Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 512: Chapter 442: The Philosophers’ Students_1

In the long silence, Huai Shi did not speak.

He vaguely understood the philosopher’s meaning, yet he felt... a faint, indescribable discomfort.

”I once felt despair over this kind of ignorance that refuses to think, Mr. Huai Shi. Overwhelming despair,” the philosopher continued. ”I felt as though I was locked in a black box, suffocating. Every single walking corpse around me filled me with dread and impatience.

”Have you been to Constantinople in Rome? I think perhaps every major city might be the same—Cairo, Yorkshire, Yanjing, or Jinling, Kyoto... Every time I walked in them, I could hear what seemed like the deafening roar of some machine in operation.

”Passing by one expressionless, numb face after another, I felt as if I were walking into the body of a giant beast. Some tremendous force was pulling at me, dragging me further into its depths. It wouldn’t allow me to escape but kept me there, wanting to turn me into something indistinguishable from the rest—a part that could be replaced at any time, an insignificant cell within the social system.

”It was as if people had surrendered thought like slaves, silently conforming to the collective, annihilating their selves, becoming numb machines.

”Until one day, I felt that I could not stay there.”

The philosopher told Huai Shi, ”I had to escape, had to leave that place. So I boarded a train, abandoned all my property and finances, and began wandering recklessly until I arrived here.”

”I have to say... you might just be overthinking it.” Huai Shi scratched his head, finding it hard to understand.

”Is that so?” the philosopher asked calmly. ”What if I change the metaphor? If I substitute Constantinople with the Sea of Silver and replace wandering with sublimation, would you then understand?”

Huai Shi was stunned.

Finally, he understood where his discomfort came from.

”Why do you scorn the way others strive to live, Mr. Philosopher?” Huai Shi retorted. ”Could it be that some are born willing to become machines? For some, becoming that kind of machine is even the blissful peace they yearn for. Why, after freeing oneself, does one need to sit atop and critique everything? Isn’t that a bit too arrogant? If we go by your theory, ’you could never prove that others have self-consciousness, which means... in your world, do you exist alone forever?’”

”I never said that this view was absolutely correct, did I?” The philosopher was not annoyed but smiled cheerfully. ”I’m glad to see you refute my theory through thinking—nothing pleases me more than that.”

”...”

Huai Shi was taken aback.

Unbelievable. Just how long had this guy been plagued by his own Soul Ability to be this thrilled when someone actually argued with him? Huai Shi felt an urge to introduce him to the internet celebrity ’Take a Little Junior Brother,’ feeling that he and the Lin family’s argumentative Little Nineteen would enjoy arguing with each other... but Wood Cottage probably wouldn’t want to waste time on such a losing business, right?

The philosopher didn’t care whether others agreed with his ideas and theories; it was almost as if he lived in a lonely world of his own, indifferently playing single-player games, not joining with others.

Huai Shi felt a twinge of pity and fear for such a life. What kind of hell was that?

”The moment I became a Sublimator, my life changed, Mr. Huai Shi,” the philosopher spoke earnestly and solemnly. ”To this day, I do not know whether this change is good or bad. But this is my answer to you. Humans must think in order to personally feel their own existence and the fact that they are alive. Those who refuse to think aren’t really living; at best, they just exist. And it’s through this will, born of thought, that Sublimators prove their existence to the world, don’t they?”

He said, ”In my view, Sublimators are the victors who have not been assimilated or erased by this world. In other words, they are those who, to some extent, have defeated the world.”

He declared his conclusion so decisively and arrogantly, not caring whether others agreed, nor whether Huai Shi could accept it. He had laid out his answer before Huai Shi.

Not saying anything more, Huai Shi stood up and said goodbye.

The philosopher did not continue to speak but saw him off all the way to the back gate of the school, suddenly saying, ”As a visitor who came from afar, I’m sorry that I can’t fully offer you hospitality. But at least let me do you a small favor, how about that?”

Huai Shi looked at him blankly.

That phrase sounded familiar. Why do all you Sublimators from Indonesia love to do little favors for others?

Then, he saw the philosopher neatly fold a paper bag that had contained food, place it in the trash can, and wave to someone at the side of the road. Subsequently, an off-road vehicle arrived from the end of the street.

Huai Shi stood there, dumbstruck. That was clearly the car he had borrowed from Ali, but now it was as good as new. Not only were the battered bumpers replaced with a new set, but the scratches on the car had also been filled and painted over. The mud and grime on the car had been completely washed away, and the tires were all brand new.

The car door opened, and a sturdy middle-aged man jumped out. He then dragged a wriggling bag from the open trunk to Huai Shi. When the bag opened, a man with blood all over his head crawled out. One of his arms had been severed.

It seemed he had already suffered greatly. He wanted to cry out, but upon seeing the philosopher next to Huai Shi, he froze. Trembling, he knelt on the ground, frantically kowtowing and begging for mercy, mumbling in an Indonesian dialect with a quivering voice.

The philosopher pointed at Huai Shi, and the man turned to kowtow and beg for mercy from Huai Shi, his cries choked with sobs.

Huai Shi began to doubt his own eyes. He looked blankly at his recovered car, then at the philosopher, unable to understand what had happened.

”Are the local gangs always this polite?”

”Indeed. They have been thoroughly reformed under proper guidance, haven’t they?” the Latin teacher from the prestigious private school said calmly. ”Everyone is willing to listen to reason; teaching them the correct way of living is not difficult.”

As he spoke, he turned his head and said something to the driver. The robust man respectfully nodded, stepped forward, and bowed. Then, he held up Huai Shi’s car keys with both hands to the young man.

By now, how could Huai Shi not understand the situation? The guy next to him was no philosopher; he was clearly the goddamn Indonesian local gang godfather... and it’s likely that all the local gang godfathers could only be considered his juniors. Having such a hidden and terrifying Soul Ability, it wouldn’t be difficult at all to organize these guys. Rather, with his devilish ideas and peculiar personality, he wouldn’t have any reservations doing such things.

”There’s one thing you said that I agree with, Mr. Huai Shi.” The philosopher looked him in the eye, telling him calmly, ”I have no right to look down on those who strive to live. But sometimes, when faced with these parasites and wild dogs that are worse than the living dead, why shouldn’t I make them better? At least that way, fewer people would get hurt, right?”

Huai Shi looked deep into his eyes. He did not doubt the authenticity of the philosopher’s words. At least he was still standing here alive. This proved that under the surveillance of the Astronomical Society, the philosopher was a harmless man who had not disturbed the local social order. Perhaps he might even become a collaborator and informant, given that his power was too convenient.

”Still, just for stealing a car, there’s no need to chop off his hand, is there?” Huai Shi lowered his head, staring at the wretched car thief on the ground. Even if he was angry about his car being stolen, at most, he only wanted the thief to come down with a case of border dysentery.

”Actually, I have already been lenient,” the philosopher sighed and shrugged. ”There’s no need to perceive me as that kind of ruthless figure who treats human life like weeds, Mr. Huai Shi. I asked him to come over because I intended to plead with you for mercy.

”After all, most of the time, the anger of Sublimators is too much for ordinary people to bear.”

With that, he raised his boot and kicked the car thief on the ground, shaking his head coldly, ”Even if this guy is disgraceful, no matter how shameful, he is still the father of two children. I can’t stand by and let those two kids become orphans.

”He has offended Sublimators, angered the Forestry Association, and also provoked the Astronomical Society. Just cutting off one hand is already far too lenient for him.”

Sublimators with a good temper and no airs like Huai Shi were extremely rare. If they had encountered someone with a perverse character, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to seek revenge later and kill the whole family. The philosopher brought him here, seeking this very mercy from Huai Shi.

In the silence, Huai Shi couldn’t help but sigh.

”Now I understand why you are called a philosopher, not an educator.” He suddenly said, ”Has anyone told you that you aren’t really good at being a teacher?”

The philosopher was taken aback. Then he saw Huai Shi pull out a knife, its blade shining brightly.

He said, ”Education is different from training animals.”

In the sudden silence that followed, Huai Shi bent down and restrained the car thief. He cruelly reopened the freshly healed wound on his arm, removed the embedded debris, and finally picked up the severed hand from the bag. He infused the vitality of a Mountain Ghost and smeared two layers of Silver Blood Potion on the cut surfaces of the wound. Then, he tossed the severed arm back into the car thief’s lap and put away his blade.

The car thief was stunned for a long time. His pale face finally looked a bit better, as though he breathed a sigh of relief, but then he couldn’t help crying out in pain. Huai Shi’s fingers were pressing hard on the raw stump of his arm. This brutally awakened the pain that was starting to numb, causing him to spasm in agony.

”This is the lesson you deserved, not because you offended someone or angered some powerful organization, but because you made a mistake,” Huai Shi said, looking down into his eyes and spelling it out to him, ”Do not steal. Understand?”

The car thief nodded frantically, pleading. Only when he was struggling to breathe did Huai Shi let go of his fingers and slowly get up.

”Take him to a good hospital,” Huai Shi told the philosopher. ”If you reattach it now, there’s still time.”

The philosopher was perplexed for a moment. ”Is that all?”

”What else should there be?” Huai Shi countered, calmly staring at the philosopher. ”I didn’t become a Sublimator to chop off people’s hands when I’m angry.”

”It seems I’ve done something unnecessary, haven’t I?” The philosopher shrugged. ”If I’ve upset you, I apologize.”

Though the apology didn’t sound very sincere.