Chapter 2149: A False Story
Like other rising major families in Zone 008, the Tian Clan's core strength had always been its family members. With extended lifespans and increased physical capabilities, reproduction was no longer a burden for modern Evolved Humans and players. Therefore, to cultivate more players, major families inevitably encouraged their members to have children as early and as often as possible. Of course, they initially received support from the City Government as well.
Now, besides their own player teams, after their power swelled, the Tian Clan would also select outstanding but weaker players to nurture, or simply adopt children. These players didn't necessarily stay with the Tian Clan permanently; they might enter the City Government or Player Organizations either openly or covertly. Thus, no organization or family could completely detach itself from the District's support. Consequently, after the Tian Clan's negative news broke, besides those surnamed Tian, players working for the Tian Clan also faced scrutiny and condemnation from all sides.
Xu Huo didn't know if Dou Shengnan was on that ship that took the people from Block Fairy Tale City, but the Tian Clan should have paid a heavier price than her.
As he turned around, he saw the buzz-cut man who had previously stopped the attack outside the luxury mansion district. He was also a Mental Super Evolver. He wasn't inside the Defense Barrier now, but near the protesting crowd, maintaining a certain distance from the clustered players.
Their eyes met. Xu Huo showed no expression, stepped into the Portal, and left Station City.
At that moment, Zone 008 welcomed another dawn.
At seven in the morning, Xu Huo arrived punctually outside the residential area where Dr. Dian lived, carrying freshly made breakfast.
Dr. Dian, who habitually came out for breakfast at this time, had his smile vanish the moment he stepped out the gate. Ignoring the breakfast offered to him, he said, "I can't help with the Instance Dungeon matter, and I can't help with any other ulterior motives you have. Instead of wasting time here with me, go do something useful."
"I disagree. How could listening to the words of a wise man be a waste of time?" Xu Huo said with a smile, following behind him.
Dr. Dian probably realized Xu Huo wouldn't give up easily until he achieved his goal, so he stopped and said, "I told you, the Instance Dungeon you need to clear has nothing to do with me."
"That's fine." Xu Huo also stopped. "I just want to ask you a few questions."
"If it's the kind of question from yesterday, don't bother. No matter how bad Zone 008 is, it's still my home. It stands above everything else in my heart." Dr. Dian's voice was resolute.
"It has nothing to do with that. It's another matter." Xu Huo's smile faded. He shifted the breakfast from his left hand to his right. "When I was very young, I lived in a hospital with my sister. As children without parents, being able to receive free treatment when we were sick was a very rare thing in the place where I lived."
"The people in the hospital were all very kind. The adults were willing to take care of us children. To thank them, my sister and I would do small chores whenever we could. Most of the time, though, we just got in the way."
"Later, a doctor at the hospital adopted my sister and me. But he had a child who needed long-term medication and treatment, so it was difficult for him to even feed us and pay for our schooling. The other people in the hospital couldn't take us home, but they always helped as much as they could—sometimes with fresh vegetables and fruit, sometimes with a little money for living expenses."
"That's how I grew up, into my twenties, and started working independently. That's when the world began to evolve. My adoptive father and his child both showed signs of evolution. When my adoptive father couldn't control his appetite, he attacked the hospital, killing nearly twenty doctors and nurses—almost all the uncles and aunties who had watched me grow up and helped me. Their deaths were horrific."
"When I learned about the hospital incident and my adoptive father's disappearance, I suspected him. Rage made me lose control. I bought a knife and went home, intending to die with him..."
Xu Huo paused here, as if to calm his emotions, before continuing. "Just as I reached the door, I heard my sister scream. I kicked the door open and saw her leaning against the wall in a daze, her neck injured. Following her gaze to the other side of the room, I saw my adoptive father had stabbed his own child to death. The child was covered in blood. At that moment, he looked up at me."
"My adoptive father was crying. His child had died by his own hand."
"I was holding a knife, intending to kill him. He had killed so many uncles and aunties at the hospital."
"But he had killed his own child to save my sister."
"The image of my adoptive father, hands covered in blood and face streaked with tears, is still etched in my mind. My mind was blank then, and it's still blank now. It's been a few years, but I still want to know if the decision I made back then was right."
Xu Huo looked up at Dr. Dian, whose expression had clearly changed. "Dr. Dian, if it were you, what would you do? What would you think?"
After a long silence, Dr. Dian sighed. "Let's find a place to sit and talk."
The two walked into a nearby small park and found a secluded spot to sit. Dr. Dian spoke again. "I've read some psychology books. I'm not an expert, but I can try to help you sort this out."
Xu Huo listened attentively.
"Because humans created civilization, civilization must have order. Law and emotion are the foundations of that order."
"Even in today's chaotic game world, law and reason are the rules that humans tacitly abide by."
"You don't know if your actions were right because you're approaching it from an emotional standpoint. From a legal perspective, your adoptive father killed so many people; he should pay with his life. Your adoptive father's child attacked your sister; he deserved to die too."
"But whether your adoptive father lives or dies is not for you to decide. Regardless of whether you chose to kill him or not, you shouldn't bear the psychological burden."
Dr. Dian sighed again. "Following the law like this is correct. But humans have emotions. You wanted to avenge those who were kind to you, yet your adoptive father also raised you. So you thought of killing him and then yourself. Seeing your adoptive father kill his own child to protect your sister, you began to waver on the scales of gratitude. Because at that moment, your adoptive father wasn't a completely irrational animal; he still retained his goodness. You couldn't bring yourself to kill a good man who had helped you and saved your sister."
"In the end, whether you killed your adoptive father or not, your choice was not wrong."
"Because the intention behind any conclusion you reached was not born of evil. On the contrary, it's precisely because you are emotionally rich, fitting the normal development of a human being, that you still can't let it go."
"There are few things that are purely black and white, purely right or wrong. It's perfectly normal for an ordinary person to be unable to perfectly control their emotions."
He seemed to empathize deeply. "That's how the living are."
After hearing his words, Xu Huo's expression didn't change much. He just said, with a meaningful tone, "You are also a person full of emotion."
(End of Chapter)