Chapter 349 Chapter 347 · "I'm sorry"

 The next moment, the scene in front of Su Mingan changed.

 He saw a deserted alley.

Su Lin was standing in the alley. In front of him was a girl covered in a black robe.

“…Is everything ready?” the girl asked.

“We’re ready, the preliminary testing is complete, and there’s no bad weather today.” Su Lin said with a smile: “It looks like it will be a smooth sailing.”

 The girl was silent for a moment.

 She stretched out her hand and lifted the hood on her head, revealing a beautiful and fair face.

Su Mingan instantly realized that this girl looked exactly the same as the princess he had just met at the royal palace.

 The difference is that this girl looks younger.

“That’s not what I’m asking.” The girl said, “I just want to ask, Su Lin, do you understand your mission on this voyage?”

 “...I understand.” Su Lin said.

"This 'Yunshanghao' plan is to save half of the people and sacrifice the other half." The girl paused for a moment: "But do you know which half is really saved and which half is sacrificed? ?”

 “I understand.” Su Lin said.

 The girl was silent for a moment.

She raised her head slightly and looked at the dim skylight.

"The storm is not the biggest problem in Praia now..." She said slowly: "The royal family has already observed that although this storm is large, it is not to the point of destroying the entire Praia. It is just...the current survival resources Not enough, we must reduce the number of residents, otherwise there will be starvation everywhere, which is unacceptable—can you understand the royal family’s difficulties?”

“I understand, Your Highness the Princess.” Su Lin continued to answer.

 The girl sighed:

"I know that the 'Yunshang' is your hard work, and you want it to return safely. It is unfair to give you such a task, but there is nothing we can do - I am a member of the royal family. In this case, we We must find the best ending in which the vast majority of people are saved, instead of holding everyone to death... Can you understand this?"

 “Understood.” Su Lin responded.

 The girl stood silent for a moment.

Su Lin’s response was still crisp and clear, as if she didn’t care about boarding this “ship of death” at all.

 But she knew it.

 …His voyage may have no return, and even the end may not be reached. The biggest purpose of the airship that he spent so much effort on was just to reduce the number of people.

And the royal family deceived everyone, making the residents think that they would be absolutely safe if they reached the legendary Yunshang City. But in fact... it is unknown whether there are gods who take pity on them in the cities in the sky.

If it really comes to that desperate moment, as the first executor of the plan and the only insider of the risk, Su Lin is bound to face the wrath of all the dying people on the ship.

Thinking of this, the girl raised her head.

In front of her, the corners of Su Lin's mouth were still raised, as if she was not afraid of it.

 The girl was silent for a moment.

 After a moment, she continued speaking, her voice as light as a feather:

“…this voyage, to the common people, is like half the people drawn by lot. Death is fair to them.”

Standing at the alleyway filled with sunset, she slowly clenched her hand wearing a gemstone ring:

"In order to ensure the peace of Praia in the future, important figures such as the soul hunter leader, royal nobles, royal knights, and Praia guard captain, including your brother and father... none of them can follow you on the ship. You have already Have you said goodbye to them?"

 “It’s time to say goodbye,” Su Lin said.

 “In the name of what?”

 “Travel far away.”

 “…” The princess breathed out.

Her hands were shaking slightly and her eyes were slightly red: "You are still full of hope."

“I won’t think death is my ending until I reach the end of my journey.” Su Lin smiled.

He smiled heartily, without any of the neurotic gloominess he would have in the future:

“Although Yunshang City has not responded to us at all, and I am not sure whether there are gods who pity us, but since half of the people believe my lies, I will treat my tourists with the greatest enthusiasm.

“I love this land where I was born and raised, but the current form of this land does not allow me to be willful.

“If what awaits me is truly a hopeless end, I deserve to face their wrath.

“No one should decide the life or death of others at will, and there is no saying that small righteousness should be subordinated to great righteousness.

  —But death and disaster will not let everyone go just because of disputes over "justice and interests".

“In the face of reason and facts, if there is a way to survive, we can’t hold everyone together and die together, right?

“Then if one person is really going to be blamed, one person needs to be nailed to the pillar of shame for today’s decision and repent for half of his life.

　　…Then it’s me who deserves it.

 “Let everyone hate me.

“That’s why I set foot on this airship.”

　　　…”

 The princess's eyes were trembling.

 After a moment, she spoke:

“…even if my decision will be wrong?”

Su Lin put her hand on her through the black robe:

 “Even if our decision will be wrong.”

 The princess trembled suddenly.

Her whole body trembled slightly, and tears flowed out uncontrollably.

Behind her are people walking on Qingshi Street, including young men waving to their families, mothers smiling at their children, young men and women hugging each other, and old men and women with pale temple hair.

 They are saying goodbye.

 A farewell that seems like a long journey.

Her body was trembling slightly, and tiny sobs slid uncontrollably down her throat.

 She suddenly hugged her knees and squatted down.

"sorry…"

Her voice came out with broken and unclear sentences, her head was buried deeply between her knees, and the bulging red color covered her entire face.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry for you, I'm sorry for you..."

The sea breeze brought a noisy sound of people, and the sharp sound of the whistle almost pierced the sky.

　　for a moment her cries were drowned out.

"sorry…"

Seagulls passed across the blood-red sky, casting small black shadows, covering the sunset on her hair.

 After choking for a short time, she raised her head

Su Lin has turned around and disappeared into the golden alley.

 …

 Scene transformation.

 Before leaving.

 The girls on the street sprinkled the brightest and most beautiful flowers to the people who were leaving.

Su Lin walked at the front of the team, separated from the residents who crowded into the boat. Behind him were neatly dressed soul hunters, well-trained soldiers, and major secondary engineers.

 This is a team of heroes of the "Yunshanghao".

 They are about to board the ship.

 The screams of girls echoed along the streets. They either sang loudly or threw flowers to express their love to the people they admired.

The lights on both sides of the river are bright, and the towering towers are shining with golden light.

One cruise ship after another cruises along with flowers, and the scenery on both sides of the strait becomes a flowing painting.

"Haha, Su Lin, this is a scene I have never seen before." The bald deputy Ge Li laughed loudly and slapped Su Lin on the shoulder: "When we come back, these girls are not going to pounce on them one by one. Come up? Hey, I really should call my second son up, he even said to give me the chance."

 “The fox pretends to be the tiger’s power.” The female engineer next to him snorted: “This little girl likes Su Lin. It’s none of your business.”

Su Lin smiled reluctantly.

The flowers thrown by the girls fell on his head. He swept the petals away and hesitated for a moment.

"Gerry, why don't you... not..."

 …then don’t get on the boat.

 He did not say the last half of the sentence.

 “What?” Gerry howled loudly.

"Nothing." Su Lin began sideways, ignoring Ge Li's inquiry.

The setting sun fell into his eyes, and he squinted slightly.

—Then turning his head sideways, he met the eyes of a **** the street.

That was an extremely beautiful girl that he had never seen before.

She was wearing an ordinary long dress, her lips were redder than flames, and she had a long black braid that was heavy and blacker than the clouds.

She has a lively, distinct, elf-like temperament about her, and her eyes are as bright as wildfire in the forest.

Su Lin paused for a moment.

Su Ming'an could clearly feel that Su Lin's meal was very abrupt.

 Maybe he likes her.

 Before leaving.

 Before taking half the people to their death.

"Hey, let me tell you, don't leave half a sentence behind. I'm very anxious... Engineer Su? Engineer Su? Tell me, what do I want this time, what do I want...?"

The noise in my ears is still ringing.

Seeing Su Lin looking over, the **** the street showed a shy smile and threw the thing in her hand to him.

 Amidst a burst of screams from the girls, Su Lin took her things.

Through the light of the evening sun, he saw that it was a sealed bottle of aged rice wine. There is a beautiful circle of cornflowers on the bottle.

 There is a small line of writing stuck inside the cup.

【like you. 】

　　【When you come back, can you give me a chance? 】

 He looked over.

 The girl had shyly hid in the crowd, as if she wanted to escape from him.

Beside her, her sisters shouted sourly:

“Hey! Don’t run away, Garder, why did you run away after delivering the things? Do you dare to take responsibility..."

 The girl's figure is completely hidden.

Su Lin glanced at the rice wine in her hand again.

 Amid the cheers from Gerry and other colleagues, he suddenly raised his hand—

 “Plop.”

The bottle fell into the lake and gradually sank to the bottom.

At this moment, he felt extremely calm and happy as never before.

He did not look towards the river bank again, as if he had shaken off all burdens.

"Su Lin, why did you throw away the gift..." The colleague yelled.

Su Lin turned her head.

Looking at the airship in front of him, which was as majestic as a giant building, he slowly shook his head.

 “Why delay her.”

He said.

 …

The picture gradually dimmed.

The broadcast of the picture saved by this memory stone has ended.

Su Mingan looked at the darkness in front of him and fully understood the truth about the airship more than sixty years ago.

 …Or, rather than “truth”, it’s “lie”.

 This is a big lie.

The royal family was not sure that the residents who boarded the ship could reach Yunshang City safely, and they just tricked them into boarding the ship with the purpose of reducing the population.

  But judging from the current situation, this plan finally succeeded.

—Su Linzhen led the group of people on the boat to reach Yunshang City safely.

 Otherwise, there is no way to explain why Su Lin is still alive and why residents of Yunshang City would still send letters.

This story has a rare happy ending.

The only regret may be that, except for Su Lin, no other people from Yunshang City can successfully return to Praia.

 More than sixty years have passed, and most of the people who were waiting for them...have passed away.

Most of them can't wait for the person who says they want to come back.

Su Mingan waited to return to his original position, but found that it was still dark in front of him.

 Suddenly he heard a sound.

That was Su Lin's voice, echoing in the darkness, as if talking to himself.

 …

　　【I agreed to Princess Sophia's request, became the executor of lies, and rushed to heaven with the hope of tens of thousands of people. 】

  【"I succeeded."】

　　　【But I am not the Van Dillon singing loudly in front of the church, I don't have his courage. 】

I am a burning dove in his hand. Even though he was surrounded by fire, he still struggled hard. 】

  …and then turned into ashes. 】

　　　Even those who fight for the majority should not deserve the recognition of the minority. 】

 …

  【Human beings cannot be purely rational animals after all. 】

 …

Su Lin’s words ended here.

A white light flashed.

 When he opened his eyes again, Su Mingan had returned to the original room.

 In his hand, the memory stone was completely broken, blood burst into pieces, and Su Lin's monologue had disappeared.

 In the upper right corner, barrages are passing by. Regarding the character Su Lin, people are discussing his behavior.

—After all, when the disaster of annihilation really came, he chose to deceive everyone and send half of the people to die in order to save the other half.

 (End of this chapter)