1828 Forever Unchanging
“This …”
Meng Chao could not answer Lu Siya’s question.
Indeed, even without the monster civilization’s existence, human beings had long been divided into different cla.s.ses of “wolves, tigers, leopards” and “pigs, dogs, cattle, and sheep.” The exploitation, slavery, and slaughter between cla.s.ses had never subsided in the past several thousand years. Perhaps in the near future, it would not subside even the moment before ultimate destruction arrived.
“So, are you a hundred percent the real Lu Siya that I know?”
!!
Meng Chao stared into the woman’s deep eyes and tried to find traces of a demoness with long green hair in the darkness.
The monster laughed and asked, “What about you? Are you a hundred percent the real Meng Chao that I know?”
Before Meng Chao could answer, she shook her head and continued, “I think this question is meaningless.
“We’re not the same as we were yesterday. We’re not even the same as we were a second ago.
“Every second, our metabolism works through our bodies. We are constantly absorbing energy, materials, and information from the outside world. The cells in our bodies are failing and dying, turning into all kinds of waste and being discharged incessantly.
“Our thoughts are changing at every moment. What we hated yesterday might be something we’re pa.s.sionate about today; yesterday’s indestructible faith could likely become today’s painful curse; yesterday’s hero could become today’s devil, and today’s devil could also save something in the future.
“Take my grandfather, Lu Zhongqi, and the leader of Thundercloud Technology, Yun Feidian, for example. Were they demons who vowed to destroy Dragon City and slaughter countless innocent people from the very beginning?
“Of course not.
“They were heroes in the beginning and warriors who wanted to save everyone from the bottom of their hearts.
“As it turned out, there was no need to implant things such as ‘Blood Flower spores’ or ‘monster mastermind fragments’ into their bodies at all. They stepped into the darkness and slowly fell into the abyss through their own will and strength, turning into bloodthirsty demons. Yet, can you say that they’re not the real Lu Zhongqi and Yun Feidian’ after they became evil?
“And you, Meng Chao, when we first met a few years ago, you were just a fresh university student. You tried to change the future and protect everything with your pa.s.sion.
“However, after experiencing so many storms and turbulent waves, you returned from Picturesque Orchid Lake a tremendously changed person too. You know how to balance, endure, and compromise now.
“I believe that even if you were faced with the same crossroads, you would have made different choices a few years ago and you would have made great strides in the opposite direction.
“For example, a few years ago, when you first experienced the monster siege and killed numerous people, you must have sworn that you would destroy the monster civilization completely and kill all the monsters no matter what, right?
“But now, if I told you that the monster civilization’s still hiding a rather great force and is willing to surrender with certain conditions, or even integrate into Dragon City’s civilization to help humans conquer the Other World… would you sneer at the prospect and refuse to accept it? Would you then take the risk of turning Dragon City upside down and perishing together with the monster civilization to get rid of all evil, or would you at least weigh the pros and cons and come up with a long-term plan?”
Meng Chao was shocked.
He thought about the monsters in the apocalyptic nightmare, which had a new form. They could shrink to small sizes and form secret, as well as strange, symbiotic relationships with humans in the form of parasites.
He did not know if Lu Siya’s hypotheticals were things that had already happened.
If Lu Zhongqi had not only experimented on Lu Siya but a group that was affected by monster powers, how many resources had been invested? What was the price to pay? And how long would it take to completely uncover and eliminate this group that was more secretive than the Blood Alliance?
The threat of the Holy Light faction had surfaced with the imminent Other World War, and hanging over the heads of humans was an apocalyptic-level ultimate weapon that could restart an ecosystem. Was it worth it to go ahead? Were they supposed to?
“Look, you’re hesitating. I believe that the Meng Chao from a few years ago wouldn’t have hesitated for sure.”
Lu Siya smiled and said, “So, which one of you is the ‘real Meng Chao’—the you from a few years ago or the you right now?
“Do you understand what I mean? People change, and they never stop changing. It’s a part of life in the first place, even the most critical part.
“Even though ten-thousandth of the monster’s power still remains in my brain, and it will rise again one day and turn me into the wild banshee, the Queen of Monsters, I will still be me. It will be 100% Lu Siya.
“Whether you like it or not, this is me, Lu Siya, all of me.
“Similarly, as the Dragon City civilization makes great strides forward, they inevitably absorb more matter, information, and energy from the Other World, including the vast starry sky above. Furthermore, they are destined to continue changing in this process.
“The monster civilization is only the beginning.
“In the future, we will also encounter the Turan orcs, the Holy Light faction, as well as the strange races, and civilizations you described. Whether it’s friend or foe, war or peace, our civilization will definitely be affected by these foreign races and become unrecognizable.
“Do you think that our civilization will still be a ‘100% human civilization’ by then?”
Meng Chao fell silent.
It was not that he was speechless.
Instead, Lu Siya’s words were like a secret key that unlocked the endless possibilities of the future that he had “seen” or “dreamed of” in the depths of the Turan Holy Mountain not long ago.
It was true. In the clear future that shone like crystal cells, both Meng Chao and the Dragon City civilization had become strange and unrecognizable.
Meng Chao remembered that in the future, he even became the leader of the Holy Light faction and the supreme priest of the Holy Light Temple!
Perhaps Lu Siya was right.
In the turbulent river of time, the only thing that remained unchanged was change.
In that case, it was meaningless to argue whether today’s Lu Siya was the Lu Siya of yesterday or tomorrow’s Lu Siya was the Lu Siya of today.
It was not necessary for humans to be corroded by the monster mastermind to become monsters or even demons in human skin.
Whether or not Lu Siya was the wild banshee and Queen of Monsters, whether or not Dragon City was destroyed, there was no inevitable and unchangeable causal relationship.
Even without Lu Siya and even if the monster civilization had been completely destroyed, the Dragon City civilization could still welcome the end of the world ten thousand times just by relying on human efforts!