Chapter 833: Chapter 78 Bernard’s Last Words (Part 1)
On an ordinary day in the late sixties, Xiang Shan, filled with complex emotions, stared blankly at the indicator lights before him.
It represented the vital signs of a person’s life.
An emaciated elderly man lay on the hospital bed. Twenty years ago, this old fellow was still a graceful white-haired gentleman, but two decades had charred him to a shadow. The effects of illness had also left him extraordinarily weak.
Bernard Dubois lay on the bed, looking at Xiang Shan. Ignoring the slight differences in the texture of so artificial skin, Xiang Shan didn’t look much different from twenty years ago. Perhaps in another thirty years, he would still be the sa. The Benchmark Man far exceeded Homo sapiens in lifespan.
This generation of Homo sapiens would be Earth’s last generation of Homo sapiens. The four-hundred-year starting lifespan of the Benchmark Man was irrelevant to them. Future humans would travel to a distant future unrelated to them.
In the hollows of Bernard’s dry eyes, there was actually a hint of tears.
He stretched out his hand. The motion detection equipnt sensed his intention and lifted the bed a little. He gasped for a few breaths and said, “Boss… I have to thank you.”
Xiang Shan looked away and smiled, “I thought you wanted to scold . I was all ready for it. Being scolded by such an elderly gentleman, I feel is quite normal…”
“Haha… You’re obviously eager to find Ms. Zhu now, yet you still take the ti to see , an old fool about to die.” Bernard laughed, “I think that already counts as proof of camaraderie.”
The gloom over Xiang Shan’s eyes grew deeper. But he still smiled, “That guy has always been wild, maybe she’s just off on one of those trips where she leaves on a whim…”
“Really? I doubt it. People of your generation can’t stand trips without network communications.” Bernard shook his head.
Zhu Xinyu had been out of contact for a while.
One night. Xiang Shan felt a heaviness on his chest. He woke up to find Zhu Xinyu holding the Damascus Steel chef’s knife, which hadn’t been used for years, aid at his head.
Xiang Shan was instantly shocked awake. He said, “What are you doing? Years ago, I told you, I don’t accept any extre gas… Stop it…”
Zhu Xinyu nodded thoughtfully, “Oh, it seems very similar.” She leaned closer to observe Xiang Shan’s subtle expressions, murmuring, “Is it possible… Is it true?”
Xiang Shan was becoming exasperated: “What are you really doing? We haven’t had a fight, right?”
Zhu Xinyu sighed, put down the kitchen knife. Xiang Shan imdiately seized the knife.
Zhu Xinyu didn’t attempt to take the knife back but shook her head with a self-mocking smile and said, “Damn it, can’t bring myself to do it…”
Xiang Shan was utterly bewildered. He said, “Do you… need to find a psychologist for you… or…”
Zhu Xinyu shook her head, changed into a set of travel clothes, and then picked up the backpack she had prepared long ago: “Alright, let’s just leave it at this. Last piece of advice for you, don’t trust anyone anymore. That’s it, don’t look for …”
Xiang Shan just felt inexplicable. Fatigue overtook him once more, and he slept again. The next day, he thought he had rely had a bizarre dream.
But Zhu Xinyu truly disappeared like a dream.
Zhu Xinyu wasn’t one to go on such “spontaneous trips,” but if it were a simple trip, she wouldn’t go off the grid. Additionally, in thirty years, Xiang Shan had argued with her more than once. But she had never broken out in this way.
This ti was different from all previous tis.
Xiang Shan did not speak of that night. He himself couldn’t say why. Was it to cover for Zhu Xinyu, or because…
The words of Zhu Xinyu made him feel sothing?
That was months ago. By now, quite a few higher-ups in Superman Enterprise knew the rumor that “the CEO and CSO had a fight, leading to the CSO’s disappearance.”
—At least it’s better than everyone thinking Xinyu has gone mad.
Xiang Shan thought so.
Hearing Bernard bring up the matter proactively, Xiang Shan asked, “Old Di, in your life’s experiences, do you have any way of dealing with a situation like this?”
Bernard chuckled, shook his head, “In my life experiences… those have long been obsolete, haven’t they?”
The tone bore a slight, sardonic edge.
Xiang Shan felt a bit uncomfortable.
Bernard turned his gaze elsewhere. He said, “Before I got into this hospital, I developed an interest in the history of this land. It’s said that more than three hundred thirty years ago, the emperor ruling this land was a man who lived very harshly…”
“An emperor lived harshly?” Xiang Shan couldn’t help but retort, “Weren’t the people under the emperor’s rule even harsher?”
“Indeed. This emperor executed many courtiers because of ideas, also suppressed many uprisings.” Bernard said, “But he was a man much like you. He wanted to change the world.”
“The emperor just wanted to change his empire, didn’t he?”
Bernard took a few breaths, his oxygen machine numbers fluctuating. Xiang Shan sighed and gestured for Bernard to continue.
“Don’t accommodate so much, boss. Actually, I quite like the way you rage against the world.” Bernard said, “When I was young, I also wanted to change sothing, wanted to speak for the underprivileged… My father always gave a fake smile about this, hypocritically praising how compassionate I was. I actually believed it at that ti… But back then, he was right… My sincerity and passion were a kind of capital for the future, to embellish my success… My father was very aware of this. I…”
Bernard paused again to catch his breath.
“Take it easy, Old Di, let’s talk about the emperor instead. That guy you say is much like .”
“No, only in that aspect. Many of his ways were completely different.” Bernard said, “The changes that emperor wanted to make would harm the interests of bureaucracy and gentry. He needed manpower for his reform, but the more he reford, the fewer people were absolutely loyal to him. So he chose to bind his subordinates in other ways. He used the ethics of loyalty and personal feelings to make so courtiers believe they belonged to the ’emperor’s faction’… Among the many monarchs of that dynasty, his posture was relatively low, even willing to assu identities like ‘friend’ or ‘confidant’… He seed to know that without strengthening the ethics of loyalty, without strengthening these private feelings, he would have no chips…”
“But you’re different, you’re a stern guy…”
“He was an emperor of a feudal dynasty, and I am a capitalist in modern society.” Xiang Shan spread his hands, “It’s only natural for to be different from that emperor.”
“‘A king acting as a capitalist, or a capitalist acting as a king—there’s essentially no difference,’ you’ve said that yourself, right? Nominally and practically… cough, you certainly understand better than I do…”
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