Crimson Embers Chapter 22: It’s great to go from being a counterfeit dealer to being a craftsman.
Mason was teleported out from the burned underground on a Mobius chair. The sun was shining brightly and the time was three o'clock in the afternoon. The entire City of Hope was under martial law by the sixth-sequence conquerors. Due to the cooperation of the garrison troops, the whole process went very smoothly. After the first round of confrontation, no dangerous confrontation broke out.
The windbreaker landed in front of Mason at supersonic speed, and he landed like a classic superhero, shattering the rocks on the ground.
He stood up, nodded to Mason, and said:
“The envoys you left behind have already begun to be sent back to their respective garden worlds using the sixth and second sequence world transporters.
But some of them would like to see you again."
"This shows that everything is fine, but I don't think I have time to talk to them about the future. Whether it's imagining the ruling model of the next era or just testing the waters, those things will be discussed slowly with them by someone else."
Mason sat in the mechanical chair and turned his head to glance at the countdown floating above the armrest. In about four days, the uncontrolled rift leading to the fighting world would open. Before that, he had to make all preparations.
The captain already had a premonition that he would end it all there, no matter whether it was beautiful or ugly, perfect or regretful.
"Is old Luther all right?"
He raised his head and glanced at Feng Yichao, and asked:
"Did Ronan give him any trouble?"
"No, that Kree behaved very well. Becca and Kirk are with Luthor, so there won't be any problems."
Feng Yichao also relaxed at this moment.
He hung beside Mason's mechanical chair, looking at the municipal robots that were cleaning up the debris on the ground. These guys had been taken over by Brainiac Jr. as part of maintaining order in the city.
After a few seconds of silence, the Superman, who had never spoken his name but only his code name, suddenly said to Mason:
"Thank you."
"Um?"
The captain looked at him in surprise and said:
"Why do you say that all of a sudden? I see that you are not the kind of guy who would thank others casually. The warrior part of you does not allow you to be so gentle."
"I'm just telling the truth."
Feng Yichao shook his head, brushed his hair, and whispered:
"Although it seems simple, I know that without your participation, this will not go so smoothly. Just dealing with the Iron Tyrant and dealing with Ronan's threat is enough to make our progress difficult.
A big part of the reason why the Sixth Sequence is so easy to talk to today is because you suddenly appeared and stood on our side. I didn’t really believe in such an illusory thing as the leader’s personal charm.
But I believe it now.
The temperament you possess cannot be called the personal charm of a leader, but it has indeed been transformed into real deterrence in this era.
Ronan, his legion, and the forces behind him are all afraid of you.
They are afraid that you will interfere with their plans, or even that you will regard them as enemies. Obviously, what you have done before has frightened them.
But it's surprising that you can let go of a Conqueror Sequence so easily.
Although I have never met you, I know what happened in the past, and I know you are not such a weak person."
"Because Ronan is not just Ronan. That guy is just a spokesperson who was pushed out."
Mason sighed, sat on the mechanical chair and explained to Windbreaker:
"The twelve Conquerors and the special Dark Knights formed the backbone of the Council's military force. The commander of the first order was my sister, and I killed her with my own hands.
The commander of the third sequence was my girlfriend’s elder. In order to save her and me, he broke up with his old friend of many years and chose to commit suicide in the most painful way.
The commanders and organizations of the fourth, seventh, and eleventh lower orders were destroyed by me and my friends in the world war.
The Queen of the Eighth Sequence, Gollum, is my sister’s best friend and also my companion and subordinate.
Dr. Halsey of the Tenth Sequence can barely be considered a fellow traveler.
You see, I actually have connections with most of the Conqueror Sequences, and I also learned some inside information from them. Ronan, the commander of the Sixth Sequence, is the most enthusiastic about forming small groups among all the commanders.
He had previously formed cliques and factions to sell out some low-level directors of the board of directors. This guy has a bad record in this regard, but he has indeed built a secret group for himself.
With the Chief of the Arbitration Tribunal Nick Fury forced to death by me, the God Doom disappearing and Tony Zero executed by me, if he wanted to, he could have made a call to rebuild the Council's system.
But he didn't.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to, Superman, but the forces behind and around him don’t dare to make trouble anymore. Isn’t this a tacit understanding?
They surrendered to me through Ronan's statement, and used this humble gesture to express that they would no longer interfere with the New Utopia Project and would even provide full assistance.
I can't kill them all, right?
Although I have such intentions, if I really do this, many people will die...
At a time when we have seen hope and can touch the next era, it is not a wise choice to start a war because of some personal thoughts and actions. "
"So you're going to let them go?"
Feng Yichao snorted and said:
"From your perspective, each of those guys is guilty of a serious crime. It wouldn't be unfair to kill them ten times. But in the end, you still gave in. This has made your image much worse in my eyes."
"I'm not backing down, I'm just changing my approach."
Mason shook his head, rubbed his brow and said:
"There are also many people in my camp who are very good at using underhanded tactics to weaken their opponents. They are good at this and they don't have many common interests except for survival.
Once they have overcome the impact of the threatening existence and entered the beautiful next era, they will inevitably fall apart for one reason or another and eventually go their separate ways or even become enemies.
Without even having to think about it, I can come up with at least half a dozen guesses for that scenario.
Although I don't care about the distribution of power in the post-disaster era and have no interest in joining it, we are all brothers who have carried guns in the same trench, and we all risked our lives to help each other in the battle of fusion. It's a pity to just disperse like this.
You see, this involves another problem, Superman, let me ask you, how can two people who have their own agenda and are planning to break up and divide their belongings maintain unity as much as possible? "
"Use ideals? Set rules?"
Feng Yichao frowned and thought for a moment, then said:
"It seems unlikely. After all, morality can only restrain individuals, while power can turn wise men into warlike fools."
"Ideals cannot accomplish this. After all, everyone needs to eat and drink. We cannot live on ideals alone. Rules will always be broken one day, especially in an era when a whole new universe is waiting to be explored."
Mason manipulated the mechanical chair to float up, and said to Feng Yichao beside him:
"But there is one thing that can make people temporarily put aside their grudges...the enemy!
I don't ask how long this move can maintain peace, but at least in the next era, after we build a reasonable framework for getting along, it won't be too late for us to go our separate ways.
Ronan and his friends can create a bottom line for my friends to maintain unity after I leave.
Without enemies, even the most stable alliance will collapse.
But before the common enemy is dealt with, the samurai's swords will not be pointed at each other...Ah, thinking about these damn questions gives me a headache, but I can't really just put it aside and let things develop to the worst. "
"That sounds terrible."
Feng Yichao shrugged and said:
"Old Luther would certainly be interested in this."
"So you think I said those words to you just now?"
Mason rolled his eyes, tapped the armrest of the mechanical chair, and said:
"Would you be more aware of your own IQ limit? Tell your adoptive father what I just said, and he will understand what I mean.
By the way, why do you have a bad relationship with old Luther?
You don't hate him, do you? "
"Nothing."
Feng Yichao sighed and said:
“When the old man raised me, he kept telling me that my strength and potential would become the hope of uniting a world. He saw me as the future of human evolution.
However, one day when I had already formed this understanding, he told me that he had actually already deciphered the information on my baby spaceship.
I was not born into the bloodline of a hero. My father was a tyrant of Krypton. It was his willful behavior that led directly to the destruction of Krypton. He destroyed his own people with his own hands...
I am the descendant of a war madman who destroyed his own world, and I have undoubtedly inherited that brutal gene.
Luther gave me a lofty ideal, and then shattered it with his own hands.
Although it was later proved that it was just a means for old Luthor to prevent me from being brainwashed by President Amanda Waller's words of heroes and guardians and becoming a tool.
But you know?
That feeling...
The feeling of being cheated on by the man you considered a father."
"I don't know. Sorry, I'm an adopted son like you, and my gangster father obviously doesn't have the leisure time like old Luther to instill in me ideals and goals, which are exaggerated and illusory.
He likes to play boxing games with me the most, the kind where I am the punching bag.
Before I was ten years old, I was beaten into the hospital three times by my adoptive father. I guess this would be a big record in other places, but in the city where I grew up, I was considered a relatively "happy" child.
After all, my adoptive father left me a 'iron rice bowl' as a low-level henchman in a gang, although on my second day at work I was shot in the head by a jerk with a wine bottle.
Before my last birthday, there was no such luxurious and exquisite thing as ideal in my life.
So I'm sorry, I can't understand the 'pain' you, a kid in your thirties, feel for having to cut off all contact with your father because he ruined your ideals."
Mason curled his lips and replied, causing Feng Yichao to widen his eyes. After a long moment of embarrassment, he whispered under Mason's gaze:
"My condolences... Uh, sorry, it looks like you're having a much worse time than I am."
"Do you think you should apologize to me?"
Mason asked again, and Feng Yichao snorted, bent down in the air and accelerated to disappear in front of the captain. If he stayed here any longer, he would probably have to awkwardly build a Hanging Gardens of Babylon in the air with his toes.
"Tsk, a spoiled and doted on Kryptonian brat."
The captain watched Feng Yichao disappear at the end of his sight and then complained harshly.
He planned to go to the sixth-sequence mothership to meet with the Supreme Intelligence, chat about some meaningless topics and reiterate his assurance that Ronan's small group did not have to worry about being retaliated by him, lest they become desperate and do something desperate due to paranoia.
On the way to the Dark Star, the Mobius Chair's communication was connected, and Bartmos's puzzled voice sounded from it. The God of Data said in a suspicious tone:
"Why did you give me a weird AI? And what weird things did you do to Skynet's main program? Why was this guy crying when he reported to me?
And he kept saying that he was a sinner. "
"Well, that could be it's just pretending. The Skynet we encountered is a complete drama queen. But it could also be that I was just overdoing it. I used the Star Emperor's Heart to help it complete its biological empathy program, making it realize how bad its past actions were at the level of life."
Mason explained, and then said:
"But now it is your prisoner. Remember to lock it up before the new era comes. Do not let it out until you are sure it is no longer dangerous.
How is Uncle Tun doing?
Are you still scolding me? "
"That was such a nasty insult. I never knew the gods in the universe could be so nasty when it comes to insulting people. They really don't care about their dignity at all."
Bartmos complained harshly and said:
"As of today, we have destroyed nearly forty Cleaner Hive Worlds. The ghost pirates under your command are extremely enthusiastic about this matter. Not only are they guiding the Star Emperor to the next target, they are also working almost non-stop.
It seems that all your subordinates are a bunch of lunatics.
The good news is that at our current rate of progress, we should be able to clear out all the nests before the Sixth Impact.
The bad news is that according to the results sent back by Unicron's star sea probe, the speed of tremors in the deep universe is accelerating. The fifth impact will be in five days, and the sixth impact will come in a week at most.
I personally have a guess that if the situation continues to get worse, there will not be a seventh impact. When the sixth impact occurs, it will directly cause the collapse of the entire universe system.
Whether the cosmic egg can be formed depends on the next period of time.
In other words, we will reach the node between the old era and the new era in half a month at most. Whether we can survive to the next era and become a legend depends on this last step. "
"Yeah, I already know that."
Mason breathed a sigh of relief. He saw another communication signal flashing, and said to Bartmos:
"Uncle Tun, please be prepared. We may need Him to take action to solve a problem in a few days."
"Aren't you afraid that He will kill you the moment He escapes?"
Bartmos was stunned for a moment, and Mason curled his lips and said:
"That's just a backup plan, a last resort. It's just right if Uncle Tun doesn't need it. Okay, I won't talk to you anymore. There's another communication here."
He stretched out his hand to switch the communication frequency band, and the big face of Engineer Mason, which was stained with engine oil, was projected in the next moment. He was standing in the cabin of the Iron Emperor's mechanical battleship, with various instruments behind him. Other Masons were directing various types of Mark armor to move around in it as if they were moving house.
"Hey, Mason, we got a room for you."
The engineer waved a large wrench and said:
"This cool ship will belong to us from now on. We all voted and agreed to call it the 'Family'. It has exactly 16 decks, one for each person, and 6 more for public testing areas.
Do you need us to help you clean up?
I guess you won't have much time to come and decorate it yourself, so why don't you ask Harley and Quinn to come over and help you make some decisions?"
"It's already this late, and you're still in the mood to decorate the house?"
Mason rolled his eyes and said:
“In less than five days, I will be heading to the Doujie for the final battle. You will come with me then. I estimate that we will have to fight as a group this time, so you should prepare everything you can.
If everything goes smoothly, then we'll complete the last leg of the journey and I'll take you to another place to broaden your horizons.
Haven't you always wondered which bastard sent us here?
The answer will be forthcoming.”
"Oh, this is a great feeling!"
The engineer laughed and said:
"No problem, leave it to us. Five days, right? Just wait and see how we build you an arsenal of weapons for the apocalypse.
Oh, by the way, the upgraded Supreme Arsenal is ready. Come and get it when you have time.
There are all genuine cosmic artifacts inside.
Finally, we don’t have to be counterfeit dealers anymore.”
