Chapter 511: Chapter 25 Light Core (Part 1)
“You think the current Cangshou Megacity, what kind of city is it?”
Without hesitation, Gongsun Ce replied, “It’s a rotten place through and through.”
Qin An was slightly surprised, apparently not expecting such an answer.
“Brother Gongsun, I heard that you have been contributing to maintaining order in this city for a long time.”
“Everyone knows that,” Gongsun Ce nodded. “Mr. Qin, how rotten does a city have to be for it to expect a few children to play heroes in the streets? The worst part is that the truly powerful adults can’t, or won’t, take action. And those adults who want to change the situation don’t have the power to do so.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I’ve been here since before this city was even built. I’ve seen many warm-hearted good people come here to teach, voluntarily maintain order, join the police force, invest in building schools—those with money gave money, those with strength gave strength, all trying to make this place better. But the problem is that their power wasn’t enough. Except for a very few Superpower Users, courage and will cannot be turned into tangible military power. When the real fighting starts in the city, these good folks can’t even manage to mediate. They rush in and get killed.”
Qin An frowned. “Is it because the children don’t cooperate?”
Gongsun Ce waved his hand. “The children are afraid to cooperate. At first, the kids did cooperate. Those naive children were sent to the white-coated scientists’ labs where till now, we don’t know if they are still alive. They’ve made significant contributions to scientific progress! And yet most of the city’s enforcement officers don’t even want to show up for work. No one can blame them—how can a few guys with riot shields and stun batons take on rampaging bio-engineered creatures and kids who can topple buildings?”
“Speaking of bio-engineered creatures…” Qin An pondered, “I’ve witnessed two rampages of bio-products today alone. Are these experiments that unsafe?”
Gongsun Ce laughed and shook his head.
“Out of 10 accidents, 5 are deliberately released, 3 are the results of conflicts between various parties, and only 2 are genuine accidents.”
Qin An sighed. “Ah, I see—convenient for field testing.”
“And for disposing of failures or covering up some major incident. Such ‘accidents’ come in handy.”
After finishing his dessert, Gongsun Ce, laid down his spoon casually and said, “The adults either have the will but lack the power, or they have the job but don’t put in the effort; the children have absolutely no trust in the authorities, and many are involved in gangs within the city; the researchers only care about their projects and have no moral boundaries. So, where’s the root of all these problems? First, it’s because this is a place governed by three countries. The officers from the three countries are too busy scheming and competing for benefits to properly manage things. Secondly, this is a city that belongs to the Superpower Users. You know how most people view us. To be honest, many people deep down hope that Superpower Users would just die off, and this sentiment is particularly common among the higher-ups. True or not, you probably know better than me.”
Qin An closed his eyes and said somberly, “That’s indeed the case.”
“So you see, this city is rotten to the core; how could I feel good about it?” Gongsun Ce wagged his finger. “Not to mention, Mr. Qin, Qianbai ran into so much trouble just within two days of arriving. The previous head chef retired, only to re-employ here, aiming to secure a safer house for his grandson. From this, you can see what it’s usually like around here.”
Qin An looked out at the peaceful Cangshou District from the window, recalling the farcical scenes he had witnessed that afternoon, which only intensified his displeasure. He cleared his mind of clutter, allowing his spirit to calm again, and asked, “Brother Gongsun, from what I’ve seen, you don’t seem to love the city you live in.”
“It’s bearable now, but I truly didn’t before,” Gongsun Ce sighed.
“Why did you step up to strive for peace in Cangshou Megacity in the past?”
“It wasn’t me,” Gongsun Ce promptly replied. “It was my… my friend who loves peace. He genuinely wanted to make this place better; I just helped him.”
The gray-haired young man suddenly looked wary. He frowned and said, “You must have seen the records, right? He’s tired. He doesn’t want to be involved in these things anymore.”
Qin An nodded, “You misunderstood, Brother Gongsun. I was pondering about you.”
“…Me?”
“You and your friend did extremely well over the years. But now he’s stepping back, and Cangshou Megacity will lack someone credible. With someone like that, many things would be much easier. Brother Gongsun, if you…”
Gongsun Ce shook his head vehemently.
“You’re thinking too much. I’m not capable, I don’t have the ability, nor the inclination. I’m just an ordinary student; I can’t manage such matters.”
Qin An looked at him warmly, like a young elder.
“It doesn’t matter, I was just making a suggestion; the decision is always yours.”
Gongsun Ce raised an eyebrow. “You’re actually not persuading me.”
“How could I irresponsibly place expectations on someone else’s shoulders? Little Qian’s situation has proven that to be a mistake.”
Qin An stared at the bent chopstick. “Responsibility and duty should never be imposed by others, it must be borne by oneself…Self-borne.”
Gongsun Ce gauged the young man across from him, sensing the invisible weight in his words. He guessed this person must carry significant burdens to possess such insights.
Qin An extended his hand to Gongsun Ce. “I want to say thank you, Brother Gongsun. You’ve enlightened me about many things that aren’t visible in reports. I’ll be in the city for a while longer. In these next few days, could I ask you to show me around?”