain. He paused for a moment and said, "There are already objections to your proposal this time. If it is rejected again, it will be difficult for us."
…
Jin Nan's proposal was not accepted by all of his own people at first. He first convinced his classmates, then his father and grandfather, and then asked for instructions from his superiors. After many twists and turns, he finally got the current result.
The agreement he reached with Rong Yuan was that the crows could be kept, but in the future, punishing crime would be the main task of government departments, and the crows would act as supervisors and assistants in the operation. In this way, first of all, the government's prestige and power could be maintained, and the trust of the people could be restored, so that it would not be destroyed by the activeness of the crows; secondly, in case the public security departments of various countries did not perform their functions well, the existence of the crows would be a deterrent and guarantee; furthermore, in the government-led anti-crime activities, prior investigation, evacuation of the people, maintenance of order, post-processing, sentencing and punishment could all be taken into account, unlike the crows, which often needed to use any means to win in a battle with fewer people against more people, and the situation could easily get out of control, and they often punished too severely or affected innocent people.
The conditions offered to the Crows are: all members of the Crows (the Sugar Government actually already has most of the names) can have their past criminal records wiped out, and they will not be restricted from visiting relatives, going to school, traveling, or finding jobs in the future. They can even take the civil service exam, but they will not commit any more illegal or disorderly acts in the future; the injured or disabled are guaranteed to receive the best treatment and the most appropriate care, and if they are willing to join the government, they can serve as coaches for certain special forces even if they are unable to walk, and all treatment will be in accordance with the best standards. These are the two most important ones, and there are other trivial conditions, such as preferential conditions in housing, medical care, wages, welfare benefits, etc. for Crow members who are willing to reveal their identities; Crows who are unwilling to reveal their identities can also be given the greatest freedom and a certain degree of immunity, such as running a red light when chasing criminals as long as it does not cause harm; they can also obtain protection from the Sugar Country when they are abroad, and can seek help from the embassy in case of any situation, etc.
In other words, the Crows are required to hand over their targets and evidence to the local government before they can act. If the government cannot solve the problem or tries to cover it up, the Crows will be needed. There are basically no restrictions except that they cannot kill or burn people at will. As long as they can do this, the existence of the Crows will be officially approved by the Sugar Government. In addition to various favorable conditions, the most important thing is that they will have a chance to walk in the sun again.
This opportunity is invaluable to the crows who want to regain a normal life and care for their families. Even those who like to live on the edge of a knife would like to have the time to go shopping and eat without covering their faces.
So Rong Yuan agreed.
However, there is one thing that Jin Nan did not say, but Rong Yuan also understood - no matter how much freedom the Crows were given in this agreement, no matter how relaxed the conditions were, when they accepted this agreement, they were no longer the dark punishers who were unrestrained and lawless except for Rong Yuan, but special police within the system who had to follow certain rules and accept appropriate discipline.
Even so, for the Sugar Country, it is almost impossible to accept the existence of this semi- free vigilante. The reasons for this change are Jin Nan's efforts, the status, contribution and connections of the Jin family, and the current turbulent world situation. In any case, it is very difficult to make this happen, and the result may not be satisfactory.
As for the future, will the black chess pieces eventually be swallowed up by the huge, whirlpool-like system; or will they disturb the calm lake like a catfish, causing the whole country to change; or will they eventually replace the bloated bureaucratic system of the past imperceptibly and become a special, independent and free existence? All the possibilities are uncertain, and Rong Yuan has already let go.
Since saving the Bhikkhu Star, Rong Yuan's merits have become an astronomical figure. Although there is no way to see the changes in merits after returning to Earth, the marshmallows, laboratory vaccines, Skynet aiders, etc., have increased Rong Yuan's merits every moment. In comparison, although the merits brought by the black chess are considerable, there are also many troubles, just like chicken ribs, tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away. Considering the future, if the black chess develops into an irreplaceable existence and suddenly loses control or collapses , Rong Yuan will also be dragged down because of joint liability - human hearts have always been complicated and changeable, and he does not think that Noah's monitoring can be foolproof. So rationally speaking, it is best to let go now.
However, the black chess piece - or the crow, is special to him and to this world, so he negotiated with Jinnan in the name of the leader behind the scenes. He will also let Noah continue to assist them and will lend a helping hand if one of the black chess pieces is in danger of life in the future, but that's all.
…
"It's not over even if it's solved." The next person to speak was Gancao, a gentle girl who was good at medicine. She frowned and said, "The boss has taken this matter on himself, so he has to shoulder it from now on. There are many troubles, and it won't be easy in the future."
Everyone nodded. They all had great confidence in Jin Nan, believing that he would be able to handle it, but the key point was how the crows would contact the government, how they would cooperate, how they would determine the ownership and responsibility relationship, how they would resolve any disagreements, etc. It was impossible for Jin Nan to completely get rid of it. There were 81 difficulties on the journey to obtain the scriptures, and this was only the first one.
Therefore, people like Mai Dong do not understand why Jin Nan must do this himself. This kind of thing is a thankless task with twice the effort and half the result. If you don't do it well, you will be like a rat in the bellows, being bullied from both ends. Most people can't even push it, so how can they be eager to take it over?
However, they all trust and love Jin Nan, so even if they disagree, they will carry it out without any compromise.
They discussed future issues for a while, came up with a rough charter, and took the initiative to share the various tasks. They did not stop even during the meal, and it was not until midnight that they returned to their rooms to rest at Jin Nan's command.
Only when everything was quiet did Jin Nan breathe a sigh of relief, take out a white envelope from the drawer of his room, look at it, and then set it on fire.
——This is his suicide note.
No one knew that when Jin Nan went to see Rong Yuan today, he was prepared to "perhaps die."
He did not reveal Rong Yuan's identity to anyone, nor did he explain to anyone the relationship between the leader of the Crows and the aliens and the pilots of the humanoid mechas. He was wary of Rong Yuan's seemingly omnipresent monitoring capabilities, and he was worried that if he told anyone, it might bring disaster to the people around him.
What Rong Yuan would do after discovering his secret was exposed was entirely up to him. Killing to keep his identity secret was only one of the most likely possibilities. From what Jin Nan knew about Rong Yuan, he was not a person who would care about human life. Once he made a decision, he would act without hesitation. For Jin Yang's sake, Jin Nan felt that he might not die, but the secret behind Rong Yuan was as unfathomable as an iceberg hidden under the sea. Perhaps there were other means.
For example, in the laboratory, there is a stand-in that is so lifelike that no one can see any flaws.
Fortunately, the worst may not have happened, and everything is moving in a good direction.
He couldn't let others know or do this, because he knew that someone like Rong Yuan who possessed power beyond the planet might be pushed to the opposite side if he was not careful. It would be absolutely not feasible to treat him the same way as ordinary people. Unfortunately, most people with a certain status did not know the proper manner of interaction when facing "common people".
He also couldn't just ignore it and let it develop freely, because he saw the crisis of mankind and the great hidden power in Rong Yuan. The aliens were so close to the earth, and it would take many years for humans to cope with such a crisis at the normal speed of technological development. There were only two possibilities for rapid development: one was that mankind would be reborn in the war, after all, war was the best catalyst for technology; the other was to get the help of Rong Yuan, who could fight the aliens head-on and win .
Mecha, stand-ins, some kind of monitoring program... He believed that what he saw was just the tip of the iceberg. However, coercion, threats, inducement, deception... using these means are all foolish in the face of absolute power, and the only outcome is self-destruction.
So he used the crow as an introduction, hinting to Rong Yuan that he already knew him very well, testing Rong Yuan's attitude, observing his character, and laying the groundwork for future interactions.
The suicide note burned into a small pile of black debris, which crumbled into pieces with a twist. The air was filled with the special smell of burning paper, and with a "click", the lights were turned off.
In the darkness, Jin Nan wiped his fingers clean, lay on the bed and closed his eyes, covering up the bottomless emotions in his eyes.
