Zhou Lin - Chapter 245 Unfinished Business

April 2220, Longjun, Longhu Mountain, Tianshi Temple.

Tao Wu led Jack into a small reception room, asked him to sit for a while, and then went out.

Jack did not wait long. In less than three minutes, Meng Zhenhan’s figure appeared at the door.

When Meng Zhenhan entered the room, Jack looked him up and down and saw that Xiao Meng was wearing a dark robe, with his hair in a bun, cloth shoes on his feet, a fake beard on his mouth, and holding a hand A thermos cup… I can’t tell whether his appearance and temperament look like an extra or a veteran cadre.

Hi, Brother Jie, long time no see. Meng Zhenhan was quite polite and greeted Jack enthusiastically when he saw him.

‘Brother Jack’? Jack, on the other hand, repeated the title expressionlessly and in a questioning tone.

What’s wrong? Are you calling me too close? Meng Zhenhan sat down and continued, How about… I call you Donor Anderson? Or Official Jack?

Just call me Jack… Jack didn’t want to continue arguing with him about this matter.

Okay. Meng Zhenhan shrugged and continued, Then…Jack, why do you want to come to me today?

You know me. Jack immediately responded in a self-sarcastic tone, When something happens, there is someone, but when nothing happens, there is no one.

Alas… Meng Zhenhan sighed immediately, You… can’t you occasionally say some hypocritical polite words, such as ‘come and see old friends’, etc., when you talk about things like this? It’s better to speak.

You don’t need to say that to truly close friends, but it’s useless to say it to those who are not close to you. How could Jack not understand these worldly feelings, but he was already tired of them.

Oh… Meng Zhenhan nodded and asked, Then are you and I considered close?

It doesn’t count, Jack said.

Then you still come to me? Meng Zhenhan asked.

Because I know very well that you are a good person at heart, and you still care about and sympathize with the world. Jack said.

Stop! I’m not, I don’t have one! The one you’re talking about is called the Holy Mother, the Christian one next door. Meng Zhenhan waved his hands quickly and continued in a righteous and aloof tone, I’m just a fake Taoist priest and a real civil servant. I don’t want to take the white leftist route… You’d better understand that I am now the national advisor of the Sixth Empire. To put it bluntly, I am called the court eagle dog. I mean the same as the single leader who I killed… You can Don’t come here to put on a high hat or hide behind me…

When Jack heard this, his expression remained unchanged, and he just continued calmly: Okay, stop acting. I know that you are here to secretly house those ‘associated people’ who were liquidated by the empire, including grassroots soldiers and employees of the Federation. Their Relatives and friends, the elderly, children…

Hey, hey, hey, don’t talk nonsense! Meng Zhenhan interrupted the other party again, stood up and closed the door of the reception room. Before closing it, he looked around in the corridor, Look at my place. … He said, walked back and sat down again, lowering his voice and said, The temple gate is so small and it is a public place. There are so many people coming in and out, how could you hide what you said…

You used magic weapons to build a shelter-like space for them, didn’t you? Jack interrupted before he could finish, You don’t have to hide it from me. My abilities can be sensed within a certain distance. Existing in multiple dimensions.

When Meng Zhenhan heard that the other party was talking about this, he curled his lips helplessly: Yes… the fact that you know it, doesn’t it mean that Zi Lin also knows it?

Don’t worry, like you, I have found a way to block the ‘Book of Hearts’. Jack said, Although I can’t use the form of ‘enchantment’ to achieve regional shielding like you, I can guarantee that at least I will not be detected by the Book of Heart anywhere, so even if I walk out of this Taoist temple later, I will not leak the information I got here.

Hey~ You should have told me earlier. Meng Zhenhan breathed a sigh of relief, and then changed the subject, Okay then, what did you come to me to discuss?

I want information about the people you took in, Jack said. Basic ones, such as number of people, names, genders, ages, occupations, etc. For more in-depth information, it’s best to ask them if there are any others who have been taken in. The relatives and friends involved are still outside.

What do you want these for? Meng Zhenhan asked doubtfully.

Of course it’s to save more people. Jack replied, paused, and then elaborated, First of all, the number of people you saved is now quite large, and there’s no guarantee that there won’t be one or two among them. Undercover agents or people who are not firm… To say the least, even if there is no such person, they may be threatened by the fact that their family members who stayed in the outside world fell into the hands of the empire, and then betray the people here.

“Therefore, it is necessary to investigate and supervise these people, and at the same time, someone must try their best to rescue their relatives in the outside world to prevent the latter situation.

Secondly, I need to know how much capacity the shelter you created has, and how to open the entrance from a distance and send people inside… In the past few months, I have had enough of seeing the people I rescued. The people below will eventually die, but I can’t stay in the same place forever; if I can send them to your shelter, I can at least protect them temporarily.

When Meng Zhenhan heard this, he was silent for a while thoughtfully, and then said: Well… I understand. He picked up the thermos cup and took a sip of water, Tsk… then, before I answer you Before I ask my question, can you answer me a question first?

What? Jack asked.

You are doing things for Zilin… Meng Zhenhan looked directly into the other person’s eyes with a calm expression, Are you doing it for the sake of glory and wealth, or are you forced to do it out of necessity?

At this moment, the expression of Jack also changed.

He could tell from Meng Zhenhan’s eyes… these words were not a test.

Huh… After a few seconds of hesitation, Faceless was discouraged. He no longer maintained the appearance of Jack, but quickly transformed into a handsome young man.

The moment I was found by His Majesty the Emperor, I was forced to have no choice. Wu Mian continued the topic just now and replied, Since I was forced to have no choice, I came here, settled down, and sought glory and wealth by the way.

Well… I really can’t blame you. Meng Zhenhan thought.

But you still have to kill me to solve the problem. Faceless asked.

Oh? Meng Zhenhan asked, Why?

Simple reasoning. Faceless continued in a very calm tone, ‘Shape-changing ability’ is an extremely rare ability. Not counting the ‘Dark Water’ whose existence I only recently learned about, there are only Sui Bian and I are just two shapeshifters. Now that Sui Bian is dead, I’m the only one left…

Because our abilities are too ‘convenient’, we will always be the object of competition from all forces in any era. Even if I don’t want to work for any party, I will still be regarded as a threat. This is called ‘Huai Biqi’ crime’……

Now that you know that I am working for the emperor, how can you let me go back?

You let me go back today, but tomorrow I might turn into anyone and lie to you again, or to lie to the people around you. You can’t always guard against me, can you?

Meng Zhenhan said: You have settled your accounts quite clearly, but don’t you think that…it is a better choice to take refuge in me and enter my refuge than to die?

But you don’t have the Book of Hearts, can you trust me? Wu Mian asked, How do you know that now that you have discovered my identity, I am not part of the plan? Maybe I got Zi Lin’s order, Deliberately pretending not to be afraid of death, in order to infiltrate you and work as an undercover agent; including what I am analyzing with you now… it may all be acting.

It seems that we have reached a deadlock where we cannot confirm or falsify your thoughts and words, and cannot let you go or keep you. Meng Zhenhan said.

If I die, I can break the deadlock. Wu Mian said.

Aren’t you afraid of death? Meng Zhenhan asked.

I’m afraid. Wu Mian said, But when there are few choices, as a pragmatic person, I never take any chances. I will choose a more acceptable way to face the inevitable. tragedy.”

That is to say…compared to being read by the quilt and dying in his hands when you go out, would you rather die here? Meng Yuanhan quickly understood the meaning behind the other party’s words.

You can put it this way. Wu Mian spread his hands and said, I thought I would be able to breathe a sigh of relief after escaping the troubled times, but who knows that His Majesty the Emperor still refused to let me go after all. Instead of worrying about earning my share under him, With glory and wealth, death is a kind of liberation.

Since you have already mentioned this… Meng Zhenhan heard this, turned his hand and grabbed it, and pulled out a magic weapon out of thin air.

Wu Mian saw the other party’s move and didn’t react. First, he didn’t think he would be Meng Zhenhan’s opponent. Second, what he just said was true, and he was already prepared to die.

…Then I will save your life and give you a ride based on the compassionate purpose of the monks. Meng Zhenhan said, and the coral-shaped magic weapon in his hand suddenly gave off a strong light.

Wu Mian was illuminated by the strong light and instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he found that he was standing in a strange alley. Afterwards, he realized that this was ten meters away from Longhu Mountain. A small county town a few kilometers away.

Huh? Before Wu Mian could recover from the surprise, he soon discovered something that surprised him even more – his ability didn’t work anymore.

Although his physical fitness was undoubtedly at the level of an esper, when he tried to change his appearance, his powers did not activate; he tried scratching the back of his hand and found that even the accompanying self-healing effect was not activated. Disappeared.

Regarding this abnormality, Wu Mian was filled with surprise and doubt, and was at a loss for the moment.

Fortunately, he is a person who is very good at settling accounts. After standing there for more than two minutes, he settled the accounts clearly…

No matter what Meng Zhenhan did, it indeed saved his life; now that he could no longer change his appearance, there was no need to return to the empire to resume his life, and there was no need to worry that Zi Lin would come to see him again. Hold him accountable – because he is now a waste to Zi Lin, just like Solid.

Zi Lin will naturally see his experiences and thoughts through the Book of Heart, so he doesn’t need to explain anything.

Faceless, from that day on, he continued to live in the random appearance he finally became, living the life of an ordinary person…

However, due to the disappearance of the shapeshifter’s characteristics, his lifespan has returned to a limit similar to that of ordinary people. However, his actual age is not as young as his last face showed. His cells are actually quite old. Aging, so after that… only ten years later, he died.

Of course, for him, those were the best ten years of his life.

No need to pretend, no need to hide, no need to be wary day and night whether everyone around you has an agenda; you can sleep peacefully every day, reveal your true emotions, and have a fixed identity and a fixed identity. A job, a fixed social circle, a fixed life… he can have things that he has never had since he was twelve years old.

This was indeed an ending that he had not expected or expected, but for which he felt extremely grateful…

…………

What did you do to him? As soon as Meng Zhenhan sent Wu Mian away, the real Jack Anderson opened the door and walked into the reception room and asked.

Yes, the real Jack is at Tianshi Temple and has been here a long time ago, so as soon as the faceless fake Jack visited, Meng Zhenhan knew that the other person was fake; he pretended not to know, just to wait for the other person to tell him. request, in order to test the intention of the other side.

I sealed his ability in a magic weapon. Meng Zhenhan said, In this way… Zi Lin should let him go.

Can you even do that kind of thing? Jack asked.

I can’t. Meng Zhenhan was still modest, Master Zhang Tian’s magic weapon can. He paused, But don’t think too much… This thing is ineffective against those complex and high-level abilities. .”

Guessed it. Jack really didn’t think too much. He knew that this kind of thing would be useless to truly high-level ability users. He also knew very well that although shapechangers are rare, the principle of their ability itself is not complicated. , it just adds the mutation attribute of cell imitation/fine-tuning on the basis of self-healing ability. Furthermore, the level of Wu Fang’s ability is not high.

So… Two seconds later, Jack said again, What do you think about Zi Lin sending Wu Mian here to inquire about information?

Ha… Meng Zhenhan smiled, He is not here to find out any information. On the contrary, he used this method to send us some information.

Us? Jack heard something in the other person’s words.

Yes, of course it’s ‘us’. Meng Zhenhan continued, Isn’t it because he made Wu Mian look like you to convey the idea of ​​’I know Jack is here with you’? He drank again. He drank the water in the thermos cup, If Zi Lin really wants Wu Mian to sneak in, there are many ways, but becoming you… can be said to be one of the worst choices.

That makes sense. Jack nodded.

As for the words he asked Wu Mian to ask, from the perspective of ‘conveying information’, just pick out a few key sentences and understand them in reverse. Meng Zhenhan continued to explain, To put it simply…I save He actually doesn’t care about the ‘collateral damage’ caused by not saving him. What he cares about is a small number of undercover agents from the federation or certain resistance organizations who are mixed in with the refugees, and the unsteady stance developed by these guys. People’. The existence of such people is a ‘threat’ to other real asylum seekers. They may join forces with outside accomplices to put pressure on other people in the shelter and attempt to rebuild their original organization.

“He hopes that I can ‘investigate’ the number, name, gender, age, and occupation of the detainees… to find these people myself, hand them over to him, and strengthen ‘supervision’ of the remaining people.

In addition, he also reminded me not to try to save everyone. My shelter is ‘temporary’ after all. Some people will still die in the end, and it is not impossible for him to invade the phase layer I created from a distance… …

As for Wu Mian… it’s actually a bit of ‘sincerity’ from Zi Lin. I think he expected that Wu Mian wouldn’t go back.

He deliberately found the only remaining human shapechanger in the world and presented it to us with an identity that would be revealed immediately. He also used his words to clarify the game space between us at the level of the ‘Book of Hearts’ …It’s all to reassure ‘me’.”

Hearing this, Jack immediately answered: Why are you here now? What about ‘us’?

There is no more ‘us’ here. Meng Zhenhan said, You have to understand that the boundary between me and him has been drawn, but you haven’t… At this point, he put on his fake He took off his beard and threw it on the table. Up to now, I have done everything I can do. If I don’t do it, it means I can’t do it, or I shouldn’t do it.

Is it something you shouldn’t do, or do you don’t want to do it? Jack looked questioning.

If you know as much as I do, you will understand that for me, what I shouldn’t do will naturally be what I don’t want to do. Meng Zhenhan said, Only you people in the world of mortals are affected by the turbidity of the world. If you are blindfolded, you will first have the idea that you don’t want to do something, and then give yourself reasons why you shouldn’t do it.”

Hmph…use that ‘law of heaven’ to kill me again. Jack lowered his head and snorted coldly.

Whether I am sending someone away or not, you will know later. After Meng Zhenhan said this, he suddenly stopped.

He pondered for a moment and then said: Back then, a man smashed a statue of God in the church because at that moment, he felt that there was no justice, no retribution, no hope for humanity in the world…

So, this man followed an invitation and walked into a bookstore, just because he wanted to find an ‘answer’ in this dark world, a ray of light that could point him to the future direction.

And now, after experiencing self-questioning and self-betrayal again and again, is this man thinking about revenge, redemption, or another trial?

Jack did not ask how Meng Zhenhan knew this.

He just remained silent for a long time.

Then, Jack finally… thought of something very crucial and important, and then said: ‘Everyone of us is guilty’… Is that what he said?

Yes. At this time, Meng Zhenhan’s eyebrows showed a hint of bitterness, ‘Everyone’, including himself, of course.

Haha… Jack smiled, It turns out that he gave us the answer from the beginning, but we just didn’t listen.

Meng Zhenhan couldn’t laugh at this moment, he continued seriously: As I said, I have done everything I can do, and there are still some things… those things that only the ‘Killing God’ can do , and it’s also what Zilin expects you to do. It’s up to you whether you want to do it or not.”