Enforcer Manual
Chapter 1174 - 978: Demon King and the Hero_2

Chapter 1174: Chapter 978: Demon King and the Hero_2

Followers who lost their energy source forgot their former identities, experiencing severe "withdrawal reactions."

In the next three years, this led to countless tragedies. Among them was Qi He, who was luckier than others as he received an opportunity to rewrite the past.

But as Song Lan mentioned the butterfly effect, rewriting the past inevitably involves more people.

In the "correct timeline," Benjamin did not collaborate with RT1, nor did he meet Angle at Royal Margaret Hotel, nor did he initiate the "artificial intelligence rebellion" that caused numerous casualties.

This has advanced their encounter to the present.

She suddenly asked, "Could this be the rules of time? To save one person, does it often require the sacrifice of many?"

This operation itself can be seen as a rescue mission for Qi Yun, separated by several years.

"This has nothing to do with Qi He. To put it precisely, repeating the same day once will yield different outcomes each time."

"Isn’t this contrary to fatalism? Haven’t you said before that rewriting someone’s fate often requires a huge price?"

"Yes, that’s the perception fate wants you to have."

Song Lan was noncommittal, "This is what the prophecy of the upper world shows. The reason this lie can persist is because no one can verify the truth of the prophecy. It’s actually a clever deception. The prophecy provides a definite fragment, and as long as it strives to turn the vision in the omen into reality, people will believe it to be true."

"Are you saying your scamming skills were learned from ’fate’?"

"I’ve just seen beyond the prophecy."

Beyond the prophecy, Li Ergou and Pox-faced Wang would experience a death-and-rebirth cycle on the same day in different ways, but in fact, no one knows who they are, nor does anyone care about their wellbeing—only "leisure proponents" like Song Lan would take notice of the life tracks of these nameless individuals.

"So you can trust me, fishing is the best way to cope with this ever-changing world."

This conclusion was reached after numerous observations.

People can never be fully saved, and those who make saving others their career will eventually work themselves to death. By not paying attention to changes around them and advocating a plant-like, regulated and peaceful life, they can keep their minds calm—this is the secret to happiness and longevity summarized by Song Lan, and he has been diligently following this theory for years.

He simply couldn’t be bothered to share the truth he discovered with others, as changing someone’s mindset is one of the world’s most difficult tasks, which only leads to unnecessary disputes.

"But if fate regains control of this world, your easy days of fishing will end, right?"

The demise of the upper world has proven that even though Song Lan just wants to lie in the garden without bothering anyone, trouble will eventually find him, and afterwards, the organization led by RT1 still aims to "defeat Song Lan."

It is foreseeable that the same situation will eventually be repeated within the United Government.

If the cost this time results in the destruction of the United Government, then Song Lan will have nowhere else to go.

This indeed confirms that classic phrase.

To prevent the World Cup destruction, to protect world peace, even a Dumb Bird like Song Lan has to take action.

"If I had to choose, I think the occupation of a hero isn’t so bad."

Song Lan looked up at the gradually dimming sky.

"Hero? As far as I know, being a hero is very exhausting."

Lu Xiang had also watched some works featuring Demon Kings and heroes. After watching the complete series of Spongebob, she found many things to pass the time with. "In order to defeat the Demon King and his minions, heroes must undergo training more arduous than ordinary people can bear after setting out on their journey, not only that, they also endure more sorrow along the way."

"For example?"

"For example, to draw out a new strong enemy, companions are seriously injured, childhood friends are kidnapped by evil foes, and the revered master is ambushed, barely returning with information about the enemy."

At least the heroic life known to her is not suitable for Song Lan, this Dumb Bird has very poor resistance to sorrow, which might also be why it inadvertently turns the people it encounters into comedic characters.

Perhaps only in works centered on comedy can one avoid those sorrowful experiences and not be abruptly ’killed off’ by the scriptwriter or author.

"That’s wrong, these are not necessary experiences for a hero. We only need to grasp the essence of the hero identity."

"Essence?"

"That is the goal of defeating the Demon King."

The mission of the hero is to defeat the ultimate villain, and as long as this goal is achieved, even if the hero occasionally behaves like a burglar rummaging through villagers’ houses, such actions can be forgiven.

Moreover, compared to breaking into houses, his actions were much better; he was just an embarrassing salary thief and never exploited the poor masses.

This is a simple job.

Much simpler than revitalizing the economy, combating crime, or improving employment rates.

"To put it in simpler terms, I don’t need to know who I am or where I am; I just need to know that I have to defeat the Demon King."

This is a cost-effective deal.

Looking at the current situation, the "fate" revival cycle happens once every twenty years or so, meaning he just needs to defeat the opponent once to live peacefully for twenty years.

"But why do I feel like you’re more like the Great Demon King?"

Lu Xiang was skeptical.

In order to achieve the goal of "defeating Song Lan," hiding in the shadows, diligently working for over twenty years, gradually trying to understand Song Lan’s abilities, making breakthroughs step by step...

This process was more like the experience of a hero.

While the Demon King only needed to comfortably stay in the castle, waiting for the fully prepared hero to come and challenge him.

"That’s a clear stereotype," Song Lan corrected, "How do you know I haven’t trained?"

"But you’ve said more than once that you never train."

Not to mention rigorous training, it was practically life-threatening for Song Lan to just go downstairs and run with her; she found it hard to imagine Song Lan fervently training to defeat someone.

Upon careful consideration, his powerful manner completely fits the definition of the Great Demon King in works.

No foundation or training needed; as the plot progresses, his overwhelmingly powerful abilities are automatically shown, and no one ever questions why the Demon King is so powerful.

Whenever necessary, Song Lan would skip the training phase, suddenly acquiring an incredible new skill.

Even though Lu Xiang, who was almost done with "Dumb Bird Observation Diary," had been with Song Lan day and night, she couldn’t explain the reasons behind Song Lan’s strength.

She could vouch that Song Lan was definitely not the type who says he won’t study but secretly studies harder than anyone else at home; when he said it was time to sleep, he really went to sleep.

Suppose he really is the Great Demon King...

Then the hero doesn’t have to worry about the Demon King secretly training tirelessly behind his back.

"I did say that, but maybe I have trained without realizing it, I just can’t remember."

"When?"

"In dreams, dreams."

Song Lan stuttered a bit, "Can’t I train in my dreams?"

"Sure, of course you can."

"So, how do you plan to defeat ’fate’ again? This time it knows all about your abilities and is well-prepared."

"First, as I told Qi He before, one necessary condition to defeat ’fate’ is to deceive its eyes."

"Hmm?"

"For instance, make it believe that by adapting over time, my abilities can be completely countered."

It was getting dark.

Before long, the vehicle carrying Qi Yun and other patients would be leaving.

"RT1 is its eyes."