Chapter 142: The Earthās Wastelands (15)
Translator: Sigma Editor: Sigma
"Ohā¦ Miss Mollyā¦ Hiā¦ Hello." Hank turned around, recognized the girl, and stammered a greeting.
"Iāve told you many times, Hank. Just call me Molly."
The girl looked around Hankās age and a little bit shorter than him. She was wearing a white costume, indicating that she was a resident in Section 3.
"Are they your friends? Oh, why are they wearing protection suits?" asked Molly suspiciously.
"Miss Molly." Hankās countenance became tense as sweat rolled down on his face. He gathered his guts and spoke up before Feng Bujue could open his mouth. "My friends and I have some errand to run. Excuse me, when weāre done with the stuff I will explain to youā¦" He said then attempted to walk forward.
"Stuff?" Molly looked at Hank skeptically. "To Section 3?" Her look shifted to Feng Bujue and Wild Trace Sword Shadow. "Why didnāt you guys take off the protection suits?" She looked up to check their unusual height, which made her more suspicious. "Are you two Scavengers too? What are you up to?"
Hankās eyes opened widely. "This is the superiorās command," he emphasized, "please donāt mind this, Miss Molly."
"Hank, whatās wrong with you?" Molly said, "Iāve never seen you talking like that."
"Hey," Feng Bujue spoke up at this moment. "He wants to help you indeed." He paused for a while before continuing, "Too bad, Iāve decided now, you canāt leave."
"Weāre on the street, if you kill people, youāll get arrested immediately," Hank lowered his voice as he talked to Feng Bujue.
"Miss Molly." Feng Bujue ignored Hank and turned to Molly. "I'm sorry, but you are invited to go with us."
Molly instinctively took two steps back. "Who are you?" She looked at Hank. "Hank, what happened?"
"Weāve kidnapped Hank. If you scream, run or do something that draws the patrols' attention, Hank will get killed." Feng Bujue chose to scare her first in case the other would act recklessly. "I know you may not trust my words at this moment, but please, with all the information you know about Hank, just calm down and think about the current situation and then give your assumption whether what Iām about to say is true or not."
"In our hands are the weapons that can kill people instantly. And, our abilities are exceptionally beyond your imagination. No matter whether it is speed, jumping ability or survival skills, itās over your knowledge about human beings," continued Feng Bujue.
"If we got busted, Hank would die immediately.
"Then we will kill any villagers who come near us or stop us. Your village will lose at least more than 1000 people, let alone the infrastructure.
"But if you cooperate with us and take us to see the next section, we will leave in silence after that.
"Now, you can choose. Cooperate with us. Or, scream out loud."
Five minutes later, in Section 3.
"Unbelievable! You brought outlanders into the village," Molly whispered with the tone of complaint to Hank.
Hank was walking beside her and also muttered his response, "Iām seized to be a hostageā¦ just like our current situation."
"What ourā¦ from now on, I want to draw a line between us," Molly answered glumly. "I should have listened to my parents, not to hang out with people from Section 1."
"Ohā¦" Hank opened his mouth, wanting to say something but eventually didnāt say anything. Sometimes, even if there were thousands of things he wanted to say from the bottom of his heart, they could only be conveyed through a sigh.
At this moment, Feng Bujue and Wild Trace Sword Shadow were walking behind them. Since they got Molly leading the way, the patrol didnāt ask them anything else. It seemed taking someone from Section 3 to lead the way worked.
"Donāt worry, Molly. You just need to go with us until we reach the junction between Section 3 and Section 4," Feng Bujue said. "Then you can leave."
Having heard that, Molly was bewildered for a while. "You want to enter Section 4?" she quickly added, "how about Hank? Will you let him go too?"
"Well, Iām afraid not, and it will not happen," answered Feng Bujue.
"Ahā¦ thank you thenā¦" Hank answered with a wry smile.
His answered startled Molly. But then, Hank spoke up with a self-abandoned tone, which explained everything. "I thinkā¦ since the time I let them enter the village, I canāt stay here anymore."
"Oh? Finally, youāve realized it," said Feng Bujue.
"I should have known that when you didn't let me go back to report. It turned out that I still got fooled," answered Hank. "Iām so stupid. Iāve just got it recently."
"Then I can tell you clearly that, no matter what it would be in the end, if you fall into the claws of the Cobains, no doubt you must die. But if we succeed, you can have a way to survive," said Feng Bujue.
"But I don't even know what you need to do," replied Hank.
Wild Trace Sword Shadow was wearing a face of a stiff dead fish, looking at Feng Bujue while saying, "Yeahā¦ Iām not sure either, can you please tell us about it?"
"First of all, what we need to do is certainly not to kill people here. If we wanted to do that, the first thing we should have done when we had entered the village was to slaughter as many as we pleased," said Feng Bujue. "Second, we are not only going sight-seeing to experience the customs here. Such reasons, I think you guys donāt actually buy it." He smiled. "My major purpose is to collect the science and technology knowledge in the Shrine. And the minor purpose is to change the social system here a little bit."
"What is science and technology? Thereās nothing like that in the Shrine. That place only has the masterpieces of God, and only some consecrators are eligible to learn it," intervened Molly.
"Those b*llshits are all the lies you guys have learned since you werenāt old enough to know whatās right or wrong," Feng Bujue said. "The Cobains exclusively have some knowledge of natural science that you donāt know. They prevent you from approaching knowledge in order to use religion to enslave you." He sighed, full of compassion. "Foolishness and fear are always the hungry and thirsty beasts inside peopleās hearts. Only civilization can defeat them while they are guarding the evolution staircase of mankind, constantly swallowing the pioneers.
"Just like life in your era. Thousands of years ago, people burned women alive as they had deemed them to be witches just to ease their mind or in the hope of having a good harvest next year. For 500 years, we split up the words to filter Darwinās theory, screaming āwe are not apesā. Schools were prohibited from teaching the theory of evolution, ha, haā¦ Personally, I think they were no different from apes.
"Until 200 years agoā¦ the Cobains have held the fire of knowledge in their hands, leaving you guys, the ones who used to dwell in darkness and coldness, in fear and ignorance. This helps them enslave you guys and rule for long."
"I wonāt believe in your lies. The consecrators had told us earlier that the words which come out from the outlandersā mouths are just lies from demons. Don't you ever think that you could use your insulting words to distort my faith," answered Molly.
"Ah~ They just want to ensure thatā¦ when you guys meet someone who knows the truth, you wonāt be affected." Feng Bujue coldly smiled. "They also make you kill the outlanders unconditionally, donāt they?"
"You guys should give up. If we meet the guards, you will die for sure. The equipment they have arenāt the ones that the patrols have. They will kill anyone attempting to intrude Section 4, whether you have a hostage or notā¦" Molly still didnāt follow Feng Bujue. "As long as you agree to let Hank and I go, I will think of a way to bring you out of the village."
"Yeahā¦ You do know how to negotiate, better than Hank," said Feng Bujue. "But unfortunately, our goal will not change." A smile bloomed on his face as he said, "Moreover, Hank canāt be on Cobainās side anymore. Right, man?"
Molly was stunned, turning around to see Hank. The latter expressed a calm trace that he had never had before. "Iām so sorry, Miss Molly. I only have one way now, which is to go with them. I canāt turn back anymore."
"Hankā¦" whispered Molly, "arenāt you under the witchcraft of these two outlanders?"
"No, Iām sober, and never been as serious as now," answered Hank. "Although these two outsiders have threatened me many times, at least, they didnāt use some b*llshit reasons like the godās command or something to control my thought." He continued without a trace of being shaken, "If what the Son of God said are true, Iām the one who helped the outlanders, I'm the sinner who wanted to strike against the God. I donāt know how the end would be; at most, it will be death awaiting me. What if I kill these two outlanders with my own hands right now? Would the consecrators spare my life? I would still receive a death penalty. Compare to that sort of death, Iād rather risk my life."
Wild Trace Sword Shadow unknowingly smiled. "Good speech. Hank, go on!"
"What if these two outlanders are right? What if what the Son of God and the consecrators have told us are all lies?" continued Hank.
"Do you know what you are talking about? Hank, how could it beā¦" Molly interrupted him.
Hank snapped back. "Why it is impossible?" He turned to look at Molly. "Since I was born, Iām told that Iām a fellow of God, and all the things I do, I have to follow the Cobains and the consecrators. If I go against them, Iāll be against Godās will. They will punish me. My father and my brothers had to risk their own lives to work, and we could barely make ends meet while the consecrators have a luxurious life without moving their hands an inch.
"I can only learn what they assign me to learn. I can only say what they allow me to say, do what they ask me to do, and they even ask me to sing all those flattering songs.
"If this is Godās will, such God is not worth my worshiping. Because, it clearly will not respond to us, its followers, as it just considers us a horse or donkey to do the heavy, dirty jobs, and only the consecrators and the Cobains are deemed as human."
Molly was dumbstruck as he looked at Hank. "Youāre crazyā¦"
"Maybe," said Hank. "But I feel very good. Never been as well as now. This is the first time I can feel my fate is in my hands. Even if I have to pay with my life, I will not regret it."
"This feelingās called āFreedomā," said Feng Bujue. "When the restraint in thoughts that they had put on you is broken, whether you are imprisoned or about to die, at least, at this moment, you are free. As long as you have a breath left in you, no one can snatch your freedom."
Feng Bujue spoke up with an encouraging tone, "If you help us overthrow the Cobains, the consecrators and their monopolizing knowledgeā¦ exposing their liesā¦ Hank, not only will you survive, but you will also become a hero. All of your fellows, including Miss Molly here, can enjoy the taste of freedom."