Volume 9: Molten Mine Chapter 428: Leftovers
"After hearing what you said, I also feel that something is fishy..." The Hound held up his chin and said, "That Bu...what's your name Bu?"
"Breya." Aya Breya glanced at the Hound and knew that he was teasing her on purpose, but she did not show the same tough attitude as before. "Excuse me, could you be a little more serious?"
"I'm serious!" The Hound deliberately put on a solemn expression. "So, Team Leader Breya, what do you think about this matter?"
"The person who edited the emergency evacuation notice committed serious dereliction of duty." Aya Breya hesitated for a moment, then said.
"We all know this, you don't need to tell us . What I want to ask is, what do you think about this obviously problematic timeline?" said the Hound.
"Without solid evidence, I won't jump to conclusions."
"I didn't ask you to make a conclusion, I just made a guess." The Hound looked at her with a smile, "You don't even dare to guess?"
"What do you want me to say?" Aya asked back.
"It's because I'm stupid and can't figure it out that I asked Team Leader Breya for advice." The Hound said and looked at Ke Lan, "Then Ke Lan, you tell me?"
"I suspect the earthquake is related to the garrison base." Ke Lan said.
"You think this earthquake was caused by the garrison base?" Layton asked, "But... didn't we have this hypothesis before? The conclusion is that the garrison base is not capable of causing an earthquake of this magnitude."
“The absence of a garrison base doesn’t mean there are no remains of the Alpha civilization.” Ivan shook his head.
"Why are the ruins of the Alpha Civilization involved again? There is no direct connection between the two, right?" Layton asked in confusion. "If the mechanism in the ruins was triggered, the garrison base would not have received an early warning, right? We are all experienced hunters, and we have come into contact with many traps of the Alpha Civilization. Let alone eight minutes , we probably wouldn't even have eight seconds to react."
"What if they deliberately wanted to trigger this mechanism? That makes sense..." Ivan analyzed, "Suppose there is something very important in the ruins, but getting that thing will inevitably trigger the mechanism, so the person in charge of the operation asked the people stationed at the base to evacuate before entering the ruins..."
"That's not right." Ke Lan shook her head. "If that's the case, we could have evacuated a few days in advance and waited until all the personnel and property in the garrison base had left the mining area before exploring the ruins. This would have minimized the losses. It's not like now, where we hurriedly issued an emergency evacuation notice with only two words a few minutes before the earthquake broke out. Moreover, an action of this level, no matter what the reason, must be reported to the Ark for record, right?"
"That's true..." Ivan nodded, "But in this case, the logic of the whole thing becomes a dead end."
"I think that whether it was triggering an earthquake or issuing an emergency evacuation notice, it was probably a spur-of-the-moment decision by the 'cause of the disaster' - they might not have intended to trigger the mechanism at first, but they encountered a situation in the ruins where they had no choice but to trigger it."
"It's hard to get off the tiger?"
"Suppose this group of people are trapped in a closed passage, with a solid wall covered with spikes approaching from behind them. The wall gradually compresses their space for movement. In order to avoid being pierced by spikes or crushed into meat paste, they can only move forward. However, moving forward will trigger another mechanism and cause an earthquake, but at least there is a glimmer of hope for survival. What will you choose?" Ke Lan said.
"I will kill everyone else in the ruins, and then commit suicide." Aya Breya said without hesitation, "Compared to the entire garrison base and all the personnel and property in the Molten Mine, the lives of a few people are not important."
"It's a very rational approach ." Ke Lan nodded to Aya. "It seems that when faced with the trolley problem, you should be the one who can pull the lever without hesitation."
"If we are going to suffer losses no matter what, we should do everything we can to minimize them. This is the first thing we need to consider." Aya said sternly.
The trolley problem is a question that tests human nature and morality. Although pulling the lever can reduce the number of people run over by the trolley from five to one, it means that the person who pulls the lever becomes the murderer. It is he who "personally" kills the person who did not have to die - this is just looking at the problem from a bystander's perspective, but what if the person who has the power to make the decision is tied to the track himself?
"I have no doubt about Team Leader Breya's noble spirit of sacrifice and resolute execution. These two things are what an excellent security agent must possess." Ke Lan said in a deep voice, "Even if those people are as noble and self-sacrificing as you...but what if...all the personnel and properties in the garrison base and the Molten Mine Area are the one who is tied up alone on another track?"
"What do you mean?" Aya Breya was slightly stunned and asked.
"Being forced to trigger the mechanism does not necessarily mean that the lives of the people in the ruins are threatened...it may also be that they have been subjected to unimaginable temptation." Ke Lan said word by word.
"Unimaginable temptation?" Aya repeated these seven words. "For the sake of valuable relics, they can ignore the lives of everyone in the entire mining area?"
"That depends on the value of this 'relic'. If it's enough to change the fate of all mankind, then let alone sacrificing the entire Molten Mine District, even if it means paying the price of half of the population on the Ark, I believe those in power will make the same decision." Ke Lan said.
"Then can't they wait until everyone in the mining area is evacuated before taking any measures?" Aya asked puzzled.
"As someone who has not participated in the exploration of ruins, I understand your thoughts, Team Leader Breya." Ke Lan said calmly, "But many times, opportunities are fleeting. As long as there is a moment of hesitation, the hunters may miss the 'prey'."
"…You are just making excuses!"
"But judging from the clues we have now, it seems that only this kind of 'sophistry ' can make sense." Ke Lan shrugged helplessly, turned around and continued to check the cab of the truck.
…
In addition to some tools, a deck of cards and half a pack of cigarettes in the glove box, he found a small locked box in the secret compartment under the driver's seat.
However, after everyone opened the small box with a hint of excitement, they were disappointed again - the box contained only some Nino alloy scraps cut off during rough processing. Most of these things would flow into the black market and become part of the driver's gray income...
However, when Ke Lan picked up one of the scraps, he let out a slight exclamation.
"Strange? Layton, come here for a moment."
"What's wrong? Did you find anything?"
"Look at this scrap. The octagonal hole on it has a very smooth edge... Will the equipment used to process Nino alloy leave such marks on the scrap?"
