I Am Extraordinary Alone
Chapter 144 - 142 The Dragon Not Yet Soaring

Chapter 144: Chapter 142 The Dragon Not Yet Soaring

Wei Tianyang looked at Zhao Ling, and in a trance, he seemed to see the shadow of Li Fei, yet there was something different.

She possessed a more powerful aura than Li Fei and also had sorrows Li Fei did not have.

"You pursue fairness because you have not yet tasted the sweetness of power, you have not been corroded by the trivial formalities of the force field." Zhao Ling sat upright and adjusted the buttons on her chest.

"You still don’t understand, or rather, you are not willing to believe, the true logic of how this world operates, how the structure called ’organization’ should function, how it should be controlled... You don’t know the essence of these things."

She continued,

"Yaha, I didn’t get her name wrong, did I? She knows a bit about how to run an organization, but she only glimpsed a tiny bit through the crack of the door. Therefore, even though she stepped in dog shit and got you, she accumulated one mistake after another in her subsequent maneuvers, dooming the Blackhouse and herself."

Wei Tianyang shook his head, "Yaha was just blinded by ambition."

"No... she was very lucid. She understood much more clearly than you that, as a pharmaceutical test subject, she could only become a black glove to catch the tail of fate. However, she was foolish enough to see you as an obstacle, preferring to leave you behind to prove her worth to the pharmaceutical company; she developed a fear and envy of the power you displayed, so... In my eyes, Yaha is a weakling with no big-picture thinking or courage.

"Moreover, she wasn’t cold-hearted or ruthless enough... The Blackhouse raised too many useless people. In fact, having you, she could have realized her ideals; she could have used you as a starting point to continuously expand the Blackhouse, becoming the leading superpower PMC in the East Continent area... A good hand was played poorly by her."

Zhao Ling said with a smile, but then sighed, "Even so... Even after paying such a great cost, losing everything, she still had you."

Wei Tianyang took a breath; the intelligence department of Yin Country was truly formidable; Zhao Ling knew the situation in Chicken Snake Country so thoroughly. "My relationship with Yaha is not simply about who owns whom. When I was all alone, she was the one who reached out to me. After my mother, she was the only one willing to look after me. The Blackhouse to us was more like a second home."

"A broken cage manipulated by others, and you call that place home?" Zhao Ling said coldly.

She crossed her legs and lightly placed a hand on her abdomen, "Do you know what it takes to establish a stable organization?"

"...A common goal?" Wei Tianyang said.

Zhao Ling shook her head, smiling, "What you mentioned is important, but the most important thing is the ability to share profits."

Wei Tianyang was silent; he looked at the wall behind Zhao Ling, his face expressionless, but his pupils flickered with a fierce light.

"Brothers and sisters who follow you will eventually share in the fruits of victory. Besides antidotes, three meals, and 5 yuan cups of cheap coffee, what else has Yaha’s Blackhouse given you?" Zhao Ling asked with a smile.

"Isn’t that enough?" Wei Tianyang snapped.

"The premise of enduring tough times together is a bright future and promised benefits. If you give nothing, and not even promises, then such an organization, even if established, will eventually fall apart for various reasons. Wasn’t it the same with the Liberation Front of Chicken Snake Country decades ago?"

Zhao Ling smiled, then continued, "In this world, there are no saints, no gods, no devils. Pursuing one’s own interests is human nature; you cannot create an absolutely fair world, even within an organization, it is full of open and secret strife."

"Dayin Country, after a thousand years of establishment, accumulated countless wisdom on governing subjects and citizens. What should be shared must be shared, and what should be given must be given; that is why we have come this far. Of course, in this process, some will pay the price, others will benefit while lying down, but what does that matter? This fragile balance is established this way, your absolute fairness will not bring about a better world, it will only destroy it."

When Zhao Ling finished speaking, she placed a hand on Wei Tianyang’s shoulder, looking at him with a passionate gaze, her eyes filled with some form of reliance, or perhaps, some sort of affection.

"You have not been tainted and corrupted by this disgusting power arena; you are only 17 years old. Lend me your power... Wei Tianyang! I wish to be your woman! Kill for me, eliminate political enemies within the party, wipe out all enemies under the heavens! I guarantee you a lifetime of glory!"

Wei Tianyang pondered, a tremble taking hold of him, but within his heart, a voice resisted.

"The only condition is that you must follow my every command! When I tell you to kill someone, you kill them, when I tell you to slaughter a city, you slaughter the city! Show no mercy, show no hesitation! You have the courage and the strength! That is the proof of a king!" Zhao Ling grasped Wei Tianyang’s shoulders, her temples bulging with veins.

"I am not a city-slaughtering machine... I am not an executioner... You want me to build your empire with my hands soaked in blood!" Wei Tianyang shouted angrily.

"Your hands are already soaked in blood! Wei Tianyang... there is no turning back for you now, only one path leads into darkness! Do you think you are free now? The Western nations are all watching you, if you don’t join Dayin, you will have to succumb to one of the other great powers! The world won’t tolerate an unfettered nuclear bomb!" Zhao Ling said.

"What I seek is greater meaning... but you can’t give me that," Wei Tianyang shook his head.

"Greater meaning... The things you pursue are meaningless... Without the support of organizations and states, without the supply of vast resources, all pursuits are castles in the air! You are a dragon that has yet to soar! Wake up, Wei Tianyang!" Zhao Ling shouted angrily.

"My mother would never let me do this... I cannot fail her... I want to be a man warm like the sun... not a cold assassin and humanoid weapon... Zhao Ling, you are just another Li Fei, only, you are luckier," Wei Tianyang said.

Having said that, he angrily got up, ignoring Zhao Ling’s attempts to retain him, and left the conference room.

He pushed the door and exited, seeing those power players in the hallway all with solemn faces, quietly waiting for the Emperor’s summons, likely, after his departure, they would have a long meeting with the Emperor to discuss the conversation they just had.

"Wei Tianyang."

Venerable Gu greeted him with a smiling face.

Wei Tianyang did not respond, burying his head and moving away.

At that moment, Venerable Xu gave a signal to the confidential secretary, who nodded and followed Wei Tianyang.

Back in the conference room, Zhao Ling leaned on the back of her chair when suddenly, four humanoid figures emerged on the wall behind her.

Those four people, initially the same color as the wall, slowly returned to their original color, sporting deep purple skintight combat suits, three males and one female by their builds.

The cold-faced man with long hair, in his 30s, walked behind Zhao Ling and said, "He refused Your Majesty."

"Hmph—just the pride of youth. Anyone else would have knelt and kissed my feet by now," Zhao Ling scoffed. Then, she added, "What do you think of him?"

"He noticed us just now and even threatened us with his eyes," the man reported.

"Wow... even saw through our superpowers, did he?" Zhao Ling said.

"The triangular formation’s stealth ability couldn’t fool him; we believe he is already at the Trinity level," the man explained.

"Far more than that," Zhao Ling shook her head.

She got up and stretched, foreseeing the most troublesome part to come, facing the heads of the three institutes and six bureaus, discussing the earlier conversation... She had to face the interrogation of those old foxes and parry each one.

"Damn it... I have to meet with those Western nations and the United Council tomorrow... Wei Tianyang... how am I supposed to keep you in Yin Country..." Zhao Ling frowned deeply.