Even the winner of the final contest will be at their disposal, meekly sticking out his head and voluntarily surrendering his freedom and wearing the collar.
” Bai Anyi” said, “The program, officially called it the ‘Alien Protection Program’.”
Chi Xiaochi laughed: “…… ha, ‘protection’.”
He looked to the sky, to the false bird trails, to the false clouds.
The falsehood of it all, as beautiful as it is real: “…… is not ‘protection’.”
Chi Xiaochi has figured out a lot of things.
Opposition to the Alter Ego is not always blind.
In every case, there is an element of interest.
From the moment they concealed their identities, Bai Anyi, for whatever reason, were already labelled as “sinners” and “unstable elements” by society.
They want to make sure that they are monitoring every psychic, because once the secret of “psychics killing each other to raise their power levels” is made public, there is no guarantee that psychics will not kill each other for profit.
Therefore, in order to protect the personal safety of the “law-abiding” psychics, the authorities need to detain these “unstable” psychics, “reasonably” use the laws of evolution to screen out the irregular and useless psychics, provide “sustenance” for the police force, and give them three surviving quotas, so as to implement a leaner policy and strengthen the power of the psychic police force, in order to better maintain the existing social order and protect the obedient psychics and normal humans.
As for gambling with the lives of these “psychics”, it is just one of the side-projects in the pursuit of maximum profit.
Seeing the look on Chi Xiaochi’s face, “Bai Anyi” knew that digesting this news would not be easy.
Even he, on seeing the plan, smoked half a snatched cigarette at the computer screen.
Even if they manage to escape, they will become rebels who threaten the stability of society and will be wanted for life, unless they can escape to a country that offers shelter to the alien and live out their lives in anonymity.
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But what is Bai Anyi’s insistence in the first place if he compromises with the rules, fights for his life, and gives up his freedom in favour of sticking his head in a collar?
For a while, even “Bai Anyi” didn’t know what to choose.
He is not a person, he is a shadow that exists because of Bai Anyi’s presence.
What would Bai Anyi want to do if it were him?
Chi Xiaochi sat on the oasis and listened quietly to the sound of the wind for a while.
In the meantime, Lou Ying was half-kneeling behind him, doing nothing but holding his shoulders vaguely.
His heart was very still and his expression was the same.
”Bai Anyi” watched the pair curiously from the sidelines, finding the aura between them subtle, not like tension, but rather peaceful.
After sitting there for four or five minutes, Chi Xiaochi stood up, followed by Lou Ying.
Chi Xiaochi : “Let’s go.”
” Bai Anyi”: “Where to?”
Chi Xiaochi : “Problem solving.”
” Bai Anyi” was half surprised at his crispness and half curious as to what he had thought of in those few short minutes, “How do you solve it?”
Chi Xiaochi : “Murder.”
” Bai Anyi”: “…… Are you going to follow the rules and get in the game?”
Chi Xiaochi : “No. It’s using the rules.”
” Bai Anyi” confesses, “I can’t think of how you’re going to use the rules in this tram conundrum.”
There are many versions of the so-called “tram problem”.
In general, it refers to a train that is speeding along and cannot be stopped, and is about to pass a fork in the road. The fork is divided into two tracks, one on which only one child is playing, and the other on which the train is meant to travel, on which five children are playing in pairs.
The protagonist facing this dilemma has a life-or-death trigger in his hands.
With no time to dodge, which way should he turn the trigger gate?
This dilemma was born out of a heated debate.
What exactly should be the solution?
Is it better to respect most lives and give up on that one child? Or to believe that any life has equal value and simply not pull the spanner and leave it to fate?
Extending to the situation at hand, the analogy can be drawn as to whether one should go against one’s principles and sacrifice one’s freedom in order to save oneself, or whether one should strictly adhere to one’s principles and sacrifice one’s life in order to be free?
Chi Xiaochi asks rhetorically, “What do you think of this?”
” Bai Anyi” says: “That’s not the version I heard. The one of the two switchbacks, the one with only one child playing, was a track that had long been semi-abandoned; the one with five children playing was a track clearly marked ‘in use’. In other words, the five children are breaking the rules; the one child who is obeying the rules is at risk of being hit and killed. Ask, in this situation, what would you choose?”
Chi Xiaochi nodded without making any extra comment, “Well, I’ve heard that version.”
Lou Ying said, “I’ve heard another version. That one kid was a good kid with good character; while those five kids were famous punks with bad character and extremely bad studies. Again, the question is, what are you going to choose in this situation?”
Chi Xiaochi lapses into silence.
Both ” Bai Anyi” and Lou Ying were waiting to find out what answer Chi Xiaochi would give.
But instead of answering directly, Chi Xiaochi pursed the corners of her lips, “…… So, do you see it?”
Lou Ying muses.
” Bai Anyi”, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow, “See what?”
”The person who came up with the questions was intentionally piling conditions on top of each other.” Chi Xiaochi said, “He was intentionally baiting the respondent to bump the five kids.”
” Bai Anyi “: “……”
It seems that …… does.
”It’s like the application problems you did in primary school, where all the conditions are laid out clearly and the ultimate aim is for you to come up with that one and only answer at the end. That’s what the question makers want us to do.”
Chi Xiaochi says: “There is no point in deliberately piling up conditions on a topic like this. Because the conditions are infinite and can be piled on indefinitely. What if the five men were all murderers? Suppose those five people do not die, and the next day there is a global tsunami that kills millions of people; or simply suppose that the existence of those five people will lead to the destruction of the earth? Are you going to crash? If not, I can pile on countless more ‘hypotheses’ until I break your bottom line and induce you to pick the answer the questioner wants.”
”It’s the same choice we face. Assuming that there is harm in concealing the identity of a shifter, and assuming that the disclosure of a shifter’s secrets would lead to great social disorder, it makes sense to imprison and execute disobedient shifter. …… This is the conclusion of the institution’s founders based on conditions.”
”And in such a situation we are tempted to do the same. Either we save ourselves by killing, or we free ourselves by committing suicide, or we are killed by others, because that is the rule, the result of various conditions piled on top of each other. But I want to try and see if there is a fourth way out.”
” Bai Anyi”: “What is the fourth way?”
Chi Xiaochi opened the warehouse and swiped the screen to find the card: “I’ll solve whoever comes up with this bogey topic. That’s what I call it, ‘problem solving’.”
” Bai Anyi” puts himself in Bai Anyi’s shoes and asks, “What if you were required to kill someone in the process? Do you think that’s what Bai Anyi wants?”
” Bai Anyi, since he chose to come back, it was clear what he wanted. — he wants to live.” Chi Xiaochi says, “To live is, in itself, an extremely utilitarian thing. And utilitarian means that it cannot be achieved without sacrificing something.”
He said, “There are things that Bai Anyi may know better than you think. A man who has died once should always know that if you want to look up at the stars in peace, you have to walk through the thorny ground with your feet on the ground.”
” Bai Anyi” said, “This pragmatic gentleman, be clear, when you say ‘solve the problem’, you are talking about solving an entire organisation, or even an entire country.”
”I know.” Chi Xiaochi said, “That’s why I need help.”
”So? Our next target for action?”
Chi Xiaochi said, “Go back to D20 and pull in new teammates.”
” Bai Anyi” became more and more interested: “Where did …… get his teammates? Is it someone you know?”
Chi Xiaochi rummaged through the warehouse for a card that could teleport and said, “I’ve only seen it before. But when I save his life, we’ll be teammates.”
” Bai Anyi” is confused: “…… eh?”
What happened in the hour he was gone?
It was Lou Ying who explained for Chi Xiaochi: “We were waiting for you to come back when we noticed some contestants coming in to rest outside the forest.”
”You’ve borrowed their bodies to go to their world, it’s impossible to muddle through. When they find out the team members are dead, they will definitely check who has been in the D20 area. xiaochi said that the worst, and most likely possibility, is that you were found out as soon as you went out, and maybe someone is already checking. That’s why Xiaochi didn’t alert the shifter who got in by mistake ……”
” Bai Anyi” dawned on me.
He thought he was pretty much out of his depth until he met Chi Xiaochi.
Chi Xiaochi interjected, “To put it bluntly, I’m just trying to get someone to take my back.”
” Bai Anyi”: “Aren’t you afraid of dragging that one down with you?”
”My brother has deactivated the poison injection from his collar. He won’t die right away, at least.” Chi Xiaochi said, “It’s about time. Let’s get moving now to save him.”
” Bai Anyi “: “……”
So Chi Xiaochi was dazed, not regurgitating the information he had received, but calculating to save the alien who had been pulled down for no reason?
”If you go early, the fight may not happen yet; if you go late, it’s too late.” Chi Xiaochi says, “As long as I save his life, the chances of him choosing to join us are greater than 70 per cent that it’s worth a try.”
”You’re not afraid he’s a ‘catfish’?”
Chi Xiaochi takes out a card and holds the glowing poker-like object between his index and middle fingers, squinting at him faintly.
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”‘Catfish’ aims to kill, and always try to do it. It all depends on whether you’re alert enough.” Chi Xiaochi laughs, “It’s up to you.”
” Bai Anyi” gazed at Chi Xiaochi’s back and suddenly asked without thinking, “…… What have you been through?”
He remains unconvinced that Chi Xiaochi is from normal human society.
A normal social context should not give birth to a freak like Chi Xiaochi.
Chi Xiaochi turned his back on him and spoke in a calm tone, “It’s not worth mentioning.”
”I’m going to take the liberty of asking. Are both your parents still around?”
Chi Xiaochi has dealt with similar questions from journalists many times, and answers them well: “Both parents are alive and well and not divorced.”
”Do they beat you?”
”Are you Lu Yu.” Chi Xiaochi said a cold stunt, but amused himself by pursing his lips, “They don’t hit me …… rarely. At most, they just ignore me.”
”A classmate relationship?”
”It’s all okay.”
”Haven’t come across school bullying?”
”Met it, a small group. Later I told one of the participants that whatever bullying I got, whether he did it or not, I would end up just taking it out on him: I couldn’t beat up the five of them, I could always beat up one of him. After he got a few beatings from me, they stopped looking for me.”
”Workplace bullying?”
”I’m in film. It started well and I had some connections, and the crew were basically acquaintances who always held me up.”
”Is work stressful?”
”Not really. It’s not that hard for me to act.”
”Will I get scolded?”
”Often. That’s why I occasionally scold marketing numbers to relieve my boredom.”
After answering so many questions, Chi Xiaochi smiles, “Reporter Bai, is the interview over?”
” Bai Anyi” came to the conclusion, “You really are a freak.”
Chi Xiaochi gave a noncommittal nod, “Thank you.”
Thinking that Chi Xiaochi must have experienced something else, ” Bai Anyi” asked Lou Ying with her eyes.
Lou Ying shook his head, indicating that he did not know either.
But he knew that Chi Xiaochi, a man who had once enjoyed looking up at the stars, had travelled through thorny ground for thirteen years.
In the end, it turned out to be nothing more than a few light-hearted jokes from his mouth.
As Chi Xiaochi was picking through the available cards to put in the spare slot for ready access, “Bai Anyi” approached Lou Ying: “Aren’t you a friend of his?”
”A friend doesn’t have to know everything about him.” Lou Ying was at ease, “I just need to know what he wants me to know and believe it.”
He added, “…… And, may I correct you a little?”
” Bai Anyi”: “Correct what?”
Lou Ying : “I’m his boyfriend.”
Chi Xiaochi, who had a steady hand and a steady heart, had a shaky hand and almost teleported them to the N20 area, which is far away from the D20.
After a scary teleportation, the place was in ruins.
A huge sinkhole had been blasted at the edge of the wood, and at the bottom of it lay a bloody corpse, dressed as they were, but with clean soles.
…… should be someone sent by the agency.
”The agency people might be out of their minds with the loss of a squad, but they’ll never send too many of them so as not to draw attention to themselves.” Chi Xiaochi flashed the odds table displayed on the watch screen.” Because I’ve observed that this Wei Shiliu guy, with his odds, is not a bad bet, there should be people involved in gambling watching him. The people in the agency wouldn’t dare to move too much.”
” Bai Anyi” looked over at his wristwatch and gave a soft laugh.
Bai Anyi’s name was really at the bottom of the odds table, with very high odds and no takers.
However, a digital account without a username bought a hundred bets for Bai Anyi.
Although “Bai Anyi” thought that it was possible that some rich person was casting a wide net to catch fish, he still made a silent note of the nine-digit ID.
They chased them deep into the dense forest.
To avoid revealing his strength, “Bai Anyi” had disappeared into Chi Xiaochi’s body early on.
The location of the battle is constantly changing, as is evident from the sound of gunfire that is constantly changing direction.
Chi Xiaochi couldn’t run, so he just got on Lou Ying’s back and carried him all the way to the centre of the battle.
In the distance, they saw two people.
The right arm of the pursuer made a mechanical, teeth-grinding sound as the gun clicked and twisted, the hot, soft barrel gradually expanding and thickening to take on the form of a Bazooka.
”Chirp – boom -”
Tongues of fire gushed from the muzzles of the guns, while the man who dodged and fled in front of him moved nimbly among the dense foliage, his body like a chameleon, pale green, blending in with the green leaves around him.
However, three giant trees side by side suffered under the impact of Bazooka’s ki, and he stumbled and flung himself onto a slightly shorter branch, immediately staining his forehead with the dark brown of the trunk.
The leaves hit Wei Shiliu’s back like bullets.
He let go and rolled down the tree, his tightly clenched right hand unclenching and tossing up something.
…… is the same 24-sided dice that he had previously held in his mouth as hard candy in the car.
While the dice were still tumbling in mid-air, he caught them with his left hand, opened his palm and gave them a quick scan.
When he saw it clearly, Wei Shiliu turned pale and cursed, not daring to let up, he clutched the dice and ran deeper into the forest.
Strangely enough, his hand did not change colour again when it touched the tree on one side.
The man who was chasing him came closer, intending to add another shot.
As the muzzle began to glow red and gather energy, the barrel, which was steaming with heat from overheating, was tied in a knot in the air.
By the time the pursuers noticed it, it was too late.
The …… shell exploded with a loud bang.
The power of the Bazooka was extraordinary and Chi Xiaochi watched as the man was shattered to cinders by his own shells in front of him.
Lou Ying, the man who caused all this to happen, grabbed a prepared tarp and swung it over Chi Xiaochi, stopping the rain of blood from falling.
Lou Ying gritted his teeth, swallowed a wave of acid and dashed across a field of corpses to stand in a clean, unscented area.
Chi Xiaochi jumped off Lou Ying and raised her voice, “Come out. I know you’re hiding behind a tree.”
Wei Shiliu peeked out from behind a tree, and when he saw the person in front of him, he was immediately overjoyed and doubled his words despite the fact that he had just been relieved of the danger to his life: “Little Glasses? I remember your name is White …… White what? We were on the same bus, you remember me. I was across from you, and I even talked to you-”
Chi Xiaochi: “Yes. I remember. You’re Wei Shiliu.”
Wei Shiliu jumped out from behind a tree and straightened his unruly hair: “Thank you, thank you, if you had been any later, I would have burped and died.”
”You’re welcome.”
Chi Xiaochi means it when he says it.
As Chi Xiaochi expected, Wei Shiliu was extremely forthcoming in offering to team up with the two people who had “saved his life” without him even having to ask.
”Just in time.” He was cheerful, “I was just thinking that I would form a three-man squad. No more, no less, just three people, and then survive together, not expecting what came to mind. This masked dude, hello, you just twisted the barrel of that gun, didn’t you? You’re fucking handsome. If you were a woman I’d kiss you. What are your powers again? How come I didn’t see you when we stopped. Do you two know each other?”
Lou Ying, faced with a series of questions from him, asked instead, without answering, “What is your psychic ability?”
Both he and Chi Xiaochi had just seen him in action and had guessed his psychic powers.
But it is still necessary to test the waters.
Wei Shiliu smacked his lips, “Well …… if I had to say it, it would be ‘luck’.”
”Luck?”
”I haven’t had much luck since I was a kid, and I’ve never even won the ‘one more bottle’ draw for drinks.” Wei Shiliu flashes the 24-sided dice in his palm, “All my good luck, it’s all on there.”
The 24-sided dice, on each side, are marked with an alien power.
On the side facing Chi Xiaochi are the words ‘Chameleon’ written in small letters.
…… happens to be the skill Wei Shiliu just used to escape from the tree.
”The duration of each ability is five minutes, and you can only roll it 10 times a day.” Wei Shiliu says, “The next day the powers displayed on each side of the dice are updated and there are usually three to five blank sides.”
After what he had just experienced, Wei Shiliu must have regarded them as his true companions and poured out his powers like a bamboo bean: “Thank goodness for you guys. Just now I shook a blank surface and almost went straight to Marx to sing the Internationale.”
Having finished talking about himself, Wei Shiliu looked eagerly at them, “What about you? What are your powers?”
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