Chapter 233: Turmoil

"Whoosh--"

The wind passed through the street, rolling up the paper garbage on the ground and making it fly like snow.

It is indeed the season when it should snow, but unfortunately, it will not snow here.

If you insist on saying the reason, it is also very simple. This is 11 degrees north latitude and 149 degrees east longitude. Mu Continent, which is located near the equator of the Pacific Ocean, stretched out its right arm here, forming the world's largest peninsula-Moana Peninsula.

And on the westernmost side of the peninsula, that is, here, humans built a huge city as a "lighthouse on the Pacific"-Te Moana Kino.

Ying leaned on the knife with one hand and pressed the wide-brimmed straw hat on her head with the other hand, walking on the deserted and dead street-the order here is almost paralyzed, and the surveillance was also destroyed last night, so she does not need to hide.

Snow-white leaflets and beige evacuation manuals fell on her head and shoulders, but were shaken away by an invisible position and finally fell back on the wet asphalt road.

Everything looked gray, as if covered with dust, but the air was actually fresh and a little cool. The so-called gray was actually just the light in the early morning.

Ying sniffed gently, "Did you use a degrading agent? After just one night, I can't smell any blood at all."

This should have been a bustling commercial street, but because of the early morning and the bloodshed that happened here last night, the shops on the street are now either closed with a sign saying "out of business" or with heavy roller shutters, and even the windows on the second floor are nailed with iron plates and locked.

The so-called answer is actually obvious. Ying looked at the row of fist-sized dense bullet holes on the concrete wall, and a hint of sarcasm flashed through her heart.

The ground shook slightly, and there was a faint noise in the distance. A group of pigeons fluttered and ran around in panic between the high-rise buildings.

"Is it going to start again?"

Ying Dan held the scabbard with her left hand, and pushed the blade of the purple long sword slightly out with her thumb against the hilt. This posture can ensure that she can perform Iai in the most comfortable and fastest posture in the battle that may come at any time.

Although...she herself is not sure whether her sword will be completely unsheathed today.

Seeing that there is no one on the street for the time being, she took off her straw hat with her right hand, and the pair of slender fox ears on her head fluttered in the wind, and the movements around her also flowed into her mind along with the wind.

Only at this time can she feel that the ears are not all disadvantages.

Ying silently put on her hat and walked forward slowly-it seems that the crowd of demonstrators has not yet fully joined, and she does not need to go and wait in advance.

Turn the corner, you can see a pickup truck in front of you, and a half-white-haired uncle is stuffing things from his store into the back of the pickup truck.

Ying could have walked straight past him, but with the purpose of truly understanding what happened in this city, she suddenly turned around and walked in front of the uncle.

The uncle was a little flustered after getting up early in the morning to clean up and unfortunately ran into someone. When he saw the two long swords on Ying's waist, cold sweat instantly wet his entire forehead.

"Huh——"

The wind swept across the street again, lifting Ying's straw hat. Although she quickly pressed the hat back on her head, it was hard to say that the uncle did not notice the ears on her head.

For a moment, she hesitated, not knowing how to ask questions, and not knowing whether she should insist on asking questions. After all, the uncle looked old. If he got sick after being frightened, should she carry out the mission or take care of him...

It seemed that there was no one around him to take care of him...

But strangely, after seeing the ears on her head, the uncle relaxed instead.

"Uncle..."

"Oh! I know, I know. How do you young people say that word...hiss...why can't I remember it all of a sudden?"

"?"

"Cosplay, right? Hey, little girl, your knife is also a prop, right? How can a normal knife be so colorful?"

Ying wanted to hold her forehead with her hand. The uncle's misunderstanding was just right. She even thought that it would be nice to use this identity as a cover in the future.

Seeing her stunned, the uncle first kept throwing a computer host into the trunk of the pickup truck, and then held the car body, panting and explaining:

"Hey! Don't look at my age. I was dragged by my son to participate in many activities for young people... Hey, but the texture of your clothes, wig and props is really good. Where did you buy them? I always hear my son complain that the texture of those clothes is too poor... Hey..."

Looking at the uncle who was familiar with her and kept talking, Ying's mouth twitched slightly and replied: "This... I made it myself."

"Oh! I said, do it yourself and you will have enough food and clothing... Hey, if it weren't for the current situation, I would have wanted to ask you for your contact information. My son said that their circle has been dissatisfied with low-quality props for a long time... Ah haha, but now it's like this, there will be fewer and fewer activities like comic exhibitions in the future..."

The uncle's voice suddenly became low, as if he finally remembered the dilemma of this city, no, the world.

"Speaking of which, uncle, are you leaving here? You just said you have a son, why doesn't he help you pack up?"

Sakura's initial instinctive reaction was that the uncle's son was left alone because he had collapsed or... was no longer alive. But from his subsequent words, it can be seen that his son is still alive, so why not help? he? Or did his son go to another city?

Or maybe... Sakura's thoughts were connected to the noise that was getting closer and closer.

"Why--"

The uncle sighed heavily.

"Stop talking about it, that brat has been crazy since he went to listen to Mr. Tovar's speech half a month ago, and he has been crazy since he came back... Ouch! Tell me, why are you getting involved in this kind of thing! Protest? Parade? ? It’s weird that this kind of thing is useful! Let me say something unpleasant... I won’t say it.”

Seeing that the noise was getting closer and closer, the uncle gave in decisively and moved his hands a little faster. Sakura judged the distance of the parade crowd and took the initiative to help the uncle move his belongings.

The two of them chatted while moving——

"Fortunately, I sent my son to the countryside a few days ago. Otherwise, with his temperament, he would definitely participate in last night's... Oh, it's really funny. A lot of innocent people died, and that Mr. Tovar is still They weren't caught. But they were mentally ill, right? They just had blood last night, so they dared to hold a parade of this magnitude today? Hey, don't go if you can, my uncle. Yeah, that’s going to cost you your head!”

Sakura kept her head down and said nothing. She didn't want to explain, and she couldn't explain it without explaining. Anyway, this uncle's brainstorming ability was very strong, so it was better to let him use his free will.

But then again, public opinion around the world is now like a pot of boiling water. The lid of the pot is fluttering, and it is about to be pushed open, but it is as stable as a rock - the coalition government's control power is still very strong.

In this turmoil sweeping the world, the reason why Sakura was sent to De Moana Chino by Mikael to investigate was because of the extremely unreasonable current situation in this city-despite the global turmoil, But it was the only place where mass bloodshed occurred. Also, the frequency of bleeding is a bit...

In just two months, this place has experienced three...oh no, four bloody crackdowns, but after each crackdown, people would gather together again as if they had no long memory.

The same is true for the leaders. Mr. Tova, as the uncle said, is already the third leader. The character of each leader is the same as the one carved out of the mold. While he is not afraid of sacrifice, his speeches are also very inflammatory.

This phenomenon is absolutely abnormal. If it were spread across the world, it could be said to be a coincidence, but it is concentrated in one city...

Besides, De Moana Chino is not a special city.

If it happened in Luluye, it would be a bit normal. After all, Luluye is the capital of Mu Continent, which is currently the most populous and prosperous continent and has rarely suffered from collapse disasters. What's more, the coalition government also moved Luluye three years ago. The headquarters moved here.

But De Moana Kino... has nothing outstanding in terms of population, size or strategic significance, which makes this thing very strange.

Unfortunately, the Fire Chaser Moth can't take care of this kind of thing, so all Mikael can do is send Sakura over to investigate on the spot.

Seeing that Sakura remained silent, the uncle thought that his warning just now reached her heart, so he took the last package from Sakura's hand, threw it on the passenger seat of the pickup truck, clapped his hands, and lit a cigarette. continued:

"Little girl, I am not telling you that when you are young, you always have all kinds of sweet dreams. You feel that you are unique in this world and have endless energy and ability to change the world... But, wait You will know after a few or more years of struggling in society...

"No, in fact, you have always known that 99.9% of this world are ordinary people, but you young people think you are the 0.1%. But people have to accept reality after all, no Speaking of other things, just from a probability perspective, which one is more likely to become 99.9% or 0.1%? I don’t think I need to say more, right?

"Individual power is so small, and each other is so dirty. In most cases, your so-called resistance is no match for the 0.1% suppression. There is no need to send your name... while this city is still allowed to come out No entry allowed, please leave immediately.”

The uncle returned to the store, opened the table under the store counter, and stared at the things inside.

Due to the angle of view, Sakura couldn't see clearly what it was. She was a little confused by what the uncle said.

And to be honest, as a middle-aged and elderly person, the egoism in his words was too sharp, and she couldn't agree with it.

"But resistance is meaningful, right? If you don't resist, I won't resist, and in the end everyone will just accept it."

Although from her position, she should not support this kind of resistance, from a conceptual point of view, she still needs to refute the other party.

"Why!"

The uncle sighed and finally stopped trying to persuade the girl in front of him.

"Maybe this is the difference between young people and old people. What you care about is ideas and beliefs, but all we care about is the lives and lives of ourselves and our families. However, the only thing in common is that we are all willing to fight for the things we care about. Give your life.”

Without saying any more, he took out a small pistol from the drawer, along with a box of bullets and two magazines, and stuffed them into Sakura's hands.

"Uncle, what are you..."

"Don't think too much. The checkpoints leaving the city are guarded by coalition government troops. If you go with weapons in this situation, isn't that asking for trouble? If they... Whatever happens, its role in self-protection is limited, but for a young and beautiful girl like you, its role is not self-protection, do you understand?"

Sakura twitched her lips but did not refuse.

"Uncle, the bullets you gave me are too many. In that case, only one is enough."

The uncle shook his head and stopped talking. He sat in the driver's seat of the pickup truck. Regardless of the open door of the store and the stores full of goods, he stepped on the accelerator and quickly disappeared from Sakura's sight.

"I hope you and your son can live well and see what we win in the end...Forget it, Mikael said we can't set a flag..."

Sakura no longer wasted time. She relied on the physical fitness of a fusion warrior to jump directly to the top of a thirty-story building in a few jumps. She moved between the rooftops several times and quickly found an excellent " Observation Deck”.

Looking down at the square below, the crowd was so dense that I couldn't even count the number of people. I only knew that the entire square, as well as the streets in all directions within sight, were packed with people. It was said that people were standing shoulder to shoulder, sweating like rain, and shoulder to shoulder. However, If so.

The people at the front gathered around a man in a straight suit on the high platform and cheered loudly: "Hi!" - roughly the same syllable. Sakura didn't know what language it was, so she could only guess that it was a unique way of greeting this group of people.

Then the cheers were like water waves, rippling from the center to the surroundings.

Sakura took off her straw hat, and her slender fox ears caught the cheers one after another. She counted silently - until the crowd at the front shouted the 327th "happiness", the people at the farthest end didn't know. I yelled out the first sound in hindsight.

"Tsk... This scale is definitely no less than 100,000 people! If... the coalition government wouldn't dare to do this!"

Sakura couldn't guarantee it.

But whether to notify Mikael now is also a question.

In order to prevent exposure, she used the encrypted communication network established by Velvet when performing this special task. This is different from the encrypted communication in the early days of Counter-Entropy that could only protect the main terminal. It can be protected by both parties. plus version, the price is short communication time and high cost.

"never mind……"

Sakura is not afraid of spending money, but the problem is that even if the communication is turned on now... the communication time is not enough to describe "what is happening".

A sound like a roaring mountain and a tsunami came from beneath my feet again, and it took nearly ten minutes for it to subside.

At this time, Mr. Tovar, who had a small parted hair, patted the microphone in front of him, and after confirming that there was no problem with the sound, he spoke——

"Today we stand here for no other reason than for one thing - to decide how we live and how we die!"

These straight-to-the-point words were like a spark, easily igniting the entire audience.

Nearly ten minutes passed before the cheers, shouts, and even curses of the people gradually subsided, and Tova had the opportunity to continue his speech.

“Perhaps someone will ask me – isn’t our original purpose to hope that the coalition government can tell us the facts about the disaster and collapse?

"Yes, this is indeed what we have been asking for all along, but is this matter just that simple? Of course not! Some people will say that all we ask for is the right to know. For such rights, so many people have been sacrificed - —Is it really worth the blood of a great gentleman and a great lady before me alone, and the blood of hundreds of citizens?

"First of all, I want to say, of course it is worth it, it is definitely worth it, absolutely worth it! Then, I want to tell him that what we are pursuing is not [informed], but something more principled -

"In the past twelve years, mankind has experienced one catastrophe after another. At first, it was just a friendly fire caused by a military exercise, then it was the explosion of a nuclear weapons arsenal, and what came after that? The huge earthquake and tsunami in eastern China... …”

Having said this, Tova pursed his lips and lowered his head, shrugged his shoulders, then opened his hands and let out a series of roars:

"What kind of plate movement can turn the entire eastern and far east of China into a no-man's land, but the coastline and terrain remain unchanged at all? Can the reasons they give be any more outrageous? Do they think we have never studied geography?"

"good!"

"***!"

"Hundreds of millions of people died in this way. Their deaths were worthless and meaningless. The coalition government didn't even bother to count the numbers to single digits! And what did the coalition government and that organization called the Fire Moth do? We have absolutely no idea.

"Of course, I am not denying their efforts. Many of them must have lost their lives fighting against this disaster called Honkai. However, because of their concealment, the sacrifices of these warriors cannot be known to us, so from a certain In this sense, their sacrifice has become a sacrifice that will not be missed...

"And the most important thing is - why are the coalition government doing this! What benefit does it have for them to hide this from us? I can responsibly say - no! If they don't tell us the truth, we can't understand them, we don't If you don’t understand them, you can’t cooperate with them. This is the reason why every collapse causes huge casualties!”

Sakura stared blankly at the man dancing and high-spirited on the podium, and then she silently covered her forehead.

"What he said seems to be right... No, no, no, why do I feel that way? Isn't keeping the people secret to prevent riots in despair? But what he said is right..."

Staggering, Ying couldn't help but hold the railing on the roof.

Her head felt heavy, but she was inexplicably excited, so she was caught between the spear and the shield and couldn't move.

"Then, since there is no benefit, why do they still do it?"

Tova spread his hands and clapped them again:

"It's nothing more than arrogance! They arrogantly think that the decision of a small number of people can determine the common fate of billions of humans! They arrogantly think that we don't need to think about how to live or die, we just need to be killed when the collapse comes, or live in fear day after day in places where the collapse has not yet occurred!

"If their decision is successful, they will proudly think that it is thanks to my decision that humans are protected. If their decision is wrong, then the dead humans are just numbers in their eyes. Yes, they thought they were leading us, but in fact, we were just pets in their eyes! It was their gift that we could live, and they wouldn't be sad if we died...

"No, it's okay if they weren't sad, but the most frightening thing is that they would cry hypocritically!"

"This...this...ah——"

Ying cried out in pain, covered her head, and crouched down on the top of the building.

"No...no...this is definitely not a simple human speech...no wonder it has such a inflammatory power..."

Ordinary people certainly don't know anything, but as a fusion warrior, she can naturally feel the Houkai energy mixed in that voice.

She trembled as she put on the headphones for herself and turned up the music to the maximum, but she forgot that she still had a pair of ears——

Tova's speech penetrated into the slender fox ears on her head without any hindrance, and then turned into brain waves and rushed around. If she was like an ordinary person, she would surely be easily incited. But she is a fusion warrior, and her cells began to spontaneously block the invasion of external Houkai energy. Although it is effective, it will undoubtedly bring a great burden to the brain and temporarily make Sakura lose the ability to move.

"Why are they unwilling to come down from the pyramid and communicate with us face to face on an equal footing, without anyone being superior to the other? We are not just for the so-called right to know! Shouldn't all of us humans be a family?

"As a family, we should face difficulties together and go through dangers together. If it really comes to the point of no return, should we also hug each other and die together? This is what we are really pursuing——

"If the collapse is really the so-called doomsday as rumored, then we humans must face it together and bear it together. The most important thing is——we must decide the path we decide to take! We don't need people who are high above us to choose how to live and how to die for us! Tell me, do you want to live confused or die clearly!"

"Don't live confused! Die clearly!"

"I'd rather die clearly than live confused!"

Sakura lay in front of the railing, looking at the crowd clamoring coldly, "Tsk, three-tenths false and seven-tenths true words, plus mental control... It's a pity that I'm not Aponia or Desdobia, and I can't track the source of the collapse energy, but as long as Mr. Towa is captured, it should be possible to lure the snake out of the hole, right? And the leader is gone, and the coalition government has no reason to suppress it..."

Sakura's mind turned rapidly, and countless ways to kidnap people on the spot and get away with it flashed through her mind in an instant.

And at the moment she was thinking, Tova on the stage raised his hands and shouted:

"No, no, no! None of them are right! Let me tell you! We must understand both life and death!"

The noise of the crowd reached its peak. Ying stepped on the railing with her left foot and was about to jump down, but suddenly stopped.

She looked up in astonishment. The cloud above her head was darker than the surroundings. Then, four small black dots fell from the sky. The impact force directly tore the white cloud apart, revealing the huge aerospace battleship on the cloud.

"That is!"

"Bang--"

The small black dots quickly enlarged in mid-air and fell around the podium in the middle of the square before the crowd could react.

"Ahhhhh!"

Hundreds of people were crushed into meat paste the moment the four mechas landed, and blood mist and limbs were thrown hundreds of meters into the air. Ying reached out and wiped her cheek, and as expected, it was also stained with a thin layer of blood.

The crowd began to push and surge in fear, and the previous excitement was gone. Many people fell down as they walked, like the crest of the waves rising and falling on the sea surface - that was because their internal organs were directly crushed or suffocated in this crowd.

The mechas of the coalition government did not care about the civilians. All they did was to form a barrier of collapse energy to surround the podium.

And Towa, who had just been speaking righteously on the podium, was now looking at the corpses on the ground expressionlessly.

Then, he took out a pistol from his arms and put the muzzle into his mouth.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The two gunshots almost overlapped, and a wisp of green smoke came out from the top of the building opposite Towa. The pistol bullet fired from there one step ahead shattered the man's elbow, which also caused Towa's own muzzle to turn slightly outward, and the bullet shot out from half of his cheek.

Do not take this chapter for granted, and do not comment on it (the desire to survive is full, and the ban is warned)

Also, on the last day of 2022, I wish you all a happy holiday.